The Gift of Gallstones

I’ve been sitting down to write this blogpost for a few days now and each time, have either just felt uninspired or actually ran out of time. There’s so much going on in my life, tons of lessons and insights I want to share :). Tons of growth opportunities and ways to make powerful choices in the moment.

But so my message doesn’t get too long and you can get on with your day without feeling stressed over reading for ten minutes, let me tell you about one of the most impactful things.

Just about a little over a week ago, I found myself in the emergency room in NWA in immense pain afraid that something was really wrong. Let me backtrack to a few weeks ago, about a month and a half to be exact. That’s when I first started to feel nauseous all the time. I was feeling nauseated every day almost without fail. At first of course, I wondered if I was pregnant, then my cycle came and I just thought it might be a factor of getting older and my PMS symptoms changing. Then I realized that it just wasn’t going away and that’s when I went to the doctor. He couldn’t figure out any causes so he prescribed acid reflux medicine and told me to basically wait it out. I had one bad night of vomiting but I just chalked it up to too much pizza and wine.

At the emergency room is where I found out that I have gallstones. Insert a sad face and a surprised face. Are you thinking what I’m thinking - that is, if you even know what gallstones are?

That’s right, how do *I* have gallstones?

I’m not overweight. I eat healthier than most. I’m active. I’m constantly working on my emotional blocks (because all physical ailments are rooted in emotional space).

It just honestly doesn’t make much sense.

Yet we know that there are tons of things in our lives that make little sense. The joy of life comes in accepting what is with gratitude and moving forward expecting that things are already getting better.  

So after an initial few shaky days after my diagnosis feeling afraid to eat and like it was unfair that the universe would give me this to deal with too, I’ve been able to get my bearings and my perspective back. I’ve been able to easily choose to see the gift in this diagnosis instead of the burden.

Remember a few weeks ago when I said I was committing to getting my health back on track the way I feel best? Well now I have major motivation! The age old saying is that pain is the most effective motivator. The pain of a gallstone attack is something that I pray to the Universe that I never experience ever again.

It’s been SUPER easy to say no to cookies, fast food, ice cream, treats, processed foods, etc. All of the things that everyone should be eating in moderation at the most, I can’t eat at all now (save for maybe once a year and that’s only if i take the right precautions before and after).

I admit that It’s been a challenge figuring out what I can eat and I’ve had some real shaky moments at checkout counters where I was close to tears trying to order what I thought would be ok.

But I feel like I’m getting my balance back. I can say that this week, I’ve mostly felt pretty good. The all-the-time nausea has mostly subsided and although some foods bring on that uncomfortable feeling, I’ve been able to manage it and make note. The best thing is that I have NOT had another attack. And another little happy - I’ve lost about 7 pds already. Who knew that my occasional cookie or Chick-Fila meal was having such an effect!

So I am determined to manage this with being even more mindful about my diet and keeping up with my commitment to exercise. I do have an appointment with a surgeon that removes gallbladders on Tuesday because conventional  medicine says once you have gallstone problems, you always will and you must get it out. I’m going to do my best to hold on to mine though unless the doctor tells me it truly is damaged. I feel encouraged however by how much better I’ve been feeling already.

I’m willing to continue walking my path with this new addition without letting it change my stride :-). And at the least, it will definitely give me more interesting things to share with you down the road.

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The Link between Reproductive Health and Your 2nd Chakra

Initially, when we think of our reproductive system health, the idea that it might have anything at all to do with our level of fulfillment in life may seem a far fetch. However, stay with me for a bit and I’ll explain the connection.

In the world of energy work, your reproductive system is in the area of your 2nd Chakra. If you aren’t familiar with Chakras, you can think of them as energy centers in your body that have influence over various aspects of your emotions, actions, and life in general. The 2nd Chakra has to do with your creativity, passions, and sexuality – the things that inspire you and give you a zest for life.

So when your 2nd Chakra is balanced, you are generally fully in touch with your creativity and your passions and your ability to do great work is maximized. This intact inspirational energy is vital to living a vibrant and fulfilled life.

When this Chakra is out of balance however, doubts creep in and we begin living a diminished version of ourselves. This can translate into not voicing our opinions, stifling our anger or frustration, and leaving emotions pent up and unexpressed.

Of course, this doesn’t serve anyone, least of all ourselves. When we are living in this diminished state, our contributions to the world are suppressed and watered down. We can find ourselves feeling as though we aren’t cut out for handling the strains and stressors of life positively and as if that weren’t enough, these issues can begin to manifest on a physical level as well. 

This is where the connection to reproductive system health comes into play.

On the physical plane, these issues of stifled creativity and expression show up as ailments like debilitating PMS and cramps, fibroids, endometriosis, and PCOS.

One way to see all of these problems is as ways that your body is showing you how much you are stifling and suppressing yourself. They give you a great opportunity to explore where you need to process old feelings, resolve old hurts, and muster the courage to live more on your own terms.

Think about this – when we experience reproductive health issues, most all of them slow us down and require us to ‘be still and present’. I know for myself, when my period cramps are raging, all I have energy to do is to sit or lie down. I come to an almost meditative state where there is little space for much else other than thinking and allowing.

Within this state, I experience so much peace and clarity. I'm able to see clearly where I'm holding myself back and where I need to actually take a step back. It's one of the many gifts that this time brings.

The next time that you experience this, take it as an opportunity to do some meditative journaling about where you are holding yourself in. Ask yourself how you might be allowing your creativity and expression to be silenced.

Here are a few questions to help you in the process of discovering where the imbalances lie and how to begin righting them.

1.       What creative activity did I love to do as a child? Why haven’t I done it lately? What’s stopping me?

2.       What haven’t I told someone that I’ve wanted to tell someone?

3.       What idea haven’t I acted on because it’s scary and I don’t think I can do it?

Start off with these questions and let them carry you to your answers and then make a promise to yourself to act on them.

Understanding the links your reproductive system has to your ultimate happiness is a great gift. It is connected to so many concerns that are important to us as women - from having clear skin to our sense of well being. Beyond what I've talked about here, there is much more to healing your reproductive system and having it function optimally. An in-depth look at your hormones and how well-balanced they are will tell you a lot. Out of whack hormones can cause all types of ailments and inconveniences including the most common ones stated above, PCOS, fibroids, early menopause, etc. 

If you find yourself dealing with hormonal imbalances (telltale signs are monthly breakouts that don't respond to treatment, hair loss or hair gain, painful periods), I invite you to download my new Ebook Back to Balance: Hormonal Health by entering your email address below! It will teach you simple mental and physical adjustments you can make right now to begin balancing your hormones and experiencing true relief! 

Enter your email address to receive your Ebook!

For the ladies: Get Your Mojo Back with 3 Herbal Allies!

A few weeks ago, I gave a talk in my Facebook Group Inner Goddess, Outer Glow on getting your 'mojo' back. For me, mojo is your vitality, spice for life, essence of thriving! As we all know, life can take it's toll on us if we aren't mindful and all of a sudden, we can find ourselves without our usual zest and pep in our step. 

It's easy to approach this with in the moment fixes, however, long term attention is often the best way to bring about lasting change and get our mojo back revved up enough to sustain us. That's why I focus on herbal allies in this video :). 

Check it out and be sure to download your special worksheet afterwards! You can access the video below, you just need to join the Facebook Group if you aren't already a member. 

Watch video: https://www.facebook.com/1renaissancewoman/videos/10209017573530898/

Download your worksheet here!: http://bit.ly/herbalallies

Essential Oils Repel Mosquitoes

Hey hey and happy Friday! Today's post involves one of my favorite items, essential oils :). You probably already know how much I appreciate essential oils and all they can do for us on multiple levels. 

Well a few days ago on my Facebook Page, I did a video talking about Lavender essential oil and how it can repel mosquitoes and the video below is all about Lemongrass. I also give you a simple recipe for making your own bug repellent spray. It really is quite easy! Check it out and let me know if you have any questions! Also remember that the 7 Days to Clear Skin Challenge starts this Monday! If you haven't signed up, you can now at bit.ly/7clearskin I'm so looking forward to taking you on this skincare journey and so I hope you join us!

 

 

Essential Oils that Repel Mosquitoes

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In addition to educating you via my blog, I also work with clients one – on – one to achieve not only their skincare goals but to set them on the path to achieving their life goals as well through finding balance and vibrant living in mind, body, and spirit!

If you are looking for this kind of help, I’d love to jump on a call with you and talk about it!

Reach out to me here and we can set something up! <3!

What is a Holistic Skincare Consultation?

Are you thinking you might need a skincare consultation but you aren't quite sure what goes into one? In this video I talk about exactly how I can help you in a consultation. Any questions? Post them in the comments or email me! 

Schedule a Holistic Skincare Consultation here! 

Mind, Body, and Spirit for the Dancer - New Project!

It’s been a soul searching kind of month :). So many things have come up! I’ve had to deal with lots of disappointment and with the realization that some of my dreams weren’t really mine and really needed to die. And that process has been hard. It’s been a constant job to maintain my happiness and hopefulness. On all levels, mind body and spirit, I’ve been struggling to stay afloat. 

But through this tumultuous month, I’ve also realized great comeback moments. I’ve been reminded constantly of my value AND of how I shortchange myself. I’ve seen first hand how my own perspective clouds a situation and creates an entirely different false reality. I’ve had so many opportunities to practice my word for the year Courage. There have been so many ways, all in the space of 20 something short days, to put every aspect of my will and belief in myself to the test.  And when I have looked and have operated on faith and have trusted, help has been everywhere. And the whisper of intuition and the Universe has been in my ear, on my mind, and in the words of other people to me guiding me to the light that comes after the little deaths. 

I want to tell you about one of those conversations today. If you’ve been with me for a while, you probably know how important a holistic approach to life is for me. You might be familiar with my particular struggles with mental illness and you might also know that I believe taking care of your mind body and spirit is necessary for a happy, healthy soul that can overcome mental illness’s hold over one’s life. You also probably know how important being a dancer is to me - how vital to my life it is and how much I’ve worked and sacrificed for it. 

Well in my work that spans the worlds of mind, body, and spirit, I’ve often had difficulty figuring out how to bring my dance life into that work. It felt like there wasn’t a place for dance in my holistic beauty, health and wellness training. I felt like I just wasn’t sure how the two meshed. 

I toyed with the idea of creating a community of dancers that all cared about learning more on holistic beauty and wellness and for a time I did that - but kept feeling like it wasn’t gelling. And so I let that idea go for a time. 

Then a week or so ago, I was fortunate enough to meet a wonderful kindred spirit who brought all of it back to me and showed me the way to do it. See, I used to have a non-profit organization years ago where I taught all about holistic living, natural health and wellness. My focus then was lower income communities because I felt like they were the ones getting left behind. What this kindred spirit helped me to see is that there are a lot more people being left behind and I, with my unique background, could serve one particular group very well.

 Dancers. Yes, I could serve dancers who inevitably deal with so many mind, body, and spirit issues.

I looked back on my time traveling and performing every other week and boom - I saw it all. Being rail thin and thinking I was as big as a house. Feeling inferior to other dancers for no reason other than skin tone or hair type or body type. Starving myself and being on the extreme side of strict to fit a certain aesthetic. Dealing with horrible skin breakouts from stage makeup and bad eating habits. Syking myself in and out before performances, auditions, and competitions. Asking God, the Universe, anyone what I was was supposed to be doing in this dance world and feeling lost and unanswered.  

So many things that I know other dancers deal with day to day. 

I realized that I have a unique voice that can speak to them and I realized just how much I would have benefited from a voice like that when I was in the thick of it. 

And so this is my new project. Am I am ecstatic about it. I’ll be perfectly honest. I don’t know how it’s going to unfold. I don’t know how I’m going to manage it with everything else. But I do know that some things that I thought were so important just aren’t anymore. I’m letting them fall away no matter how scary that is. I’m getting done with NOT looking forward to the things on my to do list. The old adage that life is too short and too precious is true no matter how you look at it. 

So the fact that the thought of this fills me up with excitement and a rush that I can’t explain in words is THE thing that drives me and is THE thing that is important. Feelings like this are what we live for. Feelings like this are what make everything else possible. They are the fuel for the impossible. 

I had to go through a lot of little deaths, disappointments, stark clear moments, and deep dark places to get to the light again. Getting to the fuel sometimes requires that, but if you let yourself flow through it all (that’s what I call operating on faith), I know you’ll find yours. 

What am I talking about on Periscope?

I'm finally back on Periscope and have decided to teach a different quick topic each day! This is my schedule for the next few days. I invite you to pop over and follow me at @mymovemakeup. That is the handle of my makeup line MOVE Makeup and I do all my scopes there. So in addition to skincare and wellness, I'll also be doing beauty scopes on MOVE Makeup tips :). Be sure to download the app and follow me!