I typed the PLAN on my first Blog post by accident so please go there First to see the beginning then come back here for more discussion of the plan. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Now....More discussion of how to implement the plan
Yoga
Yoga has changed my life. I began the Gentle Yoga Class at the Zenter in 2007, right here in my home town. Inge Mula teaches the type of Yoga that has very specific instructions and lots of props, so there can always be an adjustment made. Which type of yoga is right for you? The one that you can get to and start today. When I first started yoga I was still very ill and had difficulty making it up the steps to class or even setting up my own props. You might think I should have waited until I was better before starting. Pema Chodron says, "Start where you are!" Good advice because if we waited to get better it might not happen and if felt good for me to take effective action towards getting better.
At that point, I drank my morning coffee with a straw because I couldn't lift the cup. My Mom was still coming to the house a couple of times a week to prepare food for us and fold the laundry because I would get too short of breath with these tasks. I could only read for 20 minutes in the morning, the rest of the time I lacked the focus to read. Crazy! In the beginning of coming to yoga, I could hold an asana for about 5 or 10 seconds. Sometimes I spent a lot of class in child's pose or on my side. I kept showing up to class and Inge Mula kept adjusting the poses to meet me where I was and I got stronger little by little. Sometimes I would cry because I was so grateful to be making progress and drinking out of a coffee cup without a straw, like a big girl! Now, I can do Yoga Class all the way to the end, most of the time and I don''t require any incredibly special adjustments. I found out early that my brain worked better after yoga. My scores on my Brain Age 2 Nintendo game were much higher after yoga. Yoga improves my focus and my body! It is like buy one get one free!
John Wooden , a famous basketball coach, said,
"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." I wrote this down and put it on my bathroom mirror for awhile to motivate me to show up on the mat.
I also kept a list of Cushing's symptoms/problems on the mirror and crossed them off when they were gone or improving. ... like...I can walk to the mailbox. I can squat...drink coffee without a straw. stay awake til noon. my skin has greatly improved. It was important to chart my progress so I wouldn't get discouraged with not being "normal" or like I was before.
Body Ecology Diet
http://bodyecology.com/index.php
So... I had regained all this strength and some brain function and still the threat of the tumor coming back in my head was ever present!!!
What can I do to increase my chances of a tumor free life?
I can make my body a place where a tumor would not like to grow! This philosophy makes total sense to me. If you don't want crabgrass in your yard you make your yard a place where crabgrass would not like to grow. The usual American diet makes for an acidic environment...which is a nice fertile ground for tumor growth. The body Ecology diet makes your body alkaline. OK...So I have never done a diet in my life, prior to diabetes with Cushing's. When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, I was so sad. I was raised here in Georgia on my Mama's fabulous Southern cooking and I was mourning the loss of it.. I just want you to understand that my favorite food was homemade macaroni and cheese...I'm not a dieter by nature. I was desperate to feel better so I was willing to give it a try.
I ordered the book by Donna Gates and was completely overwhelmed. Mula, my Yoga teacher, helped me see it in simple steps. I started Keifer everyday for 2 weeks. I felt better. Less pain in my extremities, less nasal congestion, sleeping better at night,,,Feeling Better. So, I'm thinking if I am just kind of doing this thing and I already feel better what if I did more? I started doing cultured vegetables and apple cider vinegar water. Then I felt even BETTER still. I go every week to see Patty Ceccoli LMT (licenced massage therapist) to have a hot rock treatment to help with the pain and she could see a huge difference in my pain level and my brain alertness and she wanted to know what I was doing. Now, Patty does the Body Ecology diet too.
STEP ONE
I add 2 TBS of Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar (with the mother) to a glass of water and one packet of PureVia (stevia is the sugar substitute that Donna Gates of BodyEcology recommends)
This is super easy to start to alkalize your body. you can buy this specific apple cider vinegar at almost any grocery store. we have it in Publix and Kroger and of course in a health food store.
A couple of glasses of this a day is good. Drink some plain water too. Humans are mostly water and our systems work better when they have enough water.
STEP TWO
Keifer--they have it in the stores now, near the milk, but I seem to have better effects when I make my own. I'm guessing the store kind is pasteurized to in effectiveness...but that might just be my prejudice...also making my own is much cheaper.
There is a way to make it without buying the keifer stater from Body Ecology..but if you are just wanting the quickest, easiest way to good results...then the culture starter is the ticket. I was kind of nerded out about putting milk on the counter for a couple of days. I felt better about it with the package of the correct starter grains. If fermented properly every time and I can re-inoculate the next batch up to seven times. So it is more economical than you think.
I always add water before I drink the keifer made with milk because I just don't like it thick.
Amazingly, after two or three weeks I "forgot" about chocolate and soda and didn't crave it anymore. Ok..If i see Chocolate cake then I might "need" it but it doesn't come to me in my dreams anymore.
PS Keifer can cause constipation for some so you might want to add more fiber to your diet and don't forget the water
STEP THREE
1/2 cup with meals. I eat them on my salad for lunch, and also as a side at dinner.
It is really easy. I use the Body Ecology Culture starter because i am lazy and this is easy way to ensure the right flora. I use organic vegetable when possible because I think preserved pesticides are no better for me than fresh ones:) I can't find organic ginger, but I use ginger anyway because I love it.
If you do all these steps...then it might be time to buy the book. I got mine used from Amazon.com
Note: I have had many healers of all kinds and I want to acknowledge their gifts to me. My family, who loved me no matter how pathetic or how poor I was. A love in that everyday kind of way that changes the world. My friends who listened again and again and loved me still, even when I was unlovable to myself. My dear friends took me for rides in the car and held my hand while medical folks did unpleasant things. My friends read to me when I couldn't read. Many, many doctors and nurses who treated me with kindness and compassion and great wisdom. Several traditional Shamans treated me, healing my heart and my soul. Patty, my massage therapist saw me every week for years regardless of my ability to pay to ease my pain. Of course, my yoga teacher Mula, at Zenter, shared her knowledge and wisdom and has been so patient and also excited about my progress. When I was most poor folks gave me food, and art supplies,art lessons, haircuts, good coffee, physical therapy, psychotherapy, all the macaroni and cheese I wanted. One of my friends I say I owe her about 8000$ in Diet cokes alone...the list goes on and on. My community has provided for me when I needed it most and it is my hope that I can return some of that love so freely given. It is my firm belief that it is all that love so concentrated that has brought me this far. Love makes the world go around. I thank you for doing your part.
