Bye Felicia! Or Kicking Cold and Flu's Butt.

Hello my friends, my fellow healers, my chronic illness warriors, and how are you this fine November day?

Me? I'm BRILLIANT! I feel AH-MAY-ZING!

I just did this two week guided group cleanse based on Medical Medium principles. It was a super chill relaxed cleanse, and there were many of us in the group. It was run and organized in a way that despite the huge number of people, no one was left behind - everyone's questions got answered by a super knowledgeable team, we all supported each other too, and the recipes and meal plans were simply DELICIOUS, my whole family loved them!

I cannot tell you what happened in the cleanse, because it was a sacred space, what happens in the cleanse stays in the cleanse. But I CAN talk about what happened for ME and how I'm feeling afterwards.

My goals for the cleanse were to take my fat to the next level of lower, to release a couple of foods I'd still been holding on to that weren't hurting me per se, but weren't furthering my healing either. I want everything I eat to nourish and feed my body in a healthy healing way.

I not only accomplished those two goals with ease, but I also learned SO MUCH about the way we heal, the way we release toxins, and I even made some new friends along the way. Pretty awesome, right? And I noticed something about myself. With each new layer of healing, I become more sensitive to my body's needs, and to what's happening inside it. It's like I'm deepening my relationship with my body.

That might sound esoteric, but here's an example. I've come to know without a doubt the very first signs that a new virus, like a cold or flu, is in me and trying to take hold. I don't mean signs that others would notice because it's obvious, but very slight signs that are inside, but I've come to know them as "it's here". For me that's a very slight achiness in my shoulders, feeling run down just a little bit, and sometimes there will be a little tickle in my throat or sinuses. If the virus gets to take hold, all of those things will intensify, of course, with all of the other symptoms that come with cold or flu. 

However, I've learned to, at the very first sign, start releasing my arsenal upon it, and usually, I will triumph, and the virus will not take hold. Case in point, this last week towards the end of the cleanse, I started to feel its presence. So I got my zinc and did three droppers to the back of the throat (so disgusting, I cannot even tell you, but damn, it WORKS, so I power through). Then I juiced a tiny bit of fresh turmeric (I react if I use too much, it's really powerful for me), a knob of ginger and two oranges. Drink that down with lots of loud "woo!"s afterward because that ginger has a kick! Woo! Follow all that with my regular supplement and tincture regimen. Repeat the former every couple of hours throughout the day, of course also including other juices, smoothies, healing teas and healing foods as required.

This one was a toughie, because usually the initial zinc to the back of the throat will take it out and that will be that, but this one was a boss - it needed the big guns. So two days of this, then also having completely interrupted sleep for one of the nights....and last night I went to bed WAY early, and slept for something like 12 hours. Unheard of for me! But I woke up today feeling FANTASTIC! I kicked that thing's butt to the curb! Bye Felicia! Of course I will continue my arsenal for another day just to be sure. But wow! I love having the tools and information  I need to fully support myself and my healing. I cannot even tell you how amazing it feels.

And as for how I feel after this cleanse? I feel lighter - spiritually and physically, I feel more empowered, and I feel ready to continue - because I'm about to jump into a 3.5 month program called "Detox Mastery" with many of the same people. It's really like I unlocked a part of myself I haven't seen in a long while - and I'm so happy to have her (me) back! I'll try to explain. 

I used to LOVE preparing food. As I am happiest when I am creating something with my hands, preparing food fed my creativity as well as my body and soul. Back when I was 80-90% raw for over a year and living in a cohousing community, one of my great joys was making all of this amazing delicious food and sharing it with friends in the community. It lit me up.

That light dulled when I switched to GAPS - at the time I thought it was the best way to heal my son, and so off our family went to this way of eating. Same when we switched to Paleo, then by the time we got to autoimmune Paleo I'd lost the ability to prepare food altogether. I'd give my husband recipes and he'd make the food, but it was all so practical, not beautiful colorful dishes full of vibrant life. Well, if you've been following along my healing journey (which you can read about here if you haven't and are curious), you know I regained the ability to prepare food when I began my Medical Medium journey.

But it wasn't until this past week that my love for it returned, and the light came back. I just noticed it was there again, and I'm again loving being in the kitchen and finding new and wonderful things to create for my family - foods I would be proud to share again. I've been soaking and sprouting and creating and finding all sorts of delicious ways to prepare my foods, and being in the kitchen hasn't felt like a chore at all - it's felt like a gift again, like I have my creative mojo back. My family couldn't be happier, let me tell you.

I can't wait to see what the next three and a half months have to show me. Three and a half months of deep study, introspection, meditation, mindfulness with my food, emotional upheaval possibly. I'm ready for it now. I've reached that level of healing where I AM ready to take it to the next level, so we shall see. Right now I feel great, I'm raring to go, I feel peaceful and centered and powerful. Woo!