Touch For Health Experience

Today I had my first session with a healer who just completed level 1 Touch For Health. I have the opportunity to be a volunteer client for a number of sessions.

I have never done Touch For Health (T4H for short) before though I do some Eden Energy Medicine on my own that has a number of similarities.  I hadn't known what to expect.

It ended up being a very positive experience!

The focus today was my body being in harmony with the food I eat.  It's too soon to say what effect T4H has had  on that issue but by the end of the session I was feeling really good.
Positive, energised and strong!

The session was done in my home and shortly after it, I was listening to music and suddenly was filled with energy and just had to get up and dance.  I was feeling so good that I started laughing!
A few minutes into the song, I realised that I was dancing normally (and vigorously) even though I have had a hurt foot that's had me limping for days.  I tested out the foot and discovered there was no pain left!  It had been hurting at the start of the T4H session but less than 90 minutes later, the pain was totally gone!  Very exciting and I'm happy to be able to dance again.

I danced with much more energy than usual and am still feeling energised and happy almost an hour later.

If any readers have tried T4H I would love to hear your experiences.

~

In other news, I am working on getting an interview up on the blog with the inspiring performance artist Julie Laffin (who just happens to also have MCS) and have been working on some holiday season crafts including making a fabric 'xmas' tree that will hang on the wall.
Hope to have posts on those things soon!

I hope you are all keeping as warm and cozy as possible.
:-)

Constitutional Homeopathy Update

For the past 10.5 months I've been trying constitutional homeopathy for MCS and overall health.

So far there are some really dramatic results - for the good.
There have been some old symptoms brought up and as I keep taking the remedy, I move through them and feel that my body is finally healing those issues - instead of just shoving them under the carpet and adding more symptoms as happened most of my life!

Constitutional homeopathy is highly specific and it is my belief that results depend on having a homeopath who is skilled and conscientious.
What I like best about this approach is that, "Constitutional prescribing is also aimed at eventual cure of the patient, not just suppression or relief of immediate symptoms."

Quote taken from this article on constitutional homeopathy. 

I was lucky enough to get in as a client of a 4th year homeopathy student at a very low price and have stayed on with her since she has graduated.

There have been some great physical improvements (improved MCS all round is the best one) and a number of very profound emotional and spiritual differences.
My very mind set about some things has changed in ways I would have thought impossible.

One thing that has had a profound impact on me has been a shift in what time I feel like getting up in the morning.   It used to feel torturous to get up any time before 9am (often any time before 10am).  Now I wake up every day at around 5am, naturally, open the curtains so my body can sense that natural shift of light when dawn hits and go back to sleep until about 7am.  And wake up, almost always before my alarm, feeling pretty alert and rested.  At 7am!
7:00 a.m.
normal to many people, totally strange for me!


I used to never feel rested no matter how much I slept.  I'd be dragging myself out of bed out of guilt or knowing how much worse insomnia would be the next night if I slept in further.

I used to need at least 9 hours of sleep to feel halfway human and now I can get anywhere between 7 and 8.5 hours and feel fine - often good!



I am going to have an appointment with the homeopath to try and figure out a remedy to take acutely when migraines happen.

I've got my fingers crossed!
:-)

Got Brain? Fun & Free Games to Improve Cognitive Function!

Do you ever avoid doing something that you know would be good for you because it's not enjoyable?

 

I know I do!  ☺

I'd like to share 2 sites that have fun games to improve brain function/health.

Both of these sites have many games that can be played for free.

Best of all, they are FUN!

At Fit Brains, there are more than 20 scientifically designed brain games designed to target all five major cognitive areas of brain function and keep your brain "healthy and sharp".  Almost all of them can be played for no cost. ☺  Although Fit Brains always asks if you'd like to sign up for a free account, it's entirely optional and when the little window pops up, you can select the 'Play Without Tracking' button to play the games without signing up. A free account allows you to track your progress, have brain games adapt to you and challenge your friends.

At Lumosity, although they also have more than 20 games, only the 'featured games' shown at the top can be played without signing up for a free account.  A window may pop up asking you to sign up for an account but if you hit the X in the upper right corner of the pop up window, you can then play the game without signing up.  Once again there are games you can play without signing up or paying.  A free account allows you to save your scores and compare scores with others.

Lumosity games are organised by what brain function they help hone.

For those interested in reading more about how our awesome brains can change and heal, there is literature on those 2 sites above and there is an excellent blog called Brain Leaders and Learners.

Have fun!

p.s. in my opinion, having fun is an absolutely necessary ingredient for healing!

☺

Do you know of any other free resources for building or improving brain function?

If so, please share them in the comments section!

I'd also love to hear if you have a favourite brain game from either of those sites.

Thanks!

Inspiring People with MCS - Kimberly Shaw

Kimberly is an author, educator, filmmaker and natural health consultant who was diagnosed with MCS in 1995.  I first heard about Kimberly a while back when someone was discussing her MCS Documentary.
I encourage you to visit her site and let her know if you're interested in being interviews just in case she is in your area filming!

She also blogs at Adventurous Canary and Serendipity.
I've been really enjoying her Serendipity blog and finding it very inspiring!
I love reading about her going on journeys and my spirits are lifted by how often she finds people very accomodating about her food and chemical sensitivities.

What I love most about the blog is her gorgeous photos - often of nature.

.

Community Site - Planet Thrive

I'm sorry it has taken me SO long to share this resource.
I'm finding writing a real challenge lately so I'll keep this brief :-)

Julie Genser has a really neat community/social site called Planet Thrive that has such a wealth of things do to and read that I won't list them all here but encourage you to sign up (it's FREE) and check them out yourself!

From their home page: "A hip, rockin' community for those who are ready to kick convention to the curb and reclaim responsibility for their health."

Planet Thrive's mission statement reads, "to connect, inform, and support people globally who are struggling to reverse the damaging health effects of an increasingly toxic world"
You can read more here.
.

Healing Humour: A Great Poem About Fudge

Those of you with food sensitivities may appreciate this great poem by Amestress on her blog Life: The Final Attempt (not really).

It's called I Remember Fudge: a eulogy and to me it felt like she was using humour to express some painful feelings about loss.

I am green with envy over her writing skills!
Amestress is using dance to track her recovery from MCS and posts videos (sometimes with fun songs that crack me up :).

I personally have found humour to be a great coping skill and sometimes a healing tool. On down days, I access the healing properties of laughter by watching funny videos online or reading funny stories/books. Studies show that laughter can improve immune system health, increase oxygen to the brain, reduce pain and stress and much more.


Thanks Amestress both for permission to link and for inspiring me! ☺

Celebrating MCS Improvements Part 4: Going Maskless

It seems like a very long time since I have posted on the blog! I've been living in clean air in the woods for the summer and it's been so healing... but more about that another time :-)

I came across this old draft of a post I began writing back in January. It was so neat to read it again today and realise how much things have changed since then and I wanted to share.

*Note* There are many different kinds of 'masks' that people with MCS use. When I refer to a 'mask' I am talking about a small 'respirator' I wear that has a layer of activated carbon in it which can adsorb a certain amount of VOCs and chemicals. It is not tolerated by all due to the synthetic materials it is made from.
This is not one of the large respirators that have canister filters - they filter much more and are excellent for MCS from what I hear IF one can get them outgassed enough so as to not react to the respirator itself.



Here is the January 2009 post:

I now have a few select places I can go without a mask - something I thought would be forever impossible. Just yesterday I was out without mask and realised that it no longer felt terrifying like it did when I first began doing so (maybe a year ago).

I know my body and intuition well enough now to trust them. If I have the feeling that today is a mask day, then I wear my mask(s). If not, I try to trust that feeling too although it's a bit harder (scarier).
There are some places that I expect will be quite a while before I go unmasked. Grocery stores (the dreaded detergent aisle that contaminates the entire store), malls (have gone unmasked once), department stores, hardware stores, anywhere that has air 'freshener'.

Fast forward 9 months to September 2009:

I was so excited to read that old post because it is inspiring to realise just how FAST I am improving! it may feel like I am crawling along while I'm doing it, but things like this give me perspective. Only 9 months ago, I though it would be possibly years before I could go somewhere stinky like a mall or big grocery store.
I can now go to those 'dreaded' huge grocery stores, malls and department stores with no mask. (though I do not go down the aisles that have detergent, perfume, air fresheners - that would just be stupid ☺)

There are days when I can tell it would not be a good idea so I go masked but generally, I can now go those places unmasked with no lasting effects. I get a sore throat or nose - depending on whether I breathe through my mouth or nose - and I get varying degrees of brain fog still. Other than that, my reactions are almost none and my recovery time is almost immediate upon getting into clean air again.
Even one year ago, I would have a chemical 'hangover' for at least the following day if not longer. And that's if I went wearing a mask.
I can't imagine how bad it would have been without the mask. I know the recovery time was much longer if my mask was older and less effective at filtering out VOCs.

I waited a long time to post about this and here is why: people with MCS sometimes take risks like this when they are getting better and end up having it set them back.

I knew that some readers may be concerned I was taking a foolish risk. It's hard to communicate to anyone else what my relationship with my intuition is like and the decision to go places maskless could seem ridiculous and totally unsafe. I wanted to wait to post until a good deal of time had passed and I could say, with confidence, the following:



I am still improving while taking these calculated risks. I am not setback, I am not in a holding pattern. I am still getting better and better... and it's wonderful! ☺☻☺




I want to add a very important caution here.
Please, please do not try something like this based on my personal experience.
This is a big risk to take and should only be taken if you and your health care professional confer about it. I only made the decision to do this after I had been steadily improving for quite some time. I began very tentatively with a lot of time in between exposures at first to assess how my body was reacting. I also listen very closely to my body and, if it is having a harder day, I either wear the mask or just stay at home.
I feel it is very important to move forward in ways like this only when it is realisticly wise to do so - not just because we want to be able to. It is possible for people with MCS to be vulnerable to denial - to wanting our freedom so much that we take unwise risks.

Celebrating MCS Improvements Part 3

Along with all of it's many gifts, Spring has brought me many opportunities to notice ways in which my health is improving and moving forward!

With MCS, one can react to any source of VOC (Volatile Organic Compond) - even a 'natural' source such as flowers, mold, fresh cut grass, wood etc.


All of the things on this list caused very bad reactions only 2 years ago - bad enough that I had to avoid all of them. Last year I was much better than the year before but still quite restrictive however... this year is dramatically better than last year and I feel no restrictions at all to these four things listed below! This is absolutely wonderful and feels like such a gift and blessing. I'm outside for hours each day and it's so good for my soul.

Gardening: rarely, if ever, do I react to mold from soil now. I garden every day! I used to have to wear a mask and gloves. I garden maskless now but do sometimes wear gloves if my eczema is acting up.


Fresh cut grass in the neighbourhood smells fresh and lovely to me! This blows my mind since only a few years ago, the terpenes and other VOCs released from fresh cut grass felt like poison to me and I had run and close the windows if I heard anyone mowing their lawn. As long as the grass smell was in the air (often days) I had to keep the windows closed and stay inside or only go out wearing a mask.
*note* there is an interesting PDF file paper here that shares results of research done on VOCs emitted from grass - it gives the actual VOCs and amounts after specific time periods (includes formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and more! ack!).
If PDF form is a problem, you can view it in text form here (hope that link worked!)

Fragrant flowers blooming in the neighbourhood such as Lilac, Hyacinth, apple etc are enjoyable instead of making me nauseous and terribly sick (and necessitating the same frantic run for indoors and battening of the hatches as cut grass used to). What a joy to be able to appreciate a pretty, natural smell instead of feeling it's the enemy. I still don't bring fragrant flowers into the house but can envision a day when that will be possible!

Raking leaves: mild to no reaction to leaf mold (I used to get 'stoned', exhausted and incoherent).



As a wonderful added bonus, my reactions to the following chemicals have also dramatically improved. I suspect it's been happening gradually over the winter and spring is giving me the chance to notice it since I'm outside more and wanting to open windows.
When I say 'reaction' I'm also including recovery time improving.
It takes more of a substance to cause a reaction, even then the reaction is much milder than in the past and my recovery time is much shorter. Yay!!! ☺

• dryer exhaust
• lawnmower fumes
• BBQ fumes
• car exhaust
• cigarette smoke
• tar (including new roof smell - a neighbour just got a new roof)
  
• wood smoke
• perfume, cologne and body spray
• laundry products on people's clothing, scented products on their hair and skin (I've actually been able to meet some of my neighbours after living here for a few years!)
  

I get so much hope and inspiration when I catalogue these improvements!
If any readers have noticed improvements, I love hearing about them - please share them in the comments section if you'd like to.

If this post was of interest to you, you might also like:

Moving Forward... Noticing The Positive Part 1

and

Celebrating Improvements - Noticing The Positive Part 2