My shitty ex gallbladder and letting go of the past

Over the 6 years or so I’d spend some time in counseling and my counselor would say “You need to cut the cord.” And I would retort “The cord is cut! ” Most of the time believing that I had actually done this. Time heals all wounds. So as time goes on you really believe you’ve done this but all that garbage has to go somewhere. I believe that somewhere is the gall bladder. Its like the junk yard for negative thoughts. A place where they can hide  and then release in the bile that our miraculous body produces.

I just spent the last week on the “road to recovery.” I think  i’m pretty good at this. After all, I spend my days telling patient how to do this. Go slow.  Eat, Drink, Pee, Poop, move and sleep. This is key. But until now it never dawned on me that maybe I should also be talking to them about putting the past in the past, dealing with their frustration and anger.

The gallbladder is a little sac that stores bile from the liver, and it’s found just beneath your liver. The gallbladder releases bile, via the cystic duct, into the small intestine to help break down the foods you eat — particularly fatty foods.
Typically the gallbladder doesn’t cause too many problems or much concern, but if something slows or blocks the flow of bile from the gallbladder, a number of problems can result and lead to gallbladder disease.
My gallbladder looked like a garbage dump.

Gallbladder Meridian

According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), specific organs have a two hour time period when the Qi (energy) is at its peak in that meridian. The gallbladder meridian is most active between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. The liver meridian is most active between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.  Consistently waking during these hours is an indication that the gallbladder or liver is out of balance. When the energy of a meridian is not flowing well due to a block such as unhealthy eating, toxic overload or stress, you’ll experience a sign or symptom from the meridian(s) involved.

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Why learn to Meditate?

Why learn to Meditate?

If someone told me 5 years ago I would be meditating every day and teaching meditation to my patients-well- I would have laughed and said “Oh ya right!” Actually, five years ago I was so stressed out I probably would not have laughed. I would have walked away. Every day my clients and patients tell me they can’t meditate and I just throw it out there. “Would you like to learn?”

Mediation is the intention for attention. It is being in the here and now and not looking back and perseverating about the past. Its not about thinking about the future. Its about being right here right now.

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With a simple google search you can find hundreds of scientific articles about meditation. Even ten years ago if I had written this there would be a lot of laughter. But now we have science. I love science.
Even with science there are still skeptics.
Can you breath? Because if you can breath you can meditate.
Its like riding a bike. The more you practice the better you get.
Start here. This one of my favorites. Do this once a day. Keep a journal and see your progress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wFX9Wn70eM

Food equals Medicine: Ginger

Food equals Medicine: Ginger

I’m a fan of ginger ale. Its the one thing settles my yucky stomach. Canada Dry is my brand. It has real ginger in it. Having said that -its extracted and lots of not so good stuff in ginger ale.
I don’t know why i have never included grated real ginger in my food. It’s delicious, not expensive, easy to deal with. Just grab and grate.
Ginger, aka Zingiber officinale, is a rhizome, a thick underground stem that sprouts roots and shoots.
Ginger as medicine
Ginger is one of the oldest medicinal foods.
Since the herb originated in Southeast Asia, it’s not surprising that ancient Chinese and Indian healers have made ginger a part of their toolkit for thousands of years.

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shoh wu chi a tonic and Lili Von Shtupp

When ever I think of “tonics” I think of the wild west and the guys in their wagons touting the latest cure. One of the more popular tonics like Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters had an alcohol content of 44.3% by volume. Others, like Parkers Tonic had 41.6% and Peruna had 28%.
From the 1850’s to the early 1900’s, cocaine- and opium-laced elixirs, tonics and wines were broadly used by people of all social classes. Yes folks , there was cocaine in coke.

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Food equals medicine MUNG BEANS

Food equals medicine MUNG BEANS

The only beans i ever really liked were Boston Baked Beans.  Delicious but probably not good for you. With my hotdog and some potato salad.  On my old sailboat in eel pond in woods hole.

I digress…
This stuff you can get the bean or also in vermicelli noodles.
These guys are packed with lots of protein and very easy to cook. I like that it helps to lower cholesterol. As nurses we should be encouraging our patients to eat better.  A total plus that these little guys contain phytoestrogens which aid in the production of collagen and elastin which improve skin tone.

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Food equals medicine Kimchi

Food equals medicine

Kimchi

This one of the foods my acupuncture  doc turned me onto.
I’m very lucky to be able to pick up home made at my local Chinese grocery store. You can also buy in Publix.

Effective in preventing cancer and  detoxifying heavy metals in the liver, kidney and small intestine. Slows down the aging process ,contains way more lactobacillus than yogurt, lowers cholesterol.

When I looked at it I thought it was gross but it grows on you. Reminds me of that jewish sauerkraut i grew up with and I look forward to going home and having my little bowl. I thought i was going get heartburn and I didn’t and boy my belly feels good.

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Integrative recovery and being your own advocate

Integrative recovery and being your own advocate

A few weeks ago I had a headache. Actually it was more like a head pain. Like my brain was on fire.  There are thousands of reasons for a headache. I’m not a headachy type of person. I just thought I had some kind of virus took some advil and carried on.

Five days later a red blotch appeared in the inner canthus of my right eye. “This can’t be good.” I called my sister who is a PA and she thought I may have shingles and I needed to see a MD ASAP.

It takes an act of congress to get me to the doctors office. When I lived in Boca I had a wonderful network of MDs that were always happy to see me if need be.  I knew these folks and they knew me so it was an easy interaction. Most of them were integrative docs so not only would I get what I needed – I would get extra advice on “alternative” therapies that could be helpful.

Off I went to urgent care. The person at the front desk told me to type my name into her program. No eye contact. Very gruff. My heart was sinking. This is everything I hear about on a daily basis but can’t talk about. Front office people. They have heard it all. “Take a breath.” I told myself ” You have to be here. Just get though it. This is what it is these days.

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