The ripple. The stone thrown into the pond. The paddling of the ducks' feet.

The effect of the ripples go far beyond the one simple act of the stone's throw. Any stone, even a small one, and any toss, even a weak toss, creates ripples in the water that are visible on the surface. Those ripples can reach far beyond where they started.

But what is visible on the top is not all that is happening. The stone and the ripples underneath create even more change than simply disturbing the placid surface of the sky's reflection. One of my favorite analogies has always been the ripple of throwing a stone into a pond.

That pond is just like us. That stone throw or the paddling of duck feet is what happens every time we make a choice or it is the result of the choices other people make or the events that happen in our lives. But what happens underneath the surface? What is going on there? What happens when we stir the water a little more? What gets reflected back to us by the choices we make? 

Deep thoughts. And diving deep into helping you make change is what my new program does. Identifying what is causing the ripple effect means looking at all areas of your life. 2020 UPDATE ~ Check out my new program to prepare for the new year ~ 2021 ~ and learn the lessons/gifts of this year and leave the baggage behind! Check it out HERE! 

Who actually wants to try something out for free before it actually starts? Because free coaching to get through the holidays and prepare for the New Year won't help anyway. And to be able to continue for free after it ends is really not necessary. No one wants free.

This is America. We pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and keep on walking. If you want to lose those 20 pounds and keep them off, then you will do it. If you want to feel better and be in better shape, then you'll do it. You don't need no stinking' coach to help you through it all.

Hey, if things don't work out, they just don't work out. That's the reality of life. Just move on. Don't waste your time trying to make it better. If it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't meant to be. And don't bother making New Year's Resolutions. They don't work. And don't try to figure out why you can't make New Year's Resolutions and achieve them, or to make them stick once you do achieve them. Believing in change is like believing in Santa Claus. It will only disappoint you when you know the truth. 

Being healthy is a drag. And good food tastes like cardboard, right? Plants and twigs and stuff like that. So what if you don't have the energy you'd like or feel like you want to. It's no fun being healthy.

You know, the popping of your knees as you go up and down the stairs or get out of bed in the morning. The unexpected gas exploding from you at the Christmas party. Or the grunting you make when you try to stand back up after playing with the kids. It's music to your ears. That way you know that you are really doing something with your body.

Your relationship to yourself has nothing to do with health. How do you even have a relationship with yourself? Or with a higher power? And as for friends and family, well, there are always difficult people that you have to put up with. Just deal with it. And make sure you have enough wine during your holiday dinner to tune out any annoying or disturbing conversations during the holidays.

It keeps life interesting. And there's really nothing you can do to keep your weight steady, right? Anyway, it's fun having so many clothes in your closet, even if you can't choose between all of them at any given time. Then you get to feel better about yourself when your "fat clothes" are all too big. Besides, we're all getting older and that means we just gain weight, right? A few pounds here and a few pounds there won't matter, will they? And sometimes it's kinda nice to have a little extra body weight to rest your arms on when the holiday conversations get a little dull.

So, your grandparents had cancer. Your dad has heart disease. Your cousin has diabetes and everyone has anxiety. High blood pressure is everywhere on both sides. And don't get started on all the allergies you have in your family! So your thinking is you should make hay while the sun shines. Live life and forget about those choices you make every day because one day your health will just slip away anyway. Earlier and earlier in life, it seems. Then there's that thing called epigenetics that says your lifestyle choices are what activates those genes for disease, but that's a bunch of hogwash. You see your parents and grandparents suffer, even as they tell stories of their parents and grandparents who somehow beat the odds and lived into their old ages without these things that are now so unluckily ravaging your family. They were the lucky ones....

Here's where I can help. I have a great new program that rolls out for the New Year ~ the New DECADE. It's designed to help you with all Six Pillars of Health (Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual, Social and Financial) so you can make truly lasting changes.
​Detox Your Life 2020 is 90 Days long ~ 12 Weeks of content and 1 week of evaluating and planning. 

Here's what you get during the 90 days:

• NEW YEAR, NEW DECADE, NEW YOU Seminar Kick-Off on January 1
  • Available on replay afterward
• Every WEEK for 12 weeks you receive:
  • Knowledge with short videos on health affecting the Six Pillars
    • Multiple short, bite-sized videos ~ NEW each week
    • Watch on demand and never lose access ~ come back as needed
  • Tools & Resources to match the education and help you implement it
    • PDFs ~ recipes, shopping lists, meal plans, allergy substitutions, exercise plans and more
    • mp3s ~ affirmations, meditations, inspirational readings and more
  • Incredible Support with 2 LIVE group coaching sessions every week (also available on replay)
    • Learn how to personalize and individualize the content to your life/health/family
    • Clarify confusing points or share challenges and successes
    • Share in others' problem solving or celebrations
• Access to me and the community members between coaching sessions
• BONUS webinar every month (longer webinars going more in-depth on health related topics)
• BONUS guest webinar every month from an expert in a particular field
• BONUS Week 13 to ask questions and personalize your plan going forward

Here's what you get BEFORE the 90 Days:

• Twice weekly group coaching/Q&A sessions ~ Wednesdays and Saturdays
  • Same week days as the program
  • Ask questions ahead of time (via message to me) that I can answer live if you don't want to ask during the session
  • One hour or more
  • Only schedule adjustment is Christmas Day no coaching (will be on Thursday)
• COMPLIMENTARY 1:1 coaching session with me
  • One hour ($500 value before prices go up for 2020)
  • Personalize a plan for yourself through the holidays and get ready for the New Year and New Decade
  • In person or via phone or Skype ~ depending on your location and preference
  • Preparatory planning list sent to you ahead of time to maximize your time with me
  • Any additional 1:1 coaching as promised!!
  • FULLY TRANSFERABLE ~ if you just want the coaching program and know of a spouse or friend or family member who needs the coaching more than you do, let me know and I'll give the session to them! NO ONE ELSE DOES THIS!

Here's what you get AFTER the 90 Days:

• COMPLIMENTARY LIFETIME access to my monthly membership program
  • ​All the content I have put out to that point
  • New classes as they are released
  • Webinars ~ mine and guest speakers
  • Significant discounts to live events
  • 10% discount on physical products (coming soon)
  • 25% discount on coaching services
• COMPLIMENTARY yearly 20-minute 1:1 update coaching session
  • In person or via phone or Skype ~ depending on your location and preference

Thanksgiving.

It stirs up warm fuzzy feelings...
...or cold dread.

It evokes the memories of turkey and stuffing cooking, the smells of pumpkin and apple pies in the oven, and warm family dinners...or it jars the heart with family division, arguments, judgments and criticism. 

Whatever the family dynamics, Thanksgiving is a time of expressly showing gratitude for all we are blessed with. Whatever side of history you are on, Thanksgiving is a time to get
​together with those we love and care about (sometimes that is NOT family) and enjoy company, good food and blessings. 
​
It is a time when we get to practice patience and tolerance (especially when we are trying desperately to dodge political conversations) with those we may not see very often, but read their Facebook posts on a somewhat regular basis. It is a time to continue to move into the longer nights and enjoy more rest and relaxation. It's a time to work together and laugh together. It's a time to remember our past, both our personal past and our nation's past, and give thanks for the good and to vow not to repeat the bad. 

It's a time for feasting and enjoyment. It's a time to reflect and pause. It's a time to remember those we miss, whether it is those not present or those who are no longer with us. It's a time of looking deep inside and begin to let go of this year and prepare for the next; a time to prune the dead branches and cultivate the soil to get ready for Advent and prepare our hearts for Christmas, which is far more important that the holiday parties we have planned.

It is a time to forget politics and grudges and move forward with forgiveness when we've been wronged and to seek forgiveness when we've done wrong. Forgiveness is curious, though. Forgiveness is always about the person who is forgiving, not the person being forgiven. We often forget that. Some relationships are too toxic to be restored. And when relationships are too toxic to be restored, forgiveness is only done in the heart of the person who was wronged. It is not the tangible, outward sign that we often want it to be. Forgiveness is always about the heart, not the acceptance of the other person or the restoration of the relationship. Those are just bonuses. Not everyone gets that. And not everyone gets that beautiful family dinner with an abundance of fond memories. It can be a challenging season for some. 

So reach out to someone today. Give them a reason to smile. Give them piece of your warmth and gratitude. Heck, invite them over for Thanksgiving. Give them the gift they may not get at the holiday. ​

As we stand on the cusp of the new season, the possibilities of the new beginnings of the New Year may seem to have slipped away. The possibilities that once seemed endless, may now seem daunting ~ "how will I ever change the direction of my life/health/family/etc when so much needs to change?" 

Deciding and focusing on the possibilities will carry us through the rest of the year meeting our goals one at a time. But deciding and focusing on the lack and on our challenges will pull us farther away from the goals we want. Without focus and action, those goals can easily slip away from us.

​How can we meet our goals?

First, we need CLARITY. Clarity on exactly what it is you want. Clarity on where you want to be tomorrow. Clarity on where you want to be at the end of the year. Clarity on what is working and what is not. Clarity on how you see yourself getting there.

Second, we need to be CONSCIOUS. We need to step into reality and look at our situation as it really is ~ where we are at, how we got here and where we had wanted to be at this point. We must stop sleepwalking through life and start living it. As the season changes and the light slowly returns, the days gradually become longer. Things may seem clearer. Use the change of seasons and revisiting your resolutions of the New Year to push you forward with your goals and your life.

Third, we need COMMITMENT. You have to be committed to going where you want to go in life:
a healthier you
greater financial security
happier family relationships
a sense of purpose in all you do
following your heart's desire 
Commit to where you need to go and just do it. Be realistic. Make goals that you can attain. Break down the steps to your ideal and make a goal for the next day, the next week, the next month, the next year and so on. CHOP your ultimate goal up into bite sized pieces that you can digest as you go along. 

Next, be CREATIVE. Look at your obstacles and get creative on how to overcome them. If you make a change and it is not effective, what is it that is preventing you from achieving your desired outcome? Look at the problem, your actions, your results and why it didn't work and get creative on how to overcome that.

Last ~ be CONSISTENT. Do something each and every day to attain your goal. Something small. Something you can manage that day. CHANGE it if you have to. Some days we can conquer the world and other days we can barely conquer getting through the day. If you have a bad day, change your goal. If you're having a great day/week/month, change those goals and accomplish more. But make it realistic. 

One way is to choose a word for the year. Have you picked one? A word can be very helpful and guide you throughout the year, or they can be elusive as you continue to float aimlessly through the year. Do you have a word? If so, what is yours?

Three years ago, I choose a word that came very easily. It just appeared. Popped into my head immediately. Restoration. My word for 2016. And indeed, it was a year that started a restoration process. A process that is continuing today.

This year, it has been harder. The word I picked is BELIEVE. My faith has been the rock and foundation of my life, but lately, I've only given lip service to my belief in myself and the power of my God. My faith and my belief has been on cruise control. I'm just moving along, but not making headway. Not driving my mission and purpose in this life. 
I'm getting back into the driver's seat.

Therefore, as I move forward with my new online coaching program, I am going to share my story of changing my mindset. Changing my heart. BELIEVING in the power of my dreams again and the power of the God who put those dreams there. I'll share about the challenges and setbacks I've had with my health that I've unconsciously allowed to affect my mindset. 

This Lenten season, I am moving forward with deepening my faith. Believing again in the power of my dreams. Helping the people that I was called to help. I'll share how my heart is opening back up.

Let me know if you have a word for the year or not. If you do and are so inclined, please share it with us. And whatever you do, take those steps I listed above ~ Clarity, Consciousness, Commitment, Creativity and Consistency ~ to make the changes you need to make in your life and the life of your family so you can live the happiest, healthiest, most joyful and most vibrant life possible!

To Your Vibrant Health! 
​Nina

 2018 is winding down to a close. The excess eating of Thanksgiving is behind us. The Christmas frenzy is about to begin. Are you going to coast through the season and slide into 2019? Or are you going to review your year and your lessons and consciously make changes for the New Year, the New Beginning? What are you doing for yourselves and for your family as you experience these endings and new beginnings?

​For me, this has been a roller coaster year.
Much has ended in my life that I had desperately clung on to.
Things that were familiar to me, but not good for me.
Things that I had needed to let go long ago.
Things that have not supported me.

I've also unconsciously clung onto things that others have put upon me.
Criticisms and judgments by those who should be closest to me and support me.
Doubts and fears from those who don't believe in me.
I let all this creep into my heart unsuspectingly.
Dealing with challenging situations in my life
distracted me from what's truly important.

The answer for it all?
Compassion.
Compassion is the answer.
Compassion for myself, my situation, and for those who judge and criticize me.
Compassion is the extension of love and as corny as it sounds,
our world would be transformed it we all loved as we are called to do.

As a Catholic Christian, I know I am called to love everyone.
This doesn't mean that I allow people to treat me as less than.
It means knowing my worth and setting firm and loving boundaries
around how people treat me. 

Compassion is my "word" for 2019.
Some people say compassion is too "soft" of a word.
But in reality,
Compassion is powerful.
Compassion is kind and courageous.
Flexible, yet firm.
Supple and strong.
Bold and beautiful.

Compassion is truly caring ~ for self and others. Because if we don't care for ourselves, how can we truly care for others? How can we give the great gift of ourselves if we have nothing inside to give? If we give it all away without refilling it?

As I refill my cup, I want to help you fill yours. Let me know in the comments below what you are doing to fill your own cup in 2019. Contact me if you'd like to join my online coaching program in 2019 ~ designed to help you heal and maintain your Six Pillars of Health ~ all at crazy-low, affordable-for-everyone prices.

Whatever you do, take this next month to really evaluate your year. Look at what went right and look at what went wrong. What direction are you going in? Are you on the path that you wanted to be on? If not, what course corrections can you make to bring you  back? Are you paying attention to all Six Pillars of Health? If not, what is suffering?

Then make a plan for change in 2019. 
Small, incremental changes.
Or big lifestyle changes.
Realize that you have to plan for both.
You need more support for the big changes.
Put that into your plan.

Enjoy this last season of the year.
Don't let the holiday mania drive your choices and your days.
Take control one day at a time.
Reflect and re-evaluate.
Plan and begin anew each day.
Make 2019 your best year yet!

This is an old blog post of mine from March 8, 2014 ~ on a different blog. Little did I know, at that point, that my life would COMPLETELY change in ways that I NEVER anticipated. So much has happened since then. And to my great joy, I am finally closing a very difficult chapter (really many chapters) of my life. Many of you who know me, only know me from the difficult and challenging chapters. I long to let you know the joy in me as well as the strength. 

I'm re-posting it here ~ it was titled "Old Beginnings" ~ because I am finally walking into NEW BEGINNINGS. I have seen the devastation that a chronic illness from an invisible toxin does not only to your body, but to your life. It will take more than a blog post to explain it all, but this is a start. I'll dive more into my story in the upcoming weeks and months, but this will do for now. This journey is why I have created my new Take OWNERSHIP Transformation Coaching Program and revised my coaching philosophy and approach. 

​What ways have you been blindsided by life? How did you recover? Let me know in the comments below......

​
So much has happened that I thought would be resolved by now.  
But it hasn't.  

And now all those "old" new beginnings need to happen.  
All at once. 
Here.  
Now.  

A time for resolution.  
And closure.  
​

Transformation
One thing that has slowed me down in moving forward in certain areas of my life has been my own personal healing journey. I was chronically exposed to toxic mold and then had a significant acute exposure on top of that. That has made healing in all areas of my life challenging.  

Health and healing are made up of so many different things and they all interact with and affect each other. My journey has had its ups and its downs. As all our journeys do. I thought I’d begin sharing my own journey to demonstrate that we all have challenges and that each of our journeys are so personal and unique.....and that healing always happens. Just not in our own time frame sometimes. 

My health has been good overall, according to doctors and the medical profession. The things that plagued me the majority of my life were not definable diagnoses, just inconvenient blips on my radar, according to them. They prevented me from living my life to the fullest, but because I was successful, no one really cared. It was not on the doctor’s radar unless he could tag a diagnosis with it. But it was on my radar and often made me feel less than optimal and function less than I could normally. 

So what was wrong with me?  Well, as a preteen, I began to have headaches. The kind that interfered with your life and that you had to lie down for. I remember taking Tylenol all the time for them and never really feeling better. In my early teens, I began to have cravings and gained quite a bit of weight my freshman year, which I was able to lose the following summer through self taught yoga and ballet and using art and reading. Part of the weight gain was psychological ~ I was using food to comfort myself ~ and the other part, as I look back on it, was physiological.

As an older teen, I had exhaustion that was overwhelming at times. I always felt tired. I felt cloudy in the head, but no one paid attention because I was at the top of my class. When my mom brought me to the doctor's, he thought I could be pregnant. That in itself was a trauma to my Catholic values and beliefs! I had other bothersome symptoms with brain and my gut, but again, no diagnoses.

In college, I still had exhaustion, but the hustle and bustle of classes, activities and all the new experiences kept me distracted. I frequently had sore throats which led me to the nurse’s office on a regular basis for a strep test, which never came back positive, though my throat was always swollen and red. I still had the fogginess in my head which made it hard to think straight and focus at times. Yet I still performed well and no one, other than me, was concerned.

When I graduated with my nursing degree, I was told I had to receive the new Hepatitis B vaccine. I didn’t seroconvert (develop antibodies) after the first round, so I had to receive a second round. I still never seroconverted, so they gave me one more round and said I’d probably never develop Hepatitis B since I wasn’t developing antibodies to the vaccine. But then I started developing sinus infections. I developed night sweats. I tested negative for all the autoimmune diseases and TB, so no one was concerned. Except me. I developed a period of high blood pressure (average 156/106) and was monitored closely on the unit I worked on. I eliminated salt (I read labels fanatically) and within a period of time, it went back down to normal. Eliminating the salt in my processed food (I took frozen "healthy" meals to work with me for lunches) was enough to make a difference.

Periodically, I’d get tension migraine headaches and eventually they got to the severity that caused me to miss work periodically. The fogginess, forgetfulness and lack of focus continued to worsen. The exhaustion was intense at times. Increasing my sleep caused me to be more tired, so I began to think I didn't need more sleep. I didn't understand about adrenal fatigue and that when my adrenals finally turned off (when I got more rest), I'd be more tired until I could actually give them a complete rest and let my body reset. No one really had an answer for these symptoms and since I was able to work and be productive and successful, it wasn’t a concern for anyone but me.

Then I became pregnant with my sweet son. My old symptoms worsened, especially the headaches. And I developed new symptoms. The exhaustion was unbelievable since I had a sweet boy who was extremely sensitive to every sound and situation. I eliminated wheat (gluten), corn and dairy when he was 6 months old to help with this. It did help him, but what was more remarkable was that when I finally got off of gluten (the Italian in me had a real hard time with the pasta and bread, let alone the hidden sources of gluten), my stomach issues mysteriously went away. I realized that gas and inconsistent bowel habits were not a normal part of life. My stomach flattened ~ the bloating went away. And what was most amazing was that one morning, weeks or months later, I woke up and had a clarity in my head that I couldn’t remember since I was a young child. I had gone to the pantry that morning and it suddenly felt like I was outside looking at the sun rather than seeing the sun through a clouded window. It felt like a veil was lifted from my face. The brain fog was gone.

When my boy was 2, my mom asked me to read The Maker’s Diet by Jordan Rubin. I thought it was a hokey title to lure you in and catch you, but after scanning the table of contents and perusing the beginnings of a few chapters, I realized that this was no ordinary book and I wanted to read it. I devoured it in a day. The chapter titled “Life and Death in the Long Hollow Tube” was about the gut and it sealed the deal for me.  I had taught pathophysiology and pharmacology at the undergraduate level and everything I ever had questions about was answered in that chapter.

I completely changed the way I ate. I thought I had been eating healthy because I was following the American Heart Association diet, but I was wrong. I changed my fats and increased the good saturated and omega 3 fats. I made bone broth and soaked grains, beans and nuts. I added fermented foods that I now made. I made raw milk kefir and bought grass fed meat. I eliminated all sugar. I felt great! My son was thriving. I had been making him homemade baby food, but now cut out the gluten free porridges and pastas and focused on meats and veggies. 

Then, when he was around 4, he began to get sick often. So did I. Mostly respiratory issues with high fevers. I had chills and at times couldn’t get warm enough. I began to develop the night sweats again, which I had when I was worked up for autoimmune diseases. I even had a 105.5 fever at one point (probably higher since I took the thermometer out of my mouth because I was terrified at what it could be). Weight began to creep up on me a few years later. I gained weight no matter what I ate or didn’t eat. No matter how much I was active or not. My skin was rough and blotchy. I discovered mold on the window sills and this concerned me, but no one paid attention to me. I tried to convince the builder and others that this was not normal. Finally, the wood began to turn black. Spots weeped. A few sills began to rot. Mold was killing us.

Long story short, I tried to turn a losing situation around, but it didn't work. I had not one supporting me, emotionally or physically. My son and I are out of there and are now in our own, mold-free place and it is time to heal. I am starting with rebalancing my gut. I’m making kombucha again and starting on my kefir and other fermented foods. A major issue I need to resolve is that I need to remove the metal from my mouth and heal from the mold. I need to heal my liver. I need to heal my son. He’s a strong boy and my challenge is to make him understand that he really CAN feel and perform even better.

More layers of the story will come out. But I want to encourage you. Be strong. Continue despite setbacks. When you don’t heal as you expected, it just means there is some other piece to the puzzle that is missing. And remember, your mind, your body and your heart are all connected. They all affect one another. In the near future, I’ll discuss in more detail the effects that your mind and your spirit have on your entire well being. It can be significant.

Best wishes on your healing journey and join me in one of the upcoming 14-Day Take OWNERSHIP Real Food and Wellness Coaching and Cleanse programs.  There are several coming up to help you make real and sustainable lifestyle changes and not just live with broken resolutions.  Hope to see you there!!
In Health and Healing!

Recipe time! The photo does not do this justice, but we are dishing up Stewed Italian Chicken. Yum! I do my best to eliminate simple starches and grains overall, but this pairs nicely with mashed potatoes or rice. Moving into summer, pairing it with rice is the lighter option. For a paleo version or a healing diet version, serve alone or with a side of additional veggies or salad. If you choose rice or potatoes, serve the finished dish right on top of them. Yum! Oh wait, I already said that…..

As I say time and time again, always use the best quality meat you can find. If you know a farmer you trust, get your meat there. If you are in the process of choosing a farmer, meet your farmer whenever you can. Face to face. It is really nice to look the person who produces your food directly in the eye. If you don’t have a farmer, choose pastured animals whenever you can. Free range next (the definition of free range is not what you may think) and do your best to avoid conventionally raised animals whenever you can. These animals are rarely raised humanely and are not fed a proper chicken’s diet. This negatively affects the quality and nutritional profile of their meat. Not to mention it negatively affects the world in general and the environment when animals are treated that way.

Another important point is to choose organic over conventional produce and groceries whenever you can. This decreases your toxin burden and often increases the nutritional profile of the food. When foods are raised organically, the soil is often better nourished (though not always ~ it depends on how the land is cared for and what it was used for prior to farming it) and therefore provides greater nutrients to the plant. Farming will deplete the soil of nutrition as the plant takes nutrients up for the fruit it produces. When the plant is harvested, the fruit or vegetable has greater nutrition also.

So, enough with the lecture. Here is the recipe:

Stewed Italian Chicken

• 4-6 chicken legs (thigh and drumstick), skins removed
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes
• 3 zucchini, sliced into uniform rounds, around 1/4 inch thick
• 1/2 – 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 – 1-1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• Celtic sea salt or other unrefined sea salt
• Fresh ground pepper

In a 3-quart saute pan, heat 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Add chicken legs to pan and brown on both sides. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, and additional salt and pepper. Mix carefully since the chicken legs are in the way.

Add the zucchini and push them below the tomatoes.

Heat to a boil. Cover and lower heat. Simmer 45-50 minutes until zucchini is tender and chicken is cooked through.

Serve over mashed potatoes, rice or on its own.
​
This dish is one of the recipes in my Take OWNERSHIP Challenge, a 14-Day Wellness and REAL Food Coaching and Cleanse program. On the program, you would not serve this dish over any starches or grains, but alone or with a nourishing side of vegetables, if desired. This dish on its own will sustain and nourish you. If you would like some help getting your health jump started and to get yourself ready for summer, join my 14-Day Take OWNERSHIP Challenge. There are many program start times to choose from. Rebalance and restart.

If you need additional or more personal help, check out my individual coaching by the hour or an 8-week coaching package. You’ll get more intensive and personal coaching to survive and thrive during the rest of the year.

​Whatever you choose to do, eat right, get proper sleep and move your body. Enjoy each and every day and be well!

As many of you know, I have had health challenges due to chronic exposure to mold, topped with an acute exposure 2 years ago. Last year, I found an adequate place to stay (once you've been exposed and gotten ill, your immune system is much more sensitive to things you normally wouldn't react to) and decided to take my own challenge.  Let's just say that I had challenges with the first week of my Challenge.  

I thought I had done enough healing since I was no longer being exposed to mold and had control over my environment. But I was forgetting that mold doesn't just go away. It hides out and, if you have no current environmental exposure, you may think everything is OK. Since mold lies dormant in your body, it causes a chronic inflammation which your immune system reacts to on a continuous, low level. It is typically referred to as CIRS (chronic inflammatory response syndrome).

My story started when my son and I began to have mysterious and frequent respiratory illnesses with fevers which seemed to come out of nowhere. Some lasted and had a typical pattern of a viral infection (and some probably were viral infections since your body's defense is weaker when it is constantly at alert on another front) and others were high fevers with no other symptoms that disappeared just as quickly as they came. Needless to say, coupled with the neurologic disturbances in concentration and thinking, this derailed my life and made it difficult to move forward in many ways.

Several years after the mysterious illnesses began, I saw visible mold (like the fungi you see in the woods on rotting tree trunks) on the sills of the home that I had built with my estranged husband. The builder and window installation company thought nothing of this. I was overwhelmed. My husband was unsupportive and emotionally abusive (thankfully he was out of state 90% of the time making it more tolerable) and didn't think it was an issue. Another year later, I noticed dark brown/black spots on all the windows, with one awful window spot that would actually "weep" when there was a storm that drove from the south. Every window was affected. Every. Single. Window.

To heal, I needed to get into a mold free place, but I was trying to make a losing situation work ~ holding onto a home that had mold; navigating a difficult personal situation where my partner in the home stepped out of his financial obligation, leaving me to hold the bag (trying to force my hand) while he started over; and continually getting sick along with my son. To make matters worse, as he forced my hand, I realized we couldn't sell with mold and I continued to get sick as I navigated the legal system trying to hold onto the house, modify and refinance the loan, and eventually fix the mold. Needless to say, this overwhelmed me.

This difficult and long chapter of my life is now almost 2 years behind me and we have a new place; though I now need a new, mold free vehicle. I was left an old work pickup truck which has been contaminated from transporting far too many moldy belongings from 2 separate moldy houses to even think about being able to use it. It is a gas guzzling truck with a cracked windshield, 245,000 miles and needs so many repairs that it is not worth keeping, even if it didn't have mold. So many things that need to be started over again, but new beginnings are exciting.

​All of this still makes life challenging, but nevertheless, it is time to get my health in order. And to do that, the gut comes first. I knew my wellness coaching and cleanse program was the perfect place to start, but because I had the mold issues and was (and am) very certain that my cells are in need of detoxification, I was not expecting it to be fun. I designed it to be gentle and that is my saving grace. Gentle it is, yet I still had bothersome symptoms during the cleanse portion. During the 3 day cleanse, I was very off base. I was dizzy and foggy. My face was bright red. I looked like a stop light on the second day. I couldn't even complete the mini cleanse without eating (which is OK, it just gives me more information on what level of healing is needed). At the end, I was reminded that the rules of healing apply to all of us, including myself.

So even though I generally feel better and don't look sick, I know that I have a lot more work to do than a 2-week program can address, but this was a great beginning. I am putting a plan together for myself (mirroring my 8-week coaching program) that addresses my unique needs and I hope you join me on my journey. I'm in the process of picking out a healing partner/coach since it is always good to be accountable to someone other than yourself. This also gives you a perspective that you can't possibly give yourself. I'm doing this. I'm moving forward with my health. I trust that the power within my body is sufficient to heal my body.  

During one of the programs I've given, one participant felt her anxiety begin to melt away and improve significantly within 4 days. Your mind and your body are interconnected, so this was was no surprise to me. This story greatly illustrates how your gut truly is your second brain. I am grateful to be able to help people in this fashion and am excited to see how my own health improves now that I can fully move toward healing.  

Since I’ve been limited in how far I could push my health forward until certain circumstances changed (though one still needs to be changed), I anticipate great changes this year. I have a newfound peace since I can finally move faster than circumstances have allowed me to in the past. I’ve also gone deeper into letting things go that do not serve me. Focusing on my faith and truly releasing the fear has been liberating. It is interesting that food was the catalyst for all this.  

If you’d like to join in on the next Take OWNERSHIP 14-Day Challenge to get your health bumped up a notch, reclaim it or just get into summer shape, check it out here. Or if you’d like to go deeper, consider personal coaching or my 8-week focused coaching package to get you into summer and jumpstart the rest of your life.  I can help you find your blocks, identify your road map to navigate them and move your life and your health forward.  Check it out here and stay tuned for more progress!