Recovering from Surgery

I obviously look happy with my swollen cheek, haha

So I have been off the grid so to speak with blog, facebook live and my youtube.  Last week I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled.  I had neglected my teeth from a dentist stand point for years.  Now was time.  I was not worried about being put to sleep I was more worried about taking the antibiotic and the pain meds.  SIlly, I know, as some would welcome the idea of a zen pill that you have to take.   I on the other hand was thinking about my gut and all I had done to get it to this place.  In one day I was gonna drop a bomb on it.  

So here is what I did to help my self recover.   I did pre and post with juices, probiotic vinegar, bone broths,  CBD oil and also capsule probiotics. I also continued to drink my chlorophyl and fulvic minerals.  I wanted to make sure I was combating the antibiotics with good bacteria right behind it. I also chose bone broth because of its ability to nourish and heal the gut. I added coconut oil to it to provide me with more nourishment.   

CBD oil is great for inflammation and will also ease pain. I did this for my gut but also to not take the steroids that were prescribed to combat the swelling in my face.  Now I was told by others I didn't look as chipmunk as they did but i could tell the impact for sure.   After speaking to my Dr., he let me know that my roots were twisted and that when he removed them they all broke apart and they had to get each piece out. OUCH. 

No one wants surgery but sometimes It is necessary and you need to take meds you otherwise would not want to take.  You have to provide your body with what it needs after. If you do not it can turn into constipation, yeast infections and a very weakened immune system.  

Remember I am here if you need me, 

Huge thank you to Dr. Jackson and the staff at Middle Tennessee Oral Surgery Center, you made it a positive adventure :) 

Getting to the root of your Anxiety

Last week I began talking about Anxiety as a part of Mental Health Awareness month, I am continueing that with a more personal insight into how if affected me. 

I know when I started to get anxiety really bad I could trace back how it first began, kinda like stair steps up up up to the peak of a couple panic attacks. 

We had gone through some extreme financial loss right after having Addi and we picked up some but it got bad again once I was pregnant with charlie. My sense of security and stability was really rocked and I was in full on survival mode.  Figuring out how I could save what we still had (a house I wanted to have this second child in) grow my business to make more money, and of course continue to raise my almost 2 year old.   Charlie came out perfect but chose not to sleep at night.   two year old, business, not sleeping, my body began wearing down.  It started with headaches that I made into more than headaches (what if something is wrong with my brain). Which led me to feeling tired as I drove.  So then it popped into my head that I could fall asleep while driving with the kids, and that totally freaked me out.  Now, that had not come close to happening, but once I planted that thought....... it grew.  So in the car with the kids I would yawn all the time and be super anxious. We would stop somewhere and I would be fine.  If I was driving without the kids i was still tried but the worry of falling asleep wasn't there

                                            **I didn't care if I got hurt........ yes! :( *****

So as you can see, it started with stress and lack of sleeping and i allowed it to manifest to a brain issue and the possibility of wrecking my car with the kids in it.  I really just needed a nap.  I could have taken things to repair my adrenals but I was breastfeeding and many were not good for my milk production.  I did notice as he got older and did not solely depend on me for food that my body was able to have a little more recovery time.  I also began trying to talk about what was on my mind. All the things I was worried about in our home, how I felt I was failing as a mother, how I wish my business would have been growing faster.  As I got them out I released that tension and energy from my body.  I also began to look at my successes rather than my short comings.  

I began to understand what was happening, accept it not as me being weird but as something that was going on for me in this period of time and it would pass.   And it did.  I was able to do things to help my adrenals recover. When I chose to stop nursing he instantly slept through the night and so did I.   I also got better at asking for help.  

Anxiety does suck, panic attacks are the worst, BUT when you begin to understand the root you can begin to get yourself to a place where it/they do not control your life.  

Hang in there, it really does get better,

Mental Health Awareness Month

The month of may is mental health awareness month.  Since the beginning of my practice I have had many clients on anti depressants, anti anxiety and mental health medications.   I will not make light of mental illness but I do want to offer an alternative to the traditional model of counseling and prescriptions.  Counseling being a must if it is an aware therapist that does not want to just medicate. You have to be willing to get to the source and dark part of you that is causing this extreme uneasiness. 

There is a direct correlation between mood and the gut.  90% of our serotonin is housed around the gut and when the gut is compromised then so is our mood and ability to regulate it.  Once this begins to happen then we also find our adrenals being overworked. Once adrenal fatigue sets in then it really is kinda downhill from there. BUT there are ways of eating, food based supplements and herbs along with coping techniques that can aid in relief and also help to get your off of any prescription medication when the time is right. 

I have a personal story I will be sharing through out this education that has prompted me to create a program centered around anxiety relief.  I know it can be embarrassing to have anxiety or panic attacks and sometimes you have no clue they will come up.   I can assure you there are options and ways of coping that will get you down the right path. I have only had small amounts of anxiety creep up on me.  It has been 8 years since my last panic attack.  

I look forward to sharing with you this week and I would love for you to share, as you feel comfortable how anxiety has effected you and how you have chose to manage it (no judgement here) .

Ep:15 How Do you Define Pleasurable Eating?

This weeks theme on the blog and newsletter has been choosing things that are pleasurable, outside of food, to not negatively eat.  This video I dive into that a lot more. Let me know your thoughts below! 

Eating for Pleasure

How often do you grab something to eat only for the purpose of satisfying a bad emotion?  Do you eat crap food after a crap day?  Pleasurable eating can be both healthy and enjoyable.  

We have to stop the cycle of rewarding our day negatively with negative food. Bad day at work, go home and have a drink or some wine.   Break up with your boyfriend/girlfriend eat ice cream.  We all have done it. But why?   because at the time it brought us some sort of emotional pleasure that took us away from the pain we were feeling.  If this is a one time thing, that is ok, if it continues daily it leads to being overweight and having health issues. 

We have to start understanding the root cause of our issues and not remedy them with food.  Stop for a moment when reaching for destructive food and say how will this serve my body. Will it help with what is bothering me?   If I do still want to have my favorite things in my life, how could I make them healthier for me.  

Be mindful and take care of your body,

Ep 12: Cortland Finnegan Interview

I am so excited for you all to get to know Cortland.  Not only did he excel in the NFL and was a part of the 2016 Super Bowl Carolina Panthers. He is a father of 3, husband, entrepreneur,  is connected to the ever growing I Love Juice Bar, co owner of Christopher Coy a luxurious woman's shoe line and a philanthropist. 
Cortland and I talk about eating healthy as an athlete and the importance of that, and also what he is now doing to give back and use his success to benefit others.

 http://www.ark31.org/
http://www.christophercoycollection.com/
http://www.ilovejuicebar.com

Side note: Cortland and I had to reschedule our first meeting, when planning I asked if he could come on a day that a client of mine was scheduled.  This client was a huge fan and had expressed her admiration for him in a previous appt.  Not only did Cortland take pictures with her and her mother, he also hung out and talked football with her.  It made her week, and it made mine to be able to have the opportunity to make it happen.  Thank you Cortland for all you do and all you are! 

Ep.11 Interview Ana Coley, Finding your hearts purpose

I am so excited for you to watch this video.  It is one of my longest interviews but that is what happens when friends get together and share their passion.   Thank you for watching! 

Find out how you can work with her and learn more about what she does.
https://www.facebook.com/AnaMoralesColey/
http://www.anamoralescoley.com/

Guest Post: Becoming your Authentic Self

Please enjoy this amazing post by my friend Colleen!    ~Sarah

Becoming your Authentic Self

A while ago I came across a quotation on Facebook that really resonated with me:

“The planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind.

It needs people who live well in their places.

It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane.

And these needs have little to do with success as our culture has defined it.”

~David Orr 

When I was growing up I was taught that the goal of life was to be “successful” and that meant to live the American dream with a nice car, a big house, and a lot of money. I was told if I could achieve all that I’d be happy. 

As it turned out, somewhere along the way I realized that always striving for material gain was not making me or anyone else I knew truly happy. I realized that society had conditioned me to think in certain ways, with promises of fulfilment, but actually the path that I was taught to take was taking me farther from the road to happiness, and closer to a never-ending struggle of achievement and “almost” getting there, but never quite being able to relax and enjoy the present moment.

Through this journey I was given a gift. This gift has brought me farther away from the demands of society and closer to my true nature. I have learned to let go of expectations that were being placed on me to be someone that I wasn’t truly comfortable with, and with that letting go came a new sense of true fulfilment in simply “being” without expectation or needing to achieve something in order to be considered worthy.

This shift in awareness is what I call true healing. There are many definitions for healing and as many modalities as there are definitions. Through the years I have trained in a multitude of them, all with some positive results, but at the end of the day, how much truly changed on a deeper level?

When you can let go of some of the basic, core patterns of outmoded thought that run your life, and open up to a more expanded sense of yourself, the resulting transformation over time can be significant. One day you recognize that you’ve encountered a situation that you’ve encountered many times before, but this time you react differently. You are better able to step back, be neutral, and not feel pulled into the drama of it. Those are the moments when you can see how the subtle changes over time really make a significant impact. Letting go of our automatic patterns allows us to make more conscious choices that address our true selves and not just our idea of what we think we should be to satisfy the needs of others around us.

Receiving and integrating pure energy from the Source has been the basis for me of uncovering that deeper, truer Self that was always there, but covered by many years of misconceptions and conditioning.

Source energy is the energy of All That Is, and it has an intelligence that knows exactly where to go and what to do in the body. It helps us to release old ways of thinking and behaving that are holding us back and allows us to experience greater freedom and wholeness. When I work with people I become a vessel for this energy to come through. 

During a session with Source energy I usually just ask the person I am working with to be relaxed and receptive. Distance is not relevant and some of my most powerful sessions have been through Skype or the phone. At the beginning we can set an intention or just chat a minute about what is most important to you, then once the session starts there is no speaking. During the session, many people experience sensations of warmth or tingling or they might see colors or images or maybe they don’t have any particular experience and they simply feel relaxed. Either way, the energy is working and will continue to work even after the session with me is complete. At the end of the formal session I will ask if you have any questions and I will share any insights I may have received while the energy was flowing. 

The results of the work mainly have to do with the recipient and what they are ready to let go of and move into. The more ready for change you are, the more you will invite that into your life.

I feel blessed to be able to share this gift with others. If you’d like to learn more about this work, please visit www.ConnecToSource.com or send me an email at Colleen@ConnecToSource.com. If you would like to learn more about the person I received this activation from, please visit www.Abdy.info.