Wellness Blog
This is the first in a series of short videos exploring the connection between the Chinese Five Elements, the organ system in the Chinese Medicine philosophy and our emotions. I hope that you find it helpful to look at your emotions from a different perspective.
Please note that these were done as Facebook live so there is a little bit of chit chat and interaction at the beginning.
The world that we live in has becoming increasingly filled with a wide variety of toxins. From different pollutants in the air, to pesticides and other chemicals in our food and water, to unregulated chemicals in our personal care products, we are exposed to MANY toxins on a very regular basis.
Some of these toxins, like those pollutants in the air, we can do very little to control our exposure to but there are others that we do have more control over. In this post I’d like to share 3 simple tips on how to lessen your exposure to toxins on a daily basis. However, before diving into those strategies, I want to provide a short overview of WHY lessen your toxin exposure is critical for your health.
Right now, there are over 80,000 different chemicals used in North America that we are exposed to on a regular basis and according to the World Health Organization, it is believed that if we can eliminate exposure to 600 of the most dangerous environmental toxins, 90% of chronic and serious illness could be prevented! That is quite a large percentage of our serious health issues that are caused by toxins in our environment.
Exposure to toxins places a very heavy burden on our liver, which much convert fat soluble toxins into water soluble toxins so that they can be excreted from the body. Sometimes our liver detox pathways become compromised or the body can’t effectively convert the toxin from fat soluble into water soluble and it actually stays in an intermediary state, which is even more toxic to our bodies than the fat soluble version.
In addition, toxins in our bodies can create epigenetic changes, which means that they are altering how our genes are expressing. This can lead to a wide range of health issues, including developing cancer and many autoimmune diseases.
So now that you have a brief overview of the danger of toxins to your health, what can you do?
- Make sure you are consuming as much organic produce as possible. Conventionally grown produce has much pesticide residue left on in and organic produce is not sprayed with those same toxic pesticides. If you are on a budget, make sure that if you are buying celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines, bell peppers, spinach, kale and collard greens, cherries, potatoes, imported grapes, and lettuce that at least those items are organic. Those are the worst fruits and vegetables to buy conventional.
- Be aware that just because you buy personal care products in the “natural” section or in a place like Whole Foods does not guarantee that the products are safe. The last law made to regulate chemicals in personal care products was in 1938 and only 11 chemicals are restricted from being placed in personal care products in the US, compared to over 1300 in the European Union. It is important to be very careful where you are choosing to buy products like lotions, face products, and cosmetics as our skin is our largest organ and we absorb many toxins from products we use on our skin. If you are looking for a company committed to safety in personal care products, I personally recommend Beautycounter because they have a commitment to never put 1500 chemicals that are unsafe or “questionable” in their products.”
- Use the Environmental Working Group website as a resource to look at whether the cleaning products, personal care products, and other products you are using in your home are actually safe. They are a non-profit organization committed to researching a wide variety of products for safety and helping educate the public about the impact of toxins.
If you have questions about any of this information, reach out to me. I’m happy to chat with you and share more information and strategies to also help your body to clear out any toxins that are currently bogging down your system!
The year has once again flown by and December is almost here. For many, this is one of the busiest and most stressful months of the year… Holiday shopping to do, more time with family (which has its own stress), and so many activities that only happen once a year. It can feel overwhelming to many of us.
In addition, for many of us, our diets change at this time and we eat more heavy rich foods or foods with lots of sugar in them, placing an extra toll on our bodies.
In this week’s blog post, I’d like to share a couple simple strategies to help keep you less stressed and stay healthy through January.
- Make sure you are still making time for downtime and relaxation. It can feel easy to be short on time and put rest and relaxation at the bottom of the “to do” list but if you are exhausted, irritable, or make yourself sick, how enjoyable will your holidays be? Even if you are just carving out 30 minutes to just breathe or take a walk in nature, it can be powerful and recharging to do that regularly.
- Set healthy boundaries for yourself. Don’t feel like you have to say “yes” to everything and everyone. If you are exhausted, sometimes you might just need to say “no, I can’t this time” and take some time to rest and relax. Also, be mindful of setting boundaries with people who are key triggers of stress (perhaps like certain family members). If you find yourself in a situation where you are getting upset, it is ok to excuse yourself.
- Keep up with drinking water. This is a time of year where we often overindulge in all sorts of things- alcohol, sugar, rich foods. By at least making sure you are drinking plenty of water (filtered if you can), you will be helping your body to keep up with clearing out the accumulation of toxins. The rule of thumb is you should be drinking half your body weight in ounces of water each day. If that is too overwhelming, scale it back some but try and push yourself a bit.
- Try and overindulge just a little less. It can be easy to feel guilty about what we are choosing to eat at this time yet hard to stop ourselves when so surrounded by it. Perhaps try and just cut back some and then don’t beat up on yourself for what you do eat. Or if you really realize that things like sugar are not making your body healthy, try and look for healthy alternatives to some of your favorite treats.
- Find ways to boost your immune system. Stress, overindulging, sugar… all these things are likely going to bring your immune system down and increase the risk of getting sick. Try incorporating natural remedies like eating vitamin C rich foods, looking for natural remedies at your local health food store, and again taking time for relaxation as ways to help support your immune system.
If you feel like you could use a little extra TLC during this crazy time, now through December 15, I’m offering 15% off a stress reduction and immune system tune up session with me. Give me a call at 503-347-0258 or use the scheduling system below to book your appointment.
Last week was a doozy for so many of us. The results of the election in here the U.S. rocked many of us to the core and resulted in feeling a host of emotions, fears, and general overwhelm and ungroundedness.
For me personally, I woke up last Wednesday with a feeling like the world around me was suddenly different and I felt extremely off kilter. I spent most of that day just trying to process what I was feeling and there were numerous bouts of crying. As the week went on, I was still feeling off-kilter but was trying to move forward and find ways to get myself grounded again.
I have been hearing many people say that they are feeling the same way. Another thing I’ve been both feeling myself and hearing from others is that the self-care that we have been doing in the past might not be enough or the right thing for us right now.
I feel it is important to share this all so that you know that you are not alone in feeling off-kilter, scared, overwhelmed, and out of sorts. You are not alone if you feel like you are doing your regular self-care and it just isn’t working for you.
If you are feeling any of these things, here are some suggestions for you based on my own experience and wisdom.
- You might need to increase the amount of self-care you are doing right now. While the amount you typically do might work in calmer times, right now, you might need to give it a boost.
- You might need to change up what you are doing for self-care. For example, if you typically take a relaxing bath, you might try instead moving your energy by going for a walk outside. Try different things and see what helps!
- I would recommend considering taking a break from social media and the news on occasion. I personally felt myself feeling more and more activated and ungrounded last week as I kept reading about the increase in hate crimes, seeing the protests in Portland turn into violence, and seeing people making nasty comments to each other on Facebook. For that reason, I stayed off social media and the internet for most of the weekend last weekend. You might not need a complete break but maybe just consider limiting how much time you are spending reading news.
- If you don’t know how to tap cortices, learn how to now! This simple self-tapping technique just takes a few minutes but is a powerful way to rebalance your brain and reduce stress. You can use it as much as you need! Learn how here.
Those are just some very simple and practice suggestions that I have to help you get back into your body right now if you are feeling overwhelmed or ungrounded.
If those things don’t seem enough, I’d encourage you to seek support from me or from someone else who you feel called to work with. I’ve been seeing the election come up as a trauma for every client I’ve seen in the past week and I can help you process the trauma through the power of BodyTalk. I personally had to get some support around these from other practitioners so I can speak to the fact that this might be necessary- and it helps!
I have another group session coming up on November 30 to help support us all in coming together and healing in these challenging times.
Also if you are feeling like you’d like some extra one-on-one support right now, I’d love to offer you 10% off a session with me now through the end of November. Just mention this blog post when you come in!
Recent scientific research is beginning to form a new understanding of our brains and our bodies and is revealing that we don’t just have 1 brain but 3 brains! This knowledge was actually something that certain Eastern traditions (like Ayurvedic and yogic traditions) were aware of but Western scientific understanding is finally catching up.
So what are the 3 brains and what do they do?
The first brain is the one that we have always thought about- the one in our head. This brain is in charge of thinking, cognition, and perception. It helps us to make meaning out of things and masters our communication in language.
Our second brain is located in the heart. This is our emotional brain and it is also connected to what we value in life.
Our third brain is in our gut. This brain is all about our core identity- what is us and what is not us. The gut brain is also important for protection as it has many key immune functions.
The average brain (in the head) has around 100 million neurons but the gut has around 500 million nerve cells and 100 million neurons and is almost the same size as a cat’s brain! Our gut brains are also responsible for producing around 95% of the body’s serotonin, the “happiness hormone.”
The way that these 3 brains communicate with each other is through the vagus nerve. What is fascinating is that research shows that the majority of information flows up the vagus nerve to the head brain rather than down to the other two brains!
Anil Rayvanshi writes, “Recent studies have shown that heart sends signals to the brain that are not only understood by it but also obeyed. Scientists have discovered neural pathways and mechanisms whereby input from heart to brain inhibits or facilitates brain’s electrical activity – just like what gut is capable of doing. Thus both gut and heart mind help in overall thought process.”
So how can you utilize all 3 brains more effectively?
One basic way to work with integrating and synchronizing all 3 brains is through the Cortices Technique, a simple self-tapping technique that you can learn more about here.
Another way to utilize all 3 brains is to be more aware of their different roles. For example, allow the heart to express its emotional intelligence and wisdom by listening to it, rather than shutting down your feelings. With the gut brain, taking good physical care of your digestive system through eating healthy foods and using strategies to heal your gut can help optimize the gut brain.
BodyTalk is also a healing system that is focused on all 3 of these brains and getting them to communicate with each other more effectively. By receiving a BodyTalk session for a practitioner, your 3 brains can be optimized, synchronized and balanced to work more effectively. Learn more about BodyTalk by reading about it here.
Over the past few years, I have become more and more aware of all of the different products that I use in my life. It started with using more natural cleaning products as I have had a longtime sensitivity to harsh chemicals and the fumes they contain. I’ve also always been sensitive to artificial fragrances in things like lotions.
But as I have stepped further and further into my own healing process and have also been called to become more knowledgeable so that I can support clients on their path to health, I have been learning more and more about how various products like lotions, makeups, and skin products of all types contain a very long list of chemicals that can be harmful to our health.
Several months ago, I learned that the last law in the US to regulate the safety of personal products was in 1938! 1938 was a LONG time ago AND so many chemicals have been created since that time period. It was also shocking to me to learn that there are only 11 chemicals banned from use in personal care products in the US, while in the European Union there are over 1,300!
I’m writing this post because this is important information that we ALL need to be aware of. Toxins are easily absorbed through our skin and those toxins can then contribute to developing a wide range of health issues- from autoimmune diseases, to allergies, to even cancer. Toxins in products contribute to epigenetic changes in our bodies (changes in genetic expression), which are the major cause behind most disease.
Now that you are aware of the problem, what can you do?
Continue to educate yourself on the topic. There are many great resources to support learning more about toxins in various products. The Environmental Working Group has great resources to help you learn more about key ingredients to look out for. Another company that makes great products that exclude all chemicals banned in the EU and on a mission to change the industry is Beautycounter.
Look for products with a short list of ingredients and try and go as natural as possible by using things like coconut oil to help moisture your skin.
Some key ingredients to watch out for include: BHA, BHT, DEA-related ingredients, coal tar, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, parabens, parfum, petrolatum, sodium laureth sulfate, and triclosan.
While it may seem scary and overwhelming to navigate all the products out there, there are companies that do focus on educating consumers and providing safer products for us all.
When you combine the clinical findings of Applied Kinesiology, the expertise of Western medicine, the energy dynamics of acupuncture and the wisdom of modern physics and advanced mathematics, what do you get? A state of the art integrative holistic healthcare paradigm: The BodyTalk System, one of the current fastest growing complementary holistic healthcare systems in the world!
What is BodyTalk and Why is it truly holistic healing?
The BodyTalk System is a comprehensive and dynamic system of energy medicine that is constantly evolving. It unifies a large number of highly recognized healing methods and principles of knowledge into one all encompassing system. BodyTalk addresses the bodymind from a truly holistic perspective and recognizes that the physical, mental and emotional components are inseparable; hence, all levels are worked on concurrently.
The BodyTalk System does not diagnose or address diseases on a symptom level; it creates an energy balance in the body that involves the body’s own innate restorative powers. It can be used as a stand alone system to address all physical, mental and emotional health issues and can also be integrated to support any other healthcare modality to enhance its effectiveness and promote even faster healing.
Why is BodyTalk Unique?
If you think of the image of an iceberg, most of the bulk of the ice lies beneath the water’s surface. This is similar to how most of the underlying causes of diseases and illness are not immediately seen or known but are deeper than the superficial level. BodyTalk is a holistic healing system that works with a priority basis- which means rather than focusing on giving someone a diagnosis of what is “wrong”, we focus instead of what needs to be addressed first, then second, and so on. For example, if the liver was detoxified prior to ensuring the intestines were digesting and eliminating properly, the individual may get sicker if the toxins are not being released from the body. This means the BodyTalk holistic approach can eliminate the tendency for a “healing crisis.”
Once we use neuromuscular feedback to determine the priority for today, BodyTalk uses a variety of simple techniques to restore balance in the body and mind, as well as light tapping and touch over the 3 brains (head, heart, and gut).
To summarize, BodyTalk does not diagnose and uses non-invasive techniques that cannot cause harm in accord with the priority of its inner wisdom. It is truly holistic, and is complementary to other health care modalities, with which it can be seamlessly integrated.
How Does BodyTalk Work?
Areas in the bodymind that lack communication or synchronicity are addressed with the application of practical, effective techniques to facilitate wellbeing from within. This is done in an individual manner. No two clients, even those with seemingly identical symptoms, will have the same areas that are not communicating or working as a team with the bodymind. Much like the expression: give a man a fish, he eats for a day; teach a man to fish, he eats for life, BodyTalk facilitates the body’s ability to heal itself. Once the body’s innate restorative powers are empowered with this new enhanced communication, it is then able to more effectively heal the bodymind from within, enabling lasting patterns of good health.
If you are curious about how BodyTalk can help support holistic healing in your life, give me a call at 503-347-0258 or use the scheduler below to set up a free phone consultation.
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being a guest on Sharon Sayler’s radio show, the Autoimmune Hour. If you didn’t get a chance to listen when the show was live, you can listen the recording here. Our talked focused on BodyTalk as an effective approach to help with autoimmune diseases.
Here’s a little overview of what Sharon and I talked about:
What happens when we allow our body’s energy systems to be re-set with healing methods such as Body Talk? In this interview, Lyn shares that your body is designed to heal itself, and together we explore the ‘bigger picture’ of health including:
- How stored trauma and trapped emotions affect us
- How to breathe your way to feeling better
- How to talk to your body so it will answer you
- How to reframe unpleasant memory or emotion
Today’s post is a particularly “real” one for me. My husband and I, as well as our extended family have been in the midst of a particularly rough time. Between my aunt passing away a little over 2 weeks ago (while I was in the midst of taking my latest BodyTalk class) to my mother-in-law falling and breaking her leg last week, to some other situations that need our time and attention, I have had significant moments of overwhelm in the past month.
This post is not about the “story” of what is going on in my life, however. It is about reflecting on how we get through tough times like this.
One of the key things that I am getting a reminder of during this past month is the importance of making time for my own self-care, even in the midst of chaos and overwhelm.
As my stress level has been higher than it usually is, I have tried to carve out more time to do things like slow down and focus on my breathing. I’m also tapping Cortices (a simple technique that you can learn how to do through this link) even more than I usually do. I’ve also sought support from others- both family and friends, as well as getting support from different healing practitioners. I’m upping the number of BodyTalk sessions I’m receiving right now to help me process my grief, stress, and overwhelm. I’m tending to my body with massage and other forms of healing touch. While it can feel hard to make time for those things when I have more on my plate than I usually do, I know that without those supports, my bodymind will take too much of a beating. And just because I’m a wellness practitioner doesn’t mean that I don’t need support too!
Another big resource during times like this is to make sure to get a bit of time out in nature. Connection with the energies of the earth and breathing fresh air in beautiful settings is a key way to help stay grounded. I’m hoping to get a nice walk in outside today, rather than going to the gym and walking on the treadmill.
If you are currently going through a tough time, please know that you are not alone. And please remember to take care of yourself. Find simple strategies to help your body release stress, tension, and built up emotions. When we don’t allow the energy to have time to release, it can build up like a pent up volcano and cause all sorts of problems! Seek support (professional and social) when you need it. We all need a little help sometimes.
Also, feel free to share what strategies work best for you in the comments below this blog; I’d love to hear your strategies too!
If you’ve studied remember anything about biology and genetics from your school days, you probably remember hearing that we are a mix of nature and nurture.
While it was originally believed that the nature part was just the DNA and RNA that we inherited from our parents, modern research is now showing us that we can actually inherit the impact of our ancestors experiences (unresolved traumas and old belief systems) and that those influences leave markers on our DNA. This new field of scientific study is called epigenetics.
This new field of science is called epigenetics. What epigenetics means is that when our grandparents or great grandparents (or ancestors even further back in our family line) experienced a trauma, if they didn’t fully process and resolve/release that experience, it created what we call epigenetic markers on the DNA. These markers are like little padlocks on our DNA. The padlock holds something into a configuration where something that is needed (like a gene or a protein) isn’t available, or it IS available when it should not be.
While this padlock had a purpose for the ancestor (for example, if they experienced a major food shortage, this epigenetic marker could have helped them to survive by altering their metabolism), for those who have simply inherited the marker, it can cause health problems.
One example of this is the impact of the Dutch famine in 1944-1945 creating very limited food supplies for pregnant women at that time. There was a change an epigenetic change in the fetuses DNA (the IGF2 gene) which know makes those individuals prone to obesity and cardiovascular disease. Although it hasn’t been included in the research (that I know of), it is also likely that many of the children of these individuals also have inherited this epigenetic marker.
Current scientific understanding is that 70-95% of disease is epigenetic.
These epigenetic markers can increase the likelihood that at some point we will develop diseases like cancer, immune disease, diabetes, or mental illnesses like Schizophrenia, PTSD, or late onset Alzheimer’s.
While initially this sounds like BAD news because it is something that happened before we were born, the great news is that by using BodyTalk, these epigenetic markers, these “padlocks,” can be cleared from our DNA and so that wiring for disease can be cleared away. When these markers are highlighted to the brain during a session, they can simply be cleared away. The process can work for disease that a person is already experiencing OR for diseases that haven’t made their appearance on the scene yet!
Are you curious about how your ancestors lives are impacting your health? Sign up for a BodyTalk session today!