Just what is GHEE?

Although I had heard about Ghee for years, the first time it was actually prescribed to me was when I was a week post my "due date" and feeling hugely pregnant, ready to re-claim my body and would almost anything to get labor going.  I just happened to have an appointment with a well known Ayurvedic doctor at Dr. Steve Wechsler's office (www.drsteveradio.com) and he said the reason I was not going into labor was that I was too dry and needed Ghee.

Dr. Steve very kindly gave me some ghee that evening and sure enough, my labor began.  Ever since then, I have had the utmost respect for this clarified butter since not only did it help to induce me but cured extreme symptoms that manifested in my nose for over 8 years and could not be diagnosed properly by any of the 15 practitioners that I had sought throughout the years.  Upon consuming the ghee, all of my symptoms (which I later found out were an aspect of dryness or Vata imbalance) disappeared!

If you were to visit www.ancientorganics.com for further information and directions on how to prepare ghee (or to buy it), this is some of the information you will find. Ghee is the essence of milk and the milk of cows is considered, in Ayurveda, to possess the essence of all plants.  It is said that Ghee builds the aura, makes all the organs soft, builds up the internal juices of the body (which are destroyed by aging) and increases the most refined element of digestion, which is the underlying basis of all immunity and the essence of all bodily tissues.  Ghee is known to increase intelligence, refine the intellect and improve memory.

Okay then! After that, how can you not want to incorporate this into your daily diet, esp. in winter if you happen to live in an arctic zone like CNY.  You can spread it on toast, dollop it in soup, spread it on tortillas or slide it into your morning tea.  However you can get it down, you will benefit.  For more recipes for making ghee, visit YouTube, www.aayisrecipes.com or www.yogaholidays.net/magazine/ghee.htm

Everyone Poops!

Do you remember the childhood book, "Everyone Poops!" by Taro Gomi (www.amazon.com) which explains to us very clearly in words and pictures that if you eat, you poop.  Now, it sounds quite simple but we know (at least if you're a health care provider), that it never really is that simple.  Since we know that our digestive system is our second brain (see previous post), and that our brains are working overtime with what to eat, when to how, how to eat, why to eat and who to eat with,  our guts are in a perpetual state of trying to do their job of eliminating what is now a utter confusion. 

I have had the great fortune of having close friends who are colon therapists (www.vitonics.com) and have witnessed numerous occasions  reactions from people who ask, "What do you do?". Even from individuals on the more "enlightened" side of the spectrum, the responses can be quite embarassing and obviously exposing their degree of discomfort on this subject of poop. 

My point of this post however, is not the repressed emotional intricacies of the wonder of the human body, perialstalsis and sphincters, but of a wonderful product called Acacia Fiber powder.  I was introducted to this product by someone who used it to recover from the symptoms of IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  If you are interested in an entire product line developed to treat these symtoms, please visit www.helpforibs.com.

Acacia is a soluble fiber and there is a lot of studies that show soluble fibers help a full spectrum of IBS symtoms.  The other name for this fiber is gum Arabic.  This is much more expensive for manufacturers to buy than many of the other fiber sources, so this is why  big companies have not incorporated it into their manufacturing.  Acacia is a gum from the Acacia senegal tree grown on an organic farm in Africa.  It is made similar to how maple syrup is made.

"Acacia is very gentle, not allergenic, and the breakdown products of the acacia product more of the beneficial short chain fatty acids that are supportive of the intestinal cells.  It is also prebiotic maeaning it will help to support the balance of good bacteria in your gut because soluble fiber is their preferred food source."-staff member at Help For IBS.

I can personally attest to the wonders of this simple product that has only one ingredient: acacia fiber.  I was motivated to use it due to my daughters digestive sluggishness (common to almost all children) and it worked wonders in less than 48 hours!  Thank you to Heather Van Vorous, founder of www.HelpForIBS.com, the largest resource company for IBS in the world.

Do your Ovaries have feelings??

According to Dr. Northrup (www.drnorthrup.com),  ovarian energy is more dynamic and quickly changing than that of the uterus.  Think about the time difference between growing a baby and growing an egg.  Now, does this mean that if you have ovarian "dys-function" (such as cysts or anovulation), then bringing about a change will be much quicker than if you have uterine fibroids?  Possibly and why not?! But if you have both, fibroids and ovarian cysts, you are going to have to address both to get results in your ovaries.

The women that I admire who have delved into energy anatomy (Caroline Myss (www.myss.com), Dr.Christiane Northrup and Donna  Eden (www.innersource.net), concluded that the energy of the ovaries is quite different from the energy of the uterus.  Our ovaries represent our creativity.  Our creative drives in the outer world and our assertiveness in the outer world and our drive towards financial, creative or relationship goals, affect the function of our ovaries.  If someone is addicted to external authority (rather than intuition) or is a constant need of approval, some possible physical manifestations could be ovarian cysts.

Don't feel creative?  you would probably be quite surprised at how creative you are daily.  A great exercise is to do a brainstorm writing exercise and first define the word creative.  Notice if you have any of that in your life.  Next, brainstorm all the ways you WISH you were creative. Use your imagination. Already you have been creative.  Then whenever you begin something from the creative wish list, just do your best.  If nothing else, go pick some flowers and arrange them!

Be well, change gracefully!

Bliss

One of my modern, medical heros is Dr. Christiane Northrup (www.drnorthrup.com).  Anyone who has ever listened to her speak or read her books, knows just how truly amazing she is.  I admire her willingness to step outside the box of modern medicine to inform all of her patients, and all of us, the missing pieces to our vitality and health.  She brings together emotions and symptoms, and urges us all to see how the two are not seperate. 

In her most recent newsletter, which you can get at www.drnorthrup.com,  her feature story is about Limbic imprint recoding.  Elena Tonetti, of www.birthintobeing.com, offers Birthshops where she "invokes our emotinal and physical memory of Bliss"!!  Sounds good to me.  Maybe if there is enough interest here in CNY, we could invite her here for a Bliss shop (my words).

THANK YOU ELIOT SPITZER!

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Sex, Lies and the Truth About Uterine Fibroids

Sex, Lies and the Truth about Uterine Fibroids is a well-written book by Carla Dionne (visit www.uterinefibroids.com for more info.), who is the executive director of the National Uterine Fibroids Foundation (www.nuff.org). Ms. Dionnne's book is a tremendous resource, inspired by her own experience and very practical, a must read for any woman curious about treating fibroids.

In her book, there is a section about castor oil packs that is very interesting and, the only place I have encountered a reference to a paper written in 1999 entitled "Immunomodulation Through Castor Oil Packs", written by Harvey Grady, which was published by the Journal of Naturopathic Medicine. The paper addresses how castor oil affects the lymphatic system and ultimately supports the immune system.

I love how Carla brings together these three energetic: Sex....our primal instinct to move energy freely throughout our pelvis and ultimately our entire body; Lies, could be one lying to oneself about what truly makes one happy, frustrated or sacred. all of these feelings can get lodged in the pelvis, esp. feeling like you are not being creative enough, having the time to be creative. if ou are always in survival mode, this freeing energy of creativity, which can come out in dance, cake baking, house decorating, it's limitless. to have creative energy available, you have to make the time to let it come out. Any woman who is fully engaged in life juggling all that it has to offer, knows that time is something practically non-existant! so that is our work, create time. all of this can be done in the mind. begin by imagining, or just plain fantasizing, that you have enough time for yourself. be specific in your visualization. imagine yourself going through your day in exactly the fashion you would like. long stretches before you get out of bed, couple deep breathes before you take your first sip of lemon water....and continue on.
One of the contributing factors in any accumulative disorder (which fibroids are), is the lie that we subscribe to that there is not enough time in the day to take care of oneself. And then we subscribe to it without even fantasize once about how we DO want our lives to look. So give yourself the creative outlet to fantasize about your life and exactly how you want it to look and feel like.

Love and Forgive

My all time favorite pod cast is Garrison Keillor's, the Writer's Almanac, supported by the Poetry Foundation.  As soon as I hear his poetic verse and voice, all is well for me.  He soothes your heart and expands your mind all with simple, lyrical gesture.

One of the sponsor's for the Writer's Almanac is www.loveandforgive.org, which is part of the Fetzer Institute.  Who would have thought that an entire website would be founded on the principles, scientific research and practical application of Love and Forgiveness?!  If you are interested in applying these principles in your life, visit their website (there are job opps. there as well).  They have an on-line forgiveness exercise that could be very helpful for those in need of developing this muscle of the heart.

Of course, the best way to a Happy Uterus is to Love and Forgive!