I am….the food I eat, the water I drink, the air I breathe, the thoughts I think, the way I move, the sounds I hear, the words I speak, the emotions I feel, the energy I generate AND the creatures with whom I surround myself. This rainbow of factors comprises Life Experience, permeating Body, Mind and Spirit.
Health is a CHOICE — a foreign concept prior to my “wake-up call” in the early 90’s. Until then, I didn’t listen to my Mind, my Body OR my Spirit. The frenzy of single parenthood and working in a challenging, male-dominated industry took center stage. My priorities were skewed. The treadmill lifestyle controlled my life, compromised my self-esteem and, eventually, sacrificed my physical, mental and emotional health.
Disabling symptoms left me recumbent 18 hours a day. Diagnosed with FM/CFS, an auto-immune disorder, I learned precursors were poor diet and STRESS. I heard “There is no cure. All we can do is treat symptoms.” Root causes went unexplored with no mention of DIET or the mind/body connection.
“How is your spiritual life?” asked an Integrative Internist six years later. A Harvard-trained MD, this man honored Mother Earth. He led a sustainable lifestyle, even raised his own cattle. He walked the walk and changed my life forever:
“Irene, due to STRESS and all the meds you’ve been taking, your immune system is seriously compromised. Drugs will not cure you; vitamins can’t! The only way to strengthen your immune system is: EAT whole foods – fruits and vegetables of all colors and whole grains; Exercise (whatever you can do every day); Reduce Stress; Nurture your mind with laughter; Hydrate with pure water; Reconnect with others and with the Earth and Meditate.”
Recognizing I Am What I Eat, I became intentional about eating more fruits and vegetables. I eliminated most processed food. After many months, with the help of a support group and a nutritionist – I gave up pizza, cookies and hoagies.
Sometime later, I awakened to a clear, sun-drenched morning — the Sunday after 911. I looked out the window and it hit me, “I am very fortunate. My family is alive and safe and I have been feeling better. I am not taking as many drugs for the joint pain.” At that moment I realized my illness was a blessing in disguise. I had reset my priorities, becoming Intentional about life. At the end of that year, thanks to a healthful diet, I eliminated ALL synthetic vitamins and pain meds.
By 2006, encouraged by a doctor who asked for literature about my food program, so he could “share this success with other patients”, I was inspired to help others take control of their health. With a holistic approach and Intention on disease PREVENTION, I now share my experience, presenting Wine and Wellness events and providing health education programs which empower people to embark on the journey.
A graduate student in Holistic Spirituality/Healthcare, I feel blessed to be helping people with their Longevity. As Hippocrates said, “Internal forces have the power to heal. Let food be your medicine; let medicine be your food.” As a community, let us set the intention to Live Well.
Mardy's Note: 12/8/11: The distributor who provided this content on Lumigrate at my encouragement and with my support in the past has messaged through Lumigrate to request the content he provided be removed as he doesn't wish to participate in this 'effort' anymore. The forums at Lumigrate are a social media format, similar to facebook. That would be like contacting facebook and saying "take everything I ever commented on or posted off". Many conversations and exchanges of other providers are woven in 'threads' and that would be disrespectful to the other forum participants who gave their time and energy to participate in the 'social' media of Lumigrate's forums. However, I have changed the UserName to be Juice Plus 007, removed the photo, and am posting this in the signature and removing the contact information that is set up in the signature in order to make it clear this contributor no longer wants to be 'connected' with the posts. Additionally, as time permits, I will work to replace the content with similar but that will entail selecting another person distributing for Juice Plus. I wanted JP represented on Lumigrate because it is a well-known company based on the concept of supplementing fruits and vegetables. Also because JP reaches many people due to it's vast number of distributors; there are 10 in Grand Junction, population 50k or so. In addition to removing the information in the signature for contact, I have changed the username and email address associated with it to route to me if anyone were to send a "private message" to JP007. My first step will be to edit out any internal contact information/links to the requestor. I guess you call this an "imposter"? Grins! I hope this is a clear statement for the users of Lumigrate to view related YOUR forum area and how I manage it. After all, it is YOUR health education (and mine) I'm advocating for but Lumigrate, at the end of the day, is my website. I care a great deal about the users of Lumigrate feeling they are being treated well and providing a forum area which is a FUN place to come get valid, progressive information in a streamlined way when searching for health information our audience of consumers is seeking.
Links:
[1] http://alchemyfortheearth.com/30-embrace-the-rainbow-live-with-intention/irene_s_photo
[2] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/embrace-rainbow…live-intention-my-colleague-ms-webster#comment-973
[3] http://twitter.com/lumigrate
[4] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/embrace-rainbow%E2%80%A6live-intention-my-colleague-ms-webster#top
[5] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/login?destination=node/678%23comment-form
[6] http://www.lumigrate.com/user/register?destination=node/678%23comment-form
[7] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/embrace-rainbow…live-intention-my-colleague-ms-webster#comment-976
[8] http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/meet-robin-thomas
[9] http://facebook.com/robinthomas.usana
[10] http://linkedin.com/rpthomas
[11] http://twitter.com/robinthomas1
[12] http://robinthomas.biz
Comments
This is really a wonderful piece, Tom and it really applies to so many areas of Lumigrate, I'd like to sprinkle it around so if people are looking in one area related to integrative wellness, such as spirituality, power of the mind, etc., they'll see it.
I'll also comment more specifically in those areas where it will also appear, but this piece really brings out the integrative concepts and speaks in a very succinct way about how her health changed once she not only learned but embraced the concepts of integrative wellness. It's clear from how she wrote about the provider that his example of how he lived life was likely a significant factor for her lifestyle changes. As a person who has been extremely ill with CFS and FMS myself, I can say that it can feel overwhelming to hear about changes that can help. Seeing someone as a 'leader' can be a critical component to inspiring change for some people.
I also like to think that breaking things down simply and sometimes adding instead of taking away initially can be an advantage. Many people with CFS and FMS fall into the trap of caffeine and sometimes soda with sugar and caffeine in order to get through the day. Naturally, that ends up contributing to more problems more than likely, but instead of saying 'stop that and drink (for example) green tea instead', I'd recommend a person ALSO have some green tea a couple of times a day and then work on replacing the unhealthy drinks with the healthy one.
I recognized this story you posted likely took five years to get from her first learning to first teaching. I hope people reading this will look at where they are today and set the intention to be where they will be tomorrow -- and in the long run. As she so nicely says in closing .. As a community, let us set the intention to Live Well ...
Thanks! REALLY like this one! ~~ Mardy
Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [3] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!
The changes in diet, mindset, and spirit make a huge difference in how we feel, and our total health. I applaud the author's holistic approach to lifestyle changes. Her family is truly blessed to have her influence and care.
Robin started contributing to Lumigrate in August 2010. "Meet Robin Thomas", a topic in our biographies/vitae forum is at http://www.lumigrate.com/forum/meet-robin-thomas [8] to read all about her journey, which was greatly influenced by the need to help solve her youngest son's significant health challenges. For those who want just the overview here: After working over 22 years in medical research at the University of North Carolina on chronic inflammatory diseases she switched her focus to preventive health in 2004 when she was introduced to USANA Health Sciences. Robin is passionate about helping others improve their health, have more energy, manage their weight, and improve their skin.
I love meeting new friends !
LIKE me on Facebook [9] Connect on LinkedIn [10]
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"I dream of a world free from pain and suffering. I dream of a world free from disease. The USANA family will be the healthiest family on earth. Share my vision. Love life and live it to its fullest in happiness and health."
-Dr. Myron Wentz, Founder and Chairman, USANA Health Sciences