Nutritional Wellness
Hey there! Hope you’re feeling good. I’m much better, thank you. Feeling more balanced, less sluggish and gassy and overall blah thanks to this past week of cleansing and re-setting. I’ve been learning a lot over the past week too - about my own food-related triggers, and the many many ways to address gut health. Following a Low-FODMAP or other cleansing diet is one of them, but it’s restrictiveness is definitely not for everyone - and the word “diet” is often very touchy - even strictly off-limits - in many circles. I actually enjoy restricting myself every once in a while, testing my capacities for willpower and intentionality, denying myself what under other circumstances I might mindlessly reach for. I also have to be very careful not to be self-punishing or shame-y about it.
This short-term cleanse, like most of what are generally called “diets” in our culture, is definitely not sustainable over the long-term. I’m thinking about it this way: many of us struggle with lower back pain and sciatica - I have on and off for for many years. Sometimes, when the intensity of the pain ramps up, we may need medical intervention (I got a steroid epidural once, and during a particularly awful bout of sciatica, I took a drug called gabapentin for about a month that really saved me). These interventions immediately helped by reducing inflammation and quieting the the fight-or-flight alarm bells sounding throughout my nervous system so I could embark on some other work - physical therapy, pilates, yoga, mindfulness, and various core-strengthening exercises - that have proven to be sustainable into the long-term.
**I can’t move on without shouting out a couple books I read during this time; The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk and The Way Out: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven Approach to Heal Chronic Pain by Alan Gordon and Alon Ziv. If you suffer from trauma or chronic pain of any kind, I highly recommend checking them out.**
So now that I’m feeling a bit better, and the most urgent symptoms have calmed down, what’s next in terms of maintaining the benefits I’m enjoying? I’m going to continue deep breathing, tapping, meditating, humming, bouncing and other rhythmic and somatic movements that I’ve found over the years to effectively release tension, energize the body, calm and focus the nervous system, and improve emotional regulation. I’m continuing to learn about teas, tinctures, and other herbal remedies that help me sleep, digest, achieve calmness and mental clarity. And in general I’ll be slowing down, being more mindful, intentional, and intuitive about what and how I consume, along with how I move my body, drink water, parent my kiddo, interact with my community, spend time in nature, work in the garden, and all the rest. I welcome you to join me in this journey - regardless of motivates you or where you are along the path. Reach out if you could use some support in keeping yourself nourished while you focus on the other things that will heal and sustain you into the long term.
I’m currently reaching out to integrative and functional healthcare practitioners, therapists, dietitians, doctors of naturopathic and osteopathic medicine, doulas, midwives and other birthworkers with the aim of establishing collaborative referral programs. If you are a health and wellness professional, or are connected to anyone in these fields, please send them my way and/or pass my info along to them. Here is a “one-pager” with more information - feel free to share it widely - and thanks!!
