Seduced by the produce section: Winter Detox Day 1

Detoxing is such a great method to feel better, increase one’s energy level, feeling more clear minded and alert as well as giving one’s liver and kidneys a break just to mention a few. There are so many more benefits from detoxing that I’ll address that separately in a different post. There are several different detox plans and programs available that getting started can feel overwhelming in deciding which one to try. Personally, I found one a few years back by Dr. Elson Haas that works well for me. He has published a comprehensive book on detoxing called The New Detox Diet explaining why and who should detox, benefits, various types of detox methods and lots of recipes.

Having put my detox off for a long time, celebrating Christmas with my family, being sick with the flu for a couple of weeks after Christmas and then celebrating my birthday, I had almost built up starting my detox to this climactic moment both looking forward to it as well as dreading it. Looking forward to it because I know what it does for me every time I’ve done it in the past. Dreading it because of everything that I need to give up, caffeine for example and with the strict discipline one has to follow the meal plans and the meal times. However, one of the main things I truly love about a detox is the preparation. There is nothing like entering the grocery store, walking through the aisles to the produce section to purchase the fruits and vegetables needed for the next few days. This gives me an opportunity every time to try something new. Smelling the fruits and veggies and touching them choosing the ones that are ripe and not beat up is like going on a date in a way. I watch, smell, feel and decide if I like what I see and feel. Shopping in the produce section can actually be almost sensual with all the different colors, surfaces, textures and smells. In all honesty, I enjoy going grocery shopping at the health food store more than going to the mall shopping for clothes.

Day 1.
Unfortunately, the water in my building will be shut down for the entire day on the first day of my detox. The effort of doing anything without water is quite a challenge. I know that because a long time ago I lived without running water for almost six months and although I’m grateful for the experience I would gladly avoid going through that experience again. Luckily I could use my sister’s place for the day and headed over there as soon as I possible that morning. Incorporating a diet that calls for lots of water and bathroom visits when there is no water available is a less dignifying experience. Thus, the beginning of my first detox day started a little half off where I wasn’t able to successfully complete all of the suggested breakfast components.

In the past, day 1 has been the most difficult for me when juicing because I’m constantly hungry throughout the entire day and evening. Going to bed with a growling stomach is no fun and I feel like a kid cheated of his ice cream special. This time, doing a different detox plan where I’m allowed to eat, although only steamed vegetables for lunch and dinner, I felt quite satisfied physically. My biggest obstacle is late in the evening. As I get a second wind of energy, I get hungry and am ready to eat my second dinner around 10pm. All the health experts tell us why we shouldn’t eat late at night and it’s not just related to the gaining weight issue, which is not one of my concerns anyway. But being on this detox plan, the dinner consists of steamed vegetables and can be consumed between 5-6pm. After that one is only allowed to drink water and herbal tea. Late evenings are when I almost start hallucinating out of hunger, not in the mornings or late afternoons. A glass of hot herbal tea is of no comfort at this time of hunger, not even hunger but starvation!

As I went to bed on day 1, I felt pretty good though and not too hungry but my mind definitely spent a lot of time thinking about food. It’s interesting what happens mentally when I “think” I’m not going to get enough food to nourish myself. I have that fear of not getting enough, just like so many others I have talked to and worked with both as a Personal Trainer or consulting in my business. In fact, my mind is quite separate from my body in this matter because my body doesn’t need more than what I get in this detox plan to sustain itself, yet my mind tells me that it’s not going to be enough and therefore begins to obsess about food. Paradoxically, it also becomes a creative time for me when my mind plays around making up all these new recipes, for example. That’s where the greatest discipline and commitment takes place. To overcome my mind and not give in but wait it out and see what happens. Since I’ve detoxed before I know very well that the mind subsides after a few days and quiets down to a different kind of peace and clarity compared to my state of mind before the detox. Thus, after drinking my herbal tea I go to bed on day 1 actually feeling pretty good and looking forward to put that first day behind me.

Surviving 2010 – Part 1

After a trying year with lots of challenges in every way possible, I finally made the decision to go back home after spending over a decade overseas in order to be geographically closer to my family. Sometimes making life changing decisions like that are tough and there are certainly many times I’ve wished that someone else would make the decisions and take ultimate responsibility for what happens. In real life though, that’s not the case, or at least it hasn’t been for me. On the other hand, life is not static and when open minded, I’ve found that something will force me to walk forward and to continue to grow as a person both emotionally, mentally, and spiritually to increase my capacity for love and compassion for other people.

As I went through all of my belongings deciding what to do with them, what to keep and what to get rid of, I realized again, how much stuff I seem to collect that I don’t need. What a great opportunity to shed some unnecessary material weight. But nevertheless it’s difficult to get rid of one’s belongings, especially my books. I valued my library of reference and nonfiction literature more than my clothes. It was with sadness in my heart that I packed the books in boxes for donation since I couldn’t afford bringing all of them with me. There are in fact few things that makes one reflect upon what truly means something as moving half way across the world. If I am only able to bring ten books and I have a several hundred books, which books are important enough to bring? If I can bring one large suitcase with clothes, what would make most sense to bring?

In the end, I was still putting the last boxes together the morning of my flight and running a last load of stuff to the donation center. Everything I now owned could easily fit in one small car. There is something freeing about not having more than that but at the same time something uncertain. The space where my feet stand, the space that is mine to stand on, seems very small and unstable when one is making such a move and bringing only a few bags starting a new life.

My best friend drove me to the airport and reality hadn’t quite set in yet that we will be parted by the Atlantic and won’t be able to casually hang out the way that we’ve done for the last thirteen years. As we’re making small talk in the car getting closer to the airport, I felt more and more quiet not even sure what to say at a moment like that. Small talk seems so superficial but we both know that it’s not good bye either. Our paths will cross geographically again sometime in the future. When we arrived at the airport, her husband is already there to give me a hug and to wave goodbye. Somehow that’s when I realize that I may have left a lot of things behind that I’ve collected over the years but I’m also leaving my chosen family behind. Someone who has been like a true sister, her children who are like my own children and her husband who is like my family and friend in one will no longer be an active part of my daily life.

Capturing the moment

Fortunate and privileged are words that I can think of when it comes to the honor of having such people and relationships in my life. It may take a long time to establish and cultivate those kinds of relationships but some of them will last a lifetime. In comparison, no material things can ever come close and yet, we live in a world where we forget the importance of people and desperately hold on to things because they make us feel safe. We’ve given these things power to make us feel safe and secure believing that if I only had that, whatever that is, then I’d be happy and feel better. The experience that I can bring with me, having done such a large move now for the second time in my life, is that nothing can replace the love, joy and compassion that comes out of allowing people into my life. Building intimate relationships with other people will always force me to grow and learn and reflect upon what’s true and real to me.

Setting Goals In Our Lives

Everyone has dreams of what we would like to become or do with our lives. As a seven year old, I wanted to become a writer. It was my dream to grow up and become successful using written words like the authors I worshipped so much. At seven, I knew nothing about goals, and the significance of setting goals in order to know what direction to go in.

Many people have clear goals. They see clearly what they want to do, write it down and work hard to achieve them. Others think that having goals is limiting and too structured, which chokes creativity and freedom. Besides, taking an honest look at our goals is scary. There are so many fears connected with goal setting. What if we don’t deserve what we want? What if we are not capable enough? What if we reach our goals, and then what? People’s expectations of us will change and what happens if we fail after that glorious success? The pressure is enormous and the fears might become overwhelming.

What I’ve learned slowly over many years is that there are numerous tools available to take advantage of in a positive and constructive manner to reach my goals. We are surrounded by leaders who willingly share with us ways to handle situations and old ideas holding us back. Tony Robbins talks about outcomes for example. We are unsure which option to choose, afraid that only one of those options will produce the right result. We are programmed to believe that there are only two results, right or wrong. Tony Robbins talks about letting go of that idea and beginning to see that different choices have different outcomes. Those outcomes are neither right nor wrong, which takes some of the pressure off that if we make that one wrong decision, we are forever doomed.

Rhonda Byrnes, the author of The Secret also talks about the law of attraction and having a clear vision. According to her and many others, our thoughts are powerful and we will attract what we think! Therefore, it makes a difference if we focus our minds on positive thoughts and abundance as supposed to negative thoughts and shortage. Another tool discussed in her book The Secret is keeping a vision board. Having a clear image of what our goals are and what it looks like will help us in our decision making process and to recognize solutions when they face us.

In addition, we need stillness to reflect on what it is that we truly want in our lives. Setting goals is not that big of a deal because we can always change them. But as many of those I’ve talked with, we don’t know what our goals are and we feel frightened and confused. That’s where a day of quiet reflection or meditation might do us good. It will give us a chance to grow closer to ourselves and listen to that inner voice that knows what is true to us. A daily practice of writing and/or meditation will clear the mind like nothing else. Thai Yoga Massage is an effective way to bring about stillness, focus on our breath and clearing one’s mind to better connect with one’s body. Many of us can become much better at taking care of ourselves in our rushed society. Simply by exercising, eating healthy, and sometimes treating ourselves to recharge our batteries by getting a full body massage that promotes our energy, circulation, removal of toxins, combined with acupressure we will see clearly what it is that we want and what gives our lives purpose and fulfillment.

Practicing Meditation In My Daily Life

The idea of meditating and doing so successfully brings a lot of feelings to many of us. Most of all, the feeling of it being difficult, time consuming and unattainable. Who can sit in a lotus position for hours with a blank mind without one’s feet falling asleep and addressing every itch possible?

The first time I attempted to meditate was at the age of 11 or 12 years old. I have always read everything I can put my hands on and read a book on meditation and the benefits of meditating a couple of times per day. To this day I have no idea who the author of that book was but it instructed how to sit in a lotus position and  meditate twice a day for an hour each time, which would do wonders. Reading this, I decided to give this meditating thing a try, sat down, crossed my legs and closed my eyes. Yes, I was a serious kid growing up, curious about most things and with a great interest of learning. The hour seemed more like two days and no matter how many times I tried, I just couldn’t sit for the full hour without itching everywhere, my feet falling asleep, my back starting to hurt, and a mind racing with thoughts. For many years I put meditation aside and thought I had already tried it.

Many years later, when disscussing something with a friend, she asked if I meditated. My answer was naturally that I have already tried that and it doesn’t work for me. That’s when I found out that there are many different ways to meditate and that one doesn’t have to sit in a lotus position in order to be meditating. One doesn’t have to sit quietly with one’s eyes closed for an hour either in order to call it meditation. This certainly peaked my interest and as I began practicing meditating this way, I experienced some of the benefits. In the beginning it was quite a challenge to sit through my impulses with closed eyes without getting up. My mind would tell me what I needed to do, the starving plant that needed to be watered, the phone calls I needed to return, the laundry that needed to be done etc. Little by little I began to be able to sit through those five minutes and enjoy them which brought rewards. The five minutes of meditation every day contributed to slowing my mind down and it became more comfortable and less stresfull being in my head. I slowly began dealing with situations differently and responding to people differently because I wasn’t always tired and stressed out. The quiet mind gave me more room to see alternatives and options and to not act out before getting a chance to see things from a different perspective.

Many of the great teachers of all times, speak of meditation and the benefits in our lives. If you would like to get started meditating or have come to a halt in your meditation practice it can be picked up wherever you are. I’ve become more gentle with myself while meditating and do not expect a quiet mind without thoughts anymore. Instead, when distracted by my thoughts I observe them with as open of a mind as I can at the moment and let the thoughts proceed without holding on to them or judging them. That has helped me to enjoy meditating without feeling like I’m failing every time because I still haven’t reached the blank mind.

However challenging it might be to get started and even more challenging to be disciplined enough to continue meditating consistently it’s definitely worth the benefits. Many teachers will tell you to sit comfortably and to start small. I challenge you to sit with your eyes closed for five minutes every day for 30 days and see what might change in your life. It helps to keep a journal to remember and take note of things while practicing meditating. How it feels, what seems to be challenging and the new ideas and inspirations that might come. I would absolutely love hearing about your meditation experience and what it has done for you. There is nothing more inspiring than other people’s experiences, successes and failures because our failures are sometimes what brings us to the place where we are able to succeed!

In Love With Spring Every Time

The sun has boldly been hanging out all day for the last couple of days and the air is still nice and crisp without the sticky summer humidity that we are used to. This is by far the best time of the year! Every time this happens, I feel as if I’ve been involuntarily hibernating for a long time and now I’m starting to thaw up and warm up. Warmer weather means lighter clothing and less clothing which means more body awareness and how one looks. I remember being in my late teens and being so skinny that there was nothing hanging over my pants and no loose skin flabbing on my stomach when I was jumping. Now, I’m looking at my body AND, I do need to emphasize how grateful I am to have a healthy and fully functioning body that walks and runs and holds me up every day so I can do what I need to do.

However, every year, as I’m going through the reasons for why I’m grateful that I don’t have any deadly illnesses, my legs are strong, my lungs can breathe and everything bends the right way, I still see what can be improved. What about a tighter abdominal area, more defined leg muscles, and increased endurance and stamina?

In spite of disliking running A LOT, I ran a few races some years back. This year, after a recovery from an injury last year, I’m back to where I can run and work toward actively participating in races again. That’s honestly, the only way to get me out runnning, if I have something that I’m working toward, a goal. My first race was a 5K on flat ground. It’s short and easy without the challenges from a race on hilly terrain that requires more strength and stamina. The race went really well, considered that I was on a juice detox diet and hadn’t been ingesting solid food for a couple of days and had been doing lot of work prior that day, including a 60 minute massage.

Since it’s always nice to try something new to avoid getting stuck in the same rut, I decided to try a class at the gym where I belong. Let me tell you, that’s a big deal! I do not like classes where everyone does the same thing while cheerfully smiling and acting overly upbeat while trying to breathe. However, it’s definitely time to try something new so I chose a more advanced choreographed cardio class. AND, I’ll admit it, I loved it! The instructor was great, very human and fun. The class posed an intellectual challenge in addition to the physical challenge. My feet were trying to follow what my brain told them to do while intensely watching the instructor and sticking to the beat of the music with arms moving around not the least gracefully. I was sweating already after only 30 minutes of high intensity cardio steps. This is what is so great with working out. There is always something new to learn, something to increase (balance, coordination, stamina, core strength) and taking those small steps to explore what’s out there. when I get bored, it’s my own fault for not being open to trying something new that poses a challenge to me in some way.

Therefore, my conclusion will be to encourage everyone to try something new, something that we absolutey cannot see ourselves doing and to set healthy and attainable goals! Every day is a new day to take one action toward a healthier and happier life filled with peace and joy!

Namaste,

Some days are just like that! Today was going to be one of those great days filled with work, sun and a networking motivational meeting with like minded people at the end of the day to learn about Theta Healing. Look out for those great days. When I’ve got my mind in the wrong place, it bugs the hell out of me when the day doesn’t go my way and I have to accept that my expectations won’t be met.

Having my own schedule but still have something to show for means staying disciplined and keeping to some sort of schedule. That’s why it’s so much easier one many ways to work at an office. One knows when to start the day, most of the tasks that need to be addressed that day and when it’s time to go home for the day. (At least, that’s the theory, right?) But being self employed, there is no one that will contront me if I’m not on time in the morning. There is no one there to hold me accountable for the tasks that need to be done by a certain timeline. There is no one there to help keep the priorities in the right order for the business and clientele to flourish. There is also the social aspect of working with a team.

As I’ve got part of the day planned out so that I can attend the Theta Healing event and work without spending hours in rush hour traffic, I pack up and get ready to go. The sun in shining and the day is still young. Before I take off, I put a CD of Emmet Fox’s “Sermon on the Mount” in the player to listen to while driving. I’ve had periods in my life where the spiritual thirst is ravenous and I feel good listening to inspirational speakers, reading books etc. I’ve got my directions written out so I know exactly where I’m going to set up office until it’s time for the event. There’s road work at this one section of the highway, which happen to be the section where I was going to exit off the highway onto another highway. This is where it all started going wrong. First, there is a bus that is completely blocking me from reading any sign and I can’t go anywhere due to the road work having narrowed traffic down to one lane. I ended up on a tollfree access road which one cannot get off until the destination. Driving past my exit all the way until I can turn around is still all good because I’ve got plenty of time left of the afternoon to work. Well, turning around going back in the direction I came from to backtrack to my exit wasn’t all that easy and before I know it, I’m lost!

What did we do before the era of the phones with maps on them? I’ve got a map that can track my location and give me directions. After several stops to more easily navigate and make sure I was going in the right direction, I finally made it to my destination and chosen office for the afternoon, Barnes and Noble Bookstore. After some frustration and deep breathing, I realized that I still had over four hours where I could get plenty of work done and the sun was still high on the sky. While driving and being lost, I got a chance to further reflect on my morning reading out of “The Golden Present” by Swami Satchidananda. In short, it read about allowing the Higher Power, the Greater Good, to take charge. When we accept completely that whatever happens is the Divine Will, even getting lost and driving for an additional hour, that is also the Divine Will. It might seem totally lame but it does take the pressure off feeling like a pathetic failure and instead put a smile on one’s face. It did on me and without loosing steam, I’m sitting writing this, enjoying the fact that every now and then, I can “go with the flow” and not get worked up.

Bottom line is that when I keep an open mind instead of a bad attitude, the day ends up on a perfect note somehow without me being in control of every move. Live one day, without expectations, anxiety over losing control and with the notion that something amazing will happen to you that day.

The Bold Search For More Than a Doctor

The continuous adventure finding a doctor and the quest for an individual treatment is sometimes an overwhelming task. I’m currently sitting at my temporary but oh so cheap in rent office, Borders, with five blood red and perfectly symmetrical circles on my back from my latest Korean acupuncture treatment.

Usually there is a pill for everything under the sun and we are many times brought up in the spirit of taking anything that will numb the pain, actually the signals our bodies send us that something is wrong. We all know what the aisles look like at any drug store or pharmacy. One can find the pain relievers everybody has heard of, such as Advil, Aleve, Tylenol, Motrin, Midol, Buyer, and so on many times barely knowing the difference between the active ingredient as long as it takes away our pain.

Personally, I’m uncomfortable taking pain medication unless absolutely necessary. Well, a couple of days ago it seemed absolutely necessary because I was battling another one of those intense headaches that have various symptoms but no matter how extra strong or fast releasing the pain medication, they don’t work. Tired of being crippled by these headaches and trying to diagnose myself, I decided to seek out a Korean acupuncturist I recently heard of from a couple of friends.  When I walk in his office I’m first struck by the solid heat that meets and greets me. There is a wood stove with a fan that dispurses the heat into the rest of the office and it brings a sense of genuineness and comfort.

There is no wait and I get called in to one of the rooms right away after I’ve filled out minimal paper work on my medical history. After two sentences out of my mouth describing my symptoms, Doc asks me to lie down on my back and immediately begins his treatment based on what I’m telling him as he proceeds to push on my abdominal area. After he is done sticking needles in my face, abdominal area and my head, he asks me to turn over so he can put suction cups on my back and continue to stick needles in my head addressing the tightness that is contributing to my headaches.

When I finally left his office, I sit for a few minutes in the car getting over a slight feeling of dizziness and almost feeling a little disoriented after he pinched my eyeballs. I experienced the most unusual feeling in regards to my heaad. It still hurt a little bit but the entire nature of my headache had changed and my head actually felt as if it was breathing. There was a lightness all across my head that made it feel like it was floating around like the clouds and how we perceive that they are just simply floating around on the sky.

Having to admit that this was my first encounter with true acupuncture, not considering the Trigger Point Dry Needling, it was most exciting and positive. It is because of practitioners like this doc that I keep looking and every so often I find what I’m looking for which makes all those other disappointing doc visits worthwhile!

How many times have you gotten x-rayed?

Most people have had an x-ray taken at some point in their lives. In fact, x-rays can be great for discovering fractures, dislocations and anything that has to do with the pathology of the skeletal system but also for some soft tissue diseases like pneumonia and lung cancer. The reason why I bring this up is because I went just last week and got my left shoulder and my neck x-rayed. First, I filled out a couple of forms, one of them confirming and signing that I’m not pregnant. After that, they called me in and again asked me, just to make sure, that I’m not pregnant. After I put on one of those gowns, that doesn’t fit no matter what your size is, I posed numerous times for the radiologist to take my “picture.”

 

The days have certainly changed from the first time that I went to get x-rays. Instead of bringing a bulky package of plates to my other doc, I got a disc with my images and I don’t have to return it since they have the originals. I can even go and get as many discs as I’d like as long as I pay for them. As I’m sitting at home in front of my computer working, I’m thinking about how many times can one get x-rayed and not be affected at all by the radiation? Let’s see, I’ve gotten a fair amount of x-rays taken in my adult life, actually in the last ten years of my life. The first ones were to check and see if I suffered from pneumonia, then I got x-rays at my Chiropractor’s office, another one for possible pneumonia, another one at the chiropractor’s office after a serious injury and now this most recent one of my neck and shoulder. Oh, and if it counts, I guess I should include the cat scan I got of my head to make sure that everything looked ok after a particularly serious incident at the gym. I guess it’s a miracle that we are still standing after some of the things that our bodies have to go through. This does not include the times I’ve been to the dentist and gotten my mouth x-rayed…

As a result of the last couple of weeks experiences with the dry needling (trigger point needling) and the physical therapist trigger point massages and exercises, I’ve thought about and not for the first time, how many times can one get x-rayed without any side effects or negative effects at all? Haven’t you ever asked yourself if you can get x-rayed too much? Many times it’s so easy to get a procedure done and not question if it’s necessary and if and what effect it will have on us. When does the benefit of the technology no longer benefit us but turn against us?

Most people who know me also knows that I’m a little bit of a controversial when it comes to certain procedures and prefer to find alternative ways and options to do things that are less invasive. As i’m sitting researching on internet, looking for unbiased information about x-rays and the benefits vs side effects, I understand why we don’t even take the time to find out. A simple search on internet provides me with over 3,000,000 hits on google. Who has the time and the energy to sit and sift through what is worthwhile to make the most informed choices and decisions about our health?

As I continue my quest to find what works for me and my body while minimizing the intake of medicine with a page long note of side effects, I leave the doc’s office trying to walk the fine line of showing my respect for the education and experience of such a person and to still stick with what I believe in.

First Visit to Physical Therapist (Getting Old)

After the Dry Needle experience yesterday, I put on Arnica gel before going to bed hoping that I wouldn’t wake up all sore and in pain. Honestly, the osteopathic doc did scare me a little when he said that no one had gotten trigger point needled without the injections due to the pain and muscle soreness. When I woke up I was more sore then yesterday but absolutely not intolerable at all. Everything always feels better after a hot shower.

In an attempt to save some time, I’d already filled out the paper work for the Physical Therapist’s office online and submitted it. Therefore, it was pretty easy after I’d gotten to the office. That is, first I had to battle one of those confusing parking garages where everyone goes the wrong way the first time. No matter how detailed directions one has received, there is no way of getting it right the first time so after I’d reparked the car to avoid getting towed while being treated, which the office manager said happens quite often, I was ready to meet with my first ever Physical Therapist…

 

The visit lasted for almost two hours including an evaluation, some manual manipulations and then some exerices. One of my first thoughts as I’m sitting across from the PT describing what’s going on, which by the way cannot for sure be linked to a specific injury or accident, is that I’m getting old. Yes, in my twenties, I didn’t physically struggle and whatever surfaced would vanish just as fast. Now, I’m sitting here being manipulated as if I’m too old to move my own body and definitely feeling a weakness in my left shoulder where I used to be pretty strong. So instead of lifting weights, I’ll be doing isometric exercises for a while, feel the burn, some stability ball exerices and the popular and beloved plank and side plank positions. Well, at least I left with a burn and a sensation in my shoulder moving down my arm that was much more fierce than when I first arrived.

 

Still, I’m so grateful for what’s available and that there are numerous options and alternatives for us to explore whenever we experience pain and or injuries. My body is in good health, I can still do what I love and iad others in their personal journeys toward health and happiness.

Dry Needling (Trigger Point Injections)

Trigger Point Injections also called Dry Needling if one doesn’t accept the anasthetic injections of procaine, lidocaine or corticosteroid. It’s a therapy or treatment used to relieve muscle or joint pain. The idea is to relieve the trigger points, which are knots inside your muscles by injections. However, it can also be done without the injections. The side effects are supposed to be minimal in such a treatment compared to some other treatments out there.

Well, today, that’s what I had done to me for the first time. For the last few months I’ve experienced shoulder pain that has had an increasingly negative effect in my daily life. It’s kept me from sleeping on my left side, causes me pain when I give Thai Yoga Massage, when I rotate my arm certain ways and when I lift my arm. It all began at some point when I was really young. Maybe in one of my teenage car accidents. However, as a young person who is flexible and agile, there were no injuries to my knowledge. As the years have worn on, I’ve become more aware that my left shoulder has a limited range of motion and that during certain yoga poses my shoulder gives in and my left arm falls asleep unless I adjust my pose.

In a constant search of alternative and less invasive methods, I decided to seek the expertise of an osteopath to find out what such a professional person would have to say. After a long and thorough research of what’s available in network and reading patient reviews along with checking out credentials, yes as you can tell I’m serious about this matter, I found someone I was willing to try. Against his recommendations, I denied the anasthetic injections so he decided to use acupuncture needles as supposed to the ones he normally uses during this treatment. I wish I could have seen him stick them in my shoulders but I can tell that it certainly was a different experience. As the doctor stuck the needle inside my muscle, repeatedly but in various places, he poked around to find the trigger points trying to release the knots. If there was a twitch that means that there is a release. The doc warned me that I might be sore for the next few days but he also asked me to make mental notes of how I feel since he hasn’t had anyone do this without the anasthetic injections.

Now, many hours later, I still feel a dull sensation in my left shoulder down the side of my arm to my elbow from the dry needling. It’s not painful but I’m very aware of this area and will take a hot shower and put on some arnica gel. Tomorrow, I’ll be going to see a Physical Therapist for the first time in my life. All of this is new to me but a good experience, since I’m myself in the field of healing and aiding people in various physical conditions.