One more option for H1N1

With all the fear of H1N1 as well as fears concerning vaccinations, I thought I would let our readers know of one more option out there. For some, it may seem too "out there", but it is a very valid option nonetheless.

When my son was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity last year, I searched and searched for options for him. I finally discovered something called "Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique" (NAET). It involves three steps: muscle response testing (MRT) for allergies, stimulating accupressure points while the allergen is held (a glass vial with the the energy field of the substance or the actual substance), and an avoidance period of about 24 hours until the brain has reprogrammed the entire body to accept the substance.

The technique, however, is not eliminated to allergy elimination. It can be used to test a person's immunity to a virus/bacteria, introduce the body to it (still in a vial), strengthen the body's response through accupressure, and thus give the body the immunity it needs to fight it when it comes in contact with the actual virus or bacteria in the environment. And there are no needles, no worrisome preservatives, and no live/radiated viruses actually put into the body.

Some people will still have a mild reaction (tiredness, aches etc.). They should come back in a day and check to see how the body is doing. Sometimes a second treatment is needed. But usually that is all. Babies, children, adults, all can have it done.

Two of my kids have been treated. I was too weak today (exceptional loss of sleep lately), but will be having it done next week hopefully. Normally, people are treated for basic allergens before moving on to something like this, but my practitioner is making exceptions given the situation. Some people (especially older ones) will find they have a strong immune response to the virus and will not need to do anything.

There are a number of people practicing NAET in Winnipeg, and most of the larger provinces (unfortunately not in my home province of Saskatchewan). You can go to www.naet.com to find a practitioner (not a complete listing). Village Chiropractic Centre on River Ave. is where I go. Dr. Maria di Bernardo is very skilled and personable. The cost there is $80 for the initial intake and first treatment (book is included) and $50 afterward. If you have extra health insurance, a portion of that may be covered.

I have been posting a lot on H1N1. I hope it has been helpful rather than tiresome. At Eve Studios, we want to be involved in the whole life of a woman. And so, I try to address things that come up in our lives. It will, however, be my last post on the subject!

Thanksgiving…. a little late

I love thanksgiving, it’s one time of the year where we are really encouraged to be very thankful and to intentionally stop, look at life and be grateful. This year I have many things to be very grateful for; I have my wife Sonya without whom I don’t know what I would do, I have my three wonderful children who make me smile so often, we have my family and my in-laws all of whom are wonderful people that I am thankful for and God has blessed us with health and strength.

When I think of thanksgiving I’m also overcome with a sense of extreme gratitude for our clients without whom we wouldn’t have our business and without whom we would not be the people we are today. I feel so thankful for each one of you, you make me smile whenever I think of you, it’s an honour to know you as people and to have you as clients and I think the ultimate honour for us is when you refer us to your friends because then we know that we have been able to impact your lives in some way.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

This week I have a special thank you to send out, in the past few weeks I have had the honour of sharing in and capturing forever in print the nuptials of my cousins daughter, capturing the maternity and newborn images of both clients and close friends, creating family heirlooms in some family portrait sessions and of course our specialty capturing the beauty and mystery that is “woman”. This week I also had the opportunity to spend the best part of the day with a group of women that work together, the 4 of them decided to come in to do an Eve Session as a Christmas gift to the men in their lives who had everything, well almost everything. These men will soon find out they didn’t have what they wanted most, some amazing images of the women they love. Girls, thank you for an amazing time, I had so much fun with you as we laughed, texed back and forth to co-workers, talked about them, ate great food, drank good drinks (Pepsi for we, wine coolers for the girls) and created amazing images in one of the most fun sessions I’ve ever had here at the studio.

I’m trying to teach my kids to have an “Attitude of Gratitude” and instead of grumping about things to simply be thankful and as I try to live that out I find myself a happier and more fulfilled person; so thank you all for everything you do to make my life better, I really appreciate you more than you will ever know.

Rodney

Dr. Oz's H1N1 Tips

Thanks to one of our "Just As I Am" participants for passing this along. A more qualified person is now sharing some suggestions.

The following advice, given by Dr. Oz, makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know:

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe.)

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine or Hydrogen Peroxide if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water, or hydrogen peroxide. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose softly once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

Glee???

I’ve been hooked on a TV. show lately called Glee. Glee is a show about a musical group in a high school made up of some “cool kids” and some “looser kids”, it’s a place where in that group status really doesn’t matter until you walk out the door. This week it was revealed to the school that Quinn the head cheerleader was pregnant and she and her quarterback boyfriend Finn immediately went from cool to uncool.

Finn & Quinn tried everything they could think of to try to get cool again but all to no avail. I sat there thinking about how we all really just want to be cool or at least acceptable to those around us; I know that in high school I didn’t usually feel like I was in the “in” crowd.

Life is so much bigger than what people think of us, let’s all go out there and live life to the fullest; hug your kids, smell the fresh air and enjoy the many blessings that we have.

Rodney

Sonya's H1N1 tips

I know the government is really trying to help control the spread of the H1N1 virus and each of the basic things they say are really important; but don't you get a little tired of being told to cough into your elbow and wash your hands with soap?! There are so many other things you can do to help your body's immune system handle what comes its way. We are not completely at the mercy of germs like we would be conditioned to believe.

Here is my own list...(just keep in mind I am not a medical practioner of any kind)

• Eat more whole foods...reach for fruits and vegetables instead of packaged food
• Take time to prepare and enjoy your food. Consider ordering from somewhere like Food for Thought if time is a challenge (for the month of October, all web orders get you entered in a draw for $100 of frozen food)
• Use simple things like straight lemon juice for a sore throat, a teaspoon of honey for a cough, a hot lemon and honey drink with a sprinkle of cayenne for stuffiness and sore throat, garlic (you can even tuck a clove in your sock and benefit)
• Find some nourishing comfort foods like soup. Here are two you might like to try: garlic soup (it was actually creamy and delicious), and chicken noodle (from the old country)
• Go to a health food store like Aviva (my favorite...one on Adelaide near Notre Dame and one on Meadowood and online store as well) I picked up oil of oregano recently, which has a very spicy/burning sensation under the tongue, but very effective to nip colds in the bud. You can also rub it on your feet (better for kids). Of course, Vitamin C and zinc are great to have on hand.
• Take a couple minutes and wipe the high-use objects in your home with a damp micro-fibre cloth (lightswitches, doorknobs, phones etc.)
• Get lots of hugs. Our bodies and souls thrive on human touch. Hugs are probably the least contagious form of touch and the nicest! (Rodney is a good one for hugs...find people that are embracing or initiate it yourself!)
• Laugh! Pick a word for the week as your secret laugh word...whenever you hear it, it's your cue to laugh! My daughter and I had a great time with this. Pick up a laughter CD from Spa Drole or find a laughter yoga class (there's one that meets at Source Yoga on Osborne Mondays from 12:15-12:45. See here for details) Laughter boosts our body's natural ability to fend off illness.
• Find ways to relax deeply. Yoga (I love Moksha Yoga), or a spa experience (Tiber River and Rituals offer a mini-spa experience). I've heard good things from the Inn at the Forks' spa as well as the Fort Garry Hotel's spa)
• Go for a walk to wind down and connect with yourself.
• Find a way to move your body that feels good. Dance, run, stretch, whatever.
• Journal. Get a book...any kind of book...or take a little time and find one that you find beautiful and inspiring. But just do it. Try stream-of-consciousness writing: three pages of whatever comes to mind. Make a gratitude journal. Start a page with "What do I need?" Doing this writing gets us in touch with what we're thinking and helps us see both positive things we can focus on as well as actions we need to take in our lives. Very key for maintaining health.
• Talk to yourself! Tell yourself you will provide your body with what it needs in order for it to stay strong and healthy. Sing a phrase of health over yourself. Your body is not just a bunch of cells that are isolated from your emotions and your spirit. Words are powerful.
• Say no.
• Listen to your body.
• Take a sick day before you're all-out sick.

New Sense of Confidence...

Gale, 50

Business owner

I was in your studio in April, and did a photo shoot with the idea that I wanted a gift for my husband for our 30th anniversary. Another motivator for me was my husband was always telling me how beautiful I was, and I wanted to be able to see what he was seeing. Having turned 50, I think I was needing a bit more assurance.

The trip to the studio was a bit nerve racking, as I really didn't know what to expect, and this was something very "out of the norm" for me to be doing. Rodney made me feel very comfortable very quickly, and spent time getting to know and understand me. The day was a very special one for me, and one that I will never forget. Reviewing the photos was a wonderful experience. The private slide show really made me focus on the images that were taken, and see myself in a new light.

I am very happy with the end result, and am so glad that I made the decision to visit the studio. My husband was also very happy with his gift. He keeps my album on his dresser, and changes the page every couple of days -- my portrait photo greets him each day, and he has commented time and again how special it made him feel to have such a personal gift. Whenever I glance to the photos, I always leave with a smile and a little more bounce in my step.

All in the all, this was a fantastic experience, and I would highly recommend a session at your studio to women of all ages, shapes and sizes, not just for someone else, but most importantly, for themselves. I came away with a new sense of confidence in myself, and here months later, the experience continues to have a positive effect.

Must Reads for Women

I'm not quite through reading it yet, but I have to say that "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" by Christiane Northrup, M.D., is a book that every woman should read. I was fortunate to pick up my tattered copy at my library branch in the used book section. I don't even know if it's a popular book currently or not. But it should be.

This book is thorough (it's fatter than a Bible). I've found it helpful on so many levels. It goes through a lot of medical stuff relating to the female reproductive system. That is useful. It talks about the experience of pregnancy, labour/delivery, and motherhood, of miscarriage and infertility, of abortion, and of sexual abuse...all with women's stories. It talks about the many kinds of cancers and other diseases unique to women. Tons of information.

What I especially liked in this book though, was the unique perspective Northrup has as a medical doctor with all the traditional knowledge and experience, but who also has a very wholistic perspective: treating the whole woman because she recognizes that mind, body, spirit, emotions are all inter-related. She gives story after story of women who have experienced healing of cysts, fibroids, bleeding etc. after they have listened to their bodies, processed their emotions from past pain/trauma, begun to make changes in their lives and relationships, turned to a higher power, and/or begun to gather the support that they need around them. I was astounded.

Another favorite thing I took away from this book was greater understanding about the energy systems of the body. Our bodies have a number of different energy pathways (chakras) that are related to different areas/organs in our bodies. They ways we process our emotions, approach life, feed our bodies and so on can block these energy pathways so that different areas are more susceptible to illness. She has a chart that shows the correlation between different chakras, the mental/emotional issues, and examples of related illnesses. Discovering this information is actually helping give me direction for my life in order to help bring healing to my thyroid.

The third section I particularly enjoyed was all about a woman's menstrual cycle and the significance of the ebb and flow of energy, creativity, and wisdom. I think we've all been ripped off when it comes to learning about this in grade four. There is so much more to this than tampons, pads, making babies, and birth control. A woman's uterus is much more than a place where an egg can grow if fertilized. It is her space for creativity. It is her "low heart". And our fine balance of hormones which regulates our cycle allows us to be intuitive and reflective at times, more open to receiving others at other times, and more energetic at others. But we need to learn to listen to our bodies rather than pushing ourselves to the limit.

The other book I'd recommend (from a different perspective), is "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge. It is actually the major inspiration for Eve Studios. But I've done enough writing for tonight.

Just a reminder that FemFest 2009 is coming up soon, starting September 25th. FemFest is theatre and workshops "by women for everyone" put on by Sarasvati Productions. The theme this year is "Herstory". One of the shows I am interested in is "Pitch Blond": the story of Judy Holliday, the 170-IQ genius who specialized in playing dumb blondes. Tickets are $10 for a single show. We'll be giving away some tickets for FemFest, as well as some gift certificates at FemFest. More details to come...