nakedjen

A Series of Rather Unfortunate Events

First there was the date. 

I had already decided that perhaps men and I are not a very good mix right now.  That perhaps I am still just a tad too broken and haven’t been glued back together correctly with the pieces in the right places yet.  You know, my heart, my big beautiful bleeding heart?  It’s still stuck on my sleeve where everyone can see it and needs to be put back in my chest, for one thing.  Plus there’s the fact that I haven’t had sex in so long with anyone other than myself and those toys under my bed that I’m thinking I may not even know how anymore.  I might need to hire someone just to give me some refresher lessons or something? 

Still, he seemed nice enough.  At least on the telephone, he did.  It has been a long time since anyone of either sex has asked me out for any reason at all, so since he was rather insistent that I go out with him and I wasn’t doing anything else other than sorting my own socks and picking dog hair off the cushions on the couch I thought I might as well give it a go.

Which is how I found myself last Saturday night in a bar I’ve never been in before somewhere not in Salt Lake.  I knew things were not going to go well when I arrived and was greeted with “I thought you were going to be younger!  You sound like you’re 23 on the telephone!”  Not knowing quite how to respond to these words coming from a nearly 50 year old man, I stammered, “I’m 17 in my head.  Does that count for anything?”

The next words from him didn’t help matters at all.

“No, seriously.  How old are you.  You’ve got to be at least 30!”

Well, maybe the man also needed glasses as well as breath mints!  Clearly, though, I was not the woman he was expecting.  I was far too old for him.  I tried not to let this bother me.  The fact that he was older than me and I was too old for him.  I really did.  I tried to remain friendly and cordial and just to have a good time despite his awkward groping at my body (a body that he already told me was too old for him!). 

Finally, I made my excuses and told him it was time for me to go.  “But when will we get together again?,” he asked. 

“When you’re 17!”, I said. 

On the drive home I got angrier and angrier.   Not at the 50 year old man in search of his 20-something trophy wife, actually.  Just angry at the entire situation.  This is not the life I signed up for.  I’m angry at David.  For walking out.  I’m angry at myself for marrying David in the first place.  For trusting him to love me till “death do us part.”  For letting myself believe in happily ever after.  For spending 10 years with him to end up right here.  Alone.  In Utah.  Picking dog hair off the sofa on a Saturday night.

Working 60 hour weeks for Sundance and getting very little sleep did nothing to improve upon the situation.  If anything it made it worse.  I spiraled.  Quickly.  I became a color of blue I haven’t been in quite some time and I wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.

My days were consumed with being the Sundance Angel (I was so dubbed) and bestowing goodness upon all who came in contact with me.  But inside, deep inside, I was really crumbling and hurting.   Sadness was creeping in the strangest of places and I would find myself crying because the coffee wasn’t hot enough or the dogs were barking when I felt they should.just.be.quiet.

My very soul was blue.  Deep, dark, scary blue.  It frightened me and I was unsure what to do.

I’ve been eating cashews my whole life without nary an issue.  It is David who is allergic to cashews.  An allergy he had as a child and refused to even test when we were married.  It made me nuts.

I adore cashews.  Especially raw ones turned into other things like delicious “cheese” spreads.  When you’re a vegetarian, nuts are a real staple of your diet.  Cashews are among my favorites.

I was eating a few raw cashews.  I was Angry.  I was Deep, dark, scary, blue. 

My throat started to swell and my chest started to constrict.  Was this a panic attack or was I having an allergic reaction to the cashews?  I am allergic to avocados and the sensation I was having felt exactly like what happens when I accidentally eat avocados. 

Exactly.

Of course, because I am me, I had to wait it out and see for a while before I actually did anything about it.  With my avocado reaction, waiting can be deadly.  Why I thought I should wait and see with this EXACT SAME REACTION is a testament to the depths of my angry deep dark scary blueness.  I was not thinking clearly.

I was thinking, also, about the dogs.  Who would take care of them if I ended up in the hospital?  Better of course to just DIE, you know.  Because if I just keeled right over right there on the couch while sorting socks and picking off dog hair and wondering about my reaction to the raw cashews, well, at least that would take care of the angry deep dark scary blue place and the dogs would quite possibly bark and someone would come to take care of them. 

Amazing how our minds work in these situations, isn’t it?

I can promise you that this is not the Internet’s first missive being written from the great beyond (where ever that may be) and that I did, in fact, take myself to Urgent Care.   I can now add Cashews to the list of things to which I am allergic.  Very, very, very allergic.  Fall over and die allergic.  If you want to kill me (and I know you’re out there, you people who do want to kill me), give me an avocado and cashew sandwich.  And serve it to me while I’m standing in a patch of poison ivy.  That should just about do the trick.

The upshot of all of this is that my little trip to Urgent Care along with my imagined near-death experience seems to have dissipated the anger and deep dark scary blue feelings.  Of course, it also helps that I had a double session with my therapist. 

Let’s just say there were a series of very unfortunate events.  A series of very unfortunate events that, in retrospect, have proved quite fortunate.

Communitea

Communitea. The newest tea in my line of Dreamsweet Organic Medicinal Teas is truly a gift from the faeries that was conceived on the most recent new moon.  A most incredible faerie shared the recipe of this tea with me and I haven't been able to stop drinking it. 

Communitea is a special blend of five organic herbs that promotes spiritual grounding and communion.  It is especially wonderful for gatherings with all your most treasured friends.  Or for just drinking every day because you want to and because you can.

Speaking of herbal tea:

Healthy Brews

Recent studies have offered new evidence concerning the positive health benefits of herbal teas. A report presented at the annual conference of the American Heart Association showed a group of pre-hypertensive and mildly hypertensive adults had lower blood pressure as a result of drinking hibiscus tea. Since hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a problem affecting one- third of all U.S. adults, researchers are hopeful that drinking hibiscus tea may help in controlling blood pressure, although they emphasized more research is needed.

The study, funded by organic tea supplier Celestial Seasonings and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), lasted six weeks and involved 65 volunteers, aged 30 to 70 years. The participants maintained their usual diet and activities. About one half of the group was randomly selected to receive three cups of hibiscus tea each day, while the others were given a placebo with artificial hibiscus flavoring and color. Blood pressure was measured regularly and the hibiscus significantly out- performed the placebo in reducing blood pressure over the course of the study.

As in the hibiscus study, scientists in a recent chamomile study are urging more research before final conclusions can be drawn -- but if the results of their work with rats can be repeated in other studies (including some on humans), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) tea may become valuable as part of a dietary routine to help prevent and manage diabetes.

The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports that "The results [of this new study on rats] clearly suggested that daily consumption of chamomile tea with meals could contribute to the prevention of the progress of hyperglycemia and diabetic complications."

Vegan Sunshine Every Day At 5:00 A.M.

On Tuesday, being the first of the month, July 1, 2008, I decided that I would begin a new fitness program.  I heard you all just snicker.  Stop it. 

What overcame me, or better yet possessed me, and caused my mind, body and soul to believe that starting a fitness program in July in Utah was a fabulous idea I have no idea?  I must, obviously, still be suffering from Divorce Brain.  Which means that ideas that are absolutely and completely insane and ridiculous to the normal person sound perfectly sane and logical to me.  You know the same ideas that cause a person who is living happily by the beach in Santa Cruz to sell all of her belongings for a quarter and move herself and her dogs 1500 miles from that same beach where she has lived for twenty years and everyone knows her name into the freezing mountains of Utah where she knows absolutely no one and it snows every single day until July when it suddenly is 105 degrees every single day even at midnight.  Yeah, those kinds of ideas.  Brilliant!!

So, still suffering from Divorce Brain, I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning.  Yes, 5:00 a.m.  Not because I had to be at work.  Not because I had an appointment with a special hair dresser for a special photo shoot.  Not because I absolutely MUST see the sun rise.  Oh no.  Because, as I mentioned, I'm clearly not okay. 

The alarm went off.  Buddha opened one eye, gave me a look like, "You've got to be kidding me?", sighed heavily, actually rolled over and went back to sleep.  His sister, Stella, on the other hand, took the alarm as an opportunity to jump on my head.  Literally.  And then drop a very slimy tennis ball right on my face.  It's her way of saying "Good Morning!"  She then, because she can, licked me.  All over.  Oh yes, if the tongue bath of an over-enthusiastic labrador won't get you out of bed, nothing will.  Trust me.

Even though the thermometer outside was already registering 89 degrees (at 5:00 freaking a.m.!!) I decided that because I was in Utah and not in Santa Cruz I needed to actually put some clothes on for this little adventure.  I wanted to just walk out of the house naked.  You all know that I did.  But I figured that was surely going to get me entered into a fitness program of an entirely different nature and I had just paid my rent for this house and actually would like to keep occupying it for the month of July even if the painter hasn't showed up like he promised and I still have holes in the floors and paint chipping from the ceiling (that's for another blog post entirely!). 

I got dressed.  As I mentioned.  And I walked/ran/walked/huffed/walked/ran/jogged/threw tennis balls/swam/walked/jogged/huffed/puffed/sweat my boobs off/walked some more/jogged a few more steps for 12.6 miles.  Up hills.  Down hills.  I wore those puppies out.  Oh and the dogs, too. 

And then, because I clearly am not right in the head, after I got home, I went to yoga.  Because, well, I'm starting this fitness program.  I did mention that.  I realized that I haven't been doing enough yoga lately.  I need to do more.  It is what keeps me grounded.  Or at least one foot on the ground.  And helps me to control my seizures.  They're not so under control these days.  So it's back to a regular practice I go. 

I also have decided that I will eliminate ALL SUGAR from my diet.  Well, let me clarify.  Fruit has sugar and I'm not eliminating that.  What I mean is all added processed sugars.  I always try to do that, but I've gotten particularly bad about it lately.  Especially with the traveling I've been doing.  Wedding Cake!  Cookies!  Birthday celebrations!  It becomes one big Slip N Slide down the mountain until it's like all you're eating is SUGAR.

So, if you're still reading, you might be interested to know, that I'm on day 3 of this insanity.  This morning I didn't even need the alarm at 5:00 a.m. because Buddha and Stella woke me up at 4:50 a.m.  Stella jumped on my head.  Buddha gave me kisses.  It was still hot as Hades.  We still did our 12.6 miles.  I'm still going to yoga later today. 

For breakfast, I've made myself some tasty vegan organic goodness.  I'm actually going to share the recipe with all of you because in my effort to be healthier, I think you might want to be healthier, as well.  I literally threw this together with things in my house.  I will share that you really do want to use canned pineapple instead of fresh pineapple because the enzymes in fresh pineapple are going to mess up the cooking process.  Also, I used all organic ingredients, but you do not have to.  I'm just really picky about that.  And I live in Utah (I keep reminding all of you of that, I know) so my breads don't rise as much as yours might if you're baking at a lower altitude. 

I will share that some nuts added to this (like walnuts or pecans) might make it even more tasty.  I just didn't have any on hand.  Or some flax seed!  Seriously, use your imagination.  The best part is that the fruit and coconut give it enough sweetness that you don't miss the "sugar" at all. 

Vegan Pineapple Nectarine Coconut Morning Bread

1/2 cup organic soy yogurt
1/2 cup organic rice milk (or soy or almond milk)
4 tablespoons organic coconut flakes
1/4 cup organic canola oil
1/2 cup organic crushed pineapple, well drained (use canned only)
1/3 cup organic pineapple juice (from crushed pineapple)
1 chopped organic medium/large nectarine (you can leave the skin on)
1 tablespoon organic orange zest
1 1/3 cups organic oat flour or other pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit  and lightly grease two non-stick bread pans. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, and coconut.  Whisk in the canola oil. 
Squeeze the crushed pineapple to remove as much excess juice as possible and add to the bowl along with the reserved pineapple juice, nectarine, orange zest and thoroughly mix.  Gently mix in the grated ginger.  Sift together the remaining dry ingredients and then stir in only just enough to moisten the dry ingredients. 

Pour into the two bread pans, splitting the batter evenly.  This batter is chunky and it doesn't rise very much.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then remove from the bread pans to continue cooling.

Enjoy!

I'm going to be making more yummy things in my effort to be healthy this month. As I do, I'll share the recipes here with you. I'm trying to do this for 30 days. If I can do it for 30 days, perhaps it will become a habit. At least that's what I've been told. Time will tell.

The Business of Being Born

There are some of you who know that I am a doula.  There are many of you who do not.  My own mother often forgets this fact and didn't even know that I was a doula until quite recently.  It's okay, really.  It's not like I go around with a sign on my naked body saying, "DOULA".  Plus, so few people actually even know what a doula is or what a doula does. 

I have been a doula since 1990.  I have been blessed to share in the birth of over 135 babies.  The majority of them at home.  I have cried at every single one.  There is nothing, I assure you, nothing quite as beautiful as a woman giving all of herself to bring another life into this world.

Of those 135 births that I have been blessed to share, only one has ever opted for an epidural or drugs of any kind, actually.  Of course, a very small percentage of my births have been hospital births so that also is one of the reasons that so many of the births I have participated in have been drug free.  However, it is important to remember that a woman's body produces its own drugs when allowed to experience the birth process naturally.  Oxytocin is a very powerful drug, indeed.  And a woman in labor, during the course of birth, produces a huge amount all on her own.

I have just finished watching the film, The Business of Being Born.  Again, I am a doula.  I also am a master herbalist and I work with women all over the world to help them become pregnant when other methods haven't helped. 

I don't care if you are a woman or a man, if you've already given birth or are thinking about having children one day, I urge you to watch this film.  Watch it with open eyes, an open mind and an open heart.  It is so compelling and says a lot about how far we as a country have moved away from the natural birth process. 

Our hospital system is just that.  A system.  A system that is in the business of making money.  Scheduled C-sections in this country are an alarmingly high rate and it bothers me that we're becoming a society that is too posh to push.  A c-section is MAJOR SURGERY, people.   It comes with its own set of very high-risk complications.  And yet we have lots of women in this country who are purposely choosing both a c-section and a tummy tuck together in one simple visit. 

Gah.

I am not saying that the C-section does not have its place.  Of course it does.  But there is also a very valid place in our birth community for midwives and doulas and home births.  The scare tactics that modern OB's use to discourage women from persuing a home birth should be criminal.  The fact that many insurance companies will not pay for a home birth should also be criminal. 

Women have been giving birth to babies for millions of years.  What makes our current hospital system believe that they have the best answers for birth confounds me.  Having a woman lie on her back, feet prone in the air, actually makes the pelvis SMALLER and doesn't allow the baby to turn or move the way it needs to in order to descend and be born!

I don't have all the answers.  I just know from my own beautiful experiences that the birth experience and choices should really belong to the mother.  And be honored above all else.  Babies know how to be born.  We just need to let them come as they will. 

And they will.  I promise.

Healthy Dense Breast Tissue

We've been over this before.  I just got the results back from my mammogram that I had on Monday.  According to the folks who read it, I have very dense, but very healthy breast tissue.

My massage therapist, Shannon, could have told them that.  I've been getting regular breast massage from her and she keeps telling me that I have very healthy tissue, especially for a woman who is 43.

Good to know, huh?

But I will encourage all of you to go and get a breast massage.  It isn't sexual.  It is a really healthy and loving thing that you can do for yourself.  And it feels really good.  Plus it releases lots of toxins!  That might otherwise not be released.  Our bras that we wear don't really do us any favors, you know.

So if you're not going to be like me and just not wear one?  Then you owe it to those beautiful breasts of yours to go and get them massaged!

The Gift of Bliss

So there I am.  Naked.  From head to toe.  Now, we all know that is not at all unusual for me, and in this particular circumstance, especially since it is a Friday morning, it is probably not at all remarkable.

Except that I am not just naked because it is a Friday.  No, I’m naked because I am surrendering myself to the magical hands of Shannon Lynn Brown, CMT.  And oh just how magical those hands really and truly are, let me tell you.

On this particular Friday morning, I meet Shannon at her warm, inviting, relaxing sanctuary that is located just a few blocks from my front door in downtown Santa Cruz.  She recently opened this space and I can only share that stepping inside is your first step to a more relaxed and happier you.

The room envelops you with its Asian and Buddhist touches and somehow the outside hustle and bustle of Santa Cruz completely disappears and you just feel a sense of peace and calm.  Instant calm. Better already!

With hardly a word spoken, there I am on the table.  Naked.  But wrapped oh so carefully in soft, clean, white sheets.  My head is supported, my arms are supported, and my knees are supported.  Everything is done to make sure that I am as absolutely comfortable as I can possibly be.

For over ninety minutes, I just disappear.  Shannon works slowly, methodically, deeply (oh so deeply) and intuitively and finds and releases knots and tension and more knots and more tension that I am unaware I am even holding.  It is almost as if I am an onion, and she is expertly peeling back the layers, gently, carefully, so as to keep each one complete and whole, but to ultimately reveal a rejuvenated me that exists somewhere deep inside.

I am blissful.  My body feels completely alive!

And now?  Now there is warm oil that smells of jasmine and lavender being dripped carefully and slowly onto my forehead.  Wow.  My head is resting in Shannon’s hands and she is massaging this warm oil into my head and neck.  Gently, oh so gently, this ritual is repeated and repeated.  Oil drips onto my forehead and then is expertly massaged into my head, my neck and my shoulders.  My head, which craves this kind of attention, is now in a state of euphoria and it is only a matter of moments before my entire body is joining it there.

Euphoria, people.  Absolute euphoria.  Massage simply does not get any better than this.

The hot oil treatment continues for at least thirty minutes.  I want it to last forever.  All euphoric experiences I suppose do come to an end.  Eventually.

It takes great effort to put my clothes back on.  I am now what can best be described as blissed out pliant Nakedjen.  It is a good thing I have nothing else really scheduled for the day, as I can’t imagine ruining this good feeling by doing much of anything at all.

I know that if we allowed ourselves to be nurtured, to receive the gentle and giving touch of another, to release the pent up tensions that we all inherently carry, this world would be a much happier place.

So get naked and go see Shannon.  Receive the bliss.  You’ll be so very glad that you did.  I can’t wait to go back and do it again!  I honestly think I'm going to have to do this every Friday.  Naked Fridays can now be Bliss Fridays.  Nakedly blissful, all the same. 

P.S. In addition to your massage, you may also want to invest in some Dreamsweet Humanitea. The special blend of organic herbs in Humanitea help to keep your heart open, your head grounded and your soul peaceful. It's the benefits of a great massage in every cup!

Addicted to Acupuncture

in which i write to my acupuncturist and beg her to please poke me with needles:

help!  i need an acupuncture treatment.  it's been too long.  i can just feel it.  i'm out of sorts.  i need some grounding.  and i'm having too many of my "little" seizures.  so i just know that i'm off. 

i also realized this morning that i haven't taken any gui pi wan in over three weeks.  so i'm off to get some.  because i know that makes a big difference.

but can i get an appointment soon??

how are you????  this shouldn't be all about me?  i miss you!!

hopefully she'll call or write back soon and tell me that she has some needles with my name on them that are ready to zing! and zap! and zoom! me right back to health.  a girl can only go so long without a treatment!

heading to bonny doon this afternoon for a birthday party.  very much looking forward to the cake!  there have been lots of babes turning one in my life this year and i have been unable to attend their celebrations because of very long distances.  i'm going to celebrate all of them at this party.  i know that bubbles won't mind that a bit. 

and heading tomorrow morning to berkeley to hang with another dave.  who has mentioned that he might just be up for some naked photos.  but i think he means of me.  not of him.  however, i'm not positive about that, so stay tuned! 

NaBloPoMo links for today:

Space Monkey Pants

Whatever Works

We Grow Old Because We Stop Playing which is a blog title DearSweetDave could definitely love and use if it weren't already in use and if DearSweetDave ever decided to blog again.

must go shower.  and dress.  and head up the mountain to bonny doon.  enjoy your saturdays, everyone.  whatever they hold for you. 

Putting the Happy in your Happy Holidays!

There are three new teas available over on the Dreamsweet website.  Some of us are a little more than aware that the holidays are fast approaching.  Kind of hard to avoid when the stores have already jettisoned the Halloween candy in favor of the Christmas lights and blow-up Santas for your front lawn.  I went looking for Halloween candy yesterday at our local drugstore and was aghast to discover that there was little to be found...the aisle was practically empty, but if I wanted a green and red stocking, candy canes or tinsel, hey, that would be absolutely no problem.  Do you think my neighborhood kids will mind the green and white candy canes they get in their pumpkins?

We all know someone who has the horror story about the one Thanksgiving where they flew all the way across the country only to end up in a fight of biblical proportions with their relatives. Things were so bad that she was unable to actually share the meal (which was totally void of vegetarian options anyway!) or be thankful at all and instead ended up sitting at Denny's chewing on a grilled cheese sandwich and wondering exactly how she ended up with such obviously clinically insane family members.  Or is that just me?  None of you have that story?  Wow.  You're so very lucky.

So perhaps then Festivitea is not for you.  But for those of you who face the holidays with some trepidation and worry that gathering everyone together is going to end up with your father reminding you to just grow up already, your mother throwing stuffing at your father's head, your sister crying in the bathroom and refusing to come out and your brother only talking to the family dog, then you might want to have some Festivitea along for the ride. 

It's chock full of organic herbs that help to keep everyone happy!  It will put the Festive back into your holiday gatherings.  Brew up a huge pot and share it with everyone, even those neighbors who come caroling.  Because if they're out singing in the cold, goodness knows they're probably just trying to escape the madness in their own homes.  They'll thank you for the warm cup of tea, and then wonder why life is suddenly so very rosy. 

Festivitea.  Putting the happy in your happy holidays. 

Making It Happen - A Short Lesson In Manifestation

Remember in August when I was Edinburgh and I wrote this post?  I was feeling so absolutely inspired.  So filled with a vision for what my future held.  I felt as if the next steps had been shown to me and I only had to put one foot in front of the other and actually take them. 

It's been an inspiration to have these herbalists across the pond know about my teas.  Honestly.  I feel like I'm on the cusp of something much larger and I just have to figure out exactly what the next step is going to be.  Both of these companies already offer full lines of tinctures, supplements and remedies.  Dreamsweet could do that, too.  Ours could be organic.  Which neither of these companies currently offer.  And the company with the Aches and Pains tea?  They also have a women's clinic attached to their shop.  That is focusing primarily on fertility issues.  They have two herbalists on board. 

I feel as if my future has been shown to me here.  I just have to make it happen.

I truly did believe and feel as if I was on the cusp.  And I just had to figure out what the next step should be.  I came home and kept talking about it with DearSweetDave.  About how it was just such a wonderful feeling to have those herbalists know about Dreamsweet teas.  Dreamsweet teas that have had no other marketing other than word of mouth.  None.  And yet somehow folks in Edinburgh have heard of them.  So what if I did a little marketing?  And what if I actually did open my own offices?  What might happen then? 

I have learned, over and over again, throughout my 42 years on this planet, that I must be very careful how loudly I speak my wishes to the universe.  Because the universe is always listening and is always ready to provide.  Always. 

Dear and wonderful and loyal readers of Nakedjen.  I now have an office.  I am now a Holistic Intuitive Health Counselor.  With my name on the door and everything. 

If I have your snail mail address, you'll soon be the lucky recipient of one of these postcards in your mailbox.

However, I know that I have far many more very dedicated Nakedjen readers who have never shared their address with me.  This postcard is for those of you. 

You all have been beyond wonderful in your support of my dreams over the last three years.  My Dreamsweet dream has perhaps been the most long lasting and largest.  It just keeps growing and getting more and more rewarding with every step.  I have many of you to thank for that. 

If you find yourself in our wonderful little hamlet of Santa Cruz and in need of some holistic balancing, I do hope you'll come and see me.

I was meeting with a brand new friend today and was talking to her about this blog.  About what it means to me.  What Nakedjen is about. 

I want to tell all of you that this blog means a lot to me.  I suppose that's a good thing since it might be a foolish endeavor if it wasn't meaningful.  It is my blogiversary on Sunday and it all started 3 long years ago with this post about Mormons, Nakedmom and mayonnaise.  Things I still tend to talk about an awful lot.  The more things change, the more they stay the same. 

I thank you for sticking with me.  For helping me to manifest this blog.  And for giving me a huge, glorious smile every time I take my clothes off for yet another NakedFriday picture.  It's knowing that you love it that makes doing it so so much fun. 

Namaste. 

 

Acupuncture Angels In Our Midst

Remember those days when you all used to tell me to avoid the post office?  Not because we were worried about someone going postal, but because it seemed that every time I'd go to the post office, I would ruin a pair of my jeans with what I fondly referred to as my uterine disasters. 

Blood and clots the size of watermelons would gush forth quite unexpectedly from my uterus and while the doctors were quite sure that I must have fibroids (nope) or have endometriosis (nope, again) or even perhaps was suffering a miscarriage (really nope!), it seemed to remain a big fat mystery to them how a woman could possibly be expelling so much blood.

Because I am me and I question authority and like to find my own answers and solutions, I decided that just because the doctors said it was a mystery, I would still find an answer. 

It's no secret around here that I'm a strong believer in alternative and complementary medicine.  To call acupuncture an alternative medicine is actually doing it a disservice.  Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine has a long and rich history and is certainly not folk medicine.  It is a highly developed, systematic, recorded, researched, and peer reviewed form of medicine with several disciplines that continues to evolve. It has a massive amount of real-world data to justify the application of techniques based on several thousand years of human trials.  It was to this highly developed and researched form of medicine that I turned to find a solution for my Uterine Disasters and blood soaked jeans.

My angel is named Angie O'Sullivan.  No surprise there that her name is Angie.  Over the past three years Angie has patiently listened to my stories of scary clots and soaked jeans.  She has carefully felt my pulses at each and every visit.  She has massaged my feet and noted that my spleen channel has been weak.  She's created special herbal teas for me to drink.  She's given me special treatments to not only help with my faulty uterus, but also to help keep my epilepsy under control.

My journey with Angie has been totally life transforming.  And, people, that's exactly what a journey with a health practitioner should be.  One that takes you from a place of unwellness to wellness and vitality.  I can honestly say that Angie has taken me there.

I no longer have uterine disasters.  I have 3 day periods, again.  Without watermelon clots.  And I don't have seizures.

Angie has just joined a new practice in San Jose.  So all of you who are reading in the Bay Area (and even if you're not, but want to travel) can go and be transformed as well.  My doctor told me I was just going to have to live with my uber-heavy periods.  That it was just a part of life.  That there was nothing she could do for me.  Angie saw things differently and brought me back to wellness.  I can go to the post office without fear.  I can wear my jeans without fear.  I can be well.  And so can you.

To make an appointment with Angie, visit her website.  Be sure to tell her you're a friend of Nakedjen's.  She'll give you her very best care.  I guarantee it.