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ROAD TRIP - My Journey with Asthma July 22, 2009 Lungs are feeling pretty good this morning. Could be because I'm leaving for California this morning for some R&R. Going from 5280' to sea level will be great. I remember when I moved to Carlsbad back in the 80's. I was moving from Denver and smoking cigs at the time and swore I was going to quit smoking. But when I got off the plane in California and found how much easier I could breathe, I decided I could keep smoking. Ah, so young and foolish. A friend who has had asthma for years said that asthma can be related to emotions. I did some research and found there is such a thing as "emotional stress related asthma." Even though I had been told that I "probably had asthma" years ago, it was only recently that they diagnosed it. This was after my car accident. And anybody who has had a car accident and had to deal with unprincipled insurance companies, know that it can be very stressful. So a little R&R is the perfect prescription for me. Not a steroid inhaler, not another CAT scan, and not another doctor's appointment where I have to sit and wait for 2 hours. Just the sun, the sea and an umbrella drink for me. Ahh, I feel better already. To continue on how to run your energy - After bringing in the Earth and Cosmic energy (see July 14 and July 17), now it's time to "run the roses". Image a long-stemmed rose in front of you. Doesn't matter what color. And when I say long-stemmed, I mean the rose can be as tall as you are. Then imagine one in back of you. Then one on each side. Then imagine roses filled in all the way around you, so you basically are in a rose cocoon. Be sure to have roses above you and below you. These roses protect you from other people's energy. Not that their energy is necessarily bad. It's just that you have your own energy and you don't need theirs. Sometime other people's energy can be bad. Ever been around someone who just sucks all the life out of you? These are energy vampires and the rose cocoon can protect you from them. Also, send out some of the roses to gather up energy you have left other places and with other people. Have them gather that energy and bring it back to you. This will make you stronger. Okay, work on your rose cocoon and bringing in the Earth and Cosmic energy. You are doing great! Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * *
July 17, 2009 Started the day in the usual way with the A&A and on to the walk. My lungs didn't feel that bad. At least not until I jogged for the count of 50. Then the lungs hurt. Immediately after stopping jogging, I started tapping (EFT - see July 15) and breathed the tightness out through my mouth. There was immediate relief! The lungs loosed and the pain/tightness was gone. This combination of tapping and breath work has worked for me. Alright, it's time to continue our talk about running your energy. First the first part, read the July 14th entry. That told you how to bring the Earth energy into your body. Today we'll talk about the Cosmic energy. First I ran my cord down to the Earth's center. My cord today was a flowing sheet of orange poppies and the Earth's energy was the color of Orange Crush soda. Very pretty. The method of bringing up the Earth's energy today was a little different. Instead of merely coming up through my feet chakras, an image of a bank drive-up teller tube came into my head. You know, those clear plastic tubes that you put your deposit in and it gets sucked up into the chute and goes to the bank? That's what was coming up to my foot chakra. It was a very efficient way to bring the energy to me. I was quite impressed. After that flow was set in motion, then it was time to bring in Cosmic energy from the sky. When I first started running my energy years ago, the color of it was white. Pure, white light. However, when I was studying hypnotherapy in Santa Fe, some friends and I visited a Buddhist stupa. Once inside, I started running my energy and noticed that the Cosmic energy was no longer white, but a rainbow; it was separate rays of different colors. Very cool! Ever since then, my Cosmic energy has been colored. You bring the Cosmic energy into the top of your head, your Crown Chakra. Then it flows down your back, along your spine. Some of it will take any unused or unnecessary energy and flow down your cord to the center of the earth. The rest of the Cosmic energy will flow down your spine and then come up the front of your body. While it is doing that, it will touch and open your other chakras. It will get them spinning and free them. Keep running your energy, Earth energy up through your feet, through your pelvis and down your cord; Cosmic energy in through your Crown chakra, down your spine and up your front. Breathe deep during this time. Next time - run for the roses. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * July 15, 2009 My morning routine has become get up, take the A&A plus regular vitamins and minerals, drink a shot of aloe juice, feed the birds/squirrels/mice and head out for my walk. To get ready for the 3-Day Energy Fast, I am down to eating just fruits and veggies today. Watermelon, avocados, peaches and green beans, along with juices. Tomorrow will be just organic juices and some organic vegetable broth. As usual, my lungs are tight this morning. A little tighter than usual. I sprinted to a count of 50 and thought I was going to pass out. I didn't (good thing, there are coyotes in the area) but it took a long time to get back to regular breathing. Each morning I walk about an hour, 2-3 miles. I ran my energy while standing on the boulder in the middle of the creek. This time I put my hands on my hips and imagined a cape on my back a la Wonder Woman. It was such a neat feeling. Try it sometime! Guys, try your favorite superhero. I felt invincible. I ran my energy and felt my lungs loosen up. What helped even more was another visualization, along with tapping (EFT - to read about EFT, click here). While tapping I breathed in through my nose, breathed out through my nose, breathed in through my nose again and then I breathed out my mouth while imagining that the tightness was a physical thing coming out through my mouth. What popped into my mind was the scene from the Green Mile when the guy breathed into the guards mouth and all these insects came out of his mouth and went into the guard's. Little creepy but a great visual. I did this 6 times and my lungs REALLY felt a lot lighter. When I moved off the boulder and got back on land, I faced the sun and plugged in my third eye (forehead), both lungs and sternum. That seemed to "set" the healing of my lungs. Try these visualizations for any discomfort you are having in your body. The more you visualize, the better and stronger you become at it. When you first notice something in your body, start working on it right away before it gains a strong foothold. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * July 14, 2009 Lungs are tight this morning but there is no pain. I can take a pretty deep breath. During my morning walk, I actually ran for a count of 50. After the first spring, I was completely out of breath. The second, third, fourth and fifth times were much better. I ran my energy again today and that seemed to clear out some stagnant energy. To run your energy, you first need to center yourself. To do this, imagine a cord coming out from your lower back and going down to the center of the Earth. This cord needs to be attached or tied off in the center of the Earth. Once it is attached, you can widen the cord and make it as wide as your hips. Your cord can be any color you want, and it can be made out of anything you can imagine. One day my cord may be a leafy green vine and the next day it may be a bolt of dotted Swiss material. Whatever you want it to be, that's what it will be. Of course, i t moves with you so you can go for a walk, drive, garden, whatever, and run your energy at the same time. Once you have it attached, then push an imaginery button on your hip that will allow things to flow down this cord. You will understand this in a minute. Next thing you need to do is to open your feet chakras. You have seen a camera shutter open and close, right? Okay, just imagine that the bottom of your feet are like a camera and open the shutter. This allows Earth energy to flow into the bottom of your feet and up through your legs, through your hips and then down your cord and back into the Earth. Again, the Earth's energy can be any color that seems right at the time. Some days I will have burnt orange flow up from the Earth, come into my body, and flow back down my cord that is a curtain of gold coins. Beautiful. Work on imaging a cord and centering yourself and also opening your feet chakras. Later this week you will learn how to bring in cosmic energy. Couple of other things - if you are looking for Ashwagandha, I found it at Swansonvitamins.com. Also, in preparation for the 3-Day Energy Fast, today I am giving up sugar. That is the hardest thing for me to give up. Have to admit, I'm a chocoholic. But, here goes. If I sound a little cranky in the coming days, you will understand. So as of today have given up meat, liquor and sugar. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * July 13, 2009 Lungs are tight this morning but no pain. Yesterday went to the Rockies baseball game and the elevator at the light rail station wasn't working. Had to walk up 40 steps. Thought my lungs were going to explode. Couldn't talk for about 3 minutes. Not fun. During my walk this morning I used EFT (tapping) for the breathing and my lungs felt a little looser. Need info on EFT? Click here to check out Gary's Craig's interview. During my shower, I used an emery board on my feet (one of those boards made for feet). I used it a lot on the ball of both feet. According to the reflexology charts, that area on the foot corresponds to the lungs. Didn't notice a lot of difference, but it can't hurt! Have a message from a doctor. He wants to give me the results of a lab tests. I'll talk to them on the phone, but I am so over seeing them in person! All they did was cause unnecessary stress and aggravation - two things that exacerbate any dis-ease in the body. Today I am starting the 3-day Energy Fast (by Pamela Serure). I did it once before and my energy shot through the roof. I wasn't hungry, got rid of a lot of toxins and it looked like I had a facelift. All positives! Only drawback was that I missed eating solid foods. The medical intuitive I met with a couple of weeks ago (Jean-Marc) said I should wait until my immune system was stronger and then he said it would be good to go on a fast. (In addition to the lung issue, he saw that I had something foreign in my stomach and a fast should take care of that.) Here's how the 3-day Energy Fast works: You slowly remove different foods from your diet until you are just drinking liquids. I cheat a little, I have watermelon. For 3 days. Today I am removing liquor and meat from my diet. So no tequila for breakfast today. Darn! Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * July 12, 2009 My walk to the park was especially productive this morning. My lungs feel free this morning but around my sternum I feel tightness. My stress level is lower today. I ran my energy like I do most mornings, but this time I did it while standing on a boulder in the creek. Looking down at the water and hearing it flow beneath me made my energy flow faster. Don't know how to run your energy? I'll go into detail on that later this month. After running my energy, I also used EFT on my breathing. As I was walking, I tapped and breathed in and out and released the tightness in my chest. Of course, took the A&A. Have to find out why Ashwagandha is getting harder to find. Not only do humans feel stress. So do animals. I witnessed this with a mother duck this morning. As I was walking, I heard these ducklings crying. I looked and they were crying for their mother. She was gone. They were probably a month old, too young to fly, but not newborns either. I was feeling very sorry for them and planning on calling someone when I got home, but then I saw the mother fly in and make a beeline to her brood. Instead of being happy at the reunion, Momma Duck started quacking at them and pecking at them. She kept pecking at them to hurry them along downstream. It's my guess, she had gone out for some R & R and wasn't too happy to have to come back and take care of her kids. Wish I could teach her to breathe in from her nose and breathe out from her beak! As I said, my stress level is low now, about a 2 on a 1-10 scale. I have determined that doctors' main goal is to make you stressed. After all I have been through, the worst of it was the stress caused by all the appointments, the miscommunication from health officials. I need now to repair my body from all the stress it has gone through. One thing I am doing is something I learned when I was taking Chinese Energy Exercises. You pat each part of your body and thank it for doing such a good job. Let your body know you appreciate it. I started on my lungs and patted each one and said "Thank you for breathing and doing such a good job." And then on to another part of the body. It's good to acknowledge the body for all it does. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen July 7, 2009 This blog was supposed to be strictly about how I am treating my asthma. Since everything in my (your) life effects my (your) health, I am including some personal information so you can get a better picture of what is happening. My lungs were really tight this morning. On my walk I had to put 4 plugs from the sun into my 3rd eye, my right lung, my left and my sternum. I also took the Astragalus and Ashwagundha (A&A) for the first time in a couple of days. Within 30 minutes of taking these, my lungs felt better. It was my first walk in days. On Friday, we received a torrential downpour. My apartment got flooded. I stood in the living room and watched a small tidal wave come toward me from my kitchen. The little mice were pulling out their surfboards. I spent the next 24 hours sucking up the water with a Rug Doctor. Turned fans on the kitchen, living room and bathroom 24/7 for the next two days and finally the place was dry. But now I have to have the carpeting replaced in the kitchen, bathroom and living room. Arggghh! Looking back, I realized that throughout the last several days I was strictly in the flight mode. I didn't take care of myself. Didn't take walks, didn't do any kind of exercise (except moving furniture and sucking up water) didn't take the Astragalus and Ashwagundha, two things I know help my breathing. Mentally I was in a funk. None of these are a good prescription to good health. When we are thrown into situations that are outside our comfort zone, we tend to revert back to basic routines. And sometimes those routinse aren't the best thing for us. This morning, I noticed the ducks swimming in Goldsmith Gulch. They are always in the same place in the morning, waiting for a man to throw out food for them. Even though he quit doing that years ago, they still go to the same place, expecting breakfast. How many times do we do that? Go back to something that used to work in the past and expect that nothing has changed? Something to think about. Now that I have realized what I have/have not been doing, I will revert back to a more healthy, positive pattern. I am going to start more aggressive methods to return my body to health. Time to get serious. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * July 1, 2009 My lungs are a little tight this morning. But after the day I had yesterday, it's not surprising. I went to the doctor for a consultation. She showed me the CAT scan results and the pulmonary results. (I already basically knew all this from Jean-Mark, the medical intuitive, who told me immediately - didn't have to wait three weeks.) Two hours after I left the doctor's office, she calls me up and said I had to get to the hospital right away because the sputum test showed that I might have TB. She said that they would find out the results and most likely wouldn't let me leave until they did find out. Well, they said they won't know until Thursday but let me go anyway. I have no symptoms - no coughing, feel fine, etc., etc. She said they were going to run several tests on me. She said they might either put a tube down my throat or stick a needle in my chest. All they did was a chest X-ray. Geez. Nothing like scaring me and then nothing coming of it. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * June 30, 2009 Happy Tuesday ! My lungs feel really open and free today. No pain anywhere else in the body. It's a start to an excellent day. I have been taking the Astragalus and Ashwagundha regularly and drinking the Echinacea-spiked water. These three things have helped tremendously, but there is something that helped even more. I remember the exact moment breathing became easier and my lungs felt free. That moment occured when I was doing The Work (Byron Katie). I was using her "One-Belief-At-A-Time Worksheet" and working on money issues. I was having major blockage when it came to "Turn the thought around." I couldn't. In my mind's eye, I saw a huge steel door and the answer was on the other side. The door wouldn't budge. So I used self-hypnosis (I am a clinical hypnotherapist) to figure out the steel door and how to remove it. When it finally melted away, the answer was right there on the other side. It was an answer that I had been looking for a very long time. Once I found the answer, I was easily able to turn the thought around. And in the moment I was able to do that, my lung capacity seemed to double. No more pain. No more tightness. That was yesterday and today I still feel fabulous. In the next couple of days I will be sharing the experience I had at Byron Katie's workshop this weekend. Also, I attended the International New Age Trade show and share that with you. What fabulous energy there was there! Now it's time for me to go to the doctor, yet again. I was there yesterday. The doctor prescribed Pro Air HFA inhaler for me. I Googled it and found the list of side effects was long - bad trembling, severe leg cramps, pounding heart, sweating, feel jittery, nausea. I think I will forego this medication. They have already tested for TB, but now they are conducting more tests. I could be stressed about it, but Byron taught me about first generation thinking. Stress is now almost zilch. I will tell you all about it in the review of Byron's workshop later this week. And now an update on the accident that brought my lung issue to the forefront. In a nutshell, a lady cut off a guy, he slammed on his brakes and hit me. The police said the lady was "not part of the accident because she sustained no damage to her new BMW." The guy's insurance company is only accepting 30% liability of the damage because they are blaming the lady for causing the accident. In the meantime, I am stuck in the middle and can't get my car fixed because her insurance company is saying she had nothing to do with the accident. If there was ever a cause for stress, this would it. But I know it will all work out. Oh, did I mention, the lady who caused the accident is the granddaughter of G.D. $earle, the man behind Nutra$weet (and other drugs like Dramamine, Celebrex, etc.)? Until next time, thanks for reading. And breathe from your belly. Ellen * * * June 27, 2009 Chest feels pretty good today. No pain and tightness is not as bad as yesterday. Took Astragalus and Ashwagundha right before bed last night. Maybe that helped. Meditated on the walk, like I usually do. Met Peaches, a little white/black pug, out walking with her "mother". Looks just like Frank in Men In Black. Never know the parent's name, only the dog's. Very thankful for the good health that I do have. Didn't walk very far today because have to get ready for the all-day workshop with Byron Katie. I'll write about it next week. Until next time, thanks for reading. And breath from your belly. June 26, 2009 I feel very tight starting at my sternum, radiating over the whole right side. My left leg has a pain in it and my back hurts. My body is falling apart. (Of course, I know not to say that too often. Everything I think has the capability to go into my subconscious and become true. Don't want my body literally falling apart!) I plugged the sun into my forehead and into my chest during my walk this morning. Of course, took the Astragalus and Ashwagundha, along with the the tincture of Echinacea. This morning I go to pick up cups from the doctor for a sputum test. Even though I had a TB test, they want to check this out further because I spit up blood last Monday. While I appreciate their concern, it takes so long for doctors to find anything out. Because it does, I went to a medical intuitive to find out right away. I found Jean-Marc from Jersey. He said his mother is a healer and he started out life just "knowing things". Doctors send him patients when they can no longer help them. He said he workes on a lot of adults who used to play soccer. He is also a massage therapist. I have had massages before, but always by a female. Jean-Marc has very strong hands and he worked his magic on my neck and shoulders. That alone was worth the visit! However, he was able to see the nodules on my lung. He said they had been there a long time and that they had just "woken up". I asked him what that meant. He said, "You saw the movie 'Alien'? Remember when they found the pods of aliens and then they opened up? That's what your nodules look like" Good visual, huh? He is the one that told me to build up my immune system and he also suggested I see a doctor. I asked him if he could get rid of the nodules. He worked for a while and I felt better when I left. Definitely will be following up with Jean-Marc from Jersey! Until next time, thanks for reading. And breath from your belly. Ellen * * * June 25, 2009 Lungs feel tight this morning, but there is no pain. During my walk every so often I would imagine a starter's pistol firing and run like a (very slow) cheetah. I did that about 5 times and had to walk at a snail's pace the rest of the time to catch my breath. I met Stevie, a friend in from San Francisco, for dinner last night. When I told her of my health issues, she reminded me that I had taken Astragalus and Ashwagundha a couple of years ago. Astragalus is a Chinese herb and Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic Adaptogen. They both boost the immune system. I did remember that they were very helpful before, so I went to GNC and got some. We'll see what happens. I'm a little bummed out today. The goats are gone. The park I walk around uses goats to eat down the grass. Environmentally it's better than using the noisy mowers and personally, it fun. It's like an adult petting zoo. They are done with our park so they moved them on to another park. Bahhh. A little background on how I was diagnosed with asthma. On May 7, I was in a car accident. No one was hurt. My car is the only one that sustained any damage. A lady cut in front of a guy. He slammed on his brakes and they locked up, which spun his truck into my Honda. I was having problems concentrating a couple of days later and had a CAT scan done on my head. They didn't find anything (ahem, I heard that!). But they did find nodules in my right lung. I had a TB test (negative), lung function (see the results below in red), and spirometry test. I was coughing up blood last Monday so back to the emergency room. Now I have to go in for a sputum test (a further test for TB). They took so long to get the lung function test to me, I went to a medical intuitive so I could find out right away what was going on. I'll write about that next time. Until next time, thanks for reading. And keep breathing deep. * * * June 24, 2009 This morning during my walk my lungs feel tight, like someone was stepping on my chest. At the beginning of my walk, the tightness was just on the right side. Then the pain moved south, into my solar plexus. Even though it's 90 degrees out, it looks like it's snowing because the cottonwood trees are in full bloom. I am not allergic to this so I am enjoying the sight. I walk every morning. I don't run. Not unless someone is chasing me. There are a couple of different paths I take. This morning I walked along the Highline Canal. It's a dry canal unless "those in power" turn on the water and flood the canal. There is always something interesting I see or I learn on my walks. This morning, a bicyclist asked directions to the Cherry Creek bike path. We finally got it figured out. One of the first steps I will take to combat the asthma is to boost my immune system. I looked through my warehouse of herbs and minerals. (You know how you hear someone recommend something and you run out to buy it and then six months later you find it and say, "Now, why did I buy that?") My closet could pass as a health store. Anyway, I found Echinacea Triple Source tincture. The bottle says it "supports a healthy immune system." Just what I was looking for. It says for acute situations put 40 drops every hour in water. I am opting for 40 drops in water first thing in the morning. Every hour seems a little excessive. During my walk, I did a visualization technique that I made up. I plug the sun into my head. To do that, I close my eyes, stand facing full sun. I lift my head up and imagine an electrical cord coming out of the sun and plugging into an outlet in my forehead. Once it is plugged in, the golden vibrant energy from the sun flows through the cord and drenches my brain, flows down throughout my face and runs over my entire body, saturating each cell. This gives my body and mind pure radiant energy, healing energy. That energy makes my lungs feel a little lighter and not so tight. I can envision the sun radiating out from my lungs. Until next time, thanks for reading. And keep breathing deep. * * * June 23, 2009 Last week my doctor told me I have asthma. And possibly emphysema. Since I don’t trust doctors and don’t like taking drugs, I'm going to take a different route. There are many alternative health methods I currently use to improve my overall well-being. I will apply these and learn others to use on my asthma. What will happen? Will they cure it? Make it go into remission? Make it worse? If I am successful, it will be a testimony to the effectiveness of these methods. If not, it will probably be a TV reality series. I will use different methods, tell you what they are and keep you updated on what happens. To see my starting point in this journey, check out my Pulmonary Function Lab Report. See the numbers with parentheses around them? Those are outside the normal range. Where I should be at 2.76, I have .60 before albuterol and .75 after. Not good. So it's time to start my journey to wellness. Take a deep breath in through your nose, breathe out through your mouth and please send healing thoughts my way. Check back in a couple of days for an update. Ellen |