May you find strength and power
in places you never thought to look.

This is both my personal health recovery story and a guidebook that I wrote to be of support to people with difficult health challenges.  I wanted to be as detailed as possible on this page so that people who are going through the same (or similar) thing(s) can have access to solutions that will save them time and money…as to not have to reinvent the wheel! 

I fell into health advocacy work out of a necessity to stay alive.  I chose to incarnate into one of the most sensitive bodies in the world! At one time, my organs and systems were not able to run without guided help of machines and expensive supplements.  This is the story of how I learned how to detox my body and get my life back.

GET A SECOND OPINION 

At 8 years old my doctor put me on thyroid medication (Synthroid, one of the most prescribed medicines in the world).  This drug helped my brain and thyroid function, but not without nasty side effects.  My Doctor had my mother convinced I had to be on it, but we found out years later that she could have simply taken gluten & sugar out of my diet and my thyroid would have corrected itself.  Unfortunately, by the time a naturopath told me this, my body was already too dependent on Synthroid, and I wasn’t able to safely stop the medicine.  My mother and I learned the hard way that putting a child on hormonal drugs at a young age causes many issues later on in life.  The lesson here is to always see a naturopath for a second opinion, and figure out food allergens before committing to a medication.

Age 13 ::: Girl in the bubble at the hospital. Western doctors running tests on me to try to figure out why I was so sick.
Diagnosis: mystery illness

The Early Years

My childhood mornings were often filled with anxiety about having to get out of bed, because I was just too tired and confused. People in my condition are often accused of being lazy, but that’s far from the truth.  

Most of my friends and family had no clue what pain I was experiencing each and every morning of my adolescence.  I looked normal(ish) and kept to myself about my inner suffering—mainly because I didn’t understand what was happening either. 

Other than being brain/body fatigued most of the time, I had a fairly “normal” childhood, sprinkled with psychological-horror-film-emotional-abuse that distorted and gas-lit the reality around me.  This less-than-bubble-gum-fun childhood later fostered in me the need to overcome limiting programs and PTSD.  I am fully aware that I chose this life and its conditions, and I’m now making fabulous lemonade from those Lymes. #foreshadowing 

I would actually like to thank the man that made my formative years a scary place to be.  I have empathy for him and know that everyone is always doing the best they can from the programs handed down to them.  I would later learn that children who had to deal with daily fear and constant chaos in their earlier years (due to the unprocessed emotions of tormented adults) have to heal their inner child and reparent themselves in order to thrive as an adult. This all sounded like a bunch of woo to me when I first heard about it, but time proved to me, this theory is true.  The silver lining of my childhood is that I had the most incredibly loving mother a gal could ask for.

Medicating with humor
in high school

One day, a little girl threatened to beat me up after school, and I had the idea of making her laugh. It worked, and that girl ended up adoring me, singing and dancing with me in the locker room that same day. I took this adaptation and ran with it. I began to use humor and artistic expression to ease the emotional pain inside me. I was voted funniest in high school, and thus the trend of medicating through oddity and laughter began.

My Twenties

In my early twenties I moved from Dallas to Brooklyn to deepen my understanding of the expressions I felt trapped inside me.  Still struggling with my energy levels, I discovered and became addicted to a Brazilian fruit called, Guarana and Yerba Mate Tea; they were my choice of stimulants to stay awake and be charismatic in the world.  These two stimulants allowed me to spend my twenties (mainly in NYC) having a blast exploring my theatrical side and meeting inspiring people.  

That decade, I wore a lot of hats: Performance Artist, Yoga-Kung Fu-Butoh Teacher, Singer, Photographer, DJ, Comedy Improv Student, Raw Foods Chef, Event Curator, Yang Yoga enthusiast, Music Producer and dabbler in Vipassana Meditation Retreats.

My Thirties

But… as you may have guessed…this chapter was short-lived.  At 27 I could no longer hide my health challenges. I was spending more and more time alone and in bed as my health declined.  I could no longer turn to my Guarana /Yerba Mate method because my adrenals were shot and it gave me instant panic attacks. Not being able to take stimulants, I found myself waltzing through life with ”the lights on…but no one home.”

My time in New York came to a violent halt one sunny Brooklyn afternoon when I was riding my bike to a farmer’s market and got hit by an SUV.  I remember hearing my body hit the vehicle and then flying through the air. Luckily I landed like a cat so there was no head damage. (Good thing too, as I wasn’t wearing a helmet.) But I did sustain severe damage done to my cervical spine due to whip lash.  That was the final straw for me.  I was barely able to move my body at this point.

One day my dear friend Nastassia visited me from Maui. Nas told me I should come to California to heal. I took her advice and  set off on an epic nomadic healing journey that would cover the entire span of my thirties. I began to spend more and more time away from performing/art and began to dive into the world of organ detox.  There was no shortage of awesome California hippies teaching me how to detox with herbs and foods.

At this point in my life, I wasn’t able to take on normal jobs where I had to make it to work at a particular time, simply because I couldn’t always get there.  Along with being exhausted, I would lose the ability to think and speak when my health would do its “nose dive” dance.  9-5 jobs were simply out of the question.

So I developed adaptation mechanisms in myself to survive and adjust to this new lifestyle.  I adapted by learning to see a need in people and then fill that need. I cleaned houses, landscaped, ran errands, gardened, was a nanny, organized houses, cooked, created lavish flower baths, reminded adults how to play and laugh, taught people how to make healthy food taste good, and cleaned cars—all to make ends meet and learn from people who inspired me, or who seemed to have a piece to my puzzle. 

Ayurveda

One of my favorite barters of all time was with an Ayurvedic teacher named Mira Murphy (picture above) whom I met on couchsurfing.com  We became dear friends.  I helped Mira move and organize her new home while teaching her about Raw Detox/Culinary.  Mira taught me about Ayurveda and Yin Yoga.

My time with an epic trail blazer

Turns out Mira’s mother was Rama Vernon, (Rama and Mira in picture above) from whom I would end up learning a ton.  Rama Jyoti Vernon is a yoga teacher and peace activist.  She was a co-founder of Yoga Journal, and of the California Yoga Teachers Association.  She is considered one of America's yoga pioneers!  One of the most incredible hearts this world has ever seen—a real trail blazer! After living with & spending time with Rama, I noticed myself beginning to believe that anything was possible and that I could do anything if I put my mind to it! (If it was my true Dharma, that is!)

Sharpening the Mind

Throughout my thirties I studied and apprenticed with different yoga schools, (Sedona Hot Yoga and Seven Centers)  health-focused culinary schools, meditation retreat centers, organ detox centers, and detox health advocates as I was able to.  Each place I studied understood that I was health challenged and allowed me the time and space to do as I needed.

Jennifer Richards

One of the yoga schools I studied at was Sedona Hot Yoga in Sedona, AZ, led/owned by Jennifer Richards. (picture above) Jennifer has this unique ability to see the light in most everyone put in her path.  One day Jen said to me:
 “I noticed that you shaved your hair completely off, can’t move or talk very well, and are sleeping in your car behind the yoga studio. Here are the keys to a house for you to heal in.  You can come clean my floors once a day.”

I had surrendered to the death process at this point and was just waiting to die in the yoga school parking lot. But this generosity and kindness from a stranger sparked a great deal of hope in me.  Jen became like a sister to me.  She taught me so much about yoga, and life; she took me hiking, and introduced me to all of her detox expert friends.  (7 years later Jen would end up inviting me to co-teach with her at her yoga school.)

Practice what ya preach

It took me all of my thirties to study and understand what was happening to my body, and what my body needed. My thirst for life and spiritual evolution was growing with each new-found friend/tribe.  Sometimes I wanted to give up…but a ray of hope would always show up in the nick of time.  The main problem was, I was only learning how to do the things I needed to do, but I couldn’t afford to actually apply them and take the time to heal my physical and emotional body.

Detox or Die

At around 38 years old, I had the option to sink or swim…. detox or die.  I could barely stand up anymore and had to use a walker to move around the house.  My friends often had to carry me around the house and feed me when I didn’t have the strength to hold a cup or bowl. 

I still looked “normal” and my blood was “normal,” so doctors and family members continued to ignore the issues at hand.  This is, sadly, all too often a reality for many that suffer from “invisible illnesses.” One day I was talking to a friend of mine who had suffered the same way I was suffering. This friend told me if I did nothing I would end up in a wheelchair and eventually die of heart failure.

This didn’t sit well with me, and I finally decided I needed to move back to Dallas and live with my mother for a time so I could truly heal. (Which is exactly what every 38-year-old woman wants to do, haha.)  My mother, Sunny, is the sweetest thing you will ever meet, but I was an apple that had fallen far from the tree.  Going back to Texas ‘burbs where nightmare memories were made…after traveling the world, didn’t exactly light me up.

But it turns out it was exactly what I needed.  On many levels. I realized that there is no greater love in the world than the love that a mother has for her daughter and vice-versa.  If Spirit wants you to deepen a relationship, a mountain will be moved to do so.  During that year of healing, I realized how blessed I felt to have come from such a sweet and funny woman.  My mother is like a cross between Charlie Chaplin, Dolly Parton and Mother Teresa.  I love her and love that I came from her. 

I realized that I didn’t really know my mother until I came home to heal.  My mother got to see for the first time what I was going through, and gave me everything she could so that I could finally detox my organs and lymphatic system properly.

My Dream Team Arrives

Once in Dallas, I found an incredibly intelligent Naturopathic Doctor (Dr. Sharon Krahn of the K6 Wellness team see above)) that was able to muscle test me along the way of my detox process. Dr. Krahn used Contact Regulation Thermometry (CRT) to have a deeper look into my body.   CRT is a highly advanced technology that the K6 team uses to detect dysregulation in the autonomic nervous system, which precedes symptoms and disease. Based on over 40 years of research, CRT practitioners can accurately outline systems, organs, glands and tissues that are at risk or in the disease process. CRT is a true indicator of nervous system function as it evaluates nervous system fluidity.  The goal at K6 is to guide people to learn how to live a life in balance. I am a huge K6 Advocate and I often say that they are the reason I’m still alive. 

Looking for ice cream in the pantry

The label I was finally given by several Applied Kinetics doctors and CRT & EDS was found in the tissues and organs…..not the blood! Some of you already guessed it: Lyme. Lyme is a tricky slippery little devil.  And actually the more Lyme bacteria you have in your body…. the less likely it will show up in your bloodwork! Looking for Lyme in bloodwork is like looking for ice cream in the pantry.

Save your money!

In the end, I wasted around $5,000 on blood work trying to figure out what my issue was…the answers never came though that antiquated method. Advanced CRT & EDS & NMT is the cutting edge technology needed to find the root source of health challenges. The Swiss are way ahead of Americans in this department. So my naturopath (Dr. Sharon Krahn) went to Europe to study the latest and greatest and then brought it back here to Dallas, TX. More about CRT & EDS  here. More about NMT here.We would have also saved over $100,000 in the long drawn-out process of seeing tons of doctors with old short-sighted view points with “pills to fix it all.” P.s. Pill-popping will ruin your organs and gut bacteria! 

The “business” of western medicine gets paid when you don’t get better. Some Western Doctors may have positive intentions, but due to having limited evidence or access to nutritionally based clinical trials they are not able to speak on behalf of nature and food as medicine.  There is no funding for this kind of healing because it can’t be monetized. What is funded are all the pills we pop. Funded by the Pharmaceutical Industry.  I have so much respect for the Medical Doctors that continue their education to become Naturopathic Doctors.  In my experience they see the full picture.  (this last paragraph was inspired by Aubrey Marcus’s podcast with Paul Saladino click here. ) 

Neuromodulation and the Subconscious Mind

“When we only address physical illnesses, we are only managing disease processes on a physical plane that 9 times out of 10 have their roots in the spiritual and psychological planes.”
-Dr. Josh Huse

Muscle testing and NMT became a huge game changer for me.  My NMT doctor, Dr. Josh Huse was able to see exactly what the root source of my health challenges were! Dr. Huse suggested deepening my meditation practices and being more diligent with my physical detoxing (among many other suggestions and tips).

Dr. Josh Huse, Dr. Sharon Krahn, and Dr. Klinghardt all have many things in common. But there is one thing that sticks out to me the most.  They believe that the healing process is just as much about the emotional and spiritual components as it is about the physical components.

   Dr. Josh Huse (NMT = NeuroModulation Technique) explained to me that all of our emotions are driven by what we think, whether we are consciously aware of what we are thinking or unconsciously aware. He taught me that everyone’s actions and inactions are driven by the corresponding emotional tones that go along with each thought a person thinks.

He told me that our continual thought patterns (over time) become neurologically hard-wired into formed habit patterns. In yoga these patterns are known as Samskaras.  Hard-wired thought pattern habits are hard to break. To move beyond these habits we need a solid meditation practice and we need to unpack each emotion that is associated with each habit. In one of Dr. Josh’s Huse’s podcasts he goes on to say:

“We all crave certain feelings that give our brain and body feedback. This feedback is our ‘brain reward cascade system’ that has been programmed to release dopamine to reorient that habit. When you get into the world of emotions you are never just talking about emotions; you're talking about your nervous system, your brain chemistry, your thoughts, and all of this extends beyond you and into your relationships and all the categories of your life.”

             The NeuroModulation Technique was developed by Dr. Leslie Feinberg. NMT compares human beings to computers. Human beings are (obviously) more amazing than computers, but the same in the way that we have hardware and we have software. Bloodwork, X Rays, and Contact Regulation Thermometry are all largely an evaluation of your ‘hardware.’ NMT says that what distinguishes the living human being from the corpse is that the living human being has a “software/operating system” that the corpse doesn’t have anymore.             

Health from the NMT perspective is the ability for the ‘software of the body’ to properly interpret its environment, whether it’s the outside environment or the internal environment. Thus, health is: choosing appropriate reactions based on our perception of reality. When our mind mis-perceives something to be terrible that isn’t actually terrible, it is an immune system overreaction to something that isn't actually harmful. It’s a software problem. This is why confused immune systems can destroy a body. NMT says most, if not all, suffering is simply a mis-perception of reality.         

This complex behavior of mis-perceptions in the mind/body is a learned response.  It is born from many things.  The toxicity of the environment is one.  Our environment continues to spring forth new toxins, bacteria, and viruses every year. Some of our ‘software glitches’ are genetically encoded.            

Sometimes our immune system can be assaulted from shocks, traumas, and dramas.  When there is non-stop high amplitude chaos happening around us all the time, we tune into that as a self-defense mechanism.

Human beings like to be hyper-vigilant and aware of what's going on. Thus, when a person leaves an unhealthy environment, the brain doesn’t always leave the templating that was created during that time of chaos. The brain will stay in an altered templating state to keep you alive, but now to that person a car door slamming is a gunshot going off.

Our brains have little micro-expressions of that going on all the time. The more chaotic things get, the more chaotic our reactions become. So you see with our health we have to address more than the physical component. Many now see the need to address the spiritual and psychological components as well. If you don’t you will only be managing disease processes on a physical plane that 9 times out of 10 have their roots in the spiritual and psychological planes.”

After I absorbed this information, I felt like I had just gotten out of some sort of epic yoga class.  I felt immense compassion for humanity and saw how the wheel of suffering just gets passed down generation to generation until someone takes a stand and decides to trail blaze beyond old programs.

I realized that I had subconsciously wanted to die rather than work through the templates of my childhood. With this new awareness I began to communicate with the cells of my body and affirm that I was ready to do the work! 

Biology-Food for thought

Here’s a mind-bending look at templating or programming from the biological point of view from Dr. Sharon Krahn. You were an egg in your mother’s ovary since she was a fetus in your grandmother’s womb.  All the eggs your mother ever had, she had when she was in her mother’s womb. So think about all the shocks, traumas, and dramas your cells had been through before you were even born! Your cells have been through two and a half times of cellular memory! Chemically and emotionally, that's a lot! This is where miasms come into play.  Miasms are cellular memories. Your cells remember assault and big experiences. Because of this, there are behaviors and propensities that we may be born with.  Your mother’s cells are your cells. 

Surrender to the process

Learning from my highly intelligent doctors, I realized I had a choice to be a victim of my heritage or begin to take the steps to liberate myself from my programs and conditioning.  I knew this new healing path wasn’t a quick fix or a western-pill to dull sensations, but the outcome would mean living free and true to myself.  So I decided it was worth the initial pain. I had to trust life… trust the mystery….and trust most importantly …trust The Divine Love that sees the bigger picture of it all.

Taking the Peanut Butter
off my antenna

I had given up meditating due to brain fog. One day I remembered what one of my yoga teachers from Sedona had said. Her teacher told the class if they needed extra help calming the mind before meditation, to try intense breath-work.

I had already deeply immersed myself in Shamanic breath-work culture and decided to link the two, and it worked!  I discovered that if I practiced techniques like Shamanic breath-work or The Wim Hof Breath Method before I meditated, I was able to focus!

Being able to focus and relax into my practice left me with that familiar warm fuzzy feeling of being connected with Great Spirit. I often say, “The volume of good guidance gets turned up in my life when I get still long enough.”

Seizures & Flashbacks

On many days of my organ detox, I experienced very intense seizures and flashbacks of my childhood that were very difficult to integrate. Sometimes they would come on at the most inopportune times in public, which made me want to never leave the house.  I knew I had more internal work to complete before going out in the world again.  Along with my meditation and bed yoga, I started to use Yoga Nidra and the guidance from one of my favorite books for healing Trauma,  The Presence Process by Michael Brown .

Yoga Nidra (similar to guided meditation) helped calm my nervous system, and The Presence Process helped me to begin to be able to observe my story from a non-reactive place.  I began to learn how to feel my feelings unconditionally in order to integrate fully. I often had a hard time finding guided meditations and yoga nidra practices that fit my situation fully, so I decided to make my own personalized lullaby. I had produced music when I lived in Brooklyn in my twenties, so it was easy enough to make myself some delicious guided programs to de-condition my cells and subconscious mind. Doing this helped me begin to recognize antiquated thought patterns, and made it easier to feel them and then let them go.  Now I help people “Design their Subconscious” with lullabies and guided practices.

Inner Child Work
+ Reparenting

The Presence Process by Michael Brown also helped me as I began to dip into the sweet lil world of Inner Child Work.  My best friend Adhithee is a pro with inner child work, and I began to work with her to re-parent myself.  She explained that it’s a “layers thang” and takes time. If I did everything all over again she would have started with the emotional/inner child work from the very beginning!  I found it incredibly important to tell my story to a select group of friends and shamans that could handle it, hold it, and witness me in a way that felt like love.  I had tried to tell my story to a few friends and family members that did not have the capacity or compassion to listen or care.  Linda Sprague creator of Soul CPR has an incredible way of holding people in their healing process as they tell their story.  Another book that helped this process was, Home Coming by John Bradshaw. All of the Sacred Council Integrations guides played a huge role in my inner-child dance + reparenting journey! Check them out here. Support on the journey was everything!
I realized I didn’t have to do everything on my own….that people wanted to support and love me…. I just had to lean into that new way of thought. Emily Ashley has incredible re-parenting capacity check her out on the Integration Guides Page.

Brave the Darkness

One thing I have looked into to uncover these emotional layers is doing a dark room therapy retreat. I’ve had friends do this in Thailand at Mantak Chia’s Tao Garden, and they all had deep transformative experiences. I look forward to giving this method a try!  If you are currently bedridden you are probably no stranger to every day all day in a dark room.
(Often times people with chronic illness are also extrasensory and lights give instant headaches.)

The following is from the Amaya Inner Journey Centre: “Retreating into complete darkness for an extended period of time has a major effect on the brain. Shifts of consciousness can help us see that which is beyond illusion. If we take a look at the chemistry of the brain we can start to make sense of the biochemical process behind dark room techniques and their effects on the brain."  It is a big dream of mine to one day “brave the darkness” in a dark room therapy retreat setting.  

Mantak Chia (photo above) says…

"The effect of darkness is to shut down major cortical centers of the brain, depressing mental and cognitive functions in the higher brain centers. Emotional and feeling states are enhanced, especially the sense of smell and the finer senses of psychic perception. Dreams become more lucid, and the dream state manifests in our conscious awareness. Eventually, we awaken within ourselves the awareness of the source, the spirit, the soul."

“When one experiences complete darkness the area of the brain stimulated is a gland called the pineal gland. The pineal gland is the gland in the brain associated with our third eye. Spiritual leaders around the world view the "opening of the inner eye" as a time when we can clearly see shifts in our perspective, when we open up to our intuition and our own psychic abilities and when the outer world stays the same but our inner world changes. We know that the pineal gland needs darkness in order to produce and emit melatonin. What happens during extended periods in darkness can be described by participants as a waking consciousness.

Melatonin continues to build up in the brain as you stay in complete darkness. When the melatonin stores build up to about 15-20 mg the brain begins to realize it no longer needs melatonin and begins producing pinolene. Pinolene is said to be released by the pineal gland also and is responsible for what we call ‘the light show.’ In complete darkness you may be able to see light patterns forming. These visions are connected to the internal workings of the mind. At this stage there is a letting go of the ego as we lose perception of the physical world. This process often occurs within the first 3 days of darkness.

If we look deeper at the pineal gland and its response to the dark for more extended periods we are introduced to a substance called Dimethyltriptamine. This substance is naturally occurring within the brain, also produced by the pineal gland, and typically only released at birth and at death. It has been nicknamed ‘the spirit molecule’ because of the states of altered consciousness it provides and how it translates into feelings of universal compassion. This is a state where we can deeply work on healing ourselves from past traumas.”

Structural Therapy

My Neck! (shown above) Note there is no curve! Ouch! This is known as military neck. Something that is often seen in those that are bedridden for a long time. More heart openers and more sessions with Dr. Bynum has begun
to put the curve back!  Dr. Bynum had worked with many Lyme patients and saw a trend in the bodies of those that have been in bed too long. It causes the lungs to collapse and makes breathing became extra difficult. Shallow breathing lends itself to a variety of health challenges. Dr. Bynum got my upper body to begin to open and I began to breathe better. It was quite a process.

Bed Yoga &
Heart Openers

I began to get adjustments to my spine from Dr. Bynum twice a week. At home I did a lot of heart openers (see in picture above) in bed to begin to wake up my spine and lungs. I called this “Bed Yoga”! I would set interval timers to go off every 3 minutes and place my body in a different yin yoga posture to allow gravity and my breath to begin to do the work for me.

Drop the Label

Dr. Sharon is a big believer in “dropping the label” of pathologies (illnesses). I found that wearing pathology labels (Lyme and Hashimoto’s Disease) only made my mind worry obsessively.  So I heeded this advice and began to put my focus and energy on my passions and purpose rather than the labels of my health challenges. I do my best to not bring up Lyme unless I’m having a relapse and have to explain to people around me what is happening.

KEEP IT SIMPLE. DETOX AND NOURISH

Keep it Simple

Keep it simple!
Detox & Nourish.

Guess what all these labels have in common….Cancer, Graves Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, POTS, Hashimoto Disease, Parkinsons, Parasites, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Lyme, Hepatitis, Raynauld's Syndrome, Diabetes, and Mold Illness…

.. they are all a reason to detox and nourish your system! In hindsight it was a giant waste of money looking for a label. If I could do it all over, every cent would have been spent on detox, quality-diverse organic foods.  Easy peasy.

“Parasites are common in chronic illness”
~Dr. Klinghardt 

This is Dr. Klinghardt…One of the most famous detox Doctors in America. He opened a detox school called: The Sophia Institute. I’ve taken several courses of his and lived with people that are clients of his that taught me many detox hacks.

Choose your
team wisely

After spending ungodly amounts of times in and out of doctors offices through out my life… I have gotten pretty picky in my laters years. When choosing a doctor I observe if they are kind. (obviously) I ask how they are staying on the cutting edge pulse of the latest innovations and studies. I observe if they are supplement pushers. Supplement pushing natural doctors are the worst….and very rich from getting you to buy supplements your body doesn’t need. Is their ego inflamed? Are they compassionate and in tune with their intuition? Do they practice what they preach? Does their staff love them? They truly care about your health and want you to get better? Do they continue to study and travel to the ends of the earth to stay on the leading edge of health and wellness?

There are healthcare practitioners that actually know what’s up and give a damn! Find a quality naturopath or functional medicine doctor in your area! The ones that have overcome a major health condition in their life are typically the best and care the most.

Luckily many doctors do tele-medicine these days! 
We can be picky… and should be picky!

Move it or Loose it Sister!

Dr. Sharon saw that my lymphatic system (picture of the lymph system above) was severely blocked in her CRT session, so I had many Lymphatic Drainage Sessions at K6 to detox my Lymph with a machine called the Lymphstar Pro. (It’s like having 8 lymphatic massages at once.) This process began to give me energy! Your lymphatic system is like the trash can of your body.  My body needs support in the lymph soo much that I bought a machine and became a Lymphatic Enhancement Practitioner! Learn more about lymphatic drainage here.

The only way you can remove the toxins from the lymph naturally is to move your body. If you can’t move, you begin to accumulate toxic backup.  Especially if you have the MTHFR Gene Mutation (which I lovingly call the Muther-Fucker-Gene-Mutation)! This gene mutation makes it hard for your body to detox naturally like everyone else does.

Dr. Sharon recommended that I do some lymphatic work at home with a home Lymph Shaker Vibration Plate. At first I could only lay on it. Then I was able to sit. Then stand. One step at a time, sweethearts! I have many health challenged friends that have been or are bedridden. The ones who make effort to move every day, no matter how much pain is there, are the ones who pull through.  Turn the part of the brain off that says you can’t do this, and do it!

Stay out of the Aisles

Most of what you need when you detox is not in the isles! After learning “label reading hacks” at Living Light International I went to the store to gross myself out in the isles of a grocery store. Discovering that the aisles were not my friend! ( HAPPY HACK: Dress up fancy when you feel like shit! )

Detox the Blood

I detoxed my blood by eating mainly vegetables and fruits. My diet was mainly a ton of dark leafy greens, chlorella, spirulina, chlorophyll, green juices, green smoothies, radishes, shiitake and portobello mushroom, kelp soups, seaweed, and tons of herbs.

Gut Health

Seal your gut so you can absorb your nutrients! Nourish your gut with the right diet. No sugar, no dairy, no gluten, no additives, nothing packaged, no ingredients that are not actual food.  Seal your gut with the GAPS Diet, & Bone Broth! You won’t believe how much better you can think when you are able to absorb all the nutrients you are eating!

Read: The Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride MD  

Best podcast I have found about Gut Health:

The Aubrey Marcus Podcast
AMP #116 - Dr. Amy Myers on Gut Health click here.
Dr. Amy Myers, gut health specialist and author of NY Times Best sellers The Auto-Immune Solution and The Thyroid Connection, sits down with Kyle Kingsbury and Aubrey Marcus to  discuss the functional medicine approach to improve candida, SIBO and  mold toxicity.

Detox the Organs

I worked for a private liver detox spot in Sedona, AZ (Grace Grove) for a time and learned many liver gallbladder colon detox hacks whilst there.  I had also hired organ detox coaches online to help me learn the ropes throughout my thirties (Angela Stokes ), so this part was easy for me.  After 10 years of detoxing my body I began to guide others in this vitally important process.  You can check out the ways I support the detox process on my offerings page here.

Sweat

Our biggest organ is our skin! Dr. Sharon told me to start sweating once a day in a personal infrared sauna.  Dr. Sharon’s assistant recommended that I castor pack my organs as I sweat which was very helpful.  She told me to just lather castor oil all over my body and sit in the sauna (easier that way).  Personal saunas look funny (like you are sitting in some sort of a futuristic milk carton) but they work and they are only $160.

Ozone Therapy

Cold Plunge

I don’t have a ton of fears… I’m a fairly courageous funky monkey..…but one of my biggest fears is the cold.  One day I went down the  Wim Hof  rabbit-hole and got inspired!  I heard his cold methods would help my joints… and that cold plunges have helped many people overcome Lyme.  So I went to a Wim Hof Method Event (facilitated by Shereen Yusuff) in Dallas, TX.  Overcoming my fear of cold opened doors for me in a very subtle way, not to mention it killed the inflammation in my body and made me feel like I had teenager joints.  Try this tonight: Go to the store and grab 10 bags of ice and make an ice bath as cold as you can!  Then sit in it (water up to your chin if ya can) for 2 minutes!  Breathe slow!  Get out and go do some QiGong in your backyard.

Be-friend your Colon

I had zero clue about healthy eating until I dated a dude that had a healthy diet at age 24. 
But those first 24 years of my life I was completely ignorant to the effects that crappy food had on my body!
For example:  When we eat junk food, processed food, greasy food, (anything that’s not a fruit or vegetable) these foods actually coat the inner walls of our colon like plaster on a wall. As time goes on and more and more of these layers get coated on our internal walls and becomes soo thick that there is only a small hole through the center of your evacuation tubes! Gross! And guess what this causes… faster aging in the brain and the body!
This is why health nuts always look way younger than fast food junkies. 

{Important: If you are taking Anti-Parasite Herbs and sitting with Kambo during your detox, I highly recommend having your ass cleaned before the process. A few times if needed.  But always leave space for 3 days to pass before you sit with Kambo after you cleanse your colon.} 

“Few of us realize that failure to effectively eliminate waste products from the body causes so much fermentation and putrefication in the large intestine (aka the colon) that the neglected
accumulation of such waste can, and frequently does result in a lingering demise!”
-Norman Walker in his book, Colon Health

Ask your Naturopath if enemas and colonics are a good idea for your circumstance.  Coffee enemas have saved lives! Read more about coffee enemas from the Gerson Institute here. 

Detoxing parasites/bacteria with a backed-up colon is asking for trouble. You need to have open detox pathways to effectively detox your body so you don’t not punch a hole in the wall during the process. Ehem. Like I did.  Emotions can run high during the detox.  In my defense I was loosing my legs ….and scared ….and detoxing…. and so I took my grandma walker (that I had to use to get around the house because I couldn’t stand up)  and slammed it into the wall breaking the wall. I have to say it felt amazing. And walls can be fixed.  That moment felt like 40 years of repressed anger finally getting to express itself.  I know I’m not alone in my desire to break fancy vases, walls, and plates.   

 Now if you want to feel high and joyful during a detox….and you have the funds…. and have a backed-up colon, go indulge in a colonic (best day ever)!  So many pathologies are born from a backed-up colon. Free that shit! 

As far as types of Colonics …. I am a fan of “closed-tank” colonic therapy.  I found open tank colonic therapy to be painful.  Plus, closed tank colonics allow you to see what comes out of you! This can be helpful and educational.  Seeing undigested food come out of you will make you chew your food more diligently.  Seeing parasites come out of you will make you be more careful when traveling through India and working at sushi bars.  And seeing a fully intact bumble bee come out of your ass will baffle you for the rest of your life.  How the fuck did that thing make it though my entire GI tract!?! This is not a joke ya’ll.

Hack: Remember to keep your colon moist and full of probiotics as you detox it by doing oil enemas and probiotic inserts!  Learn more about that here. If this section grosses you out…you aren’t alone.  I felt the same way at the beginning. I had to examine that program and learn to be alright with being human and having a butt that farts and poops!  The “women don’t fart and poop” program runs deep in the South. Befriend your colon! Being human is cool!

If you ignore your colon when you detox your organs…you will be full of shit!
And if your colon is backed up your face will soon be full of zits! Jess learned that the hard way too.
#acnescarring

Beyond Belief

A few months into this intense detox something “clicked” for me.  I was on my laptop watching Dr. Joe Dispenza speak on a “Food Matters” special called “Transcendence” (Episode: Beyond Belief).  Dr. Sharon and her staff were all buzzing about this episode, so I had to see what all the hype was about.

I felt a deep resonance with the ideas Joe brought to the table about the power of believing. I realized that I was half-assing in the belief department and still not taking my meditation to the next level.

I decided to hold a little private ceremony in my backyard. Laying on the earth I went deep into the center of my brain and told myself that I would be one of the people that makes it to the other side of this.  I played it all out in great detail in my mind’s eye, and saw it all come to pass.   When I was done…I knew it would be so.

Dr. Sharon Krahn told me to be very selective with what and whom I allowed into my healing process. I was beyond sensitive at this point and decided to heed this advice. I even deleted my Instagram, and deactivated my Facebook to temporarily lead a monastic lifestyle in pursuit of ”less background static.”

Basically bedridden, I stared at the same four walls for a year, and wanted to stay inspired. I printed photos of all of the teachers, heroes, and friends that I had met on my healing journey, and put them all over the wall to remind me to not give up. I felt called to turn my room into a healing cocoon with only love around me. I lovingly “muted” friendships with people that were not understanding, loving, caring, and empowering in my situation. And when I came out on the other side of the “thick”, those old friendships either healed or faded away and new next level friendships replaced the old. 

Podcasts are your friends

If you are stuck in bed most of the day due to health challenges; best stay inspired and not let your brain wander too far into your current condition!  These podcasts really opened my mind:
The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, The Aubrey Marcus Podcast , Tim Ferris, The Doctor’s Farmacy.
I interviewed people along the way of my journeys and have a podcast coming out in January 2021.
Stay tuned!

"When we change the way
we look at things…
the things we look at change.”

- Wayne Dyer

Kambo Peptide
Infusions

After I deepened my meditation & spiritual practices, things started to fall into place even faster. My Naturopath introduced me to a man named Jason Fellows, a Kambo practitioner. Jason had huge success with treating people who were suffering like I was with Kambo Frog Peptides.  Do what!?!?!  Yep.  There is a particular frog ( the kambo frog) from the Amazon that has been helping humanity with strength building peptides! Don’t google it! It’s sadly one of the most interpreted subject matters on the internet.

Kambo gave me the strength I needed to get out of bed more often and boosted my immune function. This made me “less environmentally vulnerable” to the outside world. I was beyond excited to be able to start practicing standing yoga asana again! Talk about reverence!!!

Here are 3 of the most fascinating things I learned at Kambo School:
 

ONE
Since 1966, many peptides in Kambo secretions have been isolated, characterized and synthesized. As a testimony to its medicinal properties there are more than 70 Kambo peptide patents registered in the pharmaceutical world. However, pharmaceutical companies have made efforts to synthesize kambo peptides, but have largely struggled to develop medications due to the fact the Kambo frog does not secrete the same serum when taken out of its natural habitat.

TWO

John Daly’s team at the National Institute of Health in the United States discovered the bio active peptide called Adenoregulin in the 1990’s. This kambo peptide works on the human body though the sleep receptors. These receptors may offer a target for the treatment of depression, stroke and cognitive loss diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s.

THREE

Several years of research has been carried out at the University of Paris. The team in Paris has shown that the Kambo peptides “Dermaseptin B2 and B3” are effective in killing certain types of cancer cells. Research at Queen's University in Belfast recently won a prestigious award for their groundbreaking work with cancer and Kambo. The action mechanism of Dermaseptin Peptides is produced by inhibiting the angiogenesis of tumor cells, with selective cytotoxicity for these cells. And actually many of the Kambo peptides have immune modulating qualities which can be highly beneficial for most pathologies, including lyme and cancer to name a few.

I am forever grateful to my Warrior Kambo Practitioner friends, Jason Fellows
and Angela Marie. Because Kambo was one of the biggest game changers for me, I decided to go to school to become a Certified Kambo Practitioner.  Kambo Practitioners are a huge blessing for people who are hanging on for dear life! I wanted to be one of those people, like Jason and Angela, who are there for others who need it most.  

I know Kung Fu

After Kambo, I was even able to practice my Kung Fu Kata again! Only this time I made the moves a little more Tai Chi / Qi Gong style than Kung Fu Style.  Over the span of 8 months I went from a Golden Girl back to a Wonder Woman. When you are at the beginning…any movement will do!  I really enjoyed using the moves of the ancient Jow Ga Kung Fu Kata I learned from my Sifu in Brooklyn, Duke Amayo. Whatever movement you choose you have to give it your all. Remember, your mind will tell you to give up a lot at the beginning. Move beyond the “give up thoughts” and rock it out. Some of my sessions felt like this in the beginning. Train hard. Listen to your body. Move every day.

We are never going
to survive unless
we get a little crazy!

After 2 months of Kambo, I was even able to dance again!  I went to Ecstatic Dance Dallas and began to express all the things ( that words never could ) through the movement of my body.

Dance is particularly helpful for people needing to integrate their childhood.  People are even overcoming Parkinsons through dance!   When difficult things happen to us before we are able to articulate and fully express ourselves, it can stunt one’s emotional growth. Ahem.

If the above statement speaks to you, I highly recommend getting the audible book, ”Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel Van Der Kolk MD.

Dr. Kolk noticed that no amount of “talk therapy” was helping some of his patients that had early onset PTSD.

He discovered that dance and somatic therapy were much more effective methods of supporting his patients on their journey to becoming fully healed adults. I am someone who found “talk therapy” to be a complete waste of time. It kept me stuck in the story of my wounds rather than resolving them fully.  To each one’s own. 

Dolphins know best

As soon as I was able to drive again, I began to take trips to Austin, TX, to go see like-minded friends and float at the Zero Gravity Float Institute.  The most profound meditations of my life have been in the tanks at Zero Gravity.  You are floating by yourself in 1200 pounds of Epsom salt in a small room with plenty of space.  It’s amazing what happens to the body/mind when you take away all stimulus! I have floated exactly 50 times so far, and I’ve found that the proverbial rabbit hole just keeps getting more interesting.  So much magnesium and transformation! It’s no wonder aquatic life evolves way faster than land creatures.

#dolphins   #whales  #cuttlefish

“My philosophy: Don't get caught
with a fixed philosophy,
a set of safe beliefs,
a particular way of life.”
-John C. Lily

The Pioneer of Float Tanks himself! John Cunningham Lilly was an American physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, psychonaut, philosopher, writer and inventor. He was a member of a generation of counterculture scientists and thinkers that included Ram Dass, Werner Erhard and Timothy Leary, all frequent visitors to the Lilly home.

Sleeping at last

After a decade of tackling my physical and emotional wellness, I began to be able to sleep all night without waking up! The nightmares stopped, and the fears were dissolving.  I attribute this to everything mentioned above.  I never realized how important sleep was until regular sleep became my regular.  After being able to sleep I thought more clearly, and was able to communicate more effectively.

Thank you Juiceland

At the point in which I was super sick and running out of money, I had to swallow my pride and ask for help from friends. I used to work at Juiceland and I gave them a holla to see if she could have a drink-loan so I could keep detoxing while I was unable to work. Matt Shook, the owner, said yes! This brought me to my knees with gratitude! That was a huge game changer for me in my journey!

“Love you Matt and your juicy crew!
Thank you for making the drinks that heal!

My Bounce Back was special

It took me 2 years of deep diligent detoxing mentally, emotionally, and physically before I was able to teach and fully be out in the world again.  When I felt solid enough, I decided to celebrate my bounce back in a special way…

I created a Butoh Dance performance called Euphoric Autonomy with my dear friend, Adhithee Ananda. The “prayformance” was one of the pieces in The Hotel Tesseract showcase directed by Selvin DeLeon at the Ervay Theatre for the Cedars Open Studio Tour.

…And Shortly after that I went on a tour teaching
Kung Fu and Deejaying Ecstatic Dance Events.

I booked myself in Dallas, Sante Fe, Taos, Durango, Sedona and San Fransisco and set off on my
journey at the beginning of 2020. It was incredible! I remember feeling like I had just gotten out of some sort
of bizarre quarantine dream...every moment of the tour felt like the biggest blessing! The tour ended in Sedona where I co-taught a yoga teacher training with Jennifer Richards.

Reinvention Time

Adhithee and I were gearing up in Sedona to go on our spring tour together when the Coronavirus hit America.  All of the studios they taught at were closed and life required a reinvention! So I took all that I am and all that I have studied + practiced and created, The Sacred Council Institute. At your service! Hope you will have a look around this website and find the modalities that work for your healing journey!

The Cave You Fear to Enter
Holds the Treasure You Seek
-Joseph Campbell