Empowered Enough For Ears

My family and I tend to stay pretty healthy. I can't say exactly why for sure, but I have my suppositions. Healthy eating, foot zone therapy, emotional and spiritual healing and other practices are part of our lifestyle and probably contribute to preventing illness. I don't normally have dramatic or exciting stories because things don't get bad enough for dramatic recoveries. We like to stay in the realm of "good", "better", "fantastic" and occasionally dip down to "not so good",

But we aren't perfect and neither are our mortal bodies, so this month we've had some illness in our household. It probably could have been prevented, and once we started feeling sick, we probably could have done something to help create a faster recovery and milder sickness(I have before). But we didn't put forth much effort when we caught a cold. It was pretty mild anyways.

I stayed home from church with kids, not because I didn't feel up for it, but because I knew that there are people that are terrified of germs, and some have good reason to be. It would be a ironic shame if my newborn's sniffles resulted in something horrendous for someone else. A disease that is just a slight inconvenience for me could be a lot worse for someone else. So out of respect for other people, I spiritually fed myself at home instead of church. We also had nap time at a reasonable hour. (church recently switched to 1-4 pm and so toddler falls asleep around 5 or 6).

I think I was subconsciously (and a bit consciously) enjoying the excuse to relax and not do much. And while it isn't fun to see your kids sick, it is easy to care for a usually busy kid when all they want to do is sleep and cuddle. I was content to let a mild cold just run its course without much intervention, especially since the baby was the healthiest among all of us with barely noticeable symptoms. (Say what you will, but I attribute it to breastfeeding).

But my perspective drastically changed when my toddler started complaining about his ear.

An Open Letter To the Future Foot Zoners of Washington State

Dear Reader,

Is it you? Are you the one?

I’ve learned some amazing things over the past year, and for a few months I’ve felt strongly that I need to bring these things “home” to Washington. There is someone that needs these tools in their life and either knowingly or unknowingly is crying out for help.

Well, I got the message, and I’ve realized that this cry for help is from more than just one person. I know there are many people that will benefit from the knowledge and skills I have to share. But even if it were just one person, it would still be completely worth it.

A Frozen Foot Zone

I finally watched Disney's Frozen last weekend. Two weekends ago I was busy giving lots of foot zones and teaching classes about it (and I met some awesome people in the process!). So naturally in my mind I decided to combine the two. I couldn't help thinking how the story of Frozen would have been different if Elsa had received a foot zone early on in life (spoiler alert: I'm pretty sure I'm one of the last people to get around to watching Frozen, but if you haven't and someone else hasn't already spoiled the movie for you, keep reading and I will)

Becoming Singleminded

Sometimes we throw ideas and terms around without taking the time to really think about what it means. As I've been working on my certification to be a foot zone therapist, I've realized that changing the way we see the world usually takes more than a 30 second LASIK surgery. But the results can be just as rewarding. I'm going to focus on three ways we can be single minded, but the possibilities are endless.

Helping Your Ears Through Reflexology

Basics of Reflexology

I will officially be licensed and certified as a reflexologist in less than a month! (As long as I pass my final tests). If you don't already know, you have lots of nerve endings in your foot. These nerve endings are able to send messages to other parts of your body that help stimulate the natural healing process. Another cool thing about foot zone therapy and reflexology is that you can help identify where problems are so you can get to the cause of your sickness instead of just treating symptoms (I've had a hard time finding doctors that are good at doing more than identifying the symptoms and how to treat them, my mom can do a better job over the phone from hundreds of miles away, but that is another story). You can also identify problems before they become a big enough issue to notice elsewhere in your body, and thus prevent potential illnesses before they are manifested in the form of a disease or discomfort.

I took a two day boot camp and have been enjoying a 6 month certification course to get certified in reflexology, but you don't have to pay a lot of money or take a class to learn a few basic tricks that can help you in the home. You will get a lot more out of a whole session of foot zone therapy (an elaborate foot massage and more that takes about an hour) than just using a few points, but a few points is better than nothing. Besides, it only takes a few seconds and doesn't cost any money so you have nothing to lose by trying.

Since ear troubles are common among children, I want to show you how to do the ear reflexology point. The right foot corresponds to the right side of the body, and the left foot corresponds to the left side of the body. So you can do both feet, or just the one that is having the problem. Make sure you go in the right direction, or you may cause more blockage instead of draining it.

Ye Are Not Your Own

This morning I was taking a shower while my baby stood in there and drew in the condensation on the window I reflected on how much my life has changed over the past few years. In just a few short years, starting a family has brought people closer into my life than ever before and it has changed my outlook on a lot of things, including principles that I knew before but understand better now. Today I want to share some of my musings on a particular principle and how my perception of it has changed over time.