Natural health, in the trenches
Natural health, in the trenches
A day diary & invitation from Katherine Willow
It’s a beautiful sunny morning, the day after our fall cleansing retreat. I slept through my alarm, grateful that a friend called and shook me out of bed. The body needed more sleep after being woken every two hours last night by my restless grandson. Luckily he wakes up in the morning in baby bliss, smiling and stretching before he even opens his eyes!
Still in cleansing mode from the weekend retreat, I reach for the clover tea that Cindy and Dean, our fantastic retreat cooks, sent home with me.
Delaying my breakfast helps my energy when I’m tired. Felix gets warm water to flush his body, a drop of vitamin D for his immune system, 1/2 teaspoon of DHA oil for his brain development, some baby acidophilus for his digestion and immunity as well as gentle cell salt minerals.
Instead of his usual bright orange organic egg, he only gets apple-pear sauce because we had a restaurant dinner last night at the Table (a vegetarian buffet) to celebrate my ex-husband’s graduation from his university program. Which is why Felix was unusually restless in his sleep, by the way. Eating lightly helps his system clean up and prevents congestion, as in stuffy nose or worse, flu symptoms. I did add a capsule of adrenal extrate (many of you will recognize this supplement!) to help him build muscle strength — he started to crawl properly soon after having it three times weekly in his food.
His mom Coral received a double dose of milk thistle (with a grimace) and a protein-rich breakfast of organic sausages (from Bearbrook Farm) and whole grain toast with local apple slices to balance out her partaking of alcohol while on the annual zombie walk yesterday with her sister. They showed up at the above-mentioned dinner in bloody costumes. I don’t suppress this behaviour because I happen to know from their brain catscans that both of them have what German New Medicine (GNM) calls “post-mortal conflict” which manifests itself as a fascination with death. They are working it out in their own ways. . . Dad just grinned.
After delivering mom and baby to school and our exceptionally wonderful daycare respectively, I eat some left-over vegan (non-dairy) rice pudding also lovingly sent home with me from the retreat. It’s perfect. I add some almond butter for protein and fat to ease me further out of cleansing mode. This sparks my appetite, but my digestive tract still wants something light, so I make myself a protein shake with rice protein, rice milk and hot water to tide me over til lunch. When I begin to feel sleepy again, I realize that I’m chilly and put on a sweater. This helps and I am ready to sit down at the computer.
There have been five calls from patients since I started writing this. Various issues with cancer, a nose bleed (a GNM healing symptom), flu-like symptoms after a child received her first massage (classic healing crisis complete with fever) and pain of various kinds to interpret and give suggestions for. This work is amazing, filling me with gratitude. I want to share it with everyone! I wish healing principles were taught in school so people in our culture could navigate their lives more easily. . . .
This is the reason I have taken on the editorial from my much funnier colleague Dave. It’s one thing to write articles full of holistic information; it’s also important to see first-hand how it can be integrated into the life of an ordinary, sometimes eccentric family! Hope it’s useful. And write me back your comments and questions — we need to talk to each other. After the retreat I am determined to create a simple on-line community where we can touch base and share not only information but experiences about how to be healthy and sane in this challenging modern world. We’ll keep you posted on what format this will take. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the newsletter blog.
You can leave a comment below, or contact me at Carp Ridge Natural Health Clinic: 613-839-1198 or by email, clinic@ecowellness.com
~ Katherine
