Get Back At It

Hi, Friend,

Not tomorrow...Now  Get Back At It NOW 1If you are in the US, how was your Thanksgiving? If it was anything like most peoples’ this year, it was probably a little quieter than usual.

Without being around the hustle and bustle of family and parties it can be helpful, but on the other hand, an excuse to get out of our good habits too.

Now is the time to get back at it!

I want to say this with as much love as I can, because I know how it feels to feel so crummy, especially around the holidays. I want, for you, the best this life has to offer!

Don’t wait until the end of next month to go after your health goals – you have nearly an entire month until Christmas and New Years’ to start feeling better.

Whether you do The Easy, Gentle Cleanse™ as outlined in my book (https://tinyurl.com/leahsbooks), or you just start eating a more whole foods diet, your life is not waiting – it is going on now.

So if you were looking for a sign of what to do and when to start, here it is. Get after it! You are sooo worth it!

As always, if you need any help or have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Wishing you and your family a blessed holiday season,

Leah

Fibro Tip: Pause

take small breaks  Fibro Tip: Pause take small breaksI’m writing a series of small tips to help people with fibromyalgia.  This is the first one, so I would love your feedback.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” -Lao Tzu

Do you recognize this vicious cycle: you have a better than normal day, so you try to get caught up on all the things that you have been unable to do.  You may take out boxes, clean out drawers or hurt yourself climbing up and down a ladder.  At the end you are too tired to think, and your body is screaming at you to be still.  It’s almost like it wasn’t worth it to have a good day.

Even though it was terrible to have fibro in the first place, one of the best self-management techniques I have ever learned was born from necessity, and that is the practice of pacing one’s self.

When I was sick with fibro, I learned to not “leave it all on the field.”  Because if I did, there wasn’t anything much left of me for days, and possibly longer.  While there may be a time and place for “leaving it all on the field” everyday life is not one of them.  Going to about 75-80% and then taking a break, will help you accomplish much more over a longer period of time.

Learning to flow with the day and one’s body has served me well, even as a perfectly healthy person.  Even though I have a great amount of energy now (thanks to zeolites and grass-fed liver capsules!), on most days, I take a 20-minute break in the afternoon to meditate and visualize.

If I feel like I’m overextending myself – I stop and assess my situation: do I really, really need to be doing this right now, or will I help myself in the long run by taking a short break now?

Even though interruptions can lengthen projects, self-care is more important than a deadline – which is usually an arbitrary construct anyway.

So the next time you find yourself doing too much, my suggestion is to take little breaks to assess your progress and objectives.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised by just how much is really being accomplished without messing you up in the meantime.

I hope you have found this Fibro Tip helpful, and I would love your feedback.  As always, feel free to reach out to me directly at leah@thefibrolady.com.

Yours in joy and health,

Leah

Supporting Family and Fibromyalgia

Supporting Family and Fibromyalgia supporting family Supporting Family and Fibromyalgia hospital stayIn May I was at a conference for a small group of international coaches in a beach town in Connecticut.  I stayed at a friend’s home, in a really comfy bed, ate great seafood, and thoroughly enjoyed the time I was away!

On the Uber ride home from the airport I got a call from my mom: my dad had collapsed, hit his head, and was in the hospital. At first, it didn’t look to be as grim as it turned out, so I was able to spend the first night back in my own house.

The next night, as my father’s situation became worse, I wound up spending the night on the floor of his room in the ICU.  I didn’t get much sleep; he needed constant attention to keep from hurting himself, and the nurses just couldn’t keep up. Supporting family is apart of life, so I stepped up for my dad and my mom during this difficult time.

His situation got worse, to the point that he became under the care of hospice in a nursing home.  I am very shocked at this turn of events, but in another way, I am not – I went through this nearly-same scenario eight years ago with my father-in-law.

I was a bit concerned that with the lack of sleep, stress, and all the hospital food I’ve been eating lately, that the fibro symptoms would start up again – they have not, I’m very happy to report!  I’ve been sporadic with my supplements, but I have been able to sneak in a few martial arts classes and qualified for my green belt while all this has been going on! (Two more belts to Black!)

There is no way I could have supported my family when I had fibromyalgia. I was in bed all the time. My flares were even more severe when I tried to do anything other than be in bed. I am fortunate to now be able to help my family. Even though this is not easy or comfortable, I know it’s a part of the circle of life and I am glad I am able to be there for my parents during this difficult time.

Long story short, I am still working the best I can while this situation is ongoing.  Frankly, I feel blessed to be doing The Fibro Lady work, and it is a welcome distraction. If you feel the need to reach out to me, I may be a long time in answering an email, but I may answer it immediately – it just depends on what’s going on.

Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, and understanding through this difficult time!  You are very much appreciated!

I’d love to hear from you on how you cope with challenging situations, just hit reply and let me know.  I do read all of my emails!

Love,

Leah

P.S.

Also, The Fibro Lady Store is still open and running, as it is not run by me alone, so feel free to place your orders and know they will be sent out in a timely manner.  Also, if you are interested in learning more about the Take Your Health Back Group Coaching program – the program where I hold your hand through the recovery process and where I see people have the most dramatic results – simply reply to this email.

Mix Feelings about Mother’s Day

If You Have Mixed Feelings About Mother’s Day, You Are Not Alone

Mothers Day mothers day Mix Feelings about Mother's Day mothers day 1372456 640Mother’s Day has always been difficult because it poignantly reminds me of what I don’t/didn’t have.  My relationship with my parents has been strained in a number of ways and then I spent most of my life wishing to be a mother and either not able to get pregnant, or in a situation where I didn’t feel safe getting pregnant.

Right before I started to recover from fibromyalgia, I started a meditation/visualization/prayer practice that changed my life dramatically.  Not only did it open my mind to the people and things I needed to recover, but drastically changed my perspective about everything, including my “issues” with my parents.

Paraphrasing Jack Canfield, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, everyone, at any given point in time, is doing the best they know how.  Now when I look back and what I thought were short-comings by the people in charge of taking care me, now I realize how much they were actually really struggling.

Wow!  What an insight!  This insight, combined with the inner peace I find through meditation, has drastically changed my relationships with my parents.  They didn’t change so much, but I did, and that affected how we showed up for each other.

For me, one of the best parts about being a mother, is that now that I have “walked a mile in their shoes,” I now have some insights about what they were going through.  Not only do I get to be the love of someone’s life, if even for a short time, but I felt like I got my parents back too.

I have been told by people that the root emotion behind fibromyalgia is unforgiveness.  I don’t know if I believe that, or even if root emotions contribute to disease at all.  But what I do know is forgiveness, and particularly self-forgiveness, is the doorway to inner peace.  And inner peace helps health immeasurably.

If you read popular writing about health and well-being, it is said that stress is the number one contributor to ill health.  Do you know what stress is?  It is just our outlook on what is happening to and around us.  We can change our thoughts, change our outlook and then, have less stress, and more peace.

So my wish for Mother’s Day is for everyone, everywhere, to find the peace in your heart you so richly deserve.

With Love and Joy!  Leah

P.S.  As a special Mother’s Day present, I am offering the MP3 of my guided meditation Optimal Health for only $1 (a $19.97 value) for 48 hours.  This is the guided meditation I used before I started to recover, to shift my awareness to the people and things that helped me recover.  Go here and get some peace of mind!

Grounding and Warmth

Technically, Grounding and Warmth are two tips, but together they work synergistically.

Grounding and Warmth groundedHave you ever had electrical work done on your house and saw them put a grounding rod in the ground and connect it to your electrical system?  This is because the earth absorbs electricity – it is actually grounding. Our bodies are an electrical system too, and at rest, a human body can generate about 100 watts of electricity! We can achieve grounding by just connected to the earth, such as walking barefoot.

The fourth tip on the “5 Simple, Unique and Fast Ways to Help Fibro Pain NOW Where Ever You Are” Infographic is Ground with Warmth. For this tip, try sitting in a sunny area barefoot, with your feet touching the earth, for only about 10 minutes – you can go longer if you have the time. Daily practice of this is cumulative and can help in many other ways as well.

I would love to know your results with this tip!  Feel free to contact me at leah@thefibrolady.com.

Yours in joy and health,

Leah

Just Breath

Belly Breathing  Just Breath breathe e1554854641805My #1 go-to remedy for anything and everything is to first take a deep breath.  There is something very centering about doing this intentional, conscious act.  I also learned about taking several deep breaths in a row and that really got me centered, and started to genuinely relax my body.

The second tip on the “5 Simple, Unique and Fast Ways to Help Fibro Pain NOW Where Ever You Are” Infographic is Take Deep Breaths.  It is fairly common for people to take 3 deep breaths when they are stressed out to help calm them down.  Taking 10 deep breaths in a row helps calm and center you on an even deeper level (just don’t do this in the bathtub!).  This practice helps oxygenate the body, helps clear the mind, and can help ease some pain – even fibro pain.  Here is a link to Belly Breathing Instructions with all the details.

I would love to know your results of doing this tip.  Feel free to reach out at leah@thefibrolady.com.

Yours in joy and health,

Leah

Freedom From Fibromyalgia = Freedom from Braces

I’m so excited to share with you this little victory I realized recently!  My digital marketing consultant, Teri, was over and she was on her way to doing an event for an orthopedic bracing company. At the event, they were collected gently used durable medical equipment for Matthew 25 Ministries.

I said I have a bunch of braces (from the bad old days!) I want to donate. After I had gathered everything, Teri had me lay all these braces and wraps out on the table to take a picture – she said, “This is amazing! You need to share this with your community!”  So here’s the picture of all kinds of braces and wraps I haven’t needed in ten years – for nearly every joint!Freedom from Braces  Freedom From Fibromyalgia = Freedom from Braces no more braces

Since I published my book five years ago, I have heard from so many people who now don’t need their canes and even walkers.  Many are even going on to do long walks, and even enter 5Ks! (I never needed a cane, but I did have to use the motorized wheelchair at the grocery store. ) Fortunately, now, I can go to the grocery store and put away the groceries and cook a simple dinner, all in about a 2 hour time period, without being completely wiped out!

Would you be interested in taking your life back?  Would you like some help?  I see the best results from the direct support coaching offers.  If you are interested in working with me in my year-long coaching program, I still have a few spots left.

If you’re not recovered from fibromyalgia yet, I’d love to be the one who gets you there! 

Please just reply here if you are ready for a life transformation!

Love,

Leah

Top Gifts for People with Fibromyalgia

Gifts for Fibromyalgia  Top Gifts for People with Fibromyalgia Dollarphotoclub 95051120Widespread body pain, sensitivities to nearly everything, fatigue and sleep disturbances…these are the common symptoms of fibromyalgia. It can be difficult to determine what would be an appropriate gift. I remember very vividly what it was like to have Fibromyalgia. Sometimes it hurt too badly just to lay down in bed. Here are some great fibromyalgia gifts that will give joy and comfort for years to come! Happy Heartfelt Holidays!

Super-Soft Microfiber Hooded Robe When you are too tired to get dressed and everything hurts this robe is like a gentle hug. The super soft microfibers will not irritate or itch. It keeps you warm without being heavy. Ahh! That’s better.

 Detox Cleanse Kit When New Year’s Day rolls around your recipient is going to be so happy to have this! Get rid of the bloat and fatigue from all of the holidays and start off fresh in the New Year. The Healing Cleanse 30 Day Detox Kit is a fast, simple and easy way to jumpstart healing and make it a great year (Here’s a coupon code for 10% off plus free shipping HOLIDAY17). If you would like even more information, download my free ebook Lose Up to 15 Pounds in 30 Days without Exercising, Starving or Stressing.

Silk Pillow Cases An affordable luxury. Very smooth and naturally cool or warm as you need. They also diminish wrinkles on the face from sleeping and eliminate bed hair.

Warm, Soothing Broth Forget sending the candy and cookies that will cause all kinds of inflammation and pain. Broth is soothing, healing, and the perfect note for cold winter days. Add coconut oil or ghee for good fats, hydrolyzed collagen powder for super-absorbable protein, and unrefined sea salt for flavor. Add this stainless-steel travel mug, it’s my favorite for on-the-go!

Wool Blanket (to go under the bottom bed sheet) Forget a scratchy wool blanket like your grandmother had! These blankets are very soft, but they go UNDER your bottom bed sheet. I used to have a heated mattress pad or an electric blanket, but I became concerned about potential exposure to harmful EMFs. With a wool blanket under my bottom sheet, there is no electricity to worry about and the bed stays warm, cozy and breathable.

BONUS IDEA: I would be shot by my publisher if I did not mention my book, which takes people on a step-by-step path for complete recovery from fibromyalgia and its coexisting conditions. I have been recovered from fibromyalgia for nearly 10 years now, and I am on a mission to help others do the same. Freedom from Fibromyalgia: 7 Steps to Complete Recovery is available on Amazon or on my website www.TheFibroLady.com.

About the author: Natural healing expert and speaker Leah E. McCullough, affectionately known as The Fibro Lady, is the author of the critically-acclaimed books Freedom from Fibromyalgia: 7 Steps to Complete Recovery and Eat to Energize: Strategies and Recipes for Using the #1 Super Food for Energy. Receive the free eBook Lose Up to 15 Pounds in 30 Days without Exercising, Starving or Stressing at www.TheFibroLady.com . You can also connect with Leah on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

How can I be grateful when I am so sick?

I remember the last year that I was really sick (highly symptomatic of fibromyalgia and coexisting conditions). I did not want to go to my in-laws’ house for Thanksgiving.  I didn’t want to go anywhere for that matter, and I just stayed home all the time. It wasn’t just that one year; it was several years.Hard to be Thankful with Fibromyalgia  How can I be grateful when I am so sick? turkey 966496 640

Holidays were a particular hell – I had to be present at a certain time, I had to spend a couple hours with people I only saw once or twice a year, I felt like I had to explain why I looked just fine but couldn’t work or do anything meaningful with my life, plus wear nice clothes and eat different food.  Ugh!  Let me go back to bed!

On that last year I was trying to tell my husband I wasn’t going to go to his parents’ house for Thanksgiving.  My husband is a very sweet person, and he had put up with a lot with me being sick.  He gave me this look like “unless you have to go to the hospital, you better go, don’t do this to me.

Here in the US, some families take turns going around the table declaring what they are thankful for that year.  When every fiber of your being is in pain, sleep has been elusive for years, and fatigue is crushing, it takes a lot more imagination to find reasons to be grateful.

How can I be grateful when I am so sick?  Nothing seems good when looked through the lens of an intense illness.  The more you need something, the harder it is to get, right?

You know how it is when you get around somebody that is really complaining, and it might be totally legitimate, but it can really bring the mood down.  Then other people pipe in and start commiserating, and soon everyone is feeling really sour.  This is an example of the principle of Law of Attraction, “like attracts like.”  A negative thought attracts another negative thought like the fibers in a string of yarn until it becomes a rope.

Oppositely, when you focus on better feeling thoughts, you then start to attract more better feeling thoughts.  Thoughts lead to feelings, and who doesn’t want to have good feelings?!

However, the truth of the matter is, you cannot go directly from being down and depressed to grateful and joyful.  Or as Abraham-Hicks point out, “You just can’t get there from here.”  And why would you want to anyway, what does it matter?  What’s so important about gratitude?  Why do we even have a holiday about this?

The fastest and most effective way to flip the switch on any kind of bad mood is to start counting your blessings, i.e., experiencing gratitude. When a person is down in the dumps, it takes some forethought to figure out what to be grateful for, but I have a simple method I learned from Abraham-Hicks: go general.

If you think about the specifics of your situation, you may very well not find anything to be grateful for, it may be just too raw for you to find anything.  So to start (and I mean this is the start – not the end all, be all), start thinking about general things that are pleasant in your situation.  Then those thoughts and feelings will start to attract more and more thoughts about even more and more positive aspects, and a positive spiral will start.  When you get stuck, or a negative thought creeps in, and they will go back to a more general thought.

For example, I might be feeling pretty cruddy and just barely able to make it to the holiday dinner.  How can I lift my mood or even begin to feel like I have gratitude?  I start with something that is easy to be grateful for such as a pet.  I think I am so grateful for my dog, she is such a comfort to me.  Then I wait for a second or two for another positive thought.  I’m glad I get to cuddle with my dog.  As I am waiting for another positive thought, a negative one may creep in: but she needs a bath.  Go back to general: I am so grateful that we have plenty of fresh, clean water.  My dog loves baths, it’s so cute!

As you are thinking about your pet (or something else that is easy to think about), you may very well find your mood improves some.  Then stay in that good mood for as long as you can and just focus on good feeling thoughts.  When the negative thoughts creep in, just blow them off and don’t focus on them.How can I be grateful when I am so sick? Happy Thanksgiving

At this point you may have some ideas about how going to a holiday dinner might be bearable.  Such as, hmm, I can wear something more comfortable, that way I may not tire out so quickly.  Also, I can bring a cushion with me, that way the chair won’t hurt.  I really appreciate how my mother-in-law hosts our family’s get together, she really cares about everyone being comfortable and happy.

You have to build up to the good feelings.  Finding general things to be grateful for attracts more thoughts about what to be grateful for, for your specific situation.

So then what does gratitude do besides make you feel good?  First, isn’t that great all on its own – any way to feel better, especially in the midst of soul-sucking pain, isn’t that enough all on its own?!   In a very metaphysical way, gratitude attracts happiness and blessings the way a tuning fork, once struck, will turn on another tuning fork of the same note, that’s in its vicinity.   Like attracts like.

About a month before that last Thanksgiving where I was so sick, I had started to meditate on “optimal health” which was the most audacious wish I could imagine.  Within about two months I attracted the thought that I wanted to be happy no matter what the situation.  I wasn’t one hundred percent, but my way of being changed so much so, that my husband thought my physical situation was improving.  It hadn’t at that point, but that’s how big a difference changing my outlook made.

Within a year every single aspect of my life changed for the better: I recovered from fibromyalgia and the coexisting conditions I had, I lost over 70 pounds, I was able to get off all prescription drugs, and the miracle of miracles, I became pregnant (at 41 years old!).  I know deep in my soul, that changing my outlook started the ball rolling, and attracted the people and things I needed to make the physical changes.  I attracted happiness and blessings!

So what about you?  What’s an easy subject for you think about?  Do you love the crispness of the air this time of year?  Do you love seeing how much the children have grown when everyone gathers for the holiday?

Also, what strategies have you come up with that help you get through the holidays with health and peace?  Join the Freedom from Fibromyalgia: Fibro Natural Recovery Support group page (you have to request to join – there are all kinds of free resources in the Files section).  I can’t wait to see you then!

Love, Leah

Simple Help for RLS

Try this for RLS relief RLS Simple Help for RLS desperate 2293377 640In my Take Your Health Back Group Coaching Program I am regularly amazed by the people in it.  Not only are they a positive group of individuals focused on recovering their health, but they also teach me about new information that I can then pass on to the rest of our amazing community, like this simple technique to reduce RLS.

RLS, or Restless Leg Syndrome, is a very common coexisting condition with fibromyalgia.  So, after one has addressed things like:

  • gut health (with “The Healing Cleanse” as noted in my free ebook Lose Up to 15 Pounds Without Exercising, Starving, or Stressing)
  • adequate intake of the mineral magnesium, which almost everyone is deficient in (I like this lotion as it does not make my skin itch)
  • and other healing modalities such as stretching and diet, there can still be issues with RLS.

My client says when she is bothered in the evening with RLS she does this mindful meditation technique:  she tenses the muscles in her legs for a few seconds and then releases the muscles.  You may recognize this from different relaxation and meditation techniques.  For a body-wide way to deeply relax, systematically go through muscle groups and tense them up, and then relax them.  I like to start with my face, then move to my neck, down to my shoulders, etc.

In this specific RLS technique, she just focuses on the leg muscles, tensing and relaxing to sort of reset the muscles so that they stop twitching.  If you try this let me know how it works for you.

Are you ready to transform your life?  I have seen amazing results in my coaching program, and you may have noticed some of the success stories people post on our free FaceBook support group, Freedom from Fibromyalgia: Fibro Natural Recovery Support.  Currently, I have openings for about 10 more coaching clients.  If you are interested in seeing if this would be a good fit for you, click here.

Yours in Joyful Health,

Leah