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

Mother’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!

My #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

Since completing the telesummit, I have been traveling quite a bit. Here is a quick summary of what’s been happening!

A Keynote Speaker at a Medical Conference

This was one of the high-points of my career!  I was one of the keynote speakers at the Southeast Regional Integrative Medical Conference 2016.  It was held March 4-5, 2016 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.

I have officially gone from doctors telling me “it’s all in your head” to “thank you for your presentation” !!  I presented to them the methods I used to recover from fibromyalgia and its coexisting conditions, how they can implement it with their patients, and the stories about how others have recovered using this method too.  

Honestly, I was a bit nervous about how my talk would be received, but these medical professionals were so gracious and open to learning new information.  I actually went to the other classes for my own education.  There was fantastic information there.

I unveiled my brand new Freedom from Fibromyalgia Professional Certification Course.  Soon we will have listings of medical professionals all over that can partner with the members of our community.

In OHIO!

Since I live in Ohio, you would think I speak there a lot.  I actually present all over the country, but in April I have an unprecedented three speaking appearances in Ohio.  

The first one was near Cincinnati, The Younique Wellness Expo on Saturday, April 2.  My topic was 3D Healing.

The next one I did was near Lima, and it’s the Allen County Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter.  It was on Monday, April 11.  I love presenting to WAPF chapters!

The third one is a bit different for me – I will be doing a marketing talk to aspiring authors at The Dayton Book Expo on Saturday, April 30th, (time to be announced).  I will be part of a panel of authors that have self-published their books.  The admission is free and will be held at Sinclair Community College in Dayton.

Free Support

I am part of two fibromyalgia support groups that meet in Ohio.  I attend every other month to the Cincinnati or Dayton Fibro Fighters.  If you are interested check it out on http://www.meetup.com/Cincinnati-Fibro-Fighters/ or http://www.meetup.com/cincinnati-Dayton-Fibro-Fighters/ .

If you are not able to make it to our in-person support groups I invite you to join our secret FaceBook Group, The Hope Army.  To join send an email to leah@thefibrolady.com, subject The Hope Army, and include the email address you use to log into FaceBook.  An invitation link will be sent to you.  Once you join, please introduce yourself to the group and let us welcome you!

Big Announcement – Everywhere!

On the heels of The Healing Fibromyalgia – Chronic Fatigue – ME World TeleSummit I am pleased to announce the start of a group class called the 3D Fibro Healing TeleClass.  

The first class is FREE and we will have 5 calls total, consisting of information and Q&A time.  This is a fantastic opportunity to go through the Freedom from Fibromyalgia 7 Steps to Complete Recovery with me holding your hand all along the way.

We will have the first class on Thursday, April 21st at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (4:00 p.m. Pacific) and then the other classes will go over a period of 7 weeks.  This gives you the opportunity to see your results over time and to ASK, ASK, ASK questions about your specific situation.  Everyone will learn from each other!

To receive notifications about this exciting new class, go to www.3DFibro.com/signup and sign up with your name and email address. As a thank you for signing up, you will receive my NEW special report “Natural Ways to Reduce and Even Eliminate Fibromyalgia Pain.”  

If you know of or have a group that would like an inspirational, informative and engaging speaker, feel free to contact me at Leah@TheFibroLady.com.

Well, that’s about it for now!  Keep up to date on all my happenings on the Where’s Leah tab on my website and stay in touch with me on FaceBook, Twitter, and, YouTube.

Yours in joy and health,

Leah

The Fibro Lady

If you have fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue, this can be the most frustrating time of the year, instead of the most wonderful, like it should be.

I know. I have been there and I have the scars on my heart to prove it.  Because of my absence I have damaged relationships beyond repair.  Not being there also counts, but not for anything good, unfortunately.

How confusing are the symptoms of fibromyalgia to the one who suffers?  

How more confusing must it be for someone who only sees you a few times a year?  

This is a difficult article for me to write as I explore the repercussions of the period of time in my life I had to cancel my attendance to events, and usually at the last minute.  I actually just got to the point where I would not make any commitments rather than be a flake.  It was very isolating, which only added to my loneliness and depression.

One of my biggest regrets is that I missed out on getting to know my nieces and nephews when they were small.  When each one of them were born I really wanted a close relationship with them.  Now I am just a familiar stranger to them, and it really breaks my heart.  

What has this disease cost you in terms of relationships?  I was fortunate, my marriage survived, but a lot of peoples’ don’t fare as well.  Also, my relationship with my child is intact mainly because I had him after I recovered.  I know a lot of parents who are unable to be the kind of parents they want to be.

If you have to miss the celebration this season, I understand.  At the end of the day, you are dealing with an illness that is often invisible.  You have to take care of yourself first.  I feel for you, and I know that this too shall pass.

But please realize that relationships require attendance.  You have to be there to connect.  And isn’t connection what everyone is seeking?  To feel the warmth of love and friendship with the people we care about the most.  You have to be there to make the memories.

Now that I have recovered I have made new relationships and have deepened old ones.  I can’t turn back time, and like I state before, some relationships have been damaged beyond repair.  However, I am so grateful that I can now be there, I get to connect, and I get to make memories with the people I care about most.

What is your greatest wish?  How are you going to make it happen?  Do you have an example of anyone else achieving this dream?  

This has been difficult to write about, so I want to add a bright spot.  In the New Year we will be unveiling some free support resources for you to show you a path out of this darkness.  Be on the lookout for the announcement of The Fibromyalgia – Chronic Fatigue – ME World Telesummit that will be broadcast January 26th-28th, 2016.

We are very excited about this!  I will be interviewing experts all over the world that are helping people recover naturally from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and their coexisting conditions.  Real help, real hope, great information.

From the bottom of my heart, this holiday season, I wish for you the feelings of joy, health, understanding and peace.  

Leah

The Fibro Lady

Where’s Leah?  All Over!

Anaheim, CA

 The 16th Annual Wise Traditions Conference, hosted by Weston Price in Anaheim, California was November 12-16th. I networking with other healers and educators while learning all about the cutting edge science behind natural healing.  Also, I will be enjoying fantastic food!  That is something I do not get to do a lot out in public so I’m glad I was able to attend.  Here’s a video of the action.

I added some posts on Twitter and Facebook. 

In The New Year

I already have several speaking engagements lined up for the New Year and I will announce those as they get closer.  If you know of or have a group that would like an inspirational, informative and engaging speaker, feel free to contact me at Leah@TheFibroLady.com.

A Keynote Speaker at a Medical Conference

This might be the most exciting thing I have done to date!  I am one of the keynote speakers at the Southeast Regional Integrative Medical Conference 2016.  It will be held March 4-5, 2016 in Winston-Salem, NC.  

What the most interesting part for me is that I have now gone from doctors not believing me to doctors paying me to hear how I recovered from fibromyalgia, and how they can help their patients recover too.  Isn’t it amazing how life works?!

Big Announcement – Everywhere!

And, as I mentioned in The Support article, I will be live everywhere coming January 26-28, 2016 for The Healing Fibromyalgia ~ Chronic Fatigue ~ ME World Telesummit. This is a FREE virtual event, meaning everyone that registers will have free access to listen to the interviews.  

I will be interviewing doctors and other experts in from all over the world to discuss how they are helping people heal from these supposedly incurable conditions.

This is the biggest project I have undertaken since starting to write my book and I am very excited about it.  We will be announcing more details as well as the speaker roster in the coming weeks.

Well, that’s about it for now!  Keep up to date on all my happenings on the Where’s Leah tab on my website and stay in touch with me on FaceBook, Twitter, and, YouTube.

Yours in joy and health,

Leah

The Fibro Lady