Since the beginning of the pandemic the #1 reason clients request metaphysical colonics and lymphatic drainage sessions are due to bloat. It’s so predominant and frequent, I thought it would be helpful to address in this month’s article. So here we go….

For those who have worked with me or read my website, you already know that gas and bloat relate to feeling a need to protect oneself. When we bloat and our bodies distend, we are literally creating space between ourselves and the outside world. We do this because we want emotional safety and are under the illusion (most often subconsciously) this wall will create protection. The problem is that in addition to feeling safer, we feel more uncomfortable physically because we effectively create a prison we are stuck within (and this stuckness can contribute to digestive issues, i.e. constipation).

Think about all the things we’ve had to contend with during the start of this craziness:

·     A global pandemic (fear of getting sick and death; distrust of government and other people, news, social media)
·     Being ordered to stay inside (fear of being trapped, isolated, lonely, survival, conflict)
·     Vaccine mandates (fear of being controlled; fear of being judged by each other for choosing/not choosing)
·     Comfort eating/overeating (fear of judgment from others and our own judgment of unworthiness due to weight gain)
·     Elections (fear of the unknown; survival; making the “wrong” choice)
·     Financial insecurity (fear of job loss; fear of money loss; fear of home loss; highlighting internal fear of unworthiness)
·     Loss of freedom (travel restrictions; fear of speaking one’s truth due to potential condemnation; parental choice)
·     Re-evaluating one’s life (“Should I stay, or should I go?” ~ fear of losing relationship, job, home)

What is the one word that shows up over and over?

Fear

I’m sure there are some things I missed but you get the gist. This is a LOT for us to deal with on top of living our “normal” lives. We still need to work, be strong and secure parents to our children, take care of ourselves (eat well, hydrate, exercise, create joy and fun, attend to our internal and external healing), experience healthy and loving partnerships, and get on with the business of living.

It is no wonder we are having such trouble maintaining a healthy and balanced equilibrium. If you are feeling unsettled and afraid, I have good news! As always, I offer some perspectives to help you rebalance and create internal freedom and peace.

One of the things we don’t often realize is our need for protection and emotional safety really comes from our own selves. We think that we need to protect ourselves from the outside world and other people, but we don’t acknowledge the ways we attack ourselves with unkind and uncompassionate beliefs and self-talk:

We re-traumatize ourselves when we re-live traumatic experiences over and over in our heads. We don’t do this because we are bad, weak or immature people. We do this as a way to gain mastery over that which we had no control over, such as a traumatic upbringing or devastating break up. We “should” ourselves ~ “I should have known better”, “I should have chosen or behaved better”, “I should have been stronger/more attractive/better in some way”. We unknowingly use very attacking language toward ourselves. In fact, we would be horrified if we “heard” the way we address ourselves when we are present and willing to sit with that truth. It is a good, if not uncomfortable, practice to allow ourselves to “hear” how we speak to ourselves. Only then can we choose more loving and empathetic language. How do we get there? Through self-forgiveness. We can use the above referenced experiences with other people we feel we need to protect ourselves from by seeing them as our mirrors.

They mirror the ways we

judge ourselves,
confine ourselves,
condemn ourselves,
belittle ourselves,
hurt ourselves,
control ourselves,
trap ourselves.

Do you see what I mean?

When we view others and life as our mirrors, we can see what is being mirrored back, forgive ourselves for our own unkind self-treatment and then forgive others for being our mirrors. If you started practicing this regularly, what would your life look like?
·
Sometimes we take on what doesn’t belong to us, (through over care taking) and we end up filling our energetic bodies with the energy of other people’s problems, fears, anger, resentment, and unhappiness. This ends up manifesting in our physical bodies as bloat and weight gain (this can also be armor that we use to further protect ourselves, not realizing that we can step away from others’ problems and remove the armor). They mirror our need to take care of ourselves first before attending to someone else. We do this by practicing healthy boundaries and saying “no” when we don’t have the energy or space to give to someone else. If you were trained as a child to be a caretaker, saying “no” or asserting boundaries can feel very uncomfortable. But if you experience bloat for an “unknown” reason then this may very well be the wisdom of your body asking you to release what no longer belongs to you or serves you.

Could our diets play a part in bloat? Yes, of course ~ for the obvious reasons, but what is the emotional issue creating the desire to eat foods that create bloat? This is a really good question to ask yourself. Often, we are so unkind and judge-y when we speak to ourselves about food. I would love for you to offer yourself compassionate understanding first. There is a reason you choose foods that may not be healthy or create physical discomfort. Instead of making the problem worse by attacking yourself for choosing in an unhelpful way, love yourself by asking what you are afraid of…start with being self-curious instead of self-judgmental.

If you experience bloat and your diet is on point, then most likely there is a belief, that is aligned with a lie, that creates a feeling, that manifests physically. Discover the belief, forgive yourself for believing a lie, then align yourself with the truth that is firmly rooted in love.

We all have beautiful Divine Spirit guides that are assigned to each of us for every aspect of our lives. You can call them to you and ask for any help and protection that you need. For example, whenever my son flies to different countries, I have a protection protocol I use to ensure his safety wherever he is in the world. You can ask your guides for help in ascertaining which protection is based in a true need for safety and which are illusions of the ego mind wanting to control you. Working with your guides can help you feel safe and secure, which can shift any physical dysfunction tied to our own internal feelings of unsafety.

I hope this was a helpful discussion on a few different reasons for bloat. Of course, I would love to explore how your own bloat or digestive issues are a beautiful gift of understanding and path to unconditional self-love. Please let me know if you would like a session to discuss this or any other issues of safety from a uniquely metaphysical perspective. Thank you! Stephanie

The Vulnerability of Truth
By Stephanie Kato

We believe in the power of “speaking one’s truth”. We encourage each other and proclaim how empowering it feels. I think most of us agree that speaking the truth is a good idea and although it is a simple concept, in reality it can be very complicated for many people.

What is required to fully speak our truth and how often do we actually do so?

Being able to speak our truth requires us to be self-aware on many different levels. Without self-awareness, we end up leading our conversations with defensiveness based in fear. Expressing truth to ourselves first, and then to one another requires us to choose the discomfort of vulnerability. We take an emotional risk when we share our truth with someone because once we state our beliefs, we open ourselves to potential anger, judgment, attack, disbelief, denial, disagreements, and abandonment. Without knowing ourselves to be worthy regardless of others’ opinions, it may feel too scary to stand up for ourselves and our beliefs. Many people avoid full self-expression out of basic self-preservation. We are then left with two options: stay quiet to protect ourselves, or speak up and risk rejection and ostracization. In many ways humans are not that different from the animal kingdom. Simply put, there is safety and strength in numbers. Built into our DNA this innate programming to self-protect comes into play with regard to truth telling. This is why it is so vital to practice self-love and self-compassion. Rarely do we consider how we are hardwired when faced with an emotional trigger. If we chastise ourselves as weak or cowardly because we didn’t speak up, we miss the opportunity to appreciate the range of potential repercussions we are faced with. To further complicate matters, let’s add the complex dynamics of our childhoods to the mix along with past relationship experiences of heartbreak and emotional pain, and we begin to understand why speaking our truth is no easy task.

The courage to speak up begins with an intention:

“What is my goal: do I want to stay in conflict (ego)

or do I want to encourage resolution (heart)?”

To help you learn how to work with yourself I’ve created a fictitious couple who are having some issues in their relationship. Below I breakdown how they find themselves in the middle of conflict when they remain emotionally unaware vs. adopting a successful skillset and become master communicators. (What’s the key? You guessed it…Vulnerability!) Let’s start with –

Conflict instigated by self-unawareness:

In this example, both Mary and Tom grew up without the type of love they needed from their parents[1]. They are in a love relationship and although there is love between them, Mary feels triggered much of the time. She wants something from Tom that she can’t seem to attain and gets upset with him. Tom ends up feeling attacked and discouraged and shuts down emotionally to protect himself. The more Tom withdraws to protect himself, the more insecure Mary feels and expresses anger. Thus, the cycle begins…

Perception

When Mary cannot get her needs met by Tom, she perceives this means something is wrong with her (issues of worthiness) and that he doesn’t really care about her. If he did, he would give her what she needs, right? Tom perceives Mary’s disappointment as not being able to do anything right and this makes him feel like something is wrong with him (issues of worthiness). So for both of them, the insecure self-esteem issues created in their childhoods are validated in what they perceive as truth in their relationship.

Perspective

Mary’s perception creates victim mentality within her. She reasons that since Tom knows about her childhood, he should just know how to help her. Instead she sees his withholding as intentional and this perspective makes her feel alone and sad. Tom feels defeated and safer when he withdraws into himself. Both perspectives keep the couple from getting their needs met.

Unconscious unresolved issues

Neither Mary nor Tom have learned how to sit with the discomfort of their feelings or recognize the profound and lasting effect of how being disappointed by their parents created insecurities and feelings of being unworthy and unlovable in their relationship. When individuals avoid healing internal trauma and emotional pain, they never learn how to re-parent the vulnerable parts of themselves and instead look to fill what is missing within themselves through outside sources, like a love partner. This perspective puts a lot of pressure on both the partner and the relationship. The only one who can truly heal the individual is the individual themself. Without taking responsibility for the healing that belongs to us and us alone, we perpetuate victim mentality and this leads to misery and additional emotional pain.

Conflict

Without invaluable internal and healthy awareness, Mary and Tom fight each other and effectively push each other further away. They use untruths such as: “You don’t love me”; “I need to keep my heart closed to you”; “If you loved me you would _________”. Ironically, they both want the same thing: to feel safe, loved, and accepted by the other person. The only way we know how to communicate is what we were taught through examples modeled within the original family dynamic. If communication was not healthy, safe or open, most children grow up into adults who have limited communication skills. This skillset is learned so we must do whatever we can to learn how to find the courage and allow vulnerable feelings that progress into speaking our vulnerable truths. .

Resolution inspired by self-awareness:

Now let’s look at this same scenario but this time Mary and Tom have both learned how to allow themselves to feel vulnerable through healing past trauma and embracing self-love, self-kindness and self-compassion.

 

Perception

Mary is still trying to get what she needs from Tom. Because she has healed her past childhood trauma, she doesn’t personalize his inability to give her what she needs. She also doesn’t assume that the way she perceives his intentions are accurate. In other words, she takes responsibility for potentially judging him inaccurately and offers compassionate and loving communication through sharing her vulnerable feelings. When Mary approaches Tom in this way, he feels safe to explore his feelings and this allows him to review his own perceptions about himself and discover why he hasn’t been able to meet Mary’s needs.

Perspective

Since Mary doesn’t attack Tom, he feels safe to share with her his own childhood experiences of his mother yelling at his dad constantly, and how he learned to cope by withdrawing within himself. This new information helps Mary shift her perspective such that when Tom retreats after she yells at him, it is actually an old coping mechanism that has nothing to do with her (other than she is triggering him with her behavior). Also, this new perspective helps Tom realize that he had been reacting to Mary from a young, wounded place that has no validity in his adult relationship (providing him an opportunity to vulnerably share how it hurts him when she yells at him).

Consciously resolved issues

The only way they could both reach this new understanding was through a willingness to allow the vulnerability of truth; not just with speaking their truths but also by feeling safe enough with each other to allow them to explore past hurts that were being mirrored in their relationship. This is how our love relationships – that embrace vulnerability – can serve to help us heal old traumas. The only way we can achieve this is through compassionate understanding and unconditional love – first within ourselves and then with each other.

Resolution

I have a saying “What seems like a disaster is actually a blessing”. Every relationship (not just love relationships) provides us the opportunity to see the gift in conflict. It’s the relationship equivalent of the oyster creating a pearl from a grain of sand. If both parties remain committed to unconditional love at all costs, they can create a safe space for each other to speak their truths.

What would they say to each other by allowing the vulnerability of truth? “I feel unworthy of being loved the way I want to be”; “I’m scared that my not getting what I need from you means something is wrong with me”; “I’m scared that if you really know me, you will leave me”; “ I feel like I have no other option than to protect myself, and hide when I feel attacked by you”; “If I could get the love from you that I didn’t get growing up, I will finally be okay”.

Obviously our fictitious couple is only one example but one that might speak to many people. For our relationships to be loving and joyful, continuously working on healing our internal emotional issues is key. Without a concerted effort to become intimately acquainted with who we believe we are, we cannot move forward into sustainable, healthy relationships and successful conflict resolution. Discovering how to lead with truth will benefit every aspect of your life and every single one of your relationships: family, love, friendships, and business.

How to allow vulnerable truths in relationships?

·     Reduce conflict: see it as a conversation, not a confrontation.

·     Write down your own truths in a journal. The only reason we have trouble speaking our truth with others is because we avoid the vulnerability of admitting it to ourselves first.

·     Trust that your partner loves you and desires a healthy and happy relationship with you.

·     Accept differences and disagreements as a part of life and relationships. No two people are identically the same. Think of how boring that would be!

·     One of the most valuable pieces of advice I ever read was from Stephen Covey “Seek first to understand”. Allow this to be your mantra. With love and compassion, tell your partner how you felt when they said or did something and verify if that was their intention. For example “I felt judged when you said ___________, is this what you meant?” Give your partner the chance to clarify their intention before you react or assume.

[1] I do not judge any parents with this example. Every person has suffered in some way in their life and the family dynamics are based on people being (understandably) imperfectly human and fallible.

Stay in your hearts with love, dear ones!

 

 

Experiences in life serve to provide defining moments for human beings. Major events such as births, deaths, new relationships (friendships and romantic), marriage, divorce, business endeavors, illnesses and (now) global pandemics affect each of us in different ways. Traumatic, challenging and heartbreaking experiences tend to linger in our hearts and minds. How do we heal, rise above and move on from painful experiences so we can live peaceful, joyful and fulfilling lives? What is the one perspective that serves to keep us stuck and potentially create physical dysfunction such as digestive, skin and heart issues (amongst others)?

The perspective of victimhood

When we choose to view ourselves as victims we choose a perspective that results in physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual suffering. What is the best way to step out of victim mentality and into an empowered state of consciousness? Let’s first start with how victim mentality begins. Let’s start with one word: WHY?

Do you notice you begin your sentences with “Why”? For example:

“Why is this happening to me?”
“Why didn’t I get that job?”
“Why can’t I meet a romantic partner; what is wrong with me?”
“Why am I not healing from this illness?”
“Why can’t I make enough money?”

Beginning sentences with “why” indicates our need to control that which we feel we cannot. I used to have a saying “If I can understand why, then I will be able to accept what is”. What I was actually saying (but wasn’t ready to accept) was “If I can control everything in my life, then I will feel safe and can trust I will be ok”. No one really enjoys feeling lack of, or out of, control. We don’t want to feel too vulnerable. Feeling vulnerable makes us feel scared and unsafe. Human beings are hard wired to feel pleasure and avoid fear. In fact, most people will do whatever they can to stay in control so they never have to feel vulnerable.

Allowing vulnerability is one of the strongest and
most powerful experiences we can embrace.

Ironically, although those who choose victim mentality would appear to embrace vulnerability, they are actually using the victim perspective to avoid feeling the deeper feelings they fear might destroy them if they sit in the discomfort of their uncomfortable and painful feelings.

I’m not suggesting victims do not exist; of course they do. People experience all types of very real and traumatic experiences. Right now people all over the world are suffering from circumstances very much out of their control. They are losing their jobs, their livelihoods, their homes, their families, their friends, and their way of life. The more fear some people experience, the more domestic and public violence increases. I’m not perpetuating a belief that victims do not exist. The point of this article is for you to ask yourself some questions so you can choose to live in the strongest, joyful and most life-affirming ways possible.

Do you notice how I use the word ‘choose’ throughout? Even though someone may not have chosen to be a victim because of past or present experiences, we all have choices about what we want to do with these experiences. Personal growth is encouraged by the challenging and defining moments of our lives. In other words, do you believe you are destined for only one way of life or do you choose to view your experiences as a way to discover yourself, your strength and your truth? Does life happen to you or are you the Master of Your Destiny? What do you believe?

Now…let’s take this a step further. Where does your soul fit into all of this? What do you think is possible? Do you believe your soul chose the following:

·     All your life experiences, especially the painful ones?

·     Contracts with everyone in your life to help your soul’s growth?

·     Incarnate at this specific time in life to experience life’s energy balancing? (I’m specifically not using the word ‘karma’.)

If you are open to these possibilities you can release any vestige of victim mentality that no longer serves you; you can be grateful to all the people in your life because you understand they are keeping the soul contracts and agreements that you both made prior to incarnation; you can choose to promote and lead with light and love to balance the energy on the planet, within yourself and with others.

Think about that for a moment…what would embracing this type of life mean? Is it possible that you can change the course of your life but also how others experience themselves? How can this be?

We are all connected energetically. Many of us experience thinking about someone and they call or we run into them. We can use these connections to inspire unconditional self-love and unconditional love for our family, our friends, our partners and everyone on the planet.

Unconditional love

This mean love free from judgment, criticism, expectations, harshness, inaccurate beliefs and emotional pain.

Unconditional love = freedom

Freedom from self-loathing, unworthiness and the belief that we are unlovable

Experience the power of choice

How do you choose to end 2020 and begin 2021?

I choose LOVE!!

With love and gratitude ~
Stephanie

Doesn’t it feel like our stress levels have never been higher? And yet, somehow, it continues. What can we do to find joy and happiness despite all this stress? Is it even possible? As an eternal optimist, I believe anything and everything is possible, even in the darkest of times. Easier said than done? Not necessarily. Below I detail how we can all ~

Stay Above the Fray

***Physical***

Now more than ever it is vital to stay on top of your physical health. Why? Let’s take your digestion, for instance. When you are stressed, your body responds with efficacy…meaning it slows down your digestion in case you need to run or fight. I know comfort eating seems to help when we are stressed, and we all do it, so there’s no judgment here. My point is this: if your body is slowing your digestion in preparation and you are ingesting inflammatory and congesting foods, it is difficult for your body to break them down and convert them into energy. This can leave you feeling very sluggish, grumpy, depressed and hopeless…and this is on top of the waves of bad news appearing daily. So please be kind to yourself and eat as healthfully as possible. Make it fun! Everyone seems to have a favorite salad or healthy juice drink. Take the time to make food just the way you like it, and this extra effort can lift your spirits and remind yourself that you are worthy of loving self-care.

Besides adequate hydration with pure water, exercise is a miracle worker to combat stress. Again…make it fun! I love Pilates and martial arts ~ Qi Gong in particular. Deep breathing with body movement can literally clear away your stress. It’s like oxygen for me these days. I can’t function well without exercise, and I encourage you to do whatever connects you to your body in a beautiful way.

And of course, a metaphysical colonic, bio electric lymphatic drainage and craniosacral therapy calms us…body, mind and spirit.

***Mental***

These days it appears everyone has an opinion about this, that or the other thing. It’s exhausting to wade through the voluminous amounts of information through news outlets, social media, and conversations with each other. One quick and easy way to stay above the fray is staying off of the internet. Don’t believe me? Try a media fast for a week or more. Don’t worry…your friends will fill you in on the important things. Coming off of social media and the news has changed my life and reduced my stress levels about 90%!

We’ve all got so many thoughts running through our heads, do we really need to bombard ourselves with more? Remember, we choose what we allow into our lives. Practicing healthy boundaries with the internet is one of the most freeing experiences, especially now. Since travel is currently limited, take a little vacation in your mind. Picture yourself in a relaxing locale of your choice. Put on some soothing music and let yourself drift away. Maybe in a warm bath…with essential oils…and Epsom salt…while enjoying some herbal tea. Calgon: take me away! (BTW: taking a bath with salt is one of the best ways to disperse and release stress!)

***Emotional***

Fear is up all over the planet and especially here in America…and particularly right now. Allow yourself to sit in the discomfort of your feelings. Make friends with your feelings and with gratitude, thank them for showing you the emotions that can feel so overwhelming. When we run away from our feelings through distractions (alcohol, food, media, obsessive/compulsive thinking) we miss an exquisite opportunity to get to know ourselves better. One way to avoid letting our feelings lead us around is through healthy detachment. When you notice a feeling such as fear, allow yourself to feel it. Then imagine standing next to the fear as if it is a friend. Thank the fear for helping you and ask it what it is trying to tell you. By detaching from the fear you can work with it healthily. For example, sometimes I am afraid that my business will take a downturn and affect my finances negatively. I feel the fear by acknowledging it. I notice where it is sitting in my body. Then, I remind myself that I have two choices. I can continue down the path of fear and most likely create the thing I am fearing the most, or I can choose to trust that all of life loves me and I am worthy of being supported this way. The fear as my friend reminds me of these choices and helps me to take responsibility for my mindset. Remember, we are always creating our lives, every minute, every day. Where we focus our thoughts, energy and emotion steers us to the reality we visualize. Where will fear steer you if you stay on that path? Where will joy lead you? What about hope?

***Spiritual***

The number one thing I practice that helps me stay above the fray and living with daily joy and positivity are two things: love and trust. I practice self-love in my self-talk, self-care and self-worth through diet, exercise and all things joyful (love listening to comedy…anything!). Further, I spend a great deal of time sharing love with others. Knowing that I have soul contracts with every person in my life, I can be grateful for people who challenge me or “hurt” me. I put that word in quotations because I can only get hurt by others when I personalize their behavior. If our souls agreed to play out situations in our lives for our highest good, then how can I feel anything but love and gratitude for them? This spiritual belief has been a game changer for me. So much of the way we suffer is through our interactions with others, and our expectations they show up in a way we can control. What would happen in your life and your stress level if you loved them instead? Just love them. Open your heart, surround it with peach colored energy and send them love. Even if you don’t understand the gift of their presence (especially if they are a PITA), trust they are in your life for a reason, thank them and love them.

And this brings me to my next topic: trust. By far, the number one thing that challenges human beings the most is trust. My life, my business, my relationships and my joy are directly connected to my willingness to trust that life has my back and loves me unconditionally. When I allow myself to trust this, guess what happens? I have a deeper capacity to love others unconditionally…see how that works? Isn’t that immensely beautiful? The reality is: loving myself and others unconditionally, and being in a state of unhappy stress cannot co-exist. Don’t believe me? Try it! First, trust that you are surrounded by spiritual help, be it your higher self, a higher power or life itself. Second, trust that you are worthy to receive this help by asking for what you need. Third, trust that whatever outcome shows up is being offered for your highest good.

With love and gratitude ~

Stephanie

It’s common knowledge that healthy eating, exercise, adequate hydration and even a positive attitude helps to boost our immune systems. Strong immune systems are key to strong and healthy bodies, now more than ever.

Our present experiences bring up controls issue simply because there are so many things in our lives we cannot control. This reality feels very uncomfortable and human beings project their control issues outward to manage internal discomfort. We see daily examples of people displaying varying levels of anger toward each other with words, violence or other fear-based behaviors.

Are we willing to live and let live? Can we use the discomfort of our feelings to self-heal on deeper levels of our being? Can we choose a perspective that allows us to offer compassion to ourselves and others, despite our fears? Can we take this time in history to listen to the wisdom within creating an alternative way of relating to the world in and around us?

Absolutely!

Let’s begin this discussion with a story and an invitation:

It is my intention to lead and show up with love for everyone I encounter. I set this intention because being a loving person is who I choose to be and it feels great. I believe in the power and possibilities of love. Plus, when I am being my loving self I make better food choices, I care for myself more consistently, and my overall health reflects the benefits of this perspective.

About 2 years ago, I experienced a situation with someone that created anger and resentment within me. At the time I wanted to lash out because she blamed and criticized me for holding a healthy, strong boundary. The last thing on my mind was loving this person. Recently, she tried to reconnect as if nothing had happened previously and I again had to hold the same boundary. Once again, she attacked my character. Over the last 2 years I have focused my spiritual work on being loving and practicing unconditional love. So this time I reminded myself that her behavior was not personal, and had no need to feel fearful or angry.

Being present with myself, I noticed my initial reaction (upon hearing from her) was fear. When she attacked my character, I noticed the anger. Then I observed what occurred within my body. My stomach, jaw and teeth clenched and I stopped breathing. As soon as I recognized and acknowledged the emotional pain she must carry within her that creates her behavior, I felt empathy and compassion instead of anger, and started sending her love. Once I did, my body relaxed and I felt a lightness of being.

The funny thing is that my small ego mind wanted to stay in the “fight”. It harangued me to tell friends about what just happened (my small ego mind enjoys righteous indignation). However, I choose not to embrace victim mentality, so I reminded myself that all I would accomplish was gossiping about someone who suffers on some level and that would be neither helpful nor loving to her.

This experience got me thinking about the love perspective and my immune system. I already know that a stress response (fight/flight/freeze=fear) keeps my immune system depressed. I don’t want that. I want my immune system as strong as possible. I am assuming you want the same thing. So, can we collectively send love out to those people who are “causing problems” or “misbehaving”? Are we willing to stop judging others and look beyond their behavior and assume they need love?

I would love to hear from those of you willing to take part in this love perspective and share with me what you discover in your body and life when you send out love and light instead of embracing fear and anger.

We all want to love and be loved.

We accomplish this by BEING LOVE.

Let’s set an intention today to Be Love and

observe what occurs within and without.

What is the one thing that most of my clients have in common remain unaware they have it? Fungal infections! Insidious by nature, fungus goes undetected because it grows slowly and the symptoms vary. It appears as though physical issues pop up out of nowhere. In reality, they incubate under the surface until conditions within the body reach imbalance and physical dysfunction and illness arise.

Why do we have fungus to begin with and what supports its growth? I believe a large percentage of the population inherited it directly from our mothers in utero. Mothers…before you throw things at me, please hear me out. I’m not blaming our mothers (or you, if you are a mother.) I’m suggesting that many women are unaware of having fungus when they get pregnant and they pass the fungus on to their developing fetus. Case in point: eczema. My children were both born with eczema and, unbeknownst to me, I was full of candida (overgrowth of yeast) at the time of my pregnancy. My mom gave it to me and she most likely received it from her mother and who knows how far back it goes? Interestingly, when I gave birth to my son (a very long and difficult birth) I had a breakout of rashes on both elbows. I later discovered the stress of birth pushed out the fungus through my skin. Busy with a newborn, I didn’t have time to think about what it was until the doctor told me his eczema was a fungal infection and then I connected the two.

What feeds fungus? Sugar! To be fair, our first taste of nutrition is breastmilk or formula, and both are sweet. Our first foray into solid food is sweet–rice/wheat/corn cereal, carrots, and starchy vegetables. One look at restaurant kids’ menus reveal a general tendency toward refined carbs and starchy vegetables: chicken nuggets (wheat/corn covered), grilled cheese (bread and dairy), French fries (starchy veggie), pizza (bread and dairy), hot dogs (wheat), pb & j (wheat, nut butter and jam). All the fore-mentioned foods feed fungus because they include ingredients that break down into sugar (and dairy feeds fungus.) Cow milk or juice usually accompany these meals and both feed fungus.

Fungus and sugar create a vicious cycle. We develop fungus which makes us tired so we naturally gravitate toward sugar for the energy, not realizing the cycle being created is immensely difficult to extricate ourselves out of.

Recently, I gave up all sugar and grains because I felt so tired. I’m a blood type “O” so it was a natural choice for me. Although I work a lot, I felt some of my energy drain was diet driven, so out went the sweets. I (thought I) actually ate very little sugar but upon closer inspection, I discovered “hidden” sugars, much more noticeable in their absence. If you know me, then you know one thing I always say, “Even if we eat a small amount of inflammatory foods regularly, the inflammation and resulting congestion from exposure never leaves our bodies making it difficult, if not impossible to heal”.

This time, I took my cleanse more seriously than ever before, cutting out my beloved soy creamer in my matcha green tea, feta in my salads, Ezekiel 4:9 bread, rice crackers (again with my salads), nut, beans, fruit (even the low sugar ones). Keep in mind that all these foods were on my beneficial or neutral foods lists according to my blood type diet. I increased my water intake 2–3 times my normal amount and added bitter greens 2–3 times per day. My results? The itchiness in my ears disappeared, I’ve dropped about 6 pounds (mostly inflammation as I did not have a lot of weight to lose), I lost stubborn abdominal fat (something I had been trying to address for a while) and I have zero aches or pain in my body! My energy is back and my brain is functioning much better both with mental recall and sharpness.

One other positive effect: my mood. I feel so calm and peaceful. Even if people around me get excited or stressed, I can avoid getting pulled into the drama. I feel so balanced and grounded on this diet that I will continue to stay on a modified version of it. It definitely takes a commitment to achieve these results, but I am willing because I am worth it and so are you!

A new client took a colonic and the outcome surprised her. After years of improper eating and inadequate water intake, she decided it was time to make some changes and came in. She expected her body to release a lot more, since she had eaten healthfully the previous week. I surmised her body was full of congestion and it would take some time for her body to decongest, provided she continued to eat well, hydrate, exercise and detox with more colonics.

She was not the first person who misunderstood the time necessary to release inflammation and congestion stored in the body. People feel frustrated that attempts to become healthy through diet change does not meet their expectations of quick results. I understand this frustration because the willpower it takes to make changes can be very strong, only to realize a less than optimal outcome. Patience is key when choosing a new health path. A good way to look at this: For every year someone engages in unhealthy life choices, it takes about one month to reverse the consequences. There are many factors to consider: Diet, lymphatic drainage system, hydration, movement and detox.

Diet:

I advocate eating for your blood type because it’s the best diet to reduce inflammation and congestion (from personal experience and clinical observations). However, depending on the condition of your current health, I suggest you follow it as written for one to six months (although if it states certain foods on the “beneficial” or “neutral” lists are those you oppose eating, omit those foods along with the “avoid” foods). I suggest complete abstinence from congesting foods because even a small amount of inflammatory foods eaten regularly can prevent the body from de-congesting excess fluids, waste, inflammation and congested lymph.

I break the blood type diet into three categories:

1. Beneficial = acts as medicine in your body (try to eat from this list)
2. Neutral = acts as food in your body (eat some from this list)
3. Avoid = acts as poison in your body (avoid eating foods from this list)

Choosing healthy foods daily is one of the most challenging parts of being human. We like to eat what we want and aren’t too keen on being told otherwise. From teenage to early adult we (pretty much) get away with improper diets. We begin to feel the effects of earlier choices in our 30s and 40s. This is about the time we choose mindfulness and cleanse our bodies. 50s + is crunch time when faced with sobering options: change our eating habits or suffer more serious health consequences. The latest health food craze shows well-intentioned attempts toward healthy eating. For example, kale used to be the greatest food imaginable…until too much of a good thing resulted in gas and bloat (to reduce these effects, cooked kale is much easier for the body to digest). Next came coconut… everyone was eating coconut oil, milk, tortillas, cereal, chips and so on. According to the blood type diet, coconut can be inflammatory for some blood types. You could be on the latest food craze train and not realize that is where your bloating and gas originates from (especially if the world touts it as today’s healthiest food).

If you eat for your blood type, the most important thing to consider is perspective. It’s human nature to look at the foods you can’t eat instead of focusing on what you can eat. Get creative and try it. If all else fails, contact me for some helpful substitution ideas.

Lymphatic Drainage System:

Often when we view our bloat, we assume it is fat and don’t recognize our congested lymph. Our lymphatic drainage systems remove excess protein from the body and transport nutrients to our cells. Eating foods our bodies cannot metabolize contributes to congested lymph. Without proper lymphatic movement, our bodies become sluggish and a potential breeding ground for candida (overgrowth of yeast), parasites, bacteria, and viruses (as discussed in last month’s blog). Our bodies become stagnant and stagnation creates imbalance and congestion.

Along with proper diet, hydration is key to moving the lymphatic system (see next paragraph). Since this system is part of the circulatory system, cold hands and feet reveal the need to get things moving. Rebounding (jumping on a mini-trampoline) and dry skin brushing can help stimulate lymph.

Hydration:

As a colon hydrotherapist I observe a lack of water intake as the top contributing factor leading to digestive dysfunction and issues. Half your body weight in ounces per day (+ eight ounces of water for every cup of caffeinated beverages and eight ounces more for every half hour of exercise) can hydrate your body (and colon) and flush out excess waste and toxins. Doing this promotes decongestion.

Think about the water used to clean driveways, our cars, our clothes and our bodies. In the same way, sufficient water intake cleans our bodies internally, hydrates cells and tissue and moves our bowels. Add lemon or small amounts of juice to make it more interesting and compelling to drink. Measure out the total amount you need per day and keep the containers nearby. Upon completion, you’ve succeeded in your daily required intake! I keep a couple one quart water bottles on my desk and I am mindful and encouraged to drink it when I see it all day long. My goal is one cup per hour. Along with eating for my blood type, proper hydration has all but eliminated my overall body bloat. An added benefit is super clear skin and wonderfully shiny hair!

Movement:

Moving our respiratory system is important when discussing decongestion. I’ve noticed an increase in respiratory issues lately, and I’m fairly convinced the chemtrails in the sky are playing a part. I’m seeing more clients report congested lungs and express relief from both lymphatic drainage massage and colon hydrotherapy. Chinese medicine indicates a relationship between the lungs and the bowels.

Movement through exercise is vital. Exercise requires more deep breathing, and this clears our lungs of environmental toxins all around us. Moving our bodies stimulates the lymphatic system to aid our circulatory system. The systems of our bodies respond when we add movement to our daily schedules. We need movement to move the congestion out.

Detox:

I prefer food cessation to address congestion. Creating an effective plan of decongestion encourages release:

– release of congesting foods (stop eating unhealthy food)
– release of dehydrating beverages: caffeine, sodas, alcohol (avoid unhealthy beverages)
– release of carbon dioxide (through deep breathing)
– release of stored waste material (colonics)
– release of old, congested lymph (lymphatic drainage massage)
– release of stagnation (regular exercise)

My professional philosophy – less is more is a good approach to releasing congestion. Start by clearing out what is present in the body.

Personal note: I recently stopped eating sugar and I eat only a small amount of carbs. My cholesterol numbers have dropped significantly and my energy has skyrocketed. Often we don’t realize how certain foods affect us until we stop eating them.

Although supplements can be helpful, reducing your intake of congesting and inflammatory foods while cleaning your colon and lymphatic system can be an effective way to decongest your system (as reported to me by my clients).

Whenever a new client comes in for a colonic and fills out the questionnaire, 90% of the time the symptoms reported most are gas and bloat. There are a few reasons someone might experience these symptoms: inflammatory diet, insufficient water intake, improper food combining, ingesting fried foods or carbonated drinks, insufficient mastication (eating too quickly), ingesting air while eating, and gum chewing. Many times the client has parasites, candida, small intestine bacteria overgrowth (SIBO), and other types of intestinal bacterial infection (I believe when we eat inflammatory foods this irritates our digestive tract and allows bacteria to enter and grow—more on this).

Gas and bloat are common symptoms for parasites, candida, bacterial infections and dysfunctional digestion. Some treat their issues with antibiotics which can kill the harmful bacteria but also the helpful, leading to other digestive issues. My approach to dealing with the aforementioned digestive invaders is multi-layered:

– Eat for your blood type—I have been eating for my blood type for 20 years and I attribute my consistent healthy weight, energy, great digestion and well-being to doing so. Hey, here’s an interesting story… a few years ago my doctor suggested I stop drinking coffee (coffee is very inflammatory for blood type “O”). I knew he was right but I loooooove coffee! I love the smell, the flavor, the kick and it stimulated my bowels… what’s not to love? I like to get annual blood tests to check up on my overall health, as blood does not lie, and lo-and-behold the results of my urinalysis scared me right into Matcha green tea! The coffee had irritated my urinary tract and kidneys. I had blood in my urine and multiple bacteria, yikes! A kidney cleanse for a few months got me back on track and also recommitted to my blood type diet (I had noticed a urinary tract infection type feeling for a few months but conveniently ignore it). Moral of the story? Prolonged inflammation in the body wreaks havoc and can have long-lasting and damaging effects. When we reduce the food-related inflammation we expose ourselves to, the healthier we will be and the less chance of opening ourselves up to harmful invaders.

– Treat it naturally—I like the combination tincture of black walnut/wormwood to kill parasites and candida (along with following a parasite and candida diet). Oregano oil or olive leaf extract can kill intestinal bacterial overgrowth. I’m sharing my personal experiences but please remember, I am not a physician and do not diagnose, prescribe or treat. Personally, I have had success in treating myself for the above maladies. I believe my mom (unbeknownst to her) had candida herself when she was pregnant with me and I know for a fact I (unbeknownst to me at the time) had candida when I was pregnant with my kids, leading to their childhood eczema. Cleansing with the black walnut/wormwood and candida/blood type diet took care of both the candida and their eczema.

– How can you tell the difference between parasites, candida, and bacterial overgrowth since the symptoms of gas and bloat are similar? Besides gas and bloat, parasites often cause your bowels to cramp and have diarrhea and you will crave sugar (either refined sugar or foods that break down into sugar, think: carbs). Candida will make you tired, itchy and give you skin issues (rashes, eczema, etch) and will also make you crave sugar. Bacterial overgrowth will cause you to bloat, often severely, no matter what you eat and… will make you crave sugar. The moral of THIS story is: Avoid sugar!

– Antibiotic use—It’s an individual choice to use antibiotics, but I can attest to the impact antibiotic use has on the digestive tract. To counter the negative effects of antibiotics, take a good probiotic (I like and sell Transformation Enzymes Probiotic 42.5) about 3 hours after you take the antibiotic. After my hip replacement surgery, I did so and my bowels moved normally.

– The gas/bloat connection—as you can see gas and bloat can originate from several sources. Whatever is causing your gas and bloat it is very important to combine your cleansing efforts with colon hydrotherapy. Why? As you kill bacteria, parasites, and yeast, it is vital to release the die-off from your body. For some, a change in diet is challenging enough, and many of my clients report a reduction in uncomfortable cleansing symptoms when combined with a colonic.

– Metaphysical connection—those clients taking part in metaphysical sessions have been able to discover the metaphysical origin to what ails them. This piece is invaluable when choosing to self-heal not only physically but on all levels of your being.

I hope this has been helpful information. Should you need support during your cleanse, please contact me for an appt. (310) 207-7772.

In love and health,

Stephanie

 

Part 1

As a Metaphysical colon hydrotherapist, one of the statements I often hear is “I’ve gained weight and I don’t know why. My diet is the same and I’m exercising so I don’t understand where this weight is coming from.”

The Wisdom of the Body

 
When people struggle with body issues like weight gain or disease/dysfunction, we often think in terms of the physical body alone. We are blessed to have bodies that love us by creating physical manifestations to help us fully heal^[1].

Let me ask: Would you make any changes in your belief systems or begin investigating the deeper levels of your being (your mind, emotions, spirituality) if your external world (i.e. your body, your relationships, your financial situation, your career goals) didn’t change? Would you allow yourself to feel your feelings fully or honor what your body needs if it didn’t create a physical issue that forced you to stop and question your life and yourself? I believe most people would say “probably not”. What happens when we experience unexplained weight gain, physical disease, and chronic illness? It’s human to feel frustrated and even angry with our bodies when they doesn’t behave the way we want, especially if we are eating well, exercising and doing all the right things. When we are attending to our physical needs and we still experience dysfunction, could there be something more we need to address?

Why do our bodies carry extra weight or begin to gain weight for unexplained reasons?

 
Much of the work in which I engage clients involves addressing the energetic body. This is the unseen subtle body that affects the physical body. I have observed that if people only deal with the physical body but not the energetic (emotional, mental, spiritual) then either not much changes, or if it does, the changes are not sustained, and this can feel very confusing and discouraging to people — if they continue to only look at it from the physical perspective.

The wisdom of your body is beautiful, helpful, and exists to aid us in understanding who we truly are.  If you are experiencing any type of unexplained weight gain, disease, illness, or physical dysfunction, it is most likely your body sharing with you some profound information. What happens when your body puts on weight?

It can mean several different things:

*you may not feel emotionally or physically safe in your body, world, and/or relationships (often from past abusive experiences);

*you may be unconsciously creating armor to protect yourself from perceptions of threat (real or imagined);

*you’ve created a wall so others will leave you alone;

*serves as validation if excess weight was treated unfavorably in your family of origin and you feel unworthy or less than;

*shows you where you are taking on from others what does not belong to you;

*allows you to experience what life feels like in a heavier body;

*can point to a need to balance your endocrine system;

*helps you to make the connection between your weight and buried emotions (especially anger and rage which is “hot” and expands in the body;

*reveals unconscious emotional eating;

*can mirror who you believe you really are (i.e. A friend was told growing up that she was ‘fat city’ and the ‘family garbage disposal’. These comments were used as derogatory statements to belittle her. She grew up believing this to be true and her self-beliefs – given to her by someone else – became a self-fulfilled prophecy as she grew up overweight).

I will share a personal story to help you understand: I remember being in a relationship for 7 years and I weighed 135 lbs., which was too much for my frame.  Within two weeks of leaving that relationship, I dropped 15 lbs. without changing my diet and I wasn’t even exercising then — what a clear indication that my body was holding on emotionally. I hadn’t realized how emotionally unsafe I felt in that relationship until my body showed me by shedding the weight, as if it were armor. Many clients have shared similar stories of their own with me.

Weight gain is an issue that many people face and end up feeling bad about themselves as a result. We use it as a way to beat ourselves up and feel unworthy. What if we didn’t treat ourselves like that anymore? What if we worked with the wisdom of our body to understand ourselves deeper and to learn to love who we are, exactly as we are? ALL of us are worthy. ALL of us deserve to live with joy, peace, and love. This applies to people you might consider bad, jerks, or even evil. Others’ behavior is what it is because THEY believe (unconsciously) themselves to be unworthy and their behavior reflects that they have forgotten who they are.

How do unexpressed and unresolved emotions show up as weight?

 
The good news is that we can learn from the wisdom of our body. We can understand how the energetic body contributes to the excess weight in the physical body. I have the honor of observing my clients as I work with their bodies’ wisdom and have concluded the following as a result^[2]:

Do you know the top of a sports water bottle and how you have to pull up on it to get the water to flow? Our heads and cervical spine are similar. When we have tension, are in our heads a lot, or internalize emotions, the head can mimic the top of the sports bottle and energetically collapse and physically shrink down into our spine. When this happens, our body has to adjust for this shrinkage of energy in the body and it pushes everything downward. As a result, there is a disruption in the flow of energy and the flow of cerebral spinal fluid, which correlates to the brain and nervous system. If the flow of energy to the nervous system is disrupted, the stress within the body can become concentrated and it expands out as a way to compensate for this disruption. It creates more stress response in the body as fight, flight, and freeze. This in turn disrupts the way the digestive system functions because it perceives the amount of stress that is being held in the body as being in survival mode. When we add negative self-talk to the mix we see how this adds even more internal emotional pressure. Being in survival mode and unloving self-talk can create digestive issues such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, bloat, gas, colitis, and diverticulitis to name a few. When we live with stress and are unaware of how our stress affects our bodies, we often use food as a way to cope with the uncomfortable emotional feelings that lay dormant within us. What is the most common food we use to cope with? Sugar!

People tend to deal with emotional issues by consuming sugar (including but not limited to candy, carbs, alcohol, fruit, sugary drinks — you get the idea). I believe sugar consumption is a way to feel emotional relief. Some people consume sugar in an attempt to sweeten their lives, while others use sugar to avoid dealing with unresolved and unacknowledged feelings. This is only a temporary ‘fix’ since the relief sugar provides is short-lived. It creates a cycle where the stress doesn’t actually leave the body because it is an illusion that the sugar is relieving anything (although it feels that way in the moment). Sugar convinces our brain it is helping but in reality it only compounds the situation, thus the body continues to hold onto more stress, creates a need for additional sugar, and expands outward even more. Further, consuming too much sugar in any form can create an overgrowth of yeast, also known as candidiasis – (candida for short). Candida is one of the most common causes of unexplained weight gain.

Your body loves you and understands creating weight and/or physical dysfunction is a way to get your attention to look inward and remember the truth of who you are. You are worthy not because of your body, not because of what you do, and not even because of your feelings. You are worthy simply because you exist — that’s it. And that is enough.

*** You are enough exactly as you are. ***

 
I will continue this discussion in next month’s blog and will detail how to lose unexplained (and explained) weight gain from a metaphysical perspective!

Would you like to learn how to lose unwanted and unexplained weight, listen to the wisdom of your body and self-heal your physical dysfunctions (and dysfunctional relationships in your life as well)? Join Stephanie as she teaches you in her online self-healing course – “Embracing Love by Letting Go: Iyasu’s Metaphysical Cleanse”:

https://stephanies-school-c725.thinkific.com/courses/embracing-love-by-letting-go-iyasus-metaphysical-cleanse

Stephanie created this online course to help women self-heal. If you a practitioner who works with women and are interested in offering your community healing sessions that are unique and life changing, Stephanie is happy to create women’s sacred circles for groups of conscious women choosing to heal themselves and the world. Please contact her at Stephanie@metaphysicalcleanse.com.

^[1] Although this is the case for some, I don’t claim this the case for every single person experiencing physical dysfunction or weight issues.

^[2] The information is based solely on my clinical observations. I have not conducted any scientific test to support my hypothesis.

My Instagram Videos

I am starting a new series “How to manage stress”. . There are some typical ways that people manage stress and I want to offer a little different way to look at it. . If you follow me and have watched my other series then you know I like to combine the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual together to self-heal. . #howtomanagestress. #physical… #emotional… #mental… #spiritual… #mindbodyspirit… #metaphysical… #metaphysicalcolonics… #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse…. #iyasucolonics… #happiness… #presentmindfulnessliving… #detachedobservation….. #embracinglovebylettingo…..

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on Apr 23, 2018 at 6:43pm PDT

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“How to manage stress #2”. . Keeping a journal can help us to understand better what is really going on with us. Food journals can help us discover which foods our bodies react to negatively and positively. . Write down what stress you have today, when it originated, what physical issues you have and when they originated. Often we will see a correlation between stress and physical issues. . By working with the wisdom of our body we can make choices on how we choose to manage our stress and this alone can heal physical issues! . Please come see me for a metaphysical session if you need help connecting the two. Link to my website is in my bio! . #stress….. #stressmanagement….. #howtomanagestress….. #stressandphysicalissues. #selfhealing….. #health…… #metaphysical….. #metaphysicalcolonics.. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse….. #iyasucolonics….. #embracinglovebylettinggo

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on Apr 25, 2018 at 5:40pm PDT

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“Managing stress #3” . How many think that we are just one person?! . Listen to my latest video to learn the different aspects of us and (in future videos) how this impacts our stress… . #managingstress.. #stress. #higherself…. #innerchild….. #spirituality….. #awaken….. #metaphysical…. #somethingnew….. #selfhealing….. #metaphysicalcolonics. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse….. #iyasucolonics….. #embracinglovebylettinggo

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on Apr 27, 2018 at 6:40pm PDT

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Managing Stress #4. . Last video I told you when it comes to managing our stress it is so important to get to know ALL parts of us, our Higher Self, our inner child(ren) as well as the adult self. . I’m going to explain how you can access and work with yourself to step into and embrace deep self-healing! . #selflove❤️….. #selfhealing….. #higherself….. #adultself….. #innerchild….. #managestress….. #stressrelief….. #spirituality….. #zenhealing….. #metaphysical….. #metaphysicalcolonics….. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse….. #iyasucolonics….. #embracinglovebylettinggo

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on Apr 29, 2018 at 6:32pm PDT

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Managing stress #5. . How can we manage stress by understanding, accepting and loving our inner child? I start with an introduction in this video. Please keep watching future videos as I explain in more detail how healing our inner child can be the best way to manage stress.. . #innerchild….. #managestress….. #selfhealing….. #presentmindfulnessliving….. #spirituality #detachedobservation….. #instaclasses….. #metaphysical….. #metaphysicalliving….. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse….. #iyasucolonics….. #embracinglovebylettinggo

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on May 1, 2018 at 6:14pm PDT

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Managing stress #6. . Today I am teaching a little bit more about how we can recognize the inner child and in doing so we can better manage our stress! . Learning to recognize when our little one is running our lives or making our choices can be instrumental to reparenting them, and giving them the love and nurturing they need so we can lead our lives as mature adults. I will explain this more in detail in future posts. . #innerchild…. #selfhealing…. #managestress…. #stressmanagement…. #matureadult…. #healing…. #metaphysical…. #metaphysicalhealing… #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse… #metaphysicalcolonics…. #iyasucolonics…. #embracinglovebylettinggo

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on May 4, 2018 at 5:52pm PDT

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Managing stress #7. . I’ve been discussing the inner child with you and someone recently asked me “how do I know what the age is of my inner child who is showing up right now?” . What a great question! Watch now as I explain how you can determine the age(s) of the child within you…. . #innerchild… #selfhealing….. #gratitide….. #selflove…. #stressmanagement….. #loveislove….. #metaphysical….. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse…. #embracinglovebylettinggo….. #metaphysicalcolonics….. #iyasucolonics

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on May 7, 2018 at 6:50pm PDT

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Managing stress #8. . Why is it important to connect with the different ages of the inner child that lives within? And how can this help is heal and grow from unhealthy relationships? . I start this discussion with today’s video. . If you are interested in healing your inner child, connecting with the wisdom of your body and aligning with your higher self, please purchase my 5 hour online self-healing course available on my website-link in bio! . #stressmanagement…. #innerchildhealing….. #innerchild….. #relationshiphealing….. #healingrelationships….. #findpeacewithin….. #embracinglovebylettinggo….. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse….. #metaphysical….. #metaphysicalcolonics… #selfhealing….. #spirituality….. #iyasucolonics… #onlineselfhelpcourse

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on May 9, 2018 at 6:02pm PDT

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Managing stress #9. . How can you tell if it is the adult or the inner child who is choosing your love relationship? Stephanie explains in this video. . If you are interested in healing your inner child, connecting with the wisdom of your body and aligning with your higher self, please purchase my 5 hour online self-healing course available on my website-link in bio! . #stressmanagement…. #innerchildhealing….. #innerchild….. #relationshiphealing….. #healingrelationships….. #findpeacewithin….. #embracinglovebylettinggo….. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse….. #metaphysical….. #metaphysicalcolonics… #selfhealing….. #spirituality….. #iyasucolonics… #onlineselfhelpcourse #innerchild….. #innerchildhealing….. #relationshipproblems….. #metaphysical….. #selfhealing….: #iyasucolonics….. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse….. #managingstress….. #stressmanagement

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on May 11, 2018 at 7:01pm PDT

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Managing stress #10. . How do we know when our inner child is in charge? I explain that in today’s video! . I also discuss (briefly) our higher self and if you haven’t seen my past videos on our higher self…this is the spiritual part of us that stays calm and can give us loving guidance when we are stressed out. If our unhealed inner child is running our life and panics or stays in fear, connecting the adult part of us to the higher part of us can reduce our stress by calming our inner child…and our adult! . To learn about connecting with your inner child, Higher Self and adult self in healthy ways..consider purchasing my book “Embracing Love by Letting Go or my online self healing course of the same name, please visit my website…link in bio. . #managestress….. #stressmanagement… #selfhealing….. #innerchildhealing….. #higherself….. #selphelpbooks….. #metaphysical….. #metaphysicalcolonics….. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse….. #iyasucolonics….. #peaceofmind….. #calm…..

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on May 14, 2018 at 8:18pm PDT

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Manage stress #11 . Why is it important to pay attention to the younger inner child within us? How does ignoring this part of us contribute to the stress in our life? . Watch as I explain. . Reparenting and healing our inner child is complex but amazing internal healing that is life changing and profound. I wrote a book as well as an online course to guide you through the process of doing just this. Please go to the retail section of my website, link in bio! . #managingstress….. #stressmanagement… #innerchildhealing….. #peaceofmind… #books…… #authors….. #onlinecourse….. #breathe….. #liveinjoy….. #metaphysical…. #unconscious….. #metaphysicalcolonics….. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse.. #iyasucolonics

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on May 15, 2018 at 6:19pm PDT

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Managing stress #12. . I’m sharing a personal story with you today to highlight the same experience pre and post inner child healing with different results! . I am a person who walks my talk. The self healing course I created and book I wrote are not only the result of clinical experience but from my own healing work as well. . Please check out my website (link in bio) and click on retail to purchase my book or 5 hr online self healing course (book included! Healing our inner child, connecting to the wisdom of our bodies and developing a relationship with our higher self takes guidance, patience and time. If you are willing to invest time in yourself to heal on all levels of your being…this book and course may just be what you have been waiting for! . #selfhealing…. #managestress….. #stressmanagement….. #wisdomofthebody….. #innerchildhealing….. #higherself….. #metaphysical….. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse….. #metaphysicalcolonics….. #spirituality….. #iyasucolonics…..

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on May 17, 2018 at 6:48pm PDT

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Managing stress #13. . When you notice that you are behaving immaturely (or perhaps you would benefit from noticing), practicing detached observation with present Mindfulness Living can help you choose differently. Watching our minds informs us what we believe to be true. If we believe we are unworthy, we can unconsciously push others away, even if what we want is to be loved. . When you watch your mind and your behavior from a detached place, you stay out of self judgment and can learn about yourself. From there you can begin the journey of self compassion and self discovery! When life mirrors back to us where we are at and the illusions we believe about ourselves, we can start to remember the truth of who we are.. . Please check out my website (link in bio) and click on retail to purchase my book or 5 hr online self healing course (book included! Healing our inner child, connecting to the wisdom of our bodies and developing a relationship with our higher self takes guidance, patience and time. If you are willing to invest time in yourself to heal on all levels of your being…this book and course may just be what you have been waiting for! . #selfhealing…. #managestress….. #stressmanagement….. #wisdomofthebody….. #innerchildhealing….. #higherself….. #metaphysical….. #iyasusmetaphysicalcleanse….. #metaphysicalcolonics….. #spirituality….. #iyasucolonics…..

A post shared by Iyasu (@iyasucolonics) on May 20, 2018 at 5:36pm PDT

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Everyday I am honored to work with people who are courageous and aspire to live as authentically as possible. Through their trust and sharing, I learn a great deal about our collective human experience. For as much as we fight each other at times, we are so much more alike than we are different. I would not be able to identify the ways we suffer if this were not the case.

Bottom line? We just want to love and be loved. To desire this is honorable and worthwhile. We suffer because we have forgotten the truth of who we are. Each and every one of us is worthy and lovable simply because we exist. Just because someone behaves in a way that others might perceive as unworthy or unlovable doesn’t make this true. It means that some people have been hurt in a way that causes them to perceive themselves negatively and present themselves in a defensive way. What does this look like? Have you ever met someone who is consistently grumpy, standoffish, deceitful, angry, arrogant, aggressive, controlling, tightly wound or just has an energy that is uncomfortable to be around? These types of people have learned to protect themselves emotionally with a persona akin to a porcupine. “Don’t get too close to me or I will hurt you“. Ironically, these types of people desperately wish to be accepted, loved and valued but often lack the self-awareness to see themselves honestly. As they push people away, it ends up validating their (conscious or unconscious) belief systems that they are unworthy or unlovable.

Even if you don’t embody one of the character traits listed above, most people carry within them different levels of fear, anger, sadness and happiness. This is part of the being human. When I work with a client with whom I feel uncomfortable, I bring my awareness back to myself to find empathy and understanding. It is not fair for me to judge anyone (myself included) so I gently look within to target what this person is stirring up in me, where his/her insecurities or feelings of worthlessness hooks into mine. Finding a common denominator between us helps me to address my own truth. As I embrace and make friends with the uncomfortable parts of myself I am able to connect much more honestly, and compassionately, with the person who has come to me to learn self-healing.

We also suffer because we perceive another person’s behavior, beliefs, opinions, judgments and/or actions as personal attacks on us in some way. Basically, we take it personally. The truth? It’s really not personal to us because when someone is behaving in a way that is cruel, out of integrity, judgmental, hurtful or abusive, they are revealing their own feelings of self-loathing, and unworthiness. We can choose to look at people like this from the perspective that “hurt people, hurt people“. We can use what another person mirrors within us to heal our own internal misperceptions and misunderstandings of who we truly are. Once we stop personalizing what someone else says or does, we become free. And from this place of freedom, we can feel and offer compassion. When we do this, we no longer suffer.

I think I can hear you saying, “Well, yeah Stephanie that all sounds great…but how do I go from feeling hurt because of what someone is doing to this freedom you are talking about?” Fair enough.

Did you know there are different aspects of us? Not only are we the adult who goes to work and pays the bills, but we also house the younger parts of us. Those parts are our inner children; the child part of us that grew up with different types of parents and caretakers and different levels of caretaking. Whether you grew up with abuse, neglect, emotional or physical pain or a typical childhood, we all experienced feeling less than at some point and to varying degrees. As children we tended to blame ourselves for what we perceived our parents/caretakers’ behavior were saying about us. As children all we could do was take personally what the adults in our lives said to us in the way they expressed it. It made sense that some of us “heard” that we are bad or would be better if only we were _______ or did ______ (and some actually did hear this). What other conclusion would a child come to, other than they are deficient in some way?

When we move through life unaware that this little part of us still believes they are not enough, we tend to choose our life experiences from these wounded places and end up getting validation from the outside world that these belief systems are accurate. Our bodies, so loving and wise, store these experiences of trauma and emotional pain. Unconsciously we behave as adults in ways that validate our inaccurate self-beliefs, and our bodies can hold onto these experiences and beliefs for only so long. Eventually, there comes a tipping point and dis-ease and illness start to surface. This doesn’t happen as a way to punish us for choosing a lifestyle that might be less than healthy. It happens because our bodies deem it time for us to wake up to our truth. We are being offered an opportunity to heal all parts of us.

Clients who participate in Iyasu’s Metaphysical Colonics with me connect to their inner child and the inner child speaks to us through the body as it releases. It’s actually quite fascinating. A client might not be releasing much until we connect to the emotional part of them through an event or experience. As they talk about it, their body responds with physical releases, thereby helping the client connect their physical and emotional bodies. This is a very deep, profound and sacred experience, and allows their inner child to be acknowledged and validated in a way they never had been.

Please contact me if you would like to experience Iyasu’s Metaphysical Colonics – (310) 207-7772

It is my honor to serve ~ Stephanie

This morning I was on my way to Pilates and I had 2 – 5 gallon bottles of water in the back of my car. As I was turning the corner to get onto the freeway, one of the bottles tipped over and I must not have tightened the cap because I could hear the glug-glug- glug of water coming out…in the backseat of my car! I reached back and grabbed the bottle and put it upright but I slowed my car down to do so. The cars behind me were mad and honking their horn – I don’t really blame them; they had no idea what was happening in my car at that moment…how could they?

That is exactly my point. We don’t really know what is going on with people at any given time. I know in the past when I had gotten upset with someone’s behavior I later found out there was something going on with him or her that I hadn’t realized at the time. In fact, when I took the time to ascertain what was going on for the person that created the behavior I had judged and took personally – it was rarely what I thought it was. What has this taught me?

Years ago I read a book called “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey and one of those habits was titled “Seek first to understand”. I have never forgotten that one habit because it felt so compassionate to me. Let’s all take a collective breath right now and think about what our lives (and those around us) would be like if we sought first to truly understand each other. We make judgments and assumptions of others and react from our own insecurities and this can create so much misunderstanding. Does this bring us peace and joy? I think not.

Right now, what is a situation that is causing you to suffer? Can you first seek to understand the nature of it and not take it personally? If this involves another person, can you show yourself compassion and share your feelings honestly, then show them compassion and ask what is going on and can you help? Most of the time when someone is going through something and they take it out on us, they are struggling with something internally and it has nothing to do with us. I practice slowing waaaaaaaay down when someone has pissed me off. I breathe and get myself grounded and ask my higher self “How should I handle this situation”. More often than not I get this answer “Wait, don’t answer yet”, followed by “Love him or her more”.

When I don’t personalize another person’s behavior then I am free to love them. Of course, we need to review ourselves and take our responsibility for what is ours. We need to apologize for any hurt we have caused, intentional or not. Then we need to forgive ourselves by admitting that we are only human, doing the best we can. Let go of any shame around hurt that we cause and love ourselves.

So many of us are running around living intensely busy lives that we forget to stop and check in with ourselves. As a result we end being much more reactive than we might want or intend to be. The next time you get triggered into a reaction:

Slow down and take a breath; check in with yourself to see how you are feeling; connect with that higher self (the calm part of you that doesn’t get involved in the drama of life) and ask what you could do instead of freaking out; seek to understand first; offer an apology or forgiveness; then let it go baby!

“Life is short, don’t shorten yours unnecessarily”

• Write down all the situations or others’ behaviors in your life that you find unacceptable today.
• Connect a belief that you have about these situations or behaviors.
• Write down where you feel resentful in each of these situations and behaviors.
• Now, write down each of the ways that you have contributed to these situations or other’s feelings about you. (This one will take some extreme honesty…)

Have you ever tried or wanted to try an elimination diet?? It can benefit just about anyone, but especially those with digestive issues including leaky gut and candida, which most Americans suffer from to some degree as our diets are typically high in processed foods and sugar.

As a personal chef dealing with digestive issues, I was inspired to develop delicious recipes despite being challenged by the limited list of approved ingredients for this kind of diet. As a result, I developed a cleanse program that consists of 3 broths and 3 nut/dairy/sugar/gluten free ‘milk’ shakes that are all delicious, nutrient dense, and free of common allergens. The gut lining regenerates every 5 days, so I recommend doing the program for at least 6 days, to kickstart any kind of elimination diet, or simply as a reset.

I tried this program myself for 14 days back in February and loved the results. I noticed increased energy and clarity, weight loss, extreme improvement in my digestion, and my skin was glowing! I now incorporate the broths and milkshakes into my daily regime and have been able to maintain my weight loss and better yet, have seen major improvements in my overall health and well being.

This month, I’m offering the cleanse to a maximum of 6 people per week. It’s the perfect way to transition into spring, dedicating yourself to healing your body from the inside out! I’m offering the 6 day program for $340, which includes 3 broths and 3 milkshakes (16oz. of each per day), delivery within 5 miles of Venice (extra fee depending on location), as well as two 30 minute consultations with me (one before and one after), and the support of the group and myself throughout the week via a group email thread. I also send educational information and inspiration each day to keep you motivated and informed. If you have any questions or if you’re ready to register, email me at lindsey@owlyouare.com.


MENU//
morning::
Veggie Broth made with dandelion greens (great source of vitamin C & B6 & iron), ginger (anti-inflammatory, lower blood sugar), beet greens (great source of minerals and antioxidants), parsnip (great source of potassium and vitamin C), lavender (great for balancing the chakras), sage (improves brain function), marjoram, cilantro (great source of vitamin K), lemon (helps alkalize the body), beets (great source of vitamin C and manganese)
&
Homemade Hemp Milk (great source of iron, vitamin E, and GLA) with Spirulina (great source of protein, antioxidants and B Vitamins), Plantains (great source of fiber and potassium) OR Avocado (great source of potassium and monounsaturated fatty acids), Bentonite Clay (helps with digestive disturbances & detoxing), Cinnamon (helps lower blood sugar) & Matcha Green Tea (boosts memory, concentration and energy)

afternoon::
Chicken Bone Broth made with lavender (for balancing the chakras), ginger (anti-inflammatory, lower blood sugar), turmeric (powerful anti-inflammatory), sage (improves brain function), cilantro (source of vitamin k), celery root (excellent source of magnesium and phosphorus), thyme (great for respiratory function), beet greens (great source of iron) & apple cider vinegar
&
Homemade Sunflower Seed Milk (powerful source of copper and B vitamins) with Turmeric (powerful anti-inflammatory), Beets (high in vitamin c and manganese), Ginger (improves absorption of nutrients) & Triphala Powder (great for digestion)

night::
Beef Bone Broth made with ginger (anti-inflammatory, lower blood sugar), turmeric (powerful anti-inflammatory), beet greens (great source of iron), parsley (helps flush fluid from the body), bay leaf (rich source of vitamin c), rosemary (boosts memory and improves mood), thyme (great for respiratory function), sage (improves brain function), oregano oil (powerful antibacterial), carrots (source of beta carotene) & apple cider vinegar
&
Homemade Pumpkin Seed Milk (source of zinc and magnesium) with Kabocha Squash (excellent source of beta-carotene), Ginger (improves absorption of nutrients) Cardamom (boosts mood), Clove (powerful antiseptic and aphrodisiac), Slippery Elm (great for digestion) Turmeric (powerful anti-inflammatory), Vanilla (great source of calcium) & Black Pepper (assists in breakdown of fat cells)


For more information, or to place online orders, check out www.owlvenice.com. Looking forward to sharing in this healing journey with you!

Much Love,
Lindsey

1. Sit comfortably and close your eyes – you will want to read these instructions first!
2. Breathe deeply as you visualize the following:

a. Think about the energy of happiness and joy. Would you say they have an energy that is expansive or contractive? (In other words, does the energy feel like it expands out and becomes bigger or contracts within and becomes smaller?)
b. Now think about the energy of fear. Does the energy of fear feel expansive or contractive? How about resentment? How about control?

3. Everyone I have asked these questions to say the same thing: Happiness and joy feel expansive whereas fear, resentment and control each have a contractive energy.
4. Now think about this: does it make sense to you that if we live our lives in a state of fear, distrust, resentment and a need to control – that these particular emotions will negatively impact our colon and contribute to constipation? If the energy of these emotions cause the energy of our bodies to contract would it make sense to you that the very nature of these emotions will slow the flow of energy to our organs and directly impact how they function?

1. Keep a daily journal and when something happens in your life that feels stressful in any way, write it down. Write down what you are thinking (think: judgments of yourself or others), what you are feeling (think: fears, resentments, anger), and what you believe to be true in that moment (think: “if only he/she would do what I want the way I want it, it would mean they really love me”, etc.)
2. After a week or two of writing, go back and highlight similar thoughts, feelings, or beliefs that come up over and over.
3. Once you have this information, make the connection between how your thoughts and feelings may be impacting, and possibly slowing down the energy of your physical body and organs.
4. Allow yourself to shift your thoughts and belief systems to allow the unresolved/leftover emotions to come up and out or burn off, thereby allowing your energy to open, and the flow within your body to move.
5. Focus on deep breathing every time you feel upset or stressed.
6. Remember that it may take time for your physical body to catch up with what your emotional body is letting go of. Give yourself some time but be vigilant and consistent. If you have held onto certain beliefs or emotions that have contributed to a state of contractive energy within, you must be patient with yourself as you allow these changes to occur.

I was speaking to a friend the other day and we were talking about how much more patient we are with our kids today than when we first birthed them. For both of us there has been a span of 16-17 years in between. I asked her if she thought it was because she was more patient with herself and after she thought about it, she agreed. I notice that many people are rather hard on themselves for seemingly no reason (obviously they have their reasons but it’s not obvious to others). Do you know people who are very capable and confident yet treat themselves with little self-compassion?

How we treat others is a mirror of how we treat ourselves.

For us not to take life personally, whether it is our partner, our children or any other person or situation life hands us, we must work toward self-compassion. This takes a persistent commitment to be our own ally and stay present within ourselves as much as possible. The reason I say this is because if we are present and lead with self-compassion, we can recognize what is happening as it is unfolding in front of us and respond appropriately without taking others’ behavior personally. When we feel compassion for our own suffering, we are better able to see others suffering and view their behavior from a perspective of love instead of judgment.

Practicing persistent present consciousness and “pause”

How do we practice persistent present consciousness with ourself? Great question! I’m not talking about a new age-y type of lingo. What I mean by this is noticing what happens within you that signals when you are having a reaction. This may happen at lightening speed and for some of us, we don’t even notice. Most of us get a physical feeling/sensation when we react emotionally. Take a moment and think about it – what happens to your body when you have an emotional reaction. Where do you feel it in your body? Does your heart start to pound? Does your breathing become shallow? Do you feel heat in your body and if so, where? Understanding the physical reactions can help you recognize when you are having an emotional one. This is important because it can help us to slow down and push our internal “pause” button. When we pause first, we respond instead of react.

Strengthen our minds

Whether we are choosing to participate in our own internal emotional healing or physical healing we must strengthen our minds. What do I mean by this? First, we must believe we can change and heal. Once we believe this, then everything becomes possible. We must choose to accept that if someone is acting out, it is a reflection of their own suffering – just like when we act out with others. No one has perfect behavior. We are all human and we all have our moments. If you or I are in a bad mood and we take it out on someone else, doesn’t it really have to do with our own state of mind than what someone else did to make us upset? It goes both ways. (If you read this and insist that the other person is at fault for your unhappiness and discontent, then I invite you to read my book “Embracing Love by Letting Go: A Metaphysical Cleanse”. Once you practice the exercises outlined in the book, you might feel differently.) To order click here.

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Attaining physical health requires us to be aware of what our minds tell us. If we believe we can heal; believe that hurtful behavior from others is not personal to us; believe that hurt people hurt people and are crying out for love and compassion; choose to respond with kindness and detached love for these hurt people – then we ourselves can have a healthy physical, mental, emotional and spiritual body. By detaching with compassion for ourselves, and others we benefit with the gift of health and happiness.

How wonderful is that?