Update for January 2013

As I write this, I watch fine snow falling in a thick blizzard outside my window, gently but persistently covering everything it settles on. 
It has been close to six months since my last update, and there is much to report regarding my healing programme and current progress.
I am going to be sending off my third hair sample for mineral analysis in about a month and am excited to see changes in mineral levels, mineral ratios and heavy metals. I've no doubt that things have shifted, as I not only feel changes in my physical body, but my emotional state also.

Symptoms of metal 'dumping' as it's fondly described, are regular, and seem to affect me most when I up my intake of Kelp. They are also more acute when I use the infra red sauna regularly,  and when I am either ovulating, or menstruating. This leads me to deduce that symptoms are clearly magnified by my hormone levels, which fluctuate with my monthly cycle. At these two points in the month, my energy levels decrease dramatically, my skin dries out and my sleep is disturbed. Backing off the Kelp really helps, as this seems to make insomnia much worse, and affects my heart rate also. Many would suggest that with a thyroid condition the kelp should be avoided, but with NB Science it is believed to be essential for balanced thyroid function due to the levels of Iodine. This isn't the only reason for taking kelp with NB; kelp absorbs heavy metals, and therefore a good source (NEVER take cheap kelp!) instigates the elimination of these dangerous substances from the body's organ tissues.
I'm now getting good at timing the reduction in kelp as and when these symptoms are most acute.

I have noticed a particularly interesting development in the last six months or so regarding my ability to feel things. When I say 'feel', I don't mean being able to detect simple sensation, such as pinching ones arm, or touching a hot stove. This feeling is coming from within. I am slowly, gradually, increasingly able to feel myself from within. As a result of this, emotional states which are mirrored in physical, energetic states, are positively palpable. If something happens which makes me feel uncomfortable, I actually experience physical sensation. Another way of explaining this is to say that whenever my emotional buttons are pushed, I feel it in my body.

This being able to feel is only half the story however. What's occuring more and more, is a growing awareness of these feelings, as and when they happen. I believe this increase in awareness is a result of the regular meditation practice I do everyday, as well as the supplements and diet. I've known for some time that I am a 'head' person, and not good at being in my body, and therefore, to begin with this new development has been really disconcerting, and at times, if I'm completely honest, overwhelming. The main reason for this is perhaps the fact that the feelings I experience and the emotions that are coming up are invariably those that I would otherwise be suppressing. Not surprisingly, these are the emotions and energies of fear, anger and guilt. I am being kind when I say they are unpleasant. They are powerful, and they illuminate shadow, areas of myself that I would rather leave untouched. I am now however, firmly of the belief that they are coming up to be embraced and more importantly integrated, and are an instrinsic part of the process of deep and thorough healing.

This realisation; that some areas of my healing are not going to be processed and explained by my cognitive abilities, but by my body, energy and emotions, is a wonderful truth which, although I still don't fully comprehend it (and perhaps my mind never shall), has become a torch in times of difficulty and darkness in the past months. It is also, for someone who has spent much of her lifetime in her head, analysing and explaining her way through life, virgin territory.

I shall update again once I've received my latest interpretation of my hair sample, due for posting in early February.

Listen to your body in these Winter months; don't overdo it, eat well, get plenty of sleep and check in with your breathing daily.

Namaste,

Julia