Malady Monday: Endometriosis

Endometriosis
An autoimmune disease where layers of fibrous endometrial tissue form on other pelvic organs

Causes severe abdominal pain (more intense than childbirth) due to bleeding and tissue sloughing

Most common cause of pelvic pain in women of reproductive age
Leading cause of infertility
Affects 10% of ALL women in the world!!!!

In ayurveda it’s an imbalance of all 3 doshas.

In Chinese medicine it’s caused by blood stasis, qi stagnation, & liver congestion.

HELPFUL LIFESTYLE HABITS
Gentle, moderate exercise every other day

Deep breathing
Heat on abdomen (hot water bottle)
Kegels 50-100 daily– 10 at a time
No sex during period
Use shower filter for chlorine
Castor oil or senna tea on days 14-15 of your menstrual cycle
Get a LOT of rest especially around your period (days 1-3 of your cycle)

Abdominal & pelvic massage
Sweating (sauna can help)
Lymph massage

Lower your estrogen level (avoid or minimize estrogen)

*Strengthen & cleanse your liver so it can more efficiently remove estrogen

Increase progesterone (eat yams–not sweet potatoes, walnuts, vit b6, zinc, turmeric, thyme, and oregano)

Reduce inflammation, increase antioxidants, limit salt

Do everything in your power to reduce stress (also helps fertility) avoid anger, fear, and excessive emotions–meditate 20min/day (practice relaxing)

Warm baths with your favorite essential oils*

ESSENTIAL OILS
*frankincense, *myrrh, *clary sage, *peppermint, *geranium, lavender, rosemary, juniper, thyme, fennel, bergamot

HERBS, SUPPLEMENTS, AND VITAMINS
Dong quai
Evening primrose oil or Borage oil
Triphala
Blue cohosh (days 22-28 of your cycle– good for fertility, too)
Chaste Tree Fruit (aka chasteberry or vitex)
Grapeseed
Bilbery

Omega-3 fish oil
Use calcium and magnesium as pain reliever
1 Tbl FERMENTED codliver oil 2x/day for 60 days
Zinc
Vitamin B
Vitamin C heals tissue and controls bleeding
Vitamin E balances hormones
Folate or folic acid

Turmeric
Sage
Chlorophyll
Aloe Vera

DRINK
*Use spring water (to avoid chlorine in water)
Drink warm water first thing in the morning
Soak 4 Tbl of flax in 1 cup of water overnight, strain and drink

Pineapple juice
Use radishes in smoothies
Only organic, non-homogenized milk

Teas with licorice, dandelion, milk thistle
Chamomile tea at bed time
Ginger tea for nausea

EAT
(HIGH FIBER–think foods that will help you poop, low sugar, low carb, and don’t eat heavy meals)

Protein at each meal helps stabilize hormones– also, don’t skip meals.

Eat all foods cooked and warm

*walnuts
Pumpkin seeds
Brazil nuts

Dark leafy greens
*Kelp (dissolves masses and is good for thyroid)
Onions
*Daikon radishes (move qi)
Cooked cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, bok choy at lunch with grains
Carrot and parsley at dinner

Papaya for breakfast
Lemons
Limes
Rubarb

Salmon
Tuna
Organic meat (no hormones added)

Wheat germ (high in vitE– good for scar tissue)
Honey

ACUPRESSURE POINTS
joining valley
Great rushing
Lv 2, 3, 14
Cv 4, 6
Gb 41
Ub 17

Sp 6, 8, 10, 12, 13
Ki 3, 17

AVOID
Avoid using plastic containers and plastic bottles

Avoid bleached foods (white sugar, white flour, white rice)

Avoid fried foods, fatty foods, processed foods

*Avoid cold/dry/raw foods– YIN foods which will make blood stagnation worse

Avoid alcohol (except occasional glass of red wine)

Avoid soy & tomatoes

I really hope you can incorporate these habits and nutrition guidelines into your life and that they can bring you some relief.

Some additional helpful links:
What not to say to a woman with an unhappy uterus.

Just send this link if you’re tired of explaining endometriosis to people.

More lifestyle and dietary changes for endometriosis.

More Chinese medicine for endometriosis

Yoga for endometriosis:
Yin Yoga for Endometriosis

Doing yoga with endometriosis

Devotion: My Commitment to Myself and to the World

DEVOTION: My commitment to myself — and the world — for 2015.

My name is Joy.

Starting today, I am devoting myself to the following projects:

–Being completely debt free.

–Being generous.

–Reaching out and being vulnerable.

I am devoting myself to these projects because I care about other people and feel that we are not meant to live life alone.

These projects deserve my full focus, attention, discipline and love.

Starting today, I am releasing the following from my life:

–Scarcity thinking.

–Pretending that I don’t have enough.

–Poor time management.

I am releasing these things because I need to create time & energy for giving to others.

These things no longer have a place in my life.

I believe that the world needs more kindness and generosity and that’s what I am here to create.

I may not be able to give millions to every charity, but I can do my part to help.

The very next step is to pay for people behind me.

And then after that, to actively seek out people to help.

When things feel overwhelming, I will remind myself that my job is simply to: spread love and kindness.

I have the power to leave the world, and the people around me, in better condition than I found them.

I don’t have to “reach” for that power. I have it, right now.

Anybody can serve.

I am devoted.

I am focused.

I am ready.

I know what I am here to do.

I am officially signing this agreement — with myself — on Feb 25th, 2014

Joy Boardman

Every word is true.

Zodiac Women: Pisces

Feb 22-March 21
Sensitive & complicated. Don’t fit in and tend to like it that way. Powerful effect on others.

Wonder Woman Wednesday: Lynne Boardman

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Todays Wonder Woman is my mom, Lynne Boardman. Her birthday is on Friday, so I thought it would be perfect to feature her on this month’s Wonder Woman Wednesday.
**************************************** Name: Lynne Boardman

Birthday: 2-20-59

Describe yourself as you are or as you want to be remembered: 
Welcoming + Encouraging= how I want to be remembered

Favorite book?: 
The Hiding Place
The Velveteen Rabbit

Favorite quote: 

“He will guide you with His love.”

-Zeph 3:17

Or:

“He who refreshes will himself be refreshed.”
-Proverbs 11:25

What motivates you?
*Opportunities to bless others
*Helping
*Keeping vows to stay in touch
*Keeping short accounts

How do you best take care of yourself?
Taking supplements and diffusing essential oils

What is your favorite way to be healthy?
Swimming a mile and then using the steam room

What is your greatest strength?
My memory for the word of God.

Who inspires you? What have they taught you?
My pastor, Todd Brown, inspires me.
He has taught me how to be refreshing.

What’s the best advice or wisdom you’ve ever received? 

“The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity.”

What are you proudest of? 
My daughter

What is your biggest goal for 2015? 
I want to be serene.

{Please send a photo or two of yourself at your happiest! And tell me a little bit about the photo(s)}

First trimester pregnant, visiting Beverly in Richmond. It is one of my happiest family memories.

A happy reunion.

In Hilton Head with my dad at Christmas.

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Thank you momma! You are a Wonderful Wonder Woman :)

How I Plan to Make 2015 the Best Year of My Life.

1. One habit I’m going to build.

I am going to continue eating healthy foods–3x a day. Nothing with ingredients I can’t pronounce. Less sugar, dairy, and bread.

2. One bad habit I’m going to break.

Wasting time online.

3. One person I’m going to forgive.

Myself.

4. One person I’m going to befriend or reconnect with.

Vanessa, my aunt Terri, and LeeAnn

5. One person I’m going to spend more time with.

Anne, Laura, Ros

6. One way I’m going to strengthen my personal relationship.

More honesty about wants and feelings.

7. One thing I’m going to create.

Financial security.

8. One negative belief I’m going to drop.

That being debt-free should make me feel guilty.

9. One positive belief I’m going to reinforce.

When you take care of your body, it will take care of you.

10. One unhealthy food I’m going to stop eating.

Anything with unpronouncable ingredients.

11. One healthy food I’m going to start eating.

Nuts.

12. One book I’m going to read.

Memoirs of a Geisha.

13. One place I’m going to visit.

Colorado for my cousins graduation.

14. One adventure I’m going to go on.

Mini-vacation in a b&b when I am out of debt.

15. One hobby I’m going to try.

Making lavender sachets.

16. One personal development goal I’m going to achieve.

Being more generous.

17. One fitness goal I’m going to achieve.

Working out every day, again.

18. One new food I’m going to try.

Overnight oats & cricket flour.

19. One fear I’m going to overcome.

Fear of totally unknown territory: debt-free living and total responsibility.

20. One risk I’m going to take.

Becoming more vulnerable.

21. One thing I’m going to throw out.

Stuff in the hallway.

22. One thing I’m going to save for and purchase.

My 6-month sabbatical for 2016.

23. One way I’m going to make more money.

Collage parties and retreat in the fall/winter.

24. One expense I’m cutting out.

Coffee.

25. One way I’m going to stop wasting time.

Using my time wisely. Only 25 minutes on each phone task (2x) and then no more screen time.

26. One skill I’m going to learn.

How to spend money wisely, again.

27. One class I’m going to take or workshop I’m going to attend.

Prenatal massage class

28. One way I’m going to make myself indispensable at work.

Pregnancy massage!

29. One thing I will no longer tolerate.

My grandmother treating my mom poorly.

30. One way I’m going to keep my energy high.

Eat at appropriate times. Rest when I need to.

31. One way I’m going to relax and de-stress.

Naps. Looking out the window and watching the birds. Yoga.

32. One way I’m going to get better sleep.

Reading before bed.

33. One way I’m going to have more fun.

More game nights.

34. One small way in which I’m going to make the world a better place.

#projectwarmheart

35. One bucket list item I’m crossing off.

Clearing up acne scars.

36. One way I’m going to follow my bliss.

Remembering to reach out. We are not meant to live life alone.

Also: learning acceptance.

You, too, can use these questions to make a plan for yourself & make 2015 the best year of YOUR life!

Thank you for reading!

If you haven’t filled out my survey yet, and you’d like to tell me about yourself, please go here:

https://artisticdrama.polldaddy.com/s/i-want-to-get-to-know-you

So, what’s so great about Collage Parties?

I found it was easy to construct a collage. It was almost effortless and something meaningful happened!
-Anne Buzzeli

Great reasons to check out collage parties: 

⊙You are curious about the process

⊙You want to be creative in a social setting

Theres no pressure to be “artistic”– you just need to be able to use scissors and a glue stick!

⊙You love to create but have just needed to find some time to put your ideas together

⊙You want to focus. Collage is a perfect way to do inner work– it’s a form of art therapy.

⊙You are looking for a great way to explore your goals more deeply.

Collage is a way of slipping past the censor and accessing the unconscious.

What do people love most about the experience?

⊙peaceful creativity

⊙the adventure of being with other women and enjoying the experience together

I enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow seekers, and the stories we all told even though we were relative strangers. By being her lovely self, Joy created safety and a sense of fun, play, and exploration which was super helpful for me; I was able to relax and get the most out of the collage process.

And of course, I enjoyed seeing the collage take shape, finishing it, and then working through the reflection process. It was a surprising result.
-Lisa O’Shea

I liked being creative and socializing. Plus, I enjoyed seeing how well planned out it was.
-Rachel Golden

What is the best thing you get out of coming to a collage party?

⊙A chance to really hone in on your goals.

⊙The excitement of seeing seemingly random pictures lay out a theme

“There’s a change comin’. 

……

It involves Brussels sprouts.”

-Susanne Leahy, analyzing her collage

⊙ The collage itself!

I’ve hung it up in my work room next to where I do a lot of writing, and it inspires me and intrigues me every day.
-Lisa O’Shea

A finished product that reminds me that I “can do” and that my hopes have not yet been snuffed out!
-Lynne Boardman

It will surprise you how easy the collage making process is!

I was surprised how many decisions I made so effortlessly. I usually belabor and second guess small and large decisions!
-Lynne Boardman

When it came time to glue the clippings into a collage, my hands flew around, and I made decisions that I wasn’t expecting. When it was done, I stood back and marveled. The picture I’d created spoke to me in the poetry of images and contrasts I hadn’t anticipated.
-Lisa O’Shea

****************************************
I hold collage parties often (almost every month) The goal setting parties I hold quarterly so you can come and boost your goals, meet new people, and feel accountable to yourself.

Collage is great because you can do them all the time and each one will be totally different. You’re thinking of something different, looking at different magazines, and putting your images together in different ways.

A regular habit of creating fulfills a need to express what’s beautiful and “right.”
-Lynne Boardman

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I post the events on my facebook page so make sure to follow me if you’re interested in coming to one.

You can also email me at joyboardman@gmail.com and let me know you’re interested in attending one.
I even hold one-on-one parties which are like mini (and fun) therapy sessions so email me if you would like to schedule one! 

I loved meeting new people and laughing so much. It helped me focus on the positive aspects of my life, and I really like that my goals are literally in my face (on my fridge) every day as a reminder.
-Allison Sprouse

True Story: I Have Apeirophobia (the fear of infinity)

Apeirophobia is also known as:

⊙The fear of infinity

⊙Infinity phobia

⊙The fear of space going on forever

⊙The fear of things that never end

“Infinity is a floorless room without walls or ceiling.”

Symptoms:

Shortness of breath or smothering sensation

Palpitations, pounding heart, or accelerated heart rate

Feeling unsteady, dizzy, lightheaded, or faint

“Eternity is said not to be an extension of time but an absence of time, and sometimes it seemed to me that her abandonment touched that strange mathematical point of endlessness, a point with no width, occupying no space.”
-Graham Greene

Ever since I was little, I’ve had panic attacks whenever I thought about the fact that when we die (no matter what your beliefs are) the ending is perpetual.

People from church used to try to reassure me by reminding me how wonderful heaven will be, but that’s not the point. The point is that your life never actually ENDS.

I’m not even that afraid of dying because you die and then that part is over.

If I go to heaven, I’ll be in a beautiful place with God and people I love….FOREVER.
If nothing happens, nothing happens…..FOREVER.

There’s no getting out of it. It’s inevitable and it’s forever. And ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever…..

The most helpful thing for me has been to bring myself back to the present moment and consider it like a journey.

When you plan for a journey, you have all these preconceived notions but once you are actually there it is so very different from what you expected and you just put one foot in front of the other.

“”I mean, d’you know what eternity is? There’s this big mountain, see, a mile high, at the end of the universe, and once every thousand years there’s this little bird-”

“What little bird?” said Aziraphale suspiciously.

“This little bird I’m talking about. And every thousand years-”

“The same bird every thousand years?”

Crowley hesitated. “Yeah,” he said.

“Bloody ancient bird, then.”

“Okay. And every thousand years this bird flies-”

“-limps-”

“-flies all the way to this mountain and sharpens its beak-”

“Hold on. You can’t do that. Between here and the end of the universe there’s loads of-” The angel waved a hand expansively, if a little unsteadily. “Loads of buggerall, dear boy.”

“But it gets there anyway,” Crowley persevered.

“How?”

“It doesn’t matter!”

“It could use a space ship,” said the angel.

Crowley subsided a bit. “Yeah,” he said. “If you like. Anyway, this bird-”

“Only it is the end of the universe we’re talking about,” said Aziraphale. “So it’d have to be one of those space ships where your descendants are the ones who get out at the other end. You have to tell your descendants, you say, When you get to the Mountain, you’ve got to-” He hesitated. “What have
they got to do?”

“Sharpen its beak on the mountain,” said Crowley. “And then it flies back-”

“-in the space ship-”

“And after a thousand years it goes and does it all again,” said Crowley quickly.

There was a moment of drunken silence.

“Seems a lot of effort just to sharpen a beak,” mused Aziraphale.

“Listen,” said Crowley urgently, “the point is that when the bird has worn the mountain down to nothing, right, then-”

Aziraphale opened his mouth. Crowley just knew he was going to make some point about the relative hardness of birds’ beaks and granite mountains, and plunged on quickly.

“-then you still won’t have finished watching The Sound of Music.”

Aziraphale froze.

“And you’ll enjoy it,” Crowley said relentlessly. “You really will.”

“My dear boy-”

“You won’t have a choice.”

“Listen-”

“Heaven has no taste.”

“Now-”

“And not one single sushi restaurant.”

A look of pain crossed the angel’s suddenly very serious face.”

-from Good Omens by Neil Gaiman