For someone who isn’t supposed to be here (or so I've been told), I’m still kickin’! There are many reasons I shouldn’t be alive, let alone happy, healthy, and sane (mostly hehehe) and below I’m going to list the five things that keep me going, ensure that I have a positive outlook on life more times than not and that are setting me up for exuberant living. As you read this you will see yourself in some of my experiences and get additional options for you to explore that can enhance your mental, emotional, physical or spiritual well-being.
#1 My Body
My body has seen some ish! I had been in multiple car accidents and was hit by a car while walking in my twenties which created a lot of chronic pain from musculoskeletal issues for about 15 years. Each accident would reaggravate previous injuries and the cycle of pain and treatment would start again and again. When I was 21, I was raped by my then boyfriend in a hotel room he was drunk. At the same time, I was dealing with chronic illness from a suppressed immune system, allergies, and asthma. My body was with me through it out. My body never left me even though I left it repeatedly to get away from the pain, depression, anxiety, and pressure I was placing on myself. When I came back, my body would be there enthusiastically greeting me with open arms to try again. It was hard to make sense of everything that was happening to me, but my body sent me messages that led me to the other things on this list and most importantly she gave me hope for what could be possible beyond what I was experiencing. Thank you, Body.
Image by Avelino Calvar Martinez from Pixabay
#2 Chiropractor
If it wasn’t enough that I had multiple car accidents that threw my spine out of alignment, created pinched nerves and messed up my knees, my constant coughing fits when I had sinus infections, bronchitis and asthma attacks would also mess up my musculoskeletal system because the power of the coughs or sneezes would be so impactful it would sometimes undue the chiropractic treatment I received just days before. Due to this, I had to become very savvy on what makes a good chiropractor and what makes a great one. If a chiropractor just treats you without asking about your lifestyle, the activities you currently are doing and the ones you wish you could do with more ease? Buh-bye! If a chiropractor is running a factory for a medical practice, and does the same thing every time they see you and doesn’t tailor what they are doing to what is going on with your body that day? Buh-bye! If a chiropractor doesn’t consider alternative methods to complement what they are doing and look beyond adjustments for how you can be empowered to not need them over time? Buh-bye! There are way too many chiropractors that were absolutely lovely people and would totally have been satisfied to see me for years on end without me actually eradicating the pain I was suffering from.
I now know that a great chiropractor:
Explains what they are doing and why.
Provides suggestions for what I can do between sessions that will allow me to wean off sessions as my body relearns what it needs to do again post-trauma
Is knowledgeable about or open to knowing about and using alternative healing methods
Takes into account how I live my life and the life I’d like to create
#3 Massage Therapy
Just like chiropractors, not all massage therapists are created equal. I love receiving massages and have been fortunate to receive them all over the world from all over the United States to Australia, Thailand to Puerto Rico and from Italy to Costa Rica. It’s one of my favorite forms of self-care! Did you know that if you receive a massage within 72 hours of receiving a chiropractic treatment it makes the adjustments exponentially more beneficial because your muscles are guided to learn to stay in that spot versus revert back to where they were beforehand? Who did I learn that from? A great chiropractor!
There are so many different types of massage and they all nurture your body
Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay
in different ways. My favorites are TECAR massage (it makes deep tissue massages look like chumps!), Thai massage, and Jasmine oil massages. That being said it’s all winning if it’s a “Yes!” with your body. My recommendation is to try as many types as you can and experience will let you know which ones you’d like to revisit. Make sure the massage therapist asks about your medical history and actually looks at it before working on you. This is very important because depending on what’s going on with you they may need to massage you differently or they are putting you at risk! Also, if a massage therapist doesn’t ask you what level of pressure you want and check in with you during the massage periodically, that’s not a good sign. Thing is, that also necessitates you speaking up. Use your Phantastical Voice and advocate for yourself! You and your body will thank you for it!
#4 Holistic Medicine
If it weren’t for holistic medicine and naturopathy, I wouldn’t be alive right now. In 2007, I had just broken up with my first fiancé during my first year working in the Chicago Public Schools where my poor weakened immune system was barraged by all the petri dishes that are the children I worked with. Love ya kids! My allergist and primary care physician were at their wits end. I had made multiple attempts at receiving allergy shots and my body just couldn’t handle it. Finally, one of my doctors said, “If you don’t do something soon, you’re going to get pneumonia and die.” I recall looking at him annoyed and tired because I had been trying everything they suggested and everything I was aware of up until then, without any of it working.
Beyond frustrated, I called my mom and she had just met a woman who was both a Naturopathic Doctor and Reiki Master and that was the beginning of my true healing journey in all aspects. Dr. Rev. Barbara Rocha in Winfield, IL created a personalized treatment plan for me that addressed the physical and the spiritual simultaneously. That was the key. There were energetics at play that impacted my physiology and my chronic sicknesses had been creating or exacerbating energetic programs, beliefs and systems I had running unconsciously. They were piggybacking on each other making it impossible for me to make any sustainable headway. It took 2-3 years of dedication, discipline, and consistency, but I was able to pull myself from underground; the chronic pain went away first and then over time I was able to get off all medications. Thank you Barb! Since then, I see my naturopathic doctor once or twice a year, just like my primary care physician for my annual check up. Unlike many, I don’t think there needs to be a conflict between functional medicine and traditional medicine. It’s about what is going to work, truly work, now and in the future for that person’s body.
#5 Energy Work
As I mentioned when talking about Holistic Medicine above, there is no way I would be alive today without energy work. Energy work is when energy and the awareness of a practitioner come together to create greater possibilities for the person receiving it and to those they are connected to. Reiki popped my energy work cherry hehehe It was the first type of energy work I
Image by Briam Cute from Pixabay
experienced and after receiving a session, the pain was gone. It lasted for weeks and I could start to see how it was possible to live a life without pain. I had hoped and dreamed that it would be and here it was. My mom had taken a Reiki class and encouraged me to take one too. I loved it and quickly became a Reiki Master/Teacher. Anytime I had any inkling of pain, I would run Reiki on myself and it would be gone within minutes if not seconds.
It made me curious about what else was out there in the energetics world that I would experience, play with, and add to my repertoire. Since then, I have taken classes on ThetaHealing, Access Consciousness, Tantra, Shamanism, EFT, and Conscious Card Reading. I’ve received more energy work sessions than I can count and each of them have been so different even when you receive the same type repeatedly over the course of a few days. Your body is different each day. You’re different each day and a good practitioner meets you and your body where it’s at and considers what is possible in that present moment to open the doors to new possibilities with you. Playing with energies has assisted me in healing from trauma, provided me with clarity on my life, relationships and business, and awakened me to more exuberant living on my terms.
After years of receiving, and sharing different energetic techniques, I created the Living and Dying Body ProcessTM with contributions from my body and the Earth. It unlocks anywhere that you are aware of other people’s ish (e.g., their sadness, anxiety, pain, trauma, where they are destroying their futures or killing possibility, etc. ) and locked it in your body. When it is unlocked, you get to have more energy, feel more enlivened and have more clarity on what unique gifts and capacities you have so that you can create your life and contribute to others more effectively and with more joy. It is particularly effective for people who would like to care for themselves as they care for others which is vital for parents, caregivers, healers, or entrepreneurs who give to others and often don’t allow themselves to receive as much as they give. Harmony with flow is essential for exuberant living.
Special thanks to my family (biological and chosen), friends and partner for seeing me through so many challenging times, cheering me on through the highs and unexpected gifts that have shown up and who continue to make this wild ride worthwhile! To my readers: Thank you for reading! What would you add to this list? What’s keeping you sane and healthy? Your comments are welcome and perhaps they would help improve someone’s day or life.
Be Well My Friends. Be Well.
Siris
Resources:
Living and Dying Body ProcessTM: www.empoweringlightlanguage.com/livinganddying
Choosing a Different Future with Siris podcast: https://bit.ly/CaDFwSpodcast
Siris Raquel Rivas-Verdejo is a Life Coach, Speech-Language Pathologist and Therapeutic Energy Worker, who helps busy individuals and families to use their difference, gifts and capacities to prioritize self-care in creative ways. Schedule a consultation with her HERE.
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