| I think I am doing fine and have finally beaten | | | | have been prepared and stored very carefully to |
| Fibromyalgia, then I start to get careless about my | | | | preserve the healing qualities of the plants. The |
| diet. Processed foods creep back in; breads, ice | | | | essential oils from Nature's Sunshine are therapeudic |
| cream, corn tortilla chips, potato chips, and sauces | | | | grade. I have a link posted on my website at the end |
| laced with MSG and sulfites. I get away with it for a | | | | of this article. |
| few days, then I notice that my clothes are fitting | | | | My recovery bath, not only is soothing and relaxing, |
| tighter than usual, my energy is declining, and my | | | | but it also helps to remove some of the toxins that |
| face starts to get puffy. | | | | have accumulated in my tissues. Detoxing is the key |
| In addition to poor eating habits, my stress level is | | | | to a quick recovery from a flair up. Another detox |
| increasing. Dance Competition season for my | | | | strategy that I use, is to consume liquids for the |
| daughters is a very stressful time for me. It involves | | | | majority of the day. When I wake up feeling |
| a lot of "hurry up and wait." All costumes, | | | | exhausted and bloated, I know that it is time to get |
| accessories, shoes, and make-up must be in perfect | | | | serious about eating. I usually start out with a |
| order for each dancer or the judges will count points | | | | cleansing tea. Here is my recipe: |
| off for the entire team. A few weeks ago, my girls | | | | CLEANSING TEA |
| were in a competition in Athens, GA. They had to | | | | 1 Green Tea Bag |
| arrive fully dressed and ready to perform by 7am | | | | 1/2 inch of ginger root (grated) |
| (even though they did not actually go on stage until | | | | 1 lemon Squeezed |
| 8:45am). The night before, they had been at the | | | | Honey as desired for sweetener |
| awards ceremony from the previous day until 11pm. | | | | Boil 3 cups of water. Turn off heat and place tea |
| This gave us 5 hours of sleep (deprivation). This kind | | | | bag, ginger, and lemon in the water. Cover and brew |
| of pressure makes it impossible for me to eat the | | | | for 5 minutes. Sip the tea through out the morning. |
| way that I need to in order to control my condition. | | | | Our bodies do the majority of detoxing from |
| It also causes my muscles to constrict and irritate | | | | bedtime to 10am. I try to nurture this activity by |
| the tender points on my back and neck. I drudge | | | | waiting until later in the morning to have my |
| through these stressfull events in support of my girls, | | | | breakfast. By avoiding solid foods in the morning, I |
| but usually end up with a Fibromyalgia flair-up with in | | | | allow my digestive system to focus on the tasks of |
| a few days. | | | | eliminating toxins, rather than digesting heavy foods. |
| Over the past five years, I have learned some very | | | | That said, my breakfast consists of a protien shake. |
| useful remedies to help get me back on track as | | | | Here is the recipe: |
| quickly as possible. My favorite is to take a hot bath | | | | MY BREAKFAST SHAKE |
| with therapeudic bath salts. I save money by making | | | | 1 cup Plain Organic Yogurt |
| my own bath salts. Here is my recipe: | | | | 1 cup Almond Milk |
| RECOVERY BATH SALTS | | | | 1 scoop Vanilla Brown Rice Protien Powder (see my |
| 1/4 cup Epson Salts | | | | blog for more details) |
| 15 drops essental oil of Lavender | | | | 1 tsp Flaxseed oil |
| 5 drops essential oil of Eucalyptus | | | | 1 tsp Olive oil |
| 8 drops essential oil of Rosemary | | | | 1/2 cup organic berries |
| 5 drops essential oil of Marjoram | | | | 1 tsp cinnamon |
| Stir the oils into the salt and pour into the bath | | | | Combine ingredients in a heavy duty blender or food |
| water. Soak for 30 minutes to 1 hour. This is soothing | | | | processor. It is ready to drink when the consistency |
| to the muscles and the senses. The aroma of the oils | | | | is smooth and blended. |
| is very comforting and relaxing. Epson salt delivers | | | | Adhering to these natural remedies restores my |
| magnesium straight to the sore muscles and helps | | | | energy, relieves my painful joints and muscles, and |
| them to relax. Be sure to use therapeutic grade | | | | takes off the extra pounds accumulated during the |
| essential oils. Some essential oils only smell good, but | | | | flair-up. I pray that they will be helpful to you too! |
| provide no healing benefit. Therapeutic grade oils | | | | |