IC and 9 Ways to Get More Energy

IC(interstitial cystitis) bladder pain like any chronic disease produces a described “drain on the body”  Symptoms such as those of muscle and joint aches(aka fibromyalgia), vulvodynia, depression,chronic fatigue all begin to show up as the chronicity wears on the mindbody

This observation shows our intuitive connection with the energy body which acts like a car battery   When the car lights are left on overnight, the battery is drained of its stored energy  To see the mindbody as an energy field opens us up to a wide variety of tools that are not currently available from the matter science approach

Let’s take a look at some of these tools and how you can get renewable biological energy

9 Ways to Get More Energy

Reduce mental turbulence   Perhaps a surprise to some is that the mind is the biggest drain of them all!  Often the mind is running in the background even though you think it’s quiet   This incessant turbulence shows up as fear, anxiety, depression, worry, and of course fatigue because the body gets beat up with this kind of mental activity      Solution  Spend 5-10 minutes twice a day(morning and evening) closing your eyes and watching the breath

Remove nutritional stressors   There are foods that drain the body’s energy such as refined sugar, coffee, chocolate(what the heck?) carbonated drinks

Improve food choices  Foods that bring about balance for you according to the nutritional formats at foodsheal.com after you take the mindbody questionnaire will help you sort this out

Improve digestive strength  Eating your biggest meal at noon, drinking room temperature fluids(ice is not nice!), using spice mixtures(churans), simply paying attention to what you’re doing when eating(few meals a week in silence), or not eating when busy helps replenish your body’s energy

Using proper food combining  stops the depletion of energy expended due to difficult to digest food combinations

Avoid snacking   Eating before you have digested the last food that you’ve ingested requires the mindbody to use more energy so this habit is depleting   At least 4 to 6 hours between meals or better yet wait until your hungry since appetite is the best gauge of the body’s readiness for food

Lack of exercise/Too much exercise  Excercise improves digestion but too much is overdone and will then begin to drain the mindbody’s battery

Lack of adequate rest  Surprisingly when under the stress of pain or low energy the mindbody should be rested more than usual  What happens often with people with IC is that you tend to be more active than normal   It establishes the “can’t sit still” syndrome which causes a drain on the battery

Toxicity  If you have poor digestion, chances toxic formation will occur leading to the qualities in the bladder being held there and unable to be released   But this toxicity is everywhere and it reduces the mindbody’s efficiency in functioning   The mindbody can no longer function with “ease” but now functions with “dis-ease”   So improving digestion with ginger pickle or the above churans is a fundamental step toward improving your energy

Baby Steps

When you do energy work it requires a shift in our lifestyle choices that is not easy but with baby steps, small incremental changes in how you do things, day after day, month after month, year after year, will pay dividends in your healing IC

Best of luck  DB

What Is Energy Work Anyway?

One of our readers asked “what is energy work?   This very important question because it’s important to know for confidence as to why you are doing what you are doing   There are two ways to manage IC pain in my mind

The first is the matter science approach which is what everyone in the IC community has experienced  You go to the family doc, internist, or urologist and they prescribe pharmaceuticals for your pain  These drugs are molecules that have anticipated effects on your body, like a sedative or antidepressant  This medical science diagnoses disease like IC by measuring molecules  Since there are no specific molecules to measure  in IC bladder pain, there is difficulty in monitoring progress in therapy  At times the best that can be done is to make you comfortable for an hour by instilling a pain reliever like a topical anesthetic

The second way to manage IC from my perspective is to use an energy science medical approach  In this type of medical model of healing the mind and body are seen as an energy field   This is a different yet effective way of seeing the body and is different than the above molecular approach

When you apply healing energy science methods it is termed energy work

Energy work can be used in a loose way but here in my context, it is used in a very specific way   The term “energy work” is thrown around to just about mean anything from reiki to chiropractic work

But in my context “energy work” is rooted in ancient traditions such as the Ayurvedic system of healing or the traditional Chinese medical(TCM) model from which we get the practice of acupuncture   These healing systems go back 1000’s of years and are grounded in the concept that the mindbody is an energy field as well as a molecular field as discussed above

So acupuncture is a well established energy science method of doing “energy work”  In the Ayurvedic tradition the same points used in acupuncture are called marma points   These two energy science traditions parallel one another in many ways

One of the differentiating features of the Ayurvedic energy science healing discipline from that of TCM is that the nutritional science is very “user friendly” and well articulated   Because of the importance of nutrition in the management of IC, I chose the Ayurvedic energy work as the one to help people with their IC

Types of Energy Work

So here are a few examples of energy work

Following a nutritional format for reducing the hot quality is doing energy worrk

Avoiding incompatible food combinations to avoid flares is doing energy work

Taking herbs that have specific subtle effects on the body is energy work  It reminds us that the energy field of the body is subtle and the molecular field is gross

Using hand positions called mudras that have specific physiologic effects as well as meditation is energy work

Using castor oil and specific marma therapy as shown in the accompanying schematic is energy work

Doing vaginal administration of herbs and medicated oils for IC is energy work

Paying attention while eating is energy work

Eating your biggest meal at noon is energy work

Using spices to improve digestive strength is doing energy work

So you can see that when the term “energy work” is used, it implies that the information being applied is based energy science principles that come from one of these ancients disciplines   These principles are based on seeing the body not as a complex collection of molecules but rather as an field of energy  When you apply these practices among many others you are doing energy work to bring about the healing of IC

Energy Work Language

The body’s energy field has been called prana, chi, qi, ru, ruha   These are all terms for the biological energy field that you are   It is distinctly a different way of healing and quite effective in helping people deal with their IC

Einstein’s famous equation E=mc2 tells us that what is matter is energy and what is energy is matter  That you are simultaneously both molecular and energy field

These ancient healing traditions have a tremendous amount to offer us in terms of healing advice  It’s just that you see your body in a different way when you are doing energy work

All the best  DB

IC and Sapping Your Energy

In acute conditions you know you feel poorly because of the sudden onset of symptoms and because of the short term illness you know what it feels like to feel better

But what about the scenario with chronic diseases like IC  bladder pain where you get used to feeling poorly   I liken the experience to pressure applied to the arm   If you apply a sudden blow to the arm it hurts   But what about the same pressure applied to the arm over an extended period of time   It’s different, right?    You see the arm’s sensory receptors have a chance to accomodate to the slowly applied pressure and so it doesn’t seem to hurt

Why don’t you try this right now?  As you continue to read gradually apply increasing pressure to the arm and see how much you can stand

Feeling Bad and Chronic Disease

As you know you feel bad with IC   But my question to you is “How bad do you really feel?”   Yes, there are terrible days, but it’s all relative isn’t it?

My point is that just like the slow pressure on the arm, the pain of chronic disease doesn’t make you feel bad until the pain is really really bad….the really terrible days

But as you know the pain with chronic disease is always there, day in and day out, whether you realize it  or not   This kind of day is, well……, it’s just getting by   THIS is what saps your energy and makes life difficult with chronic disease

Even on good days there is a lack of energy there that allows you to just make it through the day  You may not know it  And this is my point ….you only know that you felt bad when you start feeling better by looking back over the weeks months and years  Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize how badly I felt back then, now that I have so much more endurance, stamina, strength, clarity, and balance

Energy Work and Feeling Better Than Getting By

The benefit of energy science work is that the threshold for feeling good moves up notch by notch

Sometimes you don’t know you feel like crap until you look back and after feeling better you realize that your flare episodes of pain are better and the frequency of the flares is not as often

So when you do energy work the long term benefits of the work is that you gradually begin to renew your energy and hence your zest for life again
And this is not pie in the sky hope   It’s real and tangible as I talked about earlier

What’s Your Alternative?

For most your current situation is untenable   It’s suffering with a disease that has an energy science solution if you’re willing to give it a try  Do your due diligence and see what it can do for your IC

To Healing Your IC        Love Dr Bill

IC and the Antiinflammatory Effects of Colostrum

IC (interstitial cystitis) bladder pain is a result of inflammation and the energy science describes this in terms of the hot quality  As I have talked about in the past there are many different things that people can do to reduce this quality in the gut:  aloe vera gel, CCF tea, spices such as turmeric  fresh basil and ginger, and herbs

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But not only do you want the antiinflammatory effect but it would be great if you could also enhance digestive strength at the same time  Aloe does this but colostrum does this as well and makes this bovine derived product an excellent choice for the treatment of IC

Digestive Strength and Enhancers

I have alluded to digestive strength in the past but not gone into much detail   This week in our webinar series the group will work on agni or digestive strength because it’s so important for gut health

Anything that enhances digestion induces agni (the word ingnite comes from this word)  So spices are important in food preparation because they stimulate agni or digestive strength

Probiotics enhance agni as well as herbs such as aloe vera   Research has shown that colostrum that has been used in IC with excellent results not only reduces the inflammatory response but also helps improve digestive fire

Colostrum:  A Two Headed Winner

This first milking substance is an amazing resource of substances necessary to support the  development and repair of cells and tissues, assure the effective and efficient metabolism of nutrients and establish and maintain a healthy immune system

Because of its physiologic functions it mimics the activity of growth hormone, a rejuvenative that could build tissues in people with chronic disease    The link has great resource information so you should check it out

In India, where cows are sacred, colostrum is delivered to the home with the milk and is used for medicinal purposes to treat everything from
age-related symptoms to the common cold   This practice began several thousand years ago with Ayurvedic physicians and sacred healers

In the Scandinavian countries, the birth of a calf is celebrated by the making of a pudding for human consumption from the extra colostrum after the calf is fed   This practice has gone on for centuries and is intended to promote good health   Research conducted in these countries as early as the late 18th century showed the benefits of colostrum on the health and development of cattle and laid the groundwork for the early medicinal use of colostrum by humans   The early Amish farmers in America practiced this same ritual

Where Available

Capsules of colostrum can be obtained in health food stores, on Amazon, or on the ic-solutions Amazon store 

Have a great week     To health as a Skill       Love DB

PS  My book Foods Heal is downloadable for FREE this week only on all mobile reading devices by going to http://amzn.to/fLYS3i under Kindle

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