My Healing Journey
October 2024
Have you ever considered the impact of trust, honesty and patience when it comes to the healing process? Recently, while sipping my tea, I came across this amazing quote: “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson.
It made me reflect on my own healing journey and how small, consistent actions can lead to profound growth.
About two years ago, I began to experience eczema flares for the first time in my life. As a mom of two in my mid-thirties, this was quite unexpected. I had always thought of eczema as something you had from childhood on, not something you randomly developed as an adult. I wasn’t particularly bothered by it initially, but I was curious. What was this all about?
After I ruled out the possibility that I had simply run into some poison ivy while walking outside with my kids, I realized this pesky, itchy nuisance was here to teach me something deeper.
Over the course of the past couple of years, I have had periods of intense, itchy rashes that kept me up at night, as well as periods of calm skin where I kind of forgot about eczema altogether. I have experimented with many things including: avoiding gluten and dairy, full-blown elimination diets, plant based diets, animal based diets, movement, sleep, meditation and breathwork, infrared saunas, immersing myself in nature, testing out various (natural & homemade) skincare products, keeping a food/lifestyle journal, you name it. Many of these practices have helped immensely, while some (such as overly restricting foods) have backfired. More on that in a future email!
I’ve learned that the healing process ultimately comes down to three things: trust, honesty and patience.
Trust: Our bodies are miraculous, self-healing mechanisms, and so often we get in the way. Trusting in our body’s ability to heal is the first step.
Honesty: When we take an honest inventory of what is and is not working in our lives, we enhance our self-awareness and can start to make confident, empowered choices. Keeping a simple food and lifestyle journal is a simple and effective way to practice being deeply honest with ourselves.
Patience: When we look to nature, we see the beauty and efficacy of patience. The acorn does not rush to become a mighty oak tree, just as the oak tree losing its leaves in the fall does so with grace. Everything happens in its own time in the divine perfection of creation. We are part of that creation. Our bodies know how to heal: sometimes it simply takes time, and there are often ebbs and flows. “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” - Lao Tzu
You may be wondering which lifestyle approaches were most helpful to me. Interestingly, but also not surprisingly, the things that have worked the best for me are also the most simple and nature-focused. For now I will focus on what has helped me personally, and will dive deeper into the why in later emails/additional resources. I would also like to add that although I have learned that these things really work well for me, I don’t always do them perfectly and that is ok! The focus is gentle consistency, not perfection. With that said, here they are:
Focusing deeply on my circadian rhythms. I’ve known about this for a long time, but did not take it seriously until I tried it and felt the benefits firsthand. Basically, this involves using blue light blockers at night/avoiding blue light and waking up to the sunrise in the morning. In the winter, that means waking up around 6:30 am and simply opening my bedroom window to look at the natural light for a few minutes without any glasses or contacts in. Then I usually get up and take care of my animals which allows for more natural morning light. It also means going to bed around the same time each night and allowing my body to get adequate rest, which for me is about 9 hours.
Starting my day with quality protein and having breakfast within the first hour of waking to regulate my blood sugar has been so key. Rather than a sweet breakfast, I focus more on savory and filling.
Eating enough balanced meals throughout the day. This feels especially critical in my luteal phase to maintain hormone balance.
Prioritizing whole, single-ingredient, seasonal + local foods and local spring water.
Having some kind of meditation/quiet mindfulness practice.
Allowing myself to feel all my feelings when they come up, so that they can be fully expressed and released.
Drinking lots of warm, nourishing drinks, like herbal teas. This is especially true in the colder months.
Using natural skincare products, especially tallow-based products and those that contain castor oil and calendula infused jojoba.
Wearing natural fibers like wool, organic cotton, linen and hemp.
Grounding to the earth and being/moving in nature.
Warm epsom salt baths with soothing essential oils and/or infrared sauna.
If you are wanting some personalized support with your own wellness journey, I would love to help. I send out supportive, seasonally-focused emails to all of my email subscribers on a monthly basis, and I also offer wellness coaching. Just click on the “Coaching” tab on the top menu to learn more.
Thanks for being here on this journey with me.
With love and gratitude,
Valerie