A personal journey of recovery

It’s time to share a personal story.

Some of you will know this, and many won’t. I have been challenged by a very dysfunctional knee over the past couple of years. The weird thing is, I knew the moment I felt my gait change, a very subtle signal that in hindsight I might have paid more attention to. This progressively resulted in a very painful and inflamed right knee joint. Over time, I found I could do less and less and was adapting my activities and reducing my regular walking to accommodate my worsening condition. It was suggested that I “go to the doctor,” but having a lifelong aversion to the medical establishment meant this was not an option for me. Although there were times when I got so sick of the pain every time I stood up from sitting, every step I took, and also during the night when I would wake up and need to straighten out my right leg, which was a painful process.

Don’t get me wrong, doctors have a place, but I hadn’t injured myself, my knee condition was not a result of an accident or incident, and I was very curious as to what was going on and how I could fix it.

For a while, I walked with walking poles, and these helped, plus I discovered the added advantage of getting a great arm workout with the poles, so this is a good thing to do for your arm toning and strengthening, just saying!

What I have discovered is that nothing works in isolation. We are multidimensional beings made up of many energetic layers and parts. Whilst the pain was in my knee, it wasn’t my knee that needed fixing. It has been a combination of things that has and continues to restore my overall health and well-being. This could take me on many tangents, but I will try and stick with what I feel will be most helpful.

“Like an abilty or a muscle, hearing your inner wisdom is strengthened by doing it.”_{Robbie Gass The Artists Way}

I’m sharing my story because it is very common. I could have gone to the doctor, and there’s a very high chance that I would have been put on medication of some sort, anti-inflammatories being most likely. Maybe a cortisol injection or two, and maybe a referral to a specialist who might have suggested orthotic inserts for my shoes. Whilst these treatments might afford some temporary relief, they do not address the underlying issues as to what caused the problem in the first place.

I know I am not alone, and I see, far too often, people seeking answers for physical conditions and those conditions being treated with no consideration to what is going on in all the other layers of our being and areas of our lives.
So, to cut a long story short, this is what I did to get myself and my knee back to health and get me walking, kneeling, and squatting pain-free.

Being curious to ask why this is happening and what I could be doing differently. Why am I being slowed down?

I hadn’t been getting my regular remedial massages for over two years, and over that time, little body habits that a regular massage would have taken care of started to pull me out of alignment. I know from past intense massage therapy that my body responds very well to this form of support.
I have found a massage therapist whose style works for me, and I go every three weeks or at least every month. This has made a huge difference. This is vital for me as a maintenance and preventative remedy. An investment in my long-term wellness.

Having played around with many different diets, for want of a better word, over the years, I suspected my current diet wasn’t addressing my mineral needs. To manage weight, I was not eating a lot of food, and the food I was eating, although mostly organic, was not meeting my body’s needs for mineralisation.
I got onto a really good source of collagen, and this has made a huge difference to my joint health.
I also supplement with Ayurvedic herbs and a good source of vitamin C. I put good-quality sea salt in my drinking water. I supplement with magnesium and also use it topically with great results.

I was sitting too much! Most people sit too much. I now use a stand-up desk, and this has made a positive difference not only to my knee but also in managing my time at my desk. I really don’t need to be there as much as I was when I was sitting in a chair!

I did a comprehensive parasite cleanse and was amazed to learn how we end up with parasites in our systems and the importance of doing this as a regular process. I’ve done two in the past six months and will be making this a six-monthly process. I felt this was an important step in regaining health. If you’d like to know more about this, I can send you a great link. Email me.

Not only did I clean out from the inside, but I also took to my environment and had a big throw out of clothes I hadn’t worn in years. I cleaned out crates of teaching materials I hadn’t used in years and were not likely to again. I sorted out my office and got really ruthless about what was important and how it felt amazing to lighten up!

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.” _{Henry David Thoreau}

I continue with my fortnightly kinesiology appointments and have done this for many years. This gets to the core of many issues and is a lifelong process. It’s like peeling the layers of the onion; we are never done! For me, this works on emotional and mental layers, clearing away the debris from long past events, sometimes even intergenerational. Layer by layer, we need to clear the trauma we hold, not only from our own lives but from our ancestors. We carry the stress of this in our biology. Our bodies keep the score of all our thoughts, beliefs, actions, intentions, everything.

Specific movement & exercises can help reestablish alignment patterns in the body. I have found the sun sequence to be very beneficial in my program. I add to that some specific hip release movements, knee strengthening, and fascia release practices to form a well-balanced movement program.

I also started a daily practice of self-massage on my feet. In the evening, whilst I was sitting watching a favourite show, I would take some herb-infused oil and massage each foot. I also have two yoga therapy balls that I roll under my feet when I am sitting. This is a great daily practice to stimulate the reflex points on your feet and keep the fascia, the connective tissue, freed up. Our feet do so much for us and are often forgotten and neglected. Take time to nourish your feet and send down some gratitude for the mobility that you do have.

Chanting mantra and finding my voice has been a transformative journey on every level of my being. In December last year, I completed my 200-hour teacher training in Nada Yoga – yoga of Sound. I’m on track to complete the next 300 hours by early next year. Mantra and learning the ancient language of Sanskrit is so richly rewarding as it delves into a higher intelligence within us. The rich tapestry of mantra links us to our true essence.

I honoured a deep calling to get back into the esoteric arts. I have dabbled in runes, tarot, spiritual healing, crystals, and nature magic for many years. I had been getting the urge to start bringing these aspects into my current work. On my recent Finding Soul Space retreat, around the fire one evening, we played with Tarot and you can find a monthly Tarot reading on my Discord platform, free to access for anyone interested.

A year ago, I started volunteering at Thommo’s Community Garden, and this has been beneficial on every level of my being. I had a deep longing, for quite some time, to connect with the earth and nature more, and this is scratching that itch. When I first started, it was painful to walk around and do the tasks, but now, a year later, I am feeling nourished by this place. Being part of a community that has a soulful purpose is very rewarding. We grow food for Food Bank, and that feels good to my soul. Plus I have learnt a lot, and my home vegetable garden is hugely benefiting from this new knowledge and my renewed interest in gardening.

So you see, healing is a multi-dimensional process. All the things I have listed above are necessary for my recovery and ongoing well-being. It was never just my knee. I needed to make many lifestyle changes that addressed my needs physically, emotionally, mentally, and were aligned with my soul’s yearning for connection to nature. Sometimes we need to sit with discomfort to work things out and move in another direction. It is all part of the journey. Had I gone for the quick fix, I would have missed the many insights this journey has shown me.

This curiosity is vital if we are to take back our power over our health. For way too long, we have given our power away to establishments that claim to know more than we do about our bodies, minds, and souls. This is not the way forward. Look around, and you will see the increasing sickness and reliance on medications and so-called quick fixes. These are not the answer. The answers lie within you. Your deep knowing and innate wisdom are waiting for your attention and curiosity. Take your power back and walk the journey to finding your own solutions. In essence, it’s all about Knowing Thyself.

“The life which is not examined is not worth living.” _Plato

To address health issues, it is necessary to take a holistic approach, and that starts with making time for yourself. To really get to know yourself is the best investment you will make. You don’t have to do this alone. As you can see from my knee journey, it took many sources to bring me back home to myself, and the journey is just that, a journey called life. Take some time for yourself every day and check in, with an open heart and sense of curiosity, you will be amazed at the treasures waiting for your discovery of yourself.