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1/30/2016

4 month marker check-in point

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     It's that time. Time to check in with myself and see how I am doing. I would like to brag about some of my accomplishments thus far: Great raw diet and experimenting with new raw recipes, first 2 successful tasty treats in my food dehydrator, 2 detoxes finished without any major cravings or fall offs, house is full of GREEN cleaning supplies and I am digging into DIY cleaning supplies, replaced my old toiletries and cosmetics with natural product, removed products with FRAGRANCE and am using Essential Oils in lieu,  Green Drink and Meditation and  Trampoline jumping every day, finished 2 Healing Sessions at the Ayurvedic center, met with a Naturopath, cleaned out closets  and cabinets at house, currently taking a meditation class, currently doing an online Inner Engineering class for the spirit, hung out with family and friends on many occasions, ordered herbs and supplements and oils for future use after detox cleanses, TRYING to get cats on a more natural diet, watch daily videos and read books for self-help purposes.
As patty perfect as this all might sound, I still have a long way to go. Just like a diet, the maintenance and permanence of what you have created is often overlooked and the more challenging part!  I have been seeking solace at my home the past 2 months and have started to create a pretty zen atmosphere that include diffusers, essential oils, just keeping it extra tidy, no more background junk TV- only meditation youtube videos, and a mindful day of being in the moment as I chug through my new daily routines. I am getting out of my robes in February and plan to hit the town! I really want to continue my adventures. To date the Flying Trapeze lessons took the cake and were REALLY awesome! I am becoming an adrenaline junkie i think! This whole living in the moment is really fun and creates lots of happiness. I have not mastered it by any means, but even a little improvement in this area feels really great!
My sleep was pretty restless the past 3 months but it getting better. I felt the need to check in with myself one night. WARNING: it was not a good night. I hope the videos are not too much of a debbie downer, they are just things I needed to get out and that are important for my journey.  As you know I have been doing a tremendous amount of self-work. Meaning, I make it a daily 2-3 hours of "work" that I am putting in towards help shift my thoughts, my emotions, my ego, my spirit, and my habits. The goal is to reach a much higher level of consciousness so the new me is reacting to life, really experiencing life, and leading with spirit instead of the ego at all times.  Much easier said than done! The idea of change and the action of change and the general notion of "just experiencing" things has brought a whole new dimension that I really didn't think about and was possibly avoiding for what I thought was good reasoning. 
These changes will be permanent.  This means my socialization and day to day interactions will change.  The fact is, most socialization that I have known, takes place around food and alcohol.  If I am only drinking let's say 1x a month and eating  a mostly vegan and raw diet, who is gonna want to hang out with me? Will I ever be as fun as I once was years ago? I definitely learned i was using alcohol to numb my emotions and just get by without really feeling much. Sounds so nasty to say and it really sucks. I got wrapped up in just coasting through my days and forgot about what really brings me joy. No más!  I will keep digging my new path this February and let you know how this socialization things goes.
One night I found myself pretty down and feeling angry but couldn't pinpoint it so I went down to the bathroom and sat and cried until I could talk and figure it out. RESULT- these 5 videos of Bathroom Talk. :) I realized I have been cooping up my emotions, which is not new. I have done it since a child. I had really worked on my communication skills the past 15 years and thought I had things under control. NOPE! I mention these emotions and the idea of holding them within and not releasing because I know it has contributed to where I am at spiritually too. I was feeling stagnant and life was mundane believe it or not! I was quickly moving through my days. I had started to meditate about a year ago and started seeking out change then fell off the bandwagon when my sister was also diagnosed with breast cancer. I probably should have really continued it at that point in time but was not disciplined enough.
As I re-embark on my mediation and self-help journey I am finding that these emotions are a good thing and we can use them as markers on where we are in our spiritual journey. I am learning.  When I say spiritual, I am not a participant in organized religion and I do not declare any religion. I view my spirit as my love and connection to the world and use this to help guide my way. That is what God is to me. I always felt shy about discussing spirit, but now I feel a very strong pull to keep it the absolute leading force in my life. If that is to happen, I must pay attention to it and discuss it sometimes.  I am now understanding more about how ego pops up EVERY DAMN DAY and tries to sabotage us! SO I invited my ego to meditate WITH me instead of just telling it to shut off for the time being. If I am gonna experience it, I thought my ego should too! :) This part of my journey has pretty much taken over and I will update you on how I am doing at a later date. Just know I am in the works and probably will be for a while in regards to this topic.
So this leads me to a couple things that have been manifesting and festering within me that i discovered that night in the bathroom. :)  The anger that I have inside of me that has been sparked from this journey. I am not mad at cancer or mad at God. Quite the opposite really.  BUT, I am angry about what exists and does not exist in the world as far as information for people AND particular protocols from the world of conventional medicine in regards to caring for human beings. I also feel sick in the stomach and IRATE with the  politics and business of MONEY that resides around pharmaceuticals and insurance and doctors and hospitals.  What do I mean? I could look at the world of medicine and feel negative because they did not give ME the option that I was looking for. I could. However, I know they are practicing what they have been schooled in, medicine is very methodical?
 I guess I should not expect a doctor to think outside the box of what they have been taught. Just like I should not expect everyone to follow my lead on natural healing.  Just like I should not expect that a person with a disease should not be expected to think about alternative solutions to heal themselves as prescribed by their doctors? As I embarked on my own healing breast cancer journey naturally, I was definitely going against the grain. I met with 3 doctors. They all told me to get surgery. Pretty hard to stomach and then walk out feeling confident about your decision. To be completely honest, it is YOU all reading this and asking me questions and cheering me on and lending your support and love that has really kept me going. So thank you. I know this was by choice. I knew it would be hard. But I have to get through it day by day and feel it too. I am really focusing on the positives. So as angry as I might feel, It is also put me in a "state of emergency" to help others.  It is an emergency and it is urgent.  People need information so they can make informed decisions. They need to be told the truth. They need to be told the consequences. This is so much bigger than you or I could ever dream. It will take a mass number of people to make change. Yes we can do it a little bit at a time. But collectively, for example, what would our state of health and the idea of health insurance look like if we could choose a company based on what type of medicine we decide is best for us?  There is no insurance that covers the western or traditional medicines, only conventional. What would the world look and feel like if we ALL demanded our products be toxin free? I will tell you, we would ALL be in a healthier state. GUARANTEED. Wonder if I put out a Documentary and Book that informed people on a 3rd option that involved no surgery or drugs? AND it works??  Just stirring the pot. Get your braincells churning.  :)
Lastly, I must get something off my chest, no pun intended.:) As you know my sister was also diagnosed with Breast Cancer this year.  Sigh. We all just rallied together and "got it done". Meaning, my sister took the bull by the horns and tackled her own breast cancer with a Double Mastectomy and reconstruction. Family and Friends helped out with the kids, meals, love, support, car rides, etc. That 's just what you do. When we found out I also had breast cancer this year and decided to take the "a la naturál" route, I couldn't help to wonder what she was thinking and HOW it made her feel.  I suppose I should have just asked. I told you, I am in the works and learning. :)  My sister and I lead 2 very different lives and have different circumstances.  I support and believe in her decision no matter what. I think this has been a heavy weight on my heart, BUT it has pushed me to really investigate what I am doing.
Remember I told you i was in my bathroom one night because I needed to figure out why I was feeling so bad? This was it.  This was the heavy load I chose to carry for no reason. Remember i am learning. BUT in that learning process, great things are developing. I have been shocked at the core and my spirit was so riled up from all those past years that it has put me in fighter mode. I consider myself about 1/3 through my journey. I am giving myself a year to get my self and my spirit in alignment with my true destiny. It's a tall order and I am also getting 2 sides of love and happiness with that order! Til' next time.. Namaste and thx for caring! - Tami xo

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1/24/2016

Fear and the flying trapeze

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End of Detox- End of January 2016- End of Fear- Week 18
Today was fun. I experienced Flying Trapeze with kids, well mostly kids. 3 other adults and 6 kids between 7-13years I would guess. As you know I have also been doing lots of soul-searching in my breast cancer journey. One of the things I wanted to work on was being fearful. I always thought of myself as not fearful, but as the past months have gone by, I realize I have been riding on fumes the past handful of years. I have clutched onto things in lieu of fear. The fear of FEELING fear was terrifying. Before my 2nd swing today, I asked the professional if she still gets the "roller coaster stomach drop " when she swings. She said "no, only when I try something new". AHA moment. There were many parallels with today's experience and LIFE. 

When I arrived, I saw nothing but kids and thought oh this should be fun. As I walked to the waiting area where everyone was belting up they were all picking which "number" they wanted to be. They all giggled and were oohing and awing as each of them signed up for a number. When it was my turn I could select 1, 4 or 6. (those were the only spots left) Which one do you think I picked?  1 of course! Hello! This is Tami! :)  They all giggled and gasped and eyes wide as I said wish me luck, I've never done this before. ( I later found out it was everyone's first experience at flying trapeze).  We got the rules and breakdown of what we were supposed to do when it was our turn to swing. We gathered around and chalked up our hands.

I started climbing the ladder which was the first big feat, the room got a little silent. The pressure was on to be brave in front of the kids. I won't lie, when I got up there I had about 1 second where I wanted to turn around, but going back down the ladder seemed worse.  If you have never had a flying trapeze experience, in order to "mount the bar" before you swing you have to grab one side, then let go and put your other hand on the bar and lean forward over the ledge as the instructor holds you with a harness before you make the swing.  You definitely have to put trust in someone else with your life. Trusting they will hold you up as you take the dive and try something new.

I got the stomach drop, butterflies, breathe cut off, and eyes closed the 1st 2 swings. You had to learn the cues and then LISTEN to the instructor on the microphone so you knew WHEN to " knees up" ,"legs through", " hands over head", "catch hands", "legs out", swing legs forward-back-forward", "tuck and spin". Each time we would all cheer and clap and high 5 and say good job! One little girl was getting frustrated on how to get her legs through so she could swing upside down. She asked me, " how do you do this?", " was it scary?". I said yes it was a bit scary but you just focus and go for it and visualize yourself doing it from start to finish. Her friend chimed in with, " you just gotta believe in yourself". GOOD GIRL! I wanted to give her a Fly Girl shirt for a prize since she answered that way, it was great!

So we got to the last round, ROUND 5. They selected 4 of us to try the CATCH. I was first again.  All eyes were wide and it was SUPER SILENT as I climbed the ladder.  I talked to myself the whole way up. All I had to do is do the patterned Swing that I had mastered after 4 swings, then extend my arms and trust and believe that the other instructor (who was perched on a shorter swing on the other side of the net) would reach out and grab my arms in mid swing and that it would work.   Well I will let you watch my video to see what happened.....
AS I left today, I felt very elated and happy that I tried something new. Something that put a little fear in my body and I was able to do it. I was able to progress. I was able to finish the established task that the instructors had demonstrated. It never felt TOO hard. It never felt TOO terrifying. It was a good lesson in just getting out and doing it. I had told one of the little girls who kept asking if it was scary and what would happen if they didn't catch me, " just think of the worse case scenario, you drop and the net catches you".  As I think back to all in my life that has happened, I have had a net every single time. Every thing has eventually worked itself out. No need to be fearful. Our minds take over and then we become fearful when there is no reason.

When I got home, for some reason I had the urge to dig up an old  poem book that I made in 1999. I was smart then. :) I thought I had it together, then LIFE kicked in. How could I have gone from writing these poems (below) to letting FEAR creep in and dictate certain parts of my life? There was a mom who participated today with her 2 kids.  Her kids were pretty full of energy and VERY rambunctious and you could tell the mom was just worn down from mommyhood. I noticed that as she took her swings she commented on how she didn't think she was STRONG enough to get her legs through the bar to swing upside down. It made me think about how as kids we can be SO #fearless and just put ourselves out there and then as we grow older and LIFE grows on us somehow our BRAVERY and SELF-WORTH and SELF- ESTEEM and SELF-CAPABILITIES get brushed under the rug. All we have to do is remember and believe.

I wanted to share 3 of the poems specifically in my book. They just seemed applicable for my journey right now.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for being part of my Journey. TAMI xo
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1/23/2016

the daily routine...

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JANUARY Weeks 15-16-17
I officially started my 20 day Whole Body cleanse on Sunday January 3rd and just for the heck of it I added a Parasite cleanse that I started Monday January 4th. (no nothing weird has come out) I drug my feet for 10 weeks and finally decided to do a January Detox regimen. I thought it might be easiest to be successful and accomplish since others will likely have similar tasks because of their resolutions and it allowed me to enjoy the holidays without overdoing it, which seems to be one of my past theme songs. I did tons of research on what cleanses and when and why and basically there were alot! I did not meet with an herbalist and I did not do the herb steams at the ayurvedic place on Devon.  I had reached out to the couple that runs the this store http://ehcafe.com/about/ . I have been going there for a couple years and it is awesome! I was doing the JUICE cleanses 3x a year.  I knew they would have some good natural advice since they have nutrition and herbalism backgrounds. If you are ever in the Ravenswood area in Chicago, go there and try a smoothie! They don't mess around, no fillers, all raw, all fresh, all organic, all the time, they never deviate.

So Earth's Healing turned me on to this guy....
https://djehutymaatraherbs.com/full-body-detox  who was suppose to have the MAC daddy of all cleanses.  I am doing his WHOLE Body cleanse.  I figured I should hit all the organs and insides, no shortcuts. Yes you can consume food, but only a raw diet. No meat, dairy, or processed food. My diet has been slowly morphing into an all raw diet over the past 10 years so this cleanse and stricter eating regimen was right up my alley.  I was able to lay out my daily food and drink and herb supplement plan.  

Here is what one of my days currently look like...

10am- 1 glass filtered water w/lemon 
Blood cleanse- 5 herb capsules
Dr. Hulda Carke's Parasite cleanse
Black Walnut- (liquid form -quantity  varied day to day)
Wormwood- (any where from 1-7 capsules- varied day to day)
Clove- (any where from 1-3 capsules- varied day to day)
COFFEE ENEMA ( 3x week) ( yeah fun times)
Morning Meditation
Apply Beauty Face and Body oils w/ Essential Oils
Fill up Desk Diffuser with Essential Oil mix

12pm- 1 glass filtered water w/lemon
Heart and Circulation cleanse- 5 herb capsules
Green juiced Drink

2pm- 1 glass filtered water w/lemon
Hepatic (liver) cleanse- 5 herb capsules
Clove- (any where from 1-3 capsules- varied day to day)
Trail mix with nuts and seeds and berries
Green Tea or Matcha or Essiac
Trampoline Workout
4pm- 1 glass filtered water w/lemon
Lung and Respiratory- 5 herb capsules
Spring Mix salad with carrots, pecans, cranberries, chia & sesame seeds, green onions, black beans, lime vinaigrette
6pm- 1 glass filtered water w/lemon
Kidney and Galbladder- 5 herb capsules
Clove- (any where from 1-3 capsules- varied day to day)
Veggie Bowl lightly stir fried ( Broccoli, Peppers, Shitake Mushrooms, Onion, Zuchinni
Evening Meditation
Detox Tea
8pm- 1 glass filtered water w/lemon
Colon cleanse
Banana Dessert ( blend with Cacau powder and sprinkle w/Cacau nibs for crunch)
Hot Detox Salt Bath or Shower ( scrub if showering)
Read book
Coconut Shell Charcoal water shot before bedtime
Fill up Bed Diffuser with Essential Oil mix
What Drink do You have in your hands? If you are NEW to JUICING or making Smoothies and just got a juicer OR blender for the holidays try starting with these simple  recipes...

for the JUICER
1 apple
1 lemon
chunk of ginger root
and whatever GREENS you have in the fridge ( i do a mix of broccoli, bok choy, spinach, cilantro,etc)
then a sprinkle of Cayenne Pepper and you can officially say you are drinking a DETOX Green Juice!

for the Blender

handful of spinach
sliced up banana
handful of berries
small palm full of nuts (raw cashews or raw almonds)
or some seeds (chia, sesame, pumpkin, sunflower)
veggie protein powder (if you really wanna protein it up)
1/2 cup of filtered water if desired

note: i freeze my fruits so the smoothie is kinda cold!
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note: you can soak your nuts and seeds overnight to bring out the nutrients!
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As you can see, this is a full time job! Precisely WHY I am working from home this January. I was slowly preparing for this the month of November and December. The only gifts I asked for the holidays... Whole Foods Gift certificate, baby! And that is precisely what I got! Thx Fam!  It just made life easier to be able to get my veggies 2x a week so they would stay fresh.  I now don't waste any fruits or veggies cuz they can always go in the juicer! It's awesome! 

Some interesting tips and side notes for you all!  

Cancer likes sugar. Sugar is the #1 item anyone will tell you to stop consuming. Does it mean 100%? No, you can still eat minimal fruits. The idea is to keep your Glycemic levels really low to help kill off the cancer cells. That is why there are such diets as the Budwig , Keto and Gersen diets that people follow.  I still like to follow the Tami-diet :) which is... fresh is best, green is good, protein it up, fruit for dessert, all other food only consume once in a while. :)

Olive oil is what you should use for salad dressing NOT to cook with! Cook with Coconut or Grapeseed oils. ( reason: they can withstand a hot cooking temperature and won't become carcinogenic) 

If you are not eating meat, you should eat a sh++load of seeds for protein.

Consume Nuts for healthy omega fats.

Good idea to include a fermented product ( i do sauerkraut) for a healthy gut or a Probiotic. My Natrapath suggested this one... ​http://www.shopraby.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=probiomax

Cruciferous veggies ( the leafy ones) are what you want to mainly eat.

When you are shopping at the store you want ALL non-fresh items to have the label NON-GMO and USDA  and ORGANIC no questions asked! Why not try the farmers markets instead of the grocery store? Support local!

If you consume meat, you want GRASS-FED.

AND of course remember you want your water FILTERED in glass, ceramic or stainless steel drinking items.

this is my refrigerator list so whoever enters the kitchen knows what's up!

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Thanks for joining me in my healing breast cancer journey. Things are going well and I feel really optimistic with all the changes and new routines I have implemented. I am now out of the starting gate and ready to tackle even more! It feels good to take care of myself and know that I am doing "all the right things".  The REAL test will be making all these changes and instituting them for the REST OF MY LIFE.  At this point in the game, I feel it is REALLY POSSIBLE. I don't feel like I wanna deviate. ALL this research has really opened my eyes and shed light on where we have evolved this world and what we need to do to fix it so we can protect ourselves from disease and protect our children and the future generations. It IS possible. I am often thinking of "how my grandmother grew up" and I really wish she was around to school me again on WHAT their day to day life consisted of.... Even though electronics seem to be the evil of alot of health issues and stress, I believe we CAN use our knowledge and technology to help us GET BACK to what WAS working.  FOOD really can be our medicine. We have just altered it SO MUCH that our bodies don't know how to react and they are now toxic.  When you think about it, all we really need it Shelter, Food, Water and Fire to survive. WE have all these material things and get consumed with all that is out there, and we forget what we really NEED to be happy and healthy. My huge shoe collection sure is cute BUT at the end of the day it does not make me healthy and happy. So let's CHEERS our GREEN DRINKS to a new future that is less toxic because WE all helped us get back there as a nation!

Tami - xo

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1/20/2016

i like packages!

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DECEMBER  Weeks 11-12-13-14
SO I probably really annoyed the mailman in December. Besides the online shopping I did for the holidays, I was ordering ALL that i could find that I thought was gonna help me in my breast cancer journey. The picture to the right was a DAILY, yes DAILY occurrence at the house. Every day the bell would ring and it was either USPS, UPS or FEDEX. It was awesome! It got pretty ridiculous. To the point I would forget WHAT I ordered. BUT the excitement was still there EVERY single time! Now I know I LOOOOVE surprises! I was able to give myself the gift of surprise every day ( except sundays) I can't say I have had many surprises in life, it was nice to add that element. I am still getting packages but they are not breaking the back of the mailman now. I only get a couple packages a week now.  You have to remember, I cannot buy what MANY stores provide. They all have TOXIC elements to them. Every time I now need to replenish something, I research it online and find the most NON-TOXIC version and order it! OR I order the ingredients online so I can make it!  IF I feel I really need it asap I go to Whole Foods. My boyfriend joked that I will likely never step inside a brick and mortar. He's probably right. At least not until the world and we the CONSUMERS can change our habits so the DEMAND changes what the Producers are trying to sell us.  
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All I can say regarding my online buying habit is... "no amount of money is too much to try something that might work and is a healthier option for me". I have a sh++load of notes to still go through and see if I have forgotten anything. They are sprawled across my office floor so I can sift through them daily. (picture to the left) After my profuse note taking skills were zapped, I googled everything. I read WHY I should take or do something. I researched WHERE I could get it. I then looked to see IF what that site was selling WAS the real deal. It was time consuming BUT now I know.

I do this each and every time now when I buy something NEW. Hopefully over time I will develop my staple BUYS and this will become less of an ordeal.  You already know my 1st buys, the Berkey Water Filter and the Austin AIR Purifier. They are both GREAT and continue to use them! You also know I joined THRIVE and made my 1st order that contained mostly toiletries, spices, and some random buys.  I have NOT placed a 2nd order because luckily I don't need anything yet. However, I plan to research WHERE I can buy cheaper bulk raw NUTS and SEEDS and ESSENTIAL OILS in the future. I get them at Whole Foods right now and we all know Whole Foods is expensive. I AM currently buying ALL of my ORGANIC veggies and fruits at Whole Foods. I plan to research Farmers Markets in my area and also look into the Produce delivery from local gardens. Just haven't gotten there yet.  I have now also started some DIY items. I started to make my own hand soap, dishwasher soap, laundry soap, multi-purpose cleaner and floor cleaner. The best one was the multi-purpose cleaner. I am not spreading the Gnewz on ANY recipes until I have mastered them and think they ARE THE BEST! I gotta say the dishwasher soap was a struggle, my stuff looks hazy and I have to run it 2x.  I will get there eventually!

As I researched non-toxic products to buy , I then knew I had to decide on what I was gonna do for my DETOX in January. I will share that with you in my next blog. I then started reading about all the different supplements that were possible for me to take and why. I ended up with these....

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I wanted to detox 1st and then start taking these supplements.  I figured if I took them during my detox, they would probably not get absorbed in my system and I would just be wasting them. These I will likely start in February! The big kicker is I can't even remember WHY I should be taking these supplements (to the left) so I need to re-google and research them so I know what I am doing. BUT I know they are good for me! :) I also met with a Naturopath and she was great! I recommend her to anybody! She REALLY knew her stuff!.  Dr. Chavez at the Raby Institute!  I felt like a million bucks after I left. Why? Because as we went through her list of "what I should be doing", I was already doing a majority! I felt like a rockstar! My food and exercise habits paid off big time! She was also able to read my extensive Blood tests from the Block Center and advise me on what food to focus on and what additional supplements I should add. It was the purrfect match! I was pretty normal according to her with some minor tweaks. Not the typical blood test for a cancer patient, perhaps it was going away?!
I started to dig into non-toxic clothing.......

NOT good! BUT something to strive for as I build my a Fly Girl clothing line. Turns out MOST clothes are made with toxic fabrics... sigh. I made some purchases and to be honest, have not found a particular company that I love. I ordered a handful of basic items... the worst offender was a SMALL pair of panties I ordered. Well they ended up way too big and looked like major granny panties ( no offense if you are a grandma) My boyfriend said "well they have lace on the top". Thx! We will see how you like them when I wear them for my pajamas every night! I have again ravaged my closets and am trying to re-stock with healthier clothes. This is a really hard one right now. The 2 brands I wore the most Adidas and Nike were on the "most-toxic" list. I felt really defeated. I was pissed. I had a really bad day and felt so crappy I threw out all of my sport bras. Which was alot! Remember I am a Trainer so that is what I wear every day. Well I also learned the ladies should not be wearing bras for extended periods of time. Double sigh. WTH? Was I suppose to walk around all flippity floppedy? This is a simple article I found that can sum up what to look for BUT the question still remains, well where can I buy Stylish non-toxic clothing. (with emphasis on stylish- that seems to be the main problem)

This brings me to armpits and toiletries  and cosmetics.... MORE getting used to items.  The smells around the house and on ME were gone! I could no longer use my dove deodorant that I love so much and I can use NOTHING with FRAGRANCE in the ingredients. Double sigh. SO! in bougy-tami style you know I found makeups and parfum that I could use asap! I am still finishing up some of my JUICE beauty products (couldn't get myself to throw them out PLUS they are organic and not  bad for ya)- BUT as far as a beauty regimen I have been using just oils on my skin. Usually a base oil like Jojoba or Almond with some Essential oils mixed in.  I found THIS beauty oil which I love and it's cheap!  https://djehutymaatraherbs.com/beauty-oil 

REALLY happy with these buys ladies....
http://www.100percentpure.com/  for my some new makeup AND for my new parfum... http://www.eccobella.com/parfums/
I am still going to do more research on what to buy and I will even dig into some DIY recipes for body lotions and some cosmetics. And yes after I use up those pretty Eco Bella parfums I will keep the bottles and start to make my own parfums with Essential oils!
My most recent buy was for hair care. I bought this product http://shop.morroccomethod.com/ .  I am in the middle of deciding what to do with my hair. I went Platinum a couple years ago and am starting to grow it out... guess what... hair color is toxic too... triple sigh. I will gradually get some browns back in there, I am struggling with what to do and will likely use regular dye at least one more time so I can blend my hair and so I don't look like Nikki Minaj's color part. That would be a nice picture, my hair halfway grown out and the top 1/2 is brown and the bottom half platinum... hmm!  So long story even longer, I have done some research and purchases and will keep you updated when I FIND the ones I think are BEST!

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In conclusion, I STRONGLY suggest you  browse through this site when you have time... ​http://www.ewg.org/ . It is a great site to understand your job as a CONSUMER and what you are getting yourself into with your purchases.  We are bombarded by nothing but chemicals EVERY DAY in almost EVERYTHING. It's really scary to think about. We must take measures to protect ourselves and DEMAND safer products and ingredients. My BEST advice would be just to start READING any and all labels for everything you purchase. Even if you don't know what everything is , at least you will be more aware. 

Thx for reading and caring! Til next time... xo  Tami
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1/17/2016

we must be fearless...

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As I journey through my natural breast cancer healing I have come across MANY emotions and thoughts. It's kinda like a floodgate and they all pile up and start overflowing. There are good days and bad days. There are happy days and depressing days. Just like any other time in your life where we all experience emotion whether it be love, anger, elation, pride, frustration, agitation, strength, weakness, vulnerability, heart-pounding joy, and the list goes on. I can recall a few very vivd moments when my emotions felt amplified and micro-scoped. While researching all I could and piling mounds upon mounds of information in my head, I found myself feeling explosive. Like I could not cram any more into my head. I was forgetting little things that I never forget. I felt so explosive I did not know how to handle what I was feeling. It was foreign to me and it felt crappy. One day I was in full-work mode at one of the gyms trying to get "things done" and every turn there was something that was slowing me down and I was getting REALLY frustrated. 
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People were asking me questions and I just couldn't seem to concentrate on the tasks at hand or get anything productive accomplished. So frustrated that I had to leave before I let out a scream just to release. I realize now that this was part of the process. Just as I tell my Depaul students it's about getting rid of the old negative stuff and bad habits/patterns so you have room for the new positive good habits and things that bring you joy and fulfillment.  YES this was a TEST and I had to eat my words and walk the talk. Just like a cluttered closet you have to get rid of things so you have room for new stuff, right? The problem is letting go of the old because...... we might need it again? we will miss it? we paid all that money for it? We just can't seem to let go of things sometimes.  

From this I developed my first legit cancer-fighting motto "let it go" and " detox your life". I even developed some phrasing for a Fly Girl  and made a retractable banner with these words.​ (up above) I am a big advocate in surrounding yourself with what you want to be, in the environments that help you be that, and around the people that can also help you develop into that intention or vision. I believe this is a great tool to help you achieve change. Change can be very challenging. We all will go through changes throughout our lifetime. Which brings me to the word  "fear".  I have always believed that this "fear" is what holds us back, what makes us do or believe certain things, why we sometimes stay in our safe zone, why we might have insecurities, and why we might have racist or judgmental qualities. We act out of fear sometimes and it can be a pretty ugly picture and it can be very self deprecating.

My NEW improved MOTTO...
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My 2 BIGGEST Challenges in this journey are surprisingly NOT the Cancer. I find myself back in the saddle doing an abundance of self-work again! I guess we always feel we have it figured out, then nope, you get a big swift kick in the a++ with something else that needs to be resolved or experienced in your life in order for you to move forward. My 2 biggies: FEAR- Reacting out of Fear or NOT acting because of Fear, LETTING GO of all that exists in your Life to let CHANGE happen. Let me be more explicit. Let's address Letting Go. The opposite, holding on, controlling, manipulating, not allowing, keeping at arms length, are all actions that were present in my life. YUCK! Whether it was me putting restrictions on my own self, other people, or in relationships. GROSS! Who wants RULES and REGULATIONS on how you should be , talk, act, do, give, receive, feel? Gosh I feel like the lifetime movie Stepford Wives and I am not even a wife! AND the worst part.. I did it to myself! No one did it to me! I feel kinda sheepish... baaah. :) Time I had a talk with myself and tell myself the real deal. Get straight to the point with no sugar coating.  YOU are your own worst enemy Tami. BUT, I forgive you and let's learn, heal, and move forward.  xo :) thx Tami, love you too. SEE! That's all you have to do! Talk to yourself! :) I have been doing it for years! In my head, not out loud. I think I will start doing it out loud, maybe that will help it sink in better. On the realz, letting go is challenging for some, I knew it was there but did not know how to  "fix it".  I am really hoping that out of this whole process and my new adventures, these 2 things, Letting GO, and battling Fear will just go away, along with the cancer.  As I experience more Ayurvedic sessions, approach meditation, create ZEN in my home, create my new daily routine, I find my MIND changing and adapting to NEW healthy ways for my SOUL that just seem to automatically help the past negatives disappear. I am blowing in the wind and one by one this monsoon is blowing away the wreckage and they are no longer part of me.  So enlightening and freeing and helpful for my Life. 


As I analyze my own self and my own habits and reactions I now realize in certain areas of my life I let FEAR sway me. It could be a little fear or a big fear and it could also be a FAKE fear. Fake meaning I look at it now and ask myself " why did i do that? or react that way? or why didn't I speak up? or why did I not just try to do that? why did i procrastinate?" and really the list goes on and on for me.... Fear for losing what? Fear of being what? Fear of people thinking what? I would like to quote Katt Williams and say my new motto is like IF you were gonna take a hit from a joint and you get high and you have an attitude that feels like...  "fu++ it!". So what! Who cares! Well I care. BUT why? If I was truly in touch with my spirit I think I would have known better. I think I would have been able to put on a smile and go ahead with the things that really gave me joy and happiness and laughter, no matter what. I would have been able to be in this material world and been able to move down my TRUE path.  Well no more! I AM working on it and coincidentally the "I AM" is part of the resolution. Look up different forms of meditation and read about the I  AM and maybe this will start to make sense. The " I AM" is a whole other subject that has lots of sentiment and is a tool to help people CHANGE and grow and be confident and set intentions to what and where they want to be.  We act out of fear so we need to FEAR LESS and be FEARLESS. FEAR holds us back and does not allow us to live our lives completely and fully. FEAR can paralyze us. FEAR can hinder us. FEAR makes us act out unnecessary judgements. FEAR  is NOT my friend right now BUT I will walk side by side with FEAR so I can move out of FEAR. Friends with the Enemy, right? Maybe a passive aggressive way to deal, but hey, gotta do what ya gotta do. 

So namaste Friends, I have some fears to go battle.  I shall return!

​Tami xo


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1/12/2016

detoxing my life.... filling the void

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a continuance on my breast cancer natural healing mission

NOVEMBER- Weeks 7-8-9-10

As I started to declutter my house, my closets, and my pantry, my soul started to shake a bit. I became weepy at a moments notice. I swear my spirit was beginning to detox. I was having all sorts of "aha moments" about relationships both past and current, both family and friends. I was seeing clarity in relationships. I was seeing things I wanted to be different in relationships. I was seeing my downfalls and contributions to NOT having success in GREAT relationships with really most people in my life.  I feel like I have been on auto-pilot the past 10 years. I have been pretty numb to just about everything and just getting through each day. THIS was a problem for me and I did NOT like it! The feeling of feeling "UN-fulfilled" when I have so much to be grateful for baffled me.  I am writing this blog on week 16 so I am looking back a bit and still figuring everything out.  I will say this " I am in the Works".  I always have been on a mission to be the best version of me and to be happy.  I have never felt "there" yet. I am learning slowly but surely to enjoy the process and that "there" is "here and now". What can I say? I am a product of life today? I hope to drastically CHANGE this part of me. To be honest, I think THIS is the hardest part of ALL the parts about detoxing your life and filling yourself back up with goodness.  The Soul is definitely a part of all of us and separate of our physical body that seems to take charge all the time. I think I will sit down and have a talk with my body today.  Inspired by my hip-hop ness and the Geto Boys, "My Minds Playin' Tricks on ME"! AHA moment. Hello- this is exactly WHY I started a Fly Girl.  Full Circle Moment. I am using my own product. Gee who would have thought I needed encouragement or support or a pick me up? :) Could this part of me be the connection to feeling fulfilled and moving forward with my passion and dreams in a way I never dreamed about? (stay tuned) browse this site if you have no idea what I am talking about. I started this BRAND about 3-4 years ago. It was a way for me to fuse my music, fitness, and fashion all together. Just like me, it is in the works. I am sure this journey will give me some directional points.

About a year ago I discovered the 21-day Oprah and Deepak Chopra Mediation series. LIKE them or start to read about it here... https://www.facebook.com/ChopraMeditation .  I have always been into reading self-help books, but this seemed like a quick day to day thing I could start to incorporate. I listened to "Manifesting True Success" for 21-days and was hooked!  Well, just like many, I became a bandwagon junkie. I would do it for a while, then fall off, then do it some more, then fall off.  NOW was the TIME to re-open that APP and listen to them again! 20 minutes  a day- in the morning is when I like these specific ones best. ALSO, when I am working from home on the computer I turn YouTube on and play a 6-hour meditation music video rather than just have the TV on in the background for company. These new sounds along with my NEW Essential oils ( which I will get to in another blog) seem to be having a very positive effect on my mood and temperament.  

As I journey through each day  it HAS to be approached " day to day" since there are really no instructions that are SIMPLISTIC on how to cure your own Cancer. It is multi-tiered, multi-layered, multiple emotions, many foods, daily devotions of fitness and meditation, many oils-herbs-supplements,  and for me a NEW WAY of THINKING. I have always been what I call an "A-holic". I have an addictive personality and when I like something I jump right in and usually overdo it. On multiple times in my life  I have shopped like a shop-a-holic, drank like an alcoholic, worked like a work-o-holic, and exercised like an exercise-a-holic. These were my vices along with watching the same movies over and over, listening to the same songs over and over, and eating the same snack foods over and over. I suppose that was what I was trying to fill myself up with all this time. Look where it got me. God works in mysterious ways. I get it now. I just hope I can keep my changes permanent and continue to dig deeper into a fulfilling life. 

I am definitely at a crossroads.  It feels very challenging to heal and change, then go out into the world that was knocking you down. My TOXIC radar is in full blast and I feel like I have my battle shield up. Whether it's food, house products, clothing, environments, people, or situations, it is easiest right now just to bow out and not participate until I feel stronger in my devotions and myself. 
It sucks. I don't want to live like a hermit, it is finding the ways to pave new roads to a new me.  I am trying NOT to overthink the future. Right? That's what I said, day by day! See I am already learning!

My investigations into Deepak Chopra and his  "message" lead me to an Ayurvedic Lifestyle. When you begin practicing an Ayurvedic lifestyle, what you are really doing is starting a journey of self-discovery, mindfulness, and awareness. With this, comes an improvement in your overall well-being and your spiritual growth. I am just in the beginner stages so I don't have many answers, but I do know it is helping. There are a small handful of centers in Chicago/land areas that I am "experiencing" and trying to get my feet grounded. For some you could say this is "my church" even though there is no building you go to, it is looking inside yourself. You are your own temple, right? I am currently learning about the doshas, using herbs and oils, meditation, yoga, and meeting with a healer. It is helping me get through my emotions, release, let go, just be, and know that everything is ok.  Dare I say I am becoming an Ayurvedic-aholic? :)  I know, I know, don't get your panties in  a bunch and think all these changes will make Tami boring. I always strive for balance and know that everyone has their own preferences, likes, beliefs, and own personal journey. I still want to kick is sometimes and drink my Biodynamic Cabernet and get tipsy. Point is, this is working for me and I wanted to share.

Check out my 1st Ayurvedic experience in this video!

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1/12/2016

DETOXING MY LIFE- taking out the trash...

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a continuance on my breast cancer natural healing mission......

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Week 5 & 6

Where do I start? After listening to all the videos and audiobooks and reading articles on the internet, I knew I had to DETOX  my life somehow , some way. I had no idea where to start BUT i knew I had a sh++load of items in the house that I should probably just throw away. I don't like to waste, I was always a "clear my plate" kinda gal when I would sit down and eat my meals. However, there was  a seed that was planted in me and I NEEDED to throw away this stuff in order to FEEL better. I scowered the house and came up with 5 full bags of items that included (but not limited to) cleaning supplies, toiletries, candles and all smell goods,  many PLASTIC items, cosmetics, perfume and body sprays, laundry and dish soap, non-stick cooking pans, and foods that contained sugar. Basically, if it was in "plastic", or contained "parabens" or "fragrance" or "sugar" it was in the trash bag. I am not even gonna give a list of the TOXIC ingredients that are NO-NO's because they are long and hard to pronounce and we are NOT gonna remember.
Ok. Now I had no way to clean my house. I went to Whole Foods and went down the small cleaning supply aisle and started to read the ingredients in each item. I noticed that Whole Foods put up what I call a "GREEN" -o-meter. It told you how GREEN the item was as far as environmental friendly. SO, I figured between picking the GREENest and the items with the MOST ingredients I could pronounce I settled for those items that day! I got home to restock my items and then started thinking about my diet. I knew what I needed to eliminate already. It took me the next 10 weeks to ween myself completely off alcohol, coffee, my boyfriends chips & crackers, and to decrease my sugar consumption. It was hard. They ALL were hard to stop doing. BUT, I think when your mind starts to shift, it becomes easier. I had other detoxing in my life to do and I knew it all was combined together and would eventually work itself out. 

I continued my readings and research every day. I was looking for answers and I found them. The MORE something was REPEATED, I knew I should be doing it. I had not even scratched the surface. I merely threw out some trash and had weeks and months of work ahead of me. Researching became my new full-time job along with my other jobs. I couldn't stop. My first 2 BIG purchases were an AIR Purifier and WATER Filter.  I dropped my first $700. Worth it! I use them ALL DAY EVERY DAY! 

 I bought the $200 Berkey Water Filter - they have lots of sizes and it is portable. 
http://www.berkeyfilters.com/?gclid=CNnInuLqpcoCFQymaQodUDoOgA

I will eventually upgrade to one of these... LIFE IONIZER or KANGEN - 2 BIG points about WHY I would want to purchase these:

1) I can use it via my sink so cleaning veggies and the house and drinking water is simplified and I am not depending on 4.5 gallons of water that need to be refilled.
2) These machines ALKALIZE your water. Read through the sites to understand. In a nutshell, we are ACIDIC because of all the things we consume daily. We need to balance our PH levels daily and this helps! 

http://www.lifeionizers.com/products/ionizers.html
http://www.enagic.com/shop/en/machines.html

WATCH THIS VIDEO AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHY I STARTED WITH WATER.


​I received my AIR purifier on WEEK 6 via USPS. Thanks Mail carrier I KNOW it was SUPER HEAVY!  I keep it in my bedroom since that is where I sleep 8-9hours right now each night. I had smaller ones before BUT this one ROCKS! Basically, the more you spend, the more it will do for you. I have 2 cats and have been getting allergies more and more the past 10 years so it is totally worth a peaceful and clean feeling nights sleep. I bought it because I feel like it is helping to maintain the CLEAN and non-toxic environment in my home that I am trying to now create. I bought this brand, AUSTIN,  and REALLY like it!    http://austinair.com/ It was not on the list of things you HAD to have for ALTERNATIVE healing it just seemed like a good idea and my sister was told to purchase one after her double mastectomy so her surgical healing process at home went smooth. So glad I did it. I don't think I have even turned it OFF since it arrived. (with the exception of rolling it into another room)  Weeks later I also researched air purifying plants and purchased a bunch! Not only are they pretty and make the house FEEL more natural and fresh, they are spreading GOODNESS! I started with a Peace Lily, Spider Plant, and Dracaena. Also, as a side note, I would like you to know that I bought roses and lillies from Jewel for Christmas Eve and used my FILTERED water in the vases. I have NEVER seen flowers bloom so FULL and stay for so long!  Just sayin, it might be the water. :) ALSO, we had my sisters' kids over for Christmas Eve and one of them has SEVERE allergies. I cleaned well and used my AIR purifier in the upstairs the 3 days prior to them coming and not even a sneeze or sniffle or red eyes! aha! PROOF! 
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1/11/2016

My breast cancer journey- the beginning

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On Wednesday September 16th  I was officially diagnosed with DCIS Breast Cancer.

If you don't know me, you might be wondering my age, i will say I don't look it... I am not bragging, it's just fact. I attribute it to having some pretty awesome genes (thanks mom and dad) and to the years I have spent leading a very active lifestyle AND slowly morphing my eating habits over time. ( I don't consider myself vegan, but i eat a Raw Diet most of the time) As a health & fitness professional, I can tell you without a doubt that 2 magic diet answers are NOT in the form of a pill, they are indeed fitness and food. ​(guess my age to the right and WIN! something from a Fly Girl store!)
Let's move on to the 2nd part of the 1st sentence, that I have been "diagnosed with DCIS  Breast Cancer".  Don't worry, I am ok. Yes it is the scary "C" word. It's a word that has much FEAR attached to it and I hope this documentation of my personal journey can HELP us ALL to NOT FEAR.

Breast Cancer is NOT a sudden occurrence but a process that has been developing over time. I am sure you are thinking "well how do you get it"? Excellent question!  According to the Mayo clinic "Cancer is caused by changes (mutations) to the DNA within cells. The DNA inside a cell is packaged into a large number of individual genes, each of which contains a set of instructions telling the cell what functions to perform, as well as how to grow and divide. Errors in the instructions can cause the cell to stop its normal function and may allow a cell to become cancerous." Remember the Angelina Jolie story about her having a radical double mastectomy because she carried the BRCA ( breast cancer) Gene? Turns out that is a VERY SMALL % of why a woman might get Breast Cancer. Turns out that even if you carry the BRCA gene there is a VERY SMALL % you will even get Breast Cancer in your lifetime. To explain, you CAN carry the BRCA gene BUT the gene has to some how be "turned on" or "change" for you to get cancer. I ended up having a BRCA test done since my sister was also diagnosed with Breast Cancer this year.  I remember them showing me a chart that is embedded permanently in my brain.  The  chart indicated that MAJORITY of WHY they think people get cancer is ENVIRONMENTAL.  I remember thinking "holy crap, i feel really dirty and toxic right now". Whatever I have been doing, did in my past, am currently doing, have all lead up to this moment  in time.  It was my 1st big "Aha moment" in this journey. FYI, both the BRCA tests for my sister and I came back NEGATIVE.  

Let's address the "DCIS" which stands for "Ductal Carcinoma In Situ". The definition, which I like, from  www.breastcancer.com is "the most common type of non-invasive breast cancer. Ductal means that the cancer starts inside the milk ducts, carcinoma refers to any cancer that begins in the skin or other tissues (including breast tissue) that cover or line the internal organs, and in situ means "in its original place." DCIS is called "non-invasive" because it hasn’t spread beyond the milk duct into any normal surrounding breast tissue. DCIS isn’t life-threatening, but having DCIS can increase the risk of developing an invasive breast cancer later on." I have been told that if you get breast cancer, this is the one you want.

Week 1
Let me give you a timeline so you can understand what happened.  In April of 2015 my sister was diagnosed with DCIS and within 3 weeks had a double mastectomy.  She has spent the past 9 months recovering. I will be more explicit on another blog about this topic.  My lovely mother kept asking me when I was gonna get my mammogram. Given the situation, my response, " i will do it, gonna wait until the end of the summer, cuz if I had it I don't wanna know now, let's just get Lisa better".
I was really thinking in my head "yeah right, whatever, there is no way".  So in September as promised I went to all my yearly appointments. I got a new gynecologist and we did all the possible tests you can get just to make sure I had a clean bill of health. All results good! Got my mammogram at a facility near my house and bam I was done!  Then I got a phone call. "Hi Miss Herbst you need to get another mammogram and you need to go downtown to the other facility where they have better equipment ". Ok. Not really thinking twice about it since I had pap smear redo's in the past cuz they said they didn't get enough tissue. I thought oh they just can't see the images clearly and wanna double check. I went in Tuesday September 15th 10am and had multiple X-rays, then sat in a waiting room with my hospital gown.  I did a 2nd round of X-rays  45 minutes later.  I did an ultrasound another 15 minutes later.  I did a biopsy that same day at 1:3opm. The doctor who performed the biopsy called me the next day and told me I had DCIS Breast Cancer and needed to meet with a Surgeon.

My brain was going 100mph and I was instinctively planning out my timeline in preparation for surgery so it fit MY Personal Schedule. I stayed up late nights googling DCIS and it's meaning and trying to find.... I don't know what. Just trying to understand DCIS, Cancer, Surgery options, and getting more explicit info from my Sister so I could compare and make some decisions regarding surgery.


2000
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2005
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2015
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2018
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Week 2 & 3
I met with 2 surgeons. I wanted a couple opinions.  The 1st Doctor said here is what you have and here are your 2 options. Lumpectomy with Radiation and Tamoxifen OR Mastectomy with or without breast reconstruction. I was given the % of the cancer returning for each of the options. I was told to get an MRI so they could try to determine IF there were other places in the breast that had this DCIS, but it might not give an accurate reading. I was told IF i selected the Mastectomy they MIGHT be able to preserve the nipples. I was told they would also be able to determine HOW MANY of the Lymph Nodes I would need removed DURING the surgery. THEN the next 20 minutes 3 different lovely ladies presented different research studies and they asked me if I would like to participate. (remember I am at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago and it is also a school too- Given that I am also a teacher I understood why they wanted to talk to me- my mother sat across the table getting more heated minute by minute, angry that this was not the time to discuss research:) I was then sent home with this book (to the right)  to make decisions?  The 2nd opinion surgeon had the same information BUT she definitely was leaning towards a decision that was more "breast preserving". ( ie: the lumpectomy)  I met with a genetic counselor and had the BRCA testing done. I also proceeded to have the MRI of both breasts. (fyi- both surgeons recommended the MRI since I have dense breasts meaning you have more non-fatty tissue vs. fatty tissue)

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 Week 4
My diligent mother was doing her own in depth research now that she had 2 daughters with breast cancer. She started sending me links to these Cancer videos. I drug my feet to watch, but once i started I was hooked. They were long. They were terse. They were informational. They were eye opening. Ironically, they came out only this October 2015. Destiny? I don't know.   There were 9 documentaries. Each documentary was about 90minutes.  The documentaries consisted of interviewing MANY physicians and health professionals and researchers within what insurance companies call  ALTERNATIVE medicine. Here is the link If you feel like checking it out... http://thetruthaboutcancer.com/ . I had lots of questions. I instantly became my own research assistant. I thought my computer time was too much already, I was now permanently glued to to my computer, my ipad, and my iphone. I took notes, then re-watched and took notes again. I researched ALL the people mentioned in the documentaries and came across Dr. Veronique Desaulniers  the "http://breastcancerconqueror.com/ ". I bought her audio book and listened to it 2 times. Then a 3rd time and took notes. I also came across this site http://www.americanaci.org/ and this guy Bob Wright author of  Killing Cancer- Not People . There was a definite theme that kept repeating. 1) Yes you can cure yourself naturally 2) Yes you should be detoxing your body, your household, your spirit  3) Yes you can use herbs and supplements 4) Yes you should be exercising and eating  mostly cruciferous vegetables right now 5) Yes you should include stress relieving regimens daily . 

Bam! My decision was made. I was going to cure my breast cancer naturally. It all made sense and seemed to Fit ME best considering my health & fitness background and spiritual beliefs. I began my mission and had no idea what was in store for me or WHO could essentially help me.  I went to a 3rd doctor to get another opinion, extensive blood tests, and to check out the option of "integrative" medicine at http://www.blockmd.com/ where I met with another author and doctor. I thought I could get some diet advice, and perhaps utilize some of their integrative services and have it be covered by insurance. I had informed them prior I was going to be healing naturally and I wanted some guidance. The Dr. opinion was Yes I needed surgery because my cancer results contained  "cribriform". I was told to contact his surgeon friend and line up a surgery in the next few weeks. The dietician in my opinion was very amateur and gave me very basic text book guidance. The therapist could see I was on my journey and felt my emotional and spiritual behaviors were A ok and told me to do a bit of meditation each day. After 20 vials of blood, I walked out of the center past patients receiving chemotherapy.  

I left feeling like sh++. I learned that "integrative" means using  "complementary  therapies that address the physical, nutritional, psychosocial, and spiritual aspects of healing" AFTER surgery. AND furthermore, NO these services are NOT covered by insurance. Just to be clear, "
Conventional medicine is a system in which medical doctors and other healthcare professionals (such as nurses, pharmacists, and therapists) treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery." I learned the definition of WHAT I was seeking to be "Traditional medicine which is the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness." After all my readings, my OPINION and simplistic dissection of differentiating the 2 are:  Conventional is based on the technical biological science that we study in schools, and Traditional is based on how particular segments of our population have repeatedly used natural elements to help heal the body. 

Time to get my brain straight and pump myself up for this journey ahead of me. I now saw it was gonna be a very tough and challenging one. I realized I was personally being challenged and my belief is it was happening for a reason. So in true Tami-style, I picked up the reigns and charged forward. No looking back to see if I made the right decision. No looking back and feeling sorry or regretful. No looking back and judging. 

My MRI also came back in week 4. I was told they found suspicious areas in the other breast and wanted me to come back for another Breast Biopsy. I made the decision to NOT have a 2nd Biopsy and to start my Alternative journey, which I will now officially start to call Natural Healing.  I declared this in my head so I can be strong in my decision and keep trudging through this quicksand.  I feel like ALTERNATIVE has perceptions of "it's not good", "it doesn't work", "it's quackery", "it's not necessary" AND the FACT that it is NOT covered by Health Insurance also SENDS THE PUBLIC MESSAGE to People that it is NOT good and NOT supported. According to WIKIpedia, "Alternative examples include new and 
traditional medicine practices such as homeopathy, naturopathy, chiropractic, energy medicine, various forms of acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, and Christian faith healing. The treatments are those that are not part of the science-based healthcare system." Thanks WIKIpedia!

I sat in front of my computer majorly PISSED OFF at the world of Insurance, the world of Peoples Perception, and the world of What Government Deems acceptable in regards to our Health Care. I was PISSED OFF that because I was CHOOSING my declared
3rd Option  (that is what I am now also officially calling it) that did not include surgery or drugs, Insurance would not pay for my choice. I felt penalized. I felt let down. I felt ripped off. I felt deceived. NOT the feelings I was going for BUT necessary to provoke CHANGE. It catapulted me into a solid Natural Healing mode and I have not stopped since.


Thanks for reading!

Tami
xo

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1/1/2016

Coffee & thrive....

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    Tami xo
    It's a long story.
    I have documented parts of my Cancer Journey starting in November 2015.
    ​Thx for reading.

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