You Don't Have To Suffer

The numbers are staggering. More than 2.5 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Many of them are under the age of 50. And even more are unable to buy the medications required to allow them any semblance of 'normalcy'. Add to that that the medical community has no idea what causes it, and subsequently, no "cure", AND that the drugs being used to treat the symptoms are nasty, biochemicals...well, it's a pretty dismal situation.

But there is hope. There are ways to ease the pain of this crippling imbalance, and actually 'cure' it. Oh yes there are. When the first doctor made his claim that I 'had' RA, I shook my head and refused his diagnosis. I was far too healthy, agile, athletic and aware of my body to have such a thing. Besides, RA doesn't just appear overnight. It's a progressive dis-ease; one that shows itself little by little. So, I just wasn't buying it. He also said that while there was no cure, there were drugs I could take that would give me back my mobility. Then, he spent the next 20 minutes telling me all the 'possible' side affects. As I listened to him, all I could hear in my head was "blah blah blah blah blah". I guess I had a little sneer on my face, because he finally asked why I was looking at him "that way". I told him I thought it was hilarious that they don't know what causes it, they don't have a cure, yet they have drugs for it? Want to explain that to me?

I left his office with a deep conviction that I would rid my body of whatever it was that had caused the imbalance. I understand the dynamics of dis-ease. To me, that's what all maladies are: a DIS-ease. An imbalance. A blockage of Life Force Energy. Period. With this tenacity, I set out to find some answers.

It didn't take long to realize that when you even uttered the words, people would get this horrified look on their faces. "Oh, you poor thing." My sister, who is a Molecular Biologist, looked at me as if I'd said I had a rare form of cancer. I could see the fear and the pity on her face and it made me even more determined to 'fix' whatever it was. I refused to say the words "I have RA" because I know that my body is directly affected by my thoughts. Thus began my quest.

The first thing I did was to find books on self-healing. I read tons of books, ranging from Deepak Chopra to Wayne Dyer to Esther & Jerry Hicks. I read about The Sedona Method and Eastern Healing, and Meditation. I changed my diet, which was a pretty healthy one to begin with, but eliminated dairy, meat and wheat products. All that resulted in was huge weight and energy loss, neither of which I could 'afford'. I was already slender to begin with, so when I dropped from 128 to 106, I looked like an anorexic. Horrible! The pain increased and my Spirit took a beating. Stopped all that nonsense, returned to my normal diet, and began meditations. Twice a day for 30 minutes, I'd lie on my bed with headphones on and breathe. Just deep breathing and a quieting of my busy brain. It helped tremendously. And then...

One day, while lounging with the TV, I found a program on PBS with a man named Lee Holden. He was doing something called Qi Gong. As I watched and listened, I became utterly relaxed and there were all sorts of tingles running through my body. And all the while, I was lying on the couch! I'd already become quite tuned in to my body's signals, so I got up and went to the computer to look him up. Found his website and immediately ordered 2 of his videos. One for "Healthy Bones & Joints", the other for "The Flow...Qi Gong for Beginners".

When the DVDs arrived, I was so excited, I stopped what I was doing and popped one in. I was having a less than fluid day (physically) but was quite determined to give it a try. If just watching him could cause my body to relax, then DOING the movements must surely be even better!

I was not disappointed. Mid-way through the video, I could feel all sorts of tingling and buzzing and ease of movement in my whole body. There were a few movements that I didn't do quite as fluidly as I wanted, but I didn't let it stop me. I just kept doing the best I could, breathing and flowing with his gentle voice and the soothing music. He'd recorded the videos on Lake Tahoe (Yes, "ON", as in..he was standing on a large, flat rock in the water. AWESOME!), and it happened to be a place I'd stood myself. So, I was "there" with him, as he guided me through the movements.

When the video ended, I could hardly believe what I was feeling. My entire body was vibrating. Not a stitch of pain to be felt. I am NOT kidding. I felt like I'd been touched by an angel...completely healed of my malady. It was truly astonishing! Armed with this new-found practice, I made up my mind to do Qi Gong twice daily.

That was just a few weeks ago. In that short time, the majority of swelling in my joints has disappeared. I'm sleeping deeply, moving much more fluidly. The more I practice, the better I feel. I can see that in a very short time, all this will be a distant memory. And I'm utterly convinced that we CAN heal ourselves, now more than ever.

I hope this helps. If you're experiencing pain of ANY kind, perhaps you'd like to give it a go. You'll find Lee Holden at Exercise To Heal (dot com).

Happy Living!