Getting Better...With Help!
Friday, December 23, 2011 at 4:15PM 
Some roasted brussel sprouts I made with golden raisins...
It's been almost 2 weeks since I wrote about my healing crisis, so I wanted to check-in and thank everyone for their many well wishes! I am doing much better after a getting to a fantastic chiropractor and getting some rest. My chiropractor determined that all of the back pain was the result of issues in my cervical spine (right in my neck) which created spinal strain. I do have sacro-iliac issues, but this problem was the main culprit. My C1 vertebrae was rotated 15 degrees and my C2 vertebrae was rotated 23 degrees! This is like having a spiral staircase in your neck... Because of this, my ribs and shoulders were "doing the work" usually done by my neck, so they were out of whack too.
Within just one treatment, my chiropractor had my neck fixed and readjusted my ribs so everything is in its proper place. It's kind of amazing - I'm breathing better and its even easier to swallow. I had no idea that all of this was the problem! And my back pain is all but non-existent. I do have some on-going aches from the sacro-iliac, but we're sorting that out too.
In the meantime, I've also had some wonderful on-going help in the overall health & nutrition area which has been invaluable. I mentioned last time that I had taken myself off of caffeine and was moving into gluten-free as a way to control inflammation. I had started doing this on my own, but in November I joined an amazing group led by Lisa Thiele of With Style & Grace and Lacy Young of LacyLike. Lisa and Lacy are sharing their knowledge of health, nutrition (specifically gluten-free) and lifestyle in order to help some of us make the transition.
The group is more about coaching & motivation than do's & don'ts, which is the key when trying to make habitual changes and make them stick. It's all about new ways of thinking and new approaches, rather than shoulds and shouldn'ts.
To be honest, it's been really nice to have a Jiminy Cricket, as it were, during the holiday social whirl. Because of the group I've been able to enjoy myself but still keep in mind some basics, such as eating greens every day. I've been ordering every type of leafy green from kale to spinach to chard at almost every meal out, and at home I've been cooking up kale chips and roasted brussel sprouts. I know it sounds simple (and it is), but sometimes it takes an implicit agreement with a like-minded group to help keep you honest about these things. After greens, we focused on grains such as quinoa, millet, amaranth, etc, as well as my favorite, brown rice. (Yes, I'm the girl that eats the brown rice sushi.)
Lacy is also teaching us about why calorie-counting is a big mistake and that we should all be aware of the happy, fulfilling things in life that are our "primary foods". It's all a lot to think about and reflect upon, especially as I come out of this current health situation. I'm so glad that I'm a part of this group to help me through it. As I come to more conclusions and get into more of a groove with this transition, I'll be sharing even more!
In the meantime, keep in mind that Lisa & Lacy are starting another group in early January to help kick-start people right after the holidays!
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