From the Inside-Out

Curiously the state of our inner health will reflect on our external part of the body. Of course, we can look wonderfully good from the outside even if we are not enjoying our internal health.

Unresolved emotional issues like trauma and stresses from the past can occupy your mind and body. Everyday pressures cause much distress internally.

• Low Energy

• Headaches

• Gut issues

• Insomnia

• Chest pain

• Frequent colds / infections

• Aches / pains

Our organs are "stressed" and here is what happens:

1. Your brain: Hypothalamus gets the ball rolling, telling your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol. These hormones rev up your heartbeat and send blood rushing to the areas that need it in emergency, such as your heart, muscles and other organs.

2. Respiratory and cardiovascular system: Stress hormones cause your blood vessels to constrict and divert more oxygen to your muscles, which raises your blood pressure. You breathe faster in an effort to quickly distribute oxygen-rich blood to your body

3. Digestive System: Your liver produces extra sugar (glucose) to give you a boost of energy and your body may not be able to keep up with this extra glucose surge. With the rush of hormones and rapid breathing and increased heart rate your stomach may not be able to keep up and will have an increase in stomach acid, possibly causing acid reflux.

4. Muscular System: Muscles tense up to protect themselves but if under constant stress they do not have a chance to relax. Tight muscles cause headaches, back and shoulder pain, and body aches. Over time, this cycle can cause one to stop exercising and medication for relief only compounding the issue. https://www.healthline.com/health/stress/effects-on-body

"When you heal on the inside, the outside follows", said Tasha Franken in a recent podcast episode, a pilates and health coach.

I read an interesting article that said "if you were to wear your spine on your face, you'd take better care of it". What if we wore our organs on the outside? Would you be proud to show them off like long eyelashes? Obviously, we need our organs, and our spine protected, inside of our bodies, but what if.....

We often try to affect our bodies from the outside in. We try to treat the hair, the skin, and the size of our body from the outside. We decide we have a magical number to hit, that we should be at a certain weight. And yet, we have a new stress that we have placed on the body to attain this number. Then we get upset when it doesn't happen and fall back into unhealthy habits that do not support "the inside".

We digest foods our body cannot break down, consume beverages saturated with sugar, and take on fad diets and programs that we believe will "change" us. When there is really only one truth, that we

are the true change.

I had to ask myself, have I truly supported my body? When I was training for marathons, did I really give myself the rest to recover. No. Did I eat enough to support the amount of activity I was performing daily, burning over 4000 calories a day? No. We believe our body will support us through any hard times we place on it. Well, that is just not ok anymore. Now I give it the support it needs to nourish itself.

How do you heal yourself from the inside-out? With commitment to change.

Groups, friends, family, and resources that can help when one is ready to make changes. We all need support systems in our lives. Walking groups, cooking with friends, pot luck with women, meet for coffee, tea, lunch, and explore different ways to help one another. You're not alone. I can't count how many times I felt over whelmed and wanted to fall back on empty habits and bad decisions. Those times when I did not allow that to happen are the most satisfying times though because once I'm on the other side...there's the feeling of receiving a gift. A gift to me. Of health.

Our bodies and everything inside them is a miracle. If we choose to not take care of that miracle, than the miracle fades and sometimes faster than expected. From our teeth, to our gut, to our tendons, to the smallest cell within us everything we do has an impact on every part of us. Be the change your body needs. Don't be afraid to ask for help! What will you do today to give your body the support it needs? What will you do for your miracle?

For my miracle....I take Vasayo. Healing from the inside - out.