Category Archives: IC

Sesame Oil Swish and Cleansing in IC

bladder, bladder pain, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , , ,
bigstock-Puffy-Cheeks-274264As I’ve talked about in the past thepelvic bladder  pain of IC is related to the hot and mobile qualities being stuck in the pelvis  But why do some 60% of IC patients not go on to severe chronic symptoms?  The answer in short form is toxic load in the urinary system that prevents the qualities from naturally being released
Kavala is an ancient energy science technique of swishing sesame oil in the oral cavity for a period of time  It is mentioned in Ayurvedic texts written 1000’s of years ago
Recently this sesame oil swish technique has become known as oil pulling and become a new popular health topic popularized by a Ukranian physician, F Karach MD who in 1992 produced testamonials showing the effectiveness of the technique,  stating that it cculd affect the clinical course of many chronic diseases  And Bruce Fife ND has had clinical experience with the technique and validates its effectiveness using coconut oil
But weighs in Andrew Weil, MD  “Oil pulling won’t hurt you, but I wouldn’t depend on it to help you improve your overall health or treat a significant medical problem”

Matter Science Skepticism

Since the current matter science medical model has no place for the understanding of how such a technique might work, the method is discounted but not necessarily dismissed  Comments such as those by the matter science natural healer Weil go on record being cautious
And there are no studies to date showing its efficacy in disease management  You see the medical model works from a cause effect molecular relationship with disease  Since there can be no cause effect here then the method is seen as a curiosity at best
But there are countless anecdotal experiences of kavala as being health promoting  Others such as those having no repercussions to taste after oral radiation therapy or the improvement in periodontal disease

An Energy Science Explanation

The use of unrefined sesame  oil in the oral cavity creates a medicinal effect to the lining of the mouth with the penetrating effects of the oil reaching the skin  Over time(ears)  this reduces facial wrinkling around the oral cavity
There are reports of improved gum health improving periodontal disease that has clearly been shown to be a risk factor for coronary vessel disease and thus heart attacks
But to anyone who has used this technique for a period of time there is an unmistakeable benefit  Kavala has a distinct effect on the tongue after the oil has been in the mouth and then spit out   The tongue has a characteristic whitish cast to it indicating toxic congestive release from the tissues
The tongue from an energy science perspective is a representation of many organs in the body such as the liver, colon, and kidneys, all of which carry toxic load  This toxic load is in the lymphatics and each taste bud on the tongue has a small lymphatic channel  Toxic load shows up on the tongue as a whitish to brownish cast
When kavala is done it is a invitation for the body to release toxic accumulation from organs in the body  This is why Dr Karach refers to the technique as oil pulling, as toxic load is being pulled from the body

Many Ways to Detoxify

In the energy science it’s taught that:
1) We should avoid toxifying the body  There are many ways to prevent this from happening  Appropriate nutrition for your body’s energy makeup, avoiding incompatible food combinations, proper rest, proper exercise, etc, etc
2) But as important release those toxins that have accumulated  This can be done in a myriad of different ways and kavala is one of them
Using a mixture of  ¼ teaspoon of rock sea salt with ½ cup of warm water and swish and gargle with after kavala brings heat to the load that has been brought to the tongue
The matter science doesn’t even attempt to talk about toxic accumulation is daily living but the energy science says that if you’re not mindful of what choices you’re making it’s a given that you’ll be creating toxic load
So as to paraphrase Dr Weil, “It can’t hurt”  And I would add can be beneficial in many different ways
All the best  DB
It is a good idea to clean the mouth with warm
salt water after kavala (chewing or swishing
oil)  The tongue is connected to all the organs,
which allows this process to pull toxins from
the entire body. The liver, colon and kidneys
tend to carry large amounts of toxins. Before
you clean your mouth next time, take a
minute to notice your tongue and any areas of
prominent yellow or white coating. Referring
to the tongue/organ chart shows which area of
the tongue correlates with the organs.
Notice the areas that are affected for you.
Since the oil is carrying these toxins, take care
not to accidentally swallow any of the oil.
It could lead to headache, nausea, and even
fever. Keeping all this toxic business in mind,
it is best not to leave any toxins or residue in
the mouth. I .

Castor and Trigger Point Therapy for IC

bladder, bladder pain, IC, Interstiial cystitis, , , , ,

Downward gati with pelvic marmaThe debilitating bladder pain of an IC(interstitial cystitis)  flare requires you to pull all stops and do everything to get comfortable  As I’ve talked about in the past chronic management is baseline work(nutrition, incompatible food combination avoidance, use of cooling herbs in cooking, CCF tea, etc)  These therapies help begin release and at times flares are an aspect of release  The treatment of flare in this setting takes the management to another level of pain management

One of the mainstays of acute treatment is the use of castor oil  As I’ve written about earlier the use of castor packs have been traditionally discussed but I’ve found that just using castor directly to the skin is as if not more effective

Another important aspect of the use of castor is to take advantage of various marma points as noted in the diagram  These points are related to not only acupuncture points but pertain to organs in the pelvis and can be likened to trigger points because they are related to internal organs that are in pain

Trigger Points(aka marma or acupuncture points)

The castor is cooling when externally applied but when taken internally it’s hot leading to diarrhea  This external affect is effective longterm  The oil can be applied directly to the area below the belly button out laterally to the flanks

A towel can be placed over the oleated skin to protect a heating pad if you want to use one

Essential oils that are cooling such as mint, rose, or sandalwood can be  applied to the bladder points(these are noted in the accompanying diagram)  The midline point is called basti(main bladder point) marma and slightly above it is CV5 acupuncture point which regulates water  CV4 is another acupuncture point is slightly below this important point and regulates the kidneys

Another point just above the pubic bone is the CV2 acupuncture point and corresponds to bhaga marma which  helps relieve pelvic pain

The other points noted are peripheral to the bladder points but do affect pelvic organ pain and it’s worthwhile to also treat these as well

Application and Self Treatment

Apply the oil directly to the skin below the belly button to the pubic bone

Apply the cooling essential oils to the points

Apply pressure to each of the points with rotation  Use the diagram beginning with basti marma as described above

Keep applying the pressure until discomfort is noted and then back off just a little  As you apply the pressure do so with some undulation or rotation whichever feels better to you

Do this for all points in the diagram  When you are out laterally you can use both hands on each left and right marma points

How Long?

The general rule is as often as you can  Usually this isn’t a problem because when you’re laid up with a flare people are usually flat on their back in pain

For more direction I would use an hour as a time interval and consider doing it twice a day in many instances

I would suggest journaling your symptoms when you’re doing trigger therapy because the changes that you experience will be subtle as you move along and you will want to be aware of these changes

All the best        Love DB

IC and 2 Problems with Botox Injection Therapy

bladder, bladder pain, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , ,

Energized man 10.21.09Over the last 20 years the interstitital cystitis(IC) complex of pelvic and bladder pain has been successfully treated by urologists with botox  Initially used as a way to focally paralyze muscle fibers in the face as a cosmetic application, it quickly crossed many lines of therapy for use in other organ systems in the body to include the bladder

The use of the agent in bladder injection therapy is that the bladder and pelvic pain is related to muscle spasm in these respective areas that paralysis of the muscles would reduce the pain

Matter Science Injection Therapy

In the disease of IC the matter science medical thinking in justifying botox’s use is that the pelvic pain and burning is caused by a neuromuscular event in the pelvic nerves  And that the individual symptom complex(bladder pain in one, vaginal pain in another, pudendal nerve involvement leading to perineal pain in another) could be dealt with by botox injection into the offending pelvic nerves

The success reported using bladder injection therapy is for a number of conditions that have associated with the problem an overactive bladder(OAB)   Neurologic conditions such as multiple sclerosis, bladder overactivity from traumatic cord injury, and nonapparent neurological disease such as urinary incontinence have been treated with good success

As I wrote in a recent post about the use of the interstim, the primary indication for botox and the interstim device appears to be OAB for whatever etiology   Injection of the botox is usually done 20-30 sites in the bladder and those with an apparent Hunner’s ulcer would have direct and peripheral injection around the lesion

Of course spreading from the area of local injection can have potential lethal consequences(the number of FDA reported deaths linked to botox are rare given the usage, 28 since 2000 monitoring began)  But what is more important are side effects that don’t result in respiratory distress such as swallowing and breathing problems

An Energy Science Perspective

It’s clear that the pelvic accumulation and localization of the hot and mobile qualities in IC that I have discussed in the past come from the GI tract according to the energy science model of healing

The isolated botulinum toxin produced by a bacterium reduces  specific muscle activity by blocking the overactive neural impulses that trigger excessive muscle contraction activity  The use in IC is based on the theory that the spasm responsible for the IC pain is caused by overactive pelvic nerves that are irritable for some unknown reason

Localized injection into the bladder muscle may produce transient relief but long term relief from the condition leading to OAB may not deal with the global neuromuscular problem

There are basically two problems with botox injection therapy

1 If there is burning pain in the pelvis or the bladder with urination botox is unlikely to deal with the problem of interstitial cystitis  Botox causes a neuromuscular blockade but will not deal with sensory changes such as burning

2 There is a belief in research circles that IC is actually a pelvic disorder not just involving the bladder  Attempting to block a spastic pelvic floor would be futile and dangerous

So what causes these overactive pelvic nerves to occur in the first place?  From an energy science perspective the pelvic neuromuscular complex is in a heightened state of activity due to the mobile quality and the burning shearing pain from the hot quality  Trigger point injection to areas of pain may work transiently but as said earlier, one can’t inject the entire pelvic floor as these energetic qualities are throughout the pelvis including the bladder

Until next time        DB

 

IC and Carbonated Drinks

bladder, bladder pain, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, chronic prostatitis, CPPS, fibromyalgia, GERD, IBS, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , ,

bigstock-Pouring-35142932Interstitial cystitis(IC) is a chronic disease with an unknown cause from the currently practiced matter or molecular science medical discipline  And the treatments are random due to this reason

From an energy science medical view IC is a painful pelvic syndrome not necessarily localized to the bladder due to the failure of the body to eliminate the hot and mobile qualities from the pelvis usually due to toxic load also localized in the pelvis  This disease as in all diseases according to the energy science tradition originates in the gut and hence the foundational approach for treatment must include a shift in nutrition

Shift in Nutrition

So it makes sense that you would remove the hot and mobile qualities from the foods ingested if you want to make any headway in the management of IC  The mobile quality is found in many foods in different forms but one of the obvious foods is carbonated drinks  Air is mobile and gas containing foods have air in them; in carbonated drinks the air is carbon dioxide

The mobile quality is directly responsible for the urinary frequency and urgency associated with the abnormal voiding pattern of IC and the overactive bladder syndrome(OAB)  But it doesn’t stop at IC because these same qualities are involved in chronic prostatitis, fibromyalgia, vulvodynia, IBS and GERD

But there is also the burning sensation associated with IC and the hot quality is responsible for this physical sensation in the pelvis  The OAB does not have much of this quality so urinary frequency and urgency with or without incontinence predominate as symptoms

Carbonated Drinks as the Source of the Hot Quality

It’s not quite intuitive how carbonated drinks produce the hot quality  Usually the drink is taken over ice anyway(ice is not a good idea anyway from a digestive point of view) so where’s the hot quality come from?

Anything that’s acidic in the body contains the hot quality  There is heat associated with digestion and when you digest food with the stomach acid and the enzymes to break down food you are using the hot quality

It turns out that all the favorite carbonated drinks carry orthophosphoric acid  This is now a much publicized ingredient to Coca Cola    The drink is so acidic that it is used as a pesticide, a commercial grade cleaner for car batteries, engines, and removing rust from surfaces   If you leave a penny in a glass of coke over a week, the penny will dissolve into solution!

Cut the Fizzy

The upshot of our discussion today is that carbonated drinks for anyone is problematic but for you with IC it will provoke your symptoms and can instigate a painful pelvic or bladder flare  And then you can add chronic prostatitis, fibromyalgia, vulvodynia, IBS and GERD because all of these seemingly unrelated diseases are associated with the hot and mobile qualities  If you want you can add as a waste basket term CPPS or chronic pelvic pain syndrome

This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to energy science  food recommendations for IC  The matter science nutrition makes their recommendations based on anecdotal experience so in essence guess work is involved when it comes to recommendations

The energy science nutritional approach is different  It asks for no consumer feedback, does not equivocate, and produces the list grounded in a deep science of an understanding of the workings of Nature herself  The body obeys the laws of Nature and physics  I make no claims that energy science cures everything including IC   Energy work is not a quick fix but with diligence discipline and assuming a different lifestyle, you can bring harmony to the body and resolve  IC

Have an awesome week       Love Dr Bill

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healing IC and Trying to Do It Fast

bladder, bladder pain, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , ,

Currently you live in a society where speed is a treasured gift and impatience becomes an acceptable emotion  If something doesn’t happen fast then you can become uncomfortable

And it’s not surprising that people with IC can become impatient  After all the qualities stuck in the pelvis giving rise to the disease are the mobile and hot qualities  These combine to make the mind impatient with the hot quality even leading to frustration and anger

For example, if you are plagued with painful interstitial cystitis(IC) bladder flares and you begin doing some things that can help you, there may come a point where due to impatience you decide what you’re doing is not helping

The Problem of Doing Healing Fast

So the problem that arises with impatience in healing is that it contributes to the failure to follow through with the plan of treatment  Then all that’s left is bouncing from one therapy to the next, never giving any one treatment option a chance to work

Who would expect that if you have a plan to get in shape by going to the gym to get in shape that after the first week that you would trim and buff as you were ten years earlier  We all know that anything that we do to the mindbody requires time and consistency of the messages that we are sending the mindbody to change

Real healing is like this  It takes time for your shape shifting  genes to know that you’re serious about what messages you’re sending  Otherwise with lack of consistency it will be business as usual and your IC symptoms whatever they are will continue to menace you

Evolution and healing IC

Confidence in What You’re Doing

The  structure of a game plan to can help with the wayward mind that can take you out very quickly(fastest vehicle in the universe is your mind)

During any healing of the mindbody whether from trauma, cancer, or IC, what is required is that regardless of what happens you stick with the plan you trust  As you do this energy science work, you’ll get more faith as you see small wins as you progress  As you can see in the diagram there can be backslides with recurrence of symptoms but this is part of the healing process

Another aspect you can see in this diagram is that as you stop putting excess hot and mobile qualities into your mindbody, your physiology must necessarily shed those excess qualities  This leads to a struggle with apparent continued flares

But the flares are different now  They are flares of release not accumulation

4 Things To Do To Stablize the Mind and Reduce Impatience

In order to stay on the healing path it’s valuable to help stabilize the mind which drives the mobile quality and makes you flighty and fickle  Here are some things that you can do to stick with the game plan

Begin with doing a nutritional format appropriate for your mindbody makeup found at icdiet.com or foodsheal.com Also watching for incompatible food combinations is also important

Quiet the mind  This can be done with So Hum meditation 5min morning and evening building up to as much as 20min am and pm  Another way to quiet the mind is alternate nostril breathing for the same amount of time  These techniques help reduce the mobile quality of the mind  This will keep you out of the pattern of flightiness that goes with the mobile quality

Going to bed early 930-1030 at night and waking up between 5 – 7am sets the day  Having a morning ritual and exercising is another key component to the day, eating your biggest meal of the day at noon, and meditation are good ways to help create structure around your schedule

Keep a journal of your successes and how you’re feeling  Don’t rely on your memory because more often than not the mind will remember the bad times more than the good  So to keep focused on feeling better journal about the subtle improvements that are happening for you

Be willing to try things that are suggested because one of the problems with the hot quality is that it makes the mind so intense and focused that it’s hard to look at other helpful techniques as you move along in the healing journey

Best on your journey to healing IC   Love DrBill

 

 

 

IC and 4 Steps to Empowerment

bladder, bladder pain, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

When a doctor says, “You have interstitial cystitis(IC) bladder pain syndrome fresh wind and it’s treatable but not curable”, a depressing cloud of sadness might descend over you at that moment  But usually it takes time for this kind of medical opinionated attitude to sink in and it’s an attitude that is pervasive in the matter science medical community

And since the expert tells you this, it must be true!  But in such a situation of dogma, you have to be like the fish caught in the net and find a hole and swim out  Otherwise you become just like everyone else caught up in the prevailing belief of the day

This week I’m talking about steps that you can take right now to take over your life and find that hole and swim out of that net to freedom  Of course this kind of action requires baby steps like any healing  You literally have to mentally rise to the occasion  And that’s what I’m talking about  Baby steps toward resolving IC symptoms

The Courage to Step Into the Unknown

Healing is a journey into the unknown  You can’t be sure what’s going to happen  You can talk to friends, support group and the like, but ultimately you don’t know the outcome  So it’s always safe to stay with what’s reassuringly known  But there’s no benefit to that  You just keep getting what you’ve got in the past

And in energy science work it’s not about believing me  It’s about making the observations that by doing the work you’re getting better  This enhances your trust in the discipline.

You see your faith in an energy science mode of healing is entirely in your hands and no one else’s  If you see results some trust occurs and then more faith  As you go along there will be more improvements and more trust with more faith. If you’re being attentive and aware which is brought about by a quiet mind this will be the case

The energy science approach to healing requires commitment on your part  This is in part brought about by a quiet, nonjudgmental, patient and noncritical mind  The mind will get in the way using doubt, indecision, and inertia to leave you without the benefits that you’re seeking.

The Pitta mind when unbalanced is unduly skeptical, emotionally judgmental, impatient, and irritable  What drives this mental activity is fear  Fear of being duped, taken advantage of, and being wrong since Pitta is a perfectionist  The use of understanding yourself as an energy pattern is that it gives you an objective tool to observe yourself without condemning

When you notice yourself becoming curious without these more damaging mental activities you know you’re making progress  Basically mental turmoil induced by fear interferes with the healing process

The excuses such as not enough time, don’t know how, I’m not ….., how will I be if I become different(scary thought), what if it doesn’t work, or the best of all, this is too much work, effort or energy, are the result of the mind wanting to maintain the status quo  Don’t rock the boat  Even if you’re in pain

Whatever goal in life you want to achieve can be obtained and it begins with dealing with the obstacles the mind presents  You have to transform your fear into faith  Faith that it will work  But it starts with an emotional declaration that you will be healthy again(DNA listens best when your internal dialogue is emotional about your declaration)

And if you’re having trouble obtaining your goal, then you may not be associating your goal with enough pain

4 Empowering Steps

First, recognize what your goal is and get crystal clear about it  Think it, then ink it  So get a notebook and place your goal at the top of the page. Then use this journal as a way to track your progress but also to notice the subtle changes that are occurring for you as you do this energy science work (remember that the matter science work is gross but the energy science work is subtle).

Second, what will your life look like if you don’t achieve your goal? This is very important because unless you vividly see the pain you’re experiencing emotionally, psychologically, and physically your mind will not buy into the goal

Third, determine what measurable outcomes will happen as a result of obtaining your goal

Fourth, what are the challenges that are in your way in achieving your goal   These can be thoughts, feelings, emotions, sensations, perceptions, and/or beliefs  These inner limiting beliefs lock you into not getting what you want

The value of meditation is that is allows you to witness your mind’s obstacles to change more easily, whatever they may be  And you don’t have to do this alone!  The danger is getting into groups that are not supportive of an energy science approach to healing  If you participate in groups that are negative and want to wallow in their misery of IC, they will pull you down  Being in the midst of negativity is tantamount to self sabotage

So try these out and let me know what your experience is  And remember baby steps Anything worthwhile in life requires that you get unstuck

To Health as a Skill  Love Dr Bill

IC and Losing Your Health Identity: 5 Ways to Keep It

bladder, bladder pain, IC, Interstiial cystitis, ,

Identiy theft of cardsHave you become interstitial cystitis?  So bound to the diagnosis, so consumed that health does not factor into your thinking?

When you suffer from the debilitating symptoms of interstitial cystitis, there’s a tendency for any one of us to begin identifying with the symptoms of any disease process, and that includes IC   In the end often what happens is you take on the identity of IC as if you have become IC  The often phrase “I’m an IC patient”, indicating that the “I” is equivalent to the disease

In essence you are committing your own “self identity fraud”, allowing the disease to become you   Identity fraud is when someone assumes your identity   They become you in the form of credit card, driver’s license, and social security numbers  There’s real theft in such a situation and this can occur with IC

The Big Danger of Disease Identity Fraud

The biggest danger of all?  You stop seeing health and focus on disease because it is so “in your face” every day  And I’m not saying, don’t pay attention to your body  I am saying the focus should be on doing energy work to  promote healthy lifestyle patterns of behavior   Such things as CCF tea, aloe with or without pomegranite juice, choosing foods appropriate for IC, avoiding incompatible food combinations, looking into targeted herbal therapies, using marma therapy with castor oil   These are things that you can focus on for health

Of course the problem with identifying with IC is that you become it   Wristbands are created, sweatshirts are worn, and testimonials are written about the disease process   Often times these activities are for the sake of getting public awareness about IC and to help garner money support for disease research

But let’s be honest here  All the research money that has been raised to pay researchers for working toward understanding the origin of IC as a disease has not alleviated any suffering from the disease and not any closer to understanding the origin of disease from a matter science view

So the question is “How much has been gained by this disease identity fraud?”  Your health identity is usurped by a disease called IC and yet you and your friends are no further ahead for it   If all the above activities must be done, then everyone should share in doing small amounts

So the biggest danger of all  You stop seeing health and focus on disease

5 Ways to Stop Disease Identity Fraud:  Focus on Health NOT Disease

If you’re involved in public awareness activities, let someone else do it because as you continue to do this kind of work, you allow your energy to be lost in this non health promoting behavior  There is a real subversive nature to these activities that does not lend to your own health
goals

Stay focused on YOUR health, not IC   This is aided by making energy science work a priority in your day  Your job besides making a living to have shelter and nourish yourself is to heal IC  Period  Nothing else is important

Journal everyday about what health looks like to you

If you must read IC threads, try to stop identifying with the symptoms and begin seeing yourself as healthy and free of IC   See yourself as someone who used to have IC but no longer bothered by those symptoms   In this way you become a wise adviser of energy science principles  to those who are still plagued with symptoms and need your help

Meditate morning and evening for 5 min each time  Gradually expand this to 20min  Sit quietly and use So Hum mantra saying to yourself So on inhalation and Hum on exhalation   This reduces mental turbulence and quiets the anxious, fearful, worried, and fretful mind

Have a great week      All the best   Dr Bill

IC and 9 Ways to Get More Energy

bladder, bladder pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, vulvodynia, , , , ,

Headlights onIC(interstitial cystitis) bladder pain like any chronic disease produces a described “drain on the body”  Symptoms such as those of muscle and joint aches(aka fibromyalgia), vulvodynia, depression,chronic fatigue all begin to show up as the chronicity wears on the mindbody

This observation shows our intuitive connection with the energy body which acts like a car battery   When the car lights are left on overnight, the battery is drained of its stored energy  To see the mindbody as an energy field opens us up to a wide variety of tools that are not currently available from the matter science approach

Let’s take a look at some of these tools and how you can get renewable biological energy

9 Ways to Get More Energy

Reduce mental turbulence   Perhaps a surprise to some is that the mind is the biggest drain of them all!  Often the mind is running in the background even though you think it’s quiet   This incessant turbulence shows up as fear, anxiety, depression, worry, and of course fatigue because the body gets beat up with this kind of mental activity      Solution  Spend 5-10 minutes twice a day(morning and evening) closing your eyes and watching the breath

Remove nutritional stressors   There are foods that drain the body’s energy such as refined sugar, coffee, chocolate(what the heck?) carbonated drinks

Improve food choices  Foods that bring about balance for you according to the nutritional formats at foodsheal.com after you take the mindbody questionnaire will help you sort this out

Improve digestive strength  Eating your biggest meal at noon, drinking room temperature fluids(ice is not nice!), using spice mixtures(churans), simply paying attention to what you’re doing when eating(few meals a week in silence), or not eating when busy helps replenish your body’s energy

Using proper food combining  stops the depletion of energy expended due to difficult to digest food combinations

Avoid snacking   Eating before you have digested the last food that you’ve ingested requires the mindbody to use more energy so this habit is depleting   At least 4 to 6 hours between meals or better yet wait until your hungry since appetite is the best gauge of the body’s readiness for food

Lack of exercise/Too much exercise  Excercise improves digestion but too much is overdone and will then begin to drain the mindbody’s battery

Lack of adequate rest  Surprisingly when under the stress of pain or low energy the mindbody should be rested more than usual  What happens often with people with IC is that you tend to be more active than normal   It establishes the “can’t sit still” syndrome which causes a drain on the battery

Toxicity  If you have poor digestion, chances toxic formation will occur leading to the qualities in the bladder being held there and unable to be released   But this toxicity is everywhere and it reduces the mindbody’s efficiency in functioning   The mindbody can no longer function with “ease” but now functions with “dis-ease”   So improving digestion with ginger pickle or the above churans is a fundamental step toward improving your energy

Baby Steps

When you do energy work it requires a shift in our lifestyle choices that is not easy but with baby steps, small incremental changes in how you do things, day after day, month after month, year after year, will pay dividends in your healing IC

Best of luck  DB

What Is Energy Work Anyway?

bladder, bladder pain, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,

Energized man 10.21.09One of our readers asked “what is energy work?   This very important question because it’s important to know for confidence as to why you are doing what you are doing   There are two ways to manage IC pain in my mind

The first is the matter science approach which is what everyone in the IC community has experienced  You go to the family doc, internist, or urologist and they prescribe pharmaceuticals for your pain  These drugs are molecules that have anticipated effects on your body, like a sedative or antidepressant  This medical science diagnoses disease like IC by measuring molecules  Since there are no specific molecules to measure  in IC bladder pain, there is difficulty in monitoring progress in therapy  At times the best that can be done is to make you comfortable for an hour by instilling a pain reliever like a topical anesthetic

The second way to manage IC from my perspective is to use an energy science medical approach  In this type of medical model of healing the mind and body are seen as an energy field   This is a different yet effective way of seeing the body and is different than the above molecular approach

When you apply healing energy science methods it is termed energy work

Energy work can be used in a loose way but here in my context, it is used in a very specific way   The term “energy work” is thrown around to just about mean anything from reiki to chiropractic work

But in my context “energy work” is rooted in ancient traditions such as the Ayurvedic system of healing or the traditional Chinese medical(TCM) model from which we get the practice of acupuncture   These healing systems go back 1000’s of years and are grounded in the concept that the mindbody is an energy field as well as a molecular field as discussed above

So acupuncture is a well established energy science method of doing “energy work”  In the Ayurvedic tradition the same points used in acupuncture are called marma points   These two energy science traditions parallel one another in many ways

One of the differentiating features of the Ayurvedic energy science healing discipline from that of TCM is that the nutritional science is very “user friendly” and well articulated   Because of the importance of nutrition in the management of IC, I chose the Ayurvedic energy work as the one to help people with their IC

Types of Energy Work

So here are a few examples of energy work

Following a nutritional format for reducing the hot quality is doing energy worrk

Avoiding incompatible food combinations to avoid flares is doing energy work

Downward gati with pelvic marmaTaking herbs that have specific subtle effects on the body is energy work  It reminds us that the energy field of the body is subtle and the molecular field is gross

Using hand positions called mudras that have specific physiologic effects as well as meditation is energy work

Using castor oil and specific marma therapy as shown in the accompanying schematic is energy work

Doing vaginal administration of herbs and medicated oils for IC is energy work

Paying attention while eating is energy work

Eating your biggest meal at noon is energy work

Using spices to improve digestive strength is doing energy work

So you can see that when the term “energy work” is used, it implies that the information being applied is based energy science principles that come from one of these ancients disciplines   These principles are based on seeing the body not as a complex collection of molecules but rather as an field of energy  When you apply these practices among many others you are doing energy work to bring about the healing of IC

Energy Work Language

The body’s energy field has been called prana, chi, qi, ru, ruha   These are all terms for the biological energy field that you are   It is distinctly a different way of healing and quite effective in helping people deal with their IC

Einstein’s famous equation E=mc2 tells us that what is matter is energy and what is energy is matter  That you are simultaneously both molecular and energy field

These ancient healing traditions have a tremendous amount to offer us in terms of healing advice  It’s just that you see your body in a different way when you are doing energy work

All the best  DB

 

IC and Sapping Your Energy

bladder, bladder pain, IC, Interstiial cystitis, Uncategorized

At Peace with YourselfIn acute conditions you know you feel poorly because of the sudden onset of symptoms and because of the short term illness you know what it feels like to feel better

But what about the scenario with chronic diseases like IC  bladder pain where you get used to feeling poorly   I liken the experience to pressure applied to the arm   If you apply a sudden blow to the arm it hurts   But what about the same pressure applied to the arm over an extended period of time   It’s different, right?    You see the arm’s sensory receptors have a chance to accomodate to the slowly applied pressure and so it doesn’t seem to hurt

Why don’t you try this right now?  As you continue to read gradually apply increasing pressure to the arm and see how much you can stand

Feeling Bad and Chronic Disease

As you know you feel bad with IC   But my question to you is “How bad do you really feel?”   Yes, there are terrible days, but it’s all relative isn’t it?

My point is that just like the slow pressure on the arm, the pain of chronic disease doesn’t make you feel bad until the pain is really really bad….the really terrible days

But as you know the pain with chronic disease is always there, day in and day out, whether you realize it  or not   This kind of day is, well……, it’s just getting by   THIS is what saps your energy and makes life difficult with chronic disease

Even on good days there is a lack of energy there that allows you to just make it through the day  You may not know it  And this is my point ….you only know that you felt bad when you start feeling better by looking back over the weeks months and years  Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize how badly I felt back then, now that I have so much more endurance, stamina, strength, clarity, and balance

Energy Work and Feeling Better Than Getting By

The benefit of energy science work is that the threshold for feeling good moves up notch by notch

Sometimes you don’t know you feel like crap until you look back and after feeling better you realize that your flare episodes of pain are better and the frequency of the flares is not as often

So when you do energy work the long term benefits of the work is that you gradually begin to renew your energy and hence your zest for life again
And this is not pie in the sky hope   It’s real and tangible as I talked about earlier

What’s Your Alternative?

For most your current situation is untenable   It’s suffering with a disease that has an energy science solution if you’re willing to give it a try  Do your due diligence and see what it can do for your IC

To Healing Your IC        Love Dr Bill