Castor oil – Page 3 – Traditionally Empowered Healing LLC

What makes it so difficult for us to do something different?

In order to answer this question, we may need to take a look in the mirror….

How many of us wake up in the morning, and, in their full-blown-morning-galore-look, stare at the mirror and say: “wow!” with the most tenderness and love they can afford? (not the other “wow!!!!” that you may think of…)

I am sure few of us would. But why not most of us? Why not all of us?

My belief is that when we are staring into the mirror, we are looking to find the “perfect” image that we saw yesterday in the magazine or TV show and obviously it cannot be seen in our mirror. We want to see the image that suits the “beautiful cover” definition according to our own view. No matter what it is hiding underneath.

Therefore, when we don’t see it – we become disappointed, and cannot express any tenderness or love towards the reflection that lets us down.

Slowly we clean up, becoming a bit more like the image we would like to see, and making the decision that it is time to try to manage our health condition more naturally. So we visit a naturopath. The naturopath has some mind-blowing ideas how to create healing and how to adjust it to our lifestyle, and we go back home to sleep on what we heard.

We wake up the next morning. Staring again at the mirror. Now, what are the chances that we tenderly & lovingly would say: “wow! Look at me! Today I am starting to walk my new path – changing all my lifestyle habits and healing all my ailments!”?

IMGP3026 (2).JPG — Picture by Amit Shlagman

Chances are probably pretty slim…

We are more likely to stand in front of the mirror and again be disappointed from what we see. But now we also become angry. Since that body that is reflected in the mirror has requests – he/she needs us to make changes for him/her – letting go of stuff that we like and starting to do stuff that we have never done before. No matter if we like it or not .

All these requests! And for whom? For the stranger who reflects in our mirror? We never saw him/her before, because the “perfect” image was always blocking the way. We don’t know this body that reflects in the mirror. We don’t know what he/she wants. We don’t know what he/she needs. We have no communication with him/her.

IMGP2790 (3).JPG — Picture by Amit Shlagman

I can sit here for hours and explain you about foods and acts that may affect our body in different ways for better or worse, but if I do not emphasize how important it is to create this dialogue between you and your own body – I will be talking in vain.

This dialogue, or this communication system, can be created only when body reaches a very deep state of relaxation – shifting to the parasympathetic state of the autonomic nervous system. Nothing good comes out when we are constantly in sympathetic / fight-or-flight mode. Unless a bear is chasing us. And even then, I really hope he chases us in the first hour we are in sympathetic state and not on our 10^th year…
Shifting to parasympathetic state allows us to be present and open our eyes to appreciate what this amazing body is doing for us. There are many ways to reach parasympathetic state, but I will share here the way that works best for me – the way I use in all my sessions & in my life and it never fails – castor oil packs. The preparation that works for me is by applying the castor oil on the belly, covering with a towel and topping with a hot water bottle, then resting for an hour or the whole night. I have witnessed many people shifting on my table just from this simple castor application, and cannot talk enough about the real reason I love castor so much!!

When applying the castor oil pack on the belly, the oil lubricates and stimulates all the tissues, organs and systems in this region. Along with that, the heat draws the blood vessels up closer to the skin as they dilate, allowing oil to be absorbed into the blood circulation as well, thus distributed through the whole body. Lubricating and stimulating organs as the small intestine, bladder, colon, liver, uterus, which are part of systems that are inhibited when body is under stress (when the autonomic nervous system functions at its sympathetic / fight-or-flight state), signals the nervous system to shift to the relaxed state (parasympathetic state).

When we are deeply relaxed, we can straighten our look into the mirror and see who we really are. See how amazing we are without the need to be compared to anyone else. See how beautiful our body is, no matter what is shown in the magazines. And only when we are able to open our eyes and see, we are able to open our hearts to make an effort for the awesome person reflecting back from our mirror.

Changes will always come from within and not from without. When we allow our inner self to shine, we will be able to do something different. And this will not be difficult at all…

Further reading:

The Edgar Cayce ARE – http://www.edgarcayce.org/are/holistic-health.aspx?id=9467&terms=castor
The oil that heals – A physician’s successes with castor oil treatments – William A. McGarey, MD
Herbs of grace – Farida Sharan

When I was 20 years old, I was unstoppable. Nothing could stand in my way. Not even the minor car accident (in which a drunk driver rear-ended my car and I ended up with “just” a whiplash). Not even the excruciating pain in my neck which lasted years.

20 years later, “suddenly”, with no apparent reason, I could not move my arm. Only after visiting a chiropractor, who showed and explained me how big is the damage I have caused to my neck and spine, just from neglecting the injury, I realized what I have done. If I would only stop and do one of the things I know now (even just resting or applying a castor oil pack) the whole picture may have been different.

After few visits, I felt much better and pain was gone. Still unstoppable at that time, I then understood that this was just the beginning of my healing journey. Fixing a damage that has been accumulated in 20 years is not possible in a week. And this was my “Stop sign”. Up to that point, the easiest way for me to handle these “stop signs” was to ignore them. However, opening my eyes to view this sign, made me realize that this is my own responsibility to attend my own health. This is my own responsibility to find the time to give attention to my body or seek professional help to guide me how.

This has become a life journey, and as it keeps unfolding, I am fascinated by all the unstoppable souls who are crossing my way, seeking my friendly or my professional advice, and one thing keeps repeating over and over again:

Applying a castor oil pack has brought many of these souls to a very deep state of realization that a change needs to take place. Witnessing this phenomenon, either in my office or hearing from those who I suggested to apply the packs, brought me to the belief that deep state of relaxation has the amazing power to change lives – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Castor oil, a very thick oil derived from the castor bean (Ricinus communis) seed, has been praised for many benefits. Among them: Enhancing relaxation, Decreasing inflammation, Increasing circulation of blood and lymph thus enhancing the immune system, Improving elimination of toxic substances, Promoting tissue healing, Decreasing pain, Lubricating ligaments, Improving digestion, Easing many conditions including uterine fibroid, non-malignant ovarian cysts, endometriosis, headaches, migraines, constipation, intestinal disorders, gallbladder/liver conditions, and probably many more.

A castor oil pack can be done in many ways. The way that works best for me is simply applying the oil on the belly, covering with a hand-towel, topping with a hot water bottle and laying down for at least one hour.

Lubricating and stimulating organs as the small intestine, bladder, colon, liver, uterus, which are part of systems that are inhibited when body is under stress (when the autonomic nervous system functions at its sympathetic / fight-or-flight state), signals the nervous system to shift to the relaxed state (parasympathetic state). This may cause a confusion for the person experiencing it, since many of us may have not “visited” the parasympathetic system for a very long time. We are trapped in the fight-or-flight loop and do not know how to find the moment to breath and recover.

Shifting to the parasympathetic system creates a space, allowing to view life in a clear and focused perspective. It allows me to be more centered into my own body, realizing that so many things are happening inside, while I keep myself very busy outside. This deep relaxation opens my mind to ask the real questions, which I have been avoiding for a long time:

Am I so busy working for others that I cannot find an hour for myself to walk outdoors or to engage in some movement?
Am I so busy running after everyone’s needs (my spouse, my kids, my cat, my dog, my friends, my neighbors, my, my, my, my, my…. Oh my) that I don’t have an hour to seek a professional guidance resolving my own issues?
Am I so busy being busy that I cannot find an hour to understand what relaxation really means?

In my eyes, a castor oil pack can be a major life changer. Such a simple action with such a powerful result. Even if at this moment, I am not able to answer all these questions, I have planted the seed, so when time is right – I will be ready to take the ownership over my life and start my journey.

And this is the real reason I love castor oil and I would keep telling everyone again and again and again that they should try a castor oil pack….

***Anat Shlagman is a Traditional Naturopath specializing in Relaxation, utilizing a unique tailored session, combined of Reflexology, Castor oil pack, Abdominal massage and Energy work, designed to bring the autonomic nervous system to its parasympathetic state.

Some sources

The Edgar Cayce ARE – https://edgarcayce.org/resources/holistic-health-database/therapies/castor-oil-packs/

The oil that heals – A physician’s successes with castor oil treatments – William A. McGarey, MD

Herbs of grace – Farida Sharan