Healing Environment – Traditionally Empowered Healing LLC

A surgery, or any invasive procedure, large or small, places stress on the body. Often, in the days leading up to a scheduled operation, you may be left waiting while your thoughts fill up with worries and “what-ifs,” yet with little you actively do. This mental tension can intensity the overall stress of the experience, which in turn will lock your nervous system into a survival mode.

Assuming that your nervous system was not too relaxed before you scheduled your surgery and now locked in a survival mode, you may perceive any situation that you are facing as a threat or a personal attack, which cannot be beneficial to the upcoming procedure. What if, instead, you choose to settle your nervous system into a deep relaxed state, which will allow your energy to be directed towards healing and preparation rather than towards worries and desperation?

You might be wondering how you can relax your nervous system now, in a time that everything is uncertain in your own body, not to mention in the whole world? Or possibly wondering if it would be even possible to do it?

I am very much certain that you can do it, but before we begin, I want to ask you to take a moment to make a conscious decision that your mission is to work together with your own body to prepare it for this surgery (or any other upcoming event in your life, including living). If you have a partner in your life or someone close who plans to be with you through this upcoming procedure, you may consider inviting them to do this with you, as their nervous system might need some relaxation as well.

There are countless of ways to relax your nervous system. I will share here few ideas that could be productive as you prepare for a surgery. You are welcome to explore them and add your own to this list. With that said, keep in mind that choosing just one idea and following through with it will be far more beneficial than staring at the entire list and telling yourself there’s too much to handle and you can’t possibly get it done…

Nourishment
Nourishment means supplying your cells with the materials they need in order to function in their most efficient way. When you do so, your body learns to trust that there is no need to stress about food supply and thus your nervous system relaxes. Many real foods can nourish your cells, however, if this is not your practice, you may get discouraged to make changes through out such a sensitive time.

But what if you add only one thing to your meals, without changing a thing? What if you begin one of your meals (or 2 or all of your meals) with a cup of chicken soup / bone broth?

There are so many reasons to eat this soup daily, regardless to any circumstances. Beginning with its fats which nourish your nervous system and calming down your fight-or-flight response. Continuing with its gelatin which calms digestive disorders; and its collagen which protects your joints, ligaments, & skin; and its minerals; and its nourishing properties for basically everything you could ever imagine!!

You are welcome to use my recipe or make your own.

Make it a point to do all you can to nourish your body.

Castor Oil Packs
Castor oil, a very thick oil derived from the castor bean (Ricinus communis) seed, has been praised for many benefits. Among them: 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.

All of these are awesome and extremely important for preparation to a surgery. But the most beneficial quality of the castor pack is relaxing your nervous system when applied on your belly. As messy as you may find it, your nervous system will very much thank you!!

You are welcome to use my instructions or do the packs any way that works for you.

Make it a point to create a daily anchor for your nervous system to relax, regardless to any events occurring that day.

Rest
According to Harvard university, sleep enhances memory, immune system, focus, improves mood and provides vitality for us to be productive. But when you prepare for a surgery, your mind might be filled with worries and concerns which may prevent you from getting a good night sleep. Here are few suggestions to help you calm down your racing mind:

* Drinking a cup of Lemon balm tea (Melissa officinalis) can be wonderful before bed. Prepare another cup next to your bed in case you wake up in the middle of the night and cannot fall back to sleep.

* Taking one deep, long breath can change your mind-set for that moment. Be mindful to expand your belly as you inhale and let it soften as you exhale. Taking just a few breaths like this can be truly life changing.

* Listening to a short, guided meditation – easily can be found on YouTube or any meditation app, can help your mind shift. One that I do daily, and shared here before, is Sitting in the power, led by Chris Ratter, Psychic Surgeon:

Make it a point to do everything in your power so you can sleep and restore.

Spend Time Outdoors
Take the time to be outside. If you are able to walk – find a nice trail to walk daily. If walking is hard – sit on your porch or find a nice bench in your area to spend 30 minutes sitting there. Dress for the weather and just breath. This will help you reset your nervous system and will have a great effect on your sleep as well.

Make it a point to enjoy your time outdoors.

Take on fewer commitments
Even when you believe that something you are committing to do will take only a few minutes and will not be a burden on you, consider not to make this engagement. Use the time to do only things that serve you. This might not be an easy task for you to do. If so, fill up your calendar with commitments to your own health and healing journey (hopefully including some of the above suggestions), leaving no room for any other distractions. It will make it much easier to say NO when your calendar is full.

Make a point to preserve your energy to yourself only and not spread it out carelessly.

Pray
Whether from your heart or from your prayer book, a prayer will give you the confidence that you are never alone, and that you are always protected. Make it a point to trust that everything you experience is happening for your highest good and will turn out better than you can ever imagine.

Your body deserves your full attention and attendance, regardless to any scheduled procedures or surgeries. Make it a point that, when you prepare for something that is beyond your usual routine, you will give your body the best possible opportunity to provide you with the best possible outcome. Keeping in mind that doing just one thing will always be more than doing nothing or just sitting and worrying! Your body will thank you! And you will feel it!! May everything turn out better than you ever expected!

If you ever need my help, don’t hesitate to reach out—we can work together to fine-tune the best path forward for your unique situation.

Thinking about the word “healer”, we might find ourselves living in a misconception, backed up by the Oxford dictionary definition, that a healer is “a person who seeks to cure diseases or heal injuries by means other than conventional medical treatment”. This definition implies that the body is an object that requires a healer to engaged in the mission of actively healing it. Is that so? Does your body have no abilities other than waiting for someone to heal it?

What if your body already knows how to heal itself but lacks the proper environment to do it? What if a healer was the one who creates the environment for your body to heal, while trusting your body’s wisdom to do the work, without actively engaging in healing it? What if you could create that environment for your body? What if you were a healer?

When you accept yourself as a healer, you have one mission only – to nurture the environment for your body to heal itself. You do not need to actively heal your body. All you need to do is to create the environment so your body can reach the wisdom which is embedded in its genes to heal itself.

What would that environment be? Each body is different, thus each one of us will have individual needs. In order to understand your unique needs, best would be to open a line of communication between you and your body.

Pain or discomfort are the most common communications you would receive from your body, signaling you to pay attention to your actions, since something you do is not making your body comfortable. When you tend to the pain by checking what went wrong, your body will know that you are available to listen.

What could go wrong that might bring pain to your body?
Everything you can possibly imagine, in every aspect that you can possibly perceive – physically, emotionally or mentally.

Here are some examples to explore, feel free to venture into any other idea that will pop into your mind:

Starting with the Physical possibilities – can your body thrive with what you supply, or just survive?
1. Nourishment & hydration – what’s on your plate and in your cup?
2. Resting – How deep is your sleep?
3. Movement & touch – Are you tending your body with physical activity and physical touch?

Continue with the Emotional possibilities- can your body thrive with the way you feel, or just survive?
1. Love – Are you in a loving and caring environment – at home, at work, in life?
2. Anxiety/fear/stress – Are your demons controlling you?
3. Social – Do you feel surrounded by like-minded friends or feel lonely with no one to engage in a deep meaningful conversation?

Following with the Mental possibilities – can your body thrive with your perceptions or just survive?
1. Values – Can you protect your values or need to compromise them when conflicted?
2. Space – Are you giving yourself priority space on your to-do list?
3. Believes – Are the believes you hold created by society’s expectations or authentically generated according to your values?

Taking the time to ask yourself if your body thrives or survives is the first step as a healer to understand which environment your body needs in order to heal. Answering honestly without judgment will allow your body to open up and reveal it needs.

But what if you, probably like 99% of the people in the world, find that you have too many issues to address in order to be able to create your healing environment? This might be a bit discouraging, prompting you to face two opposing options:

Making the decision to ignore it all and continue your life as before without any changes.
Making the decision to start a slow process of change. This can be done by writing down a list of your issues, then choosing one issue from your list to address.

The freedom to make choices carries the heavy toll of owning the consequences of your actions: whatever you choose – you are the one who has to live with it. Yet, when your decision is made after you take the time to listen to your body, you might find it more motivating to choose to start a slow process of change, rather than ignoring it all.

Once you made the decision to start a slow process of change, you become a healer. Always remember that your exclusive role as a healer is to create the right environment for your own body to heal itself. You do not need to heal your body, nor your family/neighbors/friends’ bodies! Only focusing on the environment that your own body needs.

Will that be fast? Probably not. Will that be easy? Definitely not. This is a journey. Each one of us is a healer! Each one of us can create the environment for our own body to heal. And by doing so, each one of us can set the example for our families, neighbors and friends to follow our lead, tending to their own personal environments for their bodies to heal.

If you are not sure how to begin your journey, I invite you to come in for a session to reconnect with your own body, understand the environment that your body needs and realign your healing plans.

This holiday season, I am holding the prayers for each one of us to open ourselves to listen to our own body and spread light into the world from our own healing environments.

Wishing you all heart-filling holidays and a healing new year ahead!