Enter Angels

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I have been wondering what the right time to post about this very important part of my life would be.....and I just decided NOW. Why not? And of course I'm curious if this is even of interest to you. Do let me know....

I have made mysterious allusions to health issues going on and gaining weight and being sad at times and I am here to end the mystery. All is going great and in the interest that one of you out there might go through this you can use me as a resource.

My bod's not functioning like a healthy lady's. Is this getting to personal already? Hope not. Bodies are crazy amazing things and man, am I learning about mine. Sky and I want to have a family sometime kinda soon and mine isn't up for that at the moment. Part of the issue is yes, I was on birth control forever; but the reason I was is because I have something called PCOS. I will spare you long medical language but suffice to say it's a really common endocrine disorder among women--you can find more info than you can ever keep track of online. More women than ever have it now in cases that range from mild like mine to really fullblown and intense. It's very common to medicate it by putting a woman on the Pill. K so that was me since I was a teenager. Flash forward to now when I go off the Pill and my doctor thinks I'll get preggers right away and that doesn't happen. Not at all. Body not even acting like it's interested. So I go in for tests and the PCOS has gotten a bit worse, the words "fertility treatment" come in and I freak out (hence that post back when). As in can't make it out of the doctor's office without breaking down, sob in the elevator, sob in the car, sob on the couch for 2 days. Freak out ends, the dust clears (this takes a couple of weeks btw) and I decide I'm open to having such treatments if need be but first I'm going to do all that's in my power to do to help my body heal its wonderful self.

Enter Team of Miraculous Women:

Jiling Hu: heads her own clinic specializing in women's health here in LA. Found her through my friend Heather who's one of her students. Dr. Hu teaches herbs at one of the big Chinese medicine schools here (Yo San or Emperor's--I can't remember--Heather?) which excited me since herbs are this whole crazy science I am in awe of. I always thought if I had a second alter ego (because the first is a torch singer) I'd be an herbalist-flower essence expert-wise woman of root, branch and leaf. I know they're so so powerful and I love that she is steeped in knowledge of them. She's super sweet and really good at what she does. If you don't live in LA, fear not. This is a hot topic for many acupuncturists and if you do some research I bet you'll find someone wonderful near you. I'm blown away by the fact that more women need treatment like this than ever and what that says about how we're treating ourselves.

Laughing Sage Wellness: I found this center through one of my best friends in New York. If you have any kind of health issue related to your female hormones I cannot recommend this place enough. Yes, they're in NY and yes I'm in LA. You can work with them over the phone. I filled out the questionnaire online and set up my free consultation call. After talking with Alisa who started the clinic 9 years ago after she was frustrated with PCOS, I honestly felt like an angel had dropped out of the sky to talk to me. I felt so safe and so sure of success with her. In the 30 minutes I talked with her I learned scientifically what's going on in a way I had never really understood and we talked about the spiritual aspect of healing. I need both.

Her 4-month program is all about healing the body through medicinal foods--and of course that's going to vary from person to person so she'll ask you a ton of questions about your body and what you eat and have you do food experiments so she can set up the best program for you---there are certain things I'm not eating at all and certain things I'm eating more of; appropriate exercise--that spinning that I love so much I still get to do but not as often; specific-to-you supplements; and a whole mind/body component I'm just getting into (we've had one call so far---calls are every 2 weeks for 4 months with homework in between) that so speaks to me. Our attitudes and beliefts, in my book, have as much if not more to do with transformation as the physical actions we take. When you work with Laughing Sage you get invited to be part of an online community so stories are swapped, successes shared, questions asked and answered---it's a really cool group of women and there's nothing like hearing from someone that they totally healed whatever it is you have.

Golden Bridge Yoga: if you live in LA you know about Golden Bridge, the magical Kundalini yoga center and school of Gurmukh and her wonderful team. I hadn't done much kundalini yoga--I'm a hatha teacher--but I was given a gift card there almost 3 years ago that I'd never used. I swear last week I was led in there by a magical force. I went to a class with a teacher named Tej, had the most beautiful interaction with her after class, and felt the whole time I was in there that this was RIGHT. There was so much lightness in the room. Then on my call with Alisa she said she wanted me to do more kundalini....I love when things line up and all is in sync! You might try some kundalini classes if you never have or maybe get a video? I think Gurmukh has them and there are certainly other amazing teachers out there. My meditations have been so much deeper since starting to use some of their breath work at home.

So OK, let me know if this is something you want updates on now and then. I know that I felt really alone when this all went down--I knew I wasn't but it felt that way. If I can help you let me know, or if you want more info on what I'm doing let me know. It felt like such a curse at first but it's a blessing: a chance to understand and listen to my body more, a chance to practice deep surrender and faith, an opportunity to connect with women I wouldn't otherwise. And as I take a break from gluten and sugar, I can tell my kids I sacrificed for them:)