Here is part 3 of Therapies to Heal ME which includes all the therapies that I tried out in 2013 to the present day in an effort to cure my ME, including dates, and my experiences with them:
2013
January
- Yoga classes – I started attending a local yoga class on a weekly basis as I felt it was more in line with my spirituality than ballroom and latin dancing! It really helped me to relax, stretch out tension and strengthen my muscles. I took classes for a year, then stopped and now I do a short yoga routine every morning to stretch!
February
- Emotional Scale – I discovered the emotional scale in the book ‘Ask and it is Given’ by Esther and Jerry Hicks. It explains that there is a scale of emotions at different vibrational frequencies. For instance the emotions of grief and anger are low vibrational and appreciation, love and joy are high vibrational. It taught me how to work out which emotional level I am currently feeling and step by step move up through the emotions to the highest level.
April
- Earthing – Sit in the garden with your bare feet touching the earth and the connection will drain away the positive electrical charge that has build up in your body from being in close contact with computers, mobile phones, TVs etc. After 30 minutes of earthing I feel so much better and more calm.
July
- Sprouting – my boyfriend at the time gave me some of his sprouting jars and taught me how to sprouts legumes such as chickpeas. You put the legumes in a sprouting jar and soak them in filtered water overnight to remove the phytates that are hard to digest. Change the water at least once. Then you drain the legumes and leave them to dry. Left on the window sill they will start to sprout and as they do release more nutrients.
September
- Juicing – my boyfriend let me borrow his juicer and I learned how to juice vegetables. The juice is highly concentrated in nutrients and it gives you a burst of energy!
December
- Ayurvedic Diet – in Ayurvedic medicine there are 3 doshas or body types called vata, pitta and kapha. I am a vata and have weak digestion so need easily digestible cooked and blended foods to nourish my body. Vatas do well on sweet and sour foods. Pittas have very strong digestion and do well on bitter foods. Kaphas gain weigh easily and do well on raw foods. Eating for your type will give you more energy.
2014
January
- Inner child healing – involves reconnecting with the child inside of you who wants to play and be loved. When it is ignored and we don’t take time to play, we get depressed. So loving and respecting that little child, we will feel happier and feel more joy in our lives! When I see my inner child she is a baby inside my abdomen who is crying and reaches out to hold my finger for support.
March
- Daily meditation – I started to meditate every morning for 15 minutes after being inspired by the Abraham Hicks meditation process. This transformed my life and kept me feeling balanced and calm all day. You can read about how to do my light meditation here.
May
- Epsom Salt Baths – during a consultation at the student clinic, the student nutritionist advised that I take regular Epsom salt baths for relaxation as I was prone to anxiety. I used 1 tbsp of high grade Epsom salt in a bath tub of hot filtered water for 10 minutes twice a week. The magnesium in the salts absorbs through the skin and relaxes the muscles leaving you feeling completely relaxed. It is difficult to get out the bath afterwards!
July
- Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) – also known as tapping, it is a process of gently tapping specific acupressure points on your face to clear your energy meridians. The process starts with you thinking of a traumatic memory and feeling the intense emotional pain. Then you say the affirmation “Even though I have this feeling, I deeply and completely accept myself” as you tap the specific pressure points. It is a very powerful process as it release blockages in your meridians and leaves you feeling calm and relieved. You can watch a video on The Tapping Solution to show you where the tapping points are located.
September
- Butekyo Breathing Method – involves using your abdomen to take a small breath in, then a small breath out and holding your breath for a minimum of 5 seconds. This gives your red blood cells time to transport oxygen to all areas of your body. The theory behind this is that we over breath which expels too much carbon dioxide from our body which is the very things that is required to aid oxygen transport around the body. As we build up the amount time between breathes, we experience healing effects such as detoxification as our bodies finally get the oxygen they need to function optimally. I use this technique to calm down my breathing when I get stressed and start to hyperventilate. It is very effective.
October
- Plastic purge – I came across an article online that said that storing food and drink in plastic containers is harmful as plastic contains endocrine distrupters that leach into the food and reek havoc with our hormones and cause higher levels of oestrogen in the body. Up until then I had been drinking water out of plastic bottles! I immediately threw away the plastic bottles and started drinking filtered water from the tap which is much safer. Cans are lined with plastic and so canned foods also contain the endocrine disrupters! So now I buy bags of dry beans and legumes, soak them, then boil them. Using glass and steel containers instead of plastic is better for the environment as plastic is made from petroleum oil which is meant to be used for lubricating the Earth’s tectonic plates.
- Adrenal Fatigue Diet – avoiding high sugar foods such as sweet fruits, dates, raisins, bananas and sweeteners keeps you blood sugar level stable and prevents dips during the day which put stress on your adrenals. Other lifestyle factors for adrenal fatigue include reducing exposure to stressful situations, meditation, yoga and walking in nature.
I am still learning and trying new techniques to improve my health today! Currently I am fascinated by Buteyko breathing!
If you have ME/CFS, I hope that these therapy reviews give you some ideas of healing methods you can try out. Everybody is different and what works for one person may not work for someone else. Still in my opinion it is worth trying everything that you feel may help until you find the one that works for you.