Cleanse

My Journey Naturally Managing TMJ Disorder

My Journey Naturally Managing TMJ Disorder
Dealing with jaw issues can be quite complex. Many people, including specialists, often struggle to pinpoint the exact causes of TMJ disorders (TMJD), and the underlying factors can differ significantly from one individual to another.

I firmly believe in the interconnectedness of the body. We are holistic beings, and it’s essential to nurture our body, mind, spirit, and heart as a unified whole.

Through a process of trial and error, I’ve made several lifestyle changes and embraced natural solutions that have led me to a place of physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual wellness. While there’s always room for growth, I can confidently say I feel better than ever on this journey of wellness.

5 Key Changes That Improved My TMJ Health

  1. Revamping My Diet
    • We eliminated sugar, caffeine, most dairy (especially for my husband, who has IBS), and processed foods from our diet.
    • Our meals now focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, with einkorn as our primary grain.
    • We also incorporated supplements that promote joint health and overall wellness, which have surprisingly improved the strength and appearance of my hair and nails.
  2. Chiropractic Support
    • Regular visits to a specialized chiropractor have been beneficial, as they help us maintain proper alignment and use tools that help us keep that alignment longer.
    • I wear a custom night splint that allows my jaw to slide rather than clench, primarily protecting my teeth rather than fully preventing clenching.
  3. Mindfulness and Emotional Regulation
    • I’ve worked diligently to manage my mindset and emotional responses, as well as to balance my hormones.
    • Previously, I was prone to anxiety and often magnified small worries. By focusing on affirmations and embracing positive truths, I’ve made significant strides in my emotional well-being. The Big Think course was key for me in growing my mind to be prepared for new big things!
  4. Targeted Supplementation
    • Addressing deficiencies in the body is vital, particularly concerning joint health, gut function, and detoxification issues like tinnitus.
    • In a world where our bodies can sometimes falter, providing high-quality, bioavailable supplements can help us reclaim our health. Remember, healing is a gradual process that requires patience and consistency.
  5. Prioritizing Sleep
    • Quality sleep is foundational to overall health and wellness. Ensuring I get restorative rest has been a game-changer in my journey.

Want to Learn More?

If you’re curious about the specific strategies that have worked for me in these areas, feel free to explore the links above or check out the TMJ Strong course. Health and wellness are not one-size-fits-all, and I’m here to share my experiences and insights. If you’re looking for someone to discuss ideas with or simply need a supportive ear, I’m here for you. I wish I had that kind of support when I first began this journey. I send you my best wishes for wellness, relief, and abundance on your path. Stay blessed!

A Special Ingredient You Need in Your Home & Organic Garden

A Special Ingredient You Need in Your Home & Organic Garden
Gardening organically can be slightly harder in certain instances, but it is well worth the pay-off. Growing your own nutrient-dense food that is as natural as possible is becoming increasingly important to many families.



What to do about pests though?



Or what about a natural way to get rid of fleas once your lovable pooch has already brought them home?

I got both covered. :)

Here's your special ingredient, something I ALWAYS have on hand, and 6 awesome uses for it:


Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is a very fine powder that contains tiny pre-historic aquatic organisms called diatoms which are made of silica. Some brands of DE (like in the link above) may be taken internally as well as used around the house. I personally only use a brand that is food grade, as I would not want children/pets getting into anything that was not safe to ingest already, you know what I mean? I don't have chemical insect repellant, cleaners, or sunscreen in the house (I've written about that here), let alone anything else that's harmful to my precious family.

6 Awesome Uses of DE:
1. Overall health benefits for hair, skin, nails, body, and brain. DE usually contains trace minerals, and we are often deficient in silica, which also has some amazing properties. Go do a little google search to see for yourself!

2. Great addition to facial scrubs, deodorant, carpet cleaner, and more. Just AVOID eyes (and nose on furry friends).

3. Kills fleas that your pooch brought in! The fine and abrasive nature of the powder causes insects with exoskeletons to dehydrate fatally. Dust pup 2x per day until pests are seen to be gone (be careful to avoid mouth & eyes, as the fine dust particles can irritate mucus membranes!).

4. Pest control in the garden. Re-apply once per day after noticing pests after dew or rain has dried for best use.

5. DE has detoxifying properties and can be used alongside these other gentle cleansing and detoxing tips.

6. In vegetable gardening, DE is sometimes used as a soil conditioner, because it can retain water and nutrients while draining fast and freely, allowing more air circulation to bring additional oxygen to the root system within the soil (which you want).



There you have it! Hope this is helpful. Go grab some here if you need it as much as I do!

Want to receive updates to the blog? You can sign up to get them straight to your inbox or phone here so you don't miss any.  Or join my free group, Abundant Life Community, for more natural food, household, and gardening tips. :)








*Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. All things I love and use, of course!

5 Reasons to Drink Kombucha

5 Reasons to Drink Kombucha
Homemade Kombucha tastes SO GOOD.

Never heard of it? It's a fizzy beverage produced by fermenting sweet tea with a culture of wild yeast and bacteria. Many people I know replace soda with kombucha because it satisfies that craving for carbonated goodness, but is actually good for you!

The awesome part? When you homebrew it, you can customize the amount of fizzy carbonation, caffeine, flavor, and sweetness.

The 5 main benefits of drinking Kombucha: 💚
1. Cleansing and detoxing for the body.    
2. Immune system support -- gut health leads to immune system health!
3. Improved digestion -- probiotics. :)
4. Increased energy -- happy gut, more energy!
5. Increased metabolism -- happy gut, better processing of food.
triple berry kombucha

Drink kombucha but curious how to make your own?
I make my own and have put together a video course called Homebrewing Kombucha Made Easy -- you can learn how to make your own too, for a fraction of what it costs to buy in the store. I walk you through each step from buying the ingredients & materials to how to decide which flavors to make!

5 Ways to Actively Detoxify and Gently Cleanse

5 Ways to Actively Detoxify and Gently Cleanse
Detoxing and cleansing are super important for our body to optimally function, especially right now. To learn more about why detoxing and cleansing is important, check out my other post here.

But now that you know why it's important...

5 Ways to Actively Detoxify and Gently Cleanse

1. Drink LOTS of Water -- Learn more about why water is so important!

2. Lower (or Eliminate!) Processed Sugar Intake
       Processed sugar, when consumed in excess as most modern foods/diets do, can affect our health negatively in several ways. It can lead to weight gain and increase the risk of several potential diseases. Reduce consumption of sugar, table salt, processed foods, and junk foods to help the body lower inflammation and detoxify.

3. Add Antioxidants to Your Diet
       Antioxidants protect our cells against free radicals. Unhealthy habits including smoking, following a modern processed food diet, drinking too much alcohol, exposure to pollutants such as toxic ingredients found in personal care products and household cleaners, and more can lead to the accumulation of free radicals in the body. To fight these, we can add foods loaded with antioxidants to our diet daily like wolfberries, grapes, onion, garlic, mango, spinach, capsicum, and certain herbal teas. Some have a much higher content than others, so if you're looking for the highest antioxidant content in foods, check out my favorites list below.

      My top 5 favorite foods and teas high in antioxidants:
          -- Wolfberries, specifically a certain kind from China: learn more about my favorite kind.
          -- Detoxify Tea (includes tumeric and other herbs that help our body cleanse)
         -- Increasing fiber in your diet -- I specifically like a supplement called ICP for occasional help with increasing fiber in my diet and helping scrub that colon wall (you can purchase it here, though not everyone benefits from the same thing. Schedule a wellness consult with me to get more info or shoot me an email).
         -- High-quality garlic and other foods high in antioxidants. Always choose organic/locally grown, when you can, and go out of your way to prioritize that. Why? Learn more about it from my dad who has an 8-acre organic vegetable farm near Rochester, MN.
        -- Moringa, a superfood high in antioxidants. I like adding it to smoothies. :)



5. Do a specific cleanse/reset of the digestive system.
   I am actually newer to this concept (it's something I'm still learning about!) but I am going to be doing a cleanse (no food, just a homemade lemon juice mix for 10 days!) described in this book after the Thanksgiving holiday before Christmas so my body and digestive system/colon can reset.
   Some of the supplies/ingredients needed:
      -- Maple Syrup (someone else doing this cleanse specifically recommended getting this kind, perhaps it says in the book why, but I haven't read the book yet!)
      -- A caffeine free laxative tea like this one
     -- Fine ground REAL sea salt (this one non-iodized!)
     -- Ground Cayenne Pepper 
     -- Organic Lemons
     -- A juicer is HIGHLY recommended!
  If you're interested in joining me, get the materials above and let me know you're doing it! There's a few other tips I've learned from others doing it that can be super helpful, and I can pass along to you. I'll add you to a group I'm in all about cleansing in this way to have support and accountability together.

People I know who have done this cleanse have reported:
1: Lowered Inflammation
2: Have more energy
3: Better sleep
4: Clarity of mind
5: Positive outlook
6: Greater flexibility
7: Weight loss
8: Freedom from addiction
9: Increased strength
10: Swelling and pain
11: Hair loss regrowth
12: Skin improvement
13: Allergies reduced
And simply just feel better.

Sounds good to me!!

So there you have it. Some simple ways to help the body detox and be at our best. Feeling stuck, or need additional tools to get you moving in the right direction? I have additional simple detoxing strategies from the ones listed here. Or maybe you just need some accountability and encouragement! Come join a group of like-minded people who want to do this wellness thing naturally, and encourage one another to stay the course.


This is my health story

 

I have always been sensitive. That's a word that has described me, my body in particular, my whole life. I have skin sensitivities to fabrics, bruise easily, I get cold easily, I tend to be on "alert" all of the time (no coffee needed here!), I'm a musician and very creative, and I don't even THINK about using any conventional personal care or other products that are scented... they bother my skin, and they bother my respiratory system too. I've never been able to use any scented products because of the discomfort and increased sensitivity they cause. I can't be around people who wear perfume or scented deodorant, because I can't breathe well and my head has discomfort. I can't go into a public bathroom that has been just cleaned because of the toxic chemicals they used to clean it. I can't enjoy candles or most lotions or makeup like most women I know because I'm sensitive to it.

During my first semester of college, I started to develop debilitating discomfort in my jaw, which I was later told is TMJD or temporomandibular joint dysfunction, not just the kind of little twinge when you bite down on something too hard, but long-lasting aching, along with clicking and cracking. It was exacerbated by singing, gum-chewing, caffeine, and other things, and I was easily able to cut out all of the things listed on my doctor's list except for one -- singing. I was a vocal music education major, and singing was my livelihood (or at least soon-to-be), so I couldn't just not practice! I struggled so hard for 2.5 years through long choir rehearsals, voice lessons, practice sessions, and more. By the end of the day, it would be so bad that I'd almost be in tears. My roommates and boyfriend (and his roommates!), bless their servant hearts, would bring me freezing cold ice packs to numb my face enough so that I could fall asleep at least, though I would wake up in the night unable to fall back asleep due to other sleep issues I also was dealing with.

It seemed like a vicious cycle that I needed to stop. Maybe I needed to change majors and give up my dream of making music, of teaching others to make music too. Maybe I needed to pick something that didn't require so much singing and talking. Even smiling a lot bothered me, so maybe I needed to pick a major or job with less human interaction. But THAT idea broke my heart. I didn't enjoy any of the things I could think of! My boyfriend at the time (now husband!) and I had many conversations about what I should do... singing was part of the fabric of my BEING. I am MADE to sing. If you know me, you know that hardly an hour went by without me humming or singing some little tune. But my jaw bothered me so much most of the time that I needed to change SOMETHING. But what?

And that's when change came...

I found some natural and pretty simple solutions -- though simple doesn't always mean easy! It required a LOT of discipline and self-control on my part.

I'm blessed now to have so many versatile tools in my tool box for any emotion, body system, or issue I may be experiencing. So, where am I now? Healthier than I’ve EVER been. I have NO jaw issues anymore when I keep up my self-created protocol. I sleep through the night. I feel so much better now that I'm sleeping more and deeper. I've spent 4 years now working through the emotional issues I faced in early career, and I am so happy that I can now FEEL emotions without feeling completely run-over and frozen by emotions. I’m also happy to say that I have only had little illnesses since finding solutions, not the constant strep throat and other illnesses I was getting at least once per month before! And, that’s saying a lot as I was constantly around germs while working full time with 500+ elementary students. But once I started supporting my immune system, I stopped getting sick every couple of weeks. I can clean with the most amazing smelling cleaner without coughing. I can wear my own homemade "perfume" and get compliments, and not only does it smell good, it supports my body systems. I can use amazing smelling shampoo now! I can have twice as much energy for the day without drinking any coffee or sugary drink. When I started having these successes, I was at first in disbelief, and now in awe at all that God's created, I believe, and given us for our good. Now these are my first line of defense, my go-tos, the first thing I do when something is off, which is not very often anymore (usually just when the weather changes, ah MN life).


I look forward to living a beautiful life of freedom and feeling empowered every single day, enjoying the life I was meant to live. That life includes sharing my story of overcoming and helping you also find better, safer solutions to overcome your daily struggles.

Are you ready to live empowered to be your own best advocate? Let's chat.

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