Do You Suffer from Abdominal Cramping?
We've all been there! Perhaps you suffer chronic abdominal pain from food allergies, sports injuries or emotional stress? Or maybe it's a more acute pain when you eat something that just doesn't sit right, you eat out at a restaurant or you overeat? If you just answered yes to any of these questions, then this blog post is for you.
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How I Went from Belly Was Bad to Belly Be Good!
The abdomen contains many layers. In my experience, it's not a fast area to heal, nor does just one thing do the trick. For years I had pain in my abdomen, especially around my navel where my small intestines are housed. It was a combination of emotional suppression, food allergies, sports injuries, and depleting, cleansing diets. A few of the tools I used included changes to my diet, Maya Abdominal Massage, herbal remedies, and Tapping, which is a version of Emotional Freedom Technique. I will note that each one played a role in healing a different layer. The tool I used last revealed the final piece to releasing the deepest emotional pieces I was storing in my abdomen. This tool was Tapping and actually brought me back to my childhood. Here's my story ~
Emotional Stress ~ Storage Bin in the Abdomen
Tapping helped me uncover subconscious issues from when I was a child during meal time, which were causing the lingering pain. Things like: being forced to eat all the food on my plate even when I was full (thus overeating) or being sent to the cold, stinky, alienating garage to finish a meal, both taught me I had no control over what I ate or how much I ate. even being graded on how I ate had a detrimental effect on my emotional body. As I connected to my personal power more, I became a vegetarian for animal right reasons at the age of 10.
The Jersey Teen Vegetarian Diet & the Price I Paid
You can bet nothing special was served to accommodate this new diet, so I ate mostly dairy and carbs, more specifically the Jersey Diet: Bagels, Pizza and Yogurt. These are like the three basic food groups to a tween/teen in New Jersey! After a few years of this diet I managed to create massive pain in my abdomen. I was sent to a doctor who said take these pills it's probably an ulcer. The pills did nothing so I returned. She said I must be allergic to dairy and take these different pills. I responded out loud: "Shouldn't I just stop eating dairy?" She said, " Well, most people don't want to do that so I don't bother suggesting it." And here was my moment in time where I first began to distrust the medical system and the so called experts giving me advice. I went home and experimented with products like lactaid and abstinence, but would find myself at a slumber party eating Ben & Jerry's with an ensuing stomach ache.
Freshman Fifteen & Food Eating Freedom
As a freshman in college the new found freedom of no one controlling my food was unbelievable. So I was a free-wheeling, junk food eating vegetarian of the worst kind! Gained my freshman 30 easily. Then I got so ill I was puking during a business class final. I finally hit the wall. The food laced with preservatives at the dining hall from Monsanto was poisoning me, and my system couldn't handle it anymore! I joined the rally to ban Monsanto from our campus and began a raw food vegan lifestyle.
The Monastic Raw Foodist Had to Eat Dairy Again
As my diet turned to fresh juice and a few nuts, I quickly shrank to skin and bones. I felt much better except for abdominal cramping. The most important thing I accomplished was I had purged my body from all the processed foods' toxins and preservatives! I was a Juice Queen - working with the local juice bar at the farmers' market and festivals. My main hobbies as a simpleton were meditating, doing yoga, and walking in the woods. I finally understood that: MY BODY IS A TEMPLE.
The monastic life brought me to Tibet, where a raw foodist unfortunately couldn't survive. It was way too cold!!!! Plus, culturally most Tibetans eat animals. However, while staying in India with a Tibetan Family, vegetarianism was respected. So in went the dairy, and boy did I have a reaction. My face broke out in acne and back came the weight.
The monastic life brought me to Tibet, where a raw foodist unfortunately couldn't survive. It was way too cold!!!! Plus, culturally most Tibetans eat animals. However, while staying in India with a Tibetan Family, vegetarianism was respected. So in went the dairy, and boy did I have a reaction. My face broke out in acne and back came the weight.
Winter Cleansing Hazards
I returned home to live on the beautiful Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes of New York State. It was mid-winter, and I decided to do a cleanse. In hindsight I know this was a terrible idea to eat raw foods in the cold climate. I lost the weight and the acne, but my circulation was poor. Plus, I was straight up cold. Then, I started to turn orange from all the carrot based juices. I did some more research and found that too many carrots are bad for the kidneys, and the beta-carotene was turning my skin pigment orange. Clearly it was time to re-examine my diet, but my ethical choices around food were pretty stationary.
It was so hard to change how I ate because of what I believed was right and wrong.
It was so hard to change how I ate because of what I believed was right and wrong.
Sports Injuries Healed through Massage Therapy
So off I went to study Healing with Whole Foods with Paul Pitchford as part of my Massage School Curriculum. I engrossed myself in this path. The only downside was I was being served 3 meals a day buffet of all organic, vegan food! Restraint did not come easily! However, the consistent massage, especially around my deep abdominal muscles, was extremely enlightening and started to loosen up the next layer of pain I was holding in my abdomen.
The psoas is the most under talked about muscle in the human body and responsible for a lot of people's abdominal and low back pain. (If you are interested, here is a Wikipedia link to see the psoas visually and learn more anatomically - PSOAS.)
The psoas is the only muscle that crosses the hip joint. It connects to the front of your spinal cord, which is deep to your large intestines, and runs into the inside of your hip bowl and down to the inner thigh.
I had been a soccer player for years and had managed to pull my psoas numerous times (known as a groin pull), which created scar tissue that adhered to my large intestine. I suffered from two contracted psoai (the plural form of psoas) and quadratus lumborum or QL. This complete lock down of the low back and abdominal cavity is affectionately known as the "Dark Vice" in bodywork lingo when both your psoai and your low back muscles are contracted.
All this bodywork and re-mapping of my mind/body connection released the physical sports injuries, but also started to reveal the emotional tension I was holding. Clearly, the healing was taking me on a deeper journey. I had found some keys here at massage school and wanted to heal my abdomen further. I became passionate about working on mine and other people's psoai & abdominal cavities. I also became focused on healing the body with food.
The psoas is the most under talked about muscle in the human body and responsible for a lot of people's abdominal and low back pain. (If you are interested, here is a Wikipedia link to see the psoas visually and learn more anatomically - PSOAS.)
The psoas is the only muscle that crosses the hip joint. It connects to the front of your spinal cord, which is deep to your large intestines, and runs into the inside of your hip bowl and down to the inner thigh.
I had been a soccer player for years and had managed to pull my psoas numerous times (known as a groin pull), which created scar tissue that adhered to my large intestine. I suffered from two contracted psoai (the plural form of psoas) and quadratus lumborum or QL. This complete lock down of the low back and abdominal cavity is affectionately known as the "Dark Vice" in bodywork lingo when both your psoai and your low back muscles are contracted.
All this bodywork and re-mapping of my mind/body connection released the physical sports injuries, but also started to reveal the emotional tension I was holding. Clearly, the healing was taking me on a deeper journey. I had found some keys here at massage school and wanted to heal my abdomen further. I became passionate about working on mine and other people's psoai & abdominal cavities. I also became focused on healing the body with food.
An Island of Healthy Fats???
My next adventure took me to Kaua'i to ground in my bodywork and solve the cold weather issue I had faced my whole life. Here I had another issue to combat: the increase of so called "healthy fats" & find a balanced Vegan Diet.
I worked as a prep cook and a baker at the vegan restaurant Blossoming Lotus and Lotus Root Bakery. It sounded healthy, but personally I was consuming way too much avocado, macadamia nuts, and coconut meat. Plus, I enjoyed my share of baked goods, which even though they were vegan, clearly they still contain sugar and fat.
As a result, my digestion became sluggish, and I was in a very volupscious phase with my body weight;) I wanted to understand what was still bothering me inside my abdomen. And how to move away from the heavy "good fat" diet.
I worked as a prep cook and a baker at the vegan restaurant Blossoming Lotus and Lotus Root Bakery. It sounded healthy, but personally I was consuming way too much avocado, macadamia nuts, and coconut meat. Plus, I enjoyed my share of baked goods, which even though they were vegan, clearly they still contain sugar and fat.
As a result, my digestion became sluggish, and I was in a very volupscious phase with my body weight;) I wanted to understand what was still bothering me inside my abdomen. And how to move away from the heavy "good fat" diet.
Finding Abdominal Massage - Mayan Style
My inquisitive nature led me to the work of Rosita Arvigo and her approach to Maya Abdominal Massage. I traveled to the Mainland & Belize to study with her. I practiced to become a Certified MAM therapist as well as learn about Mayan Spiritual Healing. No other bodywork centered and aligned my organs the way this one did. The most empowering piece was learning to do it on myself. Each evening as I went to bed, I would give myself this massage technique. Not only was the touch therapeutic, but it gave my mind time to connect with the emotions stored in the abdomen. It was quiet a rabbit whole.
Taking Your Healing Where I've Gone
The more I practiced the MAM Self-Care, the deeper I could take my clients. I returned to Hawai'i as the only therapist in the chain of islands. I worked passionately with people in their abdomens adding in the herbal remedy and spiritual healing components as well. Quickly, I was brought into the Kaua'i Holistic Wellness Clinic where I added colonics, enemas, and Ayurvedic oil treatments to the regiment. I had found there were many ways to help people heal their abdominal pains.
8 Ways to Help Your Belly Feel Better
| The way to get the biggest shift in the belly is to start by seeing a Maya Abdominal Massage Practitioner. Next, you can do the self-care massage on your own abdomen. By consistently doing the MAM self-care, your organs will be more aligned. As you continue to develop this relationship of touch with your belly, you will get in tune with where and what you hold as emotional stress. At this point, I recommend doing Tapping to release these emotional pieces. Physically, it's important to eat a nourishing, warming diet, and take the Belly Be Good Tincture. This is how I got the result of a belly the feels completely good! YOU CAN, TOO! |  |
What is Belly Be Good Herbal Tincture?
This herbal tincture is for those moments when you feel abdominal cramping or bloating. Three herbal plants make up the Belly Be Good Herbal Tincture: Guaco, Ginweo, and Man Vine. These three herbal remedies work together to specifically aid in digestion, relieves constipation, and moderates gastritis. Man Vine is especially known for treating constipation, indigestion, intestinal gas, inability to eat, mucus in the stool, gastritis, and most other aliments of the digestive tract for that matter. This unique Rainforest Remedy can even be used for more chronic conditions that are stress or emotional related. Many people notice that when their stress increases it goes right to their belly.
My teacher, Rosita Arvigo, in Belize formulates this herbal blend. The blends mostly come from her teacher Don Elijo Panti, who was an ancient Mayan Shaman. His knowledge of herbal remedies surpassed anyone I've ever known. I'm grateful to be able to offer you this effective, natural way to treat your abdominal complaints.
My teacher, Rosita Arvigo, in Belize formulates this herbal blend. The blends mostly come from her teacher Don Elijo Panti, who was an ancient Mayan Shaman. His knowledge of herbal remedies surpassed anyone I've ever known. I'm grateful to be able to offer you this effective, natural way to treat your abdominal complaints.
People's Success with Belly Be Good Herbal Tincture
I have clients who swear by the therapeutic benefits of Belly Be Good. One man's abdominal pain was a mixture of physical pain from gastritis and emotional stress from an intense job. He uses Belly Be Good Tincture three times a day to not only relax his organs, but also calm his nerves. With this herbal remedy the emotional piece is not forgotten, rather it is eased.
Even pregnant and nursing women can safely take this tincture. It doesn't combat morning sickness, but it's nice to have a remedy that is mild enough to take when women are in these times of their lives. I found it helpful while I was pregnant and always traveled with it, too.
Even pregnant and nursing women can safely take this tincture. It doesn't combat morning sickness, but it's nice to have a remedy that is mild enough to take when women are in these times of their lives. I found it helpful while I was pregnant and always traveled with it, too.
How to Take Belly Be Good:
For prevention of digestive complaints ~ If you know that when you eat food you tend to feel uncomfortable afterwards, you can take it 10 to 15 minutes before you eat. If you eat three meals a day, you would take it three times a day prior to the meal.
As a digestive remedy after the fact ~ If you eat something that doesn't sit right, you can take a dropperful as needed afterwards.
To Take Orally ~ Because it's a pretty mild tincture, you can take one dropperful under the tongue. Or you can put one dropperful in a small glass of water (1 to 2 oz.) and drink it that way. If you are concerned about the very small amount of alcohol, you can put it in tea or hot water and the alcohol with evaporate.
As a digestive remedy after the fact ~ If you eat something that doesn't sit right, you can take a dropperful as needed afterwards.
To Take Orally ~ Because it's a pretty mild tincture, you can take one dropperful under the tongue. Or you can put one dropperful in a small glass of water (1 to 2 oz.) and drink it that way. If you are concerned about the very small amount of alcohol, you can put it in tea or hot water and the alcohol with evaporate.
How to Get Belly Be Good Tincture:
My Aim is to Empower You to Feel Better Sooner!
My abdominal pain taught me so much that years later, I continue to enjoy helping people heal their abdominal pain. It's a deep process, but releasing all the stored emotional and physical injuries is well worth it. I hope you enjoy these tips. Let me know if you have any questions.
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