The beneficial therapeutic effects offered by the Chi Nei Tsang modality go beyond the physical. With focus on reconnecting to one's felt sense clients begin to evolve naturally into mindfulness, the ability to be fully present in the moment. 

Connecting to breath is essential in the improvement of wellbeing and is a focus of treatment and self care session. Conscious breathing makes us aware of how little actual breath we may be taking into our bodies as we navigate our day to day lives. Lack of oxygen accounts for much of the difficulty we have in terms of reactivity to stressors. Connecting to breath reconnects us to what and how we feel...the beginning of healing and being able to enjoy life more. 

Beyond a therapeutic modality Chi Nei Tsang can be used as a self care Yang Sheng practice. As a Qigong teacher and wellness consultant, I teach CNT self care to clients in sessions and as classes. 

Over and over again my clients remark on the seemly "magical" quality of their session. The effects of Chi Nei Tsang sessions are cumulative and offer sustainable progress toward improved or enhanced wellbeing. 

I am honored to be a practitioner through the TaoTouch Chi Nei Tsang organization and to be able to pass the wisdom and knowledge of these ancient healing tools onto my clients and students.

Get the book!
​"Yang Sheng the Art of Chinese Healing"                by Katie Brindle is a delightfully written and illustrated book that will support your practice of Yang Sheng. I was so pleased when I found Katie's book...one less book I needed to write!

She developed this book as a tool for her own clients and it is in my top three books I recommend to everyone who finds support with me. 

The definition of the word pales in comparison to living with unresolved trauma. Trauma comes in many forms and from many sources. We cannot judge trauma in relationship to levels of the experience of it. Trauma is relative to the recipetant. A personal foundation of strong support from a close and balanced family does much to mitigate a traumatic experience in some cases, but no always. Those whose suffering is epic may have layers of traumas piled into one body/mind that crushes the soul and breaks the heart.

Having been a person who experienced multiple traumas over many years I know all too well how challenging recovery can be. Trauma recovery is a journey of a lifetime. We never completely arrive, but we can come to enjoy our lives more, which is the goal of healing. 

Life is hard, joyful, aggravating, frustrating, blissful, filled with angst, we make forward progress and have backwards sliding...that's just it...LIFE. The most any of us can do is our best to get up every day and find a smile within ourselves. Traumatic experiences are a part of life and the intent of this article is to encourage the reader to understand that the body is equipped by design to resolve trauma

It's time for some common sense advice and guidance with the prospect of finding our way through traumatic events. Whether you have one isolated event, layers of trauma or a loved one who suffers.. this information comes from my heart to my readers with a hope and prayer that you will find within it a better understanding of how to tap into your ability to move toward resolution and healing.

"Trauma healing" supports are BIG BUSINESS
Offered primarily through the medical community in the form of therapies, medications, hospitalizations, and now even psychoactive plant medicines that are costing Americans... hold onto your seat, a whopping 232 billion dollars per year! That's a huge motivator to come up with treatment options to SELL to the public.

This article is written from two perspectives:

• My own journey which lead me through a wide array of therapeutic approaches from which I may have gleaned a tool or more often found what doesn't work. What doesn't work, or didn't work for me has been the best pointer to finding what truly begins to produce a change in the way one feels...the real progress of being marked by the feeling the past is finally in the past. where it belongs. The pathway to resolution came to me not by using a therapeutic method or tool, but from learning to be with what I feel. To sit with what is, a concept at the art of Taoist teachings...be with what is. When you can do that it will shift on its own.
• My work as a wellness consultant goes far beyond making suggestions as to management of lifestyle and nutritional recommendations. My practice is more esoteric as it is a student / teacher relationship integrating shamanistic aspects of a sacred counselor. I have worked with many individuals whose traumatic experiences although challenging, were able to be healed and recovery a sense of enjoyment of life. However it must be noted that "healing trauma" was never, is never...the goal. Any resolution of the effects of trauma came as clients came to place of trusting me and ultimately themselves. Before long, they are simply enjoying their life more and the dogged trauma issues began to fade away... no having a hold over them. 

I was prompted to write on this subject after making a comment on a "vagus therapy" post on Instagram. The post touted this a vagus nerve therapy as a treatment for trauma . My comment was, "I think we should stop poking at trauma. The need to fix a person suffering from trauma is not helpful". I received more likes and comments supportive and hostile than anything else I have ever posted to social media. I had struck a nerve. Most were supportive and wanted to know more, others were downright hostile!  One poster claimed that I should not be treating anyone with trauma unless I was a medical professional...wow! I responded, "human beings have been helping each other through trauma since the beginning of time and this is not the time to stop helping others who are suffering." There some serious brainwashing when the common opinion is that the medical profession holds all the secrets to recovery and that without them, we'll never make it!

I explained to this commentator that I do not treat trauma. I support people in the process of finding healing on any level including trauma and PTSD. This is a very different approach, a more oblique method than the variety of "therapies" out there. I believe the fundamental difference is that I don't see the traumatized as people who  needs to be "fixed".  They are having a normal human experience. As unpleasant as it is, it is nothing more than that. They are no different from someone who has a cranky gallbladder. They have a symptom that has gotten their attention. Symptoms are the call to healing which is a learnable process involving the evolution of consciousness through expansion of awareness. More on Healing Demystified

I have seen hundreds of individuals over the 35 years I have been working with others in the healing process. Many of whom, in spite of multiple therapies and medications continue to suffer the ill effects of being stuck in TRAUMA/PTSD cycle. 

If this is the expertise of the day why is success so elusive?

My consistent experience with clients who have undergone these various therapies is that in a period of  1, 2, 5 years or more later they are still suffering from anxiety, sleep disorders, digestive disturbances, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue, malaise, depression. Neurotic difficulties with food, dysmorphia, OCD behaviors are often in play. These folks suffer with addiction issues to alcohol, drugs, work, sex, romance, shopping. They present often as hypervigilant, perfectionists, fears of success and failure along with a deep in need to be "in control"!

What is going on with that?

Many have are entangled with medications that take over the production and management of neurotransmitters. This leads to a whole other layer of trauma as medications often produce deepening levels of disconnection from self (depersonalization) and an inability to know how one feels. The ability to feel is our primary guidance system*. Without it we are literally LOST.

Medications that manipulate the microbiology of the endocrine system, neurotransmitters and hormones are straight from Pandora's box. They are designed to manage symptoms, but in most cases the end result is worsening levels of "symptoms". Anxiety meds classified as benzodiazepines are the most dangerous, posing physical addiction and are nearly impossible to withdraw from if taken for longer than 4 - 6 weeks. Engineered to require higher and higher dosages, these medication rank right up their with the wickedly engineered OXYcontin in terms of damage and addiction.

​Their cousins the "non" benzodiazepine groups such as common sleep aids like Lunesta and Ambien whose "non" category make them easier to prescribe are just as addicting! The side effects from meds create a cycle of MD's  "upping doses" or "trying" something new when one drug fails. It is not uncommon for medications to be layered, further adding the disruption of the normal microbiology. This is a nightmare for patients who, if not suicidal before meds, is likely to become so as a result of being on them!

When I finally see these folks they are not much further down the road to recovery than when they started. Many  are worse for the meds and therapies! They have a sense of hopelessness, a feeling of failure and are deeply confused. 

Why is this so?
The nervous system of a traumatized individual is fragile. It needs nourishing. It needs comfort. It needs sleep.
Trauma turned into PTSD is a powerful energetic force running in the background of the body/mind complex. Despite memory loss and dissociation the trauma experience continues to reflect its presence through the endless variety of coping mechanisms and self damaging behaviours that seem to defy the finding of peace. 

In spite of the many therapies, these clients are often still tangled up with symptoms that indicate that the background grind of the trauma, PTSD and its effect on the nervous system is still in play. This ramped up energy is trapped in the body/mind. It is literally undigested information that no longer serves the individual which they cannot shed. The churning energy expresses in symptoms of every sort!

Support the body first.
​
​It is my belief that any successful support for those who suffer trauma is to work as one would with any physical symptom. Supporting the physical body is always the place to start no matter what the complaints are.

Trauma sufferers are often depleted, overwrought and exhausted. This is a state know as enervation. It is physical and emotional exhaustion accompanied with higher than normal levels of adrenaline. The adrenaline acts as a stimulant to keep the person in a state of hyperarousal. This powerful hormone is anesthetizing. It reduces our capacity to feel our bodies thereby allowing you to rescue someone from a burning building or out run a predator and not feel what's happening in the moment! That's an effective system.

Enervation is a state of being stuck in the fight / flight / freeze response. The brain along with the supporting microbiology literally can not come down and return to the ALPHA brainwave state...calm and alert. Rather, the brain is running on chaotic BETA waves and is unable to reset. Hence the need for anything to bring one down ...alcohol, pot, numbing out, depression. The mind will go for what it needs...even if it's not the best thing. It grasps for relief. Coping mechanisms and addictions develop out of the deep need for the body to find peace. 

This inability to reset was studied by Hans Selye a Canadian Endocrinologist who first identified the stress response. Maladaptation of chronic fight/flight response overwrites the healthy body/brain controls to return to the calmness. The unrelenting state of maladaptation creates a shift in the microbiology. Essentially calcium and magnesium, the calming minerals are shifted out of the system in order to accomodate the adrenaline surge to action. When the danger has passed these mineral would come back into solution in the blood and calm is achieved. In chronic fight/flight calcium gets stored in places we don't want it and magnesium gets wasted.

​The affected individual cannot feel calm, even if they wanted to...it is not within their reach. This outcome is known as Selye's Syndrome. This explains why so many people are magnesium deficient and have disorders relating to accumulated calcium, such as stenosis....the body is only observing what the mind is projecting...I am still running, fighting or hiding from danger. Hyperarousal...fear!

Until the body microbiology can be restored to biological/mineral balance, no healing will happen. The derangement of sleep, constant hormonal activation, unresolved cortisol begins to make everything seem like a crisis which only compounds the plight of the traumatized individual. Sleep is our natural healing time. Too much adrenaline makes sleep challenged leaving us unable to heal.

In addition to supporting the reversal to Selye's Syndrome we must engage ourselves in the discussion of the wounded heart and soul. Experience has taught me that ultimately it is LOVE that truly heals.
​
The multitudinous array of therapies for trauma tend to operate according to a formula, a "formatted" method, if you will. When recovery is not realized the format breaks down. This therapeutic formula may not account for the nuances of an individual's mental, emotional and physical self.

In other words if these methods are not holistic they are unable in many cases to reach body, mind and soul. 

"Therapeutic" approaches... are often the result of studies focused on analyzing patterns of behavior in response to trauma. This is a clinical viewpoint with a blind spot. Medicine seeks to "fix a symptom" or in lieu of a cure offering palliative care when fixing symptoms fails. Consequently many "patients" are medicated with antidepressants, anxiety meds, antipsychotics and sleep meds. The medicated state does not lend itself to being able to feel and navigate the abstract world of the self, so essential to recovery is not accessible. Healing is by nature a response to awareness. The ability to connect with what your symptom is telling you is where we begin. Knowing what the symptoms message is allows us to evolve into an ability determine what we need and to give it to ourselves.

This discussion would be incomplete if we fail to look at the general health of the average American whose diet and lifestyle choices make us one of the sickest nations of the world. Poor nutrition means poor brain function. Unhealthy foods and unrelenting reactivity to stressors affects gut health. The all important function of the gut is to produce beneficial neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin which help us to DIGEST our experiences. Gut related neurotransmitters and a well functioning endocrine system give us our spark. Addressing shifts in nutrition and self care equals a new level of self love, that evolves through encouragement and experience. Once we get a feel for something better than what we have had, we are drawn to it, because humans naturally love pleasure!

For all the resources of the affluent which allows them to choose from the array of "healing modalities", their recovery rates are not better than their lower income counterparts who has much fewer options. Regardless of economic resources and therapeutic options the only predictor of regaining one's balance after trauma of any sort is the determination of the individual to face what they feel about their experience and begin to find a confidence and trust in themselves to recover.

This is a task that should be taken as it comes...not forced and focused upon. Reliving the trauma event only further engrains the experience in the psyche. Rather we can through education provide for ourselves and our communities the wisdom of understanding the injured person needs support and a sense of safety to begin to move out of the effects of their particular trauma experiences. 

Trauma is an inherent experience of all sentient beings.

The energy of it "unwinds" as the body and brain are able to release the shock response to it. In the case of protracted trauma one must move gently into supporting the physical and emotional body until...all on its own when safety is achieved the reptilian brain will clear the energy out of the system. 

In closing, it is not my intention to negate therapeutic options as ineffective.
​
It is my intention to debunk the commonly accepted understanding that a person cannot find relief, even healing on their own. I am taking exception with the continued victimization of the American public by the medical powers that be. This skewed perspective has developed to the advantage of the pharmaceutical and medical machines that need sick people as fodder for profits. People have come to accept premature aging, and are disconnected to the cause and effect of the metabolic syndrome disorders that lead to years of medication on its  slippery slope. It seems as though the average person has lost their ability to not only think for themselves, but to apply common sense to the care of their bodies and minds.

My message includes the need to that find one's connection to the source of the Divine mind within us. This is essential to the healing process. Studies on who recovers from chronic and life threatening illnesses demonstrate that a common denominator of those individuals is a belief in a power higher than themselves...a benevolent force and source of guidance that is available to them. They also believe they deserve to be healed and to enjoy their life.

This source of FAITH will come to all of us as we reach out in the darkness and simply ask for help. Help will come in the form of others who will support you, in changes of circumstances that foster personal growth. I have seen it over and over again..clients who say..."I am so glad I found you", "Why didn't my doctor ever tell me this?", "I never imagined that I could ever feel better", "I didn't know it was this simple"!

​*Antonio Damasio - The Feeling of What Happens

For all who suffer my prayers abide!
 Utilizing focus on supporting the physical body
​combine with the practices of Yang Sheng..nourishing life!
Join our community of “Bridge Crossers” today!

Wellness Consultant and Educator provides support in the healing process
through a variety of modalities and offers services remotely and locally in Scottsdale Arizona

Explore Healing Expeiences with Vanessa Goldeen
are available for a jump start toward a life filled with nourishment for body & soul!

Wellness Support / About Vanessa
I can help you find recovery... for more information feel free to email me at
[email protected]

Find us
Instagram: @scottsdalebridge2health
YouTube: @awakenandevolve
Check out the Healing Trauma Presentation and Series of talks!
Facebook: Bridge to Health and Awaken & Evolve Learning Center pages

​Sometime starting in 2024
I will be offering Learn to Heal online support group experiences as a way to
empower others to find what they need within!

What is the vagus nerve and why is everyone talking about it?

• The vagus nerve is the tenth cranial nerve (CNX) and is the longest mixed cranial nerve in the body.
• It's a pair of nerves that originate from the left and right side of the brain stem at medulla oblongata. 
• The Latin translation of the vagus is 'wanderer,' which aptly represents its pathway of meandering down the body into all the major organ systems.
• It functions as an intermediary between the brain and the organs.​
• It's vital role is an essential part of the parasympathetic (autonomic or automatic) nervous system is in maintaining overall wellness.
• It also governs the expression of fight, flight or freeze response. As well as maintaining calmness in the body when one is not in fight or flight.
• The vagus nerve is also responsible for the biological process of protecting the body against invaders, such as chemicals and pathogens.

​Everyone is talking about it because modern research has lead to a the understanding that Taoist Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Old School Naturopathic practitioners have always understood....enervation of the nervous system is the underlying cause of most illness. 

How did your vagus nerve become dis'regulated and lose tone?

• Infections and inflammation may play a role in that organisms can hijack this nerve pathway to the brain.
• Physiological and psychological stress over an extended period of time strains the vagus nerves.
• Ongoing trauma or unhappiness will affect vagus nerve tone.
• Overworking, exhaustion both mental and physical are detrimental to vagus tone
• Exposure to loud noise, living near a busy roadway or airport.
• Toxic, abusive and dysfunctional relationships affect vagus nerve functionality 

The most frequently offered advice for all of my clients in my wellness practice is STOP DOING SO MUCH! 

Why are we hearing so much about the vagus nerves these days?

• Nearly everyone suffers these days from issues related to exhaustion. The vagus nerve is going to produce the symptoms. The symptoms indicate a need to change and we all now know it's time for a change!
• Modern medicine has finally caught up to the fact that enervation is at the root of most health issues.
• We live in a time of a medical and marketing machines that are interested in offering expensive and exclusive therapies to take care of symptoms that they cannot offer a medication for.
• This medical machine proliferates the notion that only a medically offered therapy offers hope. It deters the idea that you can find healing yourself!
• We are also a fad oriented culture. If somebody tells us that we need to jump in cold water, then we're gonna do it every day and we're going to pay some salon or studio for a place to do that! 
• There are numerous devices being sold online to improve vagus tone ranging from $50 to100's of dollars. 

The fact that this information is available is a good thing.
The unfortunate side of it is the fact that there's so many snake oil profiteers making money from the process of improving vagus tone and not all is beneficial. This goes to back to my litany..."there is no magic pill". Including the myriad of therapies and manipulative techniques that are being offered for a variety of health issues. 

I say this and yet I am holding a class and creating a video on just that subject. However, my approach as always comes from the understanding that ultimately you are your best healer. As a Wellness Educator I am interested in one thing primarily: to give my clients and readers tools that they can use to be happy and be able to enjoy their life for a lifetime!

A return to age old adage..."a ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is in order. In Taoist and Traditional Chinese Medicine getting sick is the failure of the practitioner and patient...period!! The aim in these approaches is ALWAYS to PREVENT, rather than to treat. Within my wellness practice I employ a common sense perspective with emphasis on what Taoist Medicine refers to as Yang Sheng. Through these teachings I am offering empowerment to my readers and clients which is certainly more precious than anything in this world!
With that in mind read on.....

Healthcare and prevention through Taoist teachings
Taoism predates Traditional Chinese Medicine as the oldest healing tradition on the planet. Taoism is a purely observational understanding that cannot be simply categorized as a religion, philosophy or medical system.  Taoist perspectives arise from the desire to live long, work out and prevent karmic debt. Wherein the expansion of awareness which leads to higher consciousness is considered the primary goal of one's life. All Taoist practices of self care arise from this notion and are collectively called Yangsheng

Yangsheng provides all the tools one needs to heal vagus nerve functionality and restore the body to an improved state of wellbeing. It is the cornerstone of my wellness practice with Bridge to Health..."Breathing, Sleeping, Laughing and Pooping" are the emphasis with all new clients. Once we establish these foundational adjustments most health challenges fade including lack of vagus nerve tone. Clients find themselves simply enjoying life more. 

Yangsheng derives from the the Huangdi Neijing (nei / jing defines as control of one's life energy) which is considered the oldest medical manuscript. It dates back to between 4,000 - 5,000 years. Describes within its contents is  a complete system of self care. It promotes the understanding that one is able to maintain optimal biological functionality at any age. It is interesting to note that many of the principles of Taoist Medicine have become the topic of numerous scientific Western studies. Researchers have time and again proven what the Taoist had discovered long ago. We are fortunate that through the lineages of Taoist teaching to have access to this profound information. 

What is Yangsheng?

• Yang is an active word/Chinese character form relating to nourishing, caring for, training, educating and cultivating. Its emphasis is on personal responsibility.
• Sheng emphasizes the act of living, growing, developing skills, utilizing natural instincts.
• Focus of yangsheng is balance.

In other words... Yangsheng is the practice of accumulating enough wisdom and knowledge to be able to properly care for oneself!

Western mindset failings have lead to the immature outlook of the average person in our culture!

• The Western way is a disconnected point of view precipitated by the belief we are to conquer and consume our way through life.
• This outlook leads folks to overextend themselves, over consume and become disconnected from the consequences of not using wisdom in the way they live their lives. 
• The result is a dependence upon a medical care system that profits from ill health and perpetuates the notion that the average person is not equipped to know what is best for themselves. 
• Cycles of ill health...physical, mental and emotional then plague families creating a nearly inescapable circumstance. 

Conversely Yangsheng promotes awareness as the primary healing tool. Diligence and commitment to one's own wellbeing as central to a well lived life. That self love is a spiritual and moral obligation of the individual as well as a duty to one's family.

The Yangsheng approach encompasses a variety of self care disciplines including

• The understanding of the principles of yin / yang as they relate to functionality of living organisms large and small. Respecting and maintaining balance of yin / yang is crucial to self care.
• Practices that improve the flow of qi / energy and information. The understanding of qi is much deeper than most people are aware...everything is qi. Qi is the energetic matrix all of creation arises from. You are an expression of qi. 
• Qigong literally to practice or master energy cultivation is a pillar of yangsheng as well as Neigong or inner alchemy. These practice integrate working with consciously cultivating breath.
• A variety of self treatment tools are utilized in daily or weekly rituals of self care including, acupressure tools such as gua sha combs and hand tools of various shapes and sizes. Bamboo tapping tools, stone or wood massagers as well.
• The use of water bathing and therapeutic treatments including foot baths, hip baths, hot and cold water treatments.
• Sound & music healing employed with instruments as well as tonal chanting and healing sounds are a key tool of these teachings as well.
• Emphasis is on the importance of sleep, moderate diet, pleasure, laughter, play, community and making adjustments in daily routine around the changing seasons.

Yangsheng promotes the ideal of what I call..."finding the middle path". Extremes in any form such as  over indulgence in food or alcohol, over exercising or working, excessive and obsessive sexual activity, irregular hours, falling into strong unchecked emotional patterns are all discouraged as these activities "burn" or dissipate one's qi leading to imbalance and inevitably symptoms!

​The cultivation of a quiet mind and strong Shen/Spirit are at the heart of cultivating one's ability to enjoy life.....being truly happy and healthy.

www.vagaro.com/bridgetohealthwellness/servicesLearn more about: Vanessa Goldeen , Bridge to Health, Wellness Support, Learn & Heal Consult
FDA WARNING: Vanessa Goldeen does not diagnose, treat or prescribe for any disease or medical condition.

Like any other physical health issue, anxiety has symptoms and those symptoms have an effect on the physical body as well. Fear is a basic biological process of an alarm that tells you something isn't right. It's a deep concern, a sense in your gut, or a full 5 alarm fire in the case of a physical threat, an emergency in which quick action is required to avoid harm to yourself or others.  It overrides the rational mind. The amygdala fires up, sending chemical messages to your frontal lobe, rational thinking becomes impaired by this arousal to take action. Adrenal pumps to empower you to take action. After it's over, your body unwinds with the help of the reptilian brain/limbic system and the whole thing passes, your body returns to normal and it's over.

Arousal of fear is a natural function of the sensory body whose purpose is to alert you of danger or potential for danger. In this way your brain can get out of the way so that you are able to move and take action without thinking about it. In the same way a Ninja or martial arts master is able to respond to threats with a defensive action that removes themselves or others from danger or subdues an attacker. This alert / alarm allows us to be empowered to avoid or overcome a situation that is dangerous, emotionally harmful or overly challenging to us.

However, the driver of the "anxiety mobile" in the case of generalized anxiety that does not appear to be in response to any immediate physical threat, is fearfulness. This form of fear is immobilizing leading to the "freeze response" or  adrenal driven "fight or flight". Protracted freeze response numbs one out making your feelings, your guidance system, unavailable to you. This is depression. Fight or flight unchecked is anxiety. The feeling is, you need to run, but there is nowhere to go...so you run in your mind instead!

Beyond the normal function of arousal we can become victimized by our own thoughts and worries, falling into a acute or chronic state of fearfulness. The energy of thoughts and worries is powerful and can make us believe things that are not real...irrational thinking. It also charges up our body with stress hormones and neurotransmitters that flood the system and literally make you feel ill. This cascade of stress leads to insomnia, fatigue, malaise, depression, digestive disorders, panic state, fluctuations in blood sugar. Anxiety can become debilitating to the extreme.

The medical profession's preferred way of treating anxiety is with medications for which they are substantially rewarded financially by drug companies. Treatment usually involves a combination of antidepressants and tranquilizers... Serotonin uptake inhibitors and benzodiazepines. In some cases of serious depression and debilitating anxiety a short term use of the medications may be helpful. But, the down side of these medications is a slippery slope that ultimately leads to more compounded health issues. The failure of medications points toward the need to work with the symptom rather than suppress it. As in the case of most healing, working with a symptom may mean taking time off to rest, to reflect, making space for recovery. This does not work well in our modern society that wants everybody to be productive all the time. Unfortunately, we pay a bigger price in the end for not taking care when symptoms arise.
More about the dangers of antidepressants.
More about the dangers of benzodiazepines.​

In the framework of Taoist medicine, we are equipped to look at the manifestation of symptoms based on the energetic expression. Often depression and anxiety go hand-in-hand.
​
​We begin by understanding that we feel the way we do for a good reason. This point is missed by modern medicine which seeks to fix the symptom rather than arrive at the root cause of the of the symptom as an energetic expression.

What is healing?

• Healing is a resolution of symptoms. 

What are symptoms?

• Symptoms are a warning. They are a disruption in our microbiology that point toward a need for healing.

Why do we search for healing?

• We search because internally, within our well of understanding, we know that ill health means that something is not as it should be. 

Symptoms get our attention inducing us into a search for healing.

• It is in this search that we have an opportunity to evolve, mature and grow out of or beyond our need to harm or withhold from ourselves what we need to be happy, healthy and enjoy our life.​

The bigger part of healing...

• Beyond supporting the body with nutrition or therapies, the bigger part of healing lies in the ability to find balance in one's life. To be released from notions about what you do not deserve and to gain the courage to live the life that suits you better.

The Body is Built to be Self Healing
This seems so profound until you understand that you may cut your finger or sprain an ankle and over time that injury will heal. It may need a little support like a bandaid or wrap, possible some ointment but, it will heal. This mechanism of self healing is the norm, disease is the abnormal. All the cells of the body have an innate intelligence to repair and heal. When cells die, new ones are generated to continue the process of life.

There are miraculous abilities of the body that few people have an understanding of, for example....

• When you expose your body to sunlight it naturally produces ozone in the blood, which is detoxifying in that it is antiseptic.
• The body also produces vitamin D with sunlight exposure.
• Sun gazing, looking at the sun with eyes closed induces the production of serotonin a crucial neurotransmitter that is an antidote to excessive adrenaline.
• Serotonin magically converts to melatonin when the sun goes down, to draw us to sleep.
• Dreaming which seems so random is the body's way of processes abstract emotions, emotional dilemmas, and excess psychic energy from trauma.
• Around about 4:30 in the early morning your liver begins to breakdown stored glucose to provide the body energy after the long fasting period during sleep.
• The body regenerates, repairs and restores all major organ and endocrine system during sleep.
• Intuition derives from the production of beneficial neurotransmitters in the gut. 
• Fasting which is a natural experience for all mammals increases the production of human growth hormone, strengthening the body...a literal fountain of youth.

​
​Resources to maintain health and healthy generations....
Add to this, the miraculous power of plants and herbs, rich sources of nutrition from a widely varied omnivore diet that supplies both animal and vegetable fats to sustain high functioning brains. Include the myriad of fungi in the form of mushrooms that are readily available to enhance endocrine and brain function and promote more efficient cellular metabolism. Going further into the world of fermented foods that support a health microbiome and are available in nearly all cultures across the planet. There is within these resources everything humans to be born and remain healthy for a lifetime. 

Perception is everything...
The current model of aging in modern societies is skewed toward medication dependence at such poor level of health that premature aging is seen as the norm. Currently in the US statistical analysis of medication use revealed that from the age of 9 years and up, the average American is taking 4 or more medications. In all but rare cases medications do not heal. Medications are used to address a complaint/symptoms which is in other words, a disruption in the microbiology ranging from acute to chronic. Medication does not, cannot heal what created the symptom in the first place and most often leave us with many unwanted side effects having not addressed the underlying cause. 

In defense of allopathic/pharmaceutical medicine...
Referring the the BTH on the state of health & wellness in America, "How did we get here?" Most people fail to  understand that the symptom is the teacher, so we turned to MD's to ease our many complaints. There was a time when doctors would encourage patients to make changes to alleviate stress, improve diet, exercise more...only to have this well given advice to fall on deaf ears. This leaves physician in a state of helplessness and discouragement that is the basis for the allopathic/pharmaceutical paradigm.

What is the healing field?

• The healing field is a state of being in which the individual becomes empowered to grow into a deeper awareness level and is able to see how their life choices and patterns have disabled them.

What is required to attain and maintain this state?

• Recognize and acknowledge that all is not well.
• Be present with one's self and understand that all healing begins with being able to connect to one's self in a meaningful and loving way.

Taoist Medicine 6 conditions for healing translate into all healing modalities. They are...

• Feeling of safety which allows us to be present in the moment and connect with our support systems (practitioner, friends, family)
• Safety allows us to quiet the mind adopting a posture of listening for guidance.
• In the quietness of listening we are able to feel and be fully present with our body, our emotions and our sense of purpose or lack of it. We become aware of unresolved emotional charges and blocks that may hinder us.
• Accepting what we feel no matter how irrational it may seem we come to realize we feel the way we do for a reason. We no longer judge ourselves critically, but simply are able to accept what is. 
• This level of acceptance leads to an opening of the heart that allows one to receive and give love. A flow of the chi, intelligence and energy that is love, heals! In this space we are able to allow the irrational emotions which can then clear form the body...releasing stagnant chi/energetic charges.
• From this place we begin to grow out of what hindered us. Our microbiology shifts into a state of happiness and we just begin to feel better.  An evolution in our consciousness has shifted us into a more grounded and centered state which we are empowered to maintain.

​Download the PDF at the bottom of the article to learn more.

A Brief History of Healing Practices
​As a Wellness Consultant and Educator my first hand experience with the healing process has given me a deeper understanding about the nature of healing. In this article I am sharing what I see and know to be true about healing. There is nothing scientific about this information, it is observational.

There are healing modalities from around the world that are purely observational as opposed to the scientific requirements or proof or cause upon which allopathic medicine relies. These include Ayurvedic & Taoist medicine/methodology, European based folk healing including the work of Sister Hildagard of Bingen whose writing on medicine in the 12th century mirror many of the same practice in Taoist medicine. From the European School we have many practitioners whose knowledge grew from the teaching of Pedanius Dioscorides a Greek physician of the Roman Army from 65 AD whose book "De Materia Medica" provided a foundation of knowledge that spread throughout Europe as the Roman army conquered the lands of the north.  

These various schools have similar healing practices with regional healers who employ local foods, plants and herbs along with physical manipulation of the body and an astute ability to observe the patient within the context of his/her daily life, family interactions and emotional states. This approach being truly holistic, treating the whole person body and soul.

These forms of observational medicine have commonality in the understanding that the body heals naturally and that symptoms are simply a disruption or shift in healthy microbiology. They also share a deeper knowledge of why and when will the body not heal. In other words what conditions of healing cannot be met and why. This preponderance leads to an expanding body of knowledge that gives wisdom to the practitioner and enhances their ability to facilitate shifting conditions with the patient in hopes of creating a healing experience. 

Many of these observational form of medicine developed thousands of years ago, when there was no modern medicine with the allure of "magic pills". Practitioners employ the use of medicinal substances within a holistic context that includes encouragement and imparting of wisdom for mind and body to their patients.

Most physician of today spend little time with patients, know little about their personal life and certainly rarely ever even lay a hand on a patient. Many of my clients report visits to MD's in which eye contact is never made and discussions are rare. This disconnect from patients hinders any potential for healing and finds it's basis in the "magic pill" notion. This perspective pervades medical therapies in the modern world which often dismisses any practice employing natural healing methods. 

As a Wellness Practitioner employing multiple modalities, I work holistically...treating body, mind and spirit. Watching with wonder at the response clients have as they grow in awareness and gain knowledge to keep them healthy for a lifetime!

Entirely preventable, type 2 diabetes and its predecessor insulin resistance create the greatest amount of suffering and healthcare expenditures in the US and around the world. Current statistic ranks this as the single most devastating health care issue now being faced by as many as 40% of the adult populations of the US and is rapidly growing in children as young as 3-5 years old. 

Type two diabetes it's a death warrant. It's a long slow painful downhill road leading to organ failure and painful death. It takes it toll on those who suffer and the family members and caregivers of those individuals. Overall costs of care for patients with type 2 diabetes is estimated at 245 billion annually in the US!

Literally drowning in sugar. Too much glucose in the blood leads to a condition called hyperglycemia.   When poor dietary choices lead to over ingestion of concentrated carbohydrates from processed flour based foods, potato and corn products such as chips, sugar/sucrose and corn syrup the inevitable result will be a fatty liver and an onset stage of insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance develops over time when excess carbohydrates flood the body with too much blood glucose. The glut of glucose in the blood sets up a vicious cycle in which the pancreas attempts to keep up with the amount of blood secreting more and more insulin. Correspondingly the endocrine system says something is not right here and it begins to turn off receptors for insulin, insulin resistance.

​This is a vicious cycle that generally ends in a diagnosis of type two diabetes and medications which do not cure. They stayed off symptoms for a while but eventually the body declines succumbing to the inevitable health issues seen in the graphic above.

​Type 2 diabetes is most often accompanied with a fatty liver. The liver strained from the vicious cycle of excess carbohydrate resulting in high glucose levels. It's stores the excess glucose within itself, developing fat within the liver. Fat deposits also accumulate around all the other internal organs in the body's attempt to store the excess glucose energy. The person who suffers is literally drowning in sugar!

This debilitating condition is easily reversed. Every person can accomplish this if they are determined and are willing to evolve and grow to understand the cause and effect of this illness has wounded them. 

There's an enormous amount of controversy about the vaccine and the emerging new variants.
It's important to note that all living organisms seek to reproduce and flourish. Viruses such as Covid are no different they will find a way around any measure that attempts to eradicate them and produce variations to improve their ability to invade a host. Independent researchers are questioning not only the efficacy of these vaccine, but also the further reaching consequences of their employment. It's important to look at all sources of information. 

Emerging variants....
We have seen this variant phenomenon in the case of the AIDs virus which mutated and defied treatment for many years. In the same way, staphylococcus  and other bacteria have become immune to antibiotics becoming more deadly with each passing year. Our reliance on the "magic bullet" approach will become outdated as we apply the intelligence and understanding that nothing beats natural immunity.
The BTH Blog,  The State of Health and Wellness in America outlines the flaw of these forms of treatments. 

Covid is preventable...
And is much more treatable than say AIDs for example. Let us not lose perspective and fall into fear!
See the BTH Blogs, "Fear not the Covid" & "Is it Covid?" for more information. 

The FLCCC Alliance's treatment plans call for the use of two pharmaceuticals. Ivermectin and Fluvoxamine (Prozac). Ivermectin an anti parasitic used primarily in animals and an SSRI uptake inhibitor manufactured by Merck under the name Prozac. 

Ivermectin...
There is no conclusive evidence to suggest that Ivermectin is effective against any viral infections, including Covid.
The FDA Website has this to say about Ivermectin.
"The FDA has not approved Ivermectin for use in treating or preventing Covid-19 in humans. Ivermectin is not an anti-viral. Taking large doses can be dangerous and can cause serious harm."
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​Several public health experts too are against the usage of the drug. “There is apparently no role of Ivermectin in management of covid-19. Both should be removed from all guidelines till robust evidence is generated. Ivermectin maker (Merck) and WHO both have strongly advised against it.

​Many researchers are engaged in independant analysis....
Many may disagree but, the science surrounding the "vaccine" is debatable and experimental, based on success in using this technology with cancer treatment regarding the emerging vaccine side effects and efficacy. Long term effects of this form of genetic modification are unknown and many choose not to get vaccinated.
View current research studies.

Bring peace....
Let's allow others to make the choice they feel is best for them without judgement. The media, government and pharmaceutical companies benefit from the fear and controversy, avoid the panic trap!

Educate yourself....
The National Library of Medicine offers many resources for current research and statistical  information.

Read the BTH Blog "Fear not the COVID" for more information on prevention and treatment of Covid-19.
​Additional updates as to nutrient supports for Covid 19 will be added soon to this blog.

​If you are interested in improving your immunity and enjoying a better sense of health and wellbeing schedule a $30 Learn & Heal Consult  to learn more about how Bridge to Health can help you. 

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What do you mean when you say enervation?
Enervation is word that describes long term adrenal fatigue resulting in endocrine dysfunction and a wide array of manifestations of symptoms. Some subtle some not so subtle.

How does one become enervated?
Enervation is the result of too much adrenaline and too little serotonin. One falls into this condition as a result of being out of touch with the body and what the body needs.

How does that happen?
Adrenaline is stimulating. It's job is to give you the extra umph to get going when an emergency calls for it. It makes it possible for you to ignore injuries and fear in order to survive an event. That's a good thing. But, when your life situation, circumstances or lifestyle choices puts you into constant fight or flight response with adrenaline pumping continuously over time you become anaesthetized. You are unable to discern what your body needs.  Basic things like resting, breathing, eating...you are literally out of touch with what you need.

What is fight or flight?
The fight or flight response in a cascade effects of neurotransmitters that gets your body ready for action putting the body in a state of hyperarousal. This is an acute response for a limited time. Healthy people and wild animals are predominantly in the "alpha state" This describes a brain wave pattern that allows you to be calm and alert at the same time. This is a fluid state of being that allows you to respond and when the situation resolves you are able to return to a state of calm peacefulness.

How did I get stuck in the fight or flight response?
There are a lot of varied factors that lead to chronic fight or flight.

• Abusive situations whether it's a job, a marriage, partnership, family life, sexual abuse, living in a country that is at war or in conflict, serving in a war or conflict.
• Financial stressors or self imposed financial standards or relentless materialism.
• Messages from parents as children can lead to deep fears about being inadequate, feelings of shame or guilt. Pressure to achieve a certain station in life or rise to parents expectations.
• Experiencing situations that are frightening to you, even if it's just a chronic low level fear you may not be completely aware that you have.
• Working in a job you don't like, hate or do not feel fulfilled. Unable to find the right vocation.
• Being a work'aholic.

All of the above can be factors. The difficulty arise when a person is out of touch with themselves because of the high adrenaline levels. You don't feel any of this adversely, or so you think you're okay....but, over time the damaging effects of too much adrenal will take it's toll.

What does that mean?
It means that symptoms will begin to arise. A symptom is your body's way of getting your attention. Symptoms manifest so you can feel that something is not right and make a course correction. Failure to pay attention to the symptom at a lower level means you'll go along like everything is okay. The body will continue to produce symptoms until it gets your attention.

It is possible to ignore symptoms until the body no longer has the energy to create them! We have all heard stories of people dropping dead of a heart attack, as though it came from nowhere! Of a person being diagnosed with cancer and dying shortly afterward, when all their friends would say they seemed like they were in perfect health. These life threatening illness don't come out of nowhere. They are the result of years of tuning out the body's messages. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum we have the ultra-sensitive individual. Often ostracized for their sensitivity these individuals are overly sensitive from years of overstimulation of the adrenal complex and the endocrine system as a whole gets out of whack.

How can I recover?
Recovery takes a dedicated effort to support healing. It means slowing down so you can become more aware of how tired you really are. It requires a willingness to enter into the healing field. 

The healing field is an energetic reality that you create for yourself. Finding the right practitioner to support your healing process that you can trust. Learning how to be with what you feel, processing those feelings naturally in your dreamtime at night while your sleeping. Becoming more mindful of what you need and giving it to yourself...self love and acceptance. Letting go of control and surrendering to what is, rather that some notion of what you think should be!

​Bridge to Health Wellness 
Offer 5 modalities designed to restore body, mind and spirit.
DETOX - PURIFY - SUPPORT - HEART - UNWIND
These modalities create a "bridge to health", feeling better and enjoying life more
Guiding you back to an evolution to your true self, your inner voice.
Learning that you can trust yourself to know what is best for you.
​It's all about moving out of fear. 
Some modalities can be offered remotely
​

Bridge to Health is pleased to offer FIR - Far Infrared heat as an addition to manual therapies. This blog explains the benefits and history of the valuable therapeutic tool.
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What is Far-Infrared Therapy (FIR) and What Does it Do?
Far-Infrared Rays are waves of energy, totally invisible to the naked eye, are able to penetrate the surface of the skin and reach deeply into the body gently elevating the body’s surface temperature to 107.6F/42C and above. This action stimulates the movement of blood and lymph through the affected body system improving immunity and relieving inflammation.

History of Far-Infrared Heat Therapy 
The body radiates far-infrared energy through your skin at 3 to 50 microns, with most output at 9.4 microns. The palms emit even more energy, between 8 and 14 microns. ‘Palm Healing’, an ancient tradition in China, has used the healing properties of far-infrared rays for 3,000 years. Natural healers emit energy and heat radiating from their hands to heal. Current research  has measured significant far-infrared energy emitted from the hands of Chi Kung / Qigong and Chi Nei Tsang practitioners.

Thermal therapies have been in existence for thousands of years, dating back to ancient civilizations such as the Finns, the Romans, the ancient Chinese, the American Indians, and the Egyptians 5,000 years ago. Since ancient times, people have known that exposure to sunshine can maintain and enhance health. Sun therapy is a form of natural FIR thermal therapy. Far-Infrared Rays are the invisible rays of natural sunlight that have the longest wavelength. However, sunbathing should only be enjoyed in moderation since sunlight contains ultra-violet ray which can burn the skin. There is also no temperature control, and sunshine is only available seasonally. FIR gives the benefits of sunshine in a focused and safe way.

Evolution of Far-Infrared Technology
For many decades, scientific evidence has found that heat can maintain and enhance the wellness of the human body. Scientists have researched different ways on how to develop more effective forms of thermal heat therapy that target specific areas and enable deep heat penetration.
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Traditional forms of heat therapy can be hazardous for those with certain health conditions. The extreme heat can be uncomfortable for many individuals and may cause heat stress which can have detrimental effects on health, especially for people with heart challenges or needing to sustain blood pressure. Thermal compression and wraps are uncomfortable, heat is easily lost, temperature does not remain constant and maintaining a thermal compression or wrap can be problematic and inconvenient.

Research and development in the sixties – notably in Japan and Germany lead to the introduction of  the Far-Infrared Ray (FIR) thermal technology. This revolutionized thermal technology as an effective, safe, natural, hygienic, and efficient approach to thermal treatment. Multiple health and medical professionals internationally who rehabilitate numerous physical challenges using heat therapy. Relief for sports injuries via thermal therapy is one example, whilst detoxification and reduction of inflammation areaslo benefits.

Dr. Tadashi Ishikawa, a member of the Research and Development Department of Fuji Medical, received a patent in 1965 for a zirconia ceramic infrared heater used in the first healing infrared thermal systems. Medical practitioners in Japan were the only ones using infrared thermal systems for 14 years. In 1979, they were finally released for public use. The technique has been further refined into far-infrared thermal systems that have been sold in the USA since the 1980’s. One use of Far-Infrared heat in the USA has been in the form of panels used in hospital nurseries to warm newborns.
There have been well over 700,000 far-infrared thermal systems sold in Asia for whole body treatments. An additional 30 million plus people have received localized far-infrared treatment in Asia, Europe, and Australia with FIR lamps, which emit the same 2-25 micron wave bands as employed in a whole body system. In Germany, physicians in an independently developed form have used the whole body Far-Infrared Therapy for over 80 years.

Far Infrared heat therapy can be added to any manual therapy offered by Bridge to Health, Colonics,     Chi Nei Tsang Sessions, Lymphatic and Therapeutic Massage modalities.

Book your session online today and select the Infrared add-on to enjoy this therapeutic experience. 

If you have questions or seek more information you may schedule a
$30 Learn & Heal Consult with Vanessa Goldeen, CWC, CNT, CCT
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or...for Lymphatics and Therapeutic Massage
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Brittany Craven, LMT offers a Free Fifteen Minute Phone Consult