RECLAIM YOUR LIFE THROUGH HEALTH & WELLNESS VALERIA ALARCON, CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST AND HEALTH COACH

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1 RECLAIM YOUR LIFE THROUGH HEALTH & WELLNESS VALERIA ALARCON, CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST AND HEALTH COACH

2 Reclaiming Your Life through Health and Wellness Valeria Alarcon, Certified Nutritionist and Health Coach Having been challenged by a life-threatening illness at 35, I quickly realized I wanted to not only heal my physical being; I wanted to discover how my body arrived at a place of dis-ease. My processes lead me on a healing journey of mind, body and spirit. Over the course of three years I discovered how my dis-ease was the end result of traumatic life experiences as well as extreme ecological and socio-economic changes. In understanding how my body manifested dis-ease I was able to determine the best approaches to support my healing process and reclaim my life. I hope you find this information empowering, inspiring, educational and supportive in your own healing journey. Following are the concepts that I found most helpful in my healing journey: MIND We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. This poignant quote by Buddha relates to how we think about our bodies, our health and our lives. Our thoughts create an energetic imprint that has physiological and emotional manifestations that can result in or contribute to dis-ease. Therefore, realizing that your words, thoughts and actions are powerful energetic amplifiers, both for your internal and external existence, helps bring you into a state of awareness. Here are some suggestions to master your mind: 1. Be intentional about keeping your mind in check: Commit to a daily practice that will create inner peace and stillness. Visualizing being like a still pond in the midst of chaos or simply reminding yourself to breathe through a difficult moment will give you pause so that your mind is responsive rather than reactive. Meditation with soothing music, along with a breathing exercise will help. 2. Make a list of the ways in which you feel blessed in your life and post the list near your bed for a daily reminder. This is a way to start cultivating a feeling of gratitude. 3. Make a list of the things that bring you joy and go do them! Even if it s for an hour a day. This self-nurturing act will enhance your feel-good hormone serotonin and will help you become more centered and sure of yourself. Reconnecting with 2

3 BODY nature feeds your body negative ions, which increases serotonin production reducing stress levels. 4. Visualization and affirmations can be helpful by replacing worrisome thoughts with pleasing outcomes. Visualizing yourself as healthy, vital, energetic and happy will help reduce the stress hormone cortisol. Creating an affirmation of an ideal outcome will put your subconscious to work. If you can visualize it and feel it, you can be it. 5. The Mind Body Connection: Believe it or not, the gut is our second brain and is why we experience gut feelings. The intestinal nervous system is wired to the brain and is in constant communication; keeping a healthy gut means keeping a strong mind-body connection. 6. Cultivate relaxation in your daily self-care be it an afternoon nap at the beach or on your yard, sitting with your favorite book and cup of tea, a hot bath, or a 30- minute walk in the park can make a world of difference, improving your sense of well-being. I cannot stress enough that we are what we eat. Eating organic, local and seasonal foods will support your health and healing process tremendously. I got to experience the adverse effects of nutritional changes at age nine as a result of moving from Ecuador to the States. I grew up with a deep connection to the Earth, to food and to animals, and I had never consumed food from a can, a box, frozen, dried, genetically modified or highly processed. I had been used to tasting the vitality and energy of food that traveled less than 20 miles to reach my plate. Coming to the States and consuming highly industrialized foods had several side effects, including malnutrition. I literally cried for the first year, over the colored-sugary water called OJ, while memories of fresh squeezed juice made by my grandmother flooded my mind and heart. Here are some nutritional tips for a healthy body, mind and spirit: 1. Consume local, seasonal and organic produce, and animal-based products that are free-range or pasture fed. Consume less animal-based protein, not only to support your healing process, but also to also have a positive impact on the environment. 2. Opt for naturally made body care products. Ingredients like fluoride in toothpaste have been known to cause calcification of the pituitary gland, aluminum-based deodorants have been shown to cause congested lymph nodes, which can lead to cancer, and some of the ingredients in sunscreen can increase estrogenic activity and have been shown to not be an effective UV-protective measure. Our largest organ is our skin and it is one of our detoxifying systems; it releases toxins and absorbs what we apply to it. 3

4 3. We have the best pharmacology available to us through fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs, fungi and leafy greens. When shopping look for the best color, texture, hydration, freshness and energetics of your food choices. Eat local, seasonal and organic. SPIRIT Spirituality is a very personal and intimate relationship to God, Spirit or all that is. What I d like to speak about here is healing our spiritual essence. My spiritual practice has been as every bit as important as my nutritional habits. The images you see here have [INSERT IMAGES] have had a profound effect in my spiritual healing. Here are some steps in support of your healing: 1. The power of prayer: I found this to be an intimate conversation with God source, my spirit. In prayer I have found strength, courage, comfort; it renews my perspective and brings light into the darkness of fears and doubts I may be experiencing. Create sacred space for daily prayer ritual; make it your own. It s really all in your intention. 2. Support your spirit through community: Engaging with your community will keep you engaged in life. Even when things seem grim, go and attend that jazz show or movie night at the park. Call friends or gather your family and spend time together. Creating a sense of community will help you see that you are not alone and that you are loved. 3. Feed your spirit do what brings you joy. I have found creative outlets to be very nourishing. Remember when you were a child and enjoyed your existence through play and creative outlets? What were those for you? Create a list and start playing! 4. Allow for grieving, especially in the face of dis-ease: Be present with feelings of shock, denial, anger, guilt and depression, but take control and move toward forgiveness, compassion and acceptance. Feel what you need to feel and then allow for total release. 5. Forgiveness is the key to healing: Forgiving those who have hurt us beginning with ourselves is critical in healing the mind, body and spirit. Stored anger and resentment only perpetuates dis-ease. Remember the spirit heals first, and then the body follows. 6. Liberating yourself from the past will infuse your energy to recreate your present. Reclaiming your life through health and wellness starts with the desire to live, to reclaim your life, to forgive, to evolve from a place of surviving to thriving, and to take ownership and responsibility for your life; it s a life-long commitment to Self-Care. 4

5 Valeria Alarcon is a certified nutritionist and health coach You can reach her at info@valholistichealthcoach.com tel Sacred Waters ~ Agua Bendita ~ Life. I found it in the breath of the ocean, my mother... the vessel of sacred water from which I was birthed. Her breath, the rhythm of her breath, I felt upon my small chest as her waves rolled up and out from deep within her. In a deep breath we would inhale together until her waters reached the shore where it would release its exhalation ahhhh and wash itself upon my childhood feet. I would think of her often, Mother, where are you? the one who delivered me into this precious world, the one who breathed life into me from the depths of her sacred water? I recall fleeting moments with her, memories of her in a foreign land, a land made of clay, of deep red earth, of a bright sun and deep blue high desert skies. At the shoreline I thought of her often donde estas mama? Mother came to me in different ways, in the spirit of Yemaya; of agua bendita; in the warm sand where my brother and I would nestle under a baby palm tree for an afternoon nap; in the soothing hands of mi abuelita, migilmita. Blessed waters Sacred waters We Are Ashe~ Written by Valeria Alarcon 5