More Life Lessons From a Darn Kidney Stone

If you receive my newsletter, I mentioned that despite this amazing summer heat wave, I feel so blessed these days and it's hard to complain about the 100-degree weather.  Sure, my garden has seen better days, and I feel like we've been trapped in the house for a few weeks. But, I have so much to be grateful for.  And I know you do, too.

You may remember that I suffered from a kidney stone a few months ago.  Well, since then, I had to make yet another trip to the emergency room due to the same darn stone! I started to get pretty frustrated, thinking maybe I didn't know my body as well as I thought I did.  I was overheated, overwhelmed and just plain over feeling blah.  (The stone is officially gone - thank you, lord.)

I'm a true believer that we can heal ourselves from the inside out, and when things are feeling off, I really want to go deeper and get to the core of the problem.  So I've been mindfully (and sometimes not so patiently) observing why I've been feeling run down. And here's what I discovered.

Did you know that our kidneys represent the fire that fuels our essence?  There is a yin and yang in the kidney area - a water and fire that when balanced, keeps our kidneys functioning efficiently.  And the heat of summer, my husband's workload, my pitta body type,  my tendency to overcompensate and take on more than I can handle, balancing being a mom of two, staying home with the kids, and growing my career - well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that my fire was running on overdrive and my water was just plain running dry.  And the kidney stone was simply a symbol - a reminder to slow down and listen.

So after two visits to the ER in 8 weeks, and a bout of mastitis, I continued researching, taking a food allergy test, going to attunement, meditating, resting, slowing down, asking for help, had an eye-opening massage and finally, I tried acupuncture.

The massage therapist I went to specializes in working with people who have deep tissue scars.  It never occurred to me before, but the therapist believes some of the imbalances I've been feeling in my kidney and bladder area have to do with my cesarean scar. (You can read about my emergency cesarean birth here.)  Hearing that connected so many dots for me, and since then I've learned about many women who have suffered from things like IBS, ovarian cysts and scar adhesions, after their c-sections.

Ok, then I discovered an amazing acupuncture practitioner and with the touch of my pulse, he could tell that I am a vegetarian and he looked into my eyes and asked, "Do you eat a lot of kale and spinach?"  When I answered, "Yes," he explained that eating those foods and not drinking enough water was the cause of my kidney stone.  What's so funny about that is after my first attack with the stone, my husband's first response was, "It's because of all the kale you eat!"  His comment got me thinking and it's how I learned about high oxalate foods (like kale, spinach, and blueberries.)  I even mentioned it in my first post about the stone.

The practitioner went on to explain that many women after pregnancy and childbirth need some rebalancing - and that's what acupuncture did for me.  He said that over time we have build-up on our meridian channels (the pathways through which our energy flows). Think of it like little beavers building damns, and those beavers can be stress, toxins, fear or worry (just to name a few).  The acupuncture needle helps break up the damn to allow for proper energy flow.  And I'm telling you, I felt the flow return after one visit.  My old self came flooding back.  My energy was restored.  And I haven't had any kidney or bladder issues since.

But it takes more than a few visits to a holistic healer to maintain our personal wellness. I make a more conscious effort every day to take better care of my body.  I start my morning with lemon water or warm tea.  I eat a good breakfast.  I take my vitamins.  I still eat my favorite health foods, but I drink a ton of water and I carry a water bottle with me everywhere.  I take electrolytes.  I do less (well, most days).  I go to bed earlier (well, most nights).  And I make sure to take time each day to listen to the messages my body so wisely communicates with me.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Because I so believe in the power of sharing and connecting as a way to grow and expand.  In my sharing I hope that some of you will gain a new awareness that you might be able to apply to your own life.  In sharing I always learn something new from you, too.

And the other reason I'm telling you all of this is because I just can't help myself.  Sharing my most authentic self IS my yin, my water, my flow...  If I stop myself from going deeper, and from opening up to my vulnerabilities, then I'm just allowing another beaver to build a damn.

So here I am, allowing the water to fill up again...and flowing, breathing, laughing, being...ME.

Let it go.

Let it flow.

And listen to the healing wisdom that lives within YOU.

Your Personal Reflection:  Every thing, message, person and experience in your life is a symbol.  What are the symbols in your mind, your body, your spirit and in your life trying to tell you?  Give yourself some quiet time this week and really, deeply, listen.

Photos by Chris Duh.

**Disclaimer:  I am NOT a medical professional.  Please seek the medical advice that is right for YOU.  I am a woman, mom and a student of life - and these lessons that I share with you are the ones I've learned work for me.  What you find along your path will be right for you.