Yesterday, I figured it out. My thyroid was low. An increase of the plant based supplement that I take for thyroid was all that was needed. It has probably been a month or so that my thyroid has been on the wane, seemingly in conjunction with the waning sunlight. Yesterday, from morning of discovery to afternoon of feeling happiness return to the evening of doing more prostrations than possible for a while, it was joyous to experience my body feeling its own joy of well-being.

Small things are big things, my friends. We know this, but we tend to live the petty or judging side of small things instead of the insight side. Here is a list of small things that have made a world of difference to the well-being of my handicapped body, and my to ability to continue a happy life. If these small things help one person, they will help others.

1. Address as many conditions as possible with Earth-based and Earth-given remedies before assaulting the issue with pharmaceuticals. This requires non-reactivity and acknowledgement of one’s responsibility to one’s self and body. Research the issue. The web is amazing! If an herb or mineral is mentioned in three or more sources as benefit to your issue, then that’s a YES. Plant and earth-based medicine (remedies) are inexpensive and, with very few exceptions, cannot be overdosed or cause harm. Those that require caution are clear about that. The silly fact is that ALL pharmaceuticals are poisons to our body. This is why there are side-effects from them. Yet because our body is born of the Earth, nurtured daily by the Earth (we breathe, we eat, we drink water), and back to the Earth our body will go, then Earth-based medicinal remedies are always effective. The challenge to their efficacy is how long we have not addressed an issue, thus how damaged or in dis-harmony our body might be. It’s unfair to blame the natural remedy for not curing, when we have caused the harm. ( A short list is offered below of remedies to common maladies.)
2. Move. Any kind of movement is better than no movement. Thirty seconds of movement is better than no movement at all. Movement is wiggling, shaking the body, swinging arms or legs, bending, standing in place and lifting legs. This list is for someone like me with leg and balance issues. Hold onto a chair and swing hips. Anything, just move. It is because of a dedication to movement, no matter what it looks like, how unorthodox, or just silly it might be, that I still have complete independence physically. Furthermore, that independence is because of small bursts of movement where 15 seconds became 30 which became 2 minutes, etc. Muscles move our lymphatic system. This cleans toxins from our body. Without movement, the lymph doesn’t move and you are looking at a very bad situation. Need help with moving? Sing out. Someone will laugh and play with you. And that’s the thing. This is not PT (physical therapy) and yet is the best PT you can do. When we look at it as physical therapy a mental construct envelopes our ego. Now it has to look right, be done for so many repetitions or for such and such amount of time. NO. Just move! And do so several times a day. Little bits many times. These create muscle, strength, move the chi, clear the lungs, and change the mood.
3. Greens, and then more greens. Kale in the morning. Bowl of red leaf salad at lunch. More veggies than meat for dinner. As Laurie Warren, nutritionist says, good food is the foundation of health. Eat organic. The whole world used to only be organic until after WWII. The military industrial complex that Eisenhower warned of took over everything, including food production. Beware of growth hormones. They cause cancer to grow, can cause sterility, and are just bad. And of course, avoid GMO’s like the plague that they are. Genetically modified foods or organisms have NEVER existed on our planet. Mother Nature did not think it wise to put a gene from an animal into a plant. They are called Franken-foods for a reason.
4. Minerals and vitamins. Our body is born of the Earth. Our bones are solid like rocks and need calcium to support their solidity (not from cows – especially not from unhappy ones). Our blood is red like rust and needs iron to be able to carry oxygen along with nutrients through the system. Magnesium is a must. It helps the colon pass feces along and out. It helps keep the muscles supple and ache free, as well as helps the body regulate its temperature. Magnesium is necessary for every part of the nervous system including the brain itself.  Friends, do a little research and see how important minerals and vitamins are to whole health. Then realize that only in modern times has it been necessary to SUPPLEMENT these for our health. This indicates how we have trashed Mother Earth, as well as how we have stolen her goodness and given nothing back so that she can renew herself. (Compost, please compost.)

Here is a short list of helpful small things that lead to big health improvements. Chain drug stores or Walmart are not good sources of these things, nor does someone have to pay boutique prices (including Whole Foods). A list of good online sources is included below.

Plant-based medicines can help almost all issues.

• low thyroid: kelp and sources of iodine. I use Botanic Choice Thyroid Complex and Kelp Alfalfa. Two neurologists put my low thyroid symptoms into the basket of MS. It went unaddressed for years. Add insult to injury, every three to four months a multi-day steroid potion was intravenously administered. Steroids totally muck up the functioning of the adrenals which mucks up the functioning of the thyroid. They are a feed-back loop pair. If you have experienced steroid treatment for any reason, or currently are, your adrenals and thyroid will be adversely effected. Help your body come back to stasis and then renew with Earth-based medicine. Pharmaceuticals will only further compromise and cause domino effects.
• adrenals need ground, the earth. So, roots help a lot. Ashwaganda, burdock root extract, even dandelion root are good. Ashwaganda is best for most people. Be mindful of root vegetables thinking them as a source of rootedness. They are not because,  as starch and carbs, they quickly turn to sugar in the body. This is not recommended. (product label with ingredients of the linked item)
• low iron: Nettle extract. It does not constipate like iron pills do. It is completely absorbed by the body. Elders that I know who have opted for this got off iron pills completely, their constipation ended, and their doctors liked their iron levels.
• hepatitis: dandelion root extract and dandelion tea. Every day faithfully. A cup of tea, morning and night, and a little extract mid-day will change the negative markers of Hep C. This means that the liver is healthier, which means that the blood is being better cleansed, which means that the brain and all other organs can function better.
• asthma and bronchial issues: Of course, no dairy, no gluten, and no growth hormones in meat to begin with. Several herbs help breathing issues tremendously, but are best used in combination. Respi-Clear is a good combination, also Herbal Lung Formula. Mullein tea should be in every household for the cold season. It soothes the lungs and bronchi when a cold or flu is around. (Mullein extract) Mullein grows wild, is easily harvested and dried. We do this at Spirit Fire.
• inflammation such as arthritis: Pau d’Arco extract or tea. This Peruvian or Amazon forest herb is amazing. It is an anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal remedy. I take it if MS symptoms are starting to show up because that indicates inflammation somewhere in my nervous system. It will often whack the beginnings of a cold right out of the house. But we have to address these things immediately and with multiple doses repeatedly until symptoms are gone. Re: inflammation we must also avoid sugar, sugar, sugar, as well as dairy, GMO grains, and sitting too long.
• Remember the coconut oil, coconut cream (butter), and coconut milk. The list is long for all the excellence of this amazing gift from Mother Nature.

Tinctures (extracts) are awesome. The body readily absorbs them. There are several good sources of them. I use Botanic Choice because of the quality and price. Also, because many of their extracts are not alcohol based.

Plant and Earth-based medicinals work well within the wholeness of the intention of wellness. They cannot work miracles, or do our job of wellness for us. Be well, everyone!

Online sources:

• Botanic Choice: herbal medicines
• Lucky Vitamin
• VitaCost
• Tropical Traditions: coconut
• Other posts on this blog on health, MS, and such are in the Heath and well-being category.