Pain-Free By Design EBook

J A N E H O G A N

Pain-Free by Design

B e l i e v e , B e h a v e a n d B e c o m e t h e V e r s i o n o f Y o u t h a t

A l l o w s H e a l i n g t o H a p p e n

by Jane Hogan

To Noel, Nick, Kelsey and Riley. You are my inspiration and the reason I do what I do. You inspire me to strive to become the finest version of myself.

All rights reserved. No part of this material may be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole or in part without express written permission.

The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this material are not intended to replace a one on one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional and are not intended as medical advice. Always consult a knowledgeable medical professional about your symptoms.

Neither the author nor publisher has any control and does not assume any responsibility for author or third party websites or their content.

Part

I Believe

Chapter 1

Who You Really Are

“Who are we but the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves and believe.”

- Scott Turow

Right from birth, we ’ ve been told a story about who we are. Everything from how we feel about ourselves, our self-worth, emotional and physical well-being to how we interact with each other - and our world stems from these beliefs.

We’ve been taught that our bodies are a collection of biology, chemistry, electrical signals and genetic coding, separate from other people and objects. We’ve also been told that this is a competitive world where the strongest will survive, that we must look out for ourselves first and foremost

When we think of ourselves in this way, we are powerless victims to life’s experiences, insignificant beings in this universe Not to mention being led to believe that we are separate from the world, from each other and even from ourselves. This perspective deeply diminishes our ability to respond in meaningful ways to our circumstances as we move through our life’s journey.

At the leading-edge of science, new evidence is emerging which completely changes our ideas about who we are and how the world works What this science tells us is that we are not simply a collection of cells, operating independently from each other and the environment, but that we have a role in creating the environment around us and that we are deeply connected to each other and the environment.

Instead of being separate from each other, we are deeply connected. Rather than competing with each other, cooperation is the key to making us stronger, individually and collectively

Rather than being subject to cause-and-effect, frontiers of science are proving that we can actually cause an effect. We can literally create effects in our lives when we tap into a power source we haven’t really been taught how to use

You probably already have experienced some of this power. Have you ever set a goal for yourself, took steps to achieve it and manifested that goal? Perhaps you imagined what it would be like to achieve that goal and, of course, you believed it was possible for you. Then you set about doing what you needed to do to achieve that goal and eventually you got there.

The truth is that we can accomplish ANY goal if we believe we can. We just need to get past the limiting beliefs which have been programmed in our sub-conscious mind

One limiting belief is the idea that we are a victim of our genes, that “it’s in my family” and there is nothing we can do about that. The Human Genome Project completed in 2003 determined that less than 2% of our DNA is responsible for genetic coding of unchangeable traits. The remaining 98-99% can change over time and in response to the environment around us.

Research is exploding right now in a relatively new field of science called epigenetics. Through the study of epigenetics it is becoming increasingly clear that genes can switch on“ express ” - in response to the environment. Meaning, the environment each and every cell is exposed to dictates gene expression

What constitutes “the environment” of our genes? The environment our genes are living in is in every cell in our body. Cells, it turns out, have a communication system, an antenna of sorts, that constantly picks up and responds to chemical, electrical, and vibrational signals These signals originate from the environment within and outside our body.

The air we breathe, the food we eat, what touches our skin, our thoughts and feelings about life and the people we interact with, and the electromagnetic environment around us, are all part of the environment affecting us.

Cells are constantly dying off and being replaced with new cells according to direction from the genes as they respond to the environment. The fantastic news here is that, to a large extent, WE can control the environment to which our bodies, and our genes, are exposed Therefore, WE can control the expression of our genes We are powerful creators because we can shift the expression of our genes and therefore, our physical manifestation.

Another belief which limits us is the common belief that our thoughts are only in our head. A sizable body of scientific research at prestigious labs around the world, shows that thoughts affect physical reality. Thoughts are things, a tangible energy with the power to transform other things in the physical world

This may seem outlandish, based on our experience in the physical world, but quantum science tells us there is a different kind of reality, one where everything is connected and that we have the ability to influence what happens in our lives It’s not that classical physics was wrong – it just wasn’t the whole picture.

We are constantly creating our life with our thoughts, whether we are purposely doing it or not. If you want to create a future you desire, then it’s important to get clear on the future you want to have. And speaking of desire, your desires will lead you to the future you want. Pay attention to them. Spend some time journaling and gaining clarity on what you want to create in your life.

I’ll explain more about how we create our future in later chapters, but for now, I invite you to accept the possibility that you are more than what you have been led to believe and that you are more powerful than you think You are really a superhero!

Set up a space as your healing sanctuary where you can sit quietly to read, journal and meditate

Create a vision of your ideal future by visualizing in your mind’s eye your ideal future if you could have anything you want and then write this down in detail in your journal.

Make a list of 10 or more things you want to learn more about.

Chapter 2 Everything is Happening FOR You

“Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late.”

- Byron Katie

It’s often been said that humans are spiritual beings having a human experience but I invite you to consider that we are even more than that: we are spiritual beings having a spiritual experience in a human body. This idea was a paradigm shift for me when I first heard it As spiritual beings, we are on a spiritual path. We have a purpose and this life experience is for our spiritual growth. And this means that everything is happening FOR us not TO us.

I had my own awakening to this purpose

Life had suddenly taken a very bad turn. I was curled up in a state of despair and truly afraid for my future How could things have changed so quickly?

My life before this had been wonderful. I had a beautiful family, a loving husband, a lovely home in an idyllic town. This was what I had always wanted, planned for and created A career in engineering and a dream job as a college instructor were very fulfilling. I was physically active, fit, strong and vibrant. My three children had left the nest and were all making their own independent way in the world Retirement was only a few years away and my husband and I were looking forward to the freedom years with eager anticipation.

This fairytale came crumbling down in 2015, beginning with the sudden passing of my beloved mother.She was my best friend and my champion The grief of her loss permeated my very core Along with the sadness came the huge responsibility of being the executor of her estate, dealing with a lifetime’s worth of possessions and family tensions that inevitably came to the surface I tried to manage all this, with my high standard of fairness and attention to detail, over a long distance and while continuing with my work as a college instructor. I was sad, stressed and hardly sleeping.

A year later, just after I turned 50, I was in the final stages of the very physical and emotional work of divesting my mother’s home of its contents and preparing it for market. After long days of packing up, cleaning and painting, I noticed some pain in my shoulder I thought it was an old rotator cuff injury resurfacing, but the pain was much more intense. The next day it happened to the other shoulder. I went to physiotherapy but strangely, the pain would move to different joints. One day it would be my left shoulder, another day it was my right elbow, or my wrist Like a Voodoo doll being stuck with pins, the pain migrated around my body.

I knew this had to be related to the physical and emotional stress and lack of sleep.

By this time, I had completed my executor duties and I thought, with the stress behind me and a vacation from work, I would be fine for a few weeks

Instead of getting better, I got worse. Three months from the onset of symptoms, I could barely walk. I couldn’t make a fist with my hands. My grip was so weak, I could barely squeeze shampoo out of the bottle Fear crept in as I wondered if I was ever going to get well

At a rock-bottom moment, crying in pain, I felt my soul calling. Suddenly I could hear a voice saying this was NOT how my life was supposed to turn out. I felt that this experience was here to teach me something I didn’t know what it would be, but I knew that this pain had a purpose.

Something had changed in me. I was still in pain, but somehow, I knew I could trust myself to figure this out.

With this new trust in myself and this experience, I made a decision: I was going to do everything I could to get my life and freedom back again, no matter what. Disability and pain were NOT how I wanted to spend the rest of my life! I was going to figure this out and not stop until I did.

Of course, I was spending a lot of time with Dr. Google. The symptoms were sounding suspiciously like rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune condition. I really didn’t know much about autoimmune disease. It wasn’t in my family and I wasn’t close to anyone who had been diagnosed with one

Being an engineer, I put engineering problem solving and project management skills to work and began researching how to heal rheumatoid arthritis as naturally as possible.

Knowing stress had been a big trigger, it made sense to evaluate stress in my life. Also knowing that food had the power to harm and the power to heal, I experimented with what I ate and how I ate Stories of healing became my inspiration. I began making simple lifestyle changes, and monitoring symptoms, creating charts and graphs of data, trusting my body and my inner wisdom to guide me in the right direction

Week by week I began to improve. Knowing that there was something I COULD DO to help alleviate the symptoms, moved me from feeling like a victim to being in charge of my healing. What a feeling of empowerment!

Over the next weeks and months I continued on my quest for health, trying different lifestyle changes, tracking symptoms, and healing. I discovered functional medicine and got down to healing root causes

By the time I saw a rheumatologist and was officially diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, I was well on my way with healing naturally. I knew masking symptoms with medications was not the route I would take and I didn’t want the side effects that went with them Luckily, my rheumatologist was supportive of my approach, although he could only offer medications if my symptoms got worse.

My symptoms didn’t get worse, but while I was significantly better, my healing plateaued

I began studying the connections between emotions and illness and was fascinated that there were emotional patterns that went along with different illnesses Common emotions associated with rheumatoid arthritis are resentment, feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, and feeling victimized

Well, yes I had all those emotions

Trauma, especially childhood trauma can be associated with many illnesses. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) score can show a relationship between childhood events and chronic illness. I learned that trauma doesn’t even have to be that severe to have an impact on health.

My childhood wasn’t super traumatic, but it wasn’t perfect either. I developed feelings of unworthiness at a young age, leading to peoplepleasing and perfectionism as I got older. I realized how a lifetime of never feeling good enough had impacted my health, physically and emotionally. Old childhood feelings of unworthiness came to the surface again with the family tensions that arose after my mother’s passing. Although I appeared to be successful on so many levels on the outside, these feelings were still in my subconscious mind and stored in my body.

Looking back, I realized that I had been carrying tension in my body my whole life. Achy shoulders, neck pain, and tendonitis had shown up many times over the years Full blown rheumatoid arthritis was my awakening: my body telling me I had to finally deal with the emotions. I had to learn to love myself from the inside out and reprogram my mind

Once I really began using mind-body medicine techniques and addressing limiting beliefs from childhood, my healing resumed. Using many different healing modalities starting with mindset and incorporating food, movement, sleep, stress reduction and fostering positive relationships, and focusing on the connections between mind, body and spirit, eventually I reversed the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Not only did I heal physically, I healed emotionally as well I am a different person now. Love now fills my heart. I am at peace. Challenges still come along, but now I look for the lessons, the gifts that life’s challenges bring.

Now I see that illness was actually grace in disguise.

What about challenges in your life? Could it be that these things could be happening FOR you?

Accept that everything is happening in your favour. Keep a daily gratitude journal

Forgive the past: Journal about the positive sides of a negative situation.

Chapter 3

Everything is Energy

"Everything in our world - that which we can see and that which we cannot see - is, at its essence, energy … connected to everything else in one big unified field."

- Dr. Sue Morter

Everything in the entire universe is made of energy, vibrating at different frequencies Some frequencies are picked up by our human senses, and some are not. Light frequencies are the highest vibration, sound frequencies are slower, or more condensed versions of that energy, and even physical form is actually compressed energy

The human body is made of energy, with systems, organs and glands existing as unique frequencies. Even our thoughts have energetic frequencies that can be measured outside the physical body. Positive thoughts are less dense than negative thought patterns

Since everything is energy, there is nothing that is not energy … even the air around us And because everything is energy, everything is connected in a unified field. Physicists have several names for this field: the unified field, the quantum field, the living matrix, the bioenergetic field, the zero-point field, and more. What’s very interesting is that because everything is connected, anything happening in any part of the field can influence any other part of the field

The unified field connects us all. Many, many people have personally experienced intuition, gut-feelings, premonitions, telepathy, and inspired creativity. Some people experience extra-sensory perceptions like telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, out-of-body experiences, remote viewing, time travel and near-death experiences.

Maybe you ’ ve experienced connection to the field before. Have you ever thought about someone and then they called you? Have you ever “felt” someone staring at you, then turned around and saw them staring at you? Have you ever had a gutfeeling?

When I ask groups of people these questions, nearly everyone admits to having experienced some form of connection beyond the physical. It seems funny that these experiences are called “paranormal’ when it turns out they are quite normal after all.

So, while the concept that everything is energy and that everything is connected is quite different than how most of us are used to thinking of our world, it makes perfect sense and is in fact proven by quantum physics.

The impact of this concept is mind blowing. It means that what we do, think and feel affects every area of our life and has some impact on everyone and everything else. Our thoughts and emotions influence our physical body, right down to cellular function and the expression of DNA Since DNA is the expression of life, affecting the world around us, we can literally create our reality with our thoughts.

Knowing that thoughts create reality, it’s interesting to consider our current life situation as a reflection of our previous thoughts. We’ll cover more about this and how to use your thoughts to your benefit in the next chapter.

Practice feeling energy between your hands. With your palms facing each other, slowly repeat, moving your hands closer together and further apart. Notice if you can sense the energy between them.

Notice when your body shifts energy like a lump in the throat, constriction in the chest, or tightness in the belly and how this might be connected to your thoughts. Journal about past extra-sensory experiences or times when you ’ ve ‘felt’ energy.

HEARTWORK

Part II Behave

“Your

Chapter 4 Manage Your Mind

thoughts are incredibly powerful. Choose yours wisely.”

― Joe Dispenza

If you follow any self-help or life coaching guru, you are bound to hear the idea that your future is created by your thoughts This is true for every aspect of life, including health and well-being. What you focus on expands. Energy grows where attention goes Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you ’ re right.”

Cognitive behavioural therapy touts the power of thoughts in creating outcomes in life The basic pathway is: thoughts create feelings, feelings create actions or inactions and those actions or inactions create outcomes.

By controlling our thoughts, we have the power to change outcomes. That’s powerful stuff!

I noticed a big improvement in the rheumatoid arthritis symptoms once I began working on the healing power of thoughts. I began changing my thoughts from being about how much I hurt to thoughts about healing and how I wanted my life to look, I changed from a hurting mindset to a healing mindset.

It’s well known that placebos in drug trials elicit a healing response 30-50% of the time. We also know that hypnosis is very successful in treating some medical conditions including pain relief. So, thoughts in the brain create a physical, biological response.

Why does this work?

Thoughts are actually energy. Electromagnetic brain activity can be measured, even without touching the body, with EEG machines.

HOW YOUR EMOTIONS AFFECT PAIN

Years of studies have shown the strong connection between emotions and pain Of course, if you are already in pain, it's understandable that the chronic pain of arthritis can create negative emotions like worry, frustration, anxiety and fear

What may come as a surprise to some people, however, is that pain can actually be caused by negative emotions.

The idea that negative, stressful emotions can be the cause of physical pain comes as no surprise to me. Over and over again, my clients have expressed that a particular stressful event, or years of chronic stress, or even a stressful childhood, is behind their physical pain. Others may not be quite as aware of the link, but once we begin digging it becomes very clear that negative emotions are at the root of the problem.

I’ve always found it interesting to hear that particular emotions are associated with certain illnesses. Louise Hay’s classic book “You Can Heal Your Life” links emotions and thoughts with particular illnesses.

For example, Hay states that pain is associated with:

Resentment

Criticism

Feelings of unworthiness

Blame

Feeling victimized

EMOTIONS AND PHYSIOLOGY

So, how is it that emotions are connected with physiology? Over the past few years I’ve been studying this area and here is my understanding of the physiological process:

Stressful events create stressful thoughts and then incoherence in the brain.

The brain begins misfiring, and the autonomic nervous system (ANS) moves into the sympathetic state of fight-flight-freeze.

If we stay in the sympathetic state then the heart races, and all the body systems begin operating inefficiently.

Hormones of stress get released, creating negative emotions like fear, aggression, guilt, shame, suffering, unworthiness.

The emotional environment creates an electromagnetic field which signals genes in the cells.

Genes ‘ express ’ illness by creating proteins of illness.

Proteins are responsible for the structure and function of our body, so then the body structure and function begins to change

Stressful events that occurred during childhood are often carried as limited beliefs and repeated thoughts well into adulthood and can unknowingly simmer stress in our body It is said that upwards of 90% of our thoughts repeat themselves and around 60% of those are negative.

Stressful events can become the tipping point that turns underlying stress into full blown illness and pain

What can you do if you already have pain in your body?

First of all, you are going to need to become aware of your thoughts, especially those that may be generating emotions of stress

Journaling to write down your thoughts is a great idea, or work with a professional trained in this field.

Consciously create new thoughts and release old thoughts to reprogram your brain. Some strategies are cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), positive affirmations, and visualization

Remove ‘stuck’ negative emotions with energy work like Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) tapping, acupuncture, Reiki, yoga, meditation or conscious breathing exercises.

Most importantly - Don’t give up! Negative emotions may have been hidden deep inside of you for a long time. While they may clear instantly, they may also take some time. Persevere!

Perhaps you ' ve been using food and lifestyle to alleviate your pain naturally but you ’ ve reached a plateau. Dealing with your emotions just might be the one thing that you need to get back to freedom again!

Become an observer of your thoughts, noticing thoughts you repeat over and over Are they kind and loving?

Practice forgiveness of other people or yourself by remembering that everyone is just doing the best they can based on their set of life experiences. Reprogram your brain using affirmations, visualizations and meditation or one of the other therapies mentioned.

Chapter 5 Connect with the Breath

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Breath is life. Life begins when we take our first breath and ends when we exhale our last. There is nothing more essential to life than the breath.

Breathing is one of the few biologic activities that is both autonomic and can be controlled with conscious intention. We inhale and exhale twenty-five thousand times every day, taking in oxygen and letting out carbon dioxide and other unwanted byproducts of body activities. As automatic as breathing is, many people suffer from dysfunctional breathing habits, with devastatingly negative consequences.

When we practice breathing properly, we can infuse the body with more life and energy. We can activate the parasympathetic state of the autonomic nervous system, leading to coherence and harmony, and promote health and healing.

Proper breathing also delivers oxygen to the body in exactly the right amount, the right pressure and the right temperature.

Many people are oxygen-deprived, but this is because they have too little carbon dioxide Paradoxically, the way to get more oxygen in the blood is not with big breaths, but by breathing more efficiently, slowly and with less volume. This increases carbon dioxide in the bloodstream Interestingly, carbon dioxide is needed to ‘offload’ oxygen into the bloodstream. Poor breathing habits have led to a low threshold for carbon dioxide and over breathing

Inhaling through the nose filters the incoming air and pressurizes it, opening up the soft tissues of the palate and at the back of the throat. Nasal breathing also creates nitric oxide which naturally opens airways.

Breathe into the belly, rather than the chest. When we belly breathe, the diaphragm moves downward, bringing the breath into the lower lobes of the lungs. The lungs are bigger in the lower lobes, so breathing into the lower lungs by activating the diaphragm is more efficient Abdominal breathing also activates the parasympathetic rest-and-digest response to relax the body and improve circulation Keeping the breath small helps to not take in too much oxygen.

Download my free Breathe Away Pain One-Page Mini-Class here: https://janehoganhealth com/breathe

HEARTWORK ACTION STEPS

1 Breathe through the nose Consciously breathe through the nose during the day. At night put a tiny strip of medical tape, the size of a postage stamp, across the lips

2. Breathe deep into the belly. Feel the diaphragm move as you gently inhale and exhale Keep the breath quiet

3. Breathe less. Take smaller and longer inhalations and exhalations and take in less air than you are used to taking in

Chapter 6 Become Body-Conscious

“Most persons are so absorbed in the contemplation of the outside world that they are wholly oblivious to what is passing on within themselves.”

- Nicola Tesla

We are used to believing that our mind is who we are and that the body is the physical vehicle to carry us around. But when we consider that the body is actually compressed energy, then the body is part of our entire being. Along with the mind, the body is a tool to serve our spirit as we experience life in physical form.

But as we express ourselves in physical form, some energy can become blocked, limiting the expression of the fullness of who we are. What we want to do is train the mind to serve us so that ALL of our soul can be expressed and we can have the life that we actually came here to have. It is truly a soulful journey, it's a soul's journey.

This is about getting back in your body. Instead of living in one ' s head so that we can perceive our soul, our energy within the body.

Most of us haven’t been taught how to connect with the body’s energy, but this wisdom has been around for thousands of years The practice of pratyahara, taught by consciousness masters in the East, is a way to learn to inhabit the body, to feel energy in the body

Wisdom traditions of the world teach that there are concentrations of energy within and around the body, which correspond to the plexus of nerves. There are seven energy centres within the body, called chakras in the yogic tradition The first is at the pelvic floor, called the root chakra. Next is the sacrum, located just below the navel Just above the navel is the solar plexus Next is the heart centre, located in the middle of the chest. The fifth is in the throat. Next is the third eye in the middle of the head and last is the crown located on the top of the head Each of these energy centres are connected with an endocrine gland and each have their own vibration There are also other energy centres located outside the body

You may have felt these energy centres in your body Times when you had a gut feeling, or a lump in your throat, and even pain. We can learn to feel energy, to become embodied, by giving the body attention with simple practices These practices use the mind along with the senses, directing them inward rather than outward, allowing unification of the body, mind and soul

By uniting the energy of the body, mind and spirit, we can awaken the healer within, integrating the energy and creating awareness and flow. This allows us to express who we were meant to be and find joy and purpose in life.

These practices are a first step in creating greater energy flow within.

HEARTWORK ACTION STEPS

1. Flood the body with love. Think of a person, pet, event or place that brings a strong feeling of love. Feel this in your heart and imagine expanding it with every breath.

2. When a situation results in negative thoughts, focus on the feeling it creates in the body, rather than rehashing the situation in your mind. Notice where in the body you feel this negative feeling, then imagine you are breathing into it, sending it love and compassion.

3. When you feel physical pain, flex or activate the painful area. Imagine it is a small child or pet that needs your help. Then imagine you are pulling the breath through it, infusing it with love

Chapter 7: Nurture with Nutrition

“Mindful eating replaces self-criticism with self-nurturing. It replaces shame with respect for your own inner wisdom.”

- Jan Chozen Bays

I’m all for eating healthy foods. The food we eat becomes the building blocks for all our cells so of course we should start with quality food However, we could eat great food, but if we aren’t digesting it and absorbing it efficiently, then we aren’t getting the nutrients we need.

So start first with thoughts, since thoughts affect the autonomic nervous system which in turn regulates digestion. The practices of Chapter 4 will help keep the autonomic nervous system in the parasympathetic, rest-anddigest state.

Your thoughts matter ESPECIALLY while eating. That’s why it’s so important to practice eating mindfully.

For many years, I was busy. Busy, busy, busy. I had an active family and that meant eating on the run a lot. Still, we tried to mostly sit down together as a family for suppers, and those are times I treasure. However, our hectic lifestyle meant that we got into the habit of eating quickly, even when we did sit down for meals.

I remember noticing when we had guests for supper, often we would be finished eating while our guests were only half-way through their plate of food. At the time, I was a little amused by how fast we ate, but didn’t think much more of it Yes, I knew that the general advice was to eat slowly, but I didn’t have time for that!

Fast forward to 2016 when autoimmune disease entered my life. I had no idea that a root cause could be digestive issues. It turns out that rushing through meals can actually be harmful to your health! Believe it or not, eating too quickly for so many years was actually a contributor to my autoimmune disease.

HOW you eat can be as important as WHAT you eat.

Digestion actually begins in the mind, letting the body know it’s time to rest and digest and preparing the digestive system to work effectively.

Eating mindfully means paying attention to the process of eating without judgement and trusting your body’s natural hunger and fullness cues. It’s a healthy way to reconnect with food, listen to your body and help your digestive system with its task of breaking down food to fuel you.

Some Tips for Eating Mindfully

Relax:

· Sit down to eat at a table set with candles and flowers

· Turn off distractions such as TV or devices

· Take 3 slow breaths before you begin eating

· Feel gratitude for the food you are about to eat

Savour:

• Take time to notice the colours, aromas, texture and taste of your food as you eat

• Stop eating before you are full

• Be in the moment, rather than letting your mind wander

• If you live with other people, eat, talk and laugh together

Chew:

· Put only amounts that you can chew easily in your mouth at a time

· Chew food thoroughly until it is nearly a paste

· Slow down by putting utensils down between bites

· Take a full deep breath before picking utensils up again Download my free guide 3 Ways to Calm Inflammation While Eating here: https://janehoganhealth.com/whileeating

Another simple way to improve nutrition is to ensure you are adequately hydrated.

Many of us are going through life in a state of chronic dehydration.

Up to 60% of the human adult body by weight is water. According to H.H. Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry 158, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are 31% water!

How much water do you need? The recommended guideline is to drink half your body weight in lbs as ounces. For example, a person weighing 150lbs would need 75 ounces in one day, as a general guideline That would be about 9 ½ glasses of water based on an 8 ounce glass.

Do your own calculation: Your weight in pounds, divided by two equals the total ounces of water you should aim for each day

If you are drinking from an 8 ounce glass, divide your total ounces by eight to determine the number of glass of water you should aim for each day.

Are you drinking enough water? One cup of tea or coffee can count toward your daily total, but the rest should be plain water. Filtered water is best. If your water consumption is far below the recommended guidelines, then gradually build up to that amount over several days.

It’s also best to drink your water mostly between meals so that the stomach acid can do its job of breaking down food without getting overly diluted.

When it comes to the food you eat, planning meals ahead of time leads to making better food choices. Plan meals made with real (not processed) ingredients with lots of colourful vegetables. Start by planning meals for a few days or at a time and go from there

If you have pain and inflammation, try to avoid these top most inflammatory foods:

• Gluten

• Dairy

• Corn

• Soy

• Refined sugars and artificial sweeteners

• Processed oils (canola, corn, safflower, sunflower and peanut)

HEARTWORK ACTION STEPS:

Practice Mindful Eating: Relax, savour and eat slowly

Hydrate properly

Plan meals using quality ingredients

Chapter 8 Move Your Body

"Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental states."

- Carol Welch

Moving was the last thing I wanted to do - or could do- when I had pain throughout my body. Just getting around the house was painful. Yet, I knew that if I was to heal, I had to move

If you are in pain, perhaps you are having similar thoughts My suggestion is to start where you are and do something you love.

Movement is critical for health and healing; so much so that it’s now said that “sitting is the new smoking ” If sitting feels so good, why is it so bad?

When we sit, blood flow slows down exponentially which allows fatty acids to build up in the blood vessels, leading to heart disease. On top of that, sitting for extended periods of time can lead to insulin resistance which can cause type 2 diabetes and obesity - which are two leading causes for heart disease. Sitting too often for too long can also cause blood clots, as well as slow your body’s ability to process fats.

Research shows that sitting extensively can prevent the lymphatic system from doing its job. The lymphatic system helps to flush toxins from the body. Because this system doesn’t have its own pump, it relies on movement to get toxins circulating and flushed out of the body.

Ensure you get up and walk around every hour, setting a timer to remind yourself to do so. Walk around while doing everyday activities like housework, talking on the telephone or listening to audiobooks.

Whether moving around as you go about your day or during exercise, move consciously This means to pay attention to how you are moving

ANY exercise can be a form of mindful movement

(In my twenties I used to exercise to music or while watching TV the complete opposite of conscious movement!)

Whatever form of movement you are doing, be completely aware of how your body feels For example, feel the feet lifting off the pavement if you are walking, or feel the water on your body if you are swimming. Notice the muscles expand and contract as your body moves

Involve all your senses by noticing what you see, hear, taste and smell as well as what you are feeling as you move the body.

Coordinate movement with the breath. For example, inhale through the nose on an expansive move and exhale with a contractive move. Or inhale on the effort, like when you lift a weight, and exhale on the release.

Focus the mind inside the body. Visualize inhaling the breath from the earth to the core of the body, then exhaling through the top of the head. Reverse it by visualizing the breath coming in through the top of your head into the core then exhaling out through the feet into the earth. See if you can switch from visualizing the breath to feeling the energy move in the body.

Mindful movement can help transmute toxins in the body and has been used by athletes to perform faster and increase endurance.

But you don't have to be an athlete to benefit from mindful movement. Moving this way activates the parasympathetic, rest-and-digest, state of the nervous system.

Research shows that we do need a variety of forms of movement including strength, cardio and stretching, so make sure you plan to include all these each week

We also know that it’s not necessary to have long workouts, and as we age, we actually shouldn’t have long workouts.

And always listen to your body by not pushing through pain If you are concerned, consult your health care professional about what’s best for you.

Me? I love to dance So when walking hurt, I simply danced in my chair I put on music I loved and chair danced! Gradually, as the pain and inflammation lowered, I could walk around the block. Within two years I was hiking again and climbed the second highest peak in Newfoundland. Now morning yoga is part of my daily routine. Getting outdoors for walks, hikes, paddling, swimming, skiing and snowshoeing according to the season, are other activities I love

Have a daily movement routine with a blend of strength, aerobic, and stretching movement throughout the week.

Move consciously with the breath. Notice the inhales and exhales. For some forms of exercise, this means inhaling on the effort and exhaling on the relaxation. Do what works with your form of movement. Stand up, move and stretch every hour. Set a reminder if needed.

Chapter 9 Detox Your Environment

“If

you don't take care of this the most magnificent machine that you will ever be given...where are you going to live?”

Karyn Calabrese

Although I was aware of toxins, I really didn’t begin to address them until my body became inflamed. Lowering exposure to toxins is another piece of the puzzle of lowering pain and inflammation. Every piece of the puzzle is necessary, including lowering exposure to toxins.

It should come as no surprise that the amount of toxins surrounding us daily is growing. With 5G upgrades, wireless phones, shortcuts being made in our food and cleaning products, exposure to toxins is unavoidable.

The truth is, we have become a little numb - misguided, even - of the disruptive, even harmful, toxins in our lives. We find ourselves in a routine where we wake up, go about our day as usual, go back to sleep, and repeat. If you already have pain and inflammation, it's even more important to reduce toxin exposure so that the fires of inflammation don't continue to be fanned. Dealing with toxins requires a lot of energy, and that means less energy is available for day-to-day living and for healing.

In this chapter I’ll share some simple ways that you can reduce your exposure to toxins you are encounter to everyday

EMF TOXICITY

Everyone is exposed to EMFs (electromagnetic fields) to some degree all of the time Of course, it’s important to note that man-made EMFs are continuing to increase as technology continues to advance. This includes microwaves, computers, WiFi routers, cellphones, among many other appliances All of these emit invisible energy waves, EMFs, but many people are unaware of the health risks that could potentially be associated with electronics that have become an integral part of the modern world.

EMF toxicity can be lowered by earthing, or grounding by simply walking barefoot on the earth. The Earth’s electrons clean up and neutralize the positively charged electrons, the inflammation-causing electrons, and help you to create balance within your personal electrical circuit.

To lower your exposure to EMFs from electronics, use protective cases, limit wireless technology and turn off when not using, use speaker mode or wired headset when talking on your cell phone and simply cut back on the use of electronics where possible.

CHEMICAL TOXINS

The Environmental Working Group estimates that women use an average of twelve personal care products every day containing about 168 different chemicals. Chemicals are used in food products, sprayed on produce, in drinking water and in household cleaning products. Even the air we breathe can contain toxins including molds.

Chemical toxins damage enzymes, therefore undermine numerous bodily functions - inhibiting hemoglobin production in the blood, for example, or lowering the body’s capacity to prevent free-radical damage which accelerates inflammation. Toxins also displace minerals, resulting in weaker bones.

Here are three ways you can lower chemical toxicity:

Air: Ensure the air you breathe is clean Check for evidence of molds and remove. Use an air filter and replace filters on air ducts regularly. Houseplants can also help clean our air

Food: Read ingredient labels and avoid those with ingredients that have chemical-sounding names. As much as possible, eat organic, wild and pastured food For produce, especially avoid the Dirty Dozen, a list of the most heavily sprayed produce compiled by the Environmental Working Group (https://www ewg org/foodnews/dirty-dozen php) When it comes to protein, know where it comes from and what the animals were fed.

Personal Care and Household Products: Know what's in your cosmetics and personal care products, and especially avoid parabens and phthalates Swap chemical household cleaners for more natural ones. The Think Dirty app (https://thinkdirtyapp.com/) is a great tool to help identify levels of toxins in a multitude of personal and household products.

Get grounded: Spend time outdoors (preferably barefoot) every day Reduce exposure to EMFs by putting devices in airplane mode, turn off wifi at night, and use a personal and/or home EMF protector.

Eat the cleanest food you can afford choosing organic produce and proteins which are grass-fed, wild and pastured as much as possible. Switch to less toxic personal care and cleaning products

Chapter 10 Energize with Sleep

“Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.”

Thomas Dekker

In the months leading up to the onset of rheumatoid arthritis, I was hardly sleeping due to the stress I was under. In fact, poor sleep was (and continues to be) a problem for me whenever life is stressful. One thing I learned is that we heal when we are sleeping, so I had to make sleep a priority and figure out how to improve the quantity and quality of my sleep.

If you already have an illness, sleep is critical for healing When we sleep, our bodily tissues are renewed; a necessary part of healing. Prioritizing sleep is critical.

Human beings thrive on rhythm. Circadian rhythms are critical to our health and well-being and have a major impact on our sleep Many of our biorhythms are controlled by a trio of organs: the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland in the brain and the adrenal glands, two walnut -sized glands which sit on top of the kidneys. The hypothalamus, pituitary gland and adrenals are often collectively referred to as the HPA axis. These three work together to regulate the secretion of cortisol

The hypothalamus houses the master controller of our biorhythms. The biggest influencer affecting the hypothalamus and circadian clocks is the light-dark cycle. Our body detects when it is light during the day and dark during the night. Other factors affecting our circadian clocks are exposure to bright lights, meal timing, fasting, physical exercise, stress and sleep routines.

While we can’t regulate when the sun rises and sets, many other factors mentioned above ARE within our control. We can control the timing of when we are exposed to artificial light. We can control the timing of meals, physical exercise and sleep routines.

By creating routines for these activities, we can assist the HPA axis in doing the job it was meant to do. When the HPA axis is functioning well, optimal sleep is achievable

Routines aren’t boring - routines help you get better sleep, and that is a wonderful thing! To help reset your circadian rhythms, set a regular schedule in each of these three areas: waking and bedtime, meals, exercise.

Getting outdoors early in the day is associated with better sleep. Studies show that exposing the retinas of the eyes to natural light as soon as possible in the mornings, within the first 30 minutes of waking, helps improve sleep quality. Also, getting morning exercise, even 10-20 minutes, is linked with better sleep. Why not combine them both with a morning walk, outdoor yoga or qigong?

Critical to our sleep quality, as children and adults, is what we do in the last one to two hours BEFORE going to bed This is when we want to relax our brain and send a signal that it’s time for sleep.

Here are 6 things you can do to relax your brain before bedtime:

Lessen the Light. In the evenings, dim the lights in your home to simulate the sun going down. Avoid exposing your eyes to blue light from television or electronic devices for at least one hour before bedtime Blue light, especially, inhibits production of melatonin which is needed for optimal sleep.

Avoid Eating and Drinking. If our body is busy digesting food, it’s more difficult to settle down for sleep. Drinking during the evening can result in a bladder that needs to be emptied during the night, disrupting sleep Alcohol, while it may help you fall asleep, actually disrupts sleep cycles during the night.

Send a Sleep Message. For the last hour before bed, do something relaxing, rather than stimulating. Read, journal, listen to calming music, do light stretching, meditate, have a bath, or do any activity that you find relaxing. Especially avoid exposure to news media. In this way you are telling your brain it is time to sleep.

Empty Your Mind. Write down things that are on your mind The very act of dumping from your brain to paper can relieve built up tension or stress. Keep a notepad and pen by your bedside in case something comes up while you are in bed.

Breathe Deeply. Taking several long, deep breaths into the belly helps oxygenate the brain, and calms the nervous system. Focusing your attention on the breath can also help take your mind off other things.

Feel Gratitude. After you turn off your light, close your eyes and think of at least three things that happened during the day which you can be grateful for. Feelings of gratitude send a signal to your brain that all is well, allowing you to sleep more peacefully.

Have a regular daily routine for sleeping, meals and exercise

Get 20 minutes of morning sunlight

Wind down for 60 minutes before bed with a sleep-inducing bedtime routine.

Part III Become

Chapter 11 Live with Intention

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life."

- Eckhart Tolle

Living intentionally means choosing what is going to be in your life. I call it living by design.

Living by design is a completely different approach than living by default

Living by default means not choosing how you are going to live, and also not taking responsibility for what you have in your life

Responsibility.

To truly take responsibility for everything in your life means that you acknowledge that what happens to you is created by you All your experiences are created by you.

This means no excuses, no blame, no being a victim

When you blame anything or anyone else for your circumstances, you have given up taking responsibility … your response-ability.

And worse than that, you have given up your power, becoming a victim in the process.

In Jack Canfield’s book "The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be" the very first chapter is titled "Take 100%

Responsibility For Your Life." This is the fundamental truth that the entire book is based upon. He says: “It is only by acknowledging that you have created everything up until now that you can take charge of creating the future you want.”

When it comes to illness, the obvious question is “ am I responsible for this illness?” This is a difficult one to answer. What I have learned is that most chronic conditions are the result of genes responding to the environment (including thoughts, and feelings). The environment we expose ourselves to, our lifestyle and our reaction to it IS our responsibility. Our thoughts and feelings are our responsibility We always have the ability to choose our thoughts, feelings, lifestyle, environment and how we choose to react to circumstances.

The thing is, we are always creating our life We can create by default, by reacting to circumstances or we can create by design, by taking responsibility and planning.

This distinction was absolutely critical in my healing journey. I reflected a lot on my life since developing autoimmune disease There were times when I was living by design and there were times when I was living by default. Default living was when I blamed, when I felt hurt, when I felt resentful, or when I felt stuck. When I lived by design like deciding on a life partner, planning a family, planning vacations and life experiences, I felt happy.

Most of us probably live partially by default and partially by design. What is important though is that we can CHOOSE how to live.

We are always creating our life, whether we are aware of it or not. It seems to me that when I was more aware, I was in design mode and that was when good things happened.

When I created healing in my body, I was in design mode

When I created a life of wellness, I was in design mode.

Can you look back at your own life and see when you were living by default and when you were living by design? Can you see how that distinction changed your circumstances for the better?

If your body is showing signs of illness, then you have the same choice: live by default or live by design Default means not taking responsibility for your illness … or your wellness.

Living by design means that you will intentionally make choices that lead you to wellness. Following that compass, pointing you in the direction of healing and wholeness.

Living by default or living by design. Now that you know the difference, what will you choose?

Want to know where to start living by design? Begin by making a decision that you are going to be a designer of your life.

You get to be the writer, producer, director and actor of your own life

Your life by design begins with designing your mornings to set you up for the day Have a morning routine that supports your health, your growth and a life you love living. My morning routine includes meditation, journaling, visualizations, affirmations, movement and reading, a practice I call my Transformational Morning Blueprint. Use this link to download my free guide https://janehoganhealth.com/mornings

As you go about your day, living by design means recognizing when negative emotions are triggered and dealing with the emotions in an appropriate way. Rather than getting into a mental story about what happened, recognize where in the body you feel the emotion. Is it in the gut, heart, throat, neck, head, arms, hips or does it move around? Is it a tightness, or buzzing, constriction, heat or cold, quivering, or other shift?

Understand that the response you feel in the body means that energy is not flowing and that the way to get the energy flowing again is to focus on where you feel the physical sensation. Squeeze the area, imagine breathing into it. Let it know you hear it. Dr. Sue Morter calls this practice “Take it to the Body,” By focusing on the body rather than the story, you can build energy up in that area where the reaction shows you energy is lacking, lessening the frequency of the triggers

Ideally, for optimal mind, body and spiritual health, we want to stay in the vibration of love as much as possible We all know what love feels like in the body: just recall a person, pet, place or event when you felt love. Notice that you turned this feeling on just now by simply bringing a thought to your mind. Teach your body how to keep coming back to this feeling.

The feeling of love brings the heart, mind and body into a state of coherence, scientifically shown to improve health, cognitive function, and longevity. I have a great Heart-Focused Breathing audio file you can download here to help you practice: https://janehoganhealth.com/heart

Have a daily morning routine Practice Take it to the Body.

Stay in the vibration of love with heart-focused breathing

Chapter 12

Be Magnificent

"You are a one-time mega event of the universe."

- Marie Forleo

What is clear to me now is that pain and illness were actually callings from my soul, calling me to be a better version, the finest version, of me.

I spent fifty years of my life building a protective persona, a facade held together with a tenuous thread woven with perfectionism, people pleasing, endless mind chatter and expectations for myself and others that could never be met. My confidence could topple at any moment by the slightest criticism. I felt I never belonged anywhere.

I couldn’t see the real truth: that I belonged everywhere, that everything that was happening was for my learning and growth and that by letting go of that facade, I would see that I am truly magnificent.

And so are you.

Our purpose here is to understand that our life experience is to take us deeper into discovering who we really are, that we are part of the universal energy and that we are actually powerful creators of our life experience. We are here to have a sensory experience through a physical body for spiritual growth. We are spiritual beings having a spiritual experience in a human body

By being the ‘silent witness’, the observer of our life, we can get out of the constant stories in our mind, ruminating over the past, or worrying about the future and simply experience life.

Quantum physics tells us that we are made of high frequency energy called light. Every cell in our body actually emits light. It is light energy that sends impulses quickly throughout the body at astonishing speeds When we learn to perceive this energy in our body, moment by moment, we can live as the creative energy beings that we really are.

Accept your greatness, live in the moment and radiate your true loving presence. When you do this, healing happens as a happy side-effect.

Accept your greatness.

Live in the Now.

Come from radical love and compassion in all encounters.

HEARTWORK ACTION STEPS:

Jane Hogan, "The Wellness Engineer," blends science and spirituality to help people release chronic pain using the mind, body and breath so they can become empowered creators of their own health

Her personal experience of reversing crippling rheumatoid arthritis using natural solutions inspired her to leave a 30-year engineering career and become a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, Certified Yoga Teacher and wellness educator.

Combining ancient wisdom with leading-edge science, Jane’s Wellness by Design Blueprint has helped hundreds of people release chronic pain naturally. She is the host of the Wellness by Design podcast and her empowering message has been featured on numerous podcasts and summits She has been published in Thrive Global and Elephant Journal magazines.

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