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As we collectively reflect on the year past and what’s to come, I have one wish for all of us — more LOVE.

Not necessarily romantic or family love, but instead the Universal love that embodies all relationships with others, ourselves and the planet.

Hoping this is the best year yet and remember LOVE is always near. Now 1/23... let it in.

xo Dana

Written by Dana Walsh  |  6 Comments
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It’s hard to image that it’s been 2 years since we connected. For that we are truly sorry.

SO much has changed and yet, the things that matter most at this time are the foundations of LLLM — love, light and community heart.

There is so much to say and catch up on.

We're kinda feeling a Fall Session again. Are you up for it?

Miss y'all...

xo Dana and Brent

Written by Dana Walsh & Brent Martin  |  20 Comments
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This Summer while attending a fancy networking event, I heard a featured speaker say, “Authenticity is hot right now.”  

Hot? Right now? Being authentic is a trend? I had to giggle to myself. Well, if that is the case, I got that marketing pearl covered.

Authenticity is one of the gifts that comes from having been through chronic illness — no time or energy for BS or posturing. For better or worse, I tell it like it is. So in that spirit... here's a story:

When we announced this year's Fall Sessions on Nov. 7th, I was so excited.  I sat here thinking of ways to invite all of you into our cozy nest for the next 5 weeks.  It’s such a beautiful program.  

BUT LIFE took a little detour.

The next day I noticed my tooth was broken — a molar. Lower left. Hmmm. That’s odd, I thought.  A closer look I could see the filling had broken off and there was significant black underneath, and I could taste it. Gross! 

I’ve lost 3 teeth on this Lyme journey (or whatever you want to call it) back to self and wellness. And I've got to say, I have been very motivated to have a different outcome this time.

I managed to get into the dentist the next day.  He didn’t have time to work on me so he temporarily patched the hole right on top of the decay. Lovely. 

That was Thursday.

By Saturday I was having night-sweats, tachycardia, fevers and urinating copious amounts every half hour—and hideous head, neck and jaw pain. I went back in on Monday.  My resting heart-rate was 115 and BP was low-normal and I had a fever. He said I wasn’t suitable to work on. X-ray was normal.

There I was down the old familiar rabbit hole of "We don’t understand this." (And borrowing money to cover the insane costs of doing nothing.)

Since that time I have seen 4 more dentists, a Lyme literate MD, and a neurological chiropractor.  Three of the dentists said that my fever was a coincidence and unrelated to the tooth.  Marc Weill and Dr. Beth McDougall, knowing my history — disagreed. 

With all this going on, I thought about canceling this Fall Sessions because I am so far behind on promotions, but when I looked at the tooth meridian chart and saw that this tooth, “number 19,” corresponds to the lung and large intestine meridian (the organs associated with the Fall and our session), I took it as a sign.

A sign to dig my heels in deep and walk the talk.  I teach self-care; now I need to use what I know.   It’s up to me.   Since that first day I have been vigilant with self-care and determined to get through this.

I started daily/hourly nourishing broths, detox baths, oil pulling with ozone gel, hydration/electrolytes, lymphatic drainage tinctures, deep breathing, immune boosting supplements, cell salts, Vitamin D and K2, chlorophyll, therapeutic mushrooms, colloidal silver and most importantly, fierce awareness of the present moment — noticing when I go into stories of the past and future. Instead, I tell my body over and over...

"I believe in you. You can do this. I love you”. 

Yesterday I went to have the tooth filled.  I was so sick. Freezing and sweating. My skin color was gray and I was urinating every 20 minutes. Heart like a bunny.  

The dentist said, “We can skip it if you don’t feel up to it. The filling is small enough and I don’t think it’s associated with your other symptoms.” 

I said, "I didn’t feel like this a week ago... I think it’s associated. Let’s try.”  

So we went for it.

Oh and PS, I don’t use any Novocaine.  And he only gave me oxygen to breathe, no Nitrous.

As he started drilling deeper, he said, “Gotta admit Dana, this is a lot deeper than I thought”  

“I told you!" I mumbled under the dental dam.  

He said, “I’m sorry we have to push through it."

I surrendered.  I met the sound of the drill with my own hum. And when it got faster, I hummed louder.  

In these situations I turn into a Zen master. I go eternal. No resistance. The pain was ridiculous, but my awareness of the space around it made it small. I was the space. The doc said, "I would be crying if I were you. You are amazingly strong.” 

Yeah, duh!!!  Yet another skill/gift gleaned from this journey. I have a warrior badge after 17 years dealing with Lyme and all of this stuff, but without a doubt, this one should have earned me my black-belt. 

When he was finished he sat me up to go PEE!!!  But I couldn’t stand.  The nurse assistant gently walked me to the bathroom and said in her beautiful Latin accent, “You were so good. I couldn't believe it. And honey, you look so much better, I see your eyes are clear now. And feel... your hands are warm. You were so cold and sick before.”  

Something had left me.  It was like coming back into myself. One dentist/surgeon thought I was reacting to the temporary dental resin material — yeah, that’s really a thing and a big deal.  

Either way, the moral of the story is to keep going and trust yourself.  One size doesn't fit all. Don’t let them tell you about your body!!  We are the canaries, the sensitives, and we help to teach that Medical care can't be a fixed model because our bodies and world are dynamic.

I said to the doctor when I collected myself, “So you thought I was just a high strung/high maintenance woman didn’t you?”

He said, “How’d you know?”  

I smiled… "And now?”

He bowed his head and said, “I am humbled, I don’t live in your body."

I am not out of the woods yet, and it’s still unknown if the tooth will make it. There is a chance that I will have to have this tooth extracted during the session. But here’s the thing: the self-care (keeping the body strong) is the same. 

Thank you for reading this. I teach by telling stories and using my life as an example. I hope you found something of value for yourself. 

The past few years have been very stressful for me in my personal life. And stress of course, will demineralize you faster than anything like your um... teeth.

Like you, sometimes I need a kick in the butt to make myself priority and get a head of steam on my health. And when I fully commit, I’m always so grateful and amazed at how much we can do with our self-care tools.

As I sit here with Essential Oil soaked gauze in my mouth, I am thinking of you and inviting you to have a virtual self-care slumber party with me. Let’s eat good food, rest, breathe, laugh and learn.

Let’s give what we've got and love every second of it.

The Fall Sessions is a gorgeous and essential program.  Very proud of it. But it’s nothing without you. 

You’re invited. 

We’d love to have you.

Dana (and Brent)

Written by Dana Walsh  |  13 Comments
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C'mon... Just give it a Chai...

Chai is a delicious beverage with a wonder medley of healing spices, including Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger, Cardamom, and Fennel. [Read more about their healing properties here...]

We highly recommend drinking more Chai and adding these spices into your meals as a way to prevent and eliminate parasites.

Chai puts the "Treat" in Treat-ment! ;)

And Chai enhances our other "Fall Sessions" Treat-ment recipes such as our Figgy Fudge Balls (recipe here)!

You have several options for getting more Chai Spice in your life.

Way 1: Buy Some Pre-Made Chai

We love Blue Lotus Chai brand Rooibos Chai Masala Chai. This is an instant chai tea mix with a base of rooibos powder. It’s naturally caffeine-free and dissolves instantly in hot water.

Ways 2 and 3: Make Your Own

We love making a homemade blend from fresh spices (Get your Spices here)!

Watch our Chai video and see the recipes below...

Way 2: Chai Spice Mix

Chai Spice Mix Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. nutmeg — fresh shavings, or powder
• 1 T. cinnamon
• 1 T. ginger powder
• 1 T cardamom powder
• 1/2-1 tsp. ground cloves (very strong!)
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper (*optional)
• 1 tsp. vanilla bean powder (ground pure vanilla beans)
• a few shakes of fennel powder
• We recommend spices from Spicely because all imported spices are required to go through a sterilization process before being sold in the United States. Most spice companies sterilize using synthetic chemicals or radiation. Spicely Organics uses a process called steam sterilization, which sterilizes food products without adding any chemicals or hazardous materials.

Chai Spice Mix Directions:

• Put all spices into a coffee grinder.
• Grind for about 30 seconds - 1 minute until the mixture is a really fine powder.

Once you make this Chai Spice Mix, you can use it in many ways:

• Enjoy as a tea with your favorite milk (see recipe below)
• Use in Pumpkin Pudding Pie recipe
• Use to make spiced apple cider and more




Easy Creamy Chai

Easy Creamy Chai Ingredients:

• 1 tsp Chai Spice Mix (from recipe above)
• 8 oz favorite tea -- Tulsi, Horsetail, black etc
• 1 T. Grass-fed butter or ghee
• 2 T. Favorite milk -- dairy, coconut, hemp or almond
• Stevia drops to sweeten to taste

Easy Creamy Chai Directions:

• Steep a strong cup of tea.
• Blend 1 tsp Chai spice, 1 T grass-fed butter or ghee, 2 T favorite milk and stevia to taste.
• Blend and enjoy.
• Note: There will be spices settled at the bottom. To avoid this... run tea mixture though a fine strainer before drinking.




Way 3: Whole Spice Chai

(This is a simple, one-cup recipe)

Whole Spice Chai Ingredients:

• 4 cardamom pods
• 6 peppercorns (optional)
• 2 cloves
• 1 star anise
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• slice of fresh ginger (or more to taste)
• 1 tea bag (of your choice: Tulsi, Horsetail, Black, etc)
• 1 C. water
• 1 C. favorite milk-- coconut, hemp, almond or full fat organic grass-fed milk (if you can handle it--yum!)
• Stevia to sweeten

Whole Spice Chai Directions:

• Crush spices with a mortar and pestle or back of a knife.
• Put water and spices into a pot and boil for a few minutes until it smells deliciously fragrant.
• Lower heat to simmer.
• Open tea bag (or throw in the whole tea bag) and add milk.
• Simmer another 5-7 mins.
• Pour through a fine mesh strainer, add stevia and enjoy! Super yums!




What Is Chai Tea? (and healing properties)

Originating in India, Chai Tea is typically a spiced black tea mix. The spices can vary, but it usually contains a combination of cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, cloves, fennel, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla. The base is traditionally a black tea, but decaffeinated, or herbal teas can also be used.

Each spice contains potent health benefits:

Cinnamon - antifungal, antibacterial, it can also reduce the risk of diabetes — it blocks insulin from getting into cells, and can lower blood pressure and prevent cell damage for diabetics.

Cardamom - anti-inflammatory, it relives muscle spasms, and can treat asthma, and other respiratory ailments.

Black Pepper - antioxidant

Cloves - anti-parasitic, antibacterial, anti-fungal, analgesic, it is widely used to soothe gum and tooth pain.

Ginger - anti-inflammatory, it can soothe upset stomaches and diarrhea, it’s helpful for arthritis and heart disease, and reduces the risk of colon cancer.

Vanilla - vanilla is a powerful antioxidant.

Written by Dana Walsh  |  Comment?
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