It's not just about where you're going... it's also about where you've been.

I've been doing the "natural health" thing for over 13 years now, the "clean eating" thing for 10 and some version of the "autoimmune protocol" for the last 5. Working as a nutritionist in an integrative medicine clinic has really opened my eyes to just how differently we eat than we used to. I see it in the list of likes and dislikes from clients, the requests for breakfast and lunch options that take 15 minutes and the regular discussions in follow up calls about how much more it costs to eat healthy.

I was that person too. I was so busy making sure the house was clean and I was fit and that we went to every family event toting a scrumptious and sugar laden (but made from scratch) dessert, striving for plenty of meat and potatoes dinners and "kid friendly" foods like macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets. But as long we ate a salad or had some canned vegetables along with it and drank enough water, it was all ok... right? I really thought that was healthy back then.

Then the awakenings came along. They came in pieces (thank heaven) and they came for each of us (in varying degrees). Mood and sleep issues for me, weight gain and cholesterol for my husband, an Autism spectrum diagnosis for our son, the loss of my Mom to cancer at 56 and my Father in Law at to congestive heart failure at 24.

Whether it's a client at the clinic, one in my personal practice or those closest to me, the push to awaken comes to all of us. The level of acceptance and readiness varies. The level of what we can commit to effort wise and financially varies, but we are all looking for the key, the answer, the pattern to our health. Usually because we have lost some (or sometimes nearly all) of our health, or because we have lost someone we love dearly or witnessed them go through their own health crisis.

Sometimes the changes I suggest clients need to make to get back on the road to health seem huge to them. They did to me when we first stepped into this world too. But most of the people I see are dealing with very serious and chronic health issues. We cannot use the same driving directions to take us to a new destination. We need to take a look at how we got here. Not in a berating or punishing way that leads to guilt and staying stuck, but in an open-hearted, and empowering way. Forgiving ourselves for what we didn't know and loving ourselves enough to learn what our bodies need to achieve health... AND PROVIDE IT!