slides into, first, "I can't move my hip -- it hurts too much," then becomes, over time and repetition, "I can't move my hip," which takes on a life of its own, becoming a "truth" which causes entropy in the bone and muscles, eventually making it an ac- curate, observable-from-the-outside fact that the joint can't be moved because it's calcified and the muscles that should ac- tivate it have atrophied.* Awareness of the fear facilitates


choosing to acknowledge it, then choosing to deal with it, which causes the possibil- ity of moving through the necessary steps of healing -- movement, supportive nutri- tion, exercise. Clearly, Martha Wood made the choice fairly quickly, orienting her exercise in part for the good of her com- munity.


I face a similar challenge daily, in my case, not with injury, but with fluctuating energy. I have hypoglycemia, wherein my blood sugar takes nosedives now and then, and particularly at certain times of the day. I'm also very sensitive to low hydration, which mimics the effects of low blood sugar. In either case, the feeling is that of going along enthusiastically with what- ever I'm doing, then suddenly -- within minutes -- I feel that all of my energy has deserted me, as if I've been unplugged. Now, never mind that this has been going


on for years, the automatic feeling, which quickly gets translated into thought, then desire, is "I don't know what's wrong with me, but I've got to lie down, take a nap." Then follows a whole lot of internal dia- logue to the effect of "What's wrong with me? I'm failing. I can't make it like this...I have to stay up and running to keep the bills paid and provide for the future." This is a well-worn tape, and it does not cease to play. If I buy into it, it gets worse, until I finally do lie down and sleep. But then, I wake up in just as bad shape as before I lay down, with the same old dis-empow- ering feelings running around in my mind. All I need to do is first, to remain (or


become) aware, then remember to eat a little protein, preferably before the down- hill slide starts. If I've waited too long and I've already begun the downward spiral, there are two necessary steps: (1) acknowl- edge what's happening, and (2) choose the necessary steps for recovery -- including sometimes just keep on keeping on -- both of these without internal verbiage about how terrible I feel and how I'm going downhill, etc. etc. ad nauseum. Oh yes, there's a third step, which is to be aware of the time of day. This hypoglycemia bit is complicated by another malfunction known as adrenal fatigue. The point is that around 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. my en-


ergy goes rapidly, steeply downhill, and until I sit down to an appropriate meal at lunch time, or until I do that and wait about an hour or more for recovery at supper time, I'm at a very low ebb. In this case, awareness, coupled with acceptance, provides the least dramatic (i.e., no self make-wrongs or blaming my wife) way of managing my energy and my self. Awareness is the key -- awareness and


choosing. In my case, holding the aware- ness that what is happening with my body is electro-chemical, and that it benefits from some planning and application of the proper nutrients at the optimal time. Add to that the willingness to be consciously aware of my feelings and to choose to check them out against the already estab- lished facts, which causes my body/mind to function far more optimally than other- wise would occur. In Martha Wood's case, I can't say how she did it. I can only ob- serve that she did, and continues to do so with grace and vigor.


Submitted by Kent McKeithan of McKei- than Pain Treatment Center, 1169 Edge- brook Drive, Winston-Salem. For more information, visit www. Mckeithanptc.com or call 336.761.0501 for an appointment.


Natural Triad Magazine


DECEMBER 2012


39


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