Autoimmune Adventures

How much of your physical ailments is due to emotional stress, and what can you do about it? When it comes to taking back our power over health and well-being, some of the most exciting research comes from epigenetics and energy medicine. Epigenetics looks at the many factors that influence the expression of genes, including our thoughts and emotions. Many modalities of energy healing help us shift our thoughts and emotions so that we can positively influence our gene expression, leading to swifter healing. One of those modalities is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Dawson Church joins me on this episode to talk about how EFT actually works to provide benefit with many physical ailments, including autoimmune disorders. Epigenetics influences us in every moment, and the environment, including emotions from present and past traumas, has an immediate impact on how our bodies respond at the level of our genes. EFT helps us quickly dissipate the emotion. Dawson leads a short exercise similar to EFT to help exper

If you have a chronic illness, you’re may experience numerous physical and emotional consequences, from physical pain and discomfort to anxiety about your body and the future to a loss of confidence in yourself. Practicing meditation regularly can help alleviate physical symptoms as well as restore a sense of internal calm and peace regardless of what is happening. Meditation teacher Mary Meckley explains how starting a very simple and short daily meditation practice can provide benefits such as better sleep, lower inflammation, responding better to stress, and increased self-confidence. Included is a simple meditation you can do anywhere, even in the midst of your day, to quickly and effectively calm down. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

When does a healing protocol become unhealthy? There can be a fine line, as you take actions to promote healing, between when those actions support healing and when they start to detract from it. If you’ve ever started to see a food as “bad” or become obsessed about what you can (or can’t) do, had emotions such as fear, shame, and guilt accompany your choices, or let your healing protocol interfere with relationships, you may recognize this line. Health coach Angie Alt joins me this episode to talk about how to notice when the actions you take or your mindset about those actions starts to become unhealthy, and how to bring more balance back into your journey, ensuring that it truly is supporting you to heal. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

What role do commitment, perfectionism, and shame play in healing? Self-love and self-care might be the most important factors in promoting healing, and yet are often difficult for people to tackle. Whether you’re a Type A personality, a natural caregiver, or simply raised in a culture where you are taught to put everyone and everything ahead of you and your health, truly shifting your lifestyle to incorporate self-care can be a steep learning curve. Jen Wittman joins us this episode to help illuminate how to emerge from perfectionism and shame and take your healing into your own hands. With both personal and professional experience and expertise in thyroid issues, Jen shares her own story and a healthy dose of humor to inspire you to amp up your emotional well-being.  Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

How do the daily choices you make directly impact your health? With any chronic illness, you are likely to encounter recommendations for dietary and lifestyle changes to improve your condition. Yet what’s the basis for those recommendations, and how do those actions actually impact the cells in the body to create the effect you would like? Dr. Sarah Ballantyne returns to the show to discuss the science (again so us non-science folks can understand it!) behind some of the dietary and lifestyle recommendations made in the Paleo Approach. In the previous episode with Sarah, we discussed the inner workings of the immune system. This time, we expand the discussion to link the macro level of choices we make about food, sleep, stress, and exercise with the micro level of what research suggests happens in the body as a result. Grasping the connection between your choices and your health can provide needed motivation to continue creating a healthier lifestyle. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support t

What is happening in the body with autoimmune disease? Understanding what is going on in the immune system with autoimmune disease helps us appreciate the steps we can take to support healing. Sarah Ballantyne, scientist and a leading proponent of the Paleo lifestyle, explains the incredible complexity of the immune system and the imbalances that lead to autoimmune disease in an easy-to-comprehend manner, even if your last biology experience was in high school! Learn the key players in the immune system that lead to autoimmune disease and how the intricate dance among them creates either health or illness. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

What role does emotion play in chronic illness? Culture encourages us to disassociate mind from body, and many of us live most of our lives in our head. The consequence can be an imbalance in our emotions, which results in symptoms in the body. Psychologist and coach Kyle Davies talks about a more recent understanding of emotion that overturns the previous incomplete ideas about what it is and how it works. When we understand that symptoms we experience are feedback from the body, we can unblock emotional flow and live more authentically. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

What dietary factors play a role in chronic pain and inflammation? Many people with autoimmune disorders deal with chronic pain daily. Chiropractor Dr. Daniel Twogood joins us to share how to shift your mindset about what causes chronic pain and disease and how to go about removing the foods that are contributing to inflammation in your body. Based on his thirty years of working with patients to relieve chronic pain and inflammation, Dr. Twogood presents his list of substances to eliminate as well as how to adapt it for your own particular health situation. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

How does your attitude affect your health? With a history of challenging health issues including epilepsy as a child and multiple sclerosis, Mary Ellen Ciganovich has learned the importance of attitude to positively shift well-being. How you take your diagnosis and how you treat yourself even on your most difficult days both impact the way you move forward. Mary Ellen shares tips about living well with a chronic illness, becoming aware of your attitudes and those of the people around you, and a simple action plan to follow that will help you be healthier. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

Returning guest Mickey Trescott joins us to share an action plan for recovering from autoimmune disorders, focusing on a do-it-yourself approach that takes into account the key areas that make the most impact on your health. Mickey outlines some of the steps that helped her recover for those embarking on their own healing journey. Addressing the areas of diet, critical lifestyle changes, and working with medical professionals, this action plan gives you what you need to begin to improve your health today. A continuum of dietary changes from removing gluten to a full elimination diet can begin your recovery. Managing stress in your life, improving your sleep, and incorporating more movement strengthen your ability to heal. Finally, finding the right medical professional to guide you through any testing and medications you need provides important support to get to the underlying causes. Most important is to assess where you are in each area and decide on the goals that will work for you. Show notes available at

Energy medicine provides powerful yet simple tools to help heal yourself of illness. Psychotherapist and Eden Energy Practitioner Mikel Carmon illuminates the important relationship between the triple warmer and spleen meridians for people with autoimmunity and other chronic illnesses. When triple warmer is continually turned on through stress, it takes energy from spleen and the rest of the meridian system. Healing the relationship between these two critical meridians can create a healthier balance in the overall system. Mikel shares how language affects these two systems and specific, simple, and quick exercises that you can do to calm the triple warmer and strengthen spleen. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

How is the balance of bacteria in your gut impacting your health, and what can you do about it? Fermented foods offer a low-impact and relatively safe way to affect the balance of bacteria in your gut. Bacteria impact digestion and help to modulate the immune system, a significant portion of which is in the digestive tract. Imbalances in the microbiome can have far-reaching affects on health. Nutritionist Sarah Ramsden, creator of the Fearless Fermentation series, shares how to overcome the barriers to making and eating fermented foods and the benefits of eating more of them. Sarah offers a simple action plan to incorporate fermented foods into your diet that will have you healing your microbiome through enjoying your childhood favorites. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

When you find yourself in times of uncertainty, as you will if you are on a healing journey, you might notice an abundance of questions. How you question has a lot to do with whether you sabotage your inward journey or dive deeper into it. Are you seeking answers or are you seeking you? On this episode explore the types of key questions that support the unfolding of your process, interrupt the mental structures you’ve created, and generate new possibilities your life. Learn how to live these questions through bringing certain qualities to your experience, exploring the questions in a way that works for you, and bringing them into your daily life. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator/host of Autoimmune Adventures

Are you listening to your body or at war with it? Many (if not most) people have an abundance of judgments about their body. With chronic illness, you may notice even more judgments about yourself and your body that contribute to dis-ease and disharmony. When immersed in judgment it can feel impossible to emerge, but when you get out of conclusion and into question, you can create a relationship with your body based on harmony, joy, and ease. In this episode, Blossom Benedict shares how to create communion with your body and shift out of diagnoses and judgments. We discuss the specific questions to ask and concrete tools so you can learn to listen to your body and collaborate with it instead of managing or controlling it. In using these questions and tools, you increase your awareness of what’s true for you and your body. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

How do toxic chemicals affect autoimmune disorders and what can you do to protect yourself?  Around 87,000 chemicals are currently in commercial use, and very few of them have been studied with regard to their impact on health. Yet the evidence is growing that many of these chemicals, such as Bisphenal A (BPA), phthalates, and heavy metals, have a negative affect on the human body, and may contribute to autoimmune disorders.  Dr. Aly Cohen, rheumatologist and environmental health specialist, explains how these chemicals can enter the body, and some of the havoc they can inflict once there. We explore both how to minimize exposure to these toxins and how certain foods can help the body eliminate them. Dr. Cohen also explains her take on the current fad of detoxing and the importance and value of a lifestyle based approach. Learn key doable steps that you can implement immediately to avoid chemicals and support your health and environment. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by sub

Different approaches can offer new perspectives on healing autoimmunity. Acupuncturist and herbalist Anne Angelone shares ideas from both Chinese Medicine and Functional Medicine. From the inner tradition of Chinese Medicine comes the idea of medicine as an aid to spiritual evolution and the importance of looking at what you are identified with. Functional Medicine brings in the physical testing to find and address underlying causes. Practical tips include using breath to regulate chi and use the autoimmune protocol to address nutritional imbalances and help heal the gut and mucosal immunity. Anne shares her own personal experience of struggling with undiagnosed ankylosing spondylitis and what has helped in her healing journey. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

What don’t you know? How do you respond when in uncertainty and not knowing? When you are on the healing journey, unknowns abound, bringing up fear and discomfort. When instead of going into your habitual responses, you can let not knowing open you up, you can learn to bring spaciousness and excitement to uncertainty. Learn the common patterns to being in uncertainty and tips to help you thrive in not knowing what’s to come. When you can learn to thrive in uncertainty, you enhance your healing journey. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator/host of Autoimmune Adventures

What steps do you take when the medical bills are piled high? Certified Financial Planner Candice McGarvey returns to share tips on the practical and logistical steps to take to begin digging yourself out of a financial hole. Understanding the medical billing system, making calls to providers, and creating a plan to make payments all help minimize the damage of unpaid bills. Candice also covers what types of accounts might be helpful, getting insurance through the Affordable Care Act, and the importance of becoming an educated consumer of healthcare. Find your financial footing again! Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator and host of Autoimmune Adventures

How do you emotionally handle financial difficulties due to a chronic illness? Candice McGarvey, a Certified Financial Planner and financial coach whose baby was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, joins host Julie Stiles to share how to cope emotionally with financial fallout. Essential principles are to acknowledge when you cannot deal with medical bills (and that this is ok), seek support through an advocate, be aware of your emotional triggers and know how to take care of yourself when they arise. Even in financial fallout you can shift your relationship with money and increase your financial wellness. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! 

This installment of the series on transformation continues the theme of letting go. Episode 26 outlined a framework for letting go, but sometimes it proves to be difficult to let go of patterns of belief and identity that have defined your life. Learn four methods that can help you loosen the pattern and shift your relationship to it. These methods include to learn from it, choose to let go (for this moment), apply lessons from when letting go is easy, and find what you are letting go into. Letting go of what isn’t working allows you to consciously create your future. Show notes available at http://aiadventures.com. Support the show by subscribing in iTunes and leaving a review. Thank you! Julie Stiles, creator/host of Autoimmune Adventures