My journey with holistic health
Sometimes life throws us curveballs and you can’t do anything but pay attention to it. My “awakening” to holistic health was kind of like that. Growing up, I wasn’t necessarily fond of eating “healthy” or even of eating vegetables. I was thin, yes, but genetically so. I found myself snacking quite a bit, on salty snacks such as cheez-its, pizza, and chips. I sometimes even binge snacked (without the purge). I found stuffing myself with these foods gave me comfort, however, only temporary.
Growing up I suffered from intense migraines and attention issues. The migraines often stemmed from my neck, and my mom had the same issue. Because we both suffered from it, I labeled it as ‘normal’ and something I wouldn’t ever be able to rid myself from because it was clearly genetic as well. That wasn’t until later in life, when I began my journey in holistic health.
I first became exposed to holistic health in 2017 when I started noticing highly unusual and uncomfortable symptoms in my body. I had recently gotten back from Mexico, where I had endured a few days of feeling absolutely sick to my stomach. I didn’t know at the time what kind of virus I had contracted. I remember visiting a few different doctors, who all told me the same thing. Each of them took a look at me and then at my age (23 at the time), and then told me what I was feeling was anxiety, and that everyone gets sick in Mexico. I visited multiple doctors because I couldn’t shake the feeling that something felt very off. However as time went on, and still not feeling totally satisfied with their responses, I decided to let it go for the time being.
A couple weeks later in Aspen, my whole body started vibrating in pain. I visited a doctor in town immediately, who told me I had gotten ciguatera poisoning while in Mexico, and the change of altitude in Colorado heightened my symptoms. I was crying from the nerve pain, and it even hurt to yawn. The doctor told me to take a particular over the counter pain medicine to help with the inflammation. I also later got prescribed to gabapentin to treat the tremors I’d get at night as a result of my body being exposed to the toxins, that would wake me up in a shock. Thankfully, the gabapentin helped ease this. I also cut out eating fish, nuts, and alcohol for 6 months, which would all bring my symptoms back full throttle if I chose to ingest.
A couple months passed and still not feeling perfect, my girlfriend told me about this holistic Chinese medicine doctor who provides acupuncture treatments. I was totally freaked out at the idea, but was told that this doctor was very intelligent and good at what she does, so I got over my fear and decided to give it a try. Not to mention I was curious about healing a few other things that have been ongoing for multiple years of my life: 10/10 level migraines, my ADHD, and crippling anxiety.
As soon as I walked in, Jocelyn (the Chinese medicine doctor/acupuncurist), made me feel immediately calm and safe from her knowledge of health and also from the fact that she believed the symptoms I was feeling. I felt seen. She decided to do an extensive blood test on me, and sent in multiple vials of my blood into a lab. When my results came in, there was now actual proof of how I was feeling apart from the Ciguatera, as you could see a lot of my vitals were way off—from my hormones being dangerously low, to my plummeting Vitamin D levels. She also did a food/allergy test on me, and it showed that I had sensitivities to a few different foods, but what stuck out to me the most was gluten. I would later find out that cutting out gluten would heal me of my lifelong migraines.
The first time I received acupuncture, I noticed a huge shift and immediately then became a firm believer. I then undoubtedly began to follow her customized diet protocol along with her recommended supplements. I continued this for a long time, as well as receiving 2 treatments every week. I followed the diet as best I could, with making mistakes here and there. After only a little bit of doing this, I felt like I was almost fully healed. I was addicted—to eating well and to acupuncture. I continued to see her for over a year.
In the first couple months of seeing Jocelyn for treatment, I discovered that the house I was living in previously was covered in black mold. So not only was I fighting off ciguatera, feeling the negative effects of birth control (which had made my hormones drop), but I was also feeling the dangerous side effects of being exposed to black mold. No wonder I wasn’t feeling well!
As time went on, I fell more in love with holistic health. My body responded very well to different types of treatments and eating cleaner. I remember buying my first juicer and drinking celery juice every morning, which made me feel amazing. I tried out various raw vegan recipes, many adapted from Medical Medium. I also loved researching different ways to be healthy because my best friend at the time contracted Lyme disease which made her bedridden. At the same time, my mother was having her own health issues. I was passionate about wanting to help them feel better, and feel the way I did. What I undoubtedly soon found out was that everyone is vastly different and responds to treatments and health protocols differently. I also learned that preventative health care is always best, but that doesn’t mean it is ever to late to live a healthier lifestyle.
A couple years later, I decided to get more educated in health, as it became a passion to want to help others feel better. I enrolled in IIN (Institute of Integrative Nutrition), and learned all about the many different ways there are to be healthy. I successfully got certified to be a health coach. The following year, I did a year long breathwork training, which was tougher then I thought but ended up being life changing. Before that training ended, I enrolled in a 200 hour yoga training, followed by 2 separate 50 hour yin yoga trainings. I completed all of these successfully, and even went on to study sound healing, cacao ceremony rituals, and learned about herbs. I also studied under a few different healers in LA, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. My life felt totally changed for the better. I couldn’t imagine not knowing what I finally knew then. I continued on to experiment with the various healing remedies I learned while remaining open and curious.
I am still very passionate about health today and continue to be on my quest to try and help others. I have hosted others in my home in LA, and used my biocharger and my sound healing instruments to create an overall healing experience. I have taught others about breathwork, and I am currently looking into yoga studios to work at as well! I am excited to see where my journey takes me, as I still feel like there is so much to learn and experience. Thank you for being here with me for it.
Yours in health,
Elise