Show Notes
TRANSCRIPT FOR EP8:
Welcome to Every Mother Matters. I’m Sharon and in this episode, I will be sharing with you my experience with alternative therapies Part 1
Due to my fear of hospitals and as I am into natural and alternative therapies, I explore various healing methods after childbirth.
I attended a free talk on chiropractic and I tried it. It was a very slow process and costly as I signed up for many sessions. I experienced an acute lower backache everytime when I bent forward to carry my baby boy when he was 5 months old. I knew I needed the spine alignment as I wanted a second baby too. The alignment was about 10 mins at most but the waiting time was longer. It was very tough for me to do so many sessions. I got to bring my 5 months old baby along as no one else was taking care of him. I was very disappointed to hear from the chiropractor that for my case, I was not quite done yet at the end of my package. I spent a lot already and it was a very slow process, so I did not want to do more.
As my mother was in her 50s when she was going into menopause, her mood swing was very obvious. She would be very emotional and threatened to jump out of the window and the next minute when my father or brother came home, she would make herself a cup of tea and she would drink it like nothing had happened.
Living in constant fear had a bad impact on my health.
One of my friends was a coordinator in Singapore promoting an energy course which is called the Gentle Bio-Energetics. It sounded interesting so I signed up for the course. I realised that for many years later I could not expand my lung to take in deep breath. My chest felt very tight. When I was practicing energy work with my course mates, it helped me to break down the armouring, which helped to protect me for years. The gentle touch was indeed very powerful.
Emotional freedom technique (EFT)
I was at a bakery shop and I just asked for any recommendation of a natural therapist. It was by chance that I got to know my natural therapist - siew fan who used various techniques and skills. She used EFT for me. She has many years of experience. It worked very well for me. She always phased the sentences so accurately for me to do the EFT tapping. I went to her when I was 5 month pregnant. I was very fearful of the hospital and I was so nervous, I felt my heart was pumping out of my body when I went to the hospital for my 1st routine checkup. She also did energy work for me and I felt more grounded.
Sound healing
The vibration of sound is very penetrating and powerful. I went to Lena Chen.
At first I was not sure about how sound healing could help me. After much consideration, I finally sent Lena just a few simple texts telling her my concerns. She checked with my guides and told me that she could help and I need not meet up with her to do the therapy. I was glad that sound healing was very simple, effective and did not need much effort on my part. Each audio was about 1.5 mins. Lena is very responsive, committed and has a lot of insights about her clients. I could feel subtle changes going on within me. I had flashes of past memories. Sometimes, I felt that her voice was very comforting and understanding. Other times, I felt my heart was opening up. Now, I feel differently over the same issue. My perspective has changed and I feel differently about myself. Most importantly, I do not feel that Lena, as therapist, is a step higher than her client who needs her help or client becomes poorer and therapist becomes richer. I find her charges are reasonable and affordable.
Moxibustion warm therapy
I did not believe in the Traditional Chinese method until after the birth of my 2 children. I coped badly and it took me a long time to recover. I was physically very weak and mentally drained to a point where there is no way not to take action to improve my health and well-being.
One day, while waiting for my classmate outside her spa, I chanced upon a training school just a few shops away. I was watching the video showing the TCM method using acupuncture points. The staff saw me and invited me into the training school. After understanding the course, I knew this was what I was looking for. I placed a deposit immediately.
I knew that I needed moxibustion warm therapy too. I signed up for the basic 3 month wellness plan. After 2 years, I knew that it was time for me to do long term maintenance. By then my school only focused on training and I asked my trainer to help me find a suitable spa where I could go. She recommended a suitable spa. It was really value for money. I see great improvement in my overall health. It took me 6 months to expel coldness from my body. That was how weak my body was to start of with.
Spine/bone alignment
One day, I passed by a spa after lunch and there was a guy who happened to stand there. I stopped and chatted with him a bit and asked what services the spa provides. He told me he is a TCM doctor and my bone was a bit missed aligned. It was my concern for some time and I had been looking for a TCM doctor. One day, after my alignment, Dr David observed the way I walked and corrected me. He also reminded me of a few other things to take note. When I remember, I will be more mindfulness. Old habits are hard to change but being mindful and the willingness to improve my posture, I can do it.
I watched Chris Leong doing bone alignment on Youtube and thought to myself I wanted to go to Malaysia one day to look for him. I was glad to meet Dr David instead. After a few sessions of alignment, I feel so different. I always felt tightness on my upper back. Now I understood that my chest tightness affected my upper back as well.
Health is not only physical, it also affects emotional and mental health.
EP Story-Needle therapy
I experienced great pressure on my left eye. While waiting for the appointment in the hospital for checkup, I went to the TCM doctor. That was the first time I tried acupuncture needle treatment. The doctor did not do anything directly on my eye but worked on my spine and one point on both my hands. He did spine alignment for me too. I felt immediate relief after one session. The treatment was not painful. The doctor also prescribed medication and did bone alignment for me. I feel that I missed out the golden opportunity to strengthen my body after the birth of my 2 children. In the TCM concept, the last chance to regain our health and strength is during menopause. Now I need to do long term maintenance to make sure that I do not miss out on that.
My fear
When my mother was in her 50s, she was very emotional and manipulative. She would always threaten to jump out of the window. When I was a teenager, my biggest fear was that when I reached home, my mother was dead and there were police at my block.
It was a very confusing situation because when there was any water on the floor, my mother would always want us to wipe it dry. But on the other hand, she always threatened to die.
Home never felt comfortable, safe or a shelter to me. Home was a place I did not want to return to at the end of a busy day.
I felt uncomfortable staying in an enclosed environment and there was a need to "get out". I could not stay in a workplace for long without feeling uncomfortable. After having 2 kids,that was why I always bring my kids to the playground or meet other mummies with kids for a playdate.
I did various forms of physical and natural therapies. I also learned and practiced energy work with my course mates. I was attending bach flower remedy course. During the course one day, it was the very first time in my life that I could ever think of having a physical shop to station in a place. That was a big breakthrough.
As my health improved over the years, there was a big shift. I no longer feel uncomfortable staying in an enclosed space.
Gentle and non invasive types of therapy work for me.
Takeaway:
Postnatal degeneration could be due to our health condition prior to pregnancy and no proper rest after childbirth especially without the family support during the first few weeks. My body was too low in energy and too cold.
Postnatal depression, mood swing and degeneration are normalised because it is so common, but I believe it is not normal. It does not make sense to see anyone we love suffer in pain during labour and ended up worse after childbirth.
Postnatal is not about how soon we get back to our pre-pregnancy shape or how slim we are, it also affects our health 40 years later.
Conclusion
I prefer natural therapy for health and wellness. Health is not only about physical, but also emotional and mental . It works on layers, like peeling an onion. Going deeper and deeper until we reach the core. It is not cheap but it is worth the investment.
We need to take charge of our own healing.
Don’t live our lives in fear. There are many different forms of therapy and ways to overcome our fear. Once we decide we had enough, it is the time when we are ready for a change. Be the best of who you are.
You can connect with me through my facebook, instagram and Linkedin and my links will be in the show notes. I look forward to seeing you in my next episode where I will be sharing with you more stories and tips.