earthing – The Cancer Canary

God Wink?

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about a tree fort I used to play in as a kid. It was a mature orange tree, and the branches draped almost to the ground. But if you parted the branches and went inside, there was a space in between the center trunk and the “curtain” of leafy branches. A little circle of space.

I’d play in there with my sister Gabi and my friend Jason. It was our house.

I was feeling all nostalgic … remembering eating oranges off the tree … wondering whatever happened to Jason.

🍊

A day or two later, I was out walking my dog, and I noticed that someone had thrown away a tree… It was about 6 feet tall, just laying next to their driveway, roots exposed. It looked like an orange tree. I grabbed a leaf and broke it, and, wow, it smelled like an orange.

I didn’t bring it home. I mean, I live way up here in New York. We just had a 6+ month winter. How do you even keep a citrus tree alive?

🍊

Next time I walked the dog past that house, the tree was still there, looking even more pathetic. I had to do something…

So I picked it up and brought it home. That’s when I noticed the thorns. Big ones! Huge!

I put it in the biggest pot I could find and gave it some water, cut off the dead branches, and trimmed these needle-like thorns.

And I wondered… did my tree fort have thorns like this?

🍊

A week or so went by, and I got stuck downtown during a rainstorm. I ducked into an ice cream parlor, and what did I find? A potted lemon tree, with fruit! You CAN grow citrus here!

So the little tree has been out on our back porch for a few weeks now. And I’m happy to report that we are seeing new growth!

It’s probably a lemon or lime, which usually have big thorns. But who knows? Regardless of what type of citrus tree it turns out to be, I feel special that the universe sent this one my way.

🍋🍊

Morning Routine

I recently spoke with an old friend who had heard of my diagnosis through the grapevine. He asked if I was doing all the things… all the things a person does when they get a diagnosis like this. Yes, I replied.

But what are the things? Well, there’s a lot of ’em, so I’m breaking them down by the phase of a typical day.

Here’s Part 1: Morning Routine.

I’ve wavered in consistency lately in terms of my morning routine. Months of extra-snowy and cold winter, plus traveling & staying with family are just a couple of the reasons why. There’s also “couch inertia,” aka “warm blanket in front of the fire,” inertia.

Yeah, its a thing.

Here’s the morning routine I strive for (and often achieve):

Wake up between 6 and 7 am. I don’t use an alarm but seem to always wake up around this time.
Put on my dumb watch, which counts my steps and tells the time, but isn’t constantly sending updates to my phone.
Open the blinds & get a blast of natural light into the bedroom.
Brew some organic coffee, which I drink black.
Use filtered water, of course.
I add about a tablespoon of chaga to my coffee. Chaga is a mushroom product that has some really great health benefits.
A quick walk outside, usually my backyard. Put bare feet on the earth. This is called grounding, and there’s a wonderful documentary on YouTube called The Earthing Movie… check it out.
While I’m outside, I like to break pine needles and smell them. I feel that it wakes up a different part of my brain. In the summer, we have other aromatics like rosemary, basil, and lemon balm to choose from. But in winter, it’s pine.
Set my circadian rhythm by looking at the sun. We have mostly hazy sun here, and if you live in a very sunny place, this would be impossible. Still, our stomachs set their expectations based on this morning exposure to the sun. Read about it in the book The Oldest Cure in the World by Steve Hendricks.
I started doing this morning activation routine with Master Shi Heng Yi, and it was a great starting point. However, over time, I’ve added reps and hand weights and a few more exercises to make it a more challenging routine.
A shower with only yuka-approved soap, shampoo, and conditioner.
While showering, I do a lymphatic massage. This is based on lots of reading and videos by lymphatic specialists. A great resource is the Lymph Love Club, which you can follow on social media for lots of reminders and techniques. (Note: CLL is not only considered leukemia but also a form of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, so taking care of that system is important for me, especially to balance out my sedentary work.)
A cold blast at the end of the shower, based on the research of Wim Hof.
Out of the shower, I get dressed, walk the dog, and do chores — or hit the rebounder — with a goal of getting 2500 steps before settling down to my desk at 8:45 am.

Ok, that’s it for the wake-up routine. Tune in next time… 📻

Grounding

Most of us aren’t getting enough nature. Putting your bare feet on the ground, inhaling fresh air, being around living things… this is all so important.

I happened upon The Earthing Movie on FreeVee, and have since been evangelizing to friends and family. It’s available on YouTube as well.

Since watching, we’ve been spending more time outside. I go out each morning, even when it’s frosty, and walk around. Exposing yourself to different temperatures is good, as Wim Hof can tell you. I look at the sun, which sets my circadian clock. And I smell flowers and leaves and pine needles.

I also bought a grounding sheet and a little mat for under my desk, where I spend entirely too much time.

Next time you think about using a plug-in, an air freshener, or a scented candle, stop yourself! Go outside and smell a flower. Grab a leaf or a pine needle, break it in half, and give yourself some true aromatherapy.

Sadly, most fragranced items, including many toiletries and cleaning supplies, contain phthalates, which are linked to health problems. I’ll talk about that another day.