Fighting Parkinson’s, and inspiration for my 30-day challenge 2012

Today is the kick-off day for my November to Remember 30-day challenge 2012. I have received a lot of emails from people who are accepting the challenge. Here is some clarification: For those who are new to the blog or who are inspired but have not yet started doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery™, it is my challenge to you to make a personal commitment to yourself to do the scaled-down version of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery™ for the month of November to get on your path toward recovery. It costs nothing. There is no sign up sheet. There is no catch. There is nothing to lose. There is much to gain.

For inspiration to begin the November to Remember 30-day challenge 2012, here are the comments posted over the last two days from those who have been doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery™:

Penny Wassman says:
October 30, 2012 at 9:48 am
Dear Howard

I am so very grateful to you for your generosity of spirit in offering to help people recover from Parkinson’s Disease as you so fully do….and for the support you have offered me personally. I am absolutely committed to the recipe through November and for as long as it takes to recover.

As a way of celebrating the value for me of your recovery recipe and your support, I’d like to share some of my experience this past Friday with Nathan, an experienced practitioner familiar with energy work and an RMT (registered massage therapist). I’m imagining that many of you wouldn’t have the benefit I have of independent feedback as to the efficacy of the “Recipe for Recovery”. Nathan’s been working with me for a couple of years …. I presently seek his treatment once a month. Most exciting for me are the encouraging changes he is noticing in my body … this despite the fact that my tremors have become more active recently.

First a little personal history: I’m presently 71 years young. Though I was referred to my neurologist in the year 2000 with tremors, my Parkinson’s diagnosis wasn’t confirmed by her until 2005. I’ve never taken traditional Parkinson’s meds (mainly because I had witnessed the negative effect they had on my Mom who also had PD). Instead, I maintained a healthy diet and exercise routine, and explored and practiced alternative methods including Janice Walton Hadlock’s work (no significant improvement after a year and a half). Then looking for more support for a drug free approach to PD, I stumbled across Howard’s website last year. I’ve been diligently following his “Recipe for Recovery” and benefiting from his coaching for the past 15 months. I am blessed with the loving and very empathic support of my husband, Ray. His wonderful presence in my private life frees me to continue with public work that is very meaningful to me as a communications and personal development trainer.

When Nathan spoke to me this week, he revealed some information he hadn’t previously fully shared with me…. that when he first began to treat me more than 2 years ago, he really doubted that he would be able to assist me much at all (beyond the usual comfort a massage brings). He told me that when I began with him, my internal energy was significantly stuck and that the base of my brain (he also does cranial sacral work) seemed to him “like sludge”. Nathan began to notice some positive shifts in my internal energy when I was about 3 months into Howard’s recipe. I remember him asking me at the time whether I had changed anything in my routine. I replied “I’m doing Medical Qigong exercises” and he said, “Well keep it up…you couldn’t be doing anything better for yourself!”

When I arrived for my appointment last week, Nathan asked how I was doing. I replied that it had in some ways been a trying month…. that my tremors had been noticeably more active and that my emotions were all over the map…high….low… and everything in between. My left leg had been dragging too….kind of a “bummer” month. “Well,” Nathan replied, “Sounds like you’ve been stirring things up a bit!”

After my hour long treatment, Nathan was visibly excited…really animated. He told me my energy was opening up as it never had before…. that the previously stuck energy in my left leg was releasing…that there was much more space in my entire body to move energy, including in my brain. He said that even though my outward tremors seemed more active, that my inner energy was noticeably more calm. Then he said that it was no wonder to him that my tremors and emotions were activated…. there was such significant inner change and energy release into previously untargeted areas, that it would be natural that the body would react as it did.

You know, for me, it was wonderful to hear this message ….to know that someone independent from Howard was also echoing the same message that this recovery work is very much like chipping away inside a giant iceberg (very little visible on the surface of things) until the last vestiges of this condition release….until I am symptom free. I’m learning the value of persistence, even and maybe especially through PD flare-ups. So I’m more inspired than ever to continue Howard’s recipe faithfully, tortoise-like, and singing Pete Luboff’s song, “I have the Power”. And as to symptoms sometimes appearing a little worse…. oh well… okay! Must be doing something really good, huh?

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Teri says:
October 30, 2012 at 12:18 pm

To all of you who are considering Howard’s 30 day challenge, I can tell you that Howard is more faithful to our recovery than anyone I’ve ever known. I’ve been doing the recipe for one year now and Howard has been extremely helpful and encouraging every step of the way. Why wait any longer? Just do it! You are worth it! It took me a long time to realize that, but I now truly believe it!
Blessings~
Teri

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Margriet says:
October 30, 2012 at 1:11 pm

Dear all,

I have been doing parts and all of the recipe since September last year and will continue to do so until “I am done”. Although some of my outer/inner symptoms seem a bit worse lately, I have more energy and feel improvement in other areas. Howard has been great at always writing the right blogpost at the right moment. His incredible inspiration and generocity helps to fuel my own will to recover. More and more people tell me these days how well I look (better than before I became ill!). I also take inspiration from Penny’s story, thank you. Dear people out there, don’t hesitate but take charge yourselves. It is so empowering to be able to act instead of waiting to see what might happen. If Howard, Mary and Pratima could do it, we can do it, YOU can do! I take comfort in the knowledge others are out there doing the recipe too. Don’t wait and join us. We are all worth it! Love, Margriet

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bhavna says:
October 31, 2012 at 12:06 am

Dear All,
i daily pray to god thanking him for sending Howard to me. he is a god sent blessing. i consider myself very lucky to have found him . keep reading his blogs and sincerely do what he says and you will get excellent results. all i am asking you is “DON’T GIVE UP”. because you have the power and you all are worth it.
i am sure after 30 days lot more names are going to be there with Howard, Mary and Pratima.
all the best
bhavna

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Joe says:
October 31, 2012 at 12:16 am

I ditto all of the comments that others have made. Today, I decided to reduce my pills again. The recipe is helping me recover; it really has helped me on the road to recovery.
Thanks Howard!
Sincerely,
Joe

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Laurie Diaz says:
October 31, 2012 at 5:27 am

Penny, What an inspiring story! Thank you for sharing it. I’ve had a similar experience.
Previous to hearing about Howard or the recipe I had visited a sacral-cranial practitioner who told me my cerebral-sacral fluid wasn’t moving. I returned to him several times but it didn’t seem to get flowing.
About six months after starting the recipe (I started slowly, adding more bits as I thought I could manage.), I remembered about what he said and went to see him for a check-up. He said the cerebral-sacral fluid was moving just fine; he wondered why I had come to see him. I told him about Howard and the Qigong exercises. I thought he would be thrilled to know, but it seemed in the too-hard basket.
Finding the recipe gave me real hope … for those of you out there wondering if it could be true …. you can keep reading these posts …. or join in, and find out for yourself. Laurie

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Marie says:
October 31, 2012 at 10:17 pm

I remember last year when Howard issued the November 30 day challenge and I realized that I did not need to do it…..all my symptoms had gone! And they have not returned. I am happier, healthier, more balanced now than I was before I started the Recipe for Recovery, and know that the changes I made to rid myself of my symptoms gave me so much more than that! One of the biggest changes is that the free-floating anger I used to feel is gone. I am not continuously on the verge of losing my temper like I used to be and I think that is mainly because I do not allow myself to remain in stress mode for long stretches. And on the occasions when I do feel angry, now I am so aware of it. I apologize to my liver and ask it to let the feeling go, and not to be damaged by it.
So much of what seemed ” out there” to me when I first began the Recipe for Recovery, like having little chats with my brain and my organs, is now part of my everyday life, and I am so much the better for it. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by committing to yourself and accepting Howard’s challenge and offer of support. It worked for Howard, it worked for Pratima, it worked for me….and it CAN work for you. I have faith that it will. Hope to see you here in Recoveryville soon.

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Are all of you inspired? I know I am!

As all of these people have pointed out, they have been doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery™, and it is working for them, including all the way to symptom free full recovery for Marie and Pratima, and me.

Accept the challenge…make the commitment to yourself…grab onto the scaled-down version of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery™…make this your November to Remember for your Parkinson’s recovery.

“I have the power to heal myself.” And I did.
“You have the power to heal yourself.” Marie did. Pratima did. And you are.
“Together we have the power to heal the world.” Every time another person starts down this path to recovery, together we are growing in numbers and we do have the power to heal the world.

For even more inspiration: You are recovery!

Make the commitment to yourself for recovery!

You are worth it!!!

All my best,

Howard