Fighting Parkinson’s, and a pep talk for my 30-day challenge 2021

For those of you who are working hard through this first week of my 30-day November to Remember Challenge 2021, good for you! For those of you who are not working hard through this first week of my 30-day November to Remember Challenge 2021, there is still time! For those of you who read my challenge and started thinking about doing the scaled-down version of the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery® instead of actually doing it, are you aware that five days have passed you by? What are you waiting for? Make this your November to Remember and start your recovery from Parkinson’s!

Today, I want to give all of you a pep talk to inspire you to take action in your recovery. Since some of you are new to this blog and may have missed earlier posts, my pep talk is from my August 12, 2011 blog post entitled, “Fighting Parkinson’s, and faith, attitude, action, progress.” Here it is:

“I was on a coaching call a couple of days ago and was questioned about how Qigong works, basically, what is it really doing because sometimes it is hard to know if it is doing anything at all. After a deep discussion about Qigong in general, followed by a discussion of Qigong in the Recipe for Recovery, it made sense to the person, and she suggested I write about it because she felt it would be meaningful for all of you. Ultimately, it comes down to faith, attitude, and action to make progress…I will begin, as I did with her on Wednesday, and start with action.

Action. In my Recipe for Recovery, there are Qigong exercises that require us to take action to fight our Parkinson’s. These are not general Qigong exercises that one would learn taking an introductory Qigong class. These are medical Qigong exercises designed to heal the liver and kidneys and help them function better. Since I view one of the causes of Parkinson’s as: ‘Kidney and Liver Wind, Deficiency, which is caused by overwork and insufficient rest which unbalances the body’s natural rhythm,’ I researched medical Qigong to focus my initial action to rectify these deficiencies.

Qigong in general. Our hearts pump our blood through our bodies. Our lymph system needs our assistance to move it throughout our bodies to build up immunity and cleanse toxins. Enter Qigong. Qigong is known as a soft exercise in that it does not require a whole lot of physical exertion, but it still builds up internal energy because we are moving our bodies slowly and stimulating our lymph system.

Medical Qigong for Liver and Kidneys in the Recipe for Recovery. The slow Qigong movements are focused on these specific organs. However, there are additional benefits. The liver is paired with the gallbladder as an organ system. The kidneys are paired with the bladder as an organ system. And, the lungs (it is not possible to do these Qigong exercises without breathing in a whole lot more oxygen than just sitting around) are paired with the large intestine as an organ system.

So, by doing these Qigong exercises, we are working on healing our liver, gallbladder, kidneys, bladder, lungs and large intestine. It is why many people have reported back to me that within days of beginning the Recipe for Recovery, they notice an increase in energy, their bowel movements have become regular and easy, their sense of smell has returned, that although they still feel pain their shoulders and knees are looser, they can turn their head and look back when backing up their car…these are small signs of progress, but they are signs of progress nonetheless.

Here is how I envision the Qigong is working: I am going back to my Titanic analogy, but taking it to the next level. Here is what I have said on this point in the past: ‘You did not get Parkinson’s the day you got diagnosed, and it is not going to go away the day after the diagnosis. The captain of the Titanic only saw the tip of the iceberg, if that, but an ice mountain had been growing for a long time beneath the surface. When Parkinson’s finally breaks to the surface, there are a mountain of layers below that need to be dealt with to beat the disease.’

Now, envision the mountain of ice below the surface that sunk the Titanic. Further, envision that you are placed deep into the center of this mountain of ice and you have a tiny hammer and chisel. Your goal is that each day you will chip away at the ice in a symmetrical manner. To an onlooker at the surface, they cannot even see you are in there chipping away. To an onlooker at the surface, the iceberg looks just as solid as it did the very first time they saw it.

Every day you are chipping away more and more, and every day the onlooker at the surface sees no progress. On one particular day, somebody who knows you are in there tells the onlooker, “Hey, there is a person in the middle of that iceberg with a small hammer and chisel chipping away.” The onlooker shakes their head and tells the person, ‘If that is so, they are crazy and they are wasting their time. I have been looking at this iceberg every day and I see absolutely no change at all.’

Ask yourself this: ‘If every day I am inside that iceberg chipping away and watching the hole inside get larger and larger, aren’t I making progress?’ And, ask yourself this: ‘If every day I am inside that iceberg chipping away and watching the hole inside get larger and larger, does it really matter what the iceberg looks like on the surface in determining whether I am making progress?’ How about this: ‘When I chip away at this iceberg in a symmetrical manner and I finally reach the outer edges, won’t the entire iceberg go away and won’t it happen quickly?’

There it is in a nutshell (or iceberg), how the Recipe for Recovery works. After nine months of doing the recipe and seeing very little improvement of my symptoms, I started seeing a lot of improvement and two weeks later I had no symptoms. The causes were removed and the disease went away. This is also known as full recovery.

The Qigong in the Recipe amounts to us taking action. The Qigong in the Recipe amounts to us chipping away at the iceberg from the inside out. To an onlooker, we look like we are accomplishing nothing, that we are crazy and wasting our time. Yes, our symptoms are an annoyance and an inconvenience, but I was not focused on relieving my symptoms. Instead, I was focused on ridding myself of Parkinson’s, and then the symptoms would go away. Actually experiencing the symptoms is what gave me the insight to understand what needed to be accomplished to beat this disease. I saw the enemy, I was able to endure what it had to deliver, I learned what I needed to learn to defeat it, and I took action. Every day we do something to defeat this disease we are making progress.

That is Qigong for the Liver and Kidneys…even though we may not feel our organs healing from deep inside, they are. How do I know this? Faith, and success. I recovered. It is why I named today’s post ‘Fighting Parkinson’s, and faith, attitude, action, progress.’

Faith. At the beginning, we have to have faith in our own recovery and faith in the process we are using to lead us down the path to recovery.

Attitude. We have to keep a good attitude that no matter how we feel, we are making progress because we have faith that we are on the correct path.

Action. I have said many times that faith without action is meaningless for Parkinson’s recovery. Action proves faith! Action says, ‘I so firmly believe that I will recover that I am willing to do Qigong exercises every day even if I cannot actually feel them healing me from deep within and even if I do not get immediate relief of my symptoms.’ Some people think this kind of faith is crazy. I feel that this kind of faith leads to recovery. Did you ever stop to think that the same people who call this kind of faith crazy actually have no faith at all in recovery — they still feel that one cannot recover from Parkinson’s. We are proving them wrong.

Progress. Every day you wake up in the morning you are making progress in the path of life. Every day you do something in furtherance of fighting your Parkinson’s you are making progress on the path of Parkinson’s recovery. With strong faith, a great attitude, and proper action, you come to the realization that every day you employ this formula, you are making progress.

And, one day you may wake up making progress in the path of life and realize that you have successfully completed the path of Parkinson’s recovery. It will be overwhelming.

So, what are you doing in the moment, NOW? Why not grab onto some strong faith and a great attitude, and start taking some proper action, NOW! Aren’t you worth it?”

Yes, you are worth it!

Don’t you want to finish your Parkinson’s journey before you finish your life’s journey? I thought so! So, here’s what you need to do: Accept my 30-day challenge and make this your November to Remember for your Parkinson’s recovery!!!

Make the commitment to cure yourself from Parkinson’s!

Okay, everybody, put big smiles on your faces and chant together so the whole world can hear:

“Parkinson’s is curable.
I am my own Parkinson’s cure.
I am slowing, halting, and reversing the progression of my Parkinson’s.
I am extraordinary.
I am recovery.
I am doing great!

AND, I AM WORTH IT!!!”

Yes you are. Each and every one of you is WORTH IT!!!

All my best,

Howard

MORE INSPIRATION FOR YOU

Below you will find the comments of your fellow warriors posted on my previous blog post. Thank you to all of them for sharing their journeys with all of us:

Yvonne says:
Dear Howard,
I thank you so very much for all your input, for your warmth and time you give.
I want to go for the November month! Its the hardest thing to do, going to give it a real try. Kindest regards. Yvonne

Val H says:
Thank you for your comprehensive support package, Howard, and all your galvanizing words. I decided that, for the November challenge, I would try to move myself on with the Medical Qigong for the Liver. I have struggled with this since I started doing the Recipe in June 2019. I mean, I struggle with the Recipe as a whole, but building up to 10 repetitions of the MQFTL just once a day was challenge enough, so I only did it in the morning, when I have slightly more flexibility. However, a couple of days ago, I vowed to get myself ready for November by trying again in the evening, and I’m going to keep it up for 30 days and, hopefully, beyond. Let’s just say that if you compare me to the video of Howard demonstrating the sequence, one of us looks like an ironing board trying to put itself up … LOL.
Wishing you dopamine sprinkles on your hot chocolate, Karen, and chi seeds on everyone’s daily bread!

Ray says:
I too have trouble at times Val with the liver exercise. I find then what helps is to leave the hands in place and circle the elbows instead while slightly lowering the hips down, forward back and up. Your best intention is good enough. Good luck xx

          Val H says:
Thanks, Ray. I’ll give it a go!

Karen in Ireland says:
Witty as ever Val. Yes please to dopamine sprinkles . 🥰 Very impressive target for yourself, you go girl.. great suggestion from Rick. 😊xx

Karen in Ireland says:
Apologies Ray, I meant great advice from you , not Rick, for Val.
Not that Rick doesn’t give great advice but on this occasion it was your advice I was referring to. I am going to stop typing now as I feel I am digging a bigger hole lol 😂 xx

Linda M says:
Greetings! This is my first time posting, although I have been quietly participating for a few years. I have benefited from your comments and cheers, so I add my voice to the posts.
Nothing like a challenge to motivate renewed effort so I won’t miss this November challenge and being a part of this strong, focused, optimistic group. I certainly will not regret one day that I have put in the effort, but I know I will regret the days I do not.

Rick says:
Here we go let’s fire it up. If Australia can keep going so can you. I’m not stopping until I’m over the line . Thinking of you all with much. Love 😊😊

Helen says:
Reading all the inspiring comments I am going to pull myself up and be more consistent. Every day is a new day and now is the time. Off to do the exercises. Love to all, Helen. Thank you Howard

Margaret says:
I’m in !
Re-dedicating myself to continue the Recipe, quieting the mind, feeling joy and working on continuing to lower my Mucuna without fear!
I AM WORTH IT!
Thank you Howard and fellow warriors for all your encouragement and inspo!
WE ARE WORTH IT!
Love,
Margaret

Jeannie R says:
Dear Howard,

Thank you for your motivation and ability to kick start my drive. I am doing the challenge and needed this to get my butt in gear. I am experiencing more chunks of time having a “golden nugget” and this along with the challenge keeps my eye on the prize.

Much love.
Jeannie, NY