Hmmm. . . I haven’t been to a medical doctor, not to mention any other kind of healer, for what is it now, a dozen years? The last time I “required medical attention” was when I broke my left wrist, having slipped on black ice. Now if I had been really brave, I would have wrapped the wrist in comfrey leaves. But then the wrist had to be wrenched back into place, and required a titanium plate. So comfrey wouldn’t have worked, I don’t think!

I broke the other wrist about ten years before that, that one due to stumbling over a root on a forest trail. And did the same thing, got medical attention. In fact, I’ve always said that I trust orthopedics, but not much else.

So yes, I am definitely a contrarian, when it comes to my physical health. I so much prefer to “do my own thing,” and by that I mean pay close attention to what my body is telling me at any point, treating physical symptoms as also mental, emotional and spiritual symbols — meanwhile, above all, stay in motion.

When I’m sitting, no crouching, on my “stool” (formerly my husband Jeff’s stool, and he’s been dead 23 years) at my desk, with knees up and feet where knees are supposed to go), I never seem to crouch more than 20 minutes before getting up to do something else for at least a minute or two.

The stool crouch is due to the need to keep blood circulating. I’ve always needed to get my feet up, my whole life!

Okay, so here I am, 83.5 years old on June 19, and wondering: should I get some tests? Blood tests? What other kind of tests? Get a “primary physican,” just in case?

Searching for local holistic health practioners, I see where I need to go. One of them IS an MD, who used to work for IU Health, and then converted to a more holistic approach, many years ago.

So I’ve decided that before I turn 84, I will get a session with her, more to get the possible “tests” I could use than anything else. And to see what she says about my ten daily supplements.

Meanwhile: I keep up my daily practices, also known as “physical culture,” two full hours worth, knowing that “the body is primary,” that without the body in prime condition, I am of no use to this world. These practices include 4-5 mile walk, yoga, chikung and taichi.

And meanwhile, I continue with intermittent fasting (18/6). Eating at noon, and again at 5 PM, with special attention to getting enough protein (chicken and beef, eggs, nuts), since muscles tend to atrophy with age. Plus, of course, olive oil, avos, greens and other veggies (many from our garden) and one piece of gluten-free bread at lunch from Muddy Fork Bakery, whose owners used to live next door, and a bit of rice at dinner. Oh yes, and I top off each meal with a small amount of fruit, local if possible.

Oh, and BTW: I have more muscle now than I did three years ago!

Plus, and this is relatively new, my dental routine, 

For about four months I’ve been following the (seemingly counterintuitive) morning and evening protocol of Ellie Phillips, drinking pretty much only with meals, and making sure saliva is at all times alkaline, rather than acidic. (I’m shocked to realize just how acidic I kept my mouth when younger, eating all sorts of citrus, including lemon in the morning. It felt good, like each time I was cleaning them, i.e, making sure to limit tendency to slimy tooth surfaces. But, it turns out, the slimy saliva coating is what heals!)

So, BTW: following that small piece of fruit (leaving mouth acidic), I top it off with an alkaline rinse. And then top it off with another xylitol mint.

And I must say, after about four months, my gums never bleed anymore. (They have bled, all my life!) So I know it’s working.

 

And meanwhile, for contrast:

I have daily calls with my younger son, Colin Cudmore, inventor of the Garden Tower, now 60 years old, and who, nearly three years go — since August 16, 2023, the very day transit Uranus conjuncted my Moon (symbolizes mothering and children) for the first time since I was born) —  endured aortic dissections (delaminations) of both ascending and descending branches of the aorta. And what shocked everybody involved: Colin lived. However, the required operations left him paralyzed from the waist down and with nerve pain 24×7. Frankly, I’ve never known of a person who endures this much suffering, every single minute,  of every single day and night, and still choses to live. He figures that if the aortic dissections didn’t kill him, then there must be some reason why not.

I detail my daily interactions with Colin  on caringbridge.org.

Here’s my ebook On Mothering, in case you are interested. BTW: My own fiery Sagittarian need for freedom was so strong that I left my two children with their  father when they were five and seven years old, seeing them only in the summers. Our resulting healing process has been, as you can imagine, lifelong.

On Mothering