I used to work with a Dr. that said the liver is and can be the root cause of many health conditions and diseases. So what is it that harms the liver and can lead to further health issues and what helps to heal the liver? 
1. Too much protein in the diet can stress the liver. The liver has to metabolize proteins into simple compounds, and the greater the protein amount, the greater the stress. High protein diets are poplar right now. But the truth is that the liver has to process those proteins, so too much protein in the diet can stress the liver. And you can consider what that means if the stomach isn’t breaking those down properly to begin with.
2. Too much sugar and simple carbohydrates in the diet can stress the liver. The body actually converts excess sugars into triglycerides, which are stored in the liver as fat. And this is the major indicator of heart disease, and why sugar is a bigger factor in heart disease than fat is.
3. Overeating can stress the liver.
4. Too much enzyme-deficient food can be taxing to the liver. And this is where the raw foodies are going to proclaim that their diet is higher in enzymes and therefore better for the body. If we can process them, then we do want to think about getting in some raw, sprouted, fermented foods to get more enzymes into our diet.
5. Drug residues, whether they be from medicinal, recreational, or residue from chemotherapy, need to be processed and purified for elimination from the liver.
6. Alcohol causes inflammation in the liver. I think we all know this. The liver has a more difficult time filtering when it’s inflamed, and when the liver is clogged up with fat, it increases the level of inflammation and this can lead to cirrhosis, which is the hardening of the cells in the liver. And that leads to the inability of the liver to regenerate itself.
7. Certainly too many toxins, heavy metals, or pesticides damage or stress the liver. 
8. Lack of exercise forces the liver to do the elimination that should be relegated to the lungs and the skin.
Diseases of the liver, like chronic hepatitis C, harm the liver and thwart its function.
So ultimately the symptoms that we’ll see from impaired liver function can lead to anything as broad ranging as: digestive troubles, constipation, low energy, allergies, hay fever, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and infertility and more. So what can we do to help the liver? Here's 10 Tips To Champion Your Liver!! 
*From Functional Nutrition Alliance 

In December of 2020 I signed up for functional nutrition training and started studying gut health and all the body's systems. My husband was dealing with some health issues that all seemed to be gut related and we couldn't seem to the bottom of it so I did some research and found the Functional Nutrition Lab/Full Body Systems. After many discussions I felt it would really make a difference for me, my family and my clients. 
Full Body Systems is a program that teaches you to be a Functional Nutrition Master. It gives you the skills you need to truly get to the root causes of health issues and guide others to health and healing, even if they’ve been everywhere and tried everything. 
Practicing functionally is the future of healthcare. That’s because it’s  one of the few methods that gets to the heart of what’s going on with your body, no matter what the signs, symptoms or diagnosis. A Functional approach creates individualized diet and lifestyle plans that actually works. The powers of nutrition, “food as medicine” is used to help people finally feel better. We have been practicing the 10 Tips to Improve Digestion and things are improving! I am excited to share this with you and create a plan to get to the heart of the matter!  I look forward to sharing more with you as I go!! Take care! Let me know if I can help! ​

​Solstice energy strong
Celebrating the return of greater light
Star of Bethlehem bright
Pulling me outside under a black sky in search of remembrance
Spirit of colorful Christmas lights warming the bitter chill, with recall of Christmas’s past
This brilliant star will last, never to be forgotten
We need this sign now more than ever to lead the way
to unite our world with peace, joy, healing, and love
New world hope for 2021
To ignite our own inner light, reconnect, remember this eternal power within
We are the star
We have the spark to begin again!
K. May
12/23/20

Don’t hold sorrow there
be like air
move beyond
use your words
breathe in diamond light of morning into dew through your heart
release death

find a seed of new wings to start again
erase the veil that hangs before your eyes
rise take up with nature to roll into a place of rebirth
a rose blooming in the sun honeysuckle strong

a fawn comes to visit
watch flowers open petals of possibility
this miracle is for you
don’t you see you are greater than you know

let nature show you how to grow
Kimberly May
5/30

As Winston Churchill was working to form the United Nations after WWII, he famously said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste”. I recently heard fashion designer, Tori Burch also say this about dealing with her businesses closing down during the pandemic and how she is dealing with how to recover.

​Here are a few of her comments from Emerging from the Crisis from Harvard Business Review:
How has Covid-19 changed the nature of what you do and how you do it?
Burch: We’ve learned that we can adapt and run the business from home virtually. We have a great team, and to see the amount we can get done is inspiring. One thing that isn’t easy is the creative process. Design is tactile and collaborative work, and to design collections on a computer is really difficult.
Burch: Trends come and go, but being casual and interested in health and wellness was a trend before the crisis. That’s going to continue. At the same time, people are going to want to go out and dress up again. So I wouldn’t throw away any of your good pants or jackets. But let me make a larger point. People often think of fashion and apparel retailing as a “lite” industry, and when this threat struck, it was clear that no one was advocating for the government to help us. But our sector represents 11 million American jobs and $2.5 trillion of GDP. This idea that fashion is frivolous is a misperception.  

As we adapt and try to move forward how can we learn from this crisis, is a question I ask myself and my clients daily. Here are a few other questions to ponder:

• Could this be a good time to reinvent myself or my business? 
• Do I take time to reflect on my life and my recurring patterns or issues? 
• What's a new way to do this?  
• What's falling away that no longer serves me? 
• What really brings me joy and fulfillment? 
• What do I stand for? 
• Who supports my dreams, life vision and goals? 
• What could I be doing during this crisis to recreate myself or get more of what I want from life?
• What would I like people to say about how I handled this crisis? 
• What might I do that I never thought I could do before? 
• What opportunities are arising from this?

We will probably look back at the time in history and our lives with great reflection and wish that we used this time to it's fullest and feel we didn't waste the crisis but we turned it into a turning pointing in our journey to do what we may have never imagined! 

If I can help you on your journey, let me know. I would love to hear from you! 

https://hbr.org/2020/07/emerging-from-the-crisis

I woke up early the other day, well, I've been waking up early for awhile now so I get up and write. Here's what I wrote on 4/13/20, as we are all on pause, and taking greater time out- 
What could the gifts of this downtime be? 
-stretching and doing yoga in the morning with my husband with no hurry to get out the door
-more time to meditate and deepen my spiritual practice and study time
-really slowing down to enjoy the miracle of spring, watching all the birds sitting in the trees as they are blooming and flowering each day
-having more time in nature, to garden, and watch the plants grow and nurture them
-taking more walks with my husband and enjoying all the spring flowers and trees and taking pictures of them
-having long talks with my husband about what really matters in life and for us, feeling closer to him than ever before
-writing poetry, journaling, reading, listening to podcasts  
-being more relaxed about producing results
-not having to put on makeup or get dressed up each day for work
-being able to help coach others through this time on zoom, Face-time, etc...
-catching up with friends/family on zoom, and Facebook messenger 
​-Cooking soups, trying new recipes, having more time to cook together and slow down to eat lunch outside together, when it's nice out 
-greater self-care time, baths, cups of hot tea, facials, just resting and unraveling from all the years of pushing myself
I hope this inspires you towards more downtime, time for your self-care and dropping any expectations of what you should be doing, and just undo and relax more, listen to your inner voice, you are wise. You have all the answers for you. Just stop, breathe, and listen. Let yourself feel whatever is going on and give it time to be released, then later there will be a space for something new or maybe an action step or not. This time does not have to be filled with doing. You are enough, simply in your being you! 

Here's one of my poems from the early am writing sessions
Love in the time of Corona
What do you really value?
What needs to fall away
What truly needs to stay
How do you play on this stage of fear and panic?
Will you give in to the manic of the virus?
My shorona
Take this corona and break it down
It is showing us something
What is it?
Can you find the inner temple of peace and love?
We created all of this
We can make it go away
You get to say
You signed up for this, you’ve been preparing for it your whole life
You have the answers for you, and you know what to do
Be still and know from moment to moment, surrender and trust
Remember you have a virus protector built into your heart with all you need to know
 
Kimberly May
3/26/20

A few photos from my walks and home 


​

I have a ritual that I love to do when I get home from the day. I get my compost bucket from the kitchen, that is usually full of compostable stuff such as coffee grounds, egg shells, vegetable peelings, etc. and I take it down the bottom of the hill to our compost pile beside a lovely peaceful creek. I use this as my releasing technique, I dump all the vegetable matter in the compost bin to transform it into compost to reuse in our garden, and then I turn to the creek and mentally release my unwanted thoughts, worries, concerns. I see them transforming into something new, like the compost. I watch them float away then to go down to the other side of the creek where there is a tiny waterfall and I imagine them  transforming into thoughts, dreams, and things that I do want. I give thanks for these things in advance. There’s a small bench there, I sit and pray, then focus on how blessed I truly am. This process helps me to not carry the troubles of the day into the evening or the next day. If I can’t get down to the creek on certain day, I mentally do this in my mind to release, transform and create more of what I do want. Do you have a ritual or technique you use to let go of troubles or burdens? Prayer, meditation, rest, walking, or journaling are a few helpful tools. Let me know what you have tried.

I love playing in the dirt and tend to get it all over me when I am gardening. Did you know that there’s a natural antidepressant in soil? It’s true. Mycobacterium vaccae is the substance under study and has indeed been found to mirror the effect on neurons that drugs like Prozac provide. The bacterium is found in soil and may stimulate serotonin production, which makes you relaxed and happier. Studies were conducted on cancer patients and they reported a better quality of life and less stress. Lack of serotonin has been linked to depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder and bipolar problems. The bacterium appears to be a natural antidepressant in soil and has no adverse health effects. These antidepressant microbes in soil may be as easy to use as just playing in the dirt. ​