Latest at the Office

Spring is still in the air in Tucson and many of us are still involved in doing some great spring cleansings! The most popular at the office is the Arise and Shine 7-day cleanse. The cleanse comes in a box with all the herbs in packets. It contains very clear instructions for taking and for diet. Seven days is a period of time that most people can let go of their food and drink fixes, and focus on healing and repairing their intestinal walls. The diet is also alkalizing. As some of you may know, disease thrives in an acidic environment in our bodies.

I decided to do a liver flush this week. It is the 5-day with the Dr Shultz products. It has two tinctures, a tea and two drinks, with raw food on Monday and Friday and fasting Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I am choosing to do raw food daily as I do not eat that much. The last two liver flushes I did included fasting, and the experience was positive. I even played in a tennis league the third night of the fast, so if you are worried about energy, chances are you will have more when you eat raw food and/or fast!

Why am I doing this now? I feel I need to break some habits. It doesn't make any difference what the habits are; I think we all get into patterns many of which are not helpful or healthful. Voila, the cleanses allow us to focus on the positive and set up new habits. The cleanses allow us to let go of some poor habits for a brief period of time. It my case, I wanted to take a break from coffee and half and half plus clean my liver.

I encourage you to jump in and find a cleanse you like and go for it. We have a client doing the Dr. Natura three-month program. She is highly motivated and preparing herself to have a child.

March and April were very busy with educational events. Ken Fine MD gave a 'fine' talk in Tucson on his work testing for celiac and microscopic colitis. His lab in Dallas (www.enterolab.com) is on the cutting edge of discovery for gluten and other sensitivities, before they have do irreversible damage to the gut wall. Apparently, one can go to the site and initiate testing without a medical prescription. He commented that a majority of the public that is relatively symptom-free is allergic to the glutinous grains, oats, wheat, rye, oats and barley.

From my observations at the office, many clients suffer from malabsorption, one of the symptoms of gluten sensitivity as well as celiac disease. Malabsorption is the inability to digest and absorb one's food. In the viewing tube, it might appear as undigested food particles, excessive gas, foam, froth or bubbles, and steatorrhea. Dr. Fine noted that many other common immune and inflammatory problems today, such as fibromyalgia, CFS, arthritis, psoriasis and ALS, are attributable to dietary allergens - mainly complex carbohydrates like the glutinous grains. We work with you on nutrition at the office when you indicate interest in new insights and behavior modification.

Julianne and I encourage you to do colon cleansing along with your herbal cleansings of the liver and intestines. Some are doing daily colonics, others do the colonic at the beginning, middle and end of the cleanse. Go for it and take time to change your patterns and heal yourself.

We also changed our price structure in April. We are offering better prices on the packages of 3, 5, 8 and 10 colonic sessions. More clients are doing more colonic sessions closer together with dietary change and cleansing programs in a concentrated amount of time. Check the website for the new prices.

School News

Our school for colon hydrotherapy is growing every day. The new catalog is online and some of the changes simplify the application procedure. Students are now requested to submit (among other documents) copies of diplomas and/or certificates from their two most recent academic and holistic institutions. Previously, I required transcripts.

We also close matriculation, or ability to apply, one month before the Program date. We want to give you time to do the prerequisites and other preparatory reading to prepare for your week at the school.

We are getting more requests from spas and clinics across the country that are looking for colon hydrotherapists. Hydrotherapists are in demand, so please consider putting in your application to take advantage of this need. Many spas are adding colonics as one of their services. Many medical offices now include colonics as part of their protocol.

Continuing Education

My brother, Michael Shea, was in Tucson teaching a Visceral Manipulation Workshop from April 12-15. We had 15 students from all over the country and one from Canada. We had 5 colon therapists, 5 massage therapists and 5 craniosacral practitioners. It was a good group and the learning was profound. Abdominal Visceral Manipulation is one of the few teachings that have direct application for colon therapists. Michael spent time with embryology, anatomy and physiology of the organs and then the palpation or manipulation of the organs in the GI cavity.

One of the key learning points for me was the nature of the relationship between the client and practitioner. Optimally, both are healing in the course of a session. The practitioner can go within and find her stillpoints. We have three: one near the third ventricle of the brain, one in the heart area and the third in the abdominal area. I learned to identify them and it does create a peaceful situation within when I can focus on my stillpoints and help the client to do the same. Michael's entire focus is the need to slow our tempos down. Breathing, going within and focusing on the stillpoints are a few methods to slow our tempos. With a slower tempo, we evoke the parasympathetic nervous system that allows us to relax and release!

Michael will return next year to teach Trauma Resolutions Skills. I will be notifying all of you when we set the schedule. I encourage you to continue to learn in the field of colon hydrotherapy. For further exploration and to find out about Mike's new book, please visit www.michaelsheateaching.com.

Sheila's Blog (or Glog - Gut Log)

My friend, Tuesday, wrote this and sent it on to me. I think some of us will relate! This gets back to the benefits of behavior modification to find wisdom!

Preparing for my 10-day Internal Cleanse! The Facts
by T. M.

Breakfast was coffee and cigarettes, sometimes lunch, too. Add in a quarter cup of Half & Half by the end of the day and a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 plus years.

The stubborn stains on my teeth, on my coffee pot and the stubborn pounds gathering more heavily on my 39-year old frame compelled me to rethink my daily routine.

To begin, I stopped drinking coffee. It felt strange at first. However, by not beginning my morning with the 'twins,' I could wake up and be immediately productive. I was no longer cranky, uncommunicative or sluggish. I found that I smoked far less during the day when I was not nursing a cup of coffee.

I had not had any coffee for about 3 weeks. I had not had any caffeine, sugar, dairy or alcohol in preparation for a 10-day internal cleanse program. I felt very good, very in control. One afternoon, I felt like making a pot of coffee!

I picked up a pint of Half & Half, unearthed the beans from the freezer and brewed up a pot. At first, it did not taste that good but I kept drinking it. This was my old friend, a pleasure, something I used to do all the time. It felt good to visit, old self, old friend and I finished the pot over the course of some hours.

I remarked to myself how powerful a drug coffee is, as I felt it animate me and how unaware of this power I had been when I used it every day. As ever, it replaced all perceived need for nourishing food or water and I really was getting so much done!

I am usually in bed by 11pm, not a bit of a night owl. As I rocked into the night, later and later, vibrating with caffeine and milk sugar, I had to laugh. Who was in control here? 2am, 3am, 4am. I had stayed up all night and not by choice.

I was haggard now, seeking only to calm my jittery body and close my eyes before the sun came up and the birds began to sing. Sometimes, old friends just do not fit our lives any more and must be relegated to nostalgia. Bye, bye coffee, old chum. I will remember you fondly and if I encounter you in the future, I will treat you with more respect.

Julianne's Corner

We had many clients visit us from out of town this winter. Diana decided to write down her experience of weight loss and colonics. Weight loss is a big deal and very difficult for many people. I hope this is helpful and inspiring for some of you. Diana is a tiger!

I am a 66-year old retired teacher/librarian. I have been living in remote Alaska for the past 14 years. Alternative medical choices were very limited. Organic food was not available. Potluck dinners are a major social event. So, while living there, I gained about 25 pounds. I became more lethargic and continued to gain weight until I was at an all-time high--probably about 75 pounds overweight. I had difficulty eliminating and was getting to the point that about all I expelled were little rabbit pellets. My ribcage and abdominal area were getting so large and I was becoming so uncomfortable.

We left our rural town and moved to Anchorage the last of August. I knew that my number one priority was to get myself healthy if I was going to enjoy my retirement years. I found a colon hydrotherapist and I started twice-a-week treatments with her. I also started a juice fast diet on September 1, 2006. I was pretty faithful to that for about 5 months except for three weeks in October in which I was traveling and then became ill. During the time, I was fasting on vegetable juice and taking supplements, I lost 55 pounds. The juice fast was for cleaning out my small intestine while I was having the colonics twice weekly.

I also was taking biotone treatments, which were electronic impulses into the fat parts of my body. My therapist said that this 45-minute treatment four times per week was like a workout in the gym. I could feel my heart rate pick up. So, I got this exercise while lying on a table. My therapist also did some body wraps on me, which helped shrink my fat cells. Consequently, I lost many inches, as my cellulite was decreasing and my intestines were cleansed. I went from size 18-20 pants to a size 10.

My husband and I left for warmer climates towards the end of January - 5 months after I started my treatment. I found a colon hydrotherapist in Tallahassee, Florida who gave me some very good eating tips - eating according to my blood type and learning how to combine foods.

Then we came to Tucson and we located Sheila Shea on the Internet. My husband and I have had several colonics treatments from her clinic. We have received many more helpful eating tips. We are realizing that this cleansing and eating process is a journey on which we must travel for the rest of our lives. There will never be a time when I am completely clean and can stop thinking about colonics and good diet.

Sheila told me yesterday that my abdominal bulge was due to the complex carbohydrates which I have been eating my entire life. I grew up and lived for half my life on a wheat farm. Needless to say, the women in our family were all excellent bread and pie bakers. Now I have come to the realization that those days must come to an end.

I would recommend colon hydrotherapy for anyone who would like his or her quality of life to be better. I feel so much better than I used to. I do not get so tired during the afternoon and evening. My energy level is much higher. I have not had a lot of difficulty in staying away from most of the foods that I should not be eating. Once in awhile I eat something that does not agree with me. My body lets me know it. I am proud of myself and my husband proudly tells people, "My wife has lost 55 pounds!" I would much rather be wearing size 10 jeans than an 18-20.

Thanks so much to Karen in Anchorage, Carlos in Tallahassee, Julianne and Sheila in Tucson!! You saved my life!!

- Diana W., Anchorage, Alaska