BY SHANA LYNN YAO

It feels better to push yourself harder than it does to let yourself down.

Powerful words spoken to me by a man I call my mentor. An herbalist and healer, I met him 8 years ago, at the start of this road of autoimmunity. To this day, that remains one of the greatest lessons of my life, and one I tell everyone I meet, even those that don’t have a health condition.

We live comfortable, entitled lives, don’t we? No matter how much money you have, almost everything we need is available to us. In this day and age, even homeless people have cell phones.

But the one thing that separates all of us, and I think actually is the key to unlocking our potential and experience in this life, is our ability to stand up for and TO ourselves.

This is a story of my journey of healing and wellness. My journey of healing the autoimmune condition that is present in my body, learning to find and face my limitations, and doing the inner and outer work to heal myself.

It’s not pretty, but I am committed to healing it, sharing my tips and biohacking experiences, and hopefully will be providing some insight and ideas for exploration for those that are also facing their own autoimmune condition.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

I know I’m not alone when I say 2020 was “a year”. Like many, everything that was bubbling under the surface just got bigger. Like the corruption and greed happening in the government systems, the misalignment of the healthcare system, the old school out of date information and systems - it was all there and has existed in the world, but thanks to social media and the availability of instant communication, it exploded onto the scene like a nuclear bomb.

For me, the autoimmune condition in my body took a turn for the worse at the start of the year.

It all started 7 years ago.I started to notice the effects of this undiagnosed connective tissue disorder. My entire colorectal system and intestines collapsed. And while I suspected there was something more than just the symptoms of the rectal prolapse, the doctor was unable to make the connection.

In an effort to find relief for my distress and pain, and due to my own ignorance of the causes and holistic solutions, I proceeded into 3 years, of 3 failed surgeries, left incontinent and left on my own to “manage” the distressing, uncomfortable effects of this horrible disease.

For 7 years I have been studying. Researching Pub Med articles, learning from my podcast mentors Dave Asprey, Shawn Stevenson, Bruce Lipton, Dr. Josh Axe and so many more. I studied neuroscience, psychology, nutrition and holistic health, in a desperation to cure myself and hopefully help others.

Which brings me to 2020.

Due to a leak in the roof and a week of rain in Los Angeles in February, I experienced mold toxicity. Not talked about in allopathic medicine - which is designed to treat symptoms NOT cure the root cause - mold toxicity in my bedroom caused a cytokine storm in my body. In one week I went from active (running everyday and lifting weights) to a torn meniscus in my knee and two days later, my shoulder dislocated.

FINDING YOURSELF THROUGH THE PAIN

In life, you have two choices when life gets hard - to get up and push forward, or to give up and quit.

If you have an autoimmune condition or any physical challenge that you cannot control, you have the same two choices. And one third consequence - if you don’t push forward, you will never heal.

I am a fighter. You are a fighter if you are reading this. And what do fighters do? They stand up to challenges and they FIGHT BACK.

The pain from the trauma of my knee and shoulder, combined with the pain that has physically and mentally overcome my body, has been immense.

What I have learned, still dealing with the torn knee ligament, the fear of another shoulder dislocation, and the pain of this autoimmune condition, is we are resilient. And if you don’t know you are, I encourage you to find out.

“The only person who was going to turn my life around was me.” David Goggins

In every moment - wherever you are in your life - we have the sole responsibility to choose our response. Most people react to life. Someone says something to you that is hurtful. You tell yourself a story about it, and suddenly that brief interaction becomes a conversation in your head. You get in a car accident, and you find yourself in fear and overwhelm

For whatever is happening OUTSIDE of you, it’s the story you tell yourself about what is happening that will be the trajectory towards freedom or pain.

Despite the external pain of my injuries, here is what I know for sure - our bodies are designed to HEAL. No food or medication will heal you. Your body - when given the chance to find it’s own balance - through supplements, the right nutritional foods for your own gut microbiome, and an intentional and positive mind - your body will find its way to heal itself.

We have 27.2 TRILLION cells in our bodies. One of the most amazing aspects of the human body is its ability to heal itself. In every moment, these cells work tirelessly to achieve equilibrium, to heal our bodies, to regenerate and achieve a natural balance.

Our cells die and regenerate every 7 years. That means you literally become a NEW PERSON every 7 years. How incredible is that?

A JOURNEY OF WELLNESS

What I know for sure, is that healing autoimmune disease is possible. Countless people have done it, and while everyone’s journey is different, finding your own path towards healing is a step by step process, one intentional action after another.

It requires faith, belief in yourself, a lot of self care, and belief in something greater. And if you are up for the journey - not towards, but OF - wellness, I’ll be with you on my own journey of wellness, one courageous and bold step after another.

This is the story of one woman’s determination to heal myself - and while sharing my knowledge of neuroscience, positive psychology, mindset, holistic health, biology, and science - my hope to inspire others towards complete health and life long happiness.