How to spell Relief?

I remember the old Rolaids ads about spelling relief  as R O L A I D S.  I then giggle with the thought of my dad saying he spelled relief as F A R T.  Mom would always chime in with B U R P.  I know these may seem ridiculous.  And they are.  But, it is the core of my sharing today.

I have spent the last two weeks in agony.  I thought for a while I was in a flare up of my RA.  I started avoiding all grains.   Even still, by the end of the day, I could hardly walk.  I would wake up hurting and aching from my chin down.  I even started taking my heavy-duty muscle relaxers and pain killers to no avail.  I was about to call my doctor for advice and medication changes.  Then a light bulb went off!!!  The last time I felt this bad, it had been a long time since my last reflexology massage.  I had one scheduled in only two days time.  So, I sucked it up over the weekend and hungered greedily on Monday for my afternoon appointment.

Wow! Is all I can say.  I left the site feeling like I was going to throw up, but I was pain-free for the first time in two weeks.  24 hours later, I feel on top of the world.  I  now realize that diet, yoga and medication is only part of my treatment plan.

I receive a variety of email for all my maladies.  They all talk about complimentary medicine like herbs, acupuncture, reflexology and accupressure.  I thought the yoga would take care of it all.   It helps, but does not stop the toxic build up.

When speaking to the lovely chinese lady who owns the site I use about why it helps me so much.  She explained that the feet are at the bottom.  All the blood flows down.  But, even though we have valves that help bring the blood back to the heart, the toxins still stay in the feet.  Through the massage treatment, these toxins are moved up and out of the body.  That is why it is so important to drink water before and afer the massage, to get rid of the toxins.

I don’t know about the scientific truth of her explanation.  I do know that every time I have been at my worst, this is the only treatment that offers immediate relief.  She also stated that I would get the best results by getting a massage every four weeks.   I wish could afford that.  I can only imagine how my life would be if I was able to do that.  (I am working on a way to make it happen.)   So, every 8 weeks it will have to be for now.

How do I spell relief?  M A S S A G E.