hello

My name is Lils and I turned 30 this year (2010).

Rather than settling down into the comforts of life, I thought it'd be an awesome idea to drastically change my career and fall for the biggest Ponzi-scheme in America -- Higher Education!

This fall, I will be a full-time grad student studying Traditional Oriental Medicine for the next 3 years (and most likely 2 more years of doctorate work because I'm a total masochist). 

 

I guess I need to preface this with the fact that I spent most of my 20's running around NYC in stilletos, partying with wannabe-celebrities and occasionally rockin' out with the real ones. 

Meditation, holistic medicine and community welfare were non-existent.  

At 26, I woke up one day paralyzed from my waist down.  I could no longer feel my thighs, calves, feet nor toes.  Uninsured at the time, I chose to see an acupuncturist 3X a week for a month.  With daily herbs I drank 3X a day, I could stand by the 2nd week and walk again by the end of the month.

Above the clouds at Haleakala, HI.

I spent my 27th birthday watching the sunrise over Haleakala volcano in Hawaii and decided to buy a one-way ticket to South East Asia.  After nearly two years, I returned home and came to full circle.

Losing my ability to walk and stand on my own two feet was a physical manifestation of a greater imbalance that included my mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.  (What the f-?!)  I was a semi-functional-addict, suicidal and looking for something more.  Instead of masking the symptoms by temporarily alleviating them with pharmaceutical drugs, TCM gave me the clarity to treat the root of my disease.

TCM saved my life.

With all that being said, I was born on a military base; and raised in the concrete jungles of New York City.  I do yoga to the Wu-Tang Clan.  I get mad cravings for white carbs, particularly those that are fried and glazed with sugar.  I meditate because it chemically alters my brain's functions.  And I work-out -- Not solely because it's good for my heart but because it feels fantastic when I can pull-off my skinny jeans.

"Just the facts, ma'am." is how I approach health and wellness.

I want TCM to be broken down into its simplest form; and to have it accessible to everyone.

Kawah Ijen (Sulfur Lake Volcano), Indonesia

The core foundation of health is balance.  As I begin my life towards holistic medicine, I'm trying to find a balance between moving towards an enlightened life of service without becoming a full-blown-granola-munchin'-birkenstock-wearin'-dirty
unshaved-delusional-hippie. 

Don't get it twisted -- I love mascara but I can also hike up a volcano.