 Greetings!
Happily after two and a half months of hard work, including two intensive yoga retreats, I managed to go a 24-hour period without painkillers. That in itself is a fantastic achievement, but since then going forward two more months, I have managed to be free from painkillers for over four weeks now which totally eliminates the harmful effects of painkillers from my system.  | |
Marcel van Vliet
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24 Hours is not a very long time, but for the longest time I have needed painkillers to help me get through any given 24-hour period. About eight years ago, I had an unhealthy job with long hours of work, too much stress and lots of time hunched over my laptop. What started as a regular headache, developed into blinding migraines and muscle inflammation, all centered on my right jaw joint. In an effort to combat this problem, I moved to a healthier job and began to search for a solution to my health problem. Chiropractors, acupuncturists and jaw specialists all had their go. Personal trainers, swimming in the pool, running laps and alkaline diets also received their chance. Finally the Chronic Pain Clinic diagnosed me with stress and a breathing disorder, and referred me to their psychologist. After many sessions we ironically deduced that I was stressed due to the pain, but also in pain due to the stress, however this realization did not come prepackaged with a breakthrough solution. After fighting my health off and on over the last eight years I took a leave of absence from New Zealand with my wife and during our travels in Mexico we stumbled across Brigitte's yoga practice. To transform my health while here was an opportunity not to be missed, and through Brigitte and her friends we have managed to form a team of experts in their respective field's right here in Zipolite.
Brigitte is helping me to repair my body through restorative yoga, Aldo Fogazza (centro Nijo ) predominantly through acupuncture has been working on the inflammation in my jaw joints and Katia Trautwein (La Loma Linda) has been assisting in reprogramming my body's natural movement processes through Feldenkrais treatment. My practice with yoga has been a daily process, where Aldo and Katia have featured two to three times a week each. The amount of change in my body during these four months of daily yoga practice continue to amaze me and I still look forward to seeing how far I can get in rehabilitating my health. Although my time in Zipolite is drawing to a close, a lifetime of opportunity of good health has now opened up before me and I fully intend to support the existing changes in my body and to continue to seek new changes for the improvement of my health. ---------- Marcel van Vliet | 
