EP 2 - Regenerative Health, Iridology, and Symptomatology with Heidi Lajos
Transcript
Regenerative Health for our modern lives & Iridology
[00:00:00] Priscilla Brock: Today, we're welcoming our very first guest to the Hand Me The Megaphone podcast. I'm so excited to have Heidi Lajos on. She is a wealth of information on regenerative health. And so Heidi, I'm going to allow you to introduce yourself. And what is regenerative health? And how did it come into your life?
[00:00:16] Heidi Lajos: My name is Heidi Lajos. I am a certified regenerative health practitioner, detox specialist, and clinical iridologist. And regenerative health came to me when I needed it in my own body.
[00:00:31] And it was so effective that it inspired me to pursue education so that I could therefore share it with others. I've been searching for answers in the traditional medicine, alternative health world since my early 20s when I started to have my eyes opened about the effects that the food we're eating and the chemicals were exposed to and all of these day to day things, how they have an effect on us, and I was so curious about the right way to eat.
[00:01:01] What is the best way for us to eat so that I could feel my best and I could have the best health? Because I really started to realize and believe how much of an impact just our food has on our bodies. But it took me about 13 years of exploration before I discovered regenerative health. So I went through Ayurveda.
[00:01:25] I went through like the more paleo eating style a lot of like raw milks and grass fed meats and fermented foods and things like that. Saturated fats, no saturated fats all of the different varieties and methods and approaches that people have. I almost went to school for herbal medicine.
[00:01:45] I was very interested in that and still am, but I got swept away by the circus, literally, instead. And went off to aerial dance school, but in regenerative health, we do have an aspect of herbal medicine. I'm not a master herbalist by any means, but I definitely incorporate herbal medicine into my practice.
[00:02:04] So it feels a little full circle in that regard, but I have a history or a background in college. I studied three years of exercise science which incorporated a lot of anatomy and physiology classes. So I do have in biology classes. So I have a scientific background of the human body as well. I also studied yoga in India.
[00:02:27] So I trained with, Indian Ayurvedic specialist and got to learn about that. And then more about the anatomy through my yoga training. So I have all of this more scientific background as well, but regenerative health is really been the thing that has captivated me. And really something that I see work in my own body and of my clients.
[00:02:51] It's been the one thing that I actually see big changes.
[00:02:57] Priscilla Brock: So talk to me a little bit about why none of the other things had worked for you and what regenerative health has and why that works so well for you and for your clients.
[00:03:08] Heidi Lajos: Yeah, this is a tricky one. This is a very controversial answer or question, just because I really don't ever want to talk badly about any other approach to health because I think there's validity in every approach and obviously that's You know, they work for a lot of people there.
[00:03:31] Otherwise, people wouldn't be utilizing them, right? There wouldn't be practitioners and there wouldn't be people seeking those methods out. But I think, but my own belief is. That, for example, with Ayurveda and even like the paleo diet, which is now I've actually just read an article dismissing like what we think the paleo diet was very meat heavy and actually they're learning that it was actually probably very much plant based on some fossilized You know, feces that they have come across and now they're able to analyze it.
[00:04:02] So either way, these more like ancient methods of nourishing our bodies, even Chinese medicine. I think they all have a lot of validity and knowledge and very. incredible information and places for us to start. But I think what regenerative health is doing differently is that it's really addressing the modern world because this is the first time in history that we're exposed to the incredible amount of chemicals and toxins, not only in our food, but also our, hygiene products, even just being in stores or people's houses, like their cleaning products, our own cleaning products.
[00:04:38] And we've just never been exposed to this level of chemicals before, and on such an extended period of time, and a lot of times from the moment we're born, or even in utero. And I think with what is, why regenerative health is better, or, let's cut that part out, why I think regenerative health is better health is more effective in some cases.
[00:04:59] And oftentimes like in my body and my client's bodies is that it's really focusing on detoxification. So we're really focusing on elimination pathways, helping the body reignite and regenerate the organs that are responsible for eliminating toxins, eliminating cellular waste, lymphatic waste, really starting to flesh out the body.
[00:05:21] And that, for me, is the ticket because we are exposed to so much and it builds up and it shuts down our organs and it's creating all this like congestion in our bodies and things become stagnant and things can't move. And over time, this kind of, this can turn into disease and other disorders and symptoms and discomfort.
[00:05:40] And so I think why regenerative health is so effective and right now is that it's really. Appropriate for the modern experience for what we're experiencing today right now.
[00:05:50] Priscilla Brock: That's such a great answer. You mentioned the word detox and I feel like the word detox can have such a weird connotation between being really essential for our overall health to thinking about people who are just like living on juices and yo-yo dieting.
[00:06:08] So when you say detox I think you already talked about some of the stuff like a little lymphatic and stuff, but when you say detox, what's different about that? And why is it so important that we detox and do it in a healthy way and what might unhealthy or fad detoxing look like and like how might that help or hinder the body?
[00:06:31] Heidi Lajos: Yeah, I love this question. I could not agree more that detoxing has become a catchphrase or a trendy phase that can really mean a lot of different things. And I completely agree that sometimes it's really unhealthy and can actually, instigate or, create eating disorders in people. Also just, not really accessing the level of health that the goal is.
[00:06:57] So I always tell my clients, like when people first come to me and we're talking about what detoxification is in the world of regenerative health. One of the first things I always emphasize is that this is not a starvation method. I am not going to be asking you to give up all your food and only drink water and only live onjuices And I think that's really important because I think sometimes the reason why people get into those extremes is because again, people are looking for the quick fix.
[00:07:27] They're like, I want the quick fix. So I'm just going to starve myself, starve my body, live on juice for 10 days. And then I'm going to be done with it and move on with my life. And that's my detox. In my opinion, that just doesn't work. That's just it's like you said, it turns into yo-yo dieting it can actually really affect our metabolism, it can affect our hormones, and honestly oftentimes, yes, there may be some cleansing of the colon through that time, because if you're not eating and you are able to flush out the colon, sure, there's going to be a level of detoxification that's happening, but I think for the deeper change and the more long term change Yeah, these kind of like quick fix detoxification methods of three day liver cleanse or like an overnight like colon cleanse.
[00:08:11] I think they have their time in their place, but I do think they're often not utilized as they should be. In my opinion, it's best to use them in conjunction with a full protocol, which is where I come in and which is the work that I do. So for me, in my practice I really utilize the regenerative health idea of a detox ladder.
[00:08:31] So there's, steps to take and yes, maybe at the end that you could be doing, a short term water fast or juice fast, but this is after we've really taken your body through a whole other protocol to make sure your kidneys are filtering, your bowels are moving. moving, your adrenals are functioning that your hormones are feeling balanced, and that you've, slowly transitioned yourself out of a, standard American diet or whatever it is that you're eating that is causing the inflammation and congestion in your body.
[00:09:02] So we're really moving slowly, transitioning out of more of these yeah, standard American diet, poor diet choices, slowly introducing and moving towards a plant based diet. And then after that, like the next step would be moving into a raw plant based diet and then, possibly moving into like monofruits and then maybe some juicing juice fasting for a short period of time, possibly a water fast for a short period of time.
[00:09:28] But to be quite honest, most of my clients feel so good after just the first few steps of the detox ladder that I Rarely take anybody all the way to these like extreme detox tools, these detox methods. And I also want to emphasize that during that whole process of that transition and moving through the detox ladder, I'm really looking at different symptoms and functions in the body to make sure that the body is supported.
[00:09:55] And so I'm using herbal medicine. I'm using superfoods. I'm using other tools to support the body and also body treatments like dry brushing and tongue scraping, maybe saunas, possibly enemas. So there's a whole it's really a holistic approach. Like we're really looking at the whole body and utilizing a variety of tools, some coming from things like Ayurveda and Chinese medicine.
[00:10:20] To really support the body through this whole process. So it's not just a quick fix. Do this one thing. Starve yourself for seven days. It really is incorporating a lot of different methods and education and knowledge from. Lots of places.
[00:10:33] Priscilla Brock: I love the concept or the language that you use like a detox ladder that you could go Through phases see if that solves the problem And if not you can do more There's more tools and more options that you have to work through it and then it's not you know long term or not I think you said perfectly like the quick fix.
[00:10:53] I'm guilty of that myself. Like you just want your health to be better and you're just like, Oh, what can I do to fix this? Instead of, I'm finding all the information. So it's wonderful that you have those systems in place. Something I wanted to talk about is you talked about symptomology in our past conversation and iridology
[00:11:16] So I'd love to touch on those topics, but I'd also love to touch on what does it mean to be a certified regenerative health practitioner? What goes into getting your certification? And so people know this is the background.
[00:11:32] Heidi Lajos: I personally attended the Institute of Regenerative Health, which is a school run and taught primarily by Carrie Drinkwine, who is definitely One of the forward thinkers in this field and it's a six month program and it's very intensive. So there, we're going through all of the different organs and glands in the body, the different systems of the body, learning about the biology, the function down to a cellular level, like really getting into the nitty gritty of anatomy and physiology.
[00:12:06] We spend time learning about iridology which is the study of the iris, which you just, mentioned. So that is part of our training as well. So learning how to analyze the eye, and that usually comes more towards the end after we really got an understanding and have learned about the systems of the body.
[00:12:21] We can then, use the study of the eye to then, Trace that back into the body, but there's also a huge section on herbal medicine creating protocols. There's a lot of case studies that we work on. We also work on each other and we have we partner up and have to go through an entire protocol on one another and carry meets with us and breaks it down and explains to us like how we're doing and where we're where we're missing things. I apologize Institute of Regenerative Health and Carrie, if I'm missing some key elements of the education, but it's a very comprehensive and intensive program, as I know some people flinch when I say it's only six months. They're like, oh gosh, like that doesn't seem like a long time, but we get a lot done in that period of time. And it's very effective and there's the alumni program, which I've been part of since I've graduated. So I've been part of the alumni program now for over 2 years and so it's continuing education really deep diving into specific topics. We get to have our questions answered. We get to meet with Carrie. If we have a client who's, presenting something that we're just not familiar with or have never encountered, because obviously the body can manifest disease and illness and symptoms and, myriad of ways. And so sometimes we come across things that are unfamiliar and we have access to Carrie to get guidance, as well as the rest of the alumni is, because we're all working out in the world with people.
[00:13:43] And so we come across different pathologies and different issues. And so we get to learn from one another as well as Carrie.
[00:13:50] Priscilla Brock: Can you talk to me a little bit you don't need to go extremely in depth, but can you talk to me a little bit about iridology you mentioned learning about the organs in the body, and all about detox pathways, we've talked about all of that, and then you talked about how you would use the irises to reference that. If someone's never heard about this give me an overview.
[00:14:14] Heidi Lajos: Yeah, so iridology is very interesting. It's not very well known, but it's been around for a while. I think it was really starting to be developed in the 1800s but essentially the iris is connected to 28, 000 nerve endings inside your body. And so it becomes like a map to the health of your internal glands and organ systems as well as your lymphatic system.
[00:14:39] And so you really can see. see, the state of congestion in the lymphatic system. You can see particular organs like the lungs, the heart, the adrenal glands. You can see different things in the brain. You can get a really good understanding of what's going on in the intestinal tract.
[00:14:55] So in the colon and the small intestine and the stomach. And so it's a non invasive way to observe the current state of health in a body.
[00:15:05] Talk to me about how
[00:15:08] Priscilla Brock: regenerative health is less invasive. And traditional Western
[00:15:12] Heidi Lajos: medicine. Yeah, so Western medicine is really loves poking and prodding us like they, loves to get in there, take biopsies, take our blood stick cameras and various parts of our bodies to look inside and see what's going on.
[00:15:28] And a lot of this can be really uncomfortable, painful and expensive, and obviously, if, we don't have a great health insurance as in the US. It's a pretty tricky thing out over there. The difference with regenerative health is that we really focus on utilizing symptomology, which is looking at the symptoms that the body is presenting, rather than trying to dig inside and look at blood tests.
[00:15:51] We will utilize blood results. My own example, I'm eight and a half months pregnant, and I am plant based, and I, have not been taking vitamins. And I have been using blood tests throughout my pregnancy, just to be sure that I'm on track with my nutrition because I don't want to, be dumb and endanger myself or baby.
[00:16:10] So we definitely will rely on blood tests sometime just to get an inside look that way. But most of the time it's not necessary and we can And really just look at what the body is showing us through symptoms and also using iridology because it's non invasive. That is another great way we can get an inside look.
[00:16:31] So those two tools together are really the foundation of how we can start to get an insight into how the body needs support
[00:16:39] Priscilla Brock: What is the one thing you'd yell into a megaphone about women's health?
[00:16:43] Heidi Lajos: I would yell that we have absolute control over our bodies and it's not that hard.
[00:16:49] We just have to make some key lifestyle changes, but they Are easier than they may seem at first and they will create incredible profound changes that will give us our health and our freedom back and there really is nothing better than feeling good in our bodies.
[00:17:07] Priscilla Brock: That is so hopeful. I love that.
[00:17:10] If people are looking to work with you, what else do you offer? Yeah,
[00:17:14] Heidi Lajos: so I offer a variety of programs in terms of working with me through a detoxification protocol. So there's a more self led program or more hands on program. I offer clinical iridology analyses. I can do a pantry clean out, with you, we can go through what foods you have and I can teach you how to read food labels and how to shop and what things need to, how to, replace some of your favorite things.
[00:17:39] Priscilla Brock: Where can people find you to learn more, follow on social media, or book of consult?
[00:17:44] Heidi Lajos: My Instagram account is Sprout, S-P-R-O-U-T, dot kissed in the past tense. So K-I-S-S-E-D Sprout Kiss is my Instagram handle and my website is sproutkissed.com.
[00:18:00] Priscilla Brock: Thank you, Heidi.
[00:18:01] Until next time. Priscilla.
