Celebrating Ten Years of Running: Running IS My Therapy

While I always put my best foot forward and remain as positive and grateful as I possibly can, I'd recently been struggling with my runs. I even wrote about Taking a Pause. Tom's knee injury last week was both a stressor and a wake up call for me. The stress of watching our daughter struggle and suffer with psychiatric challenges, and a system that lacks resources and talent and that is profoundly broken to help someone find their way out of the darkness was taking a big toll on me, mind, body and soul. Tom's knee injury was a tipping point of stress and I decided it was time for a shift.

After I dropped Tom off at work, I parked the car across the street from the Reservoir, fastened on my water belt and was deeply grateful for a beautiful Autumn day in Boston.

I felt sluggish during my first mile. "What can I do to shift this feeling?" I thought to myself.

I reminded myself of all of the adventures of runner girl 1953 and embodied myself as a runner. I told myself to ditch the stress into the Reservoir and into the Universe. I kicked my own behind. For some reason, my iPhone deleted my running playlist that I titled, "The 12 minute mile" and I shuffled my library to accompany my run. A talk from Dr. Joe Dispenza came on. While I could not hear the specifics of what he was saying I felt his energy and reminded myself that it was time to think greater than my current circumstances and to embody my future self running a 12 minute mile.

I ended up with a 38 second negative split between mile 1 and mile 2 and an 18 second negative split between miles 2 and 3. But more important than the actual pace was how I felt once again pushing myself and visualizing crossing another finish line at some point in the not too distant future.

When I looked to the heavens, I saw an angel in the cloud formation against the backdrop of a beautiful blue sky:


I captured the beauty of Source in these photos:


and drew strength from the beauty and power that surrounded me.

I was sweating from the inside out cleansing the toxins of stress.

I realized that there is nothing more I can do to help my daughter in her recovery but what I can do is to nourish myself and to find ways to feel happy, healthy and enjoy a state of well being.

That run opened my heart and opened my mind to possibility. Rather than contracting into a state of anger, frustration and vigilance I now surround myself with a cascading waterfall of Divine Love.

This morning I put on my new playlist while I cleaned. I danced and I sang feeling gratitude overwhelm me for our beautiful decluttered home and our new office space. This was the first cleaning since we had our clutter removed. It was the culmination of a month of sorting, sifting and letting go.

I had my chiropractic treatment with Dr. Lizzie this afternoon. I felt ripples of energy flow through me melting away all of the stress in my life continuing to facilitate healing from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma. During my afternoon meditation, I integrated the treatment into mind, body and soul listening to the soundtrack from the Heal Documentary.

Running is my therapy, opening the path to problem solving and supporting my resilience in being able to manage stress in my life.

After Tuesday's run, I was renewed mind, body and soul ready to move forward in my life and my adventures as runner girl 1953.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Celebrating Twelve Years of Healing: Healing Trauma

The past week has been particularly intense for me and sadly for many many women who have been triggered by events in the news. Having contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5 followed by enduring years of sexual, physical and emotional abuse manifested in the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome twelve years ago. Two of the most challenging symptoms were difficulty breathing and swallowing. During my speech and swallow evaluation, we discovered that the left side of my esophagus was sluggish and I was aspirating food into my lungs. I was taught techniques to minimize the risk of aspiration and as my body healed as I healed the breach in my mind/body connection through the power of visualization, the swallowing and breathing issues dramatically improved. I wrote poetry in which I imagined myself healthy, whole and free and running the race even though I sat in a leg brace and was told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair!

When I get stressed, I am vulnerable to breathing and swallowing issues.

The combination of events in the news with the increased family stress challenged all of my coping resources. I added in the image of placing all of the thoughts and situations that were creating physical stress in my body into a hot air balloon. I even downloaded Up, Up and Away and added it to my running playlist. I wrote a lot in my journal peeling away the layers of my reaction to different stressors. Yet I could feel the stress continue to build in my body.



When I presented for yesterday's chiropractic treatment with Dr. Lizzie I shared how my back opened and my breath deepened after our last treatment. My right hip was finally moving freely after putting it through the rigors of 3 Bermuda Half Marathons in as many years.

"But," I went on to say with an involuntary cough.

"You have a cough," Dr. Lizzie said.

We talked about the tightness I felt in my chest and throat. What amazes me about Dr. Lizzie and the way she practices chiropractic care is that whenever I present with an issue, she has something to offer to treat it with a mindful, gentle approach checking in with me to ensure that she is in fact bringing healing and not re-traumatizing me.

I felt wonderful after the treatment but knew I had more work to do to clear the area of congestion.

I got to work in my morning meditation.

I thought about how I could obliterate the perpetrators who abused me for 9 years. I am not a violent person! I went from shooting them to shooting them with an air gun like you do at an amusement park and realized this would not do!

Tom and I have been on a decluttering adventure. It's been several years since we went on a decluttering spree and we knew it was time to do it again. I've been decluttering closets, my thoughts and my laptop. I was over the limit on my iCloud space. I went in and deleted videos and photos.

DELETE! That's it! I can hit the delete button to delete the trauma and the people associated with the trauma. I needed to erase it from my hard drive. So much stress built up inside of me from the past and present and in order to prevent a crash of my hard drive, I needed to dump data!

The next step in the process was to get to work on healing my throat and chest. I could sense that I was experiencing acid reflux that was contributing to the sensations I experienced. I created the image of a beautiful plush elevator with red velvet lining and there was only one direction for the elevator - down! I took deep breaths and allowed healing to happen.

To address the sense of constriction I felt in my throat and heart, I remembered how Dr. Lizzie's hands felt creating space. The image of being on a JetBlue flight with extra leg room and wider seats just popped into my mind. Aaah - feel all that space and reclaim this area as my own.

I thought about those cells in my throat, in my diaphragm muscles and the SCM muscles that Dr. Lizzie worked on while providing me with patient education.

I saw them as happy and free no longer affected by the polio virus or the trauma. I saw them dancing and then the song "Brand New Day" from The Wiz provided the musical accompaniment to my healing visualization.


I felt tightness release and the involuntary coughing spasms ceased! I kept repeating over and over and over again, "Thank You God. Thank You God." I took deep deep breaths and when I felt a hint of the congestion and spasm return I reminded myself of all the images accompanied by "Brand New Day" to fuel the momentum of healing. As the symptoms wax and wane in the face of stress, I will continue to practice these new images and thoughts. I imprinted and gave thanks for every wave of peace, ease and comfort I experienced. I said "Thank you for serenity. Thank you for hearing my prayers. Thank you for the gift of healing."

I am so blessed and grateful for the healing tools I've acquired over the past 12 years. I've dissolved a breast tumor, healed a lesion on my nose, grown new knee cartilage and a new gastroc muscle and prevented the need for a total knee replacement which is what the doctors and PT's said I would need after a serious knee injury in December of 2014. I have certainly stopped the progression of Post-Polio Syndrome and when these spasms and issues arise, I see them as opportunities to heal on deeper and deeper levels. The latest additions to my toolkit for healing, in addition to weekly chiropractic treatments with Dr. Lizzie, are the soundtrack from Heal Documentary, Dr. Joe Dispenza's Blessing of the Energy Centers for afternoon meditations, and reading Dr. David Hamilton's "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Tenth Anniversary Edition." Even though my healing story with Post-Polio Syndrome is included in the book, reading the science and being inspired by others' healing stories is helping me to write the next chapters of my healing journey.

I'm celebrating twelve years of healing, ten years of running and finding creative ways to take my health and wellness journey to deeper and deeper levels of healing. I shed the identity as a victim of my past and feel empowered as I let go and fly free unencumbered by the circumstances around me. As Peter A. Levine said, "Trauma is hell on earth. Trauma resolved is a gift from the gods."

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: On Miracles and Hope

The woman walking gingerly up the ramp to exit the pool turned to me and said, "I'm sorry I'm walking so slowly."

"Oh no need to apologize," I said. I had seen her working with her physical therapist in the pool. "It's hard work isn't it?"

"I just want to feel like myself again," she said as her eyes filled with tears.

Her knees hyperextended when she experienced a fall last year and she hasn't been able to regain her mobility.

I felt compelled to share my story with her.

Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh my goodness. You created about 4 miracles in your life!"

I shared with her how I ran Boston in 2009, the ups and downs in my journey and then my latest miracle in December of 2014 after a serious knee injury that blew out my left knee. I was told I wouldn't and shouldn't run but if I did - no more than a 5K and then went on to run 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons. I shared with her the resources and methods I used to heal and what I continue to do to heal the effects of paralytic polio and trauma.

I grabbed pen and a piece of paper from the lifeguard's office and wrote down information for her. I recommended Dr. Joe Dispenza's book, "You Are the Placebo," and encouraged her to go on line to find meditations that would help her to heal. I told her about Dr. David Hamilton, Ph.D.'s work and how my story is going to be included in the next edition of "How the Mind Can Heal the Body." I suggested she visit my website and blog.

She told me I was her guardian angel and she has been blessed to meet many angels in her healing journey. She found a wonderful surgeon in Needham who told her that she'd support her efforts to try everything she could to avoid total knee replacement surgery. After I shared with her my experience with chiropractic care, she was inspired to contact her chiropractor and resume treatment!

I told her how deeply blessed and honored I felt to be a part of her journey; how I was blessed to have so many angels come into my life just when I needed them throughout my life.

She asked me when I swim and I told her Tuesday mornings; she'll be there for her physical therapy sessions in the pool.

"I can't believe what hope you've given me. I mean here you are -- 11 years after being told you should prepare to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair and all you've accomplished."

I shared with her how I appreciate the miracle of healing that I co-created in my life; how I appreciate every pain free step and feeling free in my body.

I am grateful for the gifts of polio, trauma and Post-Polio Syndrome in my life. Without them I would not be the person I am today and would not be able to inspire others with miracles and hope.

I am deeply grateful that I can celebrate 10 years of running and share this miraculous journey of healing, hope, possibility and miracles!

From my heart to yours,
To your health and wellness,
Mary

My healing journey is going to be featured in David R. Hamilton's soon to be released book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body." It's available for pre-order on Amazon.

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):

Inspiring Others With What's Possible!

"Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things." "I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." Alice in Wonderland

David Hamilton, Ph.D. wrote the first edition of "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body" ten years ago. He put out a call for healing stories from people who healed themselves through visualization.

Here is what I sent to him:
Eleven years ago I was diagnosed with Post Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards. My life came to a screeching halt. I was at the height of my award winning career as a VA social worker yet was told if there were any "hope" of stabilizing the symptoms where they were I needed to quit my job, be prepared to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair possibly needing a feeding tube because I would aspirate my food due to weakness on the left side of my esophagus. I was weak and in chronic pain, anxious and depressed.

I got still and asked for Divine Guidance and I began writing poetry in which I imagined myself being whole, healed and free in my body. My first poem was "Running the Race" - yes I know pretty incredible as I sat in a leg brace using a cane and at times a wheelchair for mobility. I went on to run the 2009 Boston Marathon as a mobility impaired runner. In addition to using poetry as a vehicle for visualization, I meditated several times a day imagining God as my master electrician rewiring my neuromuscular system and healing the effects of both childhood paralytic polio and severe childhood trauma that manifested as Post Polio Syndrome.

Three years ago, my left knee "blew out". I was pushing myself way too hard in my running without cross training. MRI indicated an atrophied gastroc muscle, bone spurs, degenerative changes due to osteoarthritis and multiple knee surgeries, shredded cartilage and a fatty lipoma. I was told to stop running and prepare to need a total knee replacement in a few years.

I returned to visualization and found my way to a wonderful chiropractor who supported my using visualization and a set goals not limits philosophy. He was also a personal trainer who prescribed exercises to support me as a runner. We used KT tape and the power of visualization to heal my knee and grow a new gastroc muscle.

I upped my game of time spent in meditation using visualization harnessing the power of my mind and the Divine within and around me and in January crossed the finish line of my 3rd Bermuda Half Marathon in as many years.

At the age of 64 years old not only am I not in a wheelchair and have not had a total knee replacement but life a full, vibrant life through the power of visualizing myself from illness to wellness claiming my birthright to be healthy.

After I sent him additional information about the specifics of how I turned around my prognosis, he wrote,
Thank you so much, Mary. What wonderful use of visualisation!!! I LOVE it. :-)

I love how creative you were and also how committed you were. I think your examples of visualisation will give many other people hope, who have none!

I’m meeting with my publisher at the end of the month to go through the examples I’ve been sent. Is it OK if I get back in touch with you then to confirm if we’ve been able to use your example? Personally, I really love it so I’m pretty sure it’ll make the final edit. :-)

Thanks again, and have a lovely day,

I am so excited to share with you that my story is going to be included in the newest edition of David's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body."


You can pre-order it on Amazon.

An authoritative and accessible book by a qualified scientist, showing incredible proof of the mind-body connection.

There is no longer any doubt that the way we think affects our bodies: countless scientific studies have shown this to be true. For former pharmaceutical scientist Dr David Hamilton, the testing of new drugs highlighted how profoundly the mind and body are connected. Time and time again, the control group of patients in drug trials improved at similar rates to those who actually received the medicines. Astounded, Dr Hamilton decided to change the direction of his work to explore the relationship between the mind and the body.

This bestselling acclaimed book was first published 10 years ago. In it, Dr Hamilton explores the effect of visualization, belief and positive thinking on the body, and shows how using our imagination and mental processes can stimulate our own defences and healing systems to combat disease, pain and illness.

In this new edition, Dr Hamilton has added four new chapters to discuss the latest cutting-edge information and extraordinary new techniques. These include using imagery to stimulate the immune system - a method that can benefit cancer patients undergoing conventional treatment - effectively using the mind to speed up rehabilitation from stroke, and powerful visualization strategies to help facilitate recovery from injury and illness.

While I share my story on Facebook, in this blog and in my books, having my story included in David's book is going to have a wider audience reach. He has appeared in the movie Heal Documentary, and is an internationally renowned speaker and author. His publisher is Hay House UK.

So often people do not know what is possible when it comes to healing our bodies harnessing the power of our minds.

I've heard many stories of people who say, "Oh I tried this or that and it doesn't work."

During these past 11 years I have experienced and experimented with many different paths to healing. I am so blessed and grateful that I found my way to chiropractic care with Dr. Lizzie Sobel. I meditate 3 times a day. My morning and evening meditations are 20 minutes each; my afternoon meditation is a 45 minute meditation. I use either a meditation from Dr. Joe Dispenza, Dr. Bernie Siegel or the soundtrack from Heal. It has taken me persistence and dedication to maintain momentum on my health and wellness journey healing the effects of childhood paralytic polio and severe childhood trauma. I work out five days a week; two days of running, two days in the pool and one day strength training on land.

My dedication is to myself and my own well being but it's also to send a message of healing, hope and possibility to others inspiring them to know just what is possible despite all appearances to the contrary!

From my heart to yours,
To your health and wellness,
Mary

My healing journey is going to be featured in David R. Hamilton's soon to be released book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body." It's available for pre order on Amazon.

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


Coming soon *** The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 ****

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: Celebrating Freedom!

Facebook reminded me that it was 3 years ago yesterday that I ran my comeback race, The Finish at the 50 at Gillette Stadium. Here are a selection of photos for that memorable day for me:


What was the big deal about running a 5K? I'd run 10K's, a half marathon and the Boston Marathon?

In December of 2014, I suffered a serious knee injury. The MRI revealed a whole host of issues that were interpreted as the need for me to stop running and the need for me to have a total knee replacement in a few years.

I experienced the physical therapist from hell which was a redirection for me away from Western Medicine and to take the power of healing into my own hands. I worked with a chiropractor who inspired me with his passion for the body's innate capacity to heal and introduced me to the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza. With kinesiotaping, meditation, immersing myself in works of authors who professed the body's ability to heal by harnessing the mind/body connection and going forth with a new training plan that included cross training, I got back on the roads.

I knew I was going to set goals not limits to quote Dave McGillivray but had no idea that at my comeback race I would set a new goal for myself; one that I took off my bucket list because I didn't believe I could achieve it: Bermuda Marathon Weekend.

We had always skirted by the Bermuda Marathon Weekend booth at race expos since the death of my nephew by suicide in March 2011. But something beckoned us to chat with Anthony and Clarence at their booth on 7/3/15. Happy memories of time spent in Bermuda came flooding back along with the last time I visited Bermuda in a toe up leg brace, using a cane and a wheelchair to navigate the airports for mobility.

I celebrated my independence by making our travel arrangements and signing up for the Bermuda Half Marathon on July 4th. I went on to run 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons.

I refused to listen to the doctors and the naysayers in my life. I dug deep to find the courage and strength to liberate myself from the shackles of my past and to position myself to heal the hurts that wounded me mind, body and soul.

It's been an in incredible journey. What a joy, on this Independence Day to celebrate ten years of running and independence!

Let freedom ring!

From my heart to yours,
To your health and wellness,
Mary

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc.

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


Coming soon *** The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 ****

I adopt the pace of nature - Patience

Even though the calendar says March 25th, it does not feel like Spring here in New England. There is still snow on the ground, the air is cold and the trees are barren still worn from the recent spate of storms we've had since January. There is a hint of Spring in the air with more hours of daylight and the birds singing early in the morning. Many are asking when is Spring ever going to get here but when we adopt the pace of nature, we are patient. The warmth of Spring and the burst of colors is that much sweeter when we have gone through the recent rough patch of winter. We can experience the joyous anticipation of Spring in the smallest hints of green shoots poking their head through the ground or feeling the warmth of Springtime sun even though the air is still cold. We know the sweet reward that awaits us when we are patient.

I am on the mailing list for a lot of races and see a lot of my favorite races in my Facebook news feed. Last year I ran The Michael K. Aselton 5K on Cape Cod Memorial Day Weekend for the first time. The Corrib Pub 5K was the first race I ever ran 10 years ago. Finish at the 50 on July 3rd holds many special memories for me.

I must wait to sign up for any races until I completely heal from the issues that plagued me during and after running my 3rd consecutive Bermuda Half Marathon.

I would not trade running in the 2018 Bermuda Half Marathon to be able to run races right now. It was a triumphant race for me and demonstrated to me that the body achieves what the mind believes. I dug deep getting myself to the starting line and enjoyed every moment and every mile of the 13.1 course along Bermuda's scenic race course.

Now I need to be patient. I know that every day in every way I heal. I'm swimming, doing the bike and doing strength training. Weather and body permitting I get out and do a very slow and easy 5K. I see my chiropractor weekly and meditate 3 times a day visualizing complete healing. It's a miracle that I am a runner given the diagnosis I received 11 years ago; Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease.

After I ran the Boston Marathon I was a physical wreck but oh so very happy with my accomplishment. I saw my cervical spine doctor for another trigger injection, and he referred me to a wonderful physical therapist. She told me that I had to take time off from running to build strength and allow my body to heal after the rigors of training for a marathon having had a zero base of running. I was patient and adhered to the PT regimen she recommended. By June of 2010 I was back on the roads feeling wonderful.



I look forward to when I'll be crossing another finish line with hands held high as Team McManus with my bestie Tom by my side.

But for now - I adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.


To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours,
Mary

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc. Be sure to visit us at Booth 758 during Boston Marathon Weekend.

Be sure to visit my website by following this link.

My books are available on Amazon.

Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life


Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:


And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):