How Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET) Saved My Life
Written by Casey Hersch, MSW, LCSW
Timing is everything.
It does not matter if you have been exposed to something a million times; unless you are ready to receive it, you will not. Unless you are at a time in your life where you believe it is relevant, you won't recognize it. An angel who had been trying to get my attention for quite some time kept knocking at my door. This angel would change my life forever. A friend, whom I met at ballroom dance, had called me numerous times over several years, leaving me voicemails about a technique she studied that could potentially help my medical condition. She watched me from afar, seeing me grow more ill, and tried to gently redirect my attention.
Eventually, through much persistence, she got my attention when she gifted me a series of NAET treatments with the accompanying book, NAET-Say Goodbye to Illness by Devi S. Nambudripad, M.D., D.C. ,L.A.c., Ph.D. (Acu). The timing of receiving this book was perfect. I had been too sick to do much of anything else but lay on the couch, I had ample time to read a book. Also, it was almost impossible to reject a gift from a friend. I didn't want to seem ungrateful, so I agreed to receive my gift and at least try a few of her treatments. Little did I know what a life changing gift this was and how NAET would forever change the way I thought about my body, the immune system, Crohn's disease and allergies. I noticed the credentials immediately following Dr Nambudripad's name. This was a brilliant woman who had done her due diligence educating herself. I had never seen a person with so many degrees! After reading the book, it was apparent within the first chapters that the stories of the patients being described, including Dr Devi's personal story, seemed to parallel mine. I wanted to learn more.
OVERVIEW OF NAET:
Put simply, integrating the fields of nutrition, applied kinesiology, acupuncture, medicine, and chiropractic, Dr Devi posed that illness is a result of the building blocks of the body (called the basic 15) becoming imbalanced in the body. Allergies were described more broadly to include the body's reaction to any item that compromises the immune system and leads to symptoms, illness, and disease. This can include toxins in the environment, pathogens, foods, or in general anything that we eat, breathe, or touch. Exposure to an allergen doesn't have to be current. The body can remain compromised from something one was exposed to as an infant, for example, but the memory of the exposure stays within the body and continues to have a negative influence. I was stunned that reactions expanded beyond the types of allergies I was accustomed to: runny nose and itchy eyes during pollen season. I could see how symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease and many other medical conditions could be caused from reactions to offenders I came in contact with. For example, I could react to a pathogen that caused gut infection, smoke in the air, a pesticide on a piece of fruit, detergent, or any of the basic 15 building blocks as Devi defined (Egg, vitamin C, B complex, iron, hormones, to name a few). If I had an adverse response to any of these, based on my individual makeup, they could cause my immune system to react and I could get sick.
I START MY NAET TREATMENTS
I made a commitment to see what NAET had to offer and made my first NAET appointment. As I lay on a table, the NAET certified practitioner handed me numerous vials that were comprised of allergens. She used my arm to muscle test my response to various allergens. I observed that when my arm was strong when pushed, while holding the vial, this meant that I was not reacting to the item; if my arm was weak, and could not resist pressure, it meant that I was allergic to it. I was in awe that no matter how strong my biceps from years of dancing, I could not hold my arm up when also holding an item I was negatively reacting to. Bruce Lipton discussed an experience he had with muscle testing saying, "To my astonishment, I realized that my conscious mind, which I exercised so confidently in academic settings, was not in control when I voiced an opinion that differed from a truth stored in the unconscious mind. My unconscious mind was undoing the best efforts of my conscious mind to hold up my arm...I was amazed to discover there was another 'mind,' another force co-piloting my life... the hidden mind, the mind I knew little about (except theoretically in psychology) was actually more powerful than my conscious mind..." (Lipton, 2014, p. 159). As I held the vial, acupressure points were stimulated up and down my back as I was directed to breathe. I was then instructed to hold the vial for twenty minutes to allow the allergen to begin clearing. This process was reprogramming my body to no longer recognize the item being treated as antagonistic to my body. It was so simple I could not believe it; and the best news was that it was natural, non-invasive and risk free. I only had something to gain-- nothing but a small amount of time to lose. My first treatment was for egg mix, the first of the basic 15, which comprised essential proteins. I was supposed to avoid a list of foods associated with eggs for 25 hours following the treatment. It was easy enough as I was given a list of foods that were ok to consume.
I GET RESULTS AND MY HOPE IS REJUVENATED
My first treatment had been, as I expected from my reading the guidebook, simple, quick, and painless. I continued treatments, twice per week, going through the Basic 15. While I was skeptical and doubted that anything would change, I couldn't deny the changes that were visibly obvious. After the first two treatments, my energy increased, and I noticed a general improvement in my mood and well-being. After three to five treatments, my pain started to decrease in my stomach and I noticed I was bleeding a lot less. By the end of the Basic 15 treatments, the pain I had for many years, similar to that of a chronic bladder infection, was nonexistent. It seemed interstitial cystitis had been cured (and it hasn't returned to date over five years later). As time passed I had more perspective from which to view my improvements. In the moment, I couldn't see change, but after a week or two passed following a treatment, I could vividly see my before and after symptoms, and I was improving. By the end of the Basic 15 treatments, I was committed and an avid believer in the technique. Frankly, I didn't have to understand why this worked; it just did. I went from acute illness, not being able to eat solid foods, piercing abdominal pains that sent me to the emergency room, bleeding, and being given surgery as my only option to seeing real positive changes for the first time in my life. As I saw real lasting changes in my body, I believed it was possible to rid myself of the complications and symptoms of Crohn's disease. I could see that it was possible to strengthen my body from the inside out and heal. I had HOPE.
NAET REPRESENTS THE PROCESS OF HOPE, EMPOWERMENT, AND FUSION
NAET dramatically changed my life. I felt true hope and experienced my body in a completely different state, one that felt alive and separate from illness. This did wonders for my emotional state. What I didn't know at the time was that NAET was also capable of clearing blocked emotions from my body/mind. I could sense the part of me that yearned to feel healthy and I had a glimpse of what my life might feel like free from constant physical pain and discomfort. The part of my true self that wasn't defined by illness breathed life into my body, and I saw what my life could be without all of my attachments to illness and the role it had in my life. My access to these feelings in my body and mind were in part because NAET had begun the process of healing my body from the inside out--physical and emotional. It had also given my immune system a boost as it started to reprogram it not to fear and react to everything it had contact with.
EMPOWERMENT
The power NAET had shown me evoked a craving inside of me for more. I wondered what other healing options existed of which I was unaware. I was empowered to learn and study. I wanted to know everything about it so that I too could hold this power to support my own body. If 15 treatments had helped me, what more could be done? NAET treatments were affordable and accessible. As I immersed myself in this technique, I learned about many patients who saved money getting NAET treatments because they were able to stop taking costly prescriptions medications. Even after my friend's gift was fulfilled, I continued NAET treatments and was relieved that this didn't require me to accept more debt in order to reap the benefits. This reduced stress in my life significantly. Now I could afford to get better and make a decision that was based on what I saw helping me, not on the cost.
The beauty of NAET was that it was limitless; there were hundreds of treatments I could do if I wanted to continue building my body and eliminating offenders. It helped me during acute phases but was also preventive. Based on my long-term history of illness and stress, I had many more allergens and toxins that compromised my body. I knew this was true; after all, I had positive allergic reactions to 99 foods! It was nice, however, to know that I could stop at the basic 15 and I would retain the benefits of improved health regardless of my decision. I chose to continue NAET treatments and enrolled in and received my own certification in NAET from Dr Devi herself! To this day, NAET is one of my most favored techniques; I use it weekly, if not daily, as part of my regimen towards better health and easing the impact of autoimmune disease on my body.
MY NEW PERSPECTIVE OF HEALING
Using NAET taught me a valuable perspective and shifted my views of illness. My goal for health became doing everything I could to lighten the toxic load from my immune system. The more variables I could eliminate that had a negative impact on my immune system, the better I would feel. This included becoming educated and conscious of what I ate, pesticide, water and air quality, radiation, and any chemicals in my skincare products that might impact my immune system and health. It became my job to support my body by making healthier choices and making lifestyle changes to reflect this awareness. If my immune system had to work so hard, I needed to do everything in my power to help ease its workload. NAET was one way of the biggest lifestyle choices I made to lighten this toxic load. Each treatment I completed made me a little bit stronger, and through several years of treatments I continued to achieve the benefits. I expanded my horizon and reached out to other NAET practitioners that were at the top of the field; The NAET network was vast and certified practitioners were available throughout the United States and Internationally. In time, my NAET network expanded to include brilliant healers who all embraced the healing properties of NAET. For the first time I had an integrated support system and was not alone in my healing ventures. From within this network my knowledge base of alternative healing solidified and I had access to information and support that furthered my own healing. NAET empowered me to fully immerse myself in the mysteries and beauties of alternative healing. I was no longer at the mercy of traditional medicine. NAET focused on treating me as a unique individual and clearing my unique responses to myself and the environment. With the NAET strengthening my system to the point that I was no longer acutely ill, I had renewed hope and I strived to continue healing my body from the inside out.