G.L.O.W. Rx

Nicole McCarty. © 2020

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ISBN: (978-1-7359845-0-6)

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Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

For Ember-Joi

There will never be anything you can’t do! Here’s to breaking barriers and soaring as only eagles do. May God’s grace take you places your inheritance can’t. You are my Why. Mommie loves you.

For Alani

You can be anything you desire! Love comes in many forms, I’m so blessed my bonus was you. May you keep God first and allow Him to direct your path. Mrs. Nicole loves you.

For Kamal

For the times when you pushed me to soar when I had only the energy to fly. You are my heart. You are my love. With God, we can do ANYTHING! Thank you, and I love you.

For Mommie, Grann & Papa

For every support and sacrifice you made to make sure I KNEW I could DO and BE Anything. For embracing my unique nature and free-spirited soul to help me to be the woman, wife, and mother I am today…I love you, and I thank you.

Wellness Chest

A GIFT FOR YOU…

As you prepare to start your journey to being healthy, whole, and happy, it was really important to me that you have a place to continue learning and growing in what is best for you. This is a place I can update on demand to serve you better, and the icing on the cake is it is FREE! This virtual platform essentially will become your Wellness Chest in which you can learn additional information about overall health, wellness, nutrition, fitness, stress management, and many other health-related concepts. You can access your Wellness Chest by visiting www.drnicolemccarty.com/GLOWRx-WellnessChest.

Inside the Wellness Chest is a treasure trove of health goodies for the mind, body, soul, and spirit. There is bonus content and a community of individuals on a similar health journey with whom you can GLOW and Grow together. Therefore, go ahead and get your access now by going to www.drnicolemccarty.com/GLOWRx-WellnessChest. This is your time to dedicate yourself to creating your #GLOWRx plan so that you can live Free, Healthy, and Whole.

Oh! One more thing...I’d love for you to tag me on Instagram @dr.nicolemccarty and use the hashtag #GLOWRxBook while you’re there. Who in the world can’t benefit from additional health and wellness knowledge? Do you know anyone? I don’t. Let’s take this journey, shall we. All it takes is a first step, and this is it! I’ll see you inside!

Prologue

G.L.O.W. Grow & Live Optimally Well is a mantra of sorts. It’s the premise behind why I am where I am and why I do what I do. I became a doctor so that I could help people. That’s only the most generic and laziest response one could ever give to the age-old question, What made you want to become a doctor?

Perhaps, I should offer something a little more… robust in thought. As a child, I was very active in the community because I came from a long line of educators and community leaders. My mom was an educator and software engineer. Brains and Beauty! (I totally took after her!) My grandparents were active and community pioneers in EVERYTHING! My grandmother was one of the first black department chairs at our community college, which is now a state institution, and a pioneer in the field of cosmetology and black hair care. My grandfather was one of the first and only black people at the time to work at Cape Canaveral, Florida, for Florida Power and Light as an engineer. He was a black supervisor when it wasn’t very popular to have a black man in that position overseeing the nuclear division for a large portion of the South Florida coast. Community was very important to them. My grandmother was seemingly in every community organization and on every advisory board that existed on the planet! My grandfather was on most scenes with her, and he was a part of the founding golf club that mentors and gives back to the community even now. We ate like southerners, but we were always mindful of health. My mom has this knack for soulful cooking with a nutritional twist, so I had the best of foods in taste and preparation. My grandfather had a garden, so when we wanted fresh fruit and vegetables, we often were able to go pick fruit off the tree or pick vegetables from the garden at any given time. Basically, I had good roots. My upbringing gave me the foundation to understand the importance and gift of good health.

Fast forward…with these tools and knowledge, it’s no surprise that God led me down a path of health and wellness. My passion and life principles from a young age have centered around the concept that health is wealth. Therefore, I went on to complete my B.S. in Cardiopulmonary Science after deciding that pharmacy (though a great career and program) just didn’t measure up to my wellness lifestyle. I’m a firm believer in never doing what I wouldn’t advise or advocate for myself or my family. It just wasn’t my thing (even after they called my mom to try to change my mind). I knew there was something different God had in store for me. My first career as a respiratory therapist took me into specialty units and allowed me to learn specialty skills (brain injury rehabilitation, critical care, trauma, neonatal critical care, etc.) This is where I gained my experience in the allopathic field of medicine. My experiences were often exhilarating and different. I learned a lot in terms of politics, humanity, discipline, and compassion. It served me well and served a purpose.

As life would have it, I detoured into the field of education after a traumatic car accident derailed me from the allopathic model (traditional medical model of surgeries and pharmaceuticals) of health care. I went on to teach and coach an amazing group of students and student athletes in track and field and girls’ weightlifting. This opportunity introduced me to chiropractic where I met a fellow believer and doctor who prophesied to me that I would be relocating to pursue my doctorate that following year. I laughed. Ha! The joke was on me. I believe Woody Allen coined the phrase, If you really want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. Well, He must have been cracking up that day because I just knew I wasn’t relocating to start school for chiropractic. I was looking at Ph.D. programs in FL, or so I thought.

Welp! A year later, I started my doctorate in chiropractic, and life took off from there. I went on to complete my degree and started another degree program to complement it. After completing my M.S. in Sport Health Science with a concentration in Sport Injury Management, I practiced as a sports chiropractor and soft tissue specialist in both GA and SC. I also had the honor of teaching other master’s and doctoral degree students in the subject areas of radiology, orthopedic diagnosis, physiotherapeutics, etc. Education has always been in my genes, I suppose, and now, I use those same skills to educate and coach my patients and clients.

Life was amazing, but it was life! I went through some growing pains personally at one point though. I endured a challenging relationship in which I lost who I was, what I wanted, and what I needed. I was just lost. The worst part was, I KNEW IT! I reached a point at which I had a pow wow with God about what I needed to do to exact change in my life because I knew I needed it. He told me that He needed me…just me. His words were, Baby girl, I have everything you want in store for you, but I need you to let go of what you’re holding onto and trust me. Well, I did, and just like that, I ended my engagement, relocated, and started over. Has God ever placed you in a situation in which you had to start over? I grew closer to God more than ever during this time. My intimacy increased, my discernment increased, and my ability to trust Him increased. My ability to love and appreciate myself increased, and I learned the art of letting go. It is an art…believe me.

Discernment is a learned skill, and I cultivated that bad boy. God also showed me who I was including the good, the bad, and the indifferent. I had to accept some ugly truths about myself so that I could change them and become the woman God designed me to be. Little did I know, God was setting me up for so much more. This was my rebirth, and I knew before I could walk into that place, I had to be comfortable, happy, and content with me. I remember having moments where I would cry but then I cried a little less. My tears became trophies that signified my growth. The growth in the internal makeup of who I was that no one could really see. There was no cheering section on social media, no fans, just me, Jesus, and a few close friends and family. As a result, when I did re-enter the dating market, I dated with purpose and found balance with potential realizing that there are no ready-made men but there are men and companions you can grow with and that’s the beauty of the love God had for me. There is so much more to my testimony, but I’ll stop there. Fast forward to now. I am married to an amazing and supportive man. I have a beautiful daughter, a bonus daughter, a wonderful family, and a loving village. I love my life and all of its imperfections, but most of all, I love this journey full of growth, freedom, healing, love, service, and abundance. All of my fundamentals resurfaced, and I can feel how my journey has prepared me for my purpose. It wasn’t just about the physical health that made a difference. It was so much more than that. The mental, spiritual, and emotional aspects were just as important. From this rebirth came health and healing from the inside out. Even though I’d always owned who I was, this period of my life was when I took ownership. This time of birthing anew was when total and complete health and wellness became mine. It was much more than just the common buzz words of health and wealth because it was what the words represented. I was focused on health that leads to wealth in the quality of life that I was able to live. Being able to model what I preached and lived unapologetically in my truth gave me the freedom to build what I wanted other women to live just as I lived it, EACH AND EVERY DAY.

Hi! I am Dr. Nicole McCarty, and I am a life enthusiast! I love life and the blessings that come from it. Sure, I frown like anyone else when things are let’s say…less than optimal, but the biggest difference in my approach to life is that I don’t stay in frown town. Let’s be honest, life absolutely can suck sometimes, BUT as bad as it may seem, it can turn around and make you absolutely beam from ear to ear. That’s the beauty and versatility of life. My amazing bonus dad always would say, Just wait a while. Things will change. Things never remain constant, but they are ever changing. It’s up to us to choose the direction in which we move as they change. I made a promise a while ago after falling in love with myself again that I would never, ever, ever allow myself to get to that place again. The lessons I learned made me make fewer excuses than I ever have, and the direction I’m traveling makes me grow stronger so that I can have the sustainability to climb higher, run faster, dream bigger, and achieve heights previously unknown to me with clarity, patience (work in progress), and wisdom. I now G.L.O.W. unapologetically. It’s your turn to do the same. It’s amazing where I live. Won’t you join me?

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part 1: SPIRITUALLY: THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION

Chapter 1 What Is the Mind-Body Connection?

Chapter 2 Meditation…What Is It? How Do I Do…It?

Chapter 3 Communication: Decoding the Messages (Brain Body)

Chapter 4 Creating A Spiritual Sanctuary

Chapter 5 Eat, PRAY, Breathe, Love…Love Language to God

Part 2: MENTALLY: MIND OVER MATTER

Chapter 6 What Is Stress?

Chapter 7 Good Stress Vs. Bad Stress; Is There A Difference?

Chapter 8 How To Prioritize Stress

Chapter 9 Identifying Your Stressors: Family, Finances, Fun, & Faith

Chapter