Tag: body

Unplugged

Credit: Gregorio Catarino, X

The picture above kind of sums it all up, doesn’t it? My husband, two of our sons and our daughter all had plans to go to the gym this morning. (I didn’t. The gym is not my thing.) Needless to say, those plans never came into fruition. The day after any big event/holiday/vacation is such a hodgepodge of emotion and sensation, isn’t it? Satisfaction. Relief. Exhaustion. Disbelief. It takes a while to process everything that goes into “the biggies” once they are completed, right? We are made up of our minds and bodies and spirits, but sometimes these three aspects need to get synched up, in order to move forward. Our minds are already going to: “Time to clean up and let’s move on to the next thing. Get your calendars out.” Our spirits are going: “Wow. A lot just happened over these last few weeks. How am I feeling about everything that went on? I didn’t realize that I could feel this many things all at once. I need a good laugh/cry/bath/sigh/hug from my better half/last piece of pie, before I can move on.” Our bodies are going: “Ugh. Help me. System overload. Can we please get back to normal before I explode?!”

Try not to jump right back into the saddle until all three of your aspects of yourself are ready to move ahead into the new year. If we all made “overall health” a desire for 2024 what would that look like? What does your mind need to stimulate itself more healthfully in the new year? Our minds are like German Shepherds. They need to work constantly and if they are not given a task, they will make a mission for themselves. Have you let your mind run amok like an untrained German Shepherd? Get a leash and be the leader of your mind this year. What about your body? What could be tweaked (or even overhauled) for a healthier new year for the daily vehicle which allows you to experience life? And spirit . . . Sweet spirit. Has your spirit been neglected? Is it a tangled ball mess of emotion that could stand some dedicated quiet and safe detangling time, perhaps at the end of each day with some meditation or prayer or with a good listener?

Sometimes when we are utterly depleted, these are the times that make us most open and receptive to what needs to be tweaked and even changed in our lives. These times of overload, force us to stop and to reboot. Are the programs that we are running “in all three facets of the game” the same ones that we want to utilize in 2024? What’s ready to be shut down? What’s ready to grow? It’s not lost on me that we end every year with the bang of “The Holidays.” It’s overwhelm by design. It forces us to collapse and to refocus, just in time for a precious, fresh new year in our lives.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Pause

Merry Christmas Eve. I hope that this finds you well, and warm, and in good spirits. This time of year is a big time of reflection for us, isn’t it? The world slows down, just a little bit and we start thinking about the past year in review. We also start musing about what we want in the new year and beyond. I’ve heard a lot of people mention that the year 2023 is a year for healing. I like that thought. Collectively, we’ve been through a lot in the last few years. I don’t feel like we’ve had a lot of downtime, or much of a “pause”, in order to process everything which we have been through. It is my hope that 2023 is a calming, healing, easy going, “let’s catch our breath and recalibrate” kind of a year.

The Wise Connector asked his Twitter followers to list three things that they have learned in 2022. I plan to ponder on that thought for a little bit. I like to integrate important lessons, so I am better equipped for my journey moving forward. This year I have learned to trust the mysterious ways of the Universe more, and the way that the Universe works in my life. I have learned that if I am pushing against a wall that isn’t ready to move, I only hurt and frustrate myself. When the wall is ready to be moved, it’s almost like magic how quickly the wall just disappears, like it was never there before. When it is time for me to walk through, and past a problem, it’s almost like the wall was never there. I hope to stop myself from knocking my head against walls in the new year and into the future to come.

I’ve also been telling my body lately, “I’m listening to you.” I’m taking care of you. You need rest? You’ve got it. You need to stretch and loosen up? We can do that, and you’re right, it feels amazing. Going along with the 2023 “Year of Healing” idea, I plan to start offering up the same courtesies of listening more to my mind and to my spirit, and really heeding the needs of all three entities which make up the whole of me.

I am wishing for peace and for pause for all of us during this holiday season. Thank you for being daily witnesses to me and to my writing. I love you. I appreciate you and our feeling of understanding and connection. Merry Christmas. All is well. Believe it. The walls will dissipate at just the right time and the path will be clear and bright.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

(D)anger

I have sciatica that has been acting up lately, particularly on my left side. I’ve been doing stretches. I have tried massage and acupuncture and ibuprofen. What I haven’t admitted to myself is how much I have the tendency to repress my anger. Repressed anger often manifests itself in our hips.

It’s easier for a lot of us (especially us women types) to admit that we are sad, than to admit that we are angry. Anger sometimes gets labeled as “a bad emotion.” When anger is used to lash out at others, it can be scary and dangerous and ruinous. Therefore, we often repress our own anger, in order to “protect” ourselves and others. However, when we repress anger, these angry feelings end up hurting us deeply, in internal, physical ways. Also, ironically, the build-up of pressure from angry feelings that we are trying to keep inside, makes it more likely for us to have uncontrolled damaging outbursts that we regret, leading to the vicious cycle of continuing to deny and to repress our anger.

Sometimes we are not actually angry at any particular person. We can have anger about situations that aren’t in our control, such as the pandemic. We can feel angry at ourselves for not doing, or saying something, that we wish we had done. We can have a lot of stored up anger in our bodies, starting from the times when we were very young children.

In order to be healthy in mind, and body, and spirit, we have to feel all of our feelings, and then we have to let them go. Anger scares us. It makes us feel out of control and despicable, so anger is often, one our most suppressed feelings. Nonetheless, there are safe ways to express our anger, but first we must admit to ourselves that our anger even exists. Anger is an emotion full of energy, so finding a private place to scream, or to hit something safe, like a pillow, or to have a private tantrum/meltdown are all ways to release anger, in a healthful way. Taking a brisk walk or run, keeping a journal, and being present with your thoughts which are causing your anger, and perhaps challenging the validity of these thoughts with a different perspective, are all ways to process anger safely. The bottom line, is it is important to allow yourself to acknowledge, and to feel your anger, or it will inevitably cause bigger problems in life, in regards to your precious bodily health, and your meaningful relationships.

Top 50 Quotes About Anger and Frustration - Quotes Yard
21 Quotes About Anger And Frustration With Pictures - Picss Mine

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Body Language

My daughter has started a yearly tradition in our family in which she generously brings home the first virus of the school year to share with us all.  This year’s virus isn’t bad enough for any of us to stay home and in bed; it’s just a big old pain in the butt, or more specifically a pain in the throat.  It’s good that I don’t offer an audio version of my blog, although sometimes I like the sexy, husky tone my voice gets when I’m sick.  This isn’t one of those times.  Today I am just nasally, cranky and croaky.

Why is it that I get so mad at my immune system for “letting me down?”  I never think to thank my body every day for doing everything that it does for me on the daily, even when I’m less than a good steward in regards to sleep, exercise, and healthy nutrition.  Well, hell, I do take expensive vitamins. So there “body”, buck up!!   Martha Graham, the famous dancer respected her body deeply.  This is what she said:

The body is a sacred garment.  It’s your first and last garment; it is what you enter life in and what you depart life with, and it should be treated with honor.  

I’m a cerebral person.  I tend to live a lot “in my head.” The band Twenty One Pilots has a song with the lyrics “I’ve been thinking too much.  Help me.”  I completely relate to those lyrics.  I say that I believe in balancing “the triple threat – mind, body and spirit,”  but my actions often lead me to spend a lot more time in mind and spirit and I let “body” out there to fend for itself.  I only notice “body” when it’s not working perfectly.  “Body” tends to be neglected and taken for granted.

The body is our vehicle for being.  It is what allows our minds and spirits to really explore our world. I often marvel at Sci-fi movies when someone’s wound is instantly healed and disappears, but then I think that in reality, our bodies already really do that amazing “sci-fi” healing.  It just takes a little more time.  Bodies are incredible when you really think about it.

So, maybe if I look at this virus as a reminder to not take my body for granted, it won’t be so annoying to be sick.  Maybe this virus is just a little birdy in my ear reminding me to appreciate my health and vitality and the amazing fact that my body is already in the process of healing itself.  Maybe this virus is a reminder to me to not just listen to the “noise” of a sick body, but to listen to the subtle “nuances” of a healthy body and remain in awe, gratitude and harmony with everything that it offers to me, every moment of my life.