How did your 12 Days of December Self Care go? I definitely made sure to get in an activity for 12 minutes every day, but I let my guard down a little bit right at Christmas with our whole family. While it was great to have together time – and we conquered the huge crossword puzzle in the New York Times, a true family effort over a couple of days – many of us still ended up getting sick.
Living with MS, I have had many days when I’ve woken up and know I was feeling off in some way. Over time with a chronic illness, you can be more in tune with your body and know the signs. But, many times we choose to ignore the signs because we are looking forward to something coming in the next couple of days and we press forward. We don’t listen to our bodies, because we have a fear of missing out on something…for many of us it’s missing out again.
It took me a couple of days to settle into the fact I was needing rest and to slow down. Surrendering to that fact gave me time to be in the moment and truly feel what my body needed. Even a half day or day of forgetting to check in with ourselves, losing that connection, can cause us to get off track mentally or physically.
I’m grateful that I know how to really connect deeply with my own body and can listen to what it’s trying to tell me. I decided to be grateful for the fact that I could take care of myself, rest and that I got some very delicious and healing tea for Christmas.
Today I spoke with a family member that was also sick and still has lingering symptoms. After about 10 minutes of moving and tapping joints and lymph nodes they felt a difference, and asked to come to class next week. While it may not be so fast for everyone, focusing inward and paying attention to our bodies with a nonjudgmental mind can make a huge difference, even in a few minutes.
I hope you’ll decide to check out a class and see if it may help you in some way. Let me know if you have questions or if the class timing isn’t working for you.