Can I just take a moment first to say happy spring? Happy Spring! It was the Vernal Equinox yesterday and for my Christian friends it was Palm Sunday. I love the stories of Palm Sunday and the truly special time that is Easter and with that we find ourselves in that blessed first week of spring.
I am delighted to be back here to kick that spring week off chatting with you! And as a feast for your eyes, dine on this lovely photo of English Bay (I shot this photo last spring in Vancouver and my heart still longs for those stunning West Coast springs)
So where was I. Oh yeah, Deepak's meditation.
I always love these 21-day meditations, not even necessarily for the content (which is always good) but more for the reset. It just retrains my brain to get back into the habit of meditation. I do have a regular practice, but this reinforces it. Plus I love the community aspect. Collective spirits joining hearts and minds around the globe to increase that positive vibration, it can only do us good.
This segment is called Shedding the Weight: Mind, Body and Spirit. You can find the link HERE.
I think this is a timely journey for me as I have been carrying a lot of mental and spiritual weight which is (I'm coming to believe) translating into physical weight on my body. You see I've been gaining weight since November. My diet hasn't changed too significantly apart from the copious amounts of chocolate I was (am) consuming (stress-eating people, it's a killer on the waistline). I won't deny that there is also something going on with my health. I describe it to He Who Shall Not Be Named as a general overall sense of dis-ease. My head aches, my joints hurt, my gut feels nauseous, but nothing is to the point of like "Oh I'm sick" if that makes sense.
I elected to cut out gluten and limit dairy (good quality dark chocolate is allowed as it's dairy free so...) still I'm feeling unwell and the weight is rising. Before you say it, no I am not pregnant.
I'm sincerely starting to think that stress has a more dramatic role in this picture than I first gave him credit for. Yes, noble reader, stress is a man because aren't men the root of a lot of our suffering? MENstruation, MENopause, MENtal illness... I kid of course, but yeah stress is a dude, just trust me on that.
2016 came in with a roar and quite literally bit off my head. I won't bore you with details, suffice it to say I have been spending quite a bit of time of late licking my wounds! But like all pendulums, the pendulum of life must sway and I feel like I'm ready to start the upswing. This 21-Day Meditation will be just the thing to help. That and admitting that I am a chocoholic. You think there's a 12-step program for that? Yep, still me, still Shan. This might not be Mastering The Method, it might be a new chapter called Mastering My Midlife, but you know what they say: Sure it's a new chapter, but it's still the same book, love.
Hope to feel your meditative vibes with me in the ether tonight and for the next three weeks.
Thanks for sharing.
xox
Shan
Hey Shan,
ReplyDeleteThere is a shift in energy in the air for sure. It is almost palpable, and I for one am running towards it like a small child after the ice-cream van.
I really believe you have a point as far as the holding onto weight issue is concerned.
In chapters of real stress we seem to hit our bodies with both barrels, so is it any wonder it try to protect itself by hanging onto inflammation and weight.
I stress-eat terribly as well, so that, coupled with a sky high dose of cortisol, sleep deprivation (this one is the game changer for me) equals a bloated, uncomfortable - and like you say, generally 'unhappy' imbalanced system.
As you know, I had a forced hiatus over xmas, and that meant very limited exercise, but the strangest thing happened - I LOST weight??!!! What?!!
Now, this was not an intention, I didn't want to lose it, I was not depriving myself, but I was resting......
Dragged kicking and screaming to a less frenetic pace, it was as if my body took a great sigh of relief, and decided to use the pit stop to do some spring cleaning, and one of the things that went out the door was the inflammation - around my face, my bar strap area... odd places, but its true.
I wouldn't have believed you had you told me that would happen.
Not sure how long I'll be able to keep this lesson fresh in my mind - so as not to forget, once work gets crazy again.
Everything truly is connected, and no matter how clever we think we are in our minds, our bodies will do what they will, and that is protect us. So if it feels as if it is /we are under stress, under attack, it will hang onto everything in case its needed.
Big Hugs
S
I wanted to make a slight amendment to the above... its been bothering me that I may not have been entirely accurate...
ReplyDeleteIts very true that while I was resting, the inflammation I had been suffering in my skin, face etc dissapeared.
BUT I'm not sure if its correct to say I lost weight.. simply as I don't own a set of scales... but I def felt 'lighter' in myself physically...
Sorry. Had to get that out there!
It's been such a gift to watch your transformation through your healing process Sophie. Thank you for allowing me to be your witness and your friend. You truly amaze and inspire, both you and Natalia. I feel truly blessed, especially in light of what's just happened in Brussels.
DeleteHi Shan,
ReplyDeleteSorry the sugar monster is back but I agree that stress is probably a big part of it. I think you hit the nail on the head with just knowing that something just isn't quite right, nothing outwardly wrong but just something going on. I've also been like that for a few months, also having put the Clean weight back on and a bit more. Of course I have lots of stress in my life, some of it healthy and self-imposed, some I can't control and just live day to day with. But this is why I try not to do food programs, because every time I go down that road, it somehow plays havoc afterwards.
The other difficult part for me is equating the behavioural actions of putting things into my mouth, and the resulting weight or feeling of dis-ease. It's only when I have a day when I REALLY feel it that I shock myself into doing better. How can we do better all the time? And feel better all the time? We need to figure it out because I'm sure you're just like me, not liking your situation but not knowing how best to get out of it either.
I hope you (we) can figure this out and start feeling A-OK again soon!
x
Hello my friend, so funny how we're so often in sync. I think trying to really check in with ourselves is the best way forward. Asking ourselves how we are, what we need, and really taking care of ourselves - by nourishing the spirit we are better able to nourish the body.
Deletexoxo