Self-care: taking my own advice.
(Originally published January 7, 2022)
Sometimes, we need to take our own advice.
I don't know why, but the last few days, I have been stiff and achy. It's not because I am sick (I'm not). And most of Alberta has been in a deep freeze for two weeks now, so I'm not doing any outdoor exercise that would cause me to feel the effects of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, AKA post-workout soreness). Come to think of it, that lack of exercise could be why I'm not sleeping well, which can lead to not feeling well ... so maybe there's my answer. In any case, I've been feeling less than peak. Eventually (and getting to this point took me longer than I care to admit) I asked myself what I'd suggest if a client asked me for advice. And my advice to them would be that old adage I learned in massage school: "Motion is lotion." Oh, and heat. Heat is neat (okay, I just made that one up, but it's true). Also, don't rush while stretching: hold the stretch long enough that you can truly relax into it. (I am not even going to try to think of a catchy rhyme for that one.)
So yesterday after my workday was finished, I packed away the massage table and set up my yoga mat. I got my diffuser going with an essential oil blend I love and started my meditation chants playlist. If you've ever been on my table, you've probably heard that playlist. I spent an hour of time on myself. I flowed through some simple yoga poses, taking time to really explore how my body felt in each one. Then I did some deep stretches for all the achy areas: my back, shoulders, hamstrings, and glutes. And I held each of those stretches for a long time. I think it helped to have the meditation music playing, because I used the chanting to quiet my mind as I leaned into the stretches to get the most out of each one. When my mind was quiet and my body felt good, I lay in savasana for several minutes. I'm new to the practice of yoga; I've only been doing it for about eight months. Savasana is the way my yoga teacher has us begin and end each session: we lie still on the mat, quiet our mind, and focus on our breath. It's probably my favourite part of the class.
When I finally decided it was time to make my way to a seated position, I looked at the clock and realized it had been exactly one hour since I had begun, and I felt completely different. My muscles were relaxed, my body felt better, my brain was no longer foggy, and I felt peaceful. I was kind of amazed, actually. In an ideal world, I would have had a nice warm Epsom salt bath and gone to bed to snuggle up with tea, a good book, and a cat or two. But reality hit in the form of a kitchen to tidy, laundry to fold, and work to do. Later, though, I heated my amazing custom-made flax bag and sat in bed with it wrapped around my mid- and lower back, reading and drinking tea (the cats both ditched me in favour of other family members). After the best sleep I've had in days, I woke up refreshed and feeling fabulous this morning. Who knew? Well, I guess I did ... if only I had taken my own advice sooner!