This past weekend I was very sick - at least for me, a person who hardly ever gets sick and hasn’t required a doctor for a decade or so (knock on wood). A sore throat blossomed into not being able to talk, leading to full congestion in my head, chest, and lungs. The body...no energy, brain fog, weepy. Basically feeling pretty ucky. On a regular weekend, this would have been enough but this fell exactly during the time of a four day retreat I’d been co-organizing for a year. Ya, bummer! Deciding I needed to take care of myself and not add to the spreading of more germs, I left the retreat to go home two days early. Really sad for me but with I knew the Sangha (retreatant community) would continue seamlessly, creating immeasurable love and open heart, mirroring the retreat theme. Even as I lay in bed at home, I felt very held by them. Deep gratitude.
Lying in my bed, snuggled with my blanket, cough drops, extra-soft tissues, water, and Nyquil, I had nothing to do but rest. Sleep, roll over, rest some more. For a day and a half I did this, trying to eat something in between but unable to taste anything. The pressure in my head was immense, eyes barely being able to open beyond a squint. Even with the coma-induced state that Nyquil provides, one can only do so much sleeping. Laying there in between sleep sessions, what to do? Reading hurt the eyes...watching Hulu compressed the forehead... staring into space seemed like a good option until the eyes dried to a prune-like quality.
What I did find of interest was my body; noticing the aches in the left knee that radiating down to the second toe when I stayed on that side too long, pulsating tension points in the lower back, how the space in between my midback and lumbar seemed open and free, how my left ear rung at a denser pitch than the right, how my hair hurt mostly at the curve of my head, and how the pressure and congestion slowly crept from the right rear nostril to the open space on the left side when I turned my head to the left. Also of observation was how my mind still told me to try and eat (yes, mother) even though I couldn’t taste a single thing, noticing that too much napping really was not part of my body’s vocabulary, that there are a variety of coughs each with their own multi-faceted process, and finally narrowing in on where a cough actually begins.
It was all very fascinating, this flowing river of body being. It gave me a wonderful connection to how my physical body supported and championed itself during a time of distress. I saw the interconnectedness between all parts and realized that, under a guise of what might be perceived as illness, was actually lots of healing going on. It was working really hard and I could feel the cells enlisting one another on the path of homeostasis and recovery...the cells that made up my body’s Sangha. Deep gratitude.
There are so many times during my life that I haven’t liked or appreciated my body. There were even times when I down-right hated it and did some pretty destructive things, especially in my younger years. It didn’t do what I wanted; be thinner here and curvier there, walk fast enough, stay flexible without constant stretching, keep the muscle tone after a week away from the gym, be vibrant every day. So many of us complain about our body when in fact it is WE who create it as it is. We do things everyday that damage or support it - by what we eat, how we exercise, if over medicate, and especially what our thought pattern is around self-image. Our body knows if we love it or not. Just like Dr. Emoto’s water crystals, the cells of our body vibrate back to us how we feel about it. A body of Happy and Appreciation lives much more gloriously than Ugly and Hate.
As I age and notice the physical changes more prominently, I’m coming to appreciate the sheer magnitude and intricacy of this vessel of ours. With over 50 trillion cells to coordinate, it’s beyond mind-blowing all the things it takes care of 24/7. Without instruction, it works so hard to get back to equilibrium and harmony. My recent experiment of a few days of illness has awoken me to that again. Deep gratitude. I’m not going to dare complain if mine needed a few days off to rest. Well deserved, I’d say, especially as I know I’m not always the easiest or cooperative one to deal with.
When I get well again, I hope I continue to appreciate the non-sickness for longer than a few days. It really is great to have this lovely vessel of mine. It’s the only one I’ve got so best take care!
With many blessings for peaceful days,
Shanti
Shanti Douglas
Mindfulness & Stress Management Coach
Certified Practitioner Eden Energy Medicine
Shanti@8limbsHolisticHealth.com
603.228.9007
Lying in my bed, snuggled with my blanket, cough drops, extra-soft tissues, water, and Nyquil, I had nothing to do but rest. Sleep, roll over, rest some more. For a day and a half I did this, trying to eat something in between but unable to taste anything. The pressure in my head was immense, eyes barely being able to open beyond a squint. Even with the coma-induced state that Nyquil provides, one can only do so much sleeping. Laying there in between sleep sessions, what to do? Reading hurt the eyes...watching Hulu compressed the forehead... staring into space seemed like a good option until the eyes dried to a prune-like quality.
What I did find of interest was my body; noticing the aches in the left knee that radiating down to the second toe when I stayed on that side too long, pulsating tension points in the lower back, how the space in between my midback and lumbar seemed open and free, how my left ear rung at a denser pitch than the right, how my hair hurt mostly at the curve of my head, and how the pressure and congestion slowly crept from the right rear nostril to the open space on the left side when I turned my head to the left. Also of observation was how my mind still told me to try and eat (yes, mother) even though I couldn’t taste a single thing, noticing that too much napping really was not part of my body’s vocabulary, that there are a variety of coughs each with their own multi-faceted process, and finally narrowing in on where a cough actually begins.
It was all very fascinating, this flowing river of body being. It gave me a wonderful connection to how my physical body supported and championed itself during a time of distress. I saw the interconnectedness between all parts and realized that, under a guise of what might be perceived as illness, was actually lots of healing going on. It was working really hard and I could feel the cells enlisting one another on the path of homeostasis and recovery...the cells that made up my body’s Sangha. Deep gratitude.
There are so many times during my life that I haven’t liked or appreciated my body. There were even times when I down-right hated it and did some pretty destructive things, especially in my younger years. It didn’t do what I wanted; be thinner here and curvier there, walk fast enough, stay flexible without constant stretching, keep the muscle tone after a week away from the gym, be vibrant every day. So many of us complain about our body when in fact it is WE who create it as it is. We do things everyday that damage or support it - by what we eat, how we exercise, if over medicate, and especially what our thought pattern is around self-image. Our body knows if we love it or not. Just like Dr. Emoto’s water crystals, the cells of our body vibrate back to us how we feel about it. A body of Happy and Appreciation lives much more gloriously than Ugly and Hate.
As I age and notice the physical changes more prominently, I’m coming to appreciate the sheer magnitude and intricacy of this vessel of ours. With over 50 trillion cells to coordinate, it’s beyond mind-blowing all the things it takes care of 24/7. Without instruction, it works so hard to get back to equilibrium and harmony. My recent experiment of a few days of illness has awoken me to that again. Deep gratitude. I’m not going to dare complain if mine needed a few days off to rest. Well deserved, I’d say, especially as I know I’m not always the easiest or cooperative one to deal with.
When I get well again, I hope I continue to appreciate the non-sickness for longer than a few days. It really is great to have this lovely vessel of mine. It’s the only one I’ve got so best take care!
With many blessings for peaceful days,
Shanti
Shanti Douglas
Mindfulness & Stress Management Coach
Certified Practitioner Eden Energy Medicine
Shanti@8limbsHolisticHealth.com
603.228.9007
Which body would you prefer to live in?
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