Body, meet Mind. Now be BFF’s.

So yesterday I was home from work and in quite a bit of pain. Over the past few days I have been getting a muscle pain that has been increasing in the left upper side of my back. Stretching from the base of my ribs up to about my shoulder-ish area (clearly I am not well educated in anatomy!). While I just kept thinking it must be stress and potentially a bad nights sleep in an awkward position, the pain kept getting worse. I woke up the other day almost unable to breathe and hardly able to move.  Eek.

Clearly this seemed to be more than just a bad nights sleep.

In an effort to get some relief for my pain and maybe a little insight into why my body was reacting the way it was, I went for a massage with my massage therapist. Terri-Lee is this fantastic lady who is kind, warm and very into the body, mind, spirituality and taking care of oneself through natural means and our own devices. I absolutely adore her. She’s the kind of person you want to put in your pocket and take home with you so she can tell you all these insights and lessons she has learned and you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

I not only get amazing massages with Terri-Lee, but also some fantastic counseling time while I confess everything that is happening in my life, my thoughts, my feelings, my insecurities, what I said, what others said, how work is going, what I have been eating, all while my face is mushed down into the massage table.

Terri-Lee reminded me how important it is to listen to your mind and allow yourself to feel the various emotions that too often many of us bottle up or push aside (guilty!). If you ignore the thoughts that you are thinking and experiencing, they will manifest themselves in your body eventually debilitating you so that you get the message and address what your mind is telling you.

I admit that I have been having some very large internal battles lately with the whole “what should I do with my life” thoughts and the internal discussions on doing what makes you happy versus making other people happy or doing what others feel you should be doing (yes…deep stuff!). This pain in my back I was experiencing really did seem like my body was giving me the big ol’ middle finger!

I realized that this was my also likely my body’s way of rebelling against me for not keeping up my regular yoga practice. While doing yoga I really do notice that my mind is clearer; I am more aware of my thoughts, my actions, my emotions. Yoga also gives me confidence in myself (likely because I am getting to know myself better!), and this confidence shifts into my life off of the mat and into the “real world” as well.

Without all of this, it’s no wonder I have been struggling with my heavy thoughts and emotions, and my body was just letting me know. Thanks body!

My body, mind and I definitely need to go for tea and a good yoga class and become friends again.

So, through all of that, I have definitely learned the valuable (although painful) lesson and importance of listening to yourself, whether it be body, mind, heart or spirit.  I have also had the realization that I need to stay focused, centered and committed to my practice, my awareness and ultimately myself so that I can continue to be healthy in body, mind and spirit. Isn’t that the true definition of healthy anyhow?

I need to get continue on this path of getting to know myself better and ensure everyone is playing nicely together in the same sandbox.

Body, meet Mind. Mind, meet Body. Now you need to become BFF’s.

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