| Have you ever made it through a stressful period and then finally got to the end, only to “come down with something” and be laid up in bed? It may be that your back goes out or you succumb to the flu or get a migraine. It happened to my daughter, Rachel, when she got home for Christmas holidays after finishing her mid-term exams at law school. We often use the analogy in our office that the brain is like the manager and the body is like the labourers. If the manager hasn’t been listening to the needs of the labourers, they will go out on strike in order to be heard. Our bodies go on strike, and we call that illness. I was watching a television drama in which the protagonist ignored his body and ended up in hospital, but was still trying to accomplish his regular work. A visitor told him that he’d been visited by “saint illness”, and he needed to listen to that saint. Of course, when you use the short form, saint illness becomes St. illness or stillness, and this was the very thing he was resisting which was slowing his healing process. Many of us can be like that, it is difficult for us to be still, but this is an important aspect of our health and wellness. I have two things to say about this. First, if you find yourself unwell, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. This is not the time to push through, unless there is absolutely no alternative. This is when you need to make time for rest. Find space for stillness. This is the time to allow loved ones to serve you, or perhaps find out how “uber eats” works to deliver a meal. It is time to delay tasks that are not urgent, like putting away the laundry or vacuuming the living room. Allowing your body time to heal will allow you to heal faster, and ultimately be more productive! The other lesson from this is that if you create a time of stillness in your everyday life, your body may not have to go on strike to get your attention! Spending time doing meditation or breath work may allow you to respond to your body’s needs before they become a crisis. Some people find journaling helps, others find listening to music or soundscapes allows them to relax and let go. Guided meditation with breath work can be helpful, as in Savasana, which is often found at the conclusion of yoga classes. Click this link to hear an 8 minute guided savasana from our YouTube channel: Savasana And, of course, I would remind you that a network entrainment helps reset the nervous system so that you can listen to the body, so make sure to set up an appointment this month! I will close with a quote from Anne Lamott: “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you” |
Saint Illness
