Phoenix Rising!

My blog posts have been few and far between over the last couple of weeks as I succumbed to a chesty cough and have not been feeling well.  I hate not being on top form and what is more, having to admit it; for some reason when you work in the field of health you believe you shouldn’t become ill and think that others will judge your knowledge & expertise on whether or not you can remain well & vibrant, day in/day out. This is obviously not the truth, none of us can feel well all the time, our immune systems fight to keep us so, but we’re all susceptible to vulnerability at times.  However, on this occasion, I have to admit that I’m now rather pleased this particular virus found its way through a chink in my armour.

I remember many years ago being told by someone that in order to construct, sometimes you have to completely destruct; and that’s what I feel has happened to me.  During the two week period, I decided to invest a little more in myself and knew that in order to do this I needed some help; admitting that we don’t always have all the answers and can’t solve everything is hard to do, but incredibly empowering; so even though I practice what I preach in terms of diet & exercise, I decided to invest in some complementary therapies to assist me with my healing.  I remember once being contacted by a lovely lady who found the courage to make an appointment to see me to address weight management issues she had been struggling with for many years; during an initial phone call, I could tell she was excited at the prospect of getting some help and was surprised when, a couple of days before her appointment, she cancelled.  She conveyed that the reason for doing so was that her partner had told her she shouldn’t need any help, that losing weight was simple and she should be able to “just get on with it”.   Her message saddened me because we can’t always know everything, we all need a helping hand and guidance to make life changes and I think it takes great courage to admit that. 

My first positive move was to book an acupuncture session with Karen & New Mills Alternative Clinic; I’ve had three sessions up to now and would highly recommend it; I feel like I’ve been completely re-wired!  Since the very first session, I’ve literally moved mountains; I’ve finished work that I’ve been procrastinating over for ages, joined associations and booked myself on courses that will enhance my perpetual learning and begun work on a new dietary & supplement regime, one that I’m currently experimenting with upon myself and which has given me more energy and vitality than I’ve felt in a very long time.  I’ve joined a new leisure centre and over the last few days my renewed energy has already seen me trying the spinning classes, having a go at a boot camp session, playing volleyball & tennis and working on a one-to-one with one of the personal trainers on a whole new repertoire of abdominal exercises. I’ve signed up to Parkrun UK and intend to do the Saturday morning 5K run in a local park, not only to be able to get to meet new people who share a passion for running, but to get back to racing, having picked up a copy of Runners World last week to search for a 10k to give me a training goal.  Knowing that I possibly wouldn’t be deluged with cards or flowers last Thursday, I decided to treat myself and booked in at the clinic for a full body massage – absolute heaven and as with the acupuncture, something I now intend to do more regularly, to take the best possible care of myself.

Phoenix Rising

Therefore, a negative experience has turned into a plethora of positives and in the process I’ve learned a lot about myself. I do believe that if we continue to push our bodies and minds without making time for rest and relaxation, we become ill; not only because our immune system may be compromised but it’s our body’s way of saying “enough”, you need to rest and I’ve given you warnings that you haven’t heeded, so now you might just have to listen up and take some time out! I’ve also learned that it’s ok to ask for help, to admit that we need guidance back to wellness and beyond; it’s a very pro-active and empowering thing to do and who knows where or what it might lead to!


Nourish Yourself!

 

Cathy x