Happy Twosday, my friends. 2/22/22. I love dates and times like this. I’m in the wonky sleep cycle these past few days, so, not surprisingly I was awake at 2:22 this morning and I’ll be awake at 22:22 tonight. It’s how I roll.
I’m doing all of the things I can to manifest my own good health, wellness, and just a great life, in general, everyday. On special days like today, I try to be extra intentional in my thoughts to take full advantage - every little darn thing helps. It certainly doesn’t hurt!
With that in mind, I often get asked about all the self-care habits that I follow and how I came to them.
Obviously, Scleroderma is the umbrella answer there. Living for eight years feeling like death more often than not was the catalyst that got me here. To be more specific, though, yoga is what has really lead me down the path I’m on. It’s not a cliche for me to say that yoga saved my life. Yoga is more than just pretty postures for the body. Actually, that’s one of the teeniest parts of yoga and far from the most important. Without going into a long dialogue that will bore many of you, the shortcut here is that yoga marries with Ayurveda, the “sister science” to yoga. Ayurveda and yoga have been around for thousands of years. We don’t typically do things for thousands of years if they don’t work. I’m not saying that in the “because it’s always been done that way” type of way, because I don’t blindly subscribe to that thought process. If something has been done for that length of time, it better be of benefit. Today there are plenty of scientific studies to validate the benefits of Ayurvedic practices. Additionally, for me, I’m apt to try things based in nature, that, again, at least do no harm.
So that’s how I got here. I was tired of feeling like shit in my body and taking a bunch of drugs that might help, but, most caused more problems than they were helping.
Now, what practices are part of this routine? Some are from Ayurveda, some are just little extra things that I know help the body function better.
Here’s a list of activities I do daily …
Morning
-Tongue scraping
-dry brushing (face & arms)
-8 oz. lime water with the two meds I do take
-healthy tea (Mud/Wtr)
-yoga/eye exercises/breathwork/meditation
-spiritual/self-study reading
-journaling
Afternoon
-at least 30 minutes with the sun on my face & arms
-dance party
-I rest (usually napping) with my legs elevated for lymphatic drainage
Evening
-walk or cycle while I watch tv
-CBD
-sleepy tea
-oil pulling
-meditation
This is all, of course, in addition to a now vegan diet, cancer fighting supplements, and meal replacement shakes for extra calories.
Three days a week I also practice hyperthermia in the infrared sauna for almost 40 minutes at 131°. In the sauna there are chromotherapy lights (colored lights), 5 pounds of salt rocks for halotherapy, and essential oils diffusing. While in the sauna I Gua-sha my whole body with a rose quartz tool and I finish the last two minutes with “alternate nostril” breathwork. After the sauna when I’m done sweating, I dry brush my entire body before cleaning up/showering.
Yep. It’s a lot. Some days I don’t want to do “the things”. This is a time consuming process. It requires being intentional. Routine. Structure. Things I fought hard against for a period. I wanted to be carefree and spontaneous. I thought that’s what would make my life wonderful. Turns out though that feeling good in my body is what makes my life wonderful. Having a body that functions to allow me to do the things I love is the wonderful thing.
This is how I get that. This is how I persevere and rock on.
💋🤘🏻
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