There is a glorious breeze coming through my window today. The kind that makes you smile and say “Fall is here.” The season of transition makes me ask, “How will I honor that?”
This has been an interesting week. Just as I wanted to ramp up my activity at the gym, in my business and home; my body sent out a resounding NO to that idea. On Monday as I lifted a basket of laundry my back let out an audible “pop” and I yelped. I knew within an hour that I needed to go to the chiropractor immediately and made an appointment for that day. Within a couple hours I was in her office and she told me I had “sprained my back”. I needed to rest for 6-8 days and ice 3-5 times a day.
What followed was a litany of questions. “Can I go for a walk?” Not if it hurts. Can I lift weights with my arms? No lifting of any kind. Can I do yoga or stretching? “Would you bend and stretch your wrist if it was sprained?” Duh. No. The answer to pretty much all my questions was No. Rest. Don’t lift anything. Don’t stretch. Rest and Ice. On top of that I had a cold. There was a serious message here. Rest. So for the next 4 days I rested my back and let my body work on kicking a cold. Weirdest multi-tasking ever. My whole family was sick so it was a very chill week.
In Every Challenge, There is a Lesson
I am a firm believer in the previous statement. I know this in my bones because I have been through a lot in my life and as someone who has done the work and healed many of my wounds, I have learned so much. I am stronger for it, spiritually, mentally and emotionally.
Ironically my body still needs work and not in a perpetual “I need to lose 20 pounds” kind of way. Why do people do that to themselves? My body needs strength to match the inner fortitude I’ve gained. I am grateful for my body. We’ve been through a lot together. It’s carried me my entire life and I want to make it a strong temple that lasts me for as long as I’m meant to be here. Our bodies are always telling us something, if we just listen. This time my body was telling me to SLOW DOWN.
When I started back at the gym about a month ago I realized that most of my muscle tone is gone and my core is especially was non-existent. I don’t know why I was surprised, but I was. My life post baby (she’s 4) has been a pretty sedentary one other than housework and all the usual running around that motherhood brings. I healed a frozen shoulder in that time with chiropractic, herbs and housework. My body is a priority mentally but taking action on a desire is a much different thing.
During this time of transition my daughter started school so I decided I would take us both to the gym afterwards 3 days a week. The other days of the week I would walk plus yoga once a week. I don’t plan big at all, do I? After a lifetime of never having a consistent workout plan I was charging in, as usual. My body let me know I was doing too much but part of my brain was saying “No pain, no gain.” I never even liked that phrase! Unfortunately it’s engrained in the psyche of any gym goer. Who started that anyway?!
I liked my plan though. It still think it’s a good schedule but I need to take it easy in the beginning. Dream Big. Start Small. I remember that my low back is the keystone of my body and the core muscles are the mortar. If my core is weak, my keystone will slip. I’ve had issues with my hips since the I fell on roller skates as a kid. I had an episode like this while I was in massage school so it was fixed but pregnancy through it out of wack again. 4 years later my core is even weaker so here we are.
So What’s the Lesson?
The big lesson in all of this was letting go and slowing down. As all of this is happening my husband is now home more. Soon he’ll be retired. I know now that I need him to do more stuff around the house. I can’t do it all because I’m working. If I can’t lift a basket of laundry or vacuum he’s up! In one case I asked for help (laundry) and in the other case I delegated (vacuuming).
“As modern women we can have it all!” It does not say we have to do it all! I’m enjoying taking care of my home thanks to FlyLady but am I ok never doing dishes or laundry ever again in my life? Abso-freakin-lutely! I’m transitioning to working and he’s transitioning to being at home. We are both adjusting to a new life. Thankfully he doesn’t need much direction. I just need to let him know what I need help with!
That’s the other big Aha in all of this. The people in our lives are happy to help us with whatever we ask for. The problem is most of us never ask for help. We are not alone and we don’t have to do it alone. How many times have any of us been offered help and politely refused it!? I know I did this very week!! Granted the person offering the help had just become a father again and lives an hour away so it was greatly appreciated, but…there it is. That 3 letter word. But. I told him I was thankful to be in his thoughts and prayers. He’s a Medicine Man so I am VERY thankful to be in his prayers! And he’s in mine along with his lovely family.
How many times do we say, “Thank you, but…?” It’s like telling the Universe “I welcome all the glorious riches of the life to come in, but only on Tuesdays between 3 and 5 pm. You might get some hits now and then but it’s best to be open and grateful for help in whatever form it arrives.
The message my back was telling me is slow down. I am grateful for that. I am humbly grateful for that. I’m grateful I was present enough to see and understand the lesson and then apply it. I slowed down, asked for help, and readjusted my priorities for this new life happening now.
Fall is a great time to pause and reflect on how we want to finish the year. We still have 3 solid months to revisit the goals/dreams/desires we thought about at the beginning of the year. Decide what’s still important right here and now then work on it. If you only work on one goal every day until the end of the year you will have 101 days to get something done! Even if you can only carve out an hour from social media time per day that’s 101 hours towards 1 goal. How far can that take you??
I might not work on my core strength or my back for 101 hours but even if I put in 1/2 that time I’ll be in much better shape than if I’d done nothing. What will you work on? What change is in the air for you? What’s ripe for transformation? What’s that niggling feeling you keep ignoring? Where do you want to go deeper? How can you start, today?