Hello everyone!
I am sorry that it has been so long since my last post. It seems like life sped up for a bit and I got stuck in my head instead of my heart! So, here I am today with a raging headache and feeling inspired to write…who knew?
I am one of those people who believes that when your physical body is manifesting ailments, it simply means that you are not listening to your body and so it turns up the volume a bit so that you will take care of yourself.
Of late, I have been getting these terrible headaches that knock me for a loop and make it difficult to focus. I almost always feel dizzy when they are present and I feel quite sick to my stomach. Well, a doctor might say quite a few things about this. Perhaps it’s a sinus thing or dehydration from not drinking enough water. Of course, it could be stress or a reaction of some sort from allergies. Instead of seeing the medical doctor today, I went to my chiropractor, Dr. Nancy Cappiello (that’s my usual route when I’m out of balance).
With a throbbing headache and worry in my eyes I asked her to ‘fix me’ and tell me what I could do to better support my body. She looked at me with a smile and said, “Are you taking your D3? You know that D3 supports your immune system?” My response, “Um, well, I have the bottle on the kitchen counter, but no, I haven’t taken it in a good month or so.” My chiropractor continues, “What about exercise? How much exercise have you been doing?” At this point she just got a grunt from me because I haven’t exercised in such a long time that I am embarrassed to answer this. Finally she says, “Stress? Got any of that Vick?” Um, hello, yes, I am a wife, mother, teacher, business owner, life coach, author (who is currently in the middle of writing a 70,000 word book) head of a gazillion committees at school, organizing a HUGE Christmas extravaganza for the kids at my house on Christmas Eve morning, and the list goes on. Yeah, I’d say I’ve got some stress!
She stretched my neck out with this amazing cranial thing she does and I left feeling a little bit better. As I was driving home I felt the tears well up in my eyes and all I wanted to do was go home and snuggle in a blankie.
You see, this morning, I woke up with this terrible headache and I was in slow motion from the get go. I arrived at my classroom later than usual and just couldn’t get my butt in gear. I wasn’t fully prepared for my kids as they were walking through the door. The stress level builds. I check my email and there are a million things I need to respond to or take some type of action on. The kids are saying good morning and coming to my desk to ask questions or tell me a story, but I couldn’t even turn to look directly at them because I had to finish the email in front of me. I continue with my day and my head begins to really throb. The slightest thing that the kids do now really sets me off. A tiny little interruption, a tap on my shoulder (the ones who can reach) or following me around the classroom. My responses to them were a bit curt and totally unlike who I truly am with them and who I always want them to see. I realize this and try to slow down a bit so I don’t take it out on my innocent little bystanders. Then they are off to specials, lunch and recess, yet I feel so bad that I wasn’t my best self with them.
I was tearing up as I was driving home because I was replaying this whole morning over and over in my head and realizing that the main issue was that I was not present in the moment. I started the day behind the eight ball and just couldn’t get ahead of the game. If I only took the time to center myself before the kids walked in the door and let go of all of the thoughts and worries that were crashing through my brain.
When I arrived home from the chiropractor, I took my earrings and hot mama boots off to lay on the couch with the dog. I closed my eyes and asked for guidance. A few hours later, I woke up and reached for my iPhone so that I could look up what headaches mean in Louise Hay’s book, Heal Your Body. I looked up headaches and what did I see?
Well, that certainly explains it for me! I asked for guidance and I got it. Yes, my headache is actually here. It was throbbing immensely and making me feel sick to my stomach. However, once I was able to realize that I was causing this headache because I was not taking care of myself and most importantly, not in the present moment, I was able to shift my belief and the headache is alleviated.
There is great power in the present moment. If I was present, I wouldn’t have been carrying my thoughts, insecurities and worries deep inside of me. If I was present, I wouldn’t have caused myself to have this very unpleasant headache. Most importantly, if I was present, my students would have felt the love that they normally feel from me when they walk into the room. I hope that they will forgive my grumpiness today. I am human. I’ve learned my lesson; I will take my D3, reignite my yoga practice and drink lots of water. I set the intent to be present in the moment from this day forward. Want to join me?
Five quick steps to getting yourself into the present moment: (Take Five)
1) Sit in a comfortable position.
2) Close your eyes.
3) Breathe deeply, in through your nose and slowly release that breath out through your mouth.
4) Repeat several times just listening to your breath and feeling your breath until you feel your heart rate slow and the mind ease up.
5) Recite this mantra, “I am fully present in this moment and all is well.”
If you start to get ahead of yourself again or you find your thoughts shifting to worry and fear, take 5 once again!
Lots of Love & Tons of Light,
Vicki