“Each individual woman’s body demands to be accepted on its own terms.”
— Gloria Steinem
Lately my body has been telling me that it’s hurt. For the last month I’ve been battling a pinched nerve—sciatica if you want to get technical—and because of it I’ve found myself listening much more to my body than ever before.
That’s a wonderful thing.
Despite the pain, I’ve been feeling healthier lately. I listened to the pain and began trying to fix it. First on my own with daily exercise. Then I began going to classes—pilates and yoga—because my own efforts weren’t rigorous enough. It’s hard. I’m not an exerciser. I dislike the idea of pain and discomfort, but I’ve been going regularly and guess what? It’s helped.
I’m coming to terms with the fact that my body is not invincible. It breaks down easily. It takes me longer to recover from things.
Right now, my body is hating me. I ate a pizza for dinner from Panago. I love pizza, but it’s been a long time since I indulged and ate a whole one myself (it was a small, but…well, I’m not proud.) Not only am I not proud, I’m hurting. My stomach is bloated and I’m uncomfortable. I feel like I’m made of cheese. Why did I eat the whole damn thing? Three slices in I knew I was in way over my head, but I still went for it anyway. What the hell is wrong with me?
I guess I shouldn’t beat myself up too much about it. We all falter along the line. But it reminds me that I have to keep listening to my body. If I don’t, I’ll hurt myself more.
That said, between stuffing myself with cheesy bits of pizza and ground beef (yeah, there was ground beef on it too) I was reading a new blog I discovered: The Love Vitamin. This morning I was searching for some advice on acne because I’ve sprouted a few really nasty zits over the last few weeks. In between my period and the stressball of having to potentially find a new place, I broke out and it’s been a doozy. I’ve developed a brand new form of acne which I’ve never had before: rosacea. It’s essentially a rash on my skin. Not cool. And it burns!
I wash my face, but I’ve never really noticed an improvement from the regular cleansers I use, so I’m willing to give alternative methods a try. The Love Vitamin swears by Manuka honey herself, but she also recommended ghassoul/rhassoul clay. Moroccan women have been using this stuff for centuries to keep their skin and hair soft and beautiful. And at only $6 for 500 ml, it seems like something worth experimenting with. At the very least, it’s not costing me a fortune.
On top of that, I also purchased a small sample bottle of oil of oregano, the virtues of which Blog Princess G has been touting ever since I’ve known her. I’m finally taking the plunge and giving it a shot, missus!
Onward and upward, Christian soldiers. I like the idea of feeling and getting better, one step at a time. Even if it involves the occasional misstep into cheesy pizza territory (which reminds me to keep going forward.)
The Punnery 