A Fine Balance…

I love “mind over matter” when it comes to overcoming my fears, pursuing my dreams, and manifesting things out of thin air. However, when it comes to ignoring my body, pushing past my physical limits by working too hard, sacrificing balance and intimacy to check one more thing off my To-Do list, or any other way we compromise pleasure, health, well-being, and joy – “mind over matter” becomes a slippery slope.

We have bodies to think about – intricate complex machinery that need frequent tender, love, and care. I get that sometimes taking care of ourselves can feel like a full time job but that’s likely because you’ve put yourself to the side and ignored your needs for far too long.

The Big Whack

When I took the phrase “mind over matter” literally, I pushed to the point where God had to whack me with a hammer over the head and put me on my ass for a little while until I heal my body because I ignored all the signs and subtle whispers of my body. I graduated from naturopathic medical school and went straight into private practice while also traveling the world with my then British diplomat boyfriend and on the way back from Mexico one trip, I came home with EBV at age 29… not good when it’s your first time at an older age. That with severe adrenal burnout and soon to come a devastating break up – I hit rock bottom. My existential crisis meets Saturn return were at their peak.

It’s not like my body didn’t warn me or ask for time off to heal, to slow down, to nurture myself, to give myself a moment to exhale and celebrate one of the biggest accomplishments of my life – becoming a doctor. Instead, I took “mind over matter” to the extreme and it didn’t serve me. Ignorance was bliss until it wasn’t…

As I gathered the shattered pieces of myself back together again, I found myself and my calling. I know it sounds a little cliche. Simultaneously, I wore the humble scars of being shattered and the realizations that came through – treating my body and my spirit with more respect. Being in communion with my body vs. thinking my body is a chore. Being my own best friend vs. looking outside of myself for fulfillment.

Embracing Slowing Down & Self Care

So, I slowed down and used all the naturopathic medical tools I learned in school and applied them to myself. I detoxed, focused on my liver, cleaned up my diet and really learned the importance of nutrition. I allowed my body to guide me about what is right for my body and experimented with the vegetarian, vegan, and raw food diets until I met a raw meat Colostrum friend who brought me back to meat.

Listening to the subtle whispers of my body, I promised myself that I will follow my body’s deepest wisdom, and when my body wants meat again, I will honor it. I live in a body and it’s my job to optimize my mechanics – that and being an O blood type and fast carbohydrate metabolizer, no amount of pea protein would ever satisfy me.

EBV was causing such a bad histamine reaction in my body, I was breaking out in hives and I had perioral dermatitis around my mouth for a year because of food sensitivities. I green juiced until I was green in the face, joking, I wasn’t literally green but I was obsessed with it. I took adrenal glandulars and all the adrenal tonics I could find and used IV Therapy to modulate my immune system.

When I met my now husband a year later we moved to London together and we started to collect natural spring water from springs and we hit up all the local farmer’s markets, ate organic and seasonally. I walked so much and I slept 12 hours a day and started to work out. My husband would always say it takes 7 years to build your body so my goal was to work out for 7 years straight.

Lessons

From being the sickest I’ve ever been, lost, and heart-broken, I went to being in love with my twin flame, living in London, and being the healthiest Super Human version of myself. The moral of the story – listen to your body, befriend your body, treat your body with love and respect, and be your own best friend. “More is more” is not always better and neither is pushing to get what you want all the time. There are serious consequences to burn out. If you are going through the lowest point of your life right now – hang in there. Better days are coming. Day by day in every way just continue to walk the path of true health and well- being and come back to the basics.