Yogamama

So, last week marked an all time high in my stress levels. 

I've been building a website for my non-profit organization, cleaning up details on the business plan, recruiting volunteers who will in turn recruit more volunteers, shooting out emails to women around the country to ask for prayer over the whole picture, etc. etc.

So, anyway, I'm really excited for what I know God is doing in the hearts of women around the world.  I've never felt more alive and it's SO FRIGGIN' AWESOME to see a dream God placed in my heart over 10 years soon come to life.  This is the part that makes the stress worth it...

...but that's just the thing.  I don't have to have stress.  It's not a necessity just because I'm as busy as the next guy, trying to fit more into a day than actually possible. 

So, recently I've been doing some research on stress.  You see, I have gained 10 lbs over the last 2 months.  I currently have a fancy cold sore on my lip (damn herpes!  should NOT have kissed that one boy with the cooties way back when...).  The fact that my house is in disarray is actually bothering me (this is not usually the case...) and, the biggest, HUGEST factor:  I had the worst hip flare up in my history, but this came while I was eating cleaner than clean...at least so I thought.

As far as my hip, when I was probably Ryan's age, 1 1/2, I wore Forrest Gump leg braces while I slept.  Apparently my legs turned out when I was born...I could, like, turn my feet over to touch the ground.  I'm still "flexible" if you will, but the braces helped.  So, anyway, as long as I can remember, though, my right hip pops, probably as a result?  It was cool in Junior High to freak people out, but really, at 40, how cool is that?

It's just NOT.

So, usually it's fine.  But, once in a while, it feels like there is fire in my hip and I literally never gave it a thought that it could be related to diet or the kind of exercise I do. 

I'm NOT a runner.  Do you see lions or a creepy guy behind me?  Oh, me neither, so I really see no need for ME to run. 

If you run, sweet.  Run, you, Run!  Go!  Go!  GOOOOOOO!

But, I do work out pretty hard.  I enjoy the sweat and the extent to which I can push my body, that is why I choose workouts like P90X, Jillian Michaels, marathon walking, and lifting.  Over the years I have tried Yoga, Pilates, stretching, and even self-defense.  I like them all, but as far as sweat, only self-defense produced that as I threw a guy over my shoulder, kicked him in the balls, or gave him an elbow to the face, or something like that.

And then I turned 40 and didn't know how to handle some of my regular old daily stress.  And I had a hip flare up.  And I sounded like Great Aunt Ethel giving the low-down on her ailing geriatric bodily functions...

...and I decided I needed something that would help me on that road to loving myself I mentioned a few posts ago...

...and for me, it means I have to slow down, be mindful of what I'm doing, who I'm spending time with, what I'm spending my time on, laughing on purpose, sitting quietly as I enjoy a meal instead of wolfing it on the run or grazing (even on healthy stuff) all throughout the day (grazing or not giving your digestive tract a break isn't good on the system), listening to my body when it feels "off", sleeping more, breathing, saying "No" BEFORE my boundaries are crossed, and, as I've found out in the last week, working out in a way that is healing for my body instead of increasing the impact on my 40 year old joints.

Now, granted, I've done the P90X 90 minute Yoga routine, so the "X" may not sound like it's a "slow-down" but I tell you what!  HOLY SCHNIKEYS!  I FEEL AMAZING!  I realized a few of the food culprits that were on my Blood Type O "Avoid" list and took those out.  That made a HUGE difference!  The list actually stated those particular foods in "O's" produce inflammation and arthritic responses.  Yeah.  I had been eating cauliflower "rice" and Nightshades almost every day for a week.

So, taking those out doing Yoga has literally turned me 180 degrees in less than one week. 

Now, some Christians don't think doing Yoga is okay.  Fine.  Go RUN!  But not doing Yoga because it was birthed in Indian Hindu culture over 5000 years ago and you don't understand the names of the positions because they are originally in Sanskrit language is like not doing Aerobics, Running, or any other form of exercise because it originated in the Middle East, a predominantly Muslim or Babylonian/Pagan region of the world where God created the Garden when there was only one language on Earth, a language we don't even know still exists since the tower of Babel and all...

I'll write more about Yoga another time, but the point is, I am sore in a good way, I had no idea my body could do some of the things I've done in the last week, I am virtually stress-free though my busyness has not changed, I've sat down and enjoyed each meal since Sunday evening, done Yoga twice, walked more slowly on the treadmill, and even got my creative juices flowing as I made some jewelry for my Bebe&Boo business.

AND MY HIP IS TOTALLY AWESOME...and I've lost 3 lbs. 

So, I think I'm onto something. 

And that something is:  in order to love myself as I love my neighbor, the way Jesus instructed me, I need to "date" myself, get to know me, find out what my body likes and what things turn me off.  It's quite a journey, but I'm enjoying the ride.