The past few days have been really hard and intense for me and I find I start to tighten up inside and clench up all my muscles which of course leads to flared MS and lupus symptoms and probably some signs of IBS…If I’m not careful I become a hard ball of dried up goo. You know the goo I’m talking about. Not the good goo. Wait. Is there even good goo? What is good goo? Why am I stuck on what goo is?
ANYWAY…
Thankfully my head has been clear enough to remind me to DANCE!
DANCE!
MOVE MY BODY!
SHAKE IT OUT!
I used to think that because I “felt” like I had no rhythm I couldn’t/shouldn’t dance…that because I “wasn’t” coordinated I couldn’t/shouldn’t dance…that moving my body in any way “wasn’t” dancing because I “thought” I wasn’t a good enough dancer…
LIES!
WHATEVER!
DON’T PUT A LABEL ON IT!
JUST MOVE THAT BODY FOR GOODNESS SAKES!
LET OUT THE TOXINS!
Can’t move very well? Well I bet there’s a part of you that can move a little. Perhaps it’s your pinky finger. Well then MOVE IT!
Why don’t you try it now? Really. Take a moment. It’s always good to pause and take a moment. Come on. It’s only a moment. One little moment. Now MOVE something.
How’d it feel?
You don’t know. WELL MOVE SOME MORE.
TURN ON SOME MUSIC AND BOUNCE AROUND. You’re probably at home and reading this and thinking I’m wacky. Yes I am. Try it. Loosen up that body. No BODY should be sitting around at a computer all day anyway. It’s OK. You can get up from reading this and try it. And even if you’re not at home, tap that foot wherever you are, stretch those fingers out, tap those fingers, move your head from side to side, hit your side with our hand, stretch out your toes and if you do it enough someone else near you might do the same thing and before you know it it’s become a THING!
IMAGINE THAT! A THING! YOU CAN EVEN GIVE IT YOUR OWN NAME!
A couple of years ago I was in this health self care support group thingie (so fancy with my wording aren’t I?) and one of the meditations we tried was “Shaking Meditation” and/or “Dance Meditation” and it MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD FOR ME. You see, I hold it all in before I let it all out. CRAZY I KNOW. Tell me. I’m working really hard these days on letting it out. It will eat me up and I will feel crappy. Sure my body might feel crappy from moving, but something in me will feel relieved. My head might feel lighter. The endorphins will have gotten moving for the first time in Ages and may even be yawning themselves because of the fatigue from my MS or lupus or you name it but I bet I’ll feel mentally brighter after they wake up again! There will be some relief somewhere. I might even be breathing consciously again and realizing I’ve been holding my breath or something ridiculous like that.
OXYGEN ROCKS.
BREATHING ROCKS.
So today what did I do to help my body and mind? Not only did I take my walk and do my Physical Therapy but I also danced, played my new bongos and played my tambourine!
I KNOW!
I WENT ALL OUT TODAY and you know what?
IT HELPED ME SO MUCH!
My mood is better, my body feels looser and I don’t feel so clenched and tight inside.
AMAZING.
Sooooo, now I have more self care items to add to my list. More dancing, more bongo playing and more tambourine playing. Turns out that with looser wrists (thank you recovery) it’s easier to play the tambourine and it sounded a lot better.
Oh and the best part is:
IT’S FUN!
I KNOW. HEALTHY AND FUN.
CRAZY!
So go on out there and DANCE! MOVE THAT BODY! SHAKE OUT THE WEEK! SHAKE ALL WEEKEND! PLAY SOME MUSIC! BANG SOME DRUMS!
And if you get a chance, let me know how you feel and leave a comment. I’d love to hear your feedback.
LOVE TO ALL! THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME ON THIS CRAZY RIDE CALLED LIFE!
Now
Nahleen.com: On the Inside Looking Out 