Most of us have made the connection between our mental well being and our physical well being. I must admit it took me some time to see this. About five years ago this shift in thinking was clearly necessary. I was 32 years old and noticed a lump in breast. I was not one to frequent doctors, so the entire situation sacred me. I had a two year old and a five year old, so they of course were my priority. I was in a realtionship that revolved around the person I was with, his needs were always foremost. I never insisted that my needs should be met. I just gave in to what I thought would make the relationship work. I exented love freely and it was not always returned, I did not express my needs for fear I'd seemed too needy. I wanted to maintain the image of being independent and self reliant.
Realizing that the situtation that I was in was indeed serious, I went to the doctor who scheduled a biopsy and then followed with a lumpectomy. I can never forget the day of and the week leading up to the surgery. I kept my usual routine never letting anyone sense my fear. The morning of my surgery, I was more worried about who would watch over the children that day than what was about to happen. After the surgery and finding out that the diagnosis was a good one, of course I continued my schedule not stopping to further delve into any reasons this might have happened. Until of course, I went to class. See my herbal teacher was fill with compassion, but she was also a straight talker. When I told her why I had missed last weeks class she look at me and asked "Who are you nurturing and not nurturing yourself?" I knew right away what she was implying. I just simply smiled and made my way to my car. The entire ride home it all came out. From a child I have always been the nurturer in the family, caring about everyone else's feeling before my own. I was a quiet child and followed the notion that children should be seen and not heard extremely well. Now as an adult I continued this practice. I started to ask myself, could there be a connection in who I was and what was happening to me? Of course!!!
As I continued my herbal studies I became convinced that when working with someone to heal themselves you must heal any fractures in the spirit first. Today, this is the very theory on which my entire herbal practice is based; looking at the person as a whole, mind, body and spirit. This discovery made me hungry for any material I could get my hands on that linked your emotional state with your physical one. Now I am a firm believer that what goes on inside your mind is directly related to what goes on inside your body.
So for Breast Cancer Awareness month, I encourage you to continue with your breast self examinations and regularly schedule a mammogram. But most of all, I encourage all of us to nourish and nurture ourselves with love and joy. Stop putting everyone else's feelings ahead of our own. Stop over mothering, stop being overprotective of our children and stop having overbearing attitudes! The freedom that comes from this release toxins from our bodies not only making our breast healthier but our entire body and mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment