My Journey to Optimal Health: Part 2

Ah yes, my continued journey to optimal health. It's been a bit of a struggle with the decluttering as I love my stuff. So much stuff. Stuff that is so everywhere that it is suffocating. I especially love my books. Not that I've read even half of them, but I love them. They smell good, they look good, they feel good in my hands. Once I put my mind to clearing them out, I had to be honest with myself and take a hard look at what I had in my collection. There were books I had no interest in even reading, but I felt like I should. To be considered well read, one is expected to read the classics, or those (usually sappy) books on Oprah's Book Club list. In the end, I pared down 160 books and one book case. I did the same with my collection of movies and got rid of another bookcase worth of those from my home. Movies that no one watched, but could be great entertainment for someone else. And clothes too, an entire dresser of clothes gone. Clothes that I have been saving as my "inspiration clothes" to lose weight (hahaha). That's fine with a couple of pieces of clothing. but not an entire dresser full! I sold some things, and what I did not sell I donated. I'm so happy and I feel so much lighter without those possessions possessing me.

Next I decided to go for massage therapy. Since my back has been feeling so awesomely amazing from my chiropractic adjustments, I wanted to get those muscles relaxed as well (plus I have a small amount of coverage from my employer). I asked around for recommendations and decided to go see Mara Wingrove RMT. I had only gone to one massage appointment ever before so I really didn't know what to do or what was expected, but Mara was very kind and patient and walked me through everything that was going to happen before we started. My first appointment ended up being a 30 minute bit of Heaven. I was even a bit light headed afterward, which is apparently happens sometimes. I've gone back twice since then, and never asked for anything less than an hour long appointment. When I leave, I feel like I'm standing up straighter and I feel lighter. There's that word again.....lighter. I love that my tension is completely gone by the time I leave Mara's.

Mara :)

Sooooo I'd heard that volunteering does a heart good. However, the type of volunteering I like doing is the type that makes you feel good without too much work behind it. I know, I know that sounds totally self absorbed and lazy, but I actually don't care. My friend Christa had recently started volunteering at the local cat shelter, and I thought it might be something I'd like as well. I told them I would be open to fostering cats until they are ready for adoption. I mean, there are about 80 cats in that house so I figured they would benefit from the quieter atmosphere of my home. I ended up taking home a mommy cat and her two kittens. The kittens were a week and a half old and their eyes were barely open. All I could think was, I don't know what to do with these little creatures!! Yes, I'm a nurse of small people and I don't feel competent to take care of some healthy wee kitties. I have had to consult some friends with their development at times, but overall it's been a really great experience. We have had them for five weeks now and they are like part of the family :)

Sophia 

Cordelia

They sleep on me and keep my up lots of nights

My last step on this part of my journey has been to do things as naturally as possible. I got rid of all of my room freshening sprays, aerosols, floor waxes and chemical cleaners. I took them all down to the depot at the dump and started fresh. I have made room sprays with essential oils, and cleansers from mostly vinegar and baking soda. I'm not going to lie, I still have my comet cleanser (mostly out of habit), but almost everything else is au natural, including my hair spray. I feel so amazing knowing I am putting less chemicals on my body, and when I run out of laundry soap I am going to try making my own. Wish me luck!!

My Journey to Optimal Health, Part...Unknown. It Will Take As Long As It Takes.

The age of 41 1/2 I've looked at myself and my life and decided I want to make a change. My goal? I want to have optimal health. Now that's pretty broad goal, so first I had to figure out exactly what optimal health is. For me it isn't necessarily running a marathon, or climbing a mountain. It's being able to function to the best of my body's ability, with good healthy habits in place. The short of it is, I want to feel good. Now, I'm the first person to have felt the defeat of my own best intentions when it comes to attempting to instill healthy habits. How many years have I carefully written out New Year's Resolutions to inspire me on my annual journey? I'd say a conservative 35 years. Of course I'd never just write one or two things to work on throughout the year that would better me along the way. Nope, try 10-25 things. I guess I thought I was a bit of a mess and needed to work out my unending pit of flaws, especially when I was younger. This past January was the first time I hadn't written any resolutions since I was 12 years old. I'm not sure if it has been liberating, or if it's made me disappointed in myself. Is it better to work toward too much and be disappointed, or work toward nothing and remain unmotivated and unchanged? Either way I feel a bit like a failure, so I am tackling different areas of my life on a staggered schedule, rather than attempting to do everything I'd like to accomplish at once.

Week 1: The first step in my journey was to deal with my back, as at times I can't even roll over in bed due to the pain. I'll try to stand up, and my back says, "Nope, lay back down!" and goes into complete spasm. This is especially inconvenient when I have to pee. My back pain has been an issue since I was in my early 20s, but has definitely gotten worse over the past 2-3 years. This obviously also affected my ability to do a lot of physical activity, as I never knew what would throw my back off kilter and land me in bed for days. This last bout of throwing my back out was precipitated by my coughing. The one before that, from picking a sock up off of the floor. Seriously? No one should have to put up with that. My long time chiropractor  retired a couple of years ago and I really needed a new one. I asked a few people who they would vouch for, and finally decided to go with Dr. Whitney Wihlidal after a strong recommendation from my awesome marathon runner friend, Christa Davidson.

At my first visit I was a bit skeptical, as I tend to be when money is involved. "How do I know if I really need the adjustments recommended?? How do I know this doctor isn't just saving up for a trip to Hawaii??" were the thoughts running through my head. Well, first of all, he has a handy machine. It's a like a metal door frame with bungee cords running horizontally and vertically through the centre of it. At the bottom there are two scales, one for each foot. You stand normally on said contraption, and Dr. Wihlidal takes photos to show you how much or little your posture varies from the straight lines of the cords. The scales show how much your natural posture leans to one side or the other. For example, I lean 29 pounds more onto my left leg than I do to my right. Not only that, but I was sent for x-rays of my neck and spine because of past accidents and traumas affecting my neck and spine. Dr. Wihlidal didn't want to do an adjustment on me until he knew what was going on in there (can't say I blame him). Turns out that pretty much every place your spine is supposed to have that nice soft curve, mine has a straightaway (I even got copies of my crazy back pictures!). Thus, the chronic pain. Yes, I absolutely needed the proposed adjustments! My back may not get back to the exact way it's supposed to be, but in the end it will be so much better than it is now.

My daughter, Trista, with the awesome
 Sheila at the front desk

Dr. Wihlidal with his cool machine that
lets you know how crooked you are ;)

In addition to the chiropractic care I am receiving, I am to do some special stretches targeting my neck and hip flexors, which are my problem areas. I made this into a bedtime routine, and added taking my vitamins and meds for my Crohn's disease (that I never remember to take) to that bedtime routine.

Week 2: I thought my girl and I should take advantage of the gift certificates we got for Christmas from my mom and have a girls day. I booked the appointments with Ron Hill at Shadows Salon for March Break so we weren't on a rushed schedule, cause I despise being rushed. If anyone out there has ever cut their own hair and then expected a professional to fix it afterward, you'll know the look on my stylist's face when I told him what I'd been doing to my hair for the past year. Kinda like telling your doctor you eat completely healthy and exercise every day, but you're 200 pounds overweight. Luckily, Ron is tactful enough to just smile and start cutting. When Trista was done (yes I cut her hair too), she said she felt like a new woman. I showed Ron two pictures of two very different hairstyles, one of which had the front part of the hairstyle up in a braid so you really couldn't see what the actual hairstyle was. I then said something to the effect of "do what you think is best". I mean really, if I can't screw up my curly haired mop I know he never would. And from my incredible power of description, I got a most excellent haircut. Now I just have to fix up that white streak at the front of my head....sssshhhhh.....

Ron and Trista (feeling like a new woman!)

My excellent new hair

Stay tuned for next week's update on my journey to optimal health!