I’m so lucky. I have several friends who are TCMs (Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners), and the one I’ve been working with for the last five years totally saved me today. Her name is Andrea. I love her.
This morning I called her office and left a message begging for help. Okay, maybe not begging, but my desperation must’ve come through because her assistant called me back a few minutes later and said Andrea could fit me in at 2pm. Hallelujah!
You might think I'm being overdramatic. I'm not. I could barely function.
No, that is definitely not coffee.
The symptoms and the cure.
Let’s back up a bit. First off, I’ve been MIA on Steemit for a week because I was at a retreat-style Steem meetup in the Smoky Mountains of Georgia. I had SO MUCH FUN, and there will be a post about that soon.
But between plane rides, sleep deprivation, not planning my food well enough, and whatever my mental state was contributing to the mix, my body ended up in rough shape. Mostly, I stopped eating and felt seasick half of the time (especially this morning). And no, I’m not pregnant, but it sure felt like it.
I thought I could nurse myself back to health on bone broth and smoothies, but after a day and a bit of that, I realized I needed help.
It’s hard for me to ask for help, but I’m so glad I did!
I even tried to get someone to watch the kids last minute, but they ended up playing in the treatment room with toys the whole time like little angels. They were so quiet, and so good! Love my boys.
So, yeah, I showed up and gave Andrea the low down. I had an AMAZING time on my trip, and was nourished on so many levels, but also massively depleted.
She listened in her calm, understanding way, then felt my pulse. Sure enough, my body’s chi (aka prana, or life force) was basically all up in my head/heart area. This translated to shallow breath, racing heart, overactive mind (what else is new), and not enough fire in my digestive system to deal with food.
Andrea did a bunch of points—very thin needles on specific points of the body that stimulate/balance chi—to help ground my energy. She told me to think of my toes, which was good, because my mind kept trying to wander.
Toes. Feet. Roots. I kept bringing myself back.
She also mixed me up some custom herbs. Chinese herbs tend to taste a little like dirt, but they work, I tell you.
Andrea and her assistant take such good care of me. By the time the treatment was finished, I felt way better. They even made a dose of herbs for me to drink at the clinic before I left. I’m drinking my second cup while writing this.
Not only did I feel less light-headed and no longer seasick, I was able to eat an entire sandwich this afternoon. That’s progress, considering what I’ve been feeding myself lately.
Healing herbs and self-care.
To those of you wondering what herbs are included in this magic mix, I have no idea. There’s no ingredient list, Andrea just mixes up what she thinks is best, and they probably all have Chinese names anyway.
I remember 
I definitely know I need to get back into a functional sleep pattern and rest this body of mine.
I’m so glad I got to go play with friends this past week, but I found out I can’t get away with what I used to before I became a mom. Self-care has got to be more of a priority.
Okay, body. I hear you.
A General Self-Care Reminder:
A lot of us push as far as we can, then hit a wall and have to recover. If that sounds familiar, may I suggest a nice big glass of water? Or how about a walk outside? Maybe a few deep breaths?
And a decent night’s sleep does wonders…
I’ll work on practicing what I preach. ;)
Take care of yourself, you are a gift!
All photos mine unless otherwise credited.
Author bio: Katrina Ariel is an old-soul rebel, musician, tree-hugging yogini, and mama bear to twins. Author of Yoga for Dragon Riders (non-fiction) and Wild Horse Heart (romance), she's another free-spirit swimming in the ocean of Steemit.
dragon art: Liiga Smilshkalne
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