Well, well, well...
I decided to dedicate all of January to learning about, and strengthening the mindset, I'll explain the complete lineup of the entire year in a minute. Anyway, I was chugging along, with all of my ideas written in my notebook, basic design elements cued up on Canva, and looking forward to sharing all sorts of nuggets of inspiration and exercises for the ol' brain, when, whammo, I found myself in terrible pain and unable to do much of anything.
So, long story short, my spine has seen some trauma throughout my life. Pair that with lots of work as a massage therapist and content creator, and an arts 'n crafts enthusiast, my body decided that now was the time to quit putting up with all of my demands in a structure that just isn't designed to withstand that kind of workload.
Before this "event", I was feeling all sorts of confident. In fact, I think I was feeling the most capable and motivated ever in my life.
This was exciting!
So, when my body started whispering its needs, I didn't listen. Yeah, yeah, I'll get to you in a minute....but I never did. I just kept working.
I'm no stranger to pain, and I've rehabbed myself through several significant injuries, so I guess I was cocky and prioritized my creative and education endeavors over my physical needs.
sigh
Well, here's what happened...I ended up not being able to work for about a week (I say "about" because I'm not entirely sure when I'll be back in the saddle. In fact, writing this newsletter is probably not the best decision, but I'm set up as ergonomically juicy as I can be and plan on doing my excises after this.). Anyway, while I was flat on my back, barely able to take a full breath (rib subluxation can be a bitch), a lot of thoughts and feelings bubbled to the surface.
First up, frustration with myself. I KNOW BETTER. Listening to the body is something I teach, but here I am, in a heap of pain. If left unchecked, this could turn into shame, depression, and more pain.
But, because I've been practicing creating a growth mindset, I took a different approach. I turned this moment in time into a learning opportunity.
I decided to dive SUPER deep into self awareness and body consciousness (things we'll be discussing in February, then March). I decided that self punishment wasn't what I needed, but self love and nurturing. Patience, and persistence were my golden ticket to wellness. So, here I am, learning how to release old trauma and tension in my body, rerouting neurological pathways, healing and regaining strength.
I'm excited about what my future, updated body will be able to do. But first, here we are.
I'd love to say that I'll be banging out content again soon, but the truth is, my body is driving the bus, and there's no clear ETA for this sort of thing.
But I would love to say this...
I deeply appreciate your support, and look forward to serving you as soon as I can - even if it's not at the capacity and volume as my very eager heart and brain would like.
Alright, if all goes well, here's the line up for the rest of the year... Next month is all about self awareness, March is body consciousness, and April kicks off a six month series of self discovery where we'll learn how to understand and care for the mental, emotional, physical, practical, social, and spiritual selves. That takes us up to October, when we'll dive into self acceptance, then self respect in November, and finally, we'll end the year with whole lot of self love. It's going to be a great year for really digging into the meat 'n potatoes of this self care stuff, so you can learn all that you need to be creative with your mind-body wellness!
Woof, okay. That's enough content for one day. Time to go take care of this ol' meat machine. Please take good care of yourself, especially that beautiful brain of yours. It's what's gonna get you through the tough times. Xx
I love you.
I appreciate you.
Thank you SO much for being here.
I’ll see you soon,
Crystal
BTW, this guy on YOUTUBE is totally helping with all-the-things!
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