I sent out my newsletter yesterday and I fleetingly mentioned how one can feel 'ashamed', a 'failure' or even a 'fake' if, when you work in the natural healthcare profession, you get sick yourself.
Well my inbox has been buzzing for the past 24 hours, with so many emails from practitioners who say they have felt this, but hate to admit it, so they never do. We KNOW it doesn't make sense but nevertheless judgement worms it's little tentacles around our minds and we feel we just don't make the grade!
RUBBISH!
If you are feeling that way right now put your left hand over your heart and tap away with your right middle finger over the base of the left hand little finger and ring finger area. Smile. Repeat this: EVEN THOUGH I'M SICK AT THE MOMENT, MY BODY IS RESILIENT, MY BODY IS WISE, MY BODY HAS AMAZING BOUNCE BACK AND SELF HEALING ABILITIES ..... I GIVE IT REST TO MUSTER IT'S ENERGIES SO WE COME OUT OF THIS STRONG, HEALTHY AND HEALED. ALL IS WELL.
or words that sit well with you.
Somewhere along the line the concept that, as teachers or practitioners in the Natural Healthcare community, we need to be perfect, never have a cold, cough or dis-ease of any kind.
RUBBISH!
Look at all the great leaders in this field e.g. Donna Eden, and you'll find they each have overcome enormous health challenges, often with a blend of modern medicine, ancient energy medicine techniques and common sense lifestyle choices.
It's that experience that means they truly understand when the body is in crisis.
It's that experience that makes them experiment and delve into the inherent wisdom within and find solutions to heal.
It's that experience that makes them good teachers or practitioners.
It's that experience that develops their insight and ability to understand the message each health challenge whispers and learn the language of the body.
Sometimes we can doubt if we are good enough at our 'techniques' - if we were then we wouldn't get sick ... right?
RUBBISH!
There is no one 'technique' that will keep you healthy ALL the time. It's basic YinYang balance, in more ways than one, we experience the highs and the lows of health. What our 'techniques' DO provide us with is a more balanced and resilient body, stronger immune system and better organ and system function which in turn means we get sick less often and when we do, we are able to recover more quickly.
One last word … The body likes simplicity; don't disregard the basics: a good general energy balance (are you doing Donna Eden's daily energy routine?), hydration, enough sleep, movement such as a good walk and then stretch, nutritious food choices and most of all …. take time out to rest, sink into doing nothing, swim in that 'Sea of Yin' - it's where your body has less demands on it, so energy is freed up to self-heal. In that Yin state you will be able to sense more accurately the message and what your body really needs.
AND DON'T FEEL GUILTY, ASHAMED OR A FAILURE ….. YOU ARE A WISE WOMAN, YOU WILL GAIN WISDOM FROM THIS, IT'S PART OF YOUR 'ENERGY EDUCATION', DON'T HIDE IT - IT HAPPENS TO US ALL.
Let me leave you with this musing from my island hedgerow ....
"Because you get sick, it doesn't make you a bad person, it's life, it happens.
What defines you is that you get back up a wiser one"