Are you feeling like I have been lately? Overloaded on the news, don't know what way to turn or how to feel. I know many people have lost their jobs, their livelihood, and quite possibly their sanity.
I personally still have both my jobs...my part time hospital job; however, our census has been so slow, that I am now pending loosing hours there. However, that is a good thing right now, right? It's amazing for our community; but a bit worrisome on bank account. However, I still have my private practice, which is currently booming and am so thankful to have technology previously worked out for going online (at least mostly). But I, like so many, also have kids at home...all the time. They are teenagers and rather self sufficient (and naturally self-isolating); however, they still need a piece of me. I want to be doing so many of the other things other families are doing to bond at this time but ... wait stop, comparisonitis... talk about toxicity. I know better! I am grateful for any and every moment with my family and I am grateful for times when I can plug away at my creativeness, like this. Whoosh survived that little toxic blurb. Have you been caught in it from time to time too?
A little more about our current situation... My husband just got promoted, so has actually been working more, even when he's home he may bee heading off calls, texts, etc. Welcome to management...manage during a pandemic. So let's just say....he's looking for some support when he gets home from 13 hour days. All this to say... this is my life, this is where I have been. How have you been? What does your current look like? But more importantly...what does it feel like?
Have you reached the point of numb? I know I have. Sometimes and some days it is just toooooo much! There are constant messages, alerts, thoughts, etc pinging at us. We are bombarded to the point that we just ...check out. It can be so easy to check out and numb out on what we call the black hole, but I find myself gravitating right back to all the things pinging at me. I tried to loose myself in Dateline after Dateline, because somehow those shows make our new normal seem not so bad right? And then I wanted bread!
Wait! What? Bread? Where in the heck did that come from? Have you found yourself wanting comfort foods? I sure did and it completely snuck up on me. Well maybe not completely :) Through my scrolling and scrolling on facebook, I saw one person post recipes for at home Naan bread and then another post of someone else making Naan bread. So naturally when all of sudden, my body said... I want bread, I thought to myself and was like eureeka...I will make Naan bread.
I must preface this with... I have now been gluten free for about 4 years and have worked to have a healthy relationship with these changes, so by no means do I generally feel deprived, nor do I feel guilty when having a little taste of comfort food. So here I went.... I was making Naan Bread. I was out of my usual gluten free flour that I love and was only able to find 1 small bag of gluten free flour and I wanted to preserve that for something else I had planned in the week. So I decided to reach into the freezer for some bean flour that I have had for a bit and thought this will be great.
Well... I have never made this bread before, so I followed the recipe. I remember hearing Naan Bread is supposed to be sour, so when it smelled funny after mixing it, I sloughed off the odor as normal. I baked it, hoping it wouldn't taste like it smells. But then it did.
I went back and smelled each individual ingredient, checked dates, etc and all was well. So....I continued to tune MY BODY, MY TASTEBUDS out, slapped some jelly on that bread and ate 2 of them!!!! In retrospect, I can see now that I was so disconnected to myself and "just wanted that bread" that I was shoving that little voice down that was speaking to me. And by that evening, I was SICK! Like major sick! I will not go into the details, but I can tell you that I have NEVER had a relationship with the toilet quite like that ever before. (ick ok, moving on).
So after 2 days of healing myself up and thinking...because all I really had was time to just think and to just be. My family instantly quarantined me and I was alone. In just one day, I missed them, I missed my little bit of normalcy, and I was so aware of the "fear" of my illness spreading that it saddened my heart. We always take precautions when someone is ill in our house, but never like this. I was a prisoner. Now that I am released and feeling quite a bit better, I had to do something I have never done before and it was quite remarkable. So remarkable I wanted to tell you about it.
I got up early (before my kids). Asked my body what it wanted for breakfast, kept my phone away, read a book, and quietly enjoyed my breakfast. This is pretty normal for me...but here is what is not normal... I then went and took a detox bath in the MORNING! I personally have never taken a bath in the morning and it was remarkable!
Here is what I put into my bath to help my body (and mind) detox...
Gather 2 bowls (preferably glass if available).
In bowl one add:
1/2 cup sea salt
1/4 cup baking soda
In the second bowl add:
1/4 cup of liquid magnesium (may substitute Epsom salts or magnesium flakes, in which case, put into bowl 1).
1/2 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
4 drops of Rosemary CPTG essential oil
4 drop of Grapefruit CPTG essential oil
1 drop of Ginger CPTG essential oil
1 drop of Frankincense CPTG essential oil
Fill your bathtub with warm-hot water (which ever temperature you prefer). Once the water is running, pour in each of the bowls, mixing with your hands to dissolve and mix the ingredients. Be sure to take nice beautiful long breaths and soak no longer than 20 minutes.
------- I also recommend the following tips:
Set up your diffuser with your favorite oils to smell. Personally, I used 1-2 drops of Frankincense, Ylang Ylang, Tangerine, Cedarwood, and Clary Sage (all oils are CPTG).
Dry brush your body prior to getting in with positive affirmations related to releasing physical and/or emotional toxins held within you.
Do not look at your phone, other than to start/stop guided meditation. I found a beautiful guided meditation, specifically related to letting go/releasing while taking a bath.
I also highly recommend deep breathing & stretching either during and/or after your bath. Even a quick 5 minute self guided stretching/yoga can do wonders to start off your day with a fresh mind.
And if you're inclined...take your journal with into the bathroom and take 5 minutes to journal before coming out.
This was so yummy and invigorating. I hope that you will be able to set aside a little time (any time of day) for this little gift to yourself. If there is any way I can support you during these times (and always), please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Much love,
Tammy
PS Detox bath not recommended more than 1 time per week. You can bathe more than that, just not with the detox goodies :)
