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he thought of a fairy godmother is often one of sparkles and magic. Of dreams and wishes that miraculously come true after one is granted a graceful visit from an old lady dressed in a ball gown waving a magic wand. Now, we all know that such individuals do not exist per say, but I’ve no doubt that there are people in our lives that could be compared as such, minus the tulle and sparkles. I met my fairy godmother on Saturday. She is slim, in her thirties and has golden hair in ringlets. She is pretty and smart and she is my naturopath. Now don’t let me lose you there, yes one wouldn’t expect to pay a fairy godmother for assistance but assistance that changes your life warrants the title, well at least that’s what I believe. As mentioned in my NY resolution number four a special endeavour of mine is to reach my goal weight, but of late I should say that my weight is not my main concern. My overall health and wellbeing is something that I am now paying special attention to. Its easy to let oneself go, and by that I do not mean become obese, more along the lines of forget to take care of ourselves, forget to do the little things like read a book, get a massage or just sit alone and be. I am an expert in putting myself last and I always manage to come up with the best excuses for it. ‘I don’t have the money’, ‘I don’t have the time’, ‘next week’, ‘tomorrow’… all sentences I throw up with ease when prompted to do something for myself. I even went 9 months without a single haircut just because I didn’t ‘have the money’, a definite falsification.
We become so caught up in achieving the ‘perfect body’ (by perfect I mean the ones portrayed in magazines) that we sacrifice our health to get it. Diet pills, meal replacement shakes, skipping meals, bulimia, cellulite treatments, laser therapy and laxatives, we will employ any and all methods necessary to get where we want to be. I am guilty of it, I’m a classic gen-Y chasing a quick fix, but what are these extreme measures doing to our bodies? ‘Your body is a temple’, I can definitely say that I have not been treating my body as a temple; in fact I don’t think I ever have. So where does this leave us? The business of putting ourselves last and chasing a quick fix can be more harmful to our bodies then we think.
Many religions and spiritual belief systems believe in the body’s trinity- that is mind, body and soul. I can say that I generally only focus on my body and forget to nourish my mind and soul, and I’ve never really contemplated the effect this could have on my mind and soul until my fairy godmother told it to me straight. The consultation started with a two-page questionnaire listing many common ailments. I was to select the most relevant number to each question, one being I experience the symptom rarely and five I experience it frequently. I quickly completed the questions relating to headaches, my sleep patterns and digestion and returned the forms to her, leaving my dignity at the door. She slowly talked me through my answers and probed further into my health and as I sat teary eyed in her crisp office, snuggled into the suede tub chair she rang out her diagnosis.
‘You’re nervous system has crashed, your circulatory system is struggling, your digestive system is fed up, your immune system is asleep and your chakras are essentially non existent- basically you are a mess’
I had suspected as much, but it means a lot more coming from a professional further to this what the hell is a chakra?
She explained the connections between the systems in the body and the responses we have to external influences like stress. Our body is not built to differentiate an attack by a sabre tooth tiger compared to the stress of a huge project at work. How odd, to think that the physical strain I am putting on myself by being stressed (and not managing it) is the same strain I would endure if escaping an animal attack?
An hour later I left her office feeling stripped and raw, but slightly relieved. Relieved that there could actually be some reasoning behind the way I’ve been feeling physically and emotionally. My bank account took a beating and I was sent home with a bottle of specially blended herbal tonic to sooth and console my nervous system, extreme garlic capsules to awaken my immune system, vitamin B blends to cure a list of symptoms, a new eating plan full of nourishing foods I’ve previously deprived myself of and a follow up appointment in two weeks to track my progress.
So I’ve been taking my vitamins and disgusting herbal tonic since Saturday and can definitely mark an improvement in my mood and energy levels, lets just hope I can stick to it! Ill let you all know how I go, wish me luck! Yuck!
Tell me your thoughts! Are you embarking on a new diet or exercise plan? I want to hear about it, either comment below or email me at bennywithlove@gmail.com
XX <3 Benny
