Balance, what it means to me.....

I started this blog thinking it would cover the spectrum of my intestinal life, Healing with good food, Balancing my emotions and hormones, and Living, all the fun things I am finally able to do now that I am once again healthy. I have definitely covered the food portion, out of 145 posts most of them are recipes. There is a whole other part of healing that makes just as much of a difference for me as eating well, I call it Balance.

I am a bit overwhelmed trying to explain, and it will take more than one post to do it. The first thing I want to address as part of living balanced is stress. When I am stressed, I mean really stressed it doesn't matter what I eat, I hurt. I am not talking about the "I forgot to buy some milk" kind of stress. I mean the loss of a loved one, a new baby, or moving, changes that bring in a new phase on the time line of your life. Stress doesn't always come from a negative event either. I have one friend that suffers from migraines triggered by stress. She once found out she was getting a huge tax return and got so excited she got a headache.

The last year I have been reading all I can on Yoga and Meditation, the one book that explained to me how and why I should meditate is "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabat-Zinn. If you are wanting the benefits of mediation in your life and don't exactly know how to start you need to read this book. It is based on the program of stress reduction at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and has been in print over 15 years. I have been reading and implementing this book into my life over the last 6 months.

I consider myself a beginner at meditation (which is probably why I haven't been blogging about it) and have been pleasantly surprised by it's benefits. I think more clearly and can handle busy times calmly and I have learned to detach from some situations and emotions. It sounds cold in a way but it actually is very helpful to take a step back from out of control emotions and anxiety and put them in proper prospective. When I do this I have more energy available for the areas of my life that are most important, number one right now is healing my digestive system. That is one connection between your mind and body, we can easily tire ourselves out just by being overcome with thoughts and emotions. Staying in that state depletes the body of the energy it needs to stay healthy. We can't sleep well, food doesn't digest, it all culminates in illness.

The part that really surprised me is how much more I am enjoying the joyful times. Because I am calm and open to so much more I am able to enjoy the good times with clarity and gratification. What does meditation involve? Well, there are volumes written on the subject but to distill it all down it is about learning to live with your emotions, feel them and then move on and live in the moment, enjoying the now! It does take time and commitment but will change every aspect of your life for the better. More to come on balance in the future!