On Sunday, January 26th, I had my first treatment of the year.
I was suppose to have a treatment in December last year but I had caught a very bad cold (coughing mostly) that I asked to cancel it. I thought I wouldn't be able to breathe properly from the coughing and screaming from the pain...
So, I hadn't had a treatment for over 6 weeks so my body was really stiff and bloated...
My therapist took one look at me and told me to drink a bit of water, change and get on the plinths (physiotherapy bed).
But since it's been over 6 weeks, she took it easy on me and worked on improving the circulation in my legs and then worked on getting my pelvis back in place. I say "took it easy on me" but actually, it was a lot of pain...
Then she worked on my back and just laughed when she tried to loosen the muscles. She said that usually, the back muscles should move freely and the shoulder area and lower back area can move in opposite directions. However, in my case, they moved both in the same direction only. Basically, I was like a rolling pin rolling back and forth. That's how stiff my back was.... So she started to thoroughly work on my back. Oh my, did that every hurt!! But because I have such limited mobility in my back muscles, my blood circulation is so poor and I feel so cold back there. That's why I end up sleeping on my hot water bottle at night because it's so cold and painful. But when I do sleep on it, I end up sleeping in one position so I have a very stiff body the next morning... How stupid can it get?!
Next she worked on my chest and abdomen area. It was so tight from all the coughing I was doing. Was it ever painful when she worked on loosening them. But only at the beginning. Luckily, this area is already quite flexible already from past treatments. But the abdomen area was quite painful... I felt like I had done a countless amount to crunches
Finally, she worked on my skull, face, throat, and neck. Since I was coughing so much, I had basically bunched up my entire back and neck and stomach into a ball. So this time around she worked on straightening my body out.
After the treatment, I told her how this year I want to start some kind of exercise and we talked about what I could do. She still felt it was a bit early for me to try anything strenuous but if I want to, I should go and try out different places that offer trial lessons.
But the key point was "only if I'm up to it". I shouldn't go because I "said I would" in my new year's resolutions.
She said this because we talked about
stress and
how I tend to put pressure on myself unconsciously.
I also told her about how I want to be able to eat a few slimy foods this year and that I've been eating a lot of bananas already. But she asked me about my appetite in general. This is because
she pointed out that my body tends to "stock up" on water and food and "not flush it out normally". She said this could be due to a mental problem. What she meant was "a fear" of not having enough at an important timing. She asked me
when was the last time I "felt hungry and heard my stomach growl".
I honestly don't remember... That scared me!! So we talked about
"when" I eat and "why". I realized that
I eat because I have to go to work and that I have to stay focused with the clients I deal with. I feel that if I don't I'll end up causing problems for them and not be able to perform as well as I can. After hearing this, she pointed out that this
"fear" was
created out of my sense of responsibility and that it was a bit irrational. I was creating an unnatural cycle and creating excess stress for myself.
So she said that;
I need to tell myself and my body that I will not be short on food or drinks and that I can get them whenever I want.
I need to tell myself that I will not cause anyone any problems if I feel hungry.
I need to keep reassuring myself that I have enough.
I should eat what I want to and do not need to eat things that I don't like (anymore since I'm not a growing child!!).
Let's see how I do...
