Your Body, Your Choice.

For years now I have been listening to the “they’s” (as my grandmother would like to call them). You know the ones I am talking about, the ones that tell you everything you should be doing with your health, your body, your life etc. Last month I made a decision to have a tonsillectomy after countless years of horrible throat infections. I will not get into the details, because I want you to keep reading my blog.  It really got me thinking about the history of my illnesses, all of the measures I have taken holistically ,medically ,the excruciating pain, hours of time spent doing what everyone else was telling me I should do. I will say that I know that all of them only had my best interest at heart, but why wasn’t I listening to myself? Why didn’t I trust myself enough to know what my body needs? 

Fear. Fear of the unknown, fear I would do something wrong. fear I would miss out on supporting myself financially, fear of letting someone down, fear that I couldn’t do this on my own & without help. Silly right? We live in a day where we rely on what others think, what the Internet tells us we should do instead of truly listening to ourselves. Listening to our bodies, our hearts, and our minds. 

I live in a culture where Western medicine far outweighs holistic approaches like in the Eastern part of the world. As a yogi and a yoga teacher we tend to take a more natural approach to our health and healing. I would see an acupuncturist or massage therapist before I saw a medical doctor. I would consult my health coach or Reiki master before making an appointment with my general practitioner.  Every approach I have taken are very great options for healing.  But, I do believe there is a reason for Western medicine.  It is why I made the decision I did. 

Recently after everything I have done to avoid recurring cases of strep throat,  it came back, twice in a month. I could spend more time holistically trying to figure it out, but I believe I have done everything I could.  So I am trusting in the West. I am trusting in my head and neck surgeon to remove my tonsils because deep down I believe it is something I should have done a long time ago. My health is more important to me now than it ever has been.  There is only one shot at this, and I want to give it my best shot.  So if you are teetering on an edge of making a decision about your health, know that it is your body, your mind, and your heart. Trust yourself. Advocate for yourself. You are your biggest supporter. Trust that no matter what, you are making the best decision for yourself, and leave the “they’s” out of it. 

---