Mind, Body, and Soul

Mind. Body. Soul.

We hear about those all the time, right?  Some, like the quote from B.K.S. Iyengar below, might say that these 3 concepts make up our entire lives.  And that a balance between them is needed to feel fulfilled and happy in life.

In other words, you can’t only focus on one aspect, you need to pay attention to all three…

Well, that kind of makes sense to me, although I’m not 100% sold on this theory…  I guess I’m not really sure of anything anymore…

Obviously in my cuh-razy situation, I’m dealing with A LOT, and I mean A LOT , of stress, anxiety, and of course, depression.  So yeah, even if I’m not completely sure of this whole mind, body, and soul concept, I figured it couldn’t hurt to at least try to treat each thing!  Shoot, I need all the help I can get to cope with my new life!

For my MIND, I’ve started seeing a therapist.  It was one of the first things I asked for in the weeks following Chaz’s death.  I really felt like I was going insane, and I had no idea how I was going to cope.  And I’m so glad I asked!  Seriously, it has been such a great experience!  Secretly (or not so secretly since I’m saying this on the Internet :-)), I really wish I had gone to therapy in my “before” life!

I had always assumed therapy was laying on a chaise lounge and telling the person all your thoughts and feelings.  And the therapist would just nod, and say “mmm-hmmm” and make notes on a paper.  Basically, just a big “vent” session.  But it’s not really like that.  At least, it’s not for me!

Sure, in the first few sessions, that was basically what I did (minus the laying on a chaise lounge).  I sat there and just cried my eyes out, telling my story of what was going on and how broken I was.  But as the weeks went on, my therapist began giving me input and tips on how to cope with my emotions of losing Chaz.  And then she began helping me with other parts of my life, that had nothing to do with Chaz, but were obviously affected by his death.  She EXPLAINS things to me, explains why certain things are, and why certain behaviors don’t help, and what behaviors would be better.  It’s hard for me to even describe what goes on in our 1 hour sessions once each week.  But it is just so amazing!  And it really is helping my MIND!

For my BODY, I’ve been taking a prescribed anti-depressant.  Meh, that’s nothing new.  I was diagnosed with post-partum depression, so I was on it even before Chaz died.  So my doctor obviously wanted me to continue with it.  I don’t know why I consider the medicine as something for the body, but that is just what category I put it in to.

So that brings me to my SOUL.  I’ve started trying Young Living Essential Oils.  Again, this one is probably not really a soul treatment, but that’s how I classify it! 🙂  I guess just because it’s a little out of the ordinary, or homeopathic, it seems more soulful! I don’t know, my mind just associates things differently than others!  So yeah, oils to treat my soul!

A friend had given me a sample of Thieves to use when I had strep throat.  I actually used it on the kids though, to try and build up their immunity and make sure they didn’t get it.  Well, I only ended up using it on the girls because I didn’t have very much of it.  And ya know what? They didn’t get strep throat!  But you know who did?  Will!  Could it have been because I didn’t use the Thieves oil on him?  I’m a skeptic about these things, so yeah, who knows!

But my friend also told me about the benefits of some of the essential oils for stress, anxiety, and depression.  And that is when I came to my conclusion about treating my mind, body, and soul.  I figured this was just one more way to help me cope with this new life.

So, I ordered the Young Living Essential Oils Premium Starter Kit.  I justified the price to myself because it had things for me, plus stuff I could use for the kids.  I really just wanted to try it, and see what all the hype was about.  And I guess it was also kind of an impulse-buy… and I was in a mood where I should not have been trusted with a credit card nearby. 🙂

Well, my kit arrived in the mail the day before my mother-in-law was coming in to town to visit.  So, I wasn’t able to give it a try until this week.

My Young Living Essential Oils Premium Starter Kit that I received.

Again, since this was a little bit of an impulse-buy, I didn’t know too much about the product.  While I had originally got it for stress/anxiety/depression, I actually decided to first try it on my horrible wrist pain.  I have no idea if it’s tendinitis or what.  I know it’s not carpel tunnel because I was tested for that a few years ago.  But I have been dealing with it since 2008.  I’m sure it’s from over use on the computer.  And it has just gotten exponentially more aggravated since Chaz died, because I am always the one picking up and carrying the kids around… So yeah, my wrist is basically on fire when it’s in use, and it aches like whoa in just a resting position…

Anyways… back to this oil situation.  The guide said that PanAway should be diluted, and since I didn’t have anything to dilute it with, I decided to try Frankincense on my wrist.  I just rubbed one drop onto the inside of my wrist, and that is not even the part where it hurts (it’s actually the top of my wrist and into my hand that hurts).  Well anyways, I did this right before I got into bed.  And by bed, I mean laying in bed and going on my tablet and browsing Pinterest for an hour before I finally try to go to sleep.

Usually using my tablet absolutely tortures my wrist.  I actually wear a wrist brace while using it.  On this night, I didn’t put my wrist brace on because I had left it in the kitchen.  But my wrist DIDN’T EVEN HURT.  AT ALL!  Seriously, it was like 2 minutes after putting the oil on.  I actually looked at my hand and wrist and moved it all around, and there was no pain.  I was pretty much flabbergasted.

Seriously, I am a really big skeptic on this crazy stuff.  So I just could not believe how QUICKLY and THOROUGHLY the Frankincense oil worked.

I wasn’t sure if it was a fluke or not, so the next morning, before I got the kids up and ready to bring to daycare, I put another drop on my wrist.  And I decided to rub a drop of Valor behind my ears.

And again, my wrist did not hurt the entire morning at work.  And this is another area that tortures my wrist because I am on the computer all day.

Plus, I actually had a pretty decent day, emotionally speaking.  I wasn’t exactly “zen”, but I wasn’t on the verge of a panic attack during all minutes of the day.

Seriously, weird/incredible/fluke/whoa!?!?!?

So yeah, my first few experiences with the oils have been pretty amazing.  I’ve also tried Joy, Peace & Calming, and Purification in the diffuser.  I tried Joy and Peace & Calming with the kids around, in hopes that they would suddenly become little angels.  While they still pretty much acted like the 2-year-olds and almost-1-year-old that they are, I think that it actually helped ME be more calm around them.  I wasn’t as quick to anger or get frustrated.  I had a little more patience.  But right now, I think I prefer the results of the topical oils versus the aromatic stuff.

Technically, I guess I’m a distributor of this stuff, although I have no idea  how to sell it… but if you are reading this and interested in trying it, just leave me a comment, and I’ll try to figure out how people can order through me… 😛

Well, I’m going to continue to try what I received in my starter kit, hopefully continue to have positive results, and help my SOUL cope with this new life. 🙂

And that’s what I’ve been up to TODAY!

Do you have any other suggestions on what I should do for my Mind, Body, and Soul?

~Sarah