Warning: Old Lady Blog Entry

It's hard getting old.

When I look in the mirror these days, I think I'm seeing more gray hair than brown on top.

It's my hypothesis that most of us go through our daily routines completely unaware of our mind-body connection and the things our body tries to tell us. I just don't think it's something that our culture holds as important. I don't remember having any conversations at Christmas parties this year about how folks' mind-body connections were...

Yesterday in yoga, my body made me very aware that I'm not young anymore.

And stress is a funny little thing. I've been going around for the past 3 weeks feeling just "fine."

But apparently, something else is going on that I'm not aware of. When I did a forward bend in yoga class yeaterday, I was acutely aware of my sinuses and the pressure I felt - and I realized, I've had this sinus pressure for about a month and it makes me tired. When I stretched my shoulders and lifted my arms into the air, I realized that my shoulders are so tight and hurt so much it feels like needles are sticking into them. When I dropped my head and released my neck muscles, I felt my jaw and just how tense it was and realized that my teeth hurt. It was then I realized that I've been grinding my teeth at night and I stretched out my jaw and realized how achy it was. I realized that I have been clinching my jaw during the day - not relaxing it. No wonder I've had daily headaches for the past week.

But, I feel "fine," right? You ask me about my holidays and they were awesome because my sister, brother-in-law and nephew were in town. It was good to have some time off. Work is great - just getting ready for students to be back...and all these things are sincerely and genuinely true. But, apparently, there's something at a deeper level.

So, I'm trying some things to figure out what's going on and help relieve the stress. I scheduled a massage and hair appointment for starters. I am scheduling a counseling appointment, just to check in with how I'm feeling. I have a gift certificate for a pedicure, so I think it might be a good time to cash that in. Good thing I'm doing "nothing" this year, as obviously, I need to be taking things off my plate and delegating instead of taking new things on.

No need to worry, friends. The stress is not unmanageable and I'm not falling apart. I'm just taking a cue from my body that is asking me to pay a little attention to it. Sometimes it's pretty amazing the messages we can get from sources other than words. I guess the trick is learning how to listen.