What we're into - Melissa

We always love checking in with our clients to see how things are going, how their goals may or may not have changed, and how we can help them get there. We thought we’d give you a little bit in return and tell you what we’ve been up to in our health and wellness journey.

Melissa

This year has been a transformative year for me. After cancer 4 years ago, I stayed busy. I was engulfed as to why I got sick, determined to have another baby, wrote a book, and tried to get my life back. I didn’t slow down, I just wanted to get back to normal - whatever that was!

Now, I’m finally at the point in my life where I feel like I can take a breath. I have my two miracles babies and a loving husband, I love where I live and what I do for a living, and I’m quite frankly just grateful for every day that I get to wake up and live. However, I didn’t really give myself the opportunity to heal. I just kept myself busy - thinking that was healing, but in reality, it wasn’t. There was just too much going on. 

SO, my biggest goal this year - is to heal and slow down. 

Physically: 

I am a year post partum, and 4 years out of cancer treatment. My body has been through A LOT. I want to stay strong and do things for my body that feel good. This includes a lot of things. Basically, I want to move my body every day in some capacity. 

Lifting: I really have gotten into lifting heavy! It makes me feel strong; it makes me feel like I can do anything. I am also over 40, and chemotherapy affected my bones. I want to make sure my muscles are strong to support my body as I age, so I can keep lifting and playing with my kids and then their kids! I’m doing this for the long run. 

Mobility: I was a ballet dancer, and being able to move my body freely in all planes of motion was essential to my craft. Now that I’m not dancing like I used to, I still want to be able to move just as well. I made it a goal to stretch every night. My husband currently does this, and some days I’m just too tired - but I do it anyway, and I feel a dramatic difference in the morning on the nights that I stretch. I’m on my feet all day training, and then still, when my kids get home. I don’t get to sit down until 8 pm on most nights. It’s ALOT on my body, so I need to take care of it and ensure I get some downtime to recuperate from an active day.  

Just do what I want: I don’t have a current routine with my fitness. I make sure I get my basics in: 2-3 days of lifting, 2-3 days of cardio, plus mobility and stretching on most days of the week. Some days the cardio is a walk with my dog in the woods, some days lifting includes a class or just throwing weights around. I don’t have any PR’s I want to accomplish - I just want to move freely and do what I like to do so that I’ll keep doing it!

And my food: I try and make everything as clean as I can. I spend a little more on quality ingredients and shop at different stores, butchers, fish mongers and farmers markets for good healthy and clean food. It’s worth it to me. I make my family healthy meals and try to get my kids involved with the cooking too. I know what I put in my body effects how it functions and how I feel, so it’s important to me to ensure my family and I eat nutritiously dense food. 

Mentally:

My nervous system has been through the ringer. Having a baby during Covid, having cancer during Covid and then just ya know … the whole cancer thing in general. I have been in constant Flight fight and freeze mode. My perasympathetic nervous system has taken a back seat, and it’s time to dust her off and give her a chance to shine. So what does this look like for me?

MBSR training: I am enrolling in a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course over the summer geared towards learning mindfulness techniques to heal from trauma, stress and anxiety. I am really excited about this and plan to use these techiniques in my own practice to heal from the trauma of cancer as well as just deal with stress in a healthier way.  I also plan on using this training with my family so we all know how to handle stressful situations more mindfully! Ask me how it’s going the next time you see me! 

Slow Down: I have always been a go go go type of person. I like being busy. Lately, I have really started to enjoy the art of doing NOTHING. And trying not to feel guilty about it (That’s the tough part!) There will always be something to do, but does it have to happen right now? Probably not. Do I have 5 minutes to sit here and breathe - yes. I’m allowing myself space. At first it’s uncomfortable, but it is also freeing and I feel a hell of a lot better when I do it. Small spaces throughout the day to breathe is a great way for me to reset and focus on what is happening in the present moment. 

Feeding my soul: I am focusing on the people, places and things that truly make me happy. I have started taking a walk in the woods on Fridays with my dog, I make plans with friends and keep them, I don’t overwork myself anymore, I say no, I speak up, I take breathing moments. All of these little things and probably more that I haven’t discovered yet are feedling my soul and making me a happier and healthier person. 

Trying not to worry: I’m a mom of two littles and it’s so hard not to worry about them. It is also really hard not to worry about my cancer coming back. It’s easy to stress about literally everything - but now - I’m trying not to “sweat the small stuff” and just focus on what I can control. Will it hurt my daughter if she eats a donut? No. Does my headache mean my cancer is back? Probably not. Is it okay that my son is filthy playing in the dirt and more than likely eating it? Yes. Instead of reacting right away I pause. Take a beat, and then react. And it has truly helped so much. That simple breathe before reacting helps my parasympathetic nervous system take over so I don’t jump and react irrationally when I really don’t need to. It takes effort, but it is truly helpful.

So, with my goal of healing - these are all the things that I’m working on towards that goal. I do not think one day I’ll say “great I’m healed!” but I do think that with all of these small action steps, I will just overall feel better and be able to be a lot more present. 

To Be Continued...Bryan is up next!