My daily checklist

I don't know about you, but when I'm not feeling well I just want to curl up on the couch and watch TV or sleep until the symptoms are gone. This is a decent way to handle an acute illness like a cold or the flu because the body does need to rest in order to for the immune system to do it's job. However, when you are dealing with a chronic health condition like I am - spending every day on the couch is not going to help me feel better. In fact, it often makes me feel worse because of all the things that fall by the wayside.

Learning how to cope and take care of yourself, your home, your family and maybe even your work responsibilities when you have a chronic condition is really tough. It's easy to get caught up in a mode of "I'll put it off until tomorrow or until I feel better" and months may go by before it happens. So I have devised a couple of tricks to help me be productive in harmony with my condition, rather than working against myself! One of my favorite ways is my daily checklist.

I have a little whiteboard up on the wall in my bedroom where I see it several times a day. At the top I wrote "Love Yourself Today", and along the left in bright colors I made a checklist of daily goals. Some days it's really a stretch to check off everything on the list, but I like the challenge and reminder to take care of myself and my obligations. My goals encompass self-care, daily household tasks, and projects.

My daily checklist looks something like this:

• Make the bed and open the blinds
• See or talk to someone who cares about me
  
• Cuddle with the cats
• Go for a 15 minute walk
  
• Do one - two chores around the house
  
• Yoga and PT exercises
• Take meds on time
• Eat healthy meals and snacks
• Spend time on X project
• Read and respond to email and voice mail
  
• Take stretch breaks
• Get some sunshine and leave the house
• Meditate
• Go to bed by 11pm
  

This list might seem silly if you're not dealing with a chronic health condition and have energy to get through a full day. Although, I recall that when I had a busy schedule it was especially hard to fit in "me" time before the day was over. So I think a daily self-care checklist can be a fun way to prioritize and take care of yourself no matter how you are feeling!

Three simple steps for well-being

Hey there!

I've spent a good amount of time online researching chronic pain over the past year to find better ways to cope and manage it. Quite frankly, I'm pretty disappointed with the material out there. There are books that get technical about what happens in the body, and others that talk about medication management - but I haven't found any good ones on how to maintain a sense of well-being and joy while dealing with the burden of chronic pain. So after awhile, I turned decided to follow the wisdom of my favorite quote:

If you find not what you seek within, you will never find it without.

So, I meditated and tuned in to my inner voice about how best to maintain well-being under the challenging circumstances. I found three specific steps to take each time I feel pain or discomfort.

1. Stop what you're doing
   
2. Listen to your body and heart to find out what is needed
   
3. Respond with a loving act
   

So what does that mean exactly?

The first step is pretty easy. As soon as I notice new discomfort or pain - I pause what I'm doing to give it my attention. I check out what I'm sensing and "listen" to my body and heart for cues as to what I need. Am I hungry? Is it time for medication? Am I stiff? tired? tense? upset? lonely? frustrated? etc... Once I figure out what is going on, I respond to the pain or discomfort message from my body with a loving act.

A loving act could be any of the actions I could take to directly address the message from my body. A loving act might be taking medication or a nap. It might be doing stretching or yoga or listening to a guided meditation CD on visualizing pain away. It might be calling a friend or making a date for coffee because I'm lonely. It might be calling a doctor or pharmacist to address a concern. It might be scheduling a Reiki session or a massage to give my body some positive attention. It might be asking someone for help. The idea is to respond to the messages from my body in a nurturing way, rather than letting myself sink into a cycle of frustration at my body, helplessness and depression about being in pain.

Since I've started following these steps - I've noticed that my quality of life has improved drastically. This is mostly due to my outlook shifting from feeling like a victim of circumstances outside my control to feeling empowered, valued and loved as I do kind, gentle and nurturing things for myself. While I use these steps to deal with chronic pain, I bet they would be useful under many circumstances - perhaps even every day life. Feel free to try them out!

Summer of transitions

I hope this letter finds you well!

This has truly been a summer of transitions for me. You may recall that I finally got a diagnosis for the chronic pain which has been interfering with my life and work for many years and began a treatment program to bring my pelvis back into alignment with some fantastic rehab people. I've been working with my providers for pain relief and re-educating my pelvic muscles how to relax and get back into proper alignment for several months now.

In addition to this often exhausting and painful physical work, I've been working through emotional and spiritual healing about the pain condition in my body, and also in regards to the primary relationship in my life. Unexpectedly this summer, my personal life and living situation underwent a big upheaval with a painful separation and divorce from my best friend and husband of almost seven years.

It sure has been a challenging couple of months, but what has gotten me through each day is taking all the self-care tips and advice that I have been offering to others for years. They really do make a difference, especially when you use them during stressful or painful times in your life. I encourage you to take a peek through the archives of my Urban Vitality Blog for wellness, stress reduction, and relaxation advice any time you are feeling a bit stuck or overwhelmed.

Despite my overly optimistic hope for being back to work giving Reiki & Wellness bodywork sessions full-time in the fall, it looks as though realistically I've got to stay off my feet for a while longer so my body has the best opportunities for healing as possible. My hope is to do more writing about wellness and stress reduction for your reading pleasure this fall, and to get those meditation and relaxation recordings clients and students have been asking for in the works! By the way, I am still taking Reiki students and officiating weddings and life celebrations on a limited basis for the time being- see Reiki and Life Celebrations for more information.

Take care,
Joanna

PS. If you missed it, back in February, I wrote about my ongoing struggle with chronic pain, and it continues to be a challenge that I am facing every day. The good news is that the prognosis is good, and with rest, recuperation, rehabilitation, and lots of self-care, I can overcome this challenge and get back to working full-time providing Reiki and Wellness bodywork sessions!

Any questions or want tips? You can always reach me at 617-429-1793 or joannascaparotti@gmail.com.

Quick update

Hey there!
Just a quick note to let you know that physical therapy and the treatment program I'm undertaking is making significant progress! The pain has been reduced by 50% at this point! My doctor told me to take it easy this summer and let my body heal - so that's what I'm doing. The plan is to be back to working full-time by the fall, which I am really looking forward to doing! I'm still taking Reiki students, officiating weddings, and seeing a few regular clients and others by referral when I can handle it at my temporary office location at Brickbottom Artists Association on the other side of Union Square Somerville. I'm not sure yet if this will be a permanent location, but I'll let you know as the summer goes on. Meanwhile, have a wonderful summer and feel free to send me an email or drop me a line if you need any advice or would like a session.
Take care,
Joanna

Cancellations - Medical leave

Hey everybody,

I'm taking a couple of weeks off giving sessions while I begin physical therapy for the structural issues in my pelvis that have been causing a lot of pain over the past couple of months. I am looking forward to getting some relief!

Please note that cancellations includes the April 27 Developing your Reiki Intuition and May 4th Working with Chakra's workshops too. They will be rescheduled later in the summer.

I will be continuing to teach private Reiki lessons and designing wedding ceremonies in the meantime.

If you need a referral to a Reiki Master while I'm out of commission, shoot me an email at joannascaparotti@gmail.com or call me at 617-429-1793 for my recommendations.

Take care,
Joanna