3 Things I Learned From Being Sick

I said to someone the other day 'I do healthy well, I don't do sick well'.

At this point I was over a week deep into a sinus infection. I am not going to lie I have been a bit of a nag about it (I'm sure you can relate to me here).

What started as a cold quickly turned into a pretty nasty sinus infection filled with fever, headaches, fatigue, coughing and sleepless nights. 

At the start I powered through, I kept up with most of my commitments (some I needed to be high vibe for, I politely cancelled to rest) and thought I'd be right in a few days time, like most colds. 

But as each day started to roll into the next, I felt myself becoming more and more frustrated. 'Why the heck do I feel soo zonked still?'. I then found myself grabbing ahold of the stories I was telling myself. 

'I cant rest for this long, resting is lazy'

'I'm a health coach, being sick doesn't look good for my image'

'I look after myself so well, I am a failure'

'It's Spring, why am I sick now?'

And on and on my little critic went on, swirling these stories in my head. 

It wasn't until yesterday morning when I woke still feeling crappy, about to burst into a ball of frustrated and tired tears, I realised I CAN FLIP THIS STORY ON ITS HEAD. 

I choose the way I see this.

I choose my daily schedule.

I choose to surrender to this. This sickness is a blessing to slow down. 

I have been going at it pretty hard lately. Pushing through busy schedules and commitments. What if this illness is a blessing to stop, slow down and reflect on my life for a bit. We all need space to just BE, to get clarity on life, reset our goals, be grateful for our health and to surrender to a power much greater than us. 

I now know this has happened at the exact moment it was supposed to, not a moment too late or too soon. Everything happens in our life for a reason, and sickness plays a role too. It's our invitation to slow down. 

Upon reflection (during my surrender to rest on the couch yesterday) I noted down 3 things I have learned over the past few weeks. If you are feeling the frustration of illness in your life right now, this might help gain perspective on things too. 

Here are 3 things I have learned while being sick: 

1. It's ok to slow down when you think you need to speed up

Let go of the story that you need to be doing this and that all of the time to be successful at life. Sometimes slowing down brings the greatest blessings, like pressing the big reset button on life before going back out into the world (post sickness) feeling refreshed. Make the most of the time to rejuvenate and rest. You deserve it (I am speaking to myself here too). 

2. Resting doesn't need to come with guilt 

This one hit home. Hard. I found myself feeling guilting when I was resting and guilting by not resting when I was doing things. Someone once told me guilt is a wasted emotion. It serves no purpose whatsoever and just sucks up our valuable energy. I journaled about guilt when this was coming up and wrote sentences like 'I choose to be kind to myself today and rest' and 'I choose to listen to my body and rest, rest in this moment is my only focus'.

3.  Healing only occurs on a resting body

Pushing through and shoving medication down our throats isn't a sign of strength. It's a disservice to our body and only prolongs the healing. Once we slow down and truly do nothing, that's when true healing occurs. And we actually save time by healing faster. I was laying on my bed the other day with a stuffy head and throbbing head and kept repeating these affirmations: 'My body is a magnificent self healer', 'I heal easily and effortlessly' and 'My body rapidly does its thing to heal when I rest'. Just by doing this for a few minutes I felt an enormous sense of trust in my body and knew she would do what she needs to do to feel well again. 

It's funny, each day I have been pulling the most fitting cards from my affirmation decks. The other day one said 'sleep is a spiritual practice'  after an interrupted sleep the night before, and this one by my guru Gabby Bernstein: 

Yet another reminder to listen to the guidance we receive around us, its always there, we just need to remember to LISTEN.

Listen to the guidance, our bodies, our gut etc. And be damn grateful for our health. Health is everything! 

Happy healing,

P.s If you are ready to break free from a lifetime of dieting and self loathing and step into a radiant and balanced body, my Naturally Well program is for you. 

NW is a 10-week roadmap for re-claiming your wellbeing and laying the foundations to step into the most radiant you and finally lead the life you’ve always dreamed of. 

It’s the precise strategy and method I used myself to rise up from my rock bottom - riddled with depression, anxiety, grief and disordered eating – spanning over 15 years ago. 

Enrol and gain instant access here.