I was just checking in with a colleague who had to stop working earlier yesterday as she was not feeling well. An awful migraine struck, and her medication did not help. Migraines are such bad news. Incredibly painful. Debilitating. They definitely do not help make Mondays any easier. I was questioning whether I should share how I was able to essentially cure mine close to 15 years ago. But I did not want to be that annoying person, sound preachy, and/or provide unsolicited advice. I have already dealt with plenty of that before. So, I shared in the dislike of migraines and mentioned that in the past that I too never left home without carrying Excedrin in my purse. (For some, it was Amex. For me, it was “advanced medicine for pain.”)
Maybe this might be a good time and place to further explore how listening to our bodies and following our intuition can lead to miraculous results. Here we go.
I too was plagued by migraine headaches. I remember being at a film festival in Los Angeles many years ago, and one came on. Not the first or the last by any means. I was there to support my friend who had a role in this comedy that was debuting. I went to the bathroom, splashed cold water on my face, and it didn’t help. The pain and nausea were building. I was able to find my way to a market between the completion of the film and the after party. I grabbed Excedrin and a caffeinated beverage and prayed for the best. I found myself sitting on the bathroom floor of the venue hosting the party. I was engulfed in a cold sweat. Fortunately, the OTC medicine kicked in the nick of time. I was able to enjoy the rest of the evening.
I was back in New York a few years later having just moved into an apartment on the East Side near the United Nations. My brother came over for a visit. We were walking up 2nd Avenue, and I could feel the migraine coming. Ut oh – red alert. I waited too long to take anything. I found myself lying down on my bathroom floor after vomiting. My brother lovingly peeled me off the floor, brought me to my bed, and gave me a cold washcloth for my forehead. What a fun visit for him.
This was my life – stuck between close calls and being utterly debilitated. Hoping that the over-the-counter medication and a little caffeine would help to save the day.
There was a turn of events that I now categorize as pretty miraculous. In early 2010, a friend from college invited me to join her for a Bikram yoga class. I had no idea what I was stepping into. Wearing sweatpants in the hot room is a bad idea. Live and learn. A few years later my beloved teacher would share that she was ready to go to the police after her first class. Hot yoga is not for the weary. Being the rather intense, former aspiring ballerina, type A personality that I am, I fell in love with this practice. In the fall of that year, my practice became more consistent. In 2011 I was already thinking about participating in a teacher training. I wanted this to be a focus of my life. I found something that kicked my butt but also made my heart sing.
As I was becoming dedicated to this practice, I found things changing. I was craving more vegetables. Very often after practicing on Saturdays, I would cook up an extensive mélange of different vegetables. It just hit the spot. I found that I was feeling differently. In fear of the dreaded migraines, I was still carrying around my trusted OTC medication. With my dedication to this yoga practice, I wanted to take things further. So, I found a yoga retreat in Pittsfield, Vermont in July 2011 (which would be the first of many) where I could practice twice daily, eat vegetarian fare, and meditate. Sign me up.
I arrived in Vermont to find the most beautiful and quaint small town of under 500 people. This proclaimed city girl was in love. (Cut to years later where I have cows in the backyard). The Green Mountains were stunning. I also learned that the retreat would be vegan – so no animal products at all. No eggs and no dairy. During my few days away, I found bliss. Between yoga, green juice, and clean eating, I never felt better. I stopped eating red meat at almost 14 and barely touched the other stuff, so maybe it was just time to go vegan.
I felt in my gut that this would probably be the right thing for me. I have always been a bit of a tree hugger. So much of my personality was more in-line with New York City or San Francisco in the 1960’s as opposed to NYC of the 2010’s. I had made up my mind, I would slowly give up the dairy products (oh cheese) and the omelets (Sunday brunch) for a better state of mind and body. I fell off the wagon a few times in those early months but ultimately kept my course and felt good.
And then one day in 2011, I was at work and felt a headache coming on. Oh no, here we go again! I reached for the Excedrin and took that pill like a champ. But things were different. My body did not react in the same way as it always had before. My hands started shaking. One of my friends/colleagues was like – what’s going on, you are tweaking out. He thought that I was on something serious and dangerous and possibly illegal. Not the case. After calming down and drinking a lot of water, the shaking and deranged look both went away.
That was the last time that I took an Excedrin. It’s been almost 15 years, and since then I have had less than 5 migraines. I call that a win. I don’t know if it was hot yoga (which I still love), the change in consumption habits (I still avoid dairy and eggs when I can but eat fish), or neural plasticity that was ignited by those actions. No matter what it was, I am grateful.
I am not sharing this as a way to say that my way is the only way. Not at all. I, of course, love being in that hot yoga room and have tried to bring many friends in with me over the years. However, it is not for everyone. Some people cannot handle being in a really hot and humid environment – especially when it is an enclosed space. Many people’s blood types and body chemistries demand that they consume animal products. We are all different. And I am definitely not some omniscient and omnipotent being here to lecture anyone on how to live their life.
But I do believe that we sometimes need to take a moment and try to reevaluate our behaviors and actions. Are we repeatedly doing something that is making us sick? Even if it is an inadvertent process. Are we just doing things out of habit rather than truly being present in our decisions? Sometimes we just really don’t know any better. What I do know is that there are many paths that one can follow in the journey to healing. It is very personal. Sometimes when we get those epiphanies or eureka moments, we need to listen. We need to pay attention. And sometimes we need to take action.
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