So, I’ve been focusing on self-care lately. After every shower, I scrub the dead skin off my heels and apply lotion all over my body. I spray some perfume after putting on a dress. The highlight of my routine is picking out jewelry to wear.
And my once dry, white, scratchy, kind of disgusting bottoms of my feet turned into just normal feet. Wow! I used to think that people just had naturally nice feet. But I now think some people just take care of their feet. Hey, I’m one of those people now!
I noticed my hair thinning, so I went to the dermatologist and she diagnosed my dry scalp. She said that the dryness irritates the hair follicles and prevents them from growing. So, I filled a prescription for some steroid shampoo and used it for a while. Six months later, my hair is noticeably thicker and my scalp is feeling healthier. Amazing!
The grass is greenest where you water it.
One more example that I think is a pretty big deal. I noticed my shoulders starting to hunch in pictures, so I read a bunch of books on posture.
After taking posture pictures, as one of the books recommended, I saw that my knees caved in. I did exercises and tried to remind myself a hundred times a day to stand tall and set my shoulders back. Don’t lock out my knees.
Mark pointed out that reading books about posture is a stupid way to correct posture.
So, I saw a physical therapist and had him watch me walk and stand and tested my range of motion and mobility on all the various joints. Apparently, I rest on the inside of my feet and not the middle of my feet.
Few things have been life-changing for me, you guys. Resolutions chart. Marie Kondo. Early retirement. Cognitive behavorial therapy. Now, I can add “knowing how to stand/walk properly” on that list.
After months and months and months of being conscious of it every day, I now plant my feet down the middle of my foot. I corrected my sunken knees!
My poor knees. They used to hurt when I was a child and young adult. I think I’ve been walking wrong my whole life. When I turned 35 and did my year of the body I told you about, I started working out and my knee pain disappeared. Mostly.
They still creaked and groaned and felt precarious. Especially when I was doing “pulsing” exercises at the gym. And they’d ache at night perhaps once a month.
Until I corrected my stance. Now my knees haven’t hurt since I’ve put more conscious effort into walking and standing correctly.
And it’s not just my knees. My hips are aligned. I find it easier to keep my core stable. All because I corrected my feet. So, I don’t pay attention to my knees; I think about how I start my step with my foot and make sure it doesn’t roll. When the foot is right, the knee and hip fall into place. I make sure my foot is angled correctly when I stand.
Let me tell you, folks, it is not easy to change your gait after forty plus years. I would go to the gym and walk on an incline on a treadmill for forty minutes and focus on my foot placement with each step. It took a lot of time and practice and mental energy. I’m sure it’s something I’ll have to practice at and think about for many more moons.
The grass is greenest where you water it.
Oh, and flossing! You stop flossing for just a few days and your gums bleed when you pick it up again. Without constant cleaning, your gums accumulate bacteria. Every night you have to get it off. You have to keep watering this shit.
Just some observations.
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It is such a joy to write this blog. Thanks so much for reading.
