My body and my mind are not the same age. How this came to be is a mystery. My brain is like a three-year-old kid poking a stick at a dead dog, my body, and wondering why it won’t play fetch. It seems unfair that I spent most of my life being active and eating well, only to have a disease I’d never heard of reduce me to a weak pile of aching muscles. How’s that for feeling sorry for myself? Sometimes, I think it’s good to wallow in self-pity. From the doldrums, the light from all my blessings shines that much brighter. Enough!

There are three things that make my body feel better, and they are heat, massage, and frequent movement. I now hand wash my dishes every morning because using my hands in the hot, soapy water, eases those muscles into being functional. Holding a mug filled with hot liquid also helps, as the heat penetrates into my hands. I take longer showers, and spend more time soaking in the tub. I have two heating pads that I move around my body when I’m reading, and I make a point to get up frequently to walk around my house.

Something else I do for myself is expensive, but the benefits are priceless. I treat myself to regular massages. When I walked into my last massage appointment, I saw a sign that immediately caught my attention.

I immediately thought, I’ve never tried that. The heated pad on the massage table is luxury enough, but the thought of having heat rubbed into my body with hot, Himalayan stones was irresistible. Sign me up for that, please!

It was delightful! A massage that was a just few steps beyond normal is my kind of spa treatment!