Lifestyle
In May 2019, it was time for my next review with Fiona. My blood test results were in and my cortisol (stress hormone) level was very high. I found this odd as I didn't feel stressed however my bloods were telling me otherwise! I thought ‘ok, i’m on top of my diet and supplements, my body is starting to heal so the next step is to reduce stress'. However, knowing that my body was stressed was actually now starting to make me feel stressed! I was also starting to worry as stress can increase the risk of a relapse! I thought ‘what can I do?, maybe I'll take a couple of weeks off from work’. So, I went in to work to arrange my leave however someone wise said to me “what will you do to manage your stress after taking 2 weeks off?”. This was a great question! I decided to go home for the rest of the day and write down my thoughts on how to answer this question.
Once again, Fiona had suggested trying yoga and mediation so I wrote down: 1. reduce hours at work 2. try yoga and 3. try meditation. I looked at my list and it actually made me feel uncomfortable. I had always worked full time so the thought of reducing my hours really didn’t sit well with me. I had no interest in yoga and I didn’t know how to meditate. However, what I did know was that, I really needed to make some changes to my lifestyle in order to reduce stress!
The first step was to be more flexible about my work hours. I thankfully work for an amazing not for profit community health organisation that offers great benefits and promotes work/life balance to it’s employees. So, instead of permanently reducing my hours, I decided to purchase an additional 4 weeks of annual leave and scheduled these days across the year. I couldn’t believe that it literally took me one afternoon to work through my thoughts and I was already starting to feel better. The next day I returned to work.
In June 2019, I was due for my next hair cut, well I should really say ‘trim!’. I walked into beautiful Kira’s salon and saw a brochure on the table which said “The Journey”. As I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs, Kira is also a yoga teacher and the founder of Oshun Yoga. This brochure was advertising a blissful weekend retreat at the beautiful Amarant Retreat center located in the natural rainforest surrounds of the Yarra Valley on the 2-4th August 2019. The retreat included yoga, pranayama, mindfulness, meditation, sound healing, aromatherapy, reiki and lovingly prepared meals. There was only 1 private couple room available, I thought ‘this is perfect, a blissful weekend away in nature is exactly what I need!’. I went home and told my husband about the retreat, he was so supportive and said ‘if you’d like to go, let’s go!”. I spoke to Kira about the meals included to check if my dietary requirements could be accommodated. Kira advised me that her partner James is a chef and was the chef for the retreat and he could definitely accommodate them. I was so grateful and pleased!
The only problem was, I had just booked this amazing blissful retreat which I had roped my husband into however I had never tried yoga before! I thought ‘maybe I should give yoga a go before the retreat!’. At the time, Oshun Yoga had a fantastic offer for 3 months of unlimited yoga at two locations, so I decided to go all in and register for 3 months.
I recall walking into my first class and as soon as I walked into the space I immediately felt calm. When I finished the class, I couldn’t believe how relaxed I felt and I actually couldn’t believe how much I loved it! I was so glad that I had booked ‘The Journey’ retreat! I continued to practice yoga 2 to 3 times a week. I tried different yoga classes; traditional yoga, yin yoga and practiced with different teachers. I learnt that yoga was a great way to strengthen core muscles which is extremely important for someone who is living with MS. I loved learning new yoga postures, I loved the challenge of the poses, I loved the music played, I loved the smell of the oils that were diffused, I love setting an intention for myself, I loved the smell of the Oshun Yoga chakra sprays, the smell of the incense, sage and/or palo santo sticks which were burned, I loved the positive affirmation and oracle cards that were given out at the end of a class and I loved meeting nice people and reconnecting with people I knew.
I started noticing a difference in how I was feeling, every time I’d return home from a class I felt very relaxed, I was in a good mood and in general, I felt less stressed. My husband had even noticed a difference and little things that bothered me before, no longer bothered me.
It was now August 2019 and it was time to enjoy our blissful weekend away! We arrived at Amarant located at the top of the mountain. The view was just beautiful, the air was clean and fresh and it was so peaceful. We were greeted with smiles and warmth. We enjoyed a whole weekend of relaxation, we learnt about yoga, chakra’s and mindfulness. We experienced meditation, traditional yoga by Kira and Tayla, yin yoga and sound healing by Lisa and reiki by Jen. We were spoiled with delicious meals (James - we’re still thinking about that Thai Red veggie curry!), we were looked after by the Oshun crew and my husband (along with Lisa) enjoyed keeping us warm by keeping the fire wood burning. Overall, my husband and I had such an amazing weekend! The best part was, we met so many beautiful like minded people; some who I am fortunate to call my dear friends today.
It was now time to retest my cortisol level. 3 months had gone by and I couldn’t wait to see if practicing yoga and meditating had actually made a difference. It sure had, my level had dramatically dropped! As you can just imagine, I was so thrilled!
My team, Wellness Warriors and I participated in The May 50K challenge throughout May 2020 to raise vital funds for MS Research as research is the KEY to changing the future of MS.
You can still show your support by sponsoring me and/or my amazing team at the following link:
https://www.themay50k.org/fundraisers/mirellapetrucci
Please note, our fundraising pages will be active until 30th June 2020.
Thank you, your support truly means so much xx