slowing down

Monday night I fell while climbing and hyperextended my knee.  I'm pretty sure I also gave myself a mild whiplash because I felt my chin slam against my sternum, my teeth smacked each other, and I woke up with a nasty sore neck.  I was supposed to start month two of this round of Insanity, but I know I need to give it time to heal and not re-injure it.  It's hard for me to rest intentionally.  One of the reasons I really enjoy the Insanity workout is that it is so intense.  I don't feel motivated enough with low intensity workouts and tend to fall of the wagon more easily I think.  I'm a big fan of bootcamp-like experiences and if I could afford it right now I'd love to do a yoga retreat to really spend some quality time focused on moving forward in my practice.  
But alas, I have to turn off beast mode for a while.  I don't want to compromise my knee for the future.  This is the first fitness/sports related injury I've had since rolling my ankle during basketball practice freshman year of high school.  I'm a good decade older than I was back then, so my body probably won't be as quick to bounce back.  Even though I hate it, it's good to be forced to slow down.  I'm great at pushing myself, but not so great at the opposite.  

 

dress/courtesy of modcloth :: top/courtesy of free people :: boots/vogue footwear purse/courtesy of minnetonka :: amethyst necklace/handmade :: hat/the north face shell necklace/courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis :: photos by Dan I think I mentioned it in an earlier post, but I'm giving essential oils a try.  They actually just came today and since I have an injury it's kind of the perfect time to start experimenting with them!  I'm an EO newb so I'll probably wait a bit before doing a post on my experience with them, but I'm pretty excited.  I've been slowly transitioning my life from a pretty regular American lifestyle, to working on being more and more mindful about what I consume, when I consume, and how I consume, from food and medicine, to material objects and clothing.  The transition is gradual, and in some ways it seems like some changes trigger others.  I remember back when I made my 26 before 27 goal to only purchase thrifted/vintage/sustainable/made in the USA clothing, it sparked my interest in transforming how I ate as well.  Thinking about what I put in my body food-wise influenced me to look into natural alternatives for birth control.  It's funny how that happens.  Always changing, always evolving.  When I go thrifting these days I'll be sifting through the racks of clothes and I'll see an item I would've immediately snatched up in high school, or something that I would've adored three or four years ago (or even last year!) and I have no interest beyond amusement at changing styles and preferences. It can be frustrating to know that life is constant change, but sometimes it's exciting and encouraging.