Routine:  Routines can be good or bad.  You can make routine work in your favor if you establish a good one:  Eating, Sleeping, Exercise.  Mindfulness.  Master these basics and they become tools you can use to tame your pain when it tries to behave like a beast.  On those days, ask yourself, "Will my pain be a Lioness or will she be a Cub?  It is, to a great extent, your choice.  And you choose by the ways in which you treat Her.  If you eat the right foods, sleep well, and exercise daily, and cultivate ways to distract and engage your mind; then inflammation is controlled, endorphines are flowing, and She loses a lot of her strength and size.  She can become a Kitten. And you can Sing that Kitty to sleep:  "A-Weem-o-Weh, A-Weem-o-Weh, A-Weem-o-Weh, in the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle, the Lion Sleeps tonight..."  Good Kitty! 

Eating is covered in other areas on my blog, as is exercise, so just a word about sleeping, and then we will talk about Mindfulness.  It can be difficult for some of us to get enough good sleep every night.  But you can make it a little easier on yourself if you develop good habits which persuade your body toward sleep.  Such as:  Habitual bed time and wake up times, every night and every morning.  By doing this, you train your body to be ready for sleep, and ready to get up, at the same times each day.  Your body wants to follow its circadian rythmns, and you can assist by following the path of the sun.  Circadian rythmns are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a daily cycle.  The most powerful environmental factor which affects your sleep cycle is sunlight. Your bedroom should be cool, dark, and quiet. Cool temperature helps your core body temperature remain lower, which is necessary in order to reach all stages of sleep.  All stages of sleep are needed, in order to fully rest, heal and restore.  Take the TVs and computers out of your bedroom.  Your bedroom is more habit-forming for good sleep without them nearby to distract you, or to add light to the room.  Alcohol may help you fall asleep, but you may be unlikely to remain asleep if you drink it.  I find a body pillow helps me to be more comfortable, since my preferred sleep position is a strange half-stomach- half-side curl that is similar to a yoga stretch.  The body pillow helps to distribute the pressure more evenly, so that you can avoid sore shoulders, arms, or legs. I just ordered one from Soft Surroundings, so I will let you know after I give it a test drive.   The body pillow gets two thumbs up.  It is soft and textured, with the right amount of give, and long enough to support my whole body.  I am already sleeping better.  I also ordered two of the tessa tie-dyed shirts.  It is beautiful, bright blue and funky, and so soft.  I have been wearing it constantly since I got it, because I am dealing with hives; it is the only thing I can stand against my hivey skin.  

 If you are like me, the hardest part of falling asleep is quieting your mind, so that the noise of your thoughts doesn't keep you awake.  This is another time when you will be glad you practice meditation.  It can help you learn to turn down the volume of your thoughts, so that you can sleep when it's time to sleep. 

If you have tried everything, and nothing works, and you're still not sleeping, one thing that almost always works for me, is to tell myself that I want to watch something on tv, a show or a movie, so I need to stay awake.  Something about focusing on the opposite of what you want to do relieves the pressure of not sleeping, and you sleep.

Meditation can become the key in the lock to all kinds of mental and physical processes. It trains you to find the absolute stillness deep inside yourself, and from there, you can resist pain, doubt, anxiety, and fear; you can act with courage, feel joy, renew faith. It is easier to learn than you think.  There are books, DVDs, you tube videos; apps for your phone, classes, and retreats.  Choose the one that fits into your life the best, and then, just practice.  I started with a you tube video during my lunch hour at work.  Practice every morning, and every night, for five or ten minutes.  Pick a quiet spot and a comfortable sitting position, relax, and clear your mind. You will be bad at it, at first.  Random thoughts will canter through your mind like ponies.  Let them.  And then clear your mind again.  Breathe.  Every time you practice, you will do a little better.  

 Try Beginning Meditation:  Enjoying Your Own Deepest Experience, by Sally Kempton.  Her instructions are simple and clear, not too weird for beginners to appreciate. If a former monk turned soccer coach can use meditation to calm his kids and ease their fears and slow their breathing and metabolism while they waited in a cave filling with water for someone to save them, what might it do for you?

Good Gear:  All real athletes have good gear.  The better the gear, the better the performance.  And we all aspire to be athletes, even if we only ever compete with ourselves.  Because athletes have an attitude toward food and fitness and discipline that we all need to inhabit, even if only briefly.  Don't sit around in your sweaty work out clothes when you are finished.  That traps bacteria and other toxins you sweated out against your skin, and can give you bacne, or other skin irritations.

Shoes and socks:  If you expect a lot from your feet, taking good care of them starts with your shoes.  I like Nike.  I read once that Nike has some of the best shoes for women's feet.  I have worn them for years, and I would have to agree. Nike Air are my favorites, but they make new ones all the time.  So I tend to buy several pair when I find some I really like.  Also I have some Easy Spirit slip ons, leopard print pattern so I am stylish as well as well-shod.  They even come in narrow width! My mom saw them yesterday, and she wants a pair. ( I am an Influencer already!) Seriously, these leopard print slip ons are fun and comfortable, the new official shoe of Zombie Girls everywhere!  And I have some Drew, which I also like very much. Lots of arch support and easy to walk in.  Also, easy to put on and take off, due to the velcro straps.   I don't do much running, since I would mess up my face.  Horseback riding made me feel as if I were running. My little brother is wearing Salomon boots to climb Macchu Picchu right now.  For running, he wears Asics, Mizuno, or Saucony. My older brother is also a running fiend.   He currently runs 7 miles a day;  two days on, one day off.   Mizunos are good for runners with high arches.

I tend to wear out my socks pretty fast.  I think I am also picky, because I like them soft, not at all scratchy, and not too thick or too thin.  And some socks are hard to get on and off, especially if your feet are sweaty, or sore.  I never wear those more than once.  I love the ones that have botanicals woven into the materials, like lavendar and lanolin.  They are a little expensive, but wearing them is a trip to the spa for your feet.  And they last for a while, if you care for them properly.  You can also order these from the Footsmart catalog.  They make wonderful gifts.

Ice packs:  Ice packs I found in the Foot Smart catalog, Active Wraps, have saved my life many times.  I use them daily after my workouts.  They are reusable; you keep them in the freezer.  They attach with velcro at the top and bottom, and wrap around your whole foot, so the cold gets virtually everywhere on your foot. I have given two sets as gifts, when two friends broke bones in their feet.

Also, it is beneficial sometimes to alternate ice and heat.  I love the lavender booties I got from Red Envelope.  You put them in the microwave for a couple of minutes and then put them on.  They are big enough so that your toes don't feel scrunched.  Some are too small.  And you can't even stand up for a second in them if you need to, without feeling like you will break the gel packs.  The Red Envelope ones are sturdy.  Mine lasted for years.  Feels so good, and the lavender scent is good for your mood and peace of mind. 

And you might try this, the next time you have a small cut.  I have cuts right now on the top and bottom of my big toe.  I tried a band aid, but it stayed on about two seconds, literally.  I had to sit in the floor to clean my cuts and apply medication and the band aid, and the band aid came off as I was getting up from the floor.  So I cleaned everything again, and applied triple anti-biotic ointment, bag balm, and benadryl gel.  Then I put on clean socks.  And then I used my lavendar booties.  The heat seals the medication in.  I think I may have to patent my process.  My toe feels better, except for the ten times a day when I stub on furniture.  One thing to note:  Do not use benadryl gel and any other form of benadryl, such as the tablets, or other antihistamine, at the same time.

Jacuzzi, Sauna, and Massage  are invaluable tools for ensuring that your body can meet the demands you ask of it, and that you are physically feeling your best possible.  I had a jacuzzi in my condo, and I became amphibious, I spent so much time in it.  Some of the best money I ever spent.  I don't have one right now, but I will again, and I am sure that my gills will grow back.

Music and Singing: If you need a song to change your mood in a soulful way, try Mary Chapin Carpenter's Almost Home.  She is also the wise woman who said that we all have two lives:  one we are given, and the other one, we make.  The one we make depends a lot on what we are given; but it is a fair point, nonetheless, and a great piece of music.  Food for thought:  be a better craftsman in your life.  We can all aspire to that.

Singing really good songs is a great way to distract yourself from pain or sweat or emotional discomfort.  I started singing when I did my exercises from physical therapy, to distract myself from the pain.  Apparently, your mind can only focus on so many things at once, so use that to your advantage:  bleed some of your attention away from pain or distress.  See the article, A Dose of Music for Pain Relief by Mary Bates, at Brainfacts.org.  Ask my brothers how many times they had to listen to Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down when we were little.  ( I think they would refer to it as Pain and Distress.)  Hundreds.  One of my roommates told me once that she thought I had the radio on, but it was just me, singing my guts out and doing my stretching.  My pain didn't change, but I changed my experience of it by putting music between myself and my pain.  Thank you, Karen Carpenter.

Chanting is a version of singing.  Sometimes when I am hating every step of my laps, I chant.  It helps me rise up a little inside myself, so that I don't quite feel the hard work of walking, walking, walking, with the same intensity.  I chant different things.  A lot of Shakespeare.  When in disgrace with fortune and Men's eyes.  Sometimes I count.  Steps, heartbeats, daisies in the backyard, ladybugs.  And sometimes, I will focus all my energy out of myself, sending it to a friend in need.  And then my own pain becomes just the engine by which I lend my strength to someone else who needs it.  When I do this, an hour of walking can pass in the blink of an eye. The passing of time is an endless mystery. The way it can fly, or crawl, or stall, depending on how you inhabit it.

Games and Apps, Virtual Reality:  There are many new games and apps that can improve your mood or teach you meditation.  Breathe is a meditation app that you can use anywhere, if you are feeling stressed. There are virtual reality simulations that help chronic pain patients deal with their pain, by allowing people to use their imaginations to escape their bodies for a while.  You can pick the scenario that most appeals to you.  I think I have to try it. Moodpath is an app for your phone that asks daily questions to screen for signs of depression.  After a week, it gives you a document designed to help you discuss your mental health with a mental health practicioner.  There are also 150 exercises designed to strengthen your mental health.  Moodtools and MY3 are two others.

Books and TV and Movies that Make you Laugh:  Laughter is healing.  Studies have shown that people who rarely laugh have higher risk of heart attack and stroke.  Laughing reduces cortisol and relaxes arteries (for a second or two) My recommendations:  Animal Crackers, Blazing Saddles, A Fish Called Wanda, Snatch, Birdcage, Spanglish.  Tea Leoni is a total freak.  Hilarious.  Two of the funniest shows ever on TV are King of the Hill (thank you, Mike Judge and Linwood Boomer, wherever you are) and Malcom in the Middle (I love Jane Kaczmarek and Brian Cranston) 

Or ask your little brother to tell you a joke.  Mine can do it in English and Spanish. Te amo mucho

Other shows I love:  One Tree Hill, the Following, Will, and Claws  Who doesn't want to be friends of Brooke Davis, Peyton Sawyer, and Hailey James Scott?! Or Gifted, because I have long believed I am secretly a Level 5 Mutant.  Mutants rule!  It has Stephen Moyer, from True Blood in it. I just saw yesterday that Gifted will be back in the fall for its second season!  Or iZombie.  I discovered the zombie emoji a few days ago, and she has become my avatar.  I am transforming into the next phase of my life, and with the hives, I probably look a lot like a zombie right now.  I am designing a Zombie Girl tshirt.  Everyone will want to be cool enough to wear one.  Details to follow.

Retail Therapy, A New Do, Call a Friend, Help Someone Else: 

Make your retail therapy do double-duty:  It can make you feel better and make the world a better place.   Support companies that use better materials, like recycled and reclaimed products.  Spend your money at businesses where there are no more single-use plastic straws and silverware, like Ikea and  Alaska, United, and American Airlines; Delta and British Airways, and Hyatt and Hilton.  I had included Starbucks in the list, until I read that the new lids which will replace the plastic straws actually contain more plastic than the straws.  The new lids are recyclable, but when you consider that most recycled plastic still ends up in the oceans in some form, this isn't the kind of solution we need. We need more guys like the ones who are developing an enzyme that can dissolve plastic.  Then we can all get some, and keep it in a glass jar in the pantry, like sour dough starter, or scoby. You can read about it in the April 16th issue of the Guardian.  So come on, Starbucks, try again, so I don't have to feel guilty about my appreciation for the Gingerbread Latte.  You can do better.

I love the Sundance catalog and store.  The next time I meet one of my goals, I will buy myself a reward from its pages.  I am thinking about the Margo shirt and the tencel wide-leg pants, sleek, stylish, and comfortable.  Comfort is a primary consideration for me, and then my things have to be flattering and stylish.  The three-pronged approach to style.  If you don't shop at Sundance, give it a try.  They have all kinds of beautiful things.  The company is owned by Robert Redford, and a portion of profits are donated to charities which support things like art classes for underprivileged children.  The company is also committed to protecting the earth and conserving and sustaining our natural resources, so you can feel good about spending your money there.

Buy a backpack for your kid or a messenger bag for your laptop from Garnet Hill.  They look sharp, and they are made from reclaimed plastic bottles and poly.  I am buying a messenger bag for my laptop and notes, for when I want to work away from home.  The one with elephants on it.  They also have some cotton PJs that I will probably live in.

A New Haircut/Style:  We all know how good a great haircut can make us feel about ourselves and our places in the world.  Sometimes, it is just the right change to make, when you aren't sure what to do next.  Debbie Wyatt of Elite Hair Studio in Kennesaw, has taken excellent care of my hair and me for many years.  Please give her a try, if you need a skilled and caring stylist. Her husband, JR, also cuts hair.  He has even cut mine, a time or two, when Debbie was busy, so I can recommend both of them.  (770 425 2887)

Call A Friend:  I know you have friends you can call when your day isn't going well.  I have a few who have pulled me along in those moments when I can't quite propel myself.  Put yourself in situations occasionally where you might make new friends, even if it's hard for you.  Book clubs, spin class, French lessons, trips to Tuscany.  We need old friends and new ones.  Make sure you also call them when things are good.

Help Someone Else: I know this one is annoying.  It bugs me, too, when someone says this to me as I am struggling to take care of myself.  But it is actually true.  Lightening someone else's load makes your own seem easier to carry, even if only for a little while.  And it doesn't have to be much.  Babysit for a neighbor while she goes to see her sister in the hospital.  Give up your lunch hour once in a while to deliver meals on wheels.  Foster a dog or a cat for your local shelter.  Call your mother.  Teach kids to read at the local library.  Getting out of your own head for a while is excellent therapy.  You might just have some new ideas next time you ruminate.

For the Love of Brownies:  Most women know the magic of brownies.  Chocolate can make any day better, if you need a little help of the bakery kind.  Ghirardelli makes excellent brownie mix, and I spent most of my life making my brownies from scratch.  You can tell that Ghirardelli uses really good chocolate in their mix.  And you know what I tried recently?  I added molasses and ginger and cinnamon and cloves, and made gingerbread brownies. (If you want to try it, make the brownies according to the directions, and add this:  1/4 cup molasses, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of cloves.  You will probably have to bake the brownies for a few minutes longer than usual, due to the additional moisture.)  I wish my house would always smell like that!  Smells light up the amygdola area of the brain, associated with memory, which is why smells can remind you of people and places.  And the gingerbread brownies tasted so good!  Even my dad said that they were, "quite good!"

And the Brownie's Power of Restoration can be Mythic.  Once, after my lunchtime workout, Jennifer asked me if I wanted food from the breakroom.  It was Cinqo de Maio, so there had been a luncheon.  She listed all the options she could remember:  Tacos, soup, guacamole, a few other things.  I interrupted her recitation about half-way through: `Did you say, `brownies'?'  She said," No, no brownies." There must have been desperate need in my tone.  Michele in the next cubicle started laughing out loud, and immediately called her sister to tell her the story.  

 Dove Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Dusted Cashews:  Need I say more?  Grab a handful after your daily workout!

And I think we will need to add Cado's Avocado Ice Cream to our toolbelt:  The base is avocado, instead of milk and cream.  It's organic and gluten and soy free, with no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or colors.  It's full of the healthy fats and anti inflammatories you need.  So why not try it when you reach for ice cream next time?  It comes in deep dark chocolate, simply lemon, and mint chocolate chip flavors.  I will let you know when I've tasted it.  I have a feeling I will fill my freezer with it

Pain Medication:  There will be days when none of these other things, as powerful as they are, will be powerful enough.  On those days, take pain medication.  I do, when none of my usual tools are helping.  If you will practice  these techniques, along with eating well and daily exercise, I think you will find that these days are fewer. And when you need medication, you may need less of it than before

Tea Ritual:  There's a reason why the Japanese have complicated ceremonies around the serving of tea.  Choose your blend.  Wash your face.  Put on those wonderful comfortable PJs.  Add milk or honey, or not.  I also have a favorite mug.  I really don't need the other 50 that I have in the cabinets, because I always drink from the same one. But I do probably need them for my cat.  She is the feline incarnation of Bo, from M Night Shyamalan's Signs.  "That one's old.  That one has a hair in it.  That one's contaminated."  There are 5 water glasses for her in different parts of the house right now.  I am not sure how she chooses which one to drink from at any given moment, but it is obviously a complicated algorithim.  And still, whatever is in my glass must taste better.  There's something about the familiarity of the tasks, and the memory of comfort, that brings comfort in the present, as you inhale the scent of jamine or the spices of chai, and feel the steam on your face, and the warmth on your hands.  If I have a headache, I also feel better if I brush my teeth, but after I have my tea.  Not sure of the mechanism, but I have years of anecdotal evidence.  I am going to try all natural Weleda Salt Toothpaste.  No additives or chemicals or preservatives.  Most toothpastes have lots of chemicals that could be dangerous, such as  Just salt and peppermint oil and botanical extracts.  It doesn't have flouride, but most experts agree that we don't need flouride in our toothpaste anymore.  And it's a little expensive, but you can get it on sale at Amazon.com, and a tube can last up to three months.  People who've used it say that their teeth have never been so clean!