Sometimes we don’t take action until we feel pain in some sort of way…
My IT band has been flaring up lately. If you’ve ever dealt with it, you know, it’s that deep, stubborn tightness along the outside of your knee that doesn’t announce itself dramatically, it just quietly limits you. Makes you adjust. Makes you aware of every step in a way you weren’t before.
And honestly, my first instinct wasn’t to slow down.
It was to push through.
That’s been my pattern for most of my life. I danced for eleven years. Eleven years of my body being an instrument, pushed, stretched, rehearsed, performed, and expected to show up no matter what it was feeling. You learn early in that world that discomfort is just part of the deal. You tape it up, warm it up, and keep going.
I carried that pattern long after I stopped dancing. Through years of standing on my feet as a stylist. Through building a business. Through a cross-country, well, cross-continent, move. My body has always been the last thing I checked in with.
So when the inflammation showed up this time, I had a choice.
I could ignore it the way I usually do. Or I could actually listen.
I chose to listen. And this drink is what came from that.
What I’ve been learning about inflammation, in my body and honestly in life, is that it’s rarely random. It’s a signal. It’s your body waving a flag saying something needs attention here. Not always something dramatic. Sometimes just: you’ve been carrying a lot, you’ve been moving fast, you need to support yourself more intentionally.
And sometimes it’s years of wear and tear finally asking to be acknowledged.
