Continuing the theme of Saturn’s return from yesterday’s blog post, I’m sitting here wondering what lessons I’ve learned within the past 30 years of life.
I think for me, my Saturn return was definitely health related. Obtaining self-discipline when it comes to food has always been difficult for me, but I know I'm finally there. Because I had a high metabolism for so long, I got away with eating whatever I wanted. It wasn't until I lost my health and found it again that I really learned to appreciate my body.
Without going into too much detail, everything that has gone wrong with my body can definitely be traced back to a Candida Albicans overgrowth. I've never been diagnosed with a candida overgrowth officially, but I suspected this was what was going on and the only way to fix it naturally was to completely change my lifestyle and attitude to food.
I used to eat for flavor and taste and now I eat for sustenance and bodily healing. Everything that I put into my body, from the soups I stew, to the salads I whip together, right down to the water I drink, and the nutritional supplements I choose to weaponize, all of it is carefully curated to ensure that I get the most brain function and energy out of my body everyday.
I know it's obsessive but every single chemical going into my body is measured and dosed carefully, and all of it serves a purpose in healing my gut. Even my pre-workout supplement is literally 2 chemical compounds: glutamine and l-arginine, which are 2 amino acids that encourage encourage muscle growth while simultaneously healing the gut. I haven't taken creatine in years! It hurts my stomach. But I may choose to try cycling on and off again and see if it has an effect on my training.
In order to have had an athletic career as long as I have, I’ve needed to look after my body. This extends beyond just nutrition and balancing vitamins and minerals. Rest and recuperation is essential. I always make sure I get enough sleep so that my adrenals aren’t fatigued.
Adrenal fatigue happens when the body produces too much of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol pushes our body into its "fight or flight" mode under stress. When we overproduce this cortisol in our bodies, it wreaks havoc on our chemical balances and throws off all our hormones.
This isn’t some wish-washy silliness either, it has been studied extensively in medical journals.
If the mind is in a constant state of fight or flight, the body sends signals to the brain to protect the vital organs. Where do all our vital organs live? Around our stomach of course. It is believed that enlarged bellies and big stomachs are a symptom of high-cortisol levels because the body is defending itself from stress by protecting our vital organs.
High-cortisol levels is also related enlarged breast tissue, which gives men the unfortunate and dreaded man boobs. This is once again because the body is under stress and trying to protect the heart by layering it with extra tissue. High levels of cortisol are also linked to elevated levels of cancer in women.
So what does that cortisol release feel like? Well, it's sort of like when you have too much coffee in the morning and you get the jitters. There's a feeling of dread and anxiety that underlines everything. Everything feels a little off-kilter. You can't concentrate and you're feeling a little bit nervous and on edge. And it can be triggered by literally anything upsetting that you've seen.
It could be something you read or seen on the news. It could be something you saw on social media. Have you ever seen something on social media that's upset you? Like, maybe your crush is out on a date with somebody else and you're seeing it on social for the first time. Your palms start to sweat, your heart begins to race, and your stomach tightens. Am I the only one that experiences this feeling? Lol. When my cortisol fires suddenly, to the point of Adrenalin release, I can feel the front of my head, home of the adrenals, starts to ache.. It's almost like my forehead is burning like Harry Potter. Those are all feelings associated with cortisol release.
What keeps cortisol at bay?
Whenever I start to feel cortisol releasing I immediately practice patience, mindfulness, and try to breathe my way through the hormonal release. Because blood is rushing to the front part of my brain, to my adrenals to produce cortisol, it doesn’t leave enough blood flow to other parts of the brain that allow me to practice critical thinking. I breathe deeply and calmly and try my best to use vinyasa breath control (thanks yoga) to push the blood to other parts of my brain that can allow me to think rationally, with clarity, and without panic. Giving the brain enough time to breathe works wonders, the problem gets fixed quicker because we are not in a state of panic. This isn't a skill that came natural to me, this is something I had to learn to do after being in many stressful situations that required a world of calmness to get through.
Prioritizing the art of balancing your hormones effectively is also super helpful to keep stress at bay. What I mean by this is that minimizing the stimulation of your central nervous system. When you drink alcohol, it stimulates your central nervous system and you create more dopamine, but then when you stop drinking the dopamine also stops and the body begins to detox. This process of detox, whether from alcohol, drugs, or whatever, throws off our endocrine system. As a consequence of a hampered endocrine system, our hormones are out of balance. So the easiest way to have balanced hormones is by not messing with those fickle hormones in the first place!
Some of the most successful and effective people in this world have done away with alcohol altogether and this is no coincidence. Abstinence from nicotine is crucial also, as that is the worst offender when it comes to cortisol production. Any smoker that is experiencing the symptoms of nicotine detox will know firsthand what cortisol release feels like because this is what they feel every time their body starts craving a cigarette when they choose to quit.
Dopamine and serotonin are two neurotransmitters that are best kept balanced! If you're going to produce those chemicals, make sure they're produced naturally within your body the old fashioned way. Exercise everyday and find ways to sweat for at least 30 minutes, minimum. The hardest part of working out is showing up, so if you can make a habit out of exercising everday, you're golden.
Working out is supposed to be fun so if lifting weights at the gym or doing cardio on a machine doesn't work for you, find something that does! It can be a dance class, a bike ride, a walk through Central Park, a yoga class, etc. Movement is movement no matter what and it's good for humans to develop a healthy relationship with exercise. Whatever it is you choose to do, make sure you're doing it long enough to feel blood flow to the brain and make sure you sweat. Sweat and salt is life and don't you ever forget it! My sinuses always clear up when I workout effectively and I find myself sleeping so well at night. Setting a solid and uninterrupted circadian rhythm is also important for keeping cortisol at bay.
I can safely say that the times when I've made poor decisions in life have usually been due to a poor night's sleep. When I have 2 nights of bad sleep in a row, I get really cranky and my body begins to release cortisol, which then in turn plagues my ability to discern and think clearly. I can function on at least 6 hours, but I know that I feel my best when I get close to 7. I feel like a brand new person when I get 8 hours of sleep.
How do you get a good night’s sleep? Set yourself a routine that you look forward to doing every night so you wire your brain to enjoy the process of getting ready for bed. It’s also wise to stop/minimize all stimulation before bed. Turn the lights down low as you get closer to sun down. Make sure you read a book before you go to bed so your eyes get programmed to the real world and not a screen before they close for 6 hours.
If you are a smoker, quit. But also, make sure you aren't smoking right before you go to bed because stimulation of your central nervous system with nicotine isn't going to be conducive of a restful night’s sleep.
Use your brain the next time you're groggy and tired and exercise some Saturn returning discipline. Forgoing momentary pleasure for lifelong fulfillment is always going to be worth it in the long run. Have you ever thought about committing to something and following through with it? And when things go wrong, rather than giving up so easily, how about finding ways to rise to the occasion, challenge yourself, and exercise some serious Capricorn self-discipline.
People become champions because they’re winners, and winners find a way; losers because always make excuses. Have you ever noticed that? Heroes really own their victories while losers hold nothing but excuses. I know which one I’d rather be. In fact, I already know which one I already am haha. Excuses keep losers trapped in a perpetual cycle of self-victimhood and they’ll never, ever win.
Sometimes it's easier to focus on all the things you're going to be blessed with once you find the strength to make sacrifices. Instead of thinking about the drink or the smoke, think about the good night's rest you're going to have that night, or the elevated energy levels and brain power you'll possess the next day. Temporary sacrifices are easy to make when you remind yourself of the wider picture. It takes courage to hold yourself accountable to a goal you’re trying to achieve, are you brave enough to do it? And if you mess up and make a mistake that's fine! 90% right and 10% wrong is still passing with an A. Just remember that it’s the recovery, this is what's important.
These were lessons I learned from my Saturn returning. I had to be super disciplined and tough on myself, but I learned to like that. I enjoyed the process of testing my own personal limits and pushing myself. I'm not 100% successful all the time but what's essential is the effort. I'm not a total teetotaler, I do drink on occasion, but it's closer to a quarterly affair than it is monthly, weekly, or nightly. I prefer to sleep well at night, keep the cortisol at bay, and have my head on right for building my Swim Academy business this upcoming fall.
After a little break, we're looking forward to continuing the hard work we did this past summer. Fall 2021 is all about self-discipline, flexing our ability to self-control, and maintaining balanced hormones baby, get into it!