The weather in Portland this weekend was gorgeous! The sunny skies and mild temperature felt much more like Spring than February in the Pacific Northwest. I took advantage of the wonderful weather this weekend by treating myself to some much needed self-love (a perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s weekend if you ask me).
My Self-Love Activities:
1) Sauna– I recently learned about a place in Portland called Common Ground Wellness Co-Operative. Located in NE Portland, this serene healing center offers soak and sauna, massage, naturopathic medicine, chiropractic, and acupuncture. My boyfriend and I attended for a thirty minute soak and sauna session to relax and detoxify. Unfortunately for me, my boyfriend seemed to be much better at detoxifying than I was. In fact, this may be the only situation where I will say that I was actually jealous of his superior ability to sweat- he had a sheen of sweat dripping off his body, while my sweat was hardly visible.
As you may have read in some of my previous posts, I have a really distinct fluidy noise in my small intestine and subsequent constipation from eating high thiol foods. I recently discussed with two of my naturopaths whether my inability to properly metabolize sulfur foods could be due to chronic heavy metal toxicity. Both of them believed that this explanation fit well with my situation and they referred me to a naturopath who specializes in heavy metal testing and chelation therapy. While I await my appointment with Dr. Stacey Raffety, it was recommended that I begin regular sauna sessions to help reduce my suspected heavy metal burden. I prepared for my sauna session by hydrating throughout the day as well as during and after. I was very impressed by the peaceful and healing atmosphere (although the clothing optional was a tad bit uncomfortable for me) and plan to attend more sauna sessions.
2) Yoga– I attended two yoga classes this weekend- one of them had a focus on stretching, while the other had more of a strength focus. I find that yoga helps my body to enter a more relaxed state and it also provides the physical benefits of flexibility and muscular strength. Sometimes, I can even hear my intestines working their magic during yoga classes.
3) Bike Ride– Since moving to a bike-friendly neighborhood six months ago, I have become more accustomed to riding my bike for short trips. This weekend, I biked a total of 12 miles. Not only did it feel great to have the endorphin rush of going up a little hill or trying to make it through a light before it turned red, but it was relaxing to be outside enjoying the fresh air.
4) Sun Bathing– you probably already knew that sitting out in the sun allows your body to synthesize Vitamin D, but did you know that your body may also be able to synthesize sulfate through sun exposure? Due to my inability to tolerate much sulfate from my food, I was pleased to find that there may be a way to get this necessary component into my body while by-passing my digestive tract. You can read more about the sulfate/sunlight theory here.
What are your self-love activities? I would love to hear about them in the comments below!
Sounds like such a wonderful, loving day! I can totally relate with the sauna and no sweating thing. . I used to go to a sauna regularly in the winter and would never be able to sweat! I’m curious if my body has changed now. Self love activities. . My favourite of all is massage though I can’t afford it right now. My vitamin L activities involve creating a new recipe and home-made personal care products, yin yoga, walking by the ocean, hot baths with epsom salt, and heart-felt play/goofiness 😉 Thanks for the sulfur update, I admire your determination to get to the bottom of it. Keep us updated!
“Vitamin L” – I love it! You are so creative! Thanks for sharing your self-love activities. They sound very relaxing and peaceful. I am interested in the connection between heavy metal retention and inability to sweat well. I would think that an inability to sweat would lead to greater heavy metal retention, but I have also read that lack of sweating can be a sign of heavy metal build up. I wonder if it goes both ways.