mind.body.soul.

from that time on, i felt like it was my duty to inform people of their life path number. also, hugs. did you know that you need four hugs a day to survive? eight hugs a day to maintain? and twelve hugs a day to grow? are you thriving or are you barely surviving?! once i was charged with this knowledge i was hugging everybody all the time. not that this wasn’t in my normal nature, but i was taking this to a whole new level. years ago in college when i was taking my psychology class, i remember hearing about an experiment that was done in the 40’s in an orphanage where the babies were fed, bathed, changed, and had all of their basic needs met, but zero love and affection or even words were spoken to or eye contact with their care providers. all of them died. all of them. this is not only a very disturbing experiment, but also should be a wake up call to every human on this earth. we, as humans, are meant to be loved. we are meant to be touched, and hugged. this is how empathy is formed at the early stages of life and this is how we are all meant to survive- and thrive- in love! over the course of the last few years in my hug research with individuals that i met, it was alarming to me just how many people didn’t think they even got four hugs a week! how sad! no wonder we are so lost, sad, depressed, alone, anxious, etc. we aren’t getting enough love! for those of you not getting enough love in your life, make a commitment today to start seeking out 12 hugs a day. i bet your life would completely transform. not to mention the lives of others. try it… so on my journey of hugging the nation, i realized over time that i was starting to deplete my own energy source. i started being a little more selective of who i hugged. it didn’t dawn on me that by giving so much love out, that i forgot i needed to love on myself in solitude a little more. it takes lots of energy to save the universe. anyway, one of the ways of loving on myself was by going to hot yoga. it was around this time that i was going to 11 classes a week. those were my peak weeks. worst case scenario, 4 classes, on average, 7. and of course i thought that this was one of the best ways to give back to myself. physical activity, being centered, resting and reflecting. i had been into my practice for a few years at this point and one day, after class, i decided to try a headstand. not something i was really working on hard core, but wanted to give it a go. and finally, for the first time, i felt like i had achieved it. i was light as a feather, i was floating, it was one of the most amazing feelings i had felt. but then something happened. i got out of the feeling and started thinking. i started to fall backwards, and my neck went crunch, crunch, crack. i was like fuck, fuck, fuck. i laid there for a minute and someone grabbed me some ice. i got up and knew something was wrong. obviously the pain and after going to the chiropractor, it was discovered that i tore three ligaments in my neck. and that was the beginning of my relationship with my chiropractor. i have been going for almost three years now to see him every three weeks or so. it is amazing to me how incredibly everything is linked in your life as it pertains to your body and mind. there is a wisdom that all of us possess in our very own precious system and being in tune and tuned-up is critical for our success. so i added this treatment to my monthly routine. it’s just like getting a haircut. your body needs love too. through all of this love that i have been giving and receiving over the last several years, i’ve realized that the most important person you can love is yourself. hopefully by getting to know myself better, i will honor myself and know my self worth. no one is going to love us like we love ourselves. and that is just what i decided to do. i made the decision that i was going to do whatever the fuck i wanted to do, whenever the fuck i wanted to. i started making dates with myself. i found it very hard to commit to anyone else during this time. because i am a woman of my word, if i said i was going to do something, i was going to do it. so i just left it open. ‘maybe,’ i’ll let you know,’ ‘we shall see’ were common phrases that i would use when i wasn’t sure how i would feel so i could be true to myself. i also started walking a lot. with no real direction or intention of where i was going or what i was doing. it was just simply enjoyable to see where the earth took me. sometimes it took me hours of just walking around thinking, other times it crossed my path with friends or strangers and great conversations. and being that i was alone, i could also excuse myself from the situation when i felt like i needed to be alone again or needed to move on. being alone helped me listen to myself and what i wanted. it was the first time in my life that i was taking care of me. another new thing for me. putting myself first for once. and it felt great. i was truly investing in myself. and when you pour all this love into yourself, you attract the love you so desire and deserve.