The Stable Health Studio

I’ve been thinking a lot about food lately - wholesome simple non processed nourishment - and the ripple effect it has on so many elements of our everyday lives.

Our energy, our sleep, how we move, how we think and focus, our mood… right down to how we feel about ourselves.

It doesn’t have to be complicated or perfect. Sometimes it’s simply about bringing a little more colour, freshness and goodness into the everyday.

And I’ve got something lovely coming this September that I’m very excited to share with you. 🍅🥕🍓

Keep your eyes peeled… 👀

I’ve hit a wall today. This is not a sympathy post. I’m just keeping it real because so often Instagram is just the best bits.

I hate wearing this sling all day and night.

It’s so annoying not being able to tie my hair back or put my clothes on. I miss feeling like me. And if I’m honest, I feel overwhelmed at the thought of not being able to do much physical yoga or other movement for another 2–3 months.

Then on Thursday I get the results of my recent neck scans and find out whether the disc implants in my neck have failed.

And of course I might get very good news but I don’t know that yet.

It feels like a lot.

I’m reminding myself today that two truths can exist at the same time.

I can be deeply grateful for my beautiful life… while also feeling utterly fed up and frustrated that, after working so hard over the last few years to feel strong and safe in my body, I’m being asked to dig deep and build that trust all over again.

Some days resilience looks like progress and resilience. Today it looks like letting myself feel all of this.

And tomorrow, I’ll keep going again. 💪🤍

In case you too are struggling right now, I hope you know it’s simply ok to not be ok, and you don’t need to feel endlessly positive, you’re allowed to feel fed up and utterly hopeless so long as you remind yourself it will pass.♥️

Please share any good reads or suggestions on how to pass the time…using only one arm! 😁

A few days ago, I was lying in my hospital bed having discovered my surgery had been more complex than I’d hoped, meaning a longer and much slower recovery. Suddenly, the reality hit me: I was weeks away from being able to cook the kind of nourishing food my body desperately needed.

I’ve followed Kate THE FOOD DOULA / KATE LONGDEN for a long time, loving her work and grounding soothing energy. While I’m a long way from needing postpartum meals (wish I’d known about her when I had my babies), I’ve always loved the way Kate talks about food as nourishment for different seasons of life and healing.

So I sent her a message asking one simple question…

“Do any of your meals contain garlic?” With a garlic allergy, I realised I may not be able to order from her online package.

Less than 24 hours later, Kate had done something I never expected.

She planned, cooked and delivered an entirely bespoke food package just for me.🤎✨

Frittata packed with herbs and protein. Healing bircher. Golden kitchari. Soups, herbal infusions, bliss balls… every single thing made with so much thought and care for what my body needed right now.

Honestly, they’re some of the most delicious meals I’ve eaten in a long while. The rest of the family have been looking on longingly while they eat their beans on toast!😝

But it’s been more than the food itself.

It’s felt like a big dose of love and kindness wrapped up in delicious morsels!

When you’re recovering, exhausted, in pain and relying on other people, that kind of kindness lands differently.

Kate, thank you. ✨Your box of nourishment has made such a difference to these last few days, and I won’t forget it. If you need some nourishment from the inside out Kate is your woman.

Lots of you have asked what I actually had done during my shoulder surgery, so here are the details!

It’s been really helpful (and mentally grounding) to finally understand exactly what was going on inside…rather than just guessing at the source of the pain for so long. MRI scans don’t always provide a clear picture.

Now the focus shifts fully to healing, rehab, and slowly rebuilding strength and trust in my shoulder again. 4-6 weeks in a sling and probably around 2- 3 months until my next downward facing dog.🫣 This is going to be extremely tough for me mentally having such limited movement in my physical yoga practice because my mind and body love to flow.

But for now breathwork and meditation is my way number 1 companion (it’s really helping me cope with the pain) and then I’ll be off to the physio to start moving what I imagine will be a very stiff arm and shoulder!

Incredibly thankful to a fantastic team of doctors and nurses looking after me.💜

yogateacherlife

It’s been twelve years since I had surgery on my neck, and today I’m heading back to see my neurosurgeon after being “recalled” because of safety concerns around the disc implants that were used in my cervical spine back in 2014.

It’s a strange mix of emotions.

Relief I think, to finally be getting to this point. It’s been a couple of months since the recall letter landed in my inbox, and there’s only so much wondering and trying to stay calm before you just need to know.

Obviously, I’m keeping everything crossed that the devices haven’t failed and aren’t showing any signs of failure. But at the same time, I’m trying to trust the journey. Trust my body. Trust that whatever I find out, I’ll meet it as I always try to - one step at a time.

Although, when I arrived today, I did briefly wonder whether I’d accidentally wandered into a secret MI5 operation.

Reception called through to the CT department and announced, very seriously:

“Project January has arrived.”😂

My neck surgery rearranged so much for me, physically and mentally. Never in my wildest dreams, did I imagine I’d be where I am today.

Strong. Mostly pain free. Moving. Teaching. Living. Deeply grateful for what that neck replacement has enabled me to do over the last 12 years.

Perhaps even more so over the last eight, since having Ayla, I’ve worked incredibly hard to rebuild myself from the ground up and find my way back to feeling safe in my body.

So today feels like a weird full-circle moment.

And, if I’m going back to The Wellington, there HAS to be a silver lining…

I get to return to the best deli I have ever discovered in my entire life - Panzere’s.🥯 If you haven’t ever been… you NEED to go! Check out the photos!

Sushi. Every fruit and vegetable your heart desires. Bagels. Lox. Amazing cake! Basically filling my Jewish cup while I wait to find out what the next chapter looks like. 😂❤️

Just a couple more weeks to wait now for the results. I’m trusting that whatever comes next, I’ll find my way through it but praying it isn’t corrective neck surgery because I know I’ll have to dig very deep for that.✨