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SAV V Y SELF-CARE clearer thinking, enhanced immunity, increased productivity, and the probability of a healthier weight, lower blood pressure, and an increase in happiness. SIMPLE IS SACRED Your body is constantly communicating with you, offering at first gentle reminders that, if unanswered, can lead to clamoring, distress, or even disease. Experiencing your body as a friend who gives regular invitations and reminders to drink when thirsty, eat when hungry, and sleep when tired is one of the most essential and sacred self-awareness practices you can perform. What messages does your body want you to hear? When you listen to your body attentively, you feel better, perform better, and are available to connect with the world around you and the people in it in nourishing ways. Simple and sacred acts of self-awareness lead to a masterful practice of self-care that provides far-reaching benefits for you and all those you help and care for. Note 1. Tracy L. Tylka and Ashley M. Kroon Van Diest, "The Intuitive Eating Scale–2: Item Refinement and Psychometric Evaluation with College Women and Men," Journal of Counseling Psychology 60, no. 1 (2013): 137–53; https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ fddc/dbbd4046dc7e5c08314dff836a25dc01d384.pdf. Heath and Nicole Reed are co-founders of Living Metta (living "loving kindness") and want everyone in the world to enjoy the experience of befriending their body. The Reeds lead workshops and retreats across the country and overseas, including Thailand, France, and Hawaii, and have been team-teaching touch and movement therapy for 20 years. In addition to live classes, the Reeds offer massage therapy and self-care videos, online trainings, and a global online "Metta Community," which may be found at www.livingmetta.com. N e w ! A B M P P o c k e t P a t h o l o g y a t w w w. a b m p . c o m / a b m p - p o c k e t - p a t h o l o g y - a p p . 21 Stop the Hamster Wheel—and Sleep You are ready to go to sleep, but your mind is spinning faster than a hamster wheel. How can you slow the pace to catch those much-needed Z's? One effective sleep strategy we use to calm the overactive mind and harmonize the body is a self-acupressure practice called jin shin jyutsu. In traditional Chinese medicine, the five elements correspond with the five fingers. By contacting them with the following mindful approach, we can relax and restore the free flow of circulation throughout our entire mind and body. To use this practice: • Lie down and rest both palms on your belly, as you hold one finger with your opposite hand. It does not matter which hand or finger you start or end on, but you do want to move through each finger one at a time using your breath to help follow your body's sensations. • Hold each finger for 1–3 minutes each or until you feel a pulsing sensation shift in the finger being held. Hold as much of the finger as possible without squeezing it with the opposite hand, and use gentle contact. If you sense a pulsation in your finger, continue holding it until you notice it begin to steady and become calm. Oftentimes, we fall asleep holding a finger without ever making it to all 10 fingers, and this is no problem. This is success! Sleep has come! If you do complete all 10 fingers, you can seal the first round by placing the fingertips of each hand into the center of the opposite palm, so your palms are cupped facing one another. Maintain this circuit for a couple minutes, and then switch which hand is on top and on the bottom. If you make it through one full round, repeat again until you fall asleep. Resources Am I Hungry: Mindful Eating Programs and Training. Accessed May 5, 2020. www.amihungry.com. Harvard Health Publishing. "The Importance of Staying Hydrated." Last modified June 18, 2015. Accessed May 5, 2020. www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-importance-of-staying-hydrated. Huffington, Arianna. The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time. New York: Harmony Books, 2017. IntuitiveEating.org. "Intuitive Eating Studies." Accessed May 5, 2020. www.intuitiveeating.org/resources/studies. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. HealthyPeople.gov. "Sleep Health." Accessed May 5, 2020. www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/sleep-health.