Tips for Breast Health - Part 1

🍒 B R E A S T health 🍒 October is breast cancer awareness month, but I'd like to approach this differently.

I remember learning statistics and risk factors during medical school and feeling utterly pissed off and helpless simultaneously. 1 in 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. Reading through the list of risk factors is absolutely perplexing as a self-actualized woman today: basically, you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't:

🍒 risks increase with age (I'm not going Benjamin Button over here, are you?) 🍒 genetic mutations and factors (not necessarily within our control) 🍒 menarche before age 12 or menopause after age 55 (this can be environmental and/or genetic... but again, possibly out of your control) 🍒 dense breasts (I mean, breast tissue tends to be dense for younger women, or those with smaller breasts) 🍒 giving birth to children after age 30 (so... maybe you weren't in the right position to have children before 30, or you decided to not give birth to children for whatever reason) 🍒 never breast feeding (maybe you couldn't breastfeed for some reason, or you never gave birth to children) 🍒 use of hormone pharmaceuticals (this could be HRT or birth control pills. I know. Did your doctor warn you about that when you were 16 and put you on the pill for acne? I'm guessing not) We live in both strange and amazing times. Women have more options than ever, and yet sometimes we find ourselves in analysis paralysis. I'd like to spend the next 5 days sharing ideas about how to promote breast WELLNESS, not simply disease avoidance. It's so much more empowering to do what feels good and right in your body and soul, which allows health to permeate each nook and cranny of your body. Fear and tension do the opposite! Let me know in the comments if there are any specific questions you have about breast health as well!

Part One:

I consider this to be *THE* very most important factor when it comes to full-body wellness (a loaded term, I know!) and that is mindset and awareness of our bodies.

Nothing here is meant to blame or shame, and you should always take what works for you, and leave the rest.

I'm taking some cues from one of my most favorite MDs: @drchristianenorthrup and mixing in my perspective and experience.

The liver meridian passes directly through the breasts. Anyone who has a tendency to get angry or irritable under stress or pressure, tends to accumulate stagnation here. The left breast overlays the heart: our emotional center. According to @heartmathinstitute the heart emits the strongest electromagnetic field in the entire body. Breast tissue is an energetic center in our bodies.

This isn't to say -- don't ever get angry. Rather, be aware of how quick you are to get angry or resentful in response to stimuli, and bring awareness when it happens. Then dig deeper. Anger is usually overlaying sadness, fear, or pain. Bring awareness to your anger, where in your body you feel it, the quality of it, and what lies beneath. Energetically, the heart represents care and love. In women, breasts represent maternal love and nourishment. Woman often fall into the role of caretaker and giver, forgetting to replenish their supply, or have a hard time RECEIVE-ing from others. Culturally, we have been programmed to put our own needs on the back burner, or to stifle them completely.

Spend some time exploring your relationship to your breasts. Have they been a hindrance, embarrassment, or a pleasure? What were your mother/aunt/grandmother's relationship to their breasts? What stories have you taken on from family, friends, society? As you explore where you're starting at with your current mindset, you can begin to create a new reality. What do you want your relationship with your breasts to be like? Do you want to be loved, nourished, and supported? You can create a new reality as cells and genes constantly re-generate and respond to their environment: your mindset. Stay tuned for Parts 2 - 5🍒

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