11 Things I Wish Every Woman Knew
Written by Madolyn Linka | Jun 20, 2019
Over the past 4 years of my career as a chiropractor and primary health care provider, there are certain things I find myself consistently emphasizing and reminding my female patient population. Here are a few points to spark something within you, as you continue on your journey through womanhood.
1. Your nervous system controls everything.
If you’re in a constant state of fight-or- flight, it will override all the good things you are doing. Stress is more powerful than you believe or are willing to admit. Don’t fool yourself that you’re coping if you know, deep down, that you really aren’t. Seek help. Talk to people. Delegate. Stop being a perfectionist—it’s not doing your wellness any favours. If you have chronic stress in your life; supplements, proper nutrition, consistent exercise and chiropractic care can be helpful tools to continue keeping your nervous system in a healthy state.
2. Weight isn’t only about “what goes in versus what goes out.”
Your healthy and ideal weight will come when you find balance in all aspects of your life, but especially when your hormones are happy and healthy. Your hormones will be happy and healthy when you find harmony among all the aspects of your life that influence them. For many women, the constant rush and excessive over-commitment make achieving this virtually impossible. No amount of restricted eating and over-exercising can make up for it.
3. Veggies are life!
Eating styles vary based on the person, but different things work for different bodies. Veggies are life, and a high percentage of your diet should be composed of them, no matter what your food beliefs or opinions. Vegetables are full of the nutrients, antioxidants, and fibre that we all need for wellness. If you do nothing else, eat more veggies. Every day.
4. Essential nutrients are ESSENTIAL!
These are nutrients that your body needs and can’t physically make with the hormones, compounds and molecules that it has. Omega 3’s & probiotics come from food/bacteria in our diets, & vitamin D, which we get from our environment naturally. Making sure to use supplementation when you know you’re not getting these essentials & utilize high-quality, practitioner-standard supplements can often mean the difference between feeling OK and feeling vibrant/thriving.
5. Digestive problems aren’t necessarily caused by what you’re eating
They can be, of course. But I see many women who have amazing diets but still suffer terrible digestive symptoms. When we’re stressed, blood is diverted from our digestive organs (stomach, liver, spleen, intestines) and toward our arms and legs. This is the classic fight/flight nervous system response, preparing us to flee or attack. It greatly reduces the amount of essential oxygen and nutrients flowing to our vital organs, thereby hindering their capacity to digest the food we’re eating. Again, it comes back to stress.
6. Yoga may be the answer to everything.
Yoga helped pull me out of the most debilitating bout of grief, and I don’t say that lightly. When I stray from my regular yoga practice, I can’t adequately maintain the harmony that yoga brings to my life. I know yoga isn’t for everyone, but it is profoundly balancing for the entire endocrine system (which means: all your hormones). It will also dramatically help your digestive difficulties by flushing fresh blood back to your vital organs. It also switches you out of fight-or-flight and back into your beautiful, calming, restorative rest-and-digest nervous-system response.
7. Restriction and deprivation rarely work.
I have no health “rules,” because I know that the above is true. Rather, we need to work on developing a connected relationship with ourselves on every level— physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—so that we can listen in and know what we need in any given moment. There are times to indulge, and times not to. Times to push harder, and times to rest. When you trust your body, and its signs, symptoms, and nudges, you will begin to deeply honour this. And
then your life will change with limited effort.
8. Signs and symptoms are messengers, asking for change.
Don’t get upset at your body for giving you signs and symptoms. It isn’t turning against you, despite what you may believe. We all experience signs and symptoms at different times, letting us know when we need to start or stop doing something, when we’re off track, when we’ve stopped honouring ourselves. Listen in. Your body is reflecting the innate wisdom that knows exactly what you need.
9. The world will not fall apart if you take a step back.
As women, we often feel like we’re the glue that holds everything together. Because we are often the centre point of our worlds—we mistakenly believe that we can’t rest, take time off, or take a step back, because if we do the world will fall apart. This is simply not true. When we honour our own needs, dreams, and desires enough to create space for them in our lives, we give other people the opportunity to step up and support us. Doing this displays courage and trust— trust that everything will still be taken care of when we step back.
10. Inspiration is everything.
If you do not have things in your life that inspire you, re-evaluate what’s surrounding you. In other words: Do what you love & love what you do. This doesn’t necessarily need to translate into the workplace (although it is helpful to at least like your job). But every day should include small things that inspire you. Life is not supposed to be a relentless drag.
11. Everything transforms eventually.
Truly, everything does. Life is hard for everyone at times. Life ebbs and flows. The best we can do is surrender to the hard times, knowing that they will transform when we have integrated the lesson and help us grow on the other end. Trusting in this can honestly change everything.
In health,
Madolyn Linka
