rocks

for years and years, i've had chronic achy shoulders. i would try to get massages as often as possible. and without fail, my masseur/masseuses would always comment that my shoulders are like rocks. tons and tons of knots that would never go away. and the pain eventually spread to my lower back and legs. yep, i was aging by the day!

i theorized that it was a combination of a bad night of sleep (funky pillows or foreign mattresses), not enough sleep, not enough exercise, and/or work stress. and maybe a bunch of other stuff, who knows. i eventually turned to acupuncture back in november and continued pretty much until we left the states. it definitely helped and i could feel my shoulders relaxing and my lower back pain going away. amazing!

i was kind of worried though, that the achiness would come back with full force, especially since we'd be sleeping in all sorts of foreign beds. and yes, 18 of them so far in fact (the ones below plus a sofa bed at my parents' and a guest bed in ny). and a lot of them were super firm, like i couldn't sleep on my side, because otherwise a bed spring would be digging into my hip. and none of the pillows were my preferred foam type. and many times, we'd have to haul our suitcases up and down lots of stairs. and we've walked miles and miles, which means direct impact on my lower back.

and what do you know ... zero shoulder and lower back pain. ok, i might have had one night when my shoulders ached after stressing about our budget. but other than that, i'm ache-free. woot! so what changed? well, if you were actually paying attention while reading this, you can guess my theory ...