I’ve been hearing about this great mixed drink. Unlike most mixed drinks, I hear the more you drink, the clearer you get. Heavy indulgence doesn’t result in getting tanked or a crippling headache the next day. You don’t have to wait in line downstairs at the Co-op to get some, and even minors can indulge freely. How do you make it? Four fingers hydrogen, 2 oxygen. Hey, barkeep, set my friends up over here…it’s on me.

Make sure the glass stays full…as soon as you knock it back, top it off, as a visual cue for the next time you pass by your tankard, that there’s more to be had. Guys, it’s okay to chugalug it like a triple shot. Drink and pee, drink and pee, all day long. Feeling hungry a lot? Down a big glass, wait 15 minutes, and then see if you’re really still hungry. We’ve grown so chronically thirsty for so long, we sometimes mistake our body’s signal for more as a call for food. For best results, drink a lot at room temperature on an empty stomach to give your body the highest high, and don’t mix it with anything else — juice is not the same thing. They don’t call it a watering hole for nothing! Esp. if you’ve just received bodywork, had a big cry, or have done a lot of physical activity. Flush those toxins!

Then there’s the frozen form of this elixir of life. Be cool. In fact, be cold. Get yourself one of those soft packs, wrap it in a hand towel, and put it on anything that hurts. Strap it on if it’s going on a hard-to-balance place. Yeah, I know it feels better short-term if it’s hot, but nothing brings that curative, long-term, deep secondary blood flow like Ice. 10-15 minutes on…then take it off for another 10-15 mins. Then on again, then off again. A total of three rounds, twice a day. Just chill those aches right out.

No sweetie to wrap yourself around at night? Or s/he doesn’t like to cuddle during the dreamtime? Didn’t know you could heal while sleeping? Yes, Virginia, the healing answer is lots of pillows. Soft gooshy ones. For side sleeping, I like one pushed up against my back, right down to my tailbone. And one in front of me, to curl up with. And one between my knees. Or under my knees if I’m on my back, or under one raised hip if on my belly. All this allows joints and muscles to more fully relax and let go completely into that soft support, else butts, backs and shoulders wave in the night breeze causing muscles, tendons and ligaments to max out from having to work while the rest of you is off partying with Wynken, Blynken and Nod. And yes, that back-to-the-womb feeling one gets from all this pillow snuggling counts for a lot as well in the relaxation department.

You know that whole “my body” thing, as if some master self in me “owns” my body, as if my body isn’t really me but is more like a vehicle to be maintained? “My” body doesn’t like that…she’s a sovereign, sentient, fully spiritual part of me with as much say-so and right to lead as mind or spirit. She is not a Toyota, she’s a magical, loving, human ecosystem, made of Earth (a female)! Ask “your” body’s name, see what you get, and play with that. Talk to her, ask what she wants. Ask her opinion. Include her in your decisions. You may be very surprised at what comes up in response to doing that.

Last thing…remember that stretching is a wonderful injury preventive for any type of physical exertion. Stretch shortly after you’ve begun to exercise. For example, on a long walk, be sure to stop and stretch any time you start to feel pain in a muscle or an area of your body. Stretching after exercise is just as important too.