I’d spent a couple of weeks recovering from a torn ligament in my lower back and had begun to finally feel that I could get on with things as normal. Just as I was going about my business, sitting still for one moment, I hurt my neck. Sitting still. Really? Yes. Good grief!

After soldiering on in pain for a couple of days, picking nettles for soup and playing games of pass the parcel – yep, this really is my everyday life -I finally decided upon some proper remedial action. You wanna know what I did?

I stayed away from my desk and stayed out of the kitchen. I piled up some books and my journals and spent two days in bed. Yes, two whole days. Two days of smelly boys being in charge of my kitchen, avoiding the fresh vegetables. Two days of yet more dirty clothes threatening to walk themselves down to the launderette in protest at being ignored.

Two days of writing and breathing. Luxury, huh?

And the first thing I figured out – it wasn’t fear of the plates that was causing me harm. They weren’t big, bad plates ready to snap at me if I broke them. There were simply too many of them. Beautiful, colourful, friendly plates each and every one. Interesting, helpful companions on this mid-life crisis beautiful journey of mine. But simply too many of them for one natural woman. Easy peasy, big sigh of relief.

D’oh! D’oh! D’oh! So all I needed to do was drop some of the plates? That easy? You gotta be kidding? Do that again – that big sigh of relief… feel how easy it is. How relaxed your body is. Is the pain going away? It is, isn’t it? Relax into it. Push the breath there. Now move a bit. Wiggle about this malfunctioning neck and back. You can, can’t you? Breathe and relax. Breathe and relax.

You’re only one crazy natural woman. Drop a few plates. There’s an optimum amount of plates and you’ve just busted the equation. Breathe…breathe… breathe… That’s better isn’t it? Did anyone even notice? Nope, everything is as it should be. All present and correct? Yes, minus a few plates …

You and I both know it doesn’t take two days to learn to how to breathe. Or does it?

Yoga has restarted. Green juice and morning pages. Baking bread and writing. Laying off the nettle foraging and the party games, mind you. Crazy natural woman, heal thyself.