The lesson I learned about my body in Italy.
From the Sunday Self-Care Chronicles | 6/14/26
Hello sweet friend.
I can't believe it but by the time you read this I will be on a plane bound for the U.S.!
We arrived in Italy 10 weeks ago today and what an amazing two and a half months it has been.
I recognize the privilege I have to be able to take this time away from my in-person practice. To have my husband at my side, both of us working while we're here. To have family members at home who have helped us out in so many ways while we've been away.
And I also recognize that you helped make this happen.
All of you — the people who have shown up for my work over the years, in all its forms — helped me believe this was worth doing.
This time away gave me the space I needed to complete a lot of the structure and content for As You Are Now: A Breast Cancer Self-Care Program for Real Life. Many of you have already expressed interest in learning more and you will be hearing directly from me about it soon.
I'm not sure I would have had the guts to shut down my practice solely to focus on my online work. It took going to another continent where I proved to myself that, while I love the structure and comfort of my office, I don't actually need it to do the work I'm here to do.
I doubled the amount of time I've been out of the U.S. in one go and my body and I held up our ends of the bargain - I took care of it and it took care of me.
And you don't have to be a traveler to relate to what I'm feeling. The geography isn't the point. It's what happened when I stopped waiting until conditions were perfect and just… went. I found out I was more capable than I'd given myself credit for. That my body was more trustworthy than I'd allowed it to be.
I learned that it is safe for me to live life to my fullest, in this body, as I am now.
That's the thing I want for you.
For me it was being able to travel for longer than ever before and trust that my body and I could support each other all the way through.
Sure I had tightness in my chest from time to time but I handled it with appropriate stretches and gentle massage techniques, just like I do at home.
A few times my arm on my cancer side made me wonder if it something was going wonky with my lymphatics, but I used all of the tools at my disposal - everything from swimming to self-MLD - to get it feeling completely normal.
When my inner critic started talking shit about the way my body looked in a swimsuit, I leaned into the same techniques I teach my clients about body neutrality and function over form, and got right back to enjoying the beach and the ocean.
What do you wish were different for you and your body?
It might be getting comfortable looking at and touching your scars so that when you get out of the shower you don't have to turn away from the mirror or ask your partner to see if everything looks ok.
Maybe it's taking the unknown out of your lymphedema risk and learning how to manage and even reduce it through simple self-care practices, so that you can hit the gym without worry.
Or it could be deciding that you are tired of the constant chatter in your head about the way your body looks now compared to before your diagnosis and you're ready to start giving yourself grace and working towards acceptance.
Because it's not about how far you go or what you want to do every day.
It's about the fact that you don't have to live at the mercy of your cancer experience.
Thank you again for helping bring my dreams to life and now I would love to hear yours:
What would you do if you felt comfortable in your body?
What would you enjoy more if you felt safe in your skin?
Hit reply and share them with me.
Sending you love from 30,000 feet and I'll see you right here, in your inbox, next Sunday.
Always in this with you…
P.S. If you have not yet gotten on the list for details on my new program, but are curious about what I've been working on all this time away, you can click here to join my email list and be among the first to know. It goes live with a special founding members offer in July and spaces are limited.