I did! I was fortunate to have breasts that didn’t require a lot of attention when I was young. Not too big and not too small, I regularly went without wearing a bra, I didn’t need to worry too much about movement when playing sports and the most grief they had ever given me was when I decided to get my nipples pierced in my mid 20’s (don’t do it!).
It wasn’t until I was breast-feeding my baby in my early 30’s that I realised how much work breasts actually do! My daughter had slept through the night for the first time ever and this should have been cause for celebration, but it wasn’t. My breasts were full of milk, solid as a rock and not happy. The moment of jubilation quickly passed and I spent the next few days painfully massaging my breasts to move the blockages and lumps in my milk ducts that had been created from just a few hours of neglect. I wish I’d known then what I know now but it took another major event for me to really understand breast health…
“Understanding that the fattiest part of most womens bodies is their breasts and that the body will park ‘stuff’ there if it has no other option is an important realization to have.”
I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2017. As you can imagine, this was an absolutely life changing event. I had a strong belief that my cancer was created by more than environmental toxins, or poor diet, but also from the emotions, feelings and thoughts that I was carrying around within me, all of the time. When I was at my lowest I remember someone saying that instead of feeling that my body had betrayed me, I could instead realise just how smart it actually was. Choosing to put dis-ease in the fattiest part of my body where it could cause the least amount of harm is actually quite intelligent and that was a big turning point for me. Understanding that the fattiest part of most womens bodies is their breasts and that the body will park ‘stuff’ there if it has no other option is an important realization to have. For me, whether it was one traumatic event, or a chronic state of being, I was determined to heal some of my old patterns and wounds, so that I could come back into optimal health and support my body, mind and soul! I overhauled my life completely, from my diet, to my relationships, to my thoughts and behaviours; no part of my life was overlooked.
In the years preceding my diagnosis I had become aware of some breast lumps. They may have been caused by my earlier mastitis, or the fact that I had quite dense breasts for most of my life, or even an accumulation of emotional stress or environmental toxins. During that time I researched and explored so many areas of health and well being on my way to recovery. One thing I realised was that my breasts didn’t get a lot of care.
So one of the first things I needed to do was love them more!
Happy Breast Balm was one of my first steps towards changing my relationship with this beautiful and neglected part of my body. I already knew about so many of the amazing ingredients in this balm, especially the potency of essential oils for well-being. For me this product just brought all of the good stuff together in one delicious product, as well as giving me even more information and back ground on how to continue to take care of my breasts, not just now but well into the future as well. The information on dry brushing and the diagrams showing how to stimulate and support my lymphatic system were just gold!
Many of us do know how important it is to keep our lymphatic systems happy through movement in all areas of our physical bodies, especially our breasts and yet whether its self massage or massage from others, many of us shy away from having our breasts touched for therapeutic reasons. Even most Massage Therapists will avoid a woman breasts and this is one of the main reasons why I specialize in the holistic approach of Kahuna Massage for health and well-being.
Since becoming a Kahuna Therapist over 14 years ago I have learned the importance of stimulating the lymphatic system to release toxins and chemical buildup, supporting the body to come back to optimal health. What I hadn’t realised until I had breast cancer though, was that there are more than 40 lymph nodes located around the breasts and in the breast tissue that extends to underneath our armpits, as well as a chain of lymph nodes that run up the centre of our chest, between the breasts. We cannot neglect this part of our bodies anymore, it is so important to create lymphatic movement through our entire chest area for optimal breast health.
I now include a regular breast health routine in my life, from self-massage and dry brushing to Happy Breast Balm and Kahuna Massage. I am so happy to say that through the many changes that I made and continue to make, I am the healthiest that I have ever been in my life! My outlook on living has changed, my experiences as a woman, mother, lover, friend and businesswoman continue to get even better and I look forward to the adventures that await me far into my future.
I would encourage all women both young and old to start taking care of their breasts right now, prevention is always better than the cure and Happy Breast Balm combined with regular breast massage is definitely my favourite way to achieve this!
For more information on breast care, just click on this link
Much Love
Shekinah Leigh
Kahuna Massage Specialist * Civil Marriage Celebrant * Shamanic Practitioner * Rites of Passage Facilitator
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