I wondered why I was so tight. I could feel every muscle in my body pulling in one direction or another. When I walked, my Achilles felt tight; when I sat, my hip flexors felt tight; when I turned my head, my neck felt tight. Was this what it meant to get old? Then I felt Scout's wet nose touching my hand. Scout, our dog, had been lying on the other end of the sofa but had now crept along to engage me in some petting. I reached up to his neck and started to massage it. He licked my arm in response. Then I got sidetracked watching the show, and moments later, Scout nudged me, reminding me that I needed to be more focused. I took a deep breath, grounded myself, became aware of the tension in my body again, and wondered and wandered off in my mind again, thinking I needed to take a muscle relaxer or do some stretches.

I wondered why my body felt so tight. Every muscle was pulling in different directions. Walking made my Achilles feel tight, sitting made my hip flexors tight, and even turning my head made my neck tight. Was this what getting old felt like? Suddenly, I felt something wet on my hand and realized it was Scout's nose. Scout, our dog, had been lying on the other end of the sofa but had now crept over to get some petting. I began to massage his neck, and he responded by licking my arm. However, I soon got distracted and began to watch TV. It wasn't until Scout nudged me that I became aware of my body's tension again. I took a deep breath, I needed to either take a muscle relaxer or do some stretches to alleviate it.

As my mind took off again, Scout nudged me again. This time, I closed my eyes and took three deep breaths. I could feel my mind getting quiet, tuning out the rest of the world. Reaching around Scout's neck to the withers, I suddenly became aware of a word … Vitamins.

Show notes available here: https://www.mindful-connections.com/post/animals-curb-our-internal-chatter