Dec 2- It’s a good day to clean out your “purse.”

I have a reputation for carrying heavy purses. I don’t set out to weigh myself down, I simply lose track of what’s inside and never take the time to sort through the mess until my shoulder starts to ache. Did you know there is a condition called Heavy Purse Syndrome? Symptoms include:

• Upper Back and Neck Pain
• Tension Headaches
• Low Back Pain or Sciatica
• Elbow Tendinitis
• Rotator Cuff injury in the shoulder
• Numbness & Tingling into the arm or hand

Experts say purses should not exceed 10% of our body weight.

(I’m pretty sure mine usually does.)

While I’ve never discovered a four and a half pound brick in my purse ( I definitely don’t attend “events” that require those ) I have dug out a thousand little things that collectively add up over time!

Which brings me to Christmas 2020.

Many of us are trudging into the season lugging along the heaviness of this past year. Disappointments, fear, sadness and anger are stacked up like wrinkled receipts in the compartments of our minds. Each Covid restriction is another quarter weighing down our already bulging wallet. The large ring of keys we’re carrying might include a few for doors whose locks have now been changed.

So yeah, today might be a good day to sit down and go through your purse..

your actual, REAL purse.

And as you relieve yourself of the burden of that which you are tired of carrying, imagine yourself releasing the emotional weights of this past year. This is an exercise that is good for both body and soul and a great way to start the Christmas season.