Sunday Letter • February 23rd, 2025
On listening to and honoring your body, a classic funk track for the soul, and my commitment to what’s to come soon
Welcome to this week’s
My body has been going through a LOT: over the past month, I’ve been traveling for work, catching colds, recovering from surgery and pharmaceutical use, had an adverse food reaction due to a histamine overload in my body post-surgery, and of course, as a menstruating woman, bleeding in-between it all. While I try to stick to a publishing schedule for the most part, sometimes I just need to give myself time.
My Oura Ring and its accompanying app have been showing that my resilience to stress has been “Limited” over this past month, and knowing what I’ve been going through, it makes sense. Oura’s Resilience tracking feature uses a scale from “Limited” to “Exceptional.” Prior to returning to work after the holidays and New Year, my resilience was in the “Strong” range, just below “Exceptional.” Clocking that dip…what does that shift say about our modern work lives? Seeing this laid out in a chart has made me reflect deeper on the effect that my job, while it has meaning for me, has on my health.
These past couple of weeks I’ve been listening to my body: slowing down, nourishing and restoring holistically, and not putting any extra pressure on myself to perform. Last weekend, for the first time in over a month, my resilience score in the Oura app finally leveled up to “Adequate.”
I’d been feeling bad about not getting to any of the fitness classes I started taking at the start of the year, or even getting around to certain household tasks... However, my body and primary needs come first. Wellness is something that you can always come back to. No—knowing when to slow it down, focusing your care on your basic needs, and not burning yourself out IS wellness.
This past week, I have been feeling more like myself again. Getting to tasks, and back in my kitchen cooking and nourishing myself fully.
My resilience level went up to “Solid” a few days ago. Thursday night, I went to an African dance fitness class for the first time in over a month, and today I enjoyed a challenging Pilates class.
Sometimes these liminal periods of being down and out feel like forever. It can take a hit at your sense of self. But you will heal and recover, and you will return to your best state.
With or without fancy wellness technology, your body will give you signs. Listen to your body.
I’m still compiling my DEEP Dive on my prep and recovery from my wisdom teeth removal surgery. It only made sense to take my time with it as I was still very much so recovering up until a week ago.
DEEP Dive is a series of longer-format posts that will include issues that are both free for all and those exclusive to my paid subscribers, as I want to facilitate access to the knowledge I have to share and honor the work that I put into creating this content. As I’ve shared in previous Sunday Letter “coming soon” teasers, I have a few DEEP Dives I’m working on that cover a range of topics, from building a kitchen for holistic health, nutrition for looking and feeling good, body, face, and nail care, and eating well without breaking the bank.
The premiere Special Topic issue of DEEP Dive on my surgery recovery will include:
My tips and insights on what to expect (including how to navigate post-surgery histamine overload)
A grocery and food prep guide
Herbs I used to support healing and supply deep nourishment
Two tasty recipes for nourishing recovery
I hope you’ll stay tuned!
All 15+ minutes of
“(Not Just) Knee Deep” by Funkadelic
Genre: R&B • Style: Funk
George Clinton’s Funkadelic is responsible for many of the samples well-loved in ‘90s and even ‘00s West Coast Hip-Hop. “(Not Just) Knee Deep” is no different—just check its WhoSampled rap-sheet.
I had the delight of hearing this classic when watching an old episode of New York Undercover (Season 2, Episode 12) on Tubi where George Clinton and his band were the musical guest stars, and it’s been in my head all week.
Due to copyright issues with so much of his music, much of Clinton’s wonderful catalog is not available to its fullest extent on streaming platforms and digital music stores. Because of this, I have always found it a treat to hear any of his iconic Funkadelic or Parliament tracks on R&B radio or in passing, such as on a fave TV show.
Funk is good for the soul.
What I’ve been reading:
While I’m working on new posts to share with you all, you can always check out and revisit any of my previous posts by heading to my archive on the web.
Still to come:
I’ll share with you my chicken bone broth recipe
A DEEP Dive: Special Topic—How I prepared for and recovered from intensive wisdom teeth removal surgery (including how I navigated an adverse histamine reaction) holistically
Rounded UP: A curated collection of favorite vintage denim looks from my personal Pinterest boards
I connect the dots between Gap Band, Guy, and Nas in the next edition of Throughlines
Thank you for being here with me and riding this out with me.
I encourage you all to find moments of stillness over the coming weeks that allow you to listen to your bodies. What are you noticing in your body? What is it trying to tell you with the nuisance symptoms it gives you: the rash on your face, the poor digestion?
Our bodies are intelligent technology. Our current “healthcare” model and fast-paced society have us seeing symptoms as mere inconveniences and not signs from our bodies of deeper needs that need to be addressed.
Many seek to slap a band-aid on these problems—you’ll make an appointment to speak with a provider, who much like the PA from the urgent care center I went to, will handle your issues with a surface-level approach. A quick “diagnosis” and a script to get you on your way. When those issues persist, there’s a “big mystery” as to why.
While health transparency is not given in the modern age, and a selection of healthcare practitioners who take a holistic approach is not emphasized or widely sought after, I encourage each of you to emphasize and prioritize sovereignty over your health this year.
Now is the time—because if not now, then when? And while I am hopeful for positive changes to come to the overall landscape of health in America right now, YOU are in charge of you. Your health lies in your hands.
Listen to your body. Learn to hear it out, and to act accordingly.
Kendyl
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As I get older, I've been focusing on my vision for my healthspan. In practice that looks like lots of rest when I need it and being ok with said rest.