1-22-2011 A Strange Week

First of all:

Weighed in at 207.4, so, essentially lost what I'd gained last week, and back to a total loss of 3.8 lb this year.  It's in the right direction.  However, it is likely not due to any extravagant actions I took toward this goal, except, perhaps, all of the exercise in the previous couple of weeks. 

We did start with doing 21 repetitions of the Five Tibetans early in the week, so hooray!  Plus I did manage to get on the elliptical one morning for 45 minutes.  After that, I was ill for three days, very nauseous and dizzy, achey and gross (Richard was too, he often brings home illness from the school where he teaches.)  So, I took it easy, focused on healing, and not worrying much about tracking my food, or doing yoga.  

Today I feel physically better and we are hoping to go on a walk midday today.  The weather has been a challenge, lately, especially with the severe winds and cold, cold temperatures.  *Sigh*, it's winter, and not my favorite time of year, but I will keep on persevering and getting the exercise I need to to be healthy and energetic.

It was a strange week in other ways, as well.  I have a set of cousins who live in one of the towns in Brazil that was hard hit by the mudslides and flooding last week.  Click here for more on the Brazilian devastation.  They are physically all right, and now have the items they need for further survival.  It was also the anniversary of the passing of my cousin, Jennifer Lyon, which, I can only imagine, is still very sad and painful for my aunt and uncle and many others who were close to her.  I am always struck by how she chose to live her short life. I am sure that the last few years were very uncomfortable for her, but she persevered in living it fully, pretty much to the end.  More on Jenni Lyon - Click here.  Then there was the discussion I had with a close family member regarding her contemplation on going ahead with a prophylactic double mastectomy and oophorectomy.  I feel sad that she has this decision to make or not make, and I realize that it could have easily been me making that decision.  I don't think I've fully realized the implications of not having the deleterious BRCA2 gene mutation.  That's an entirely different blog. I support her fully whichever way she decides.  There is also a lot of drama with our class in Pharmacy school, and I pretty much stick to choosing to put my energy into energizing, creative things, such as getting my work done, and quilting and taking care of myself.  More on this in my pharmacy blog:  Pharmacy School Blog - click here

I guess in light of all of this, maybe my own health goals seemed a bit less significant than other people's realities.  I don't really feel guilty for focusing on myself, I feel I can still be available for others in their times of need of love and support.  Perhaps I am grateful that my life is relatively simple at this point (if full-time Pharmacy school can count as part of a "simplified" life) and it has taken over 40 years to get here.  The stresses of single parenthood have all but vanished, as have the financial worries of home-ownership and single living in a house I couldn't afford.  I own FAR less "stuff" than I did just a couple years ago, thus I am far less burdened by "things" of the past.  In fact, I realize, that the better I take care of myself, the more I have to offer others as needed.  Now is the time to take excellent care of me, so that I can be of optimal enthusiastic service.

So, with renewed vigor and hope, I continue with the goals laid out last week: increased water, 21 Tibetans (which we seem to do only on the weekdays), keep walking and elliptical-ing, etc., and keeping better track of my food intake.  Next week is my measurement week, so I'm anticipating positive results in inches lost as well.

Blessings for another awesome and healthier week!

Thanks for reading and supporting!

Setting the Intention, Creating a Schedule

We are gearing up for the new routine.  Richard goes back to work on Monday, Jan. 3, so we are beginning to implement our new desired activities.  I've also begun entering more recipes into My Food Diary to make the activity of entering the food I eat as easy of a process as possible when my classes begin again on January 10. 

We've agreed that we will start each morning with A Course in Miracles Lesson (we've been working on these slowly over the last few months), and our Five Tibetans and alternate nostril breathing.  This means we get to get going around 5:40, so that there's time for him (or both of us) to get ready and a relaxed breakfast before he's/we're out the door for the day.


My plan is to begin my aerobic exercise, whether it is walking or the elliptical, at 6:45, for 30-60 minutes, do a few EFT rounds on whatever is pertinent, shower and feel fully energized for the day of lectures, studying, patients, or whatever is to come my way.  Throughout the day I will track what I eat, and stay alert to cues, emotions and triggers and use a version of EFT to work through them.

I entered into My Food Diary (getting into practice) the yummy French toast recipe I just posted and sliced fresh pears I had for breakfast.  The homemade pumpkin spice latte with Almond Breeze has not made it into the diary, and then eating out at Red Lobster this afternoon is probably the last time, for awhile anyway, I will not track everything I eat at a restaurant.

It is looking like January 1st is going to be the grand start date with weigh-in and everything.  Why not?  First of the year, new beginnings.  In the past I have not made New Year's Resolutions, but rather have set Winter Solstice intentions after having released the previous year.  I am looking at this as a combination, however it's not JUST a resolution for the New Year, it's a lifetime alteration in my relationship with my health and my self.  I did the Clearing and Cleansing meditation with the one goal in mind of releasing 2010 with all of its wonderful events of weddings and graduations and great happiness, and all of the horribly sad events with the losses of so many young people and immediate family members.  All of this to help clear a fresh path for new and awe-inspiring events to be welcomed in.

This morning we were motivated to complete the following:

Five Tibetans:  9 repetitions, we are gradually increasing our repetitions

Meditation(s):  IAMU Clearing and Cleansing Meditation and 
ACIM lesson 52, which is as follows:

I am upset because I see what is not there.
Reality is never frightening. It is impossible that it could upset me. Reality brings only perfect peace. When I am upset, it is always because I have replaced reality with illusions I made up. The illusions are upsetting because I have given them reality, and thus regard reality as an illusion. Nothing in God's creation is affected in any way by this confusion of mine. I am always upset by nothing.

I see only the past.
As I look about, I condemn the world I look upon. I call this seeing. I hold the past against everyone and everything, making them my enemies. When I have forgiven myself and remembered Who I am, I will bless everyone and everything I see. There will be no past, and therefore no enemies. And I will look with love on all that I failed to see before.

My mind is preoccupied with past thoughts.
I see only my own thoughts, and my mind is preoccupied with the past. What, then, can I see as it is? Let me remember that I look on the past to prevent the present from dawning on my mind. Let me understand that I am trying to use time against God. Let me learn to give the past away, realizing that in so doing I am giving up nothing.

I see nothing as it is now.
If I see nothing as it is now, it can truly be said that I see nothing. I can see only what is now. The choice is not whether to see the past or the present; the choice is merely whether to see or not. What I have chosen to see has cost me vision. Now I would choose again, that I may see.

My thoughts do not mean anything.
I have no private thoughts. Yet it is only private thoughts of which I am aware. What can these thoughts mean? They do not exist, and so they mean nothing. Yet my mind is part of creation and part of its Creator. Would I not rather join the thinking of the universe than to obscure all that is really mine with my pitiful and meaningless "private" thoughts?

There is lots there to contemplate for a long time!

Blessings to All and Much Peace!

What is a Reasonable Plan for Me?

With some free time over this holiday, I am deciding what behaviors I want to implement for the New Plan routine.  The routine needs to be reasonable and cover the essentials that I feel will lead to my greatest health in mind, body and spirit.  I always seem to be most successful following through on things like exercise and yoga if I do them first thing in the morning.  This means coordinating with Richard, my husband, who has indicated that he, too, wants to get back into a routine with yoga and meditation, in the time we share before he heads off to work at 6:45 a.m.

The things I intend to incorporate into a daily routine in my New Plan for the New Year

• 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise:  This, for me, is walking briskly around the hilly neighborhood or working out on my Gazelle elliptical machine.  I wear my heart monitor to help ensure I am spending an adequate amount of time in my target heart zone. 

• 21 repetitions of the Five Tibetans yoga from the Fountain of Youth - usually when I am starting again, I will start off with 9 or 12 repetitions (always in increments of 3) and gradually increase to the ideal of 21 reps of each Tibetan rite.  There are great descriptions and more information in the book The Fountain of Youth and on the website that offers the poster below as a free download.  There are numerous YouTube videos demonstrating the Five Tibetans as well.

I highly suggest taking it slowly at first, and/or receiving individualized instruction for these postures and movements.  I have always felt amazing, balanced and energized after a session of Tibetans, which only takes a few minutes, even with the full 21 repetitions.

• Alternate Nostril Breathing - This is an amazing tool to help balance the two sides of the brain, and the energy system that runs up and down the sides of the spine.  My mind always feels more clear, more relaxed and focused after a set of alternate nostril breathing, which, again, only takes a few minutes to complete.  Start slowly with 3-6 full breaths, and work up to 15 inhalations and exhalations.  Often I will add an affirmation with each inhale and exhale, such as "I am the Love of God" or "I am balanced, healthy, and clear" or "I am very very happy"...stuff like that. Here is a YouTube video demonstration: 

•  Meditation:  Anywhere from just a few minutes to an hour, depending on the time availability in the day.  There is a vast array of types of recorded meditations available, and of course the "simple" Buddhist meditation of clearing the mind and focusing on the breath.  This also could be a focused daily reading as with A Course in Miracles, or a daily thought from an inspired mind.

• Tracking everything I consume and all of my activities in My Food Diary at MyFoodDiary.com:  I really like this program because it does all of the adding for me, and lets me know how many calories I have left in the day, along with how I'm doing on saturated fat, protein, and carbohydrate consumption.  As I enter my exercise time, then the calories I can consume increases.  Also, at the end of each day, I get a run down of how I did, complete with smiley and frownie faces. I have created many recipes for my healthy creations and entered them into MyFoodDiary for easy tracking as well.

• EFT and other modalities for clearing the emotional bonds, cravings and detrimental automatic behaviors that arise while I am taking the best care ever of my being.

There are a bunch of further YouTube videos with this gal, along with her website for more information.  There's a general EFT manual as a free download on my website:  www.StephanieBall.info.

I love this technique, and have seen it transform people in various states of unrest, including full-blown panic attack, to complete and utter peace and calm.  I look forward to incorporating it into this journey to help heal the beliefs and behaviors so that I will attain and retain a healthy body along with a healthy mind.

I will contemplate all of this that I wish to incorporate and devise a reasonable plan and decide when to set it in motion.  I'm also still working on my list of memories regarding body image, eating patterns, and exercise aloofness, and will share soon.

Blessings to all in the meantime!