Yoga: What It Is; What It Isn't
My personal yoga journey started at a studio in Clinton. I discovered feeling and looking healthy didn't have to involve pain or teeth-gritting abstinence from anything that tasted good. Yoga has added to my life in intangible ways. I lost weight, looked better and ate better almost unconsciously. I developed friendships with people I might have never otherwise met. It was a great experience for me—one that has helped me live more intentionally.
Camp Kandu, Can Do!
Since the fall of 2002, Mississippi children living with diabetes have joined together to create arts and crafts, run relay races, sing campfire songs and participate in other fun activities at Camp Kandu.
A Perfectly Charming Couple
"By all means, marry; if you get a good wife, you will be happy. If you get a bad one, you will become a philosopher." —Socrates
Beating the Same Drums
The first week of the legislative session, which started Jan. 4, brought the beginning of bill submissions seeking to beat the Legislature's Jan. 17 deadline for general bills and constitutional amendments.
Making Sense of Our Stories
Have you ever been in love? You know, "love" like in the storybooks, like the gods and goddesses, like a Shakespeare sonnet? Have you ever been so confused, so sick, so lost that you questioned your fundamental belief system like Job or Dante did? If you said yes to any of these questions, writing about those feelings will help you work through them.
It All Makes Sense Now
I've been sedentary for the most part since almost everything I do involves sitting in front of a computer, so I decided to head to the gym for the first time in years and get in a quick workout. I changed clothes, hopped onto the elliptical, realized after five minutes that I was going to die and switched to the treadmill. Even with that, I could only handle a speed of one mile an hour with no incline. After doing some resistance training, I got on the scale to check my weight since I haven't checked in several months. I knew I gained weight, but not that much weight. All the days of working at a desk, going to school online and just eating whatever is lying around instead of planning my meals have caught up with me. No wonder I feel like dirt. Well, I'm not going into some diatribe about going on a diet and working out seven days a week because I would be lying. I'm just going to get back to whatever it is I used to do that kept me at an average size. The 15 minutes I used to take during the day to go for a stroll, removing the skin before eating fried chicken, leaving out a yolk when making scrambled eggs - all those things actually worked for me, and I got away from it when I stopped working for a few years. Because of how my life is now, I must take action to pay attention to what I'm doing and stop putting my needs last. I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, but I will promise now to take better care of myself.
To Multitask or Not to Multitask
Today, I took notes on a lecture, researched a project, text messaged a friend and chatted with another friend who lives in England. But this isn't a typical day for me; it's a typical class period. I am a multitasker.
I ran!
Picture it, November 2010, the day before Thanksgiving. While others were trying on their eating pants and doing jaw exercises to maximize chewing, I was making a list of life changes that would start immediately. I decided to give up meat and booze, hit the gym 4 times a week, and go back to yoga. So far things have been great. Two weeks ago I ran 2 miles in one session for the first time since I was 16. Granted I wasn't able to use the stairs or go without using a walker for a few days, but I did it. Going to yoga (with the magnificent Ronni Mott leading the class) helped with the pain. I swear I was two inches taller and breathing deeper after that class. I've kept up with my previous promises, I take a little time each day to read a few pages, splurged on delicious new hair products, danced with my house mate last night to Wham's "Last Christmas" (my fave song in the world!), and got all A's in both Psychology and Sociology including 100% on all term papers. This road to wellness has proven to be a fantastic journey, let's just hope I don't run out of gas before the next stop.
That Tired, Rundown Feeling
The past few weeks have been incredibly busy, so I have been losing a lot of sleep. Combined with sinusitis and an iffy diet, I am currently a shell of my former self. I have been concocting all kinds of schemes to get more sleep, everything from renting a hotel room and taking the phone off the hook to parking my car in a remote area just to rest my eyes for a couple of hours. I have scarfed down more coffee than usual, and I even bought an energy drink, which I keep forgetting to put in my purse because sleep deprivation has negatively affected my short-term memory. I've heard that not getting enough sleep can lead to weight gain, car wrecks and so on. I've nodded behind the wheel a couple of times already, so I have got to get more rest somehow. My best option would be to spend Christmas Eve unconscious, and although I dread waiting until then for sweet slumber, I guess I must do what I have to do to minimally function until that glorious day when I can rest and look forward to seeing the six bags under each eye disappear for good.
Budgeting this Holiday
Focused on my financial and mental wellness this season, I have a plan for holiday shopping this Christmas. An actual plan that I will follow to completion so that I can be more relaxed during all of the activities this time of the year brings our way. See, I'm the type that usually waits until the last minute to do all of my holiday shopping and then splurges on gifts that had no real thought put into them. The first thing I have to remember this year is: I can't buy a gift for everyone! This one I have to keep repeating to myself over and over. I would love to really; I thoroughly enjoy gift giving and making people happy. But there is always something you can make them (just ask Martha Stewart) or something you can write in a card that came from the heart that they will appreciate just as much as something store bought. Step two: Make a list. I let my husband tell me approximately how much we'll be able to spend on everyone. Kids come first. Then immediate family. We make a table with the person's name we want to buy for, a budgeted amount to spend on that person, a gift idea and then a column for the amount actually spent after we find the gift. I'm also trying to budget in all of the extras like cards, wrapping paper, postage & shipping. This really allows me to focus on everyone's gift and be mindful of the budget. Step three, STAY AWAY FROM THE STORE! This one is almost impossible. I'm trying to do most of my shopping online. I've been somewhat successful at this. I think it takes more time to shop online because of all of the navigating through certain sites that are poorly organized or are too organized, and of course quite a few gifts I've tried to order were out of stock online but available in the store. So, I will have to make at least one or two trips to the toy store. I plan on doing this during the week when the stores aren't as busy and I will meditate for at least 30 minutes beforehand. If you've been shopping on a Saturday lately, you know what I'm talking about. I don't want to walk out of the store ready to scream and the traffic is horrible. There is nothing about last minute Christmas shopping that is pleasant. And finally, step four: Enjoy the holiday! After the shopping and wrapping and cooking, I will take time to sit down with my family and enjoy the time that we have to spend with each other.
Financial Wellness
I'm really awful about letting go of ideas and things that no longer serve me. Once upon a time, I pulled down a fat little corporate paycheck. It was great while it lasted, but these days, that is not my reality.
Let Me Count the Ways
As the holiday season approaches, we tend to focus on the things that overwhelm us: We have gifts to purchase, meals to prepare, out-of-town guests to accommodate and spaces to spruce up and decorate. Of course, life doesn't stop there. We're faced with the overwhelming task of trying to balance all of this increased activity with already-full schedules, as well as the demands of work, family and social lives.
How Not to Get Sick
Several coworkers and friends in my life have gotten sick recently. It's probably the change in the weather. Luckily, I have an amazing immune system. Seriously, I'm not even trying to brag. How many times have I called out sick to work in the last year? None. Nada. Zilch. So how does one acquire an immune system of steel? That's a hard question to answer. But I can tell you my regimen for anytime I feel the slightest cold or illness coming on:
"Depression Doesn't Wait Until Monday"
As I was preparing for work the other morning, I saw a clip on Good Morning America about an upcoming Marie Osmond interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She was speaking out about the loss of her 18-year-old adopted son Michael Blosil, who committed suicide eight months ago. He had issues in the past with depression and substance abuse, and he was very depressed the last time Osmond spoke to him on the phone. She tried to encourage her son by reminding him that she would be visiting him the following Monday. Unfortunately, Michael took his life that Friday by jumping from the roof of his apartment building. She said, "I told him, 'Mike, I'm gonna be there Monday, and it's gonna be okay,' but depression doesn't wait until Monday." Hearing her say that reminded me why I was walking down the rugged trail through the woods of Mayes Lake at LeFleur's Bluff during NAMIWalks earlier this month. Depression should always be taken seriously because you never know the mindset of the sufferer. You never know if you may be the one that could make him or her change her mind about giving up and ending it all. I equate it to giving life-saving CPR to someone whose heart has stopped beating. You can't save a life unless you learn how, and I think that if more people recognized the signs of someone contemplating suicide, more lives could be saved because they would know how to intervene. I appreciate the work of NAMI Mississippi, whose goal is to educate people about and remove the stigma associated with mental illness. Although NAMIWalks was on Nov. 6, the fundraising website will be available until Jan. 5. If you like to donate to NAMI Mississippi, please visit nami.org/namiwalks10/MIS/jfp2010 and give whatever you can. Thanks!