Embrace the Journey



I know you may feel bogged down by old man winter still lurking around, but don't let him keep you down! Spring is here! Let this be a time for you to embrace this journey of life and reawaken yourself.  Discover what drives you, what are your passions? 

There are many ways to do this, but I am going to share with you what I have been doing recently. To start look at your day, figure out a time that you can set aside at least 30 minutes.  This may mean making some adjustments in your daily routine: planning your dinner ahead, knowing what meals your are going to make, and possibly preparing portions of them in the early morning alongside cooking your breakfast. 

What I like to do in that 30 minutes is take a walk, with my husband and my son.  I find it a good time to get some fresh air, sometimes it maybe a little more brisk, but it is really rejuvenating to your inner core.  I recommend starting with just a mile to start (you can always add more as you feel you need it or have the extra time).  The walk is a good time to let yourself do some real inner reflection.  I find myself quickly reflecting on my past, present and future experiences, as the nature that surrounds me during my walk reminds me of these moments.  The photo above is of a spot on one of the trails we walk frequently, and it always reminds me of the light and the shadows in one's life. Some may refer to it as the peaks and the valleys, either way it is part of our journey.

As we walk, I like to share the surrounding nature with my son. I like to give him pieces of fallen branches, monkey balls, and pine cones.  I am looking forward to pointing out what the past season has done to the landscape and point out the signs of the season that are just appearing in the landscape.  For instance, one of the things I noticed on our recent walks is how many trees were completely uprooted this past winter.  It is truly an inspiration of how majestic and fragile the world is.

After our walk, my husband and I work on excercising our core, even more.  For me, my husband is my biggest cheerleader and therefore, is now my personal trainer.  For now, working on our core together, means doing squats and planks.  The biggest mistake both of us have seen people do and other personal trainers push on people is making people do too much, too fast, too soon. So therefore, we started with 5 squats on day 1, and have increased 5 squats per day.  The planks are timed, I recommend using a breathing technique I learned from kickboxing. We used to use this technique at the end of our workout, and basically what you do is raise your hands above your head (breathing in), then stretch out to your sides, draw your elbows in, and then push your hands in front of you. While doing this last portion imagine you are pushing a mountain and breath out.  As I do my planks, I keep the mountain as my focus, as I hold myself in that upward position, I think of all the things that I put in front of me, that are barriers or mountains and I breath through the plank pushing them out of my way. Be realistic, if you have not done a plank in years, or ever for that matter, do not over do it. Listen to your body. Remember that this is part of the journey, you start at one point and work towards another.  It is all about building stepping stones, when you establish day 1, you can then build on day 2.  For me, that meant taking the 5 squats to 10 and taking my 2 planks (one at 30 seconds and the second at 37 seconds) and trying to achieve more.  Also keep in mind that some days you are not going to feel motivated...this is why you need someone to be there cheering you on.  My husband is not my only cheerleader, I have many friends, who when I need a walking partner I do not hestitate to call them and ask them to meet me.  It is a great time for us to catch up, and walking is good for everyone. It is also a great way to burn extra empty calories, because you decided to go ahead an have that piece of cake because it was someone's birthday at work, or you joined everyone in celebrating spring with free Rita's (italian water ice or custard).

These are just stepping stones. In the words of Joe Dirt, "Life's a garden, dig it!", yes, I am quoting the movie Joe Dirt. And when the weather is not cooperating, get yourself a good  Yoga or Tae Bo dvd. Do not let the weather hinder you.

And I know some of you will think, "Excercise, eh, meh, not for me", and I understand the feeling, but I am asking you to just take a walk, you may be surprised what you encounter along the way. Embrace the journey.