40 days: on the starting line
just like i heart mondays (!), i love the first day of . . . well, anything. the first day of the year of course reigns supreme, but the months are nice because there’s not QUITE so much pressure.
so . . . it’s march! march is usually a wonderful month in NC: spring usually charges onto the scene with buds and pollen and a number of really beautiful days. there is growth and life and energy, and often it seems like everyone is just a bit happier.
i am beginning back on service today — so for the next 2 months, i will be carrying the pediatric endocrine pager on every weekday from 8 – 5 (plus a week’s worth of 24/7 pager call). it is going to be busy, but i missed my clinical duties and i’m glad to be back!
i also think this is a perfect time to begin my 40-day journey.
available here for $12.24 — less than the price of 2 live yoga sessions
[again just for clarity’s sake: purchased by moi and not getting any kickbacks!]
several of you expressed interest in joining along, which was exciting! i will post a summary of each week’s goals so to help facilitate this (as well as aid in my own accountability). and of course, i will update about how things are going as the weeks go on.
of note, i do not plan on following the plan to the letter. for example, i want to keep attending yoga classes at blue point, so the sequences that i practice are not going to always mesh exactly with what is in the book. i will probably ‘do my own thing’ with some of the dietary advice, as well. but i still think it will be an important learning experience and a wonderful way to head into spring.
40D2PR: goals for week 1
this week’s theme: presence
✰ daily yoga practice: the book calls for a daily 20-minute practice, and the poses are laid out clearly in the book. i am not a huge fan of trying to look through a book while going through my own flow, and therefore i equipped myself with a [not-so]-secret weapon:
this baptiste yoga bootcamp box
the box comes equipped with 1 75-minute routine [review below!] and 3 shorter ones, including a 20-minute flow.
my yoga goal for week 1 will be to simply practice yoga each day, either in class (like tonight) or going through his shorter flows. for variety, i may sub in a dave farmar podcast as well — as it turns out, his flows really are quite true to the baptiste style. [note: as these podcasts are free, they are a great cost-effective alternative to the box above.]
✰ balancing diet: this week’s chapter on diet discusses hot/cold body patterns and outlines foods that are designed to balance things out, eastern-medicine style (similar to this). he also introduces a cleanse/build dichotomy, with the idea that our bodies often cycle from a state of deficiency to one of excess and back again.
my dietary focus for week 1 will be to work on identifying where i sit on the spectrum and to work on eating with my body’s needs in mind.
✰ mind assignment: this week’s meditation is focused on being present — specifically, the goal is for five minutes twice daily, with the focus on each breath.
my meditation goal is to follow these recommendations and sit twice daily for five minutes. however, i am adding in a second goal that focuses on presence, and this is a bit of a departure from baptiste’s plan.
instead, part 2 of my goal will address an addiction that i have that i believe takes away from my ability to be present every single day. specifically: EMAIL + THE INTERNET! specifically, my aims will be to:
✔ check email no more than three times daily
✔ spend only purposeful time online
✰ excavation questions: baptiste poses some very thought-provoking questions, and i would like to spend time thinking about my answers. i will not post my thoughts on all of these, but i will share the questions themselves.
today’s question: how much am i taking responsibility to learn and grow from the experiences, both easy and difficult, that i have in my life?
something i will ponder today . . . feel free to do so as well!
march goals
i was going to discuss the goals for march, but i think this post is goal-heavy enough as it is, so i will save this for tomorrow!
Q + A for the day: do you have any goals for the upcoming month to share?
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2.28.11
workout: 75-minute vinyasa flow from the yoga bootcamp box pictured above. i have to admit my hopes were high for this audio flow, and luckily i did think this was a great practice. the instructions were very clear and the poses just challenging enough for me. there was a lot of difficult core strengthening work towards the end — i will look forward to improving in this arena. the only downside? no crow and no headstand! i will have to add in these poses on my own somehow since they are my absolute favorites.
recipeless: monday night is our ‘easy night’, and what could be easier than wild coho salmon + sweet potato + asparagus?
simple. whole. healthy. delicious.
i know mark bittman would approve.
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