Back to the Mat

I remember always hearing about yoga, not quite sure what it was all about, but was interested in all the body movement and thought it was regular exercise routine.  Boy was I wrong!

I did my first yoga class during my early days of Grad school, and I kept going for almost 6 months, basically using it as exercise.  I really did not focus on my breath, nor the meditating benefits.  However, it did help my back pain, so I continued until one week, I missed a couple classes and then I just got "too busy", and that was the end of my yoga class attendance.

I did some home practice here-and-there, went to about 4 classes at my gym (bad idea, i'll explain more about that in a bit) but it was not the same.  I got various DVD's and used them a lot during my last year of school when I was writing my thesis, working overnights, completing an internship and still having a class with assignments.  So yea, overwhelmed much? It continued to help my back pain, so I did it ever so often, and then, I stopped...again.

At the end of last year, I had some plans and ideas and was looking forward to the holidays being over so that I could start working on my plans.  In January,  I did some major reflection, goal setting and prioritizing.  I was approaching a milestone birthday and felt pretty comfortable with where I was on the educational and career ladder, but felt like something was missing from ME.  One of the things I decided was that I was going to do, was to really dive into yoga, not just as a means of exercise, but as a way to connect with my mind and body.

When I started my first class, I had an AMAZING teacher! I mean she set the tone for practice: candles, great music, good instruction, flowers and great oils!  She was a great yoga instructor, because I knew she cared, she enjoyed her practice and she enjoyed watching our bodies improve.  After I had fallen off the wagon, I decided to try out the yoga class at my gym (since the group fitness classes are included in my gym membership), but that was a BAD idea! Talk about a lame instructor! No music, the atmosphere felt hostile, felt like we were always in a rush and he never came around to help with adjustments.  Who knows if i was totally out of alignment all that time, obviously he didn't care.  So I decided to not go back after 4 classes.  This is a good example of good things are NOT "free".

I celebrated my birthday in April and spent a couple days in NYC with family to celebrate.  One of the gifts from my parents was money to spend any way that I wanted on my birthday weekend, and I put it into good use :) When I planned my trip to NYC, I looked up the New York Wellness Guide  and decided that during my weekend I would try to make it to a class with Tara Stiles!  So, on the day of my birthday, my best friend and I journeyed to the Village in NYC to Strala Yoga and had an AMAZING session with Tara!  I even got her new book, and she signed it and took a Polaroid pic for her studio wall! YAY!

What a perfect way to jump start my practice! I left NYC feeling so encouraged, so motivated and so ready to truly embrace yoga for all that it is.

I knew that if i was really going to make my yoga practice what it should be/can be, I needed to re-connect with my first teacher.  I sent her an email, explaining why I stopped coming and that I wanted to re-join her class.  Her response was so warm and caring and she was excited to have me back!  YES!

It's been just about a month, but I have been going to yoga class since re-connecting with my instructor, making it my duty to leave work on time to get there.  And, if I am late, my yoga instructor always reminds me that it's better to be late than not show up on my mat: how re-assuring!  I am already noticing changes in my body and learning how to listen to what my body says.  I am also trying to incorporate at least 10 minutes of meditation daily, as encouraged during class.

This weekend, I attended a class held by another lady (that was endorsed and encouraged by my yoga instructor) and it was so good! Even my instructor was in attendance! awesome!  So, I am thinking about getting more yoga classes into my week with this other lady too.  I felt so comfortable and at peace in her class as well.

At night, I look forward to doing my home practice just before bed, paying attention to my breath, paying attention to my mind, my thoughts, my energy.  I look forward to paying more attention to prayer and meditation as each day goes by, and I look forward to using my mantra(s) in my daily life.  I look forward to being renewed.

Change is good, change is necessary, change is essential to growth.  

Weekend Inspiration

Wanted to share with you a short inspirational piece from the Hazelden website! Enjoy...

An oak and a reed were arguing about their strength. When a strong wind came up, the reed avoided being uprooted by bending and leaning with the gusts of wind. But the oak stood firm and was torn up by the roots.
  —Aesop

Within each of us, as in the reed and the oak, is a single characteristic, which is both our strongest and weakest trait. The bending which keeps the reed alive makes it weak, we might think. Some of us see both sides of every argument and are good team players, fair judges, and compassionate friends. But like the reed - always bending to the needs of others - we may never know what we want or who we are.

Some of us believe we are like the oak: strong and tough and successful in the face of most difficulty. But we may never learn to accept flaws in ourselves.

We are wise to remember that no trait is strong or weak, but we make it so by how we use it. We can use our strength to stand straight in the face of hardship, and we can use our strength to bend.

What is my strongest and weakest trait?

Sunday Thoughts

"Those who take wisdom as their highest goal, whose faith is deep and whose senses are trained, attain wisdom quickly and enter into perfect peace.  But the ignorant, indecisive and lacking in faith, waste their lives.  They can never be happy in this world, or any other"

The Bhagavad Gita 4:39-40

I like to read about faith, about what people with strong faith have achieved, and what great things can come my way, once I have faith.  So, basically I'm obsessed with faith :)

I have been making some small positive changes in my life, and I realize that I literally have to set very small, very short term goals in order for me to make these big changes.  I get discouraged easily, so the smaller the goal and shorter the time frame, the more successful I feel.  That works for me.

Because I get so discouraged easily, I always pay attention to my faith.  What do I believe in?  What encourages me to have those beliefs? I know that I am capable of doing great things.  Even more, I know I have that faith in God to take care of me. The only problem is, the faith I have in myself at times.  It is a work in progress.  Besides, nothing good comes easily or quickly, right? :)

xoxox

I'm Blogging for Mental Health: The Value of Self Care for Counselors

Find out more about this through the APA: Your Mind, Your Body

The Value of Self Care for Counselors

Today, I am blogging for Mental Health and I am proud! 

I wanted to share an article from my archive, regarding the importance of self care for counselors. Taking care of our own mental health, is essential, and crucial for our well being in the helping profession.  

The topic of self care has always been of interest for me, and this interest has grown since entering the field of mental health and addiction.  I consider this field to be one that is unique and quite valuable to society, after all, we aim to provide a bias-free environment, where persons can confide in us to shed light on their darkest issues, or to simply lend a listening ear. 

 But the question always arises as to who takes care of the helper?  Clients come to us sometimes at their most vulnerable points, some, even on the brink of suicide and possibly thinking that no one else cares about them.  When we sit on the opposite end, or next to our clients, we are expected to put our personal issues aside and be fully present, be professional and ethical.  However, there are a variety of factors that can impede this therapeutic process if the counselor/therapist does not address unresolved issues that come up in their lives.  

Although we are in the helping profession, there is one saying that I believe to be true: we cannot help others until we help ourselves.  Having said that, I am in no way suggesting that we should be perfect, or "problem free", but we do have a professional responsibility to take care of our emotional, physical and cognitive self in order to be balanced and effective in our therapy with those that need us most: our clients.  There are a wide range of self care activities that you can engage in, depending on your personal preferences and what is readily available to you.  Here are a couple self care activity suggestions:

*             yoga

*             meditation

*             exercise

*             seeking counseling

*             gardening

*             sports

*             craft

*             journaling

*             talking to close friends

*             spa treatments

*             reading

*             and many more!

Whatever your personal choice, find what works for you and do it!  Balance is important, and in everything we do, moderation is vital.

Step Challenge

So, a couple of us at my job have decided to do a "Step Challenge" starting today, for 2 weeks!  We are always trying to find ways to incorporate healthy activities into our lifestyle, and this is a great idea! 

Here's a little bit about the challenge and the "points".  The motivation to be healthier is the main driving factor and the main purpose behind this challenge.

Daily:

0-1000 steps = 5 points

1001-2000 steps=10 points

2001-3000 steps=15 points

3001-4000 steps=20 points

4001-5000 steps=25 points

5001-6000 steps=30 points

6001-7000 steps=35 points

7001-8000 steps=40 points

8001-9000 steps=45 points

9001-10 000 steps=50 points

10 000 + steps= 60 points

When we signed up, we were given these log sheets

and then we got our pedometers!

So excited!!!

So today, I am proud to say that as of 5:36pm today, I had:

6540 steps/burned 155 calories/covered a total of 2.32 miles!

Yay me!!!

I am looking forward to this challenge! It is helping me to realize just how much I DON'T move! So this is great motivation! 

Each day, I will update my daily log on my Twitter account and will use the hashtag #kcsteps.  Feel free to follow me and if you are doing a healthy challenge, feel free to use the hashtag too!

Spring Fling Swap

I saw a twitter post a couple months ago, about a  Spring Fling Swap  hosted by the lovely ladies across at  Sweetness Itself and  All Glorious Within !  I decided to enter and I was paired with a really sweet lady: Brittany at  Buckeye Belle! 

Brittany and I started sharing some emails back and forth (to get to know each other) and I think we have become really good friends!  She is so caring and always with kind words to share.  I discovered that we have a lot in common and that was really good! I am certainly happy that I decided to do the Spring Fling Swap! I hope to stay in touch with Brittany for a long time!  Check out her blog!

Here are some pictures of my fun package!

Everything was nicely wrapped and I had such fun opening them all up, wondering "oohhh what could this be"....I seriously was age 6 for a couple minutes haha! but that's okay!  I absolutely LOVED the items in my package and loved even more that it came on a day that ended super stressful, so this was a lovely sight at my door front when I got home! 

I also had just as much fun picking up stuff for Brittany and sending it off to her! 

Thanks to the ladies for hosting this!

Setting up Boundaries

Boundaries: how do we set them? Why is it so hard with some people?  Why can't other people respect your values, morals and beliefs?

A couple months ago, I discovered this article on Yahoo and saved it.  So glad I did.  I have used this information several times in my groups, but never really thought about taking a look at my own life, and how these toxic personalities are presented.

Sometimes, it is easy to set boundaries with other people, and at times, it is just down right difficult! Either because we just don't know how to be civil with some of these personality types, or maybe because the other person is not willing to accept and/or respect our desire for boundary setting.  Nevertheless, don't be discouraged! Setting healthy boundaries is important in our lives, not only for our emotional well being, but also because if we don't draw the line with other people, places or things, we get trampled upon, and no one likes that.  I'm pretty sure about that!

So, here is a look at the different toxic personality types: hopefully you are able to become more aware of why some people affect us the way they do, and hopefully, you are able to be better with boundary setting!

1. Manipulative Mary: These individuals are experts at manipulation tactics. Is a matter of fact, you may not even realize you have been manipulated until it is too late. These individuals figure out what your 'buttons' are, and push them to get what they want.

·         Why they are toxic: These people have a way of eating away at your belief system and self-esteem. They find ways to make you do things that you don't necessarily want to do and before you know it, you lose your sense of identity, your personal priorities and your ability to see the reality of the situation. The world all of a sudden becomes centered around their needs and their priorities.

2. Narcissistic Nancy: These people have an extreme sense of self-importance and believe that the world revolves around them. They are often not as sly as the Manipulative Marys of the world, but instead, tend to be a bit overt about getting their needs met. You often want to say to them "It isn't always about you."

·         Why they are toxic: They are solely focused on their needs, leaving your needs in the dust. You are left disappointed and unfulfilled. Further, they zap your energy by getting you to focus so much on them, that you have nothing left for yourself.

3. Debbie Downers: These people can't appreciate the positive in life. If you tell them that it is a beautiful day, they will tell you about the impending dreary forecast. If you tell them you aced a mid-term, they'll tell you about how difficult the final is going to be.

·         Why they are toxic: They take the joy out of everything. Your rosy outlook on life continues to get squashed with negativity. Before you know it, their negativity consumes you and you start looking at things with gray colored glasses yourself.

4. Judgmental Jims: When you see things as cute and quirky, they see things as strange and unattractive. If you find people's unique perspectives refreshing, they find them 'wrong'. If you like someone's eclectic taste, they find it 'disturbing' or 'bad'.

·         Why they are toxic: Judgmental people are much like Debbie Downers. In a world where freedom rings, judgment is sooo over. If the world was a homogeneous place, life would be pretty boring. Spending a lot of time with these types can inadvertently convert you into a judgmental person as well.

5. Dream Killing Keiths: Every time you have an idea, these people tell you why you can't do it. As you achieve, they try to pull you down. As you dream, they are the first to tell you it is impossible.

·         Why they are toxic: These people are stuck in what is instead of what could be. Further, these individuals eat away at your self-esteem and your belief in yourself. Progress and change can only occur from doing new things and innovating, dreaming the impossible and reaching for the stars.

6. Insincere Illissas: You never quite feel that these people are being sincere. You tell a funny story, they give you a polite laugh. You feel depressed and sad and they give you a 'there, there' type response. You tell them you are excited about something and you get a very ho-hum response.

·         Why they are toxic: People who aren't sincere or genuine build relationships on superficial criteria. This breeds shallow, meaningless relationships. When you are really in need of a friend, they won't be there. When you really need constructive criticism, they would rather tell you that you are great the way you are. When you need support, they would rather see you fail or make a fool of yourself.

7. Disrespectful Dannys: These people will say or do things at the most inappropriate times and in the most inappropriate ways. In essence, they are more subtle, grown up bullies. Maybe this person is a friend who you confided in and uses your secret against you. Maybe it is a family member who puts their busy-body nose into your affairs when it is none of their business. Or maybe, it is a colleague who says demeaning things to you.

·         Why they are toxic: These people have no sense of boundaries and don't respect your feelings or, for that matter, your privacy. These people will cause you to feel frustrated and disrespected.

8. Never Enough Nellies: You can never give enough to these people to make them happy. They take you for granted and have unrealistic expectations of you. They find ways to continually fault you and never take responsibility for anything themselves.

·         Why they are toxic: You will spend so much time trying to please them, that you will end up losing yourself in the process. They will require all of your time and energy, leaving you worn out and your own needs sacrificed.

All of these personalities have several things in common. 1) the more these people get away with their behavior, the more they will continue. 2) Unfortunately, most of these people don't see that what they do is wrong and as a result, talking to them about it will fall on deaf ears, leaving you wondering if you are the crazy one. 3) Most of these people get worse with age, making their impact on you stronger with time.

(http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/8-toxic-personalities-to-avoid-461078.html )