Luck and love.
“Healthy plants and trees yield abundant flowers and fruits. Similarly, from a healthy person, smiles and happiness shine forth like the rays of the sun.” ~ B.K. S Iyengar -
What a day! From seeing my little people at their first day of Junior golf, seeing their little bodies gliding through the water at swim practice, sharing fellowship and joy with friends at lunch and on the course and at a lovely dinner…..and discovering that our foursome won first place in the low gross in todays Member/Guest! Our bodies are all sun kissed, physically healthy, well nourished, and well used, playing and learning sports that we love. I feel so lucky to not only enjoy sports, but to share them with my husband, my children, my parents, my girlfriends. It was a great day. Hot and sunny, with one passing downpour, it was just perfect.Tomorrow I plan to get up at sunrise and enjoy a short series of sun salutations before taking in a short run. I teach a flow class at the Y at 9, then will cart everyone off to swim practice. The kids have a meet tomorrow night (again, these are killer. They mean wonderful dinners at the club, but man, so much eating out and it gets so expensive! With the kids having to be at the pool at 4:20 for warm ups and the meets not ending till around 8:30, however, there just isn't any other option. Whatever club we are at offers awesome buffets, but I am starting to miss my regular home cooked meals as we aren't used to eating out this often.
I'm taking up a new morning routine of some oil pulling, tongue scraping, dry brushing and massage before my shower. I'm already waking up so early these days with meditation that adding this extra element of self care seems natural and easy. Tongue scraping is probably one of the grossest things I've written lately. Ew. But, hey, why not, eh? Is it excessive? Perhaps. Is it something that I will do daily? Certainly not, and definitely not in the morning each time. But do I believe strongly in self care? Yes. Do I have the time and inclination for it? Yes, I was a massage therapist because I believe deeply in the power of massage! One of the beautiful things about not watching television or being overly consumed with home decorating or shopping or whatever else it is that could consume my time allows me to spend my time on things that I enjoy. Where others may love decorating or watching tv or ……bowling, this is what I enjoy and it works for me. I'm interested to see if adding these techniques to my exercise, yoga and meditation practice adds to my overall feeling of well being. It certainly can't hurt my state of mind or body to practice them, I'd think.
Anyone utilize any of these practices? Feedback?
Congratulations on your win! Sounds like a wonderful day. I have heard of the oil pulling and tongue scraping, but not the dry brushing. I also didn't realize you could use different oils for the pulling, as I had only heard about coconut oil. Will you use the sesame indicated in the article you linked? Interested to hear how it works for you after you have given it whirl for a bit.
ReplyDeleteWas nodding as you talked about time allocation. I was thinking the same thing when someone told me they wished they had the time to workout. The implication being that since they were chatting with me in the middle of the day, at the store with my kids, I must have lots more free time. It made me chuckle a bit because I do consulting work and in the summer I get up around 4:30 am to either head to the gym or run before starting my day. Even if I go for a long run on the weekend, I am running by 6:30 am. I did similar things when I was at an office job, including running at night after my kids went to bed. I have had the same comments about finding time to read, etc. But in the end, you are right, we prioritize what is important. If you love watching prime time TV on the couch every night, more power to you. But that (or sleeping in or whatever) is what you are choosing to do when I choose to read/exercise yadayada. Anyway, I feel you!
Thanks friend! I'm comforted knowing that others know what I mean :)I've done the dry brushing/massage and oil pulling the past two days now, and I admit its luxurious and wonderful. Nate giggled at me, then tried the oil pulling himself. I admit that I thought it was going to be super gross, and it wasn't . Its different, for sure, but not gross. I did the dry brushing and massage after very early (6 am) workouts, then jumped in the shower as I did the oil pulling. After a good sweat then that you get out feeling absolutely glowing, I can say that much. Its also a really nice way to feel in touch with my body ~ I feel very aware of what feels good and what needs a little TLC. I use the Coconut oil for the massage and sunflower oil for the pulling. Not sure why, but the coconut oil seemed like it would be such a strong taste that it didnt appeal as much. I will say that the one thing thats been hitting me lately with such early wake ups (4:30 or 5) to work out, self care, feed/clean and then teach and get the kids to practice has been incredible afternoon fatigue. Like……can't even keep my eyes open while reading by the pool or at home. I don't know if its the lack of caffeine or the combo of teaching (mental fatigue combined with the physical fatigue of working out + early rising)? or what but its astounding how tired I've been, even with big protein and greens filled lunches. I just finished the one fluffier book that I was reading and am into heavier books, so maybe they are partly to blame for the heavy eyelids? What time do you go to bed at night? xoxo
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the positive review! I was actually eyeing up the coconut oil the other day after you mentioned it. I have some refined oil I used for cooking because it has no coconut taste (as opposed to the extra virgin). Maybe I will give it a try. Using it in the shower sounds like a great plan. As for the fatigue...by the end of the week, I am pretty tired and the mid-afternoon slump can be hard. As long as I am busy/moving, I'm absolutely fine. Stop to read or sit with the kids and it's a guaranteed snooze. I find that I can close my eyes for about 15-20 minutes though and awake refreshed. The afternoon is also when I typically choose to drink an iced coffee if I am having some for the day. I enjoy coffee more then than the morning (especially during the summer). Going to bed at night usually happens around 9 pm. I read until I doze off, which often is pretty quickly!
ReplyDeleteI'm getting killed right when I don't take a breather in the AM I can't seem to stay awake past 9 and I feel like I'm slipping on emails, laundry, basic stuff, but man I'm just beat! I know that all through this long winter I was longing for the light and warmth, but I forgot how being in the sun saps my energy! And as much as summer is easy with no coats/shoes etc I forgot about the constant wet towels and pool laundry! Not complaining………but need another hour or two of energy in my day! Or self washing/drying towels. Oh, how I long for laundry that does itself.
ReplyDeleteI laughed at this, Melis. You are so right that the summer is also an energy drain, just in a different way. Remember how care-free the pool seemed as a kid? It's way more work as a parent. We are going out of town for the 4th and aren't even packing swimming stuff. I had asked Bill about it and he looked at me like I was crazy since we hit the pool all the time here...he said that all the work wasn't very "vacation-y!" (We aren't going to the beach and have lots of other plans, there just might have been a small window to catch a swim...not worth the hassle!)
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