A Month of Wellness

A commitment for November... increase wellness on all fronts.

I set out this month to put myself at the top of my list, to invest in me so that I may invest in others. It started with a joint commitment to daily yoga with my husband, Randy.

We came home from our respective work days one late October day and fixed our usual meal and sat in our usual spots to watch our usual television. It has been niggling at me lately.... that I needed to shake things up. So I made a comment about finding something else to do with our time. Randy agreed and we decided within 24 hours that nightly yoga would be our new thing.

And as subtly trans-formative as yoga can be, a few other things have begun to shift. I decided November 1st that this month I am focused on wellness. You see, I subscribe to the philosophy, what you think about, you bring about. So bring on a culture of wellness!

Here is what has shifted so far:

Daily yoga (30 mins less TV per night)
Meal Planning - This is a return for me to something I'd gotten away from. It works and it's awesome. I make more effort to have ingredients on hand for balanced, healthy meals that we like. An added bonus is that it cuts down on grocery shopping time, so personal wellness score for me!
Daily reading/learning - When you are feeding yourself good nuggets and different perspectives on life, leadership, business, wellness you are destined to shift, change and grow. It clears out the cobwebs and fertilizes the mind.
Reframed Business Plans and Commitment - this has resulted in more calls, more networking, more appointments, a revamped website, new email and social media campaigns and more movement/growth in my company.
A New Recipe! - In my daily travels last week, I stumbled on a green smoothie that I was inspired to try. Amazingly, I had everything on hand. Drinking my first attempt as I write this blog entry. Recipe below.
Return to Barbell training - I am so thrilled about this! I have missed working out with the intensity that I did when we were owners of a local gym. I have kept my yoga, I have worked out on my own with free weights, hiking, etc. And I have tried video workouts at home. What I have realized in the last few weeks is that I really missed cardio barbell, which I used to teach 5 hours per week. So I dusted off a training DVD I had and popped it in this morning. LOVE!

These are just a few things I know are moving and shifting for me and I tell you it is amazing how empowering it all is. These are not drudgeries I've set upon myself. I have simply chosen to hold my personal, spiritual, physical and financial wellness out as my first and foremost focus for just this month. What sticks will stick and I will be better for it here on out. Whatever feels good and edifies me, I will do. I am worth it. Life is worth it. And I will be a much better friend to you when I feel self-supported.

Will you join me? Start here... tell me what you love to do, what brings you pure, unadulterated joy?

GREEN SMOOTHIE

1 apple ( I used Golden Delicious)

4 stalks celery (original recipe called for an entire bunch of celery)

2 tsp ginger

5 tsps parley (original recipe call for 1/2 cup)

splash of lime juice (original recipe called for juice from 1 lemon)

Enough water to allow it to blend smoothly (probably added about an 1/8 cup)

This worked OKAY in my Magic Bullet. Probably more suited to a larger blender like a Vitamix.

I changed the recipe to allow all the ingredients to fit into my blender. Used Lime because that's what I had on hand.

This definitely tasted very green. Not too tart, a hint of ginger. I will probably do it again depending on how I feel today. Next time, I might do this with a scoop of vanilla protein powder or GC Control.