Do You Have Time to Breathe?

In today's post, I am going to speak about my experience with meditation.  The reason why I am talking about meditation on this blog is because I see it as one of my Primary Foods, Spirituality.  (Please refer to my post on Primary Foods to refresh yourself on the lifestyle elements of health.)  Here is a reminder of my view on Spirituality: 

Spirituality: Now, don’t be turned off by the term spirituality. It can mean your relationship with God, but to me, it really means your relationship with yourself and how you see yourself in relation to the world. Believing in a greater being is only a component of that. I work with clients to believe in themselves and seek a spiritual practice that works best for them. That may encompass working on self esteem or better understanding their relationship with God.

The first time I practiced sitting meditation was in a class entitled "Do You Have Time to Breathe?" It was a 6 week course at Back Bay Yoga led by Buddhist monk, Joseph Kappel, in which I and 25 other people spent 1.5 hours "sitting" (another way to say meditating) and learning about Joseph's experience as a monk in Thailand as well as his views on being present. It was an amazing experience and I learn a lot from Joseph and the other students in the class.  By the last session, I definitely noticed a calmer and more relaxed mind and demeanor. I don't think I will ever be completely present during a meditation but meditation is not about that. Just like yoga is not about being able to do a flawless half moon or a perfect savasana.

Meditation is practiced differently by different people. It may seem like a very daunting practice but it actually couldn't be a simpler concept.  The ultimate goal is to be present-to have a still mind.  Not very easy to achieve but its about the journey, not the destination.  How you practice meditation can vary-you don't have to sit to meditate.  Some practice sitting meditation, others meditate while walking-being aware of every step they take, others practice through movement like yoga and I'm sure there are others of which I'm not aware.  At the end of the day, it is about being present, comfortable in your surroundings and in your own skin. 

Moving into a condo, traveling to NYC every month for school, additional responsibilities at work, starting my own health counseling practice and juggling obligations at home have all made for a hectic 2010.  It has been a challenge to integrate a regular yoga practice and meditation practice.  Why am I telling you this?  Well because at the end of the day, I am a student too on my journey through life.  My experiences are lessons for me and part of the value I add to my clients' programs as well as this blog.  So, in the spirit of learning together, I invite you in joining me on a week of spending time to "breathe."  I plan to spend 10 minutes everyday for the next 7 days sitting and meditating.  If anyone would like to join me, post below your intentions and I will check in again in one week to see how it went.  If you read this post later on in the week, you can still join me!  Have a great weekend and remember to breathe!

Primary Foods

Happy Tuesday! It’s the post you’ve all been waiting for-Primary Foods! I eluded to primary foods a couple of times already in the blog but have not described it in full. As you know, in my practice, I take a holistic look at my clients’ lives. Although diet is an important component of our health, I believe that our lifestyle is “primary” and even more important than your diet. This is mind blowing stuff, people! At first, the idea may seem a little out of whack with what the mainstream diets preach. Ninety-nine point nine percent of them focus strictly on dietary changes. But you cannot expect to make lasting changes to your diet without addressing lifestyle, both physical and emotional.

I’m not the first nor will I be the last person to state that your emotional state is really important in achieving health goals and preventing disease. There is correlation of happier people being healthier people and unhappier people being less healthy. However, there are no studies that say being healthy will make you happier. This is why I view lifestyle to be more important than diet. Being satisfied with your lifestyle will have a domino effect on your health.

Breaking it down, the four components of primary foods are your career, physical activity, relationships, and spirituality. I will definitely be covering these areas more in depth, but in the meantime, here is a quick overview.

Career: We spend many hours in a day, week and most of our lives working. More often than not, we spend more time developing our “careers” than our relationships, bodies and minds. It is so important to have a job that is fulfilling to you whether that is monetarily, ethically, or mentally.

Physical activity: This is the only component of lifestyle that mainstream dieting promotes yet people still do not successfully integrate physical activity into their lives. I work with clients to participate in activities that they like and can fit into their lifestyle which makes it more likely that they will stick with it.

Relationships: We are social beings who thrive on relationships. It’s a primal need. There were incidents in the 19th century at orphanages where babies were dying, not from infection or lack of food, but from lack of touch. Now I can’t guarantee that I’ll get you hugs and kisses but I do work with my clients to examine their family, friend and romantic relationships. We examine where those relationships are and where they want them to be.

Spirituality: Now, don’t be turned off by the term spirituality. It can mean your relationship with God, but to me, it really means your relationship with yourself and how you see yourself in relation to the world. Believing in a greater being is only a component of that. I work with clients to believe in themselves and seek a spiritual practice that works best for them. That may encompass working on self esteem or better understanding their relationship with God.

This was a lot to take in, but don’t worry, I will be referring to it often and elaborating on in future posts. In the mean time, spend some time tonight to examine these aspects of your life. Are they where you think they should be? Want to talk about it? Email me for a free hour health consultation.