Relaxation in the Midst of Distraction

Everyone looks forward to the end of yoga class. It is that time when you can rest your body, quiet your mind, and relax. Ideally, the room is silent, or perhaps there is soothing music playing or quiet sounds of nature in the background...birds, rain, the ocean, or a babbling brook. The reality is that this does not always happen. We don't always get our ideal, and so we have to learn how to relax in the midst of the chaos. 

As a yoga teacher, I have experienced guiding relaxation through the sound of what can only be described as a fleet of leaf blowers, through the thin walls of an adjoining business where someone was sharing the events of her life that sounded like an episode of Judge Judy, and while teaching an outdoor yoga class even experienced someone cursing at us and calling us crass names during relaxation. None of these are ideal scenarios for relaxation, and I have sometimes found myself getting frustrated that our time was being disrupted. However, it occurred to me that even in the midst of the chaos, those disruptions could not take away the positivity of the yoga practice that we were enjoying. The only way that positive energy can be disrupted is if I allow it to penetrate the space in my mind that has been filled with love and light during my yoga practice. 

What I have found myself doing now rather than getting frustrated whenever I am distracted or disrupted by my surroundings is this....Rather than allow that negativity into my circle of light, I send light and love out of my circle and into that place of distraction. I may bring more focus to my breath, and use it as a meditation and silent mantra of love and peace. 
I inhale peace. 
I exhale love.

So I encourage you the next time you find yourself in one of those situations of disruption when you are trying to meditate or when you are in the relaxation part of your yoga class, find your own mantra of healing and love, and in so doing you may find that you can have your peace and share it too. 

Be happy, healthy, and at peace.
Shannon

Setting health goals and sticking with them

How many of us have set goals for something only to get distracted and lose track of what we need to be doing to achieve that goal? I know I have. With so many distractions around us it can be challenging to stay focused on our goals....or maybe more specifically, it can be challenging to remain focused on the actions needed to achieve our goals. The goal setting is perhaps the easiest thing we have to do. It's easy to say, "I want to lose 10 lbs," but to actually get up at 5:30AM to exercise is another thing all together. 

As someone who works for myself, it is easy for me to get easily distracted with housework, yard work, snuggly children (and snacky children and grouchy children and....), and if I'm totally honest, with social media. One of the things I've done to help keep me on track is to get a mentor, someone who will help hold me accountable to the actions I need to do each week in order to achieve my business goals. Every week I have questions I have to ask myself that guide me to determine what actions I need to take for that given week. 

Distractions are not limited to my business, though. I'm a mom, so my mornings are full of taking care of everyone else's needs, and once I get them out the door to school and work, then I start thinking about all the errands I need to run and all the other things I need to do. This leaves little time to remember the health commitments I've made to myself. So I started thinking about that this week....How can I apply the same concepts that I use in my business goals to achieve my health goals? So I want to share what I've come up with.... 

1. THE BIG WHY
The first thing I do when I think about my goals is to ask myself WHY? Why is it that I want to set a goal for whatever it is that I'm looking at. In this case, let's say it's health...So why do I want to lose 10 lbs (or 30 or 100...fill in whatever number you want). Your "why" is everything. It is what inspires you, and when you start to slack off or get discouraged, it is what will motivate you to keep going. 

2. BITE SIZE GOALS
Next, rather than focusing on the big picture, I like to break my larger goals down into smaller, achievable pieces. This makes it less overwhelming and also allows me to celebrate more successes along the way.

What are your health goals for:

• 30 days from now...
• 60 days from now...
• 90 days from now...
• 6 months from now...
• 1 year from now...

3. IDENTIFYING KEY ACTIONS
Identify key actions you need to do in order to achieve your goal. For example, if you are wanting to lose weight, then you may want to look at food, exercise, and any other tools you may find useful (meditation, writing, calling a friend/sponsor, etc). When creating a plan for your week, you might ask yourself questions such as this:

• How many minutes per day will I exercise?
• How many days per week will I exercise?
• What is my meal plan for the week? (How many proteins, vegetables, fruits, carbs, and fats will I consume each day? How many ounces of water will I consume each day? Are there trigger foods I will eliminate from my diet? Break it down into meals and snacks for Sunday - Saturday.)
• Who will I contact when I something triggers my desire to eat unhealthy food or when I'm feeling like slacking off on the exercise?
• How many minutes will I meditate each day? (If that's your thing.)
• What will I read or watch or take part in this week that will inspire me to stay focused on my health goals? (There are a lot of great books, health documentaries, and even webinars that can help keep you inspired. Just remember that you have to do more than read or watch other people's stories of health transformations. You have to actually get up off the couch and get moving too.)

There may be other questions, and maybe some of these don't apply to you. This is just an example of being specific about the actions needed to achieve your health goals. 

4. SET A WEEKLY GOAL
I already mentioned the bite size goals, and those are great, but you also want to set an even smaller goal for each and every week to get you to that 30 day goal...and then that 60 day goal...etc. So set a weekly goal. Choose something easy to measure. 
Some examples might be:

• How many pounds do I want to lose this week? (Set realistic expectations so you're not disappointed. Remember that 1-2 lbs per week is ideal for keeping the weight off long term.)
• How many inches do I want to lose (or gain) this week? (You might start off by measuring different areas of your body that you hope to reduce as you become healthier. Remember that you may not see a big difference in the first couple of weeks.)
• Increase running speed by ___ seconds (Maybe you're a runner and you are training for a race. You might want to increase your speed, so you can beat your personal record....Or maybe you might want to increase your speed so you can beat someone else's record.)

Remember, through all of this that you want your goals to be just big enough to challenge you (don't be too easy on yourself). At the end of the week, look back at your goals and your actions, and evaluate how you did. This is when you have to be honest with yourself. What did you do well? What could you have done better? Was anything too easy? Was anything too hard? 

Making a commitment to your health is important, so treat it that way. Be true to your word. Be true to yourself. When you say you are going to do something, do it, and you will see results.






Please share your "why," your health goals, and the actions you are taking to stay committed to achieving those goals. I love to hear what everyone is doing!

Be well.
Shannon