Friday, February 25, 2011

One Little Word: Feb. Update (yoga and health)

This year, I'm working on three different art journals: one that focuses on my one little word for the year (health); one that focuses on my intention (to be fabulous and fifty); and one that focuses on a list of traditional resolutions.  I am inviting blog readers to play along in an art journal, tag book, blog posts, photographs or whatever form works for them.  You can read more about the project in this post.
In my art journal which focuses on health, I wrote down twelve areas on which to focus, and I revisit them each month.  I am doing really well on starting a healthy eating plan.  I joined weight watchers online, and I have lost ten pounds.  I feel much better and my work wardrobe has doubled, as I know fit in more of my clothes. This month, I also started to move and exercise more. I haven't yet joined a gym or started weight training, but that will come. I'm doing a lot for my mental health, by letting go of a lot of unnecessary stress of child rearing and work. Starting next month, I really need to start on the medical areas: going to the dentist, finding a doctor I like, getting up to date on routine medical tests, etc.
The art journal page up top is about doing yoga. . . something I try to do two to three times a week (the other days of the week I try to do something more aerobic).  I love how yoga makes both my mind and body feel.  In doing a yoga tape recently, the instructor said "If you let go of everything you don't need, what do you have left . . ." and this had a very profound effect on me.  It really helped me to let go of so many petty, negative things and face the day in a lighter, positive way.  I also found a great post at the Beauty of Different post, which contained the thought, "all we have are our bodies and our breath."  The post, which you can find here, is really inspiring.  Be sure to check out the other posts she has linked to get the full story.  I'm curious as to whether any of you practice yoga and what you think of it.
And, of course, I'm very curious about how you are doing on your One Little Word projects for 2011.  Please leave links in the comments section.
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14 comments:

  1. AmyFebruary 26, 2011 at 12:45 AM

    Rinda, you are doing so well, I just commented on Robyn's blog that I had not been writing down any of my stuff concerning my OLW - I too have made quite a few changes and have been implementing, but not documenting, and using self pity and the age old excuse of 'I'm too busy' and 'It's a mess here' which has been preventing me from really getting stuck into things.

    I've done a little yoga here and there, and I probably should do it more often because I am not anywhere near as flexible as I would like!

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  2. Julie ShoemakerFebruary 26, 2011 at 3:53 AM

    Rinda, I did yoga the last 2 winters, but not this year. I can really tell the difference. I am in the process of making changes to my diet, this is monumental for me. Keep on, you're doing great.

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 26, 2011 at 4:27 AM

    I opened this up this morning and the beautiful colors in this piece just sang to me. It's all white here again, no other color in sight! How did it get to be the end of February already? My update will be early March for sure, but it was a productive one for OLW.

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  4. laurieFebruary 26, 2011 at 6:41 AM

    i try to do several sun salutations each morning when i get up. i need to gear up for "fifty and fabulous" as well but since i hate the terms diet and exercise, i think i am going to refer to it as "self care". :-)

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  5. SianFebruary 26, 2011 at 10:59 AM

    I used to go to Pilates with a friend and I gave it up when she moved away - I keep thinking about going back because I really did enjoy it.

    It sounds to me like you are doing GREAT

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  6. TerryFebruary 26, 2011 at 8:43 PM

    I did yoga several years back, but there is not place out here to go, without joining a gym. Love these colors you have so brilliantly used. Very pretty! Have a wonderful Sunday!

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  7. MargiFebruary 27, 2011 at 2:46 AM

    Rinda, this page makes me want to exercise and do yoga and all that good stuff. The bright color splashes just make me say "yeah, I can do all that stuff!"

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  8. ComfyMom~StaceyFebruary 27, 2011 at 7:07 AM

    What a beautiful page! Two of my closest friends are yoga instructors so I try to get to their classes a couple times a week

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  9. Deb @ PaperTurtleFebruary 27, 2011 at 7:30 AM

    Hi Rinda ~ I've been a bit absent over the past week +, but I had to pop in and leave a comment regarding yoga. I have been practicing for about 15 years now, even taught a few yoga classes a few years back (subbing for an absence teacher). I LOVE yoga, and it is my go-to-practice when times are tough. I'm glad to hear that you are practicing and also taking such good care of yourself.

    I've had a post about yoga saved as a draft for a couple of months now. Your post inspires me to finish it up and put it out there. Thanks, Rinda! ♥

    Namaste. xo

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  10. scrappyjackyFebruary 28, 2011 at 7:02 AM

    It sounds like you are doing amazingly well,Rinda.... congratulations......I wish I was doing so well!!
    Like Sian, I used to do a pilates class....and found it helpful and enjoyable....but have never tried yoga.
    My journal pages for Jan/Feb are here

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  11. LizzieFebruary 28, 2011 at 10:41 PM

    Fabulous colours, Rinda! Ilove the softned shapes and smudges - like a misty sunrise.
    I used to go to two yoga classes each week - strenuous Iyengar Yoga on a Tuesday and relaxing Yoga on a Thursday. Then I got sick and couldn't cope with them. When I went back to the Tuesday class after about 8 weeks, I couldn't do it - I spent most of the class lying on my mat! I have been back to the relaxing class - I signed up for 3 terms in a row - but frustratingly it always seems to be a Thursday when stuff goes wrong and I end up unable to go.
    This term I didn't sign up for class; however I did sign up for a yoga weekend at the end of June! My friend and I want to re-start our walks in March (oooh, that's today!), as we're feeling the effects of missing them the past few months. My target is to walk 3 days a week and fit in some yoga practise on at least 2 more days. I want to be fitter and also able to cope with my weekend in June.
    It's good to fit back into clothes you've "grown out of"! I need to emulate this... I think you're doing so well and that is inspiring to slow-coach procrastinators like me!
    Keep up the good (great!) work!

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  12. Carola BartzMarch 2, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    First of all, I love this page. The colors are just right. And then I like how you are working on your health. These are pretty much the same issues that I tackle and many of your thoughts sound familiar. I'm not losing any weight at the moment and I have stopped stepping on the scale because it just frustrates me every morning (I do it once weekly now), but I'm back to my exercise routine that I really like, four times a week.

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  13. Pippa (pjbear)March 3, 2011 at 11:19 PM

    Love the colours on this so rich & vibrant.

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  14. KristinMarch 4, 2011 at 1:08 PM

    This is very inspiring, I am going to take a peak, TFS. Beautiful AJ page above, congrats on your success too!

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