Stop Dragging, You Pooey Procrastinator

After a really productive day with school work I really wonder why the heck I procrastinate so much. I really wish one time (not this time; preferably a past occasion) procrastination wouldn't have worked out just so I wouldn't be such a procrastinator now.
People can drag their buts for weeks, maybe even months, doodle around and stare at the computer screen and when they turn around that thing they kept putting off looks like a rainbow. It still works out somehow. All that poop and it ends up being a rainbow.
I stress myself out with a lot of things and end up judging myself five times (serious) harder than the person who is actually grading my work. Just like when I look in the mirror by myself my eyes are drawn directly to my lower abdomen where my main fat store is. When I'm with a group of people, and I look back at a photo of it, I see how pretty I am.
Why do our minds make things so complicated? It really doesn't have to be. It can be so simple. It is so simple. Let's just do crap and enjoy the rainbow right now instead of dragging it on.
We can't have a rainbow every day, but something else spectacular might happen when it's not raining and we're going to want to have the time to do it instead of having that hypothetical unicorn poo being dragged on the carpet.
If I balanced my school work as well as I should-- you know, do one page a night, one assignment a day or two if they're super short, then you can have the night or even a day free. You'll have set times to go to the gym, to cook dinner. Oh the joys of not being a procrastinator.

Rules? I Like To Refer To Them More As Guidelines.

Everyone likes to set rules for having themselves on a healthier diet. Don't eat donuts, don't eat carbs (I flinch when people say they don't eat carbs... an apple consists of carbs), drink more water, go to the gym three times a week, etc. Goals are good. Some rules are good, too. But the problem with being so strict with your rules is that you go on a binge because you've denied yourself that donut, that piece of cake or scoop of ice cream. When you deny yourself and you are constantly thinking of that treat, it becomes an obsession. Once you get it, you fall off your healthy kick and figure "hey, I'll just eat whatever I want today then just start up again tomorrow." It's fine to slip up, it's not fine to give up and fall back on your limitless re-starts. When you want to be healthy and take care of your body, you are making a commitment to yourself. The only person who gets hurt when you give in to binges is you. This is why rules can be bent and should be considered as guidelines.
If you really want that piece of cake, have a slice-- a slice the size of a single serving, not the size of your last piece of cake ever. It's not realistic to say you'll never eat cake or have a treat again. If you treat your rules with flexibility, then you can have the cake, eat it, and then continue on your healthy path. Don't quit for the day/night/week/month. Continue on because our construct of time is just a societal invention. The world keeps spinning whether the sun or the moon shines, and whether or not you are awake or asleep. Eat the cake, continue on your healthy path, maybe reconsider how much you actually enjoyed eating the piece of cake in comparison to other activities like going for a bike ride or painting.
In the past I've struggled with rules myself: don't eat cookies, don't drink your calories, don't rely only on the elliptical, etc. Better results were found when I was allowed that cookie-- I often decided I was content with that one cookie and probably wouldn't want one again for a while. Now that I keep to my set healthy path without denying myself a treat, it's easier to remember why we eat. Yes, we do seek flavorful and personally appetizing foods for pleasure but the main reason we even have the desire to eat is for nutrition. Sustenance. So eat in consideration of what you're getting from your food and take delight when you can have a small treat.

Sometimes lists of your guidelines help you to see your over-all goal. Here is mine, for example:


Wake up with yoga.

Don't look at the mirror unless you are:
a) doing makeup
b) brushing teeth
c) putting skin-loving stuff on
d) doing your hair
or e) admiring the progress of your body [it's not vain, you should enjoy your body!]

If you're  not eating oatmeal for breakfast, make veggies to go with your eggs.

Don't eat processed foods.

Don't eat after 8PM.

Drink tea and/or an apple as a night-time snack.

Eat as much Kale as you can possibly squeeze into your diet.

Sodas, juices, and candies are treats-- treat them as such.

Remember serving sizes-- especially with starches.

Limit video game time.

Read for enjoyment for at least an hour every day.

Write your thoughts down, share some inspiration or simply bid everyone a good day.

Limit your Facebook time; your friends may be looking at their screen the same as you but nothing beats face-to-face interaction.

Do your school work. It may not be on your list of things you enjoy, but the sooner you get it done, the less likely you'll be missing out on opportunities because you have a last minute assignment to complete.

Don't stress so much. Money is a necessity in life but you cannot let it determine your happiness. Remember what makes life worth living for you. Be with your loved ones, play bingo, do yoga...

Love every creature and treat them as you do your friends. We all strive for the same thing: happiness.

If you have a crazy schedule, map it out and make time to relax. You deserve time to just breathe and be still.

You can do anything.

Okay so this is a pretty long list of guidelines and they're obviously personal. However, the idea is to show that you need to agree with yourself about your goals. Like I have trouble taking care of my skin and leaving pimples alone so I want to try to avoid the mirror unless I have an acceptable reason to use it. Also, I feel like reading for enjoyment would make reading for school less of a struggle. As for the ones that are specific to eating habits and such, that is mean realizing some things I can change and do less often to help me better work towards my goals of fitness and physical health. 

Hello There, World

It's been quite some time since my last post. I've allowed myself to be engulfed in Vampire Diaries via Netflix, along with a few other shows available to me through Xfinity. While I do indeed enjoy these shows, I look up from this screen and I see my tea untouched, my homework piled, my other half immersed in Dr. Who or Minecraft. I see the world that we, as people, seem to make into a medium rather than the actual fruit of our lives. We walk to class, the library; we go on a trip to Disney World, but are we really there 100%? How much of our lives do we spend on Facebook or watching marathons of shows and movies?
Let me say it again, there is nothing wrong with enjoying your favorite show or movie but what happens when we delve so deep that we wake up wondering whether we're finally going to find out exactly how Elena Gilbert becomes a vampire instead of wondering if it'll rain today-- or even what we will do to fill in the time between what absolutely needs to be done?
I am guilty of allowing myself to fall down a self-made rabbit whole of obsession. I've kept up well enough with my homework and yoga but I haven't breathed life into my work or loved habits... they simply were routine.
So. This is me admitting to the world this obsession.
This is also me apologizing to myself. Life is short and by dedicating far too many hours to the computer screen, I've missed out-- or, at least, potentially missed out. I may not have missed out one week but when I finally come up for air from this obsession, I see responsibilities that need to be cared for. They could have been cared for earlier to keep room open for new experiences but instead they were spent ogling Damon Salvatore. I don't want to miss out. I don't want to live through a television show. I want to breathe fresh air and meet new people, make mistakes, and feel everything that comes along with the experiences.
I need to work on moderation. Moderation with television shows as well as sweets. Two birds with one stone.
So here's to more time spent on assignments and projects, trying new recipes, reading, writing blog posts, taking pictures, exercising, and spending quality time with Alex. I wish you all the same and best.

Namaste.

Rainy in the Sunshine State

I like to think being able to run across a parking lot, in the rain, while wearing clothes for an interview, and still being able to giggle because you're stepping in puddles and getting all wet as a sign of a full body of happy, positive energy.

It might be a rainy Wednesday here in the Treasure Coast but it's all a part of nature. If you can't giggle in the rain, I think you may need to adjust your observation. How does rain not feel silly when you're all dressed up for an interview?

Put on your goloshes and pull out your umbrellas. Sunshine is wonderful but balance is key. 

If you really need a giggle and the tears of a cloud aren't enough, here's a cute photograph of a doggie underwater. Photo was not taken by me-- found it in a book on my way to the potty at Barnes & Noble. 

Yoga Transcends

As my Sunday Power Yoga class approached its end, my instructor brought up how yoga isn't a goal-oriented practice, it's about proper form. At the time I was in my state of post-yoga peace so I definitely agreed.

A few days later, what she had said came up in my thoughts again and I quickly analyzed the different ways I have looked at yoga.

When we make yoga a goal-oriented practice, we lose something-- not in the attempts to reach that goal, but during the success of reaching it. The 'now what?' feeling-- the forever presence of desire and dissatisfaction. No matter what goal we make we can achieve it but if it is made a desire, then we will always be left wanting something more.

If we give in--surrender-- to the universe through our practice, we accept that which we cannot control and embrace what we can: discipline. We can discipline our minds and bodies and release the negative energies so many of us harbor deep within. When we release them, we open ourselves to the simplicity of happiness. 

We can obtain this happiness within little other than our bodies and minds through practice.

We may begin doing it for fitness, health, or to show that we can, but what comes with it you cannot ignore. Releasing the negative energies we harbor within ourselves, opens space within ourselves. With this space, we can invite peace and relaxation. 

Yoga can be used for fitness or health. I've probably mentioned before but I started yoga because of my asthma. I wanted freedom. The second time I got into it was for fitness. I wanted to feel strong. I believe I have succeeded, for the most part, with both but I had not idea that I could get something even better.

There is a feeling, an energy that radiates through you, when you practice and it lingers in your life for as long as you practice and apply mindfulness to your thoughts and actions. This energy is unlike anything else and, although I could try to explain and describe it, it would not be the same. It's something that must be experienced. You will know when you feel it.

You Can Be As Happy As You Want To Be

Yesterday, although I did no school work, was a big success. Morning yoga is a great way to wake the body up and get the blood flowing after curling up in the cozy sheets all night. Its going well and i think its helping me feel more energized-- at least in the morning. I still have to try and kick my siesta bug in the afternoons.
Afterward my morning yoga I had spinach onion garlic scrambled eggs with a piece of whole wheat toast and then raced off to catch a class at FSU Leach Center: Body Tone. The title matches its functionality and gosh am I sore! I haven't pushed myself like that with weights in a long time! I definitely plan to keep it in my weekly schedule-- gotta strengthen my muscles so they can help eat away a my fat stores (my problem areas are the lower abdominal and thighs). Body Tone will make sure I don't neglect the rest of my body while I try and kick these trouble areas to the door!
It's actually best to work your whole body when toning up-- with a special focus to the core to create the most foundation support for the rest of your muscles.
Believe it or not the day was not done after Body Tone. I felt pretty tired afterwards so I let myself rest and caught up on some Lost Girl. Then a few hours later I headed back to campus for a second round at the Leach: Yoga. Since its the beginning of the semester instructors go easy; it was pretty much sun sals and warriors with extra stretching.
Not much later that evening I found myself a workout buddy. Turns out one of my friends was hoping to get to the gym more often. I hope she's ready because I don't let people give up when they've revealed a goal to me. Today I'll start her off pretty easy since I'm already sore.
Maybe we'll just go on the elliptical followed with some stretches to get her started. Any workout suggestions for a beginner?