So it all started with yoga. I had taken a few classes here and there at each gym I belonged to in every state we lived in...I liked it but by the time it was time for savasana (corpse pose-a pose of total relaxation when if done correctly you literally feel like your body has melted into the floor) I was already thinking about the 50 other things I needed to get to and I was stressed that the instructor wouldn’t just switch the lights back on so I could get on with my day. That was until I finally had that “om” moment. After moving to Spain, finding out that my ego was prego with #2 and trying to keep myself stress free I gave the base gym’s yoga class a try, all it took was one time....I was hooked. The instructor’s voice, the music and chants she used, her sequences...the whole thing transformed me. To the point where I was 2 days until my scheduled C-section, still attending class and loving every second of it. Yoga class turned me on to yoga magazines, which then led to certain websites and other magazines that are featured and I was on a journey towards transforming my (and my family’s) lives from the inside out.
It has been a VERY slow transition and one met with a little hesitation from the three males living in my house but we are getting there. My husband jokes constantly that he doesn’t want to have a label put on him and I tease him by making vegan and/or organic dishes and only after he admits that he likes them will I divulge the ingredients (to his surprise). I even have my 3 year old spouting words like “carrots are good for me, I am going to become big and strong” while practicing his up and down dogs ;)
I never really put much thought into what I actually put into my body for a long time. Food was nourishment, I am not picky but it seemed like every time I went to go food shop or to make dinner I was stuck in the same food rut. We ate things we liked and that were familiar and quick to prepare (especially with two little ones that needed baths and to be in bed by a certain time). Once we moved here and were relying on the base’s Commissary where most of the meat was vacuum packed and ones that were not were frozen...my tastes began to change and I never felt good after eating a lot of it. My distaste for the food was followed by some VERY toxic relationships with some pretty undesirable people that I allowed into my life and after all was said and done (as my husband always says) “you can not control people’s actions” so when I was feeling all crummy on the outside I decided to start the healing process to take control of what was on the inside.
I have been on this path to take accountability for each and every thing that I, my husband and my boys eat and drink and after only a few short months of being lost in the clean/organic forest, I think I am finally making sense of our new lifestyle. I no longer stress about Sean asking for another snack because snacks now are MUCH healthier than they were a few months ago. Even Brayden has moved to organic milk and cereal. Don’t get me wrong, It's not like I run around preaching I stick to a 90% Organic diet and then you find me downing a pan of brownies washed down with a bottle of wine in the closet. I am in no way a fanatic about it (where we live doesn’t let me get to that level-though I have been having odd daydreams of singing and twirling through the aisles of Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods) but if there is an organic option-I take it but try not to make it a big deal about it. We have cut out alcohol (other than occasional social gatherings) not that we were big drinkers to begin with but not having a beer or glass of wine with dinner leaves time (and motivation) to go for a walk or bike ride or have an impromptu family game night.
I am loving our energy levels, how great we all feel and it has made us get so much more done. It may just be a psychological side effect to feel good buying things labeled organic but if it is than I am just fine with that! I have learned a lot through all this and I want to share just a little of it here...treat your body as a temple (as the old saying goes). Respect yourself both inside and out, believe that everything you put into that temple should be of great worth and utmost value and dedicate your life to caring for yourself and your loved ones in the best way you know how. Laugh a lot, sleep enough and exercise regularly!!! Above all...remember to keep your heart happy and fulfilled and your mind positive (it may just rub off on those around you).
Peace-Love-Namaste
Ciao~4~Now
-L
***For those of you looking to add some home yoga practice or meditation into your routine, check out MY FAVORITE relaxation/yoga/meditation music the album is called Shelter by a group named Rasa. I was turned on to them by my massage therapist back in the States.....I PROMISE you will relax after listening to them!!!
So inspiring!
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