I think it's important to share these experiences, because it sheds light on things that might tend to be kept in the dark. I was having an amazing day today. I danced all the way to work, listening to a specific play list that Keri created. It has a ton of awesome feeling songs on it. When I listen to certain songs that get me excited about my life and all the wonderful things that are happening I just have to move, and by move I mean groove. Dance! Feeling pure love energy flowing to me and through me. It always feels so amazing and all I can see is smiles.
I was soaring high. One of my favorite patients came into the office and we were talking about some challenges he was experiencing in his work. Managerial problems and how he knew he was allowing someone to have power over him, holding him apart from his natural awesomeness. Well, earlier in the day, my mail person came by and I greeted her with exuberance as I was approaching the door to lock it for lunch and I was happy to have her arrive right at that moment, so I could accept the mail. She said when she saw my enthusiasm, "You may not be happy when you see what I've got for you".
It was a postage due slip. You might be thinking, why would you care about a postage due slip. Well, the previous day I received one as well and we ran into a just enough change issue and she thought I might be upset by the reoccurrence. I replied, "Oh I wouldn't think of allowing such a thing to affect my happiness" as I casually went back to my bosses office and found the change I needed to pay the postage.
I shared this little story with my patient in an effort to assist him with his situation. He agreed he was allowing another persons behavior to affect his level of happiness. We seemed to see eye to eye on this particular topic. It was a good conversation about being accountable for our choices.
We discussed how practicing maintaining our level of happiness regarding small circumstances on a regular basis, such as not having enough change for postage helps us to be more prepared when bigger circumstances present themselves. The example we discussed was preparing yourself for difficult balancing poses in yoga. You can't just enter an advanced class and expect to be able to a firefly pose right out of the gate. You have to warm up and practice your flexibility. You have to train yourself.
The same goes for life's most challenging situations. When you practice dealing with smaller issues and maintaining your level of happiness, I promise you will find it much easier to deal with those more difficult situations. When you practice, you will find yourself recovering much quicker when you do encounter a situation that gets you frazzled.
Showing posts with label challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label challenge. Show all posts
Friday, November 7, 2014
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
It's the Apozitude Challenge!!!
According to my news feed on Facebook a fairly good number of folks have accepted and participated in the Ice-bucket challenge to raise awareness for ALS, also known as, Lou Gehrig's disease and I can not deny that it has been successful. Honestly, I didn't know what ALS was the first time I saw an Ice-bucket challenge video posted to FB, so in that regard I have to agree that it has been undeniably successful. I also agree that raising awareness is a big part of what Apozitude is ALL about. The passion behind Apozitude is awareness. It is my passionate intention as the author of Apozitude to raise the awareness in the individual. An awareness that you as an individual have absolute control over your life.
If you are reading this and you are doubting your ability to have control over your life then it is I, Angel Zaumdio, that challenges you to the Apozitude challenge. I came up with this idea as I was soaking myself in a hot bath of eucalyptus and spearmint epsom salt. I had just watched a documentary entitled Stress: Portrait of a Killer on Netflix. Amazing research and documentary by Robert Sapolsky. A must see in my book.
Anyway, after watching this documentary about how stress is a killer, I decided this was the perfect time to take the epsom salt soak I had been planning. I stepped into the hot salty water and turned on my well-being meditation. I laid there in the water breathing in and breathing out as the meditation guided me to allow alignment and releasing resistance. I could feel the stress dissolving from my body and the cells of my body returning to their natural state of balance. Once I was guided to listen to the music and let it guide me to a deeper realm of relaxation, I decided to sink deeper into the water as well.
I sunk down to the point where my ears were under water and I could hear the beating of my heart echoing through the water and in the muffled distance I could also still hear the music of my meditation. I decided I would test the theory that deep intentional breathing could help relieve stress. As I listened to the rhythm of my heart, I deliberately slowed my breathing even more and I could actually hear the pace of my heart begin to slow. All of a sudden the Ice-bucket challenge popped into my mind. I thought what a drastically different effect that water would have on me than the current water I was relaxing in and that is when it occurred to me that I could create a challenge of my own for my readers.
So, how long did it take you or someone you know to get the water and ice bucket together? Add to that the time it took to find someone to record the Ice-Bucket challenge video. Now add the amount of time it took to record the video and change out of the soaking wet clothes. Plus the amount of time it took to post it to FB. How much time do you think all of that took? Let's just guess for the sake of this blog that it took just about 15 minutes. It was probably more, but let's just say 15 - 20 minutes. Just one more thing though ,... take into consideration how this made you feel. How you felt when you watched your friends video and then heard your name in the list of people they challenged. How accepting the challenge made you feel. How being recorded made you feel. How that ice water made you feel. Think about all those things.
Now! Think about the Apozitude Challenge. Oh yeah, I haven't challenged you yet. Ok, I challenge YOU to take less than the amount of time it took you or your friend to do all that stuff for the Ice-bucket thingy and dedicate 15 minutes to yourself. No distractions, simply undivided attention for 15 minutes to your breathing. I challenge you to put yourself first for 15 minutes and prove to yourself that you can have a deliberate affect on your level of stress by slowing down long enough to reduce your heart rate and focus on a sense of peace. Really focus on how that sense of peace feels in your body and know that anytime you want to you can deliberately reconnect to that sense of peace even if for just a moment here and there throughout your day.
You are an amazing person. Take time and spend it with yourself and bless the world with the best of yourself. The payback is wonderful.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="480"]
I kinda look intense, but I was really relaxed. :)[/caption]
If you are reading this and you are doubting your ability to have control over your life then it is I, Angel Zaumdio, that challenges you to the Apozitude challenge. I came up with this idea as I was soaking myself in a hot bath of eucalyptus and spearmint epsom salt. I had just watched a documentary entitled Stress: Portrait of a Killer on Netflix. Amazing research and documentary by Robert Sapolsky. A must see in my book.
Anyway, after watching this documentary about how stress is a killer, I decided this was the perfect time to take the epsom salt soak I had been planning. I stepped into the hot salty water and turned on my well-being meditation. I laid there in the water breathing in and breathing out as the meditation guided me to allow alignment and releasing resistance. I could feel the stress dissolving from my body and the cells of my body returning to their natural state of balance. Once I was guided to listen to the music and let it guide me to a deeper realm of relaxation, I decided to sink deeper into the water as well.
I sunk down to the point where my ears were under water and I could hear the beating of my heart echoing through the water and in the muffled distance I could also still hear the music of my meditation. I decided I would test the theory that deep intentional breathing could help relieve stress. As I listened to the rhythm of my heart, I deliberately slowed my breathing even more and I could actually hear the pace of my heart begin to slow. All of a sudden the Ice-bucket challenge popped into my mind. I thought what a drastically different effect that water would have on me than the current water I was relaxing in and that is when it occurred to me that I could create a challenge of my own for my readers.
So, how long did it take you or someone you know to get the water and ice bucket together? Add to that the time it took to find someone to record the Ice-Bucket challenge video. Now add the amount of time it took to record the video and change out of the soaking wet clothes. Plus the amount of time it took to post it to FB. How much time do you think all of that took? Let's just guess for the sake of this blog that it took just about 15 minutes. It was probably more, but let's just say 15 - 20 minutes. Just one more thing though ,... take into consideration how this made you feel. How you felt when you watched your friends video and then heard your name in the list of people they challenged. How accepting the challenge made you feel. How being recorded made you feel. How that ice water made you feel. Think about all those things.
Now! Think about the Apozitude Challenge. Oh yeah, I haven't challenged you yet. Ok, I challenge YOU to take less than the amount of time it took you or your friend to do all that stuff for the Ice-bucket thingy and dedicate 15 minutes to yourself. No distractions, simply undivided attention for 15 minutes to your breathing. I challenge you to put yourself first for 15 minutes and prove to yourself that you can have a deliberate affect on your level of stress by slowing down long enough to reduce your heart rate and focus on a sense of peace. Really focus on how that sense of peace feels in your body and know that anytime you want to you can deliberately reconnect to that sense of peace even if for just a moment here and there throughout your day.
You are an amazing person. Take time and spend it with yourself and bless the world with the best of yourself. The payback is wonderful.
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="480"]
I kinda look intense, but I was really relaxed. :)[/caption]
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Liking my body is good enough for me
You gotta fight for your fitness everyday. Fitness is a constant battle, but it is worth it. - Rachel from Les Mills Combat work out DVDs.
For me it's not really about how I look in my jeans, although I would be lying if I didn't admit it's a very nice perk, but really it's about being healthy and FEELING GOOD. I love the way I feel after a work out. I love the soreness I feel in my muscles. It might be a little weird to some people, but I even like how sweaty I get when I've given it everything I've got. Yes, I also love the way my jeans fit. I feel proud of how hard I work to keep myself fit. Am I in the best shape of my life? HELL NO! BUT!!! I like my body and that is enough for me.
Sometimes when I am challenged by a certain exercise and I feel like I wanna give up, I imagine someone who is going through a difficult time. I imagine that their difficulty will be lessened if I am able to push through. I have held a plank position on elbows longer than I thought possible while contemplating my mother-in law when she was dealing with breast cancer.
I have done way more football conditioning drills than I thought possible, while imagining my son's life would be much easier if I continued. I've done more push ups in an effort to ease frustration in Keri's life. Today, I pushed myself beyond what I would have just for myself, on a rotating push up/side plank exercise for my niece, Audra and the list goes on and on.
There is no denying that exercise is a physical challenge, but WAY before it's a physical challenge, it's a mental one. There have been many days when I just could not get myself out of bed in time to work out, but I finally figured out the key to getting up when the alarm goes off. I ask myself a question in which I know my answer will be, YES!
Do you wanna work out? NO! Ok, let's sleep. FAIL! Do you wanna get up? NO! Ok, let's sleep. FAIL! Do you wanna be fit? YES! OK, get your ass out of bed! Do you wanna feel energetic today? YES! Ok, let's get our work out in this morning. I always feel so good when it's done. I love it!! No, not the work out, the feeling of being done. It is a constant battle, but it IS worth it.
For me it's not really about how I look in my jeans, although I would be lying if I didn't admit it's a very nice perk, but really it's about being healthy and FEELING GOOD. I love the way I feel after a work out. I love the soreness I feel in my muscles. It might be a little weird to some people, but I even like how sweaty I get when I've given it everything I've got. Yes, I also love the way my jeans fit. I feel proud of how hard I work to keep myself fit. Am I in the best shape of my life? HELL NO! BUT!!! I like my body and that is enough for me.
Sometimes when I am challenged by a certain exercise and I feel like I wanna give up, I imagine someone who is going through a difficult time. I imagine that their difficulty will be lessened if I am able to push through. I have held a plank position on elbows longer than I thought possible while contemplating my mother-in law when she was dealing with breast cancer.
I have done way more football conditioning drills than I thought possible, while imagining my son's life would be much easier if I continued. I've done more push ups in an effort to ease frustration in Keri's life. Today, I pushed myself beyond what I would have just for myself, on a rotating push up/side plank exercise for my niece, Audra and the list goes on and on.
There is no denying that exercise is a physical challenge, but WAY before it's a physical challenge, it's a mental one. There have been many days when I just could not get myself out of bed in time to work out, but I finally figured out the key to getting up when the alarm goes off. I ask myself a question in which I know my answer will be, YES!
Do you wanna work out? NO! Ok, let's sleep. FAIL! Do you wanna get up? NO! Ok, let's sleep. FAIL! Do you wanna be fit? YES! OK, get your ass out of bed! Do you wanna feel energetic today? YES! Ok, let's get our work out in this morning. I always feel so good when it's done. I love it!! No, not the work out, the feeling of being done. It is a constant battle, but it IS worth it.
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