Week 1: Presence

The Journey has begun! My 40 days started on Wednesday February 1st. It has been great so far! Week ones focus is PRESENCE. When I was reading the introduction to this week, I immediately realized that I so obviously wasn't fully present in many areas of my life. Baron describes it as being "disconnected from consciousness" (p.62). The focus this week is to wake up! Becoming fully present to your mind, body, and life. More importantly I need to discover the obstacles in my way to being fully present. There was a really powerful paragraph in this chapter that I had to include in this post because it really opened my eyes:

"For many of us, it is our own delusions and problems. When we awaken to the truth that is causing these problems, we are set free from our slavery to food, alcohol, overeating, obsessive thinking, or whatever binds us and weighs us down. As we wake up, we become more compassionate with ourselves. As we gain new insights about our thoughts and behaviors, we recognize that we are not hopelessly defective or demented. We realize that struggling and fighting with our symptoms only entangles us more deeply, and using willpower to change a habit is like trying to think away a broken leg." (p.63-64).

Wow! That last part about using willpower to change a habit is a big one for me. I always thought I needed willpower to stop eating those chips...little did I know there's a reason why it never worked, and it's not that I didn't have enough willpower.

Each week there will be a different focus, and 4 different areas in which to apply this focus:

1. Yoga practice
2. Meditation
3. Balancing diet
4. Excavation question

I'll be giving a little summary for each area, and that will include things I had trouble with.

Week 1 begins!

Week 1: Yoga Practice

The first week starts out with a 20 minute practice. The book actually lists the poses and order to do the poses in, in case a beginner is doing the program and is unfamiliar with the Baptiste flow. I didn't have a problem doing a 20 min practice. It worked into my schedule well. The first week I did my practice in the morning. I would wake up at 5:30am, do my 5 minutes of meditation, and follow with my 20 minute flow. I used the cd I got in my bootcamp box, because it has three 20 minute practices. I switched them up everyday to keep it fresh. I had also downloaded some podcasts from Power Yoga's Kinndli on itunes. Check them out here. I also used her meditation podcasts. I missed two 20 min practices in week 1, but did two 1 hour practices at the studio on other days. The yoga practice has been my favourite part of this program so far!

Dhanurasana (bow pose)

Week 1: Meditation

Week one is 5 min meditation in the morning and 5 min in the evening before bed. I missed one bedtime meditation this week. The meditation part is the hardest for me thus far. I have so much trouble letting go and being present. It's very hard not to acknowledge and grab onto the thoughts that come in and out of my mind. In the morning mediation I would be thinking of all of the things I had to do that day. The evening mediation was a lot easier for me, and really relaxed me before bed.

Week 1: Balancing Diet

I am journaling everything I eat during the program which will help me to balance my diet.

Baron talks about how we all have different body patterns, and about how if we spend too much time thinking about what we eat it will ruin our enjoyment of food and cause problems in our head and belly (p.94).

The first set of patterns are hot/cold body patterns. When your body has an excess of heat of cold, we can see many problems like high/low blood pressure, being overweight, and being fatigued. Figuring out where I fall on this continuum will help me make the changes I need to in order to make my body more balanced. He then goes on to describe some characteristics of people who have an excess of heat or cold. I definitely fall into the cold category! Here's the description:

"Those with an excess of cold generally dislike cold weather. They like warm or hot beverages in sips, do not sweat easily, and curl up when sleeping. They may have soft voices and pale skin. Those who are cold-excessive are usually quiet and reserved in nature" (p.95). This couldn't describe me any better. I am ALWAYS cold (I get in trouble for wearing flannel pants and socks to bed every night)! I drink probably 3 teas a day that must be piping hot. Unless I'm in the hot room at yoga or I'm doing high intensity cardio I don't tend to sweat easily. I sleep in a ball (which Mike hates!). So the soft voice and pale skin thing isn't really me...but you can see pretty much all the veins in my body. And I am a pretty quiet person.

The book has a list of more heating and more cooling foods. Because I'm journaling my meals I was able to see if I am eating more heating or cooling foods. I tend to be eating more foods on the heating side, which makes sense since my body pattern is more cold. Things like turkey, chicken, nuts, grains, garlic, onions and peppers are included in my meals throughout the week, which are all on his heating list. Some things on the cooling list were salads, fish, dairy, peppermint, green tea, and celery. He also has a scale indicating that the more heat you use in cooking the more heat it adds to your body, and to cook according to what your body pattern needs. Raw is at one end, and deep fry is at the other. I have not eaten anything deep fried in about a month and a half. I generally bake, saute, or stir fry, which come in at the middle and go towards the heating side.

Another pattern is deficient/excessive body patterns. So when we are either in a building or cleansing phase. If we need to build (feeling weak, run-down, thin, fragile, anxious without knowing why), it means we have deficiencies. If we are in excess (overweight, accumulation of toxins, sluggishness, fogginess in the head, overburdened), it means we need to cleanse. Foods that cleanse are water rich and light, foods that build are nutrient dense and substantial. Some cleansing foods are: carrots, salads, soups, spices like ginger and peppermint, and water based fruits and veggies. Some foods that build are: whole grains, starchy foods, all processed or refined foods, dairy, root vegetables, pasta, oils, and dense meats (beef, lamb, pork).

My homework for this area was to identify myself within these patterns, and then start to incorporate some of the foods my body needs to become more balanced. So I already determined that I'm in the cold pattern, and I think I'm more towards the excessive pattern. While I have cut almost all processed foods out of my diet in the last 2 months, I still eat whole grains, root veggies, pasta, and oils. I am not really a red meat eater, so all of my meats tend to be on the cleansing side. I will work towards reducing the amount of building foods in my diet in the coming weeks.

Week 1: Excavation Questions

The excavation questions each week are all personal questions to get to the root of who you are. It's weird how you think of yourself one way but when you actually answer these questions on paper you see the truth. I committed to being completed honest with myself for these questions. I'm going to list just a few...

What are my beliefs about:

• My body (Too heavy, too weak, or just right? Does it serve me well?)-In terms of how my body looks on the outside, I'm happy with it. I would like to gain more strength to help me struggle less in some of the poses I find more difficult.
• My relationships (Nourish me? What purpose do they serve in my growth and life? Am I treated as I want or should be?)-Hmmm this one was tough. I have a few relationships that I've pulled away from in the last probably 6 months because they just weren't working for me. Basically I felt as though the relationship just wasn't what I wanted anymore. Some relationships run their course, and it's not always a good or bad thing, it just is. I came to a point in my life about 6 months ago where I wanted my friendships to be more than what they were. Lots of "surface" type friendships. A good friend once asked me "Why are you always worried about having a group of friends, rather than focusing on having a few really good true friends?". Good question! On the other hand, my relationship with Mike has grown a lot, especially since we got our puppy. We have to communicate more, and I feel that there have been lots of changes for the better that have allowed us to grow together, and love each other more.
• My work (Is it fulfilling?)-My job is just that...a job. It's not a career, or something I want to be doing very much longer. It is however paying the bills, and it's not so bad. It is working for me right now in my "grand scheme of things". It is not fulfilling, but I am aiming to work towards a job that is, and that requires me to pay the bills and save some money right now. So that's what I am doing. I am working to have a fulfilling job in the next 5 years.
• Spirituality (Do I believe in a higher power?)-I don't necessary believe in a higher power the way most people would do, but spirituality has never been something important in my life. I am learning now that it isn't about religion, it's about connecting with yourself, and simply believing there is a power around us that affects us.
• Money (Root of all evil or give me freedom to do what I want? Do I have a lot of fear around making or keeping it?)-Ugh...I really don't like the idea of money. I know we need it to live and whatnot, but I hate how sometimes it is the focus of life. How much you have, how much you don't have. Who has more, who has less. So and so has a lot, I have none. It causes so many problems in relationships and even friendships. It's cliche but the saying "money doesn't buy happiness" is true, and when people around me are too focused on it I don't want to be around them.

I love the part of Lululemon's manifesto that says "Friends are more important than money". Courtesy of lululemon.com

Where in my life am I flirting with disaster?

DRAMA. It's so hard not to get caught up in what someone said or did. Mike always asks me "Why do you care?". Why DO I care? This is something that has changed in the last few months. Once I realized that the drama surrounding some people around me was not benefiting me at all, it was a lot easier for me to distance myself from it, and them.


I wonder what week 2 will bring?


Namaste!