What are your favorite activities to balance your mind, body and spirit on a regular basis? Do you have a daily or weekly exercise routine? What is your favorite meditation or prayer practice? Do you like the same routine each day or do you like a little variety during the week? Are you a regular member at the health club or local yoga class? Are you disciplined enough to do your own exercise routine at home? How much time do you spend doing these activities each week?
I have tried various daily and weekly routines for my health and wellness over the years. Most routines don't last beyond 3 or 4 days in a row. Occasionally I stick with a program for 6 or 8 weeks, determined that this time I will make it work. I usually find myself bored and/or occasionally cheating to get through the program. Even if I do succeed in sticking with a program, I slip back into my old habits quickly. I realize that I like to have many options and variety in my week. I like the freedom to make my own choices. I usually try to do something for my mind, body and spirit each day, but it is rarely the same routine as the previous day.
I like guided meditations to balance my mind. I have a stack of CDs beside my bed with various meditation and Yoga Nidra routines to choose from each morning. Sometimes I choose the 20 minute Amy Weintraub's Lifeforce Yoga Nidra routine or the 45 minute Robin Carnes Yoga Nidra II routine with the healing sounds. Occasionally I listen to Dr Fritz Smith's Inner Smile Meditation or Sacred Pyramid Meditation or Aminah Raheem's Soul Link Meditation. I've listened to Dr Andrew Weil's Breathing CD often enough that now I can do the breathing exercises without the assistance of the CD. When I feel worn down, I might listen to one of the HemiSync® Human Plus CDs with the binaural sound waves. I have CDs with nature sounds, drum rhythms and harp music. I like the variety. When I miss doing one of these tapes, I notice I am more irritable and less focused.
I like guided meditations to balance my mind. I have a stack of CDs beside my bed with various meditation and Yoga Nidra routines to choose from each morning. Sometimes I choose the 20 minute Amy Weintraub's Lifeforce Yoga Nidra routine or the 45 minute Robin Carnes Yoga Nidra II routine with the healing sounds. Occasionally I listen to Dr Fritz Smith's Inner Smile Meditation or Sacred Pyramid Meditation or Aminah Raheem's Soul Link Meditation. I've listened to Dr Andrew Weil's Breathing CD often enough that now I can do the breathing exercises without the assistance of the CD. When I feel worn down, I might listen to one of the HemiSync® Human Plus CDs with the binaural sound waves. I have CDs with nature sounds, drum rhythms and harp music. I like the variety. When I miss doing one of these tapes, I notice I am more irritable and less focused.
After a breakfast smoothie, I try to do some type of movement or stretching to get the energy moving in my body. I have a therapy ball for trigger point releases, a yoga mat for gentle stretches, an assortment of hand drums for rhythm and dancing. I sometimes use the stairs or walk a few laps around the house. If the weather is nice, I may walk around the yard or down to the mailbox a few times. I confess that my body often gets neglected when I have appointments or activities scheduled before 10 am. By the end of the day, I often feel tired and sore if I neglect my body during the day. Occasionally I will ask for a Zero Balancing session from my husband or take a soak in our spa tub before bedtime.
At some point in the day I like to sit and do some quiet contemplation for my spiritual health. Sometimes I journal or read or work with my dreams. Once or twice a month I get together with friends for an art project or SoulCollage® Cards. I meet weekly with a soul friend and monthly with my spiritual director. I enjoy silence so I don't turn on the car radio when driving places. I sometimes sit on our sun porch to watch the deer or humming birds or notice the outdoors in a contemplative manner. I feel a sense of inner peace and calm. If I don't tend my spiritual health, I am less present in the moment.
A year ago, I was working with several Occupational Therapy clients who were recovering from reconstructive surgery and a mastectomy following a diagnosis of breast cancer. I noticed that many of these women had high levels of stress in their lives. Many were not taking care of themselves, because they were busy raising children, climbing the career ladder, teaching school or running a business. Cancer slowed them down temporarily, but they often returned to the busy lifestyle they had before cancer. I wondered what would prevent the cancer from reoccurring if they were not making any changes in their lifestyle lifestyle? I developed some handouts with stress management strategies to help educate these women about the various resources I was using for wellness in my own life. I hoped they would start to incorporate these small steps into their daily routine as their own wellness practice. I realized that if I spent time doing all the things that bring balance into my life, I would not have much time left over for all my other daily activities. On the flip side, my breast cancer clients were busy doing all the other activities of life and did not take time for their own self care. There had to be a balance between the two extremes. I think It comes down to how we choose to use our time.
At a friend's encouragement, I used a set of index cards to make a stack of activities to do each week based on my routines and the wellness information I was gathering for my clients. That is when I discovered that I had fun picking and choosing different activities for the day and I felt like I was taking better care of myself in the process. I was giving myself permission to take care of myself. Some days I was spontaneous and did the activity that was the luck of the draw for that day. Other days I sorted through the cards and chose the activities that grabbed my attention. These index cards became my personal set of resource cards to bring balance into my life. And that become the basic idea for the Balance Resource Cards. I wanted to give my clients (and myself) the gift of balance of mind, body and spirit. These cards have improved my own health and well-being. Over time, I hope you will create a balanced plan for your own self care routine for mind, body and spirit. I hope you will consider using these cards and this website as a way to balance your own life.
At a friend's encouragement, I used a set of index cards to make a stack of activities to do each week based on my routines and the wellness information I was gathering for my clients. That is when I discovered that I had fun picking and choosing different activities for the day and I felt like I was taking better care of myself in the process. I was giving myself permission to take care of myself. Some days I was spontaneous and did the activity that was the luck of the draw for that day. Other days I sorted through the cards and chose the activities that grabbed my attention. These index cards became my personal set of resource cards to bring balance into my life. And that become the basic idea for the Balance Resource Cards. I wanted to give my clients (and myself) the gift of balance of mind, body and spirit. These cards have improved my own health and well-being. Over time, I hope you will create a balanced plan for your own self care routine for mind, body and spirit. I hope you will consider using these cards and this website as a way to balance your own life.
Here are some fun ways you can use the Balance Resource Cards:
- Shuffle the cards and randomly pick a card to try for the day. Enjoy the spontaneity. Place the card aside if you wish to try all the cards during the month.
- Choose several cards to be used every day as part of your daily wellness routine. Change the routine every few weeks.
- Place your favorite cards in a card holder, on the refrigerator, on a mirror or around your home where you will see each card daily. Do the activity each time you see it.
- Choose a balanced combination of cards to use for the week for mind, body and spirit. Every day, choose one or two cards from that pile until all the cards are completed.
- Be brave! Choose a card that you have never tried before. Learn a new technique. Read more about it from this website or from other resources.
- Give a set of cards to a friend and enjoy using them together. Check in with each other for accountability.
Perhaps you will find other ways to use these cards. If you do, I'd love to hear your ideas and feedback. Which cards do you like? Are there things you do for your daily routine that you would like to share with others? Are there cards that you seem to draw more frequently than other cards? I hope you enjoy balancing your mind, body and spirit!
RSS Feed
