health – Page 3 – Creative Meanderings

Reflections: Week of Reflections 2

Jan 062022

If reading my blog posts hasn’t taught you anything else about me, I hope that it has been abundantly clear that I LOVE a plan 💜. Part of my planning process is – appreciating – what has worked and what has not.

Over a two-year-period, I used a bullet journal 📖 style of organizing, tracking, and recording various aspects of my life. In general, I’m a use fan of this method, but it was slightly challenging for me to separate areas as everything was clumped together in one big book. Therefore, this year, I have decided to start fresh with a new journal 📝 only for recording my thoughts or doing my warm-up writing before a full writing session. I also have a separate calendar 🗓 book to hold my to-do lists and track my activities. These combined with my online Google calendar and tasks system should be effective in helping me stay on track each day. So, this is my literal appreciation and planning.

In other areas of appreciation, I touched on them a bit in my previous post. First and foremost is that we have a house 🏡! It truly is the dream house that we manifested together with our list of wishes. Although we now have to focus on paying it off, we know that this is meant to be our home.

Furthermore, my efforts to find, build, and maintain friendships when we moved to France has paid off as I have a small but solid tribe to call my/our own even in a short time. Though they are all based in France, I am so appreciative of their open arms, generosity of spirit, and love of rosé 🍷🥂! I will try to work on finding Italy-based friends as well this year.

Obviously, The Universal Asian has seen great growth and despite a bit of end-of-the-year drama, I am proud of what it is today and excited about what it will become in the upcoming year.

So, these are the main highlights of my appreciation in the last year.

On to my planning for 2022!

As usual, I focused on six areas: health, finances, career/work, relationships, personal growth, and spiritual growth. I’ll just give a quick overview of where I hope to be in these areas by the end of the year.

Health:

Although my weight is not crazy and I eat fairly healthily, there is always room for improvement. Middle-age changes to my metabolism and body shape as well as ability to maintain has been challenging to get a solid hold on. Therefore, I am aiming to drop to my ideal weight of 56kg (currently around 64kg – did I just share that?!). Once I hit it, I hope to maintain it.

Also, I had a goal of being able to do pull ups, which didn’t quite ever come to fruition. However, now that we have a fully functioning gym in the house, I am going to work on training to be able to do pull ups!

Since I think that a six-pack is not likely to ever happen and I actually don’t think it looks that good on a middle-aged woman, I am aiming for a toned four-pack by the time my bikini body is exposed (around April/May). With a bit of weight loss around the middle and concentrated exercises, I think this is feasible.

Finally, my goal is to help support M in his own weight loss and fitness journey with healthy eating and regular fasting – which will likely coincide with my regular writing retreats. 😆

Finances:

Without giving too much public information regarding our finances, I just want to say that the focus this year is to be 100% debt-free. Given the improved conditions of our finances from just a year ago, I firmly believe this is possible and will strive to ensure that we can happily report that all our income is ours by the end of the year. **This is easier said than done as my other half hates paying bills…** 🤪

Career/Work:

As I no longer really “work” or have a formal career, all of these goals relate to building up The Universal Asian. I’d like to get to the point that we are generating at least $5K 💵 per month to cover current costs and increase other budgets. It really doesn’t seem like much, but it is a slow process as we need to increase our engagement numbers through social media and the site itself. I’m also hoping to increase our team members and writers/contributors. So, again, nothing impossible, just need to stay focused on the prize 🏆!

Relationships:

This is somewhat COVID pending as the world of travel as we once knew it seems to be gone. However, I want to, at least, see my parents and family sometime this year. It may not be until the end of the year, but that is a priority for sure.

Also, I’ve already put a new time limit on my social media apps from 2hrs to 1hr and my goal is to get to 30mins per day. No more than that! Whenever I feel the urge to pick up my phone or iPad to mindlessly scroll, I am going to try to make myself read instead. This way I can also meet my goal of reading more. 🤓

Finally, I sort of gave up on trying to stay connected with old friends last year and perhaps before as I felt that it was too one-way. However, for the people of whom I think on a regular basis, I will aim to make more of an effort to be the first to reach out to them every so often rather than wait as there is no gain in a one-sided battle of wills. 😛

Personal Growth:

This is my year of writing. Everything related to my personal growth goals this year are connected to what I want to achieve in my writing with the help of my writing tribe – Adoptee Writer’s Experience (AWE) led by Ann Peck.

Therefore, I have already scheduled in my weekly writing dates at a cafe ☕️💻 in Orvieto. Also, I have let M know and scheduled regular writing retreats every six weeks or so. This means I will book a hotel in Rome or somewhere else to escape distractions that might take me away from writing. The cost of this will be less than a short writing retreat and gives my introverted nature a break from social interactions as well. 😅

With all of this, my goal is to submit two short stories to pre-determined submissions and have a draft of my first novel by November. 🙏🏽🤞🏽

Spiritual Growth:

This area went up and down over the past year as I taught a few yoga classes and then didn’t, but managed to maintain my own practice regularly so that it is rare for a day to go by that I don’t do yoga.

Still, I have realized that I am missing the massive benefits that daily meditation brings me. I pushed it aside a bit, but am now trying to reprogram it in each day. I’ve started with pre-sleep meditation and eventually want to put back in a morning sit as well.

Furthermore, I am hoping to read at least seven “spiritual”/philosophy/self-help books:

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi – I’ve already started this as an audiobook
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield – Already on my bookshelf waiting to be opened
Radical Compassion by Tara Brach
Yoga of the Subtle Body by Tias Little
Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran
The Mastery of Love by Don Miguel Ruiz
Letters from a Stoic by Seneca

These are not in any specific order and when I say ‘read’, I also mean audiobooks as I tend to absorb nonfiction better aurally.

So, there you have it. My – planning – for 2022 is written in the end of my bullet journal book to round off the book and the year; and now it is here as a sort of accountability space.

Here we go!!! 💪🏽

~T 😀

Reflections: Making Life Meaningful

Going Mental 1 Response »

Dec 142021

Relationships always have ups and downs, whether romantic or platonic. I value my relationships as treasures and gifts that can never be replaced, because – well – they can’t.

Whether or not one believes in God or a higher being, it shouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination nor acceptance to acknowledge that people come in and out of our lives for a reason. Sometimes these reasons are to teach us something, sometimes it is to teach them something, sometimes it is out of convenience, sometimes it is for forever; always it has meaning.

M and I have observed/are observing a few marriages/romantic relationships struggling and it is a sad process to watch.

Having had our own relationship demises, we discuss how and why connections seem to go wrong. I love this aspect of M because he reflects, processes, and adjusts himself to ensure that mistakes aren’t repeated to jeopardize the strength of his relationships.

Likewise, I do the same.

Also, I stand fast to the belief that we need to communicate more. So many people want to poo-poo the fact that feelings are talked about or dismiss the need to get things off our chests. However, I maintain that, aside from the outrageous consumption of sugar and other chemicals, the reason cancer runs rampant is because we hold on to the darkness of thoughts, energy, and feelings. While we may not be able to control environmental impacts on our health and quality of life, we can most definitely control our consumption, exposure, and expression.

M, being British, sometimes justifies that culturally English people do not speak so much of feelings and that therapy is an American concept.

I argue that while that may be true, and generationally it doesn’t matter the country/culture, it doesn’t make it right or healthy. I’m not saying that we should talk about every single emotion or thought that passes through our minds/hearts. I AM saying that we should talk about what we hold onto that doesn’t serve us in creating lightness in our lives. Holding grudges, becoming bitter, mumbling and grumbling are not necessary to life. They are indeed a fact of life, but we are not required to hold on to them or let them perpetuate until they grow into dark cancerous bits that take hold of our souls.

This is not to say, either, that we should run away from the problems that come up including another human being – especially one that we are committed to (legally or not). This is the modern-day response to “removing negative influences” in our lives. Nothing is gained from running away either. Working on the relationship and then agreeing to walk away or one realizing that it is detrimental to their life to stay is not considered running way, but being wise in severing that connection for their well-being.

For me, my greatest learning in life has been communicating what is in my heart and mind. I do not have verbal diarrhea, and I do not walk around with my heart on my sleeve. However, I think I can proudly claim that I do speak my mind when I feel that it is important to do so.

M and I have a fairly healthy way of sharing with each other moments of annoyances (before it escalates to a fight), requests to avoid projecting our own issues on each other, or a need for some temporary space to process what we need before sharing or discussing it with each other. When we fight, which is not that often, we do it fiercely but we come back later to rationally explain and listen to each other’s points of views. We may choose to agree to disagree, but we respectfully acknowledge the other’s side. We also agreed very early on in our marriage that we would never ever throw out the “D” word in arguments nor even joke on it as an option because it begins to fray the binds that connect us and we do not want to do that – ever.

So often after we discuss with people who are struggling and we share with each other what was said – we do tell each other EVERYTHING – it almost always boils down to the fact that they don’t communicate nor listen to their partners. Imagine what healing and positivity could arise if they were able to communicate, listen, and be heard?

Life drives meaning and purpose from these two simple actions: listening and speaking. These can be done aurally or in writing. Still, they must be done. In doing them, we learn about each other, we gain respect for one another, and most importantly, we come to understand others and ourselves better.

Thereby, making our lives even more meaningful!

~T 😀

Detoxing

Going Mental 1 Response »

Aug 022019

While some people choose to go into a sauna to sweat out 😥 the toxins in their body, the summers in Japan 🇯🇵 work just about the same when you step out the door. 🏝

The weather has drastically changed from rainy season ☔️ to sweaty season 😓. Although I don’t feel that it is that hot in terms of temperature, the humidity makes the 91 degree F into something in the hundreds 🥵. It also means that despite a cool-ish breeze, it is impossible to open windows to let the air circulate in the house due to the dampness that will surely enter instead. 💧

Thus, it’s nothing by ‘dry’ function or straight AC all the time.

Somehow, though, I think I have gradually adjusted to it and accepted that the next month or so is going to be filled with trying to remember to take a hand towel 🧖🏽‍♀️ with me everywhere to wipe the sweat from walking between air-conditioned locales.

In a way, this has timed well with my decision to do a food detox. Since I don’t particularly like to cook, 🙅🏽‍♀️👩🏽‍🍳 and especially don’t enjoy doing it for just myself, it was a perfect time to give it a go.

Although I regularly do intermittent fasting once or twice a week to maintain my weight, I found that my body was getting used to it and I was gaining more than I liked. Therefore, I decided to try a full-on five day cleanse. 💁🏽‍♀️

This means that I did the following:
*Drink warm freshly squeezed lemon 🍋 water in the morning in lieu of tea or coffee.
*Drink water or sports drinks throughout the day (to fight the humidity sweats).
*Drink dandelion tea at night with a few more glasses of water.
*Have a simple smoothie of half a banana 🍌, frozen berries 🍓, super-green powder and fruit juice or water on the few occasions when I felt weak or just wanted a variation of liquid.

After six days, actually, I returned to food, but following Lyn-Genet Recitas’s _The Plan_ to become more aware of what food my body reacts negatively to.

This is based on the idea that there are a number of ingredients that we eat that can cause bloating, indigestion, constipation, 🥴 etc., which are considered negative reactions. We tend not to pay attention to how our bodies react to the food that we eat because we eat everything altogether and do not carefully consider which specific thing we ate could have caused the reaction.

As I have become more and more sensitive to food, air, nature, etc. as I get older, I have noticed an increase in skin issues, digestive concerns, and more. Therefore, I would like to investigate 🤔 in a natural and methodical way what my body is doing with the food that I put into it.

Even on the detox, I have noticed that my throat has slowly been constricting 😲 from either lemons or dandelion tea. I’m leaning towards the dandelion tea as the culprit since it is the newest addition to my intake list and as I’m allergic to grass, it’s probably related. Unfortunately, the symptoms can take days for me to realize what is happening since it does not come on instantly like other reactions that I can have. So, I am eliminating it now while keeping everything else the same for a couple of days (i.e. not adding in anything different or new until I see if the reaction in my throat goes away). If it doesn’t after a couple of days, then I’ll eliminate the lemon water as well and see if that does it.

In any case, I’m in a holding pattern now with the carrot-ginger soup 🥣 and steamed broccoli 🥦. Though, I think I will try the hummus I made with carrots 🥕 as well since these ingredients are not meant to be reactive according to The Plan (though I still could have reaction to these as well).

While my goal was not to lose weight ⚖️ exactly, I have already lost 3 kg (6.6 lbs) in just about a week. Some of that would obviously be water weight, though I feel as if I was drinking enough water to counter that! So, that’s a kind of perk. More happily for me personally is that the underlying 4-pack I’ve been working on at the gym 🏋🏽‍♀️ is finally showing itself since the flabby belly that was hiding it is starting to disappear. It helps me to see what areas to work on more in my workouts. 😜

So, the journey continues. I have another week on my own to not be overly influenced by my hubby’s eating habits 🤣😂 and to keep on experimenting with my food. Hopefully 🤞🏽, by the time he comes back I’ll have a base to be able to keep me on track (and maybe get him started?!).

I’ll keep you posted on what I find! 👍🏽

~T 😀

Retreating

Going Mental No Responses »

Nov 092018

When the sun and moon align, people gather together to view the phenomenon with the promise of each time being the ~est in our lifetimes. Yet, it is this equilibrium and balance that awes us and, despite all the fanfare and build up, lasts mere moments.

Our life experiences are similar. Though we do not always see the build up or understand the fanfare (aka drama) that we go through, we do live for those mere moments. Yet, there are also times when our focus is so much on the build up and drama that we miss the brief moment that it was all meant for. It is only when we have the luxury of time and reflection that we sometimes find light in the shadows.

In 2017, I had high hopes for life and was on a path that I thought was taking me to a better version of myself and my life. In fact, contrary to my usual avoidance in making New Year’s Resolutions, I set out quite a list of them for that year. Unfortunately, other than managing to finish my RYT500 yoga teacher training, I did very little in terms of the goals I had laid out. (Lesson being I’m probably not going to do that again! 😛 )

However, with somewhat disbelief that nearly two years have passed since our lives were quite different from now, I have been given the luxury of time and reflection to see the light in the shadows of those darker days when it seemed that there was no way out.

When we moved to Japan again, I took some time away from the world of yoga and mindful meditation. I didn’t have time to focus any energy on that as we had to go into survival and rebuilding mode. It was what was needed at the time, and still is to some degree for the foreseeable future. Still, as the Universe and God continue to bless us, some potential possibilities were building up to the forefront of reality.

In an early conversation about possibly getting to the point in our life to again think about traveling or taking some time to decompress at a retreat, my BFF mentioned that she follows someone on Instagram who hosts yoga and meditation retreats in Japan. I took note for later, as we were nowhere near a place to be considering such a thing seriously. Then, proving that the Universe knows, she forwarded me an article that came out interviewing the host of the retreats with more details about it. I again saved it for a later date since the timing was in the summer and we were just starting to touch our feet to the ground again.

Over the months, with the help of some secret-ing, we avoided attracting too much drama and instead focused on the alignment of our lives in all areas, as much as possible. Through this, the Universe and God conspired together to align timing and funding; thus, creating the opportunity to be able to attend the Dairyuji Yoga and Mindfulness Retreat in the very local city of Oga located in Akita Prefecture.

Literally everything aligned.

I was able to leave work early and take the five-hour trip from Tokyo to Oga for a meaningful and refreshing weekend.

Meeting G & K, our hosts, was like reading an inspirational book that reignites a flame of hope in humanity. Their kindness and openness was as fresh as the country ocean air surrounding the Oga peninsula.

For a yoga/mindfulness retreat, this one was an easy way to get my feet wet as a first-time experience. I don’t know about others, but my image of some retreats is more hard-core yoga practice and inescapable focus on being “spiritual”.

Perhaps because of the environment of the temple itself, or perhaps because of the people themselves, there wasn’t a need to be pushy. If anything, they could perhaps have been pushier with a bit more yoga and meditation time. However, if the aim was to provide a relaxing retreat environment with an opportunity to explore mindfulness and try some yoga, this was a success.

As an added bonus, I made connections with people whom I may never see again, and yet I feel were purposeful interactions drawing a nearly full circle from past to present. I think I’ve said before that I believe all connections have meaning and though I may not fully know what they are now, I hold them close in anticipation for a later revelation.

So, I will let the pictures speak for themselves as I consider the next possible, perhaps more hard-core, retreat in the future! 😉

Dairyuji-Oga Yoga/Meditation Retreat_Oct2018 / Google Photos

~T 😀

Purpose

Going Mental No Responses »

Nov 022018

Sunny days in Japan means that it’s a laundry day. One can see clothes hanging on balconies outside throughout the city. The decision on when to do laundry is not really left to one’s own schedule or choice, but is instead determined by the whims of nature.

In this, I ponder a parallel in wondering how much free choice we truly have, or are we already fulfilling what the universe has determined that we should be doing?

Perhaps our freedom of choice lies is in deciding when to stop refusing to take the path meant for us? Perhaps, then, our unhappiness and discontent is in our stubbornness in believing we know a better way….

Sometimes (OK, most of the time!), it is easier to see what other people should or should not be doing with their lives than in our own. So, lately, I have been trying to remove the judging instinct and reflect….

I question regularly if I am avoiding a path before me? Am I refusing to see a way that is meant to be? Am I afraid to take a road less traveled?

My instinct says, “No!”

But, the truth is, I really don’t know.

My ego wants to believe that I am slightly more aware and in tune with myself than most and yet… perhaps I am deluded.

Maybe I just don’t know what I don’t know, or don’t want to know it.

The best way I do know how to judge myself objectively (if it’s even possible) is by my mental state. Given the fact that I have tendencies for extreme ups and downs, if I am fairly even keeled mentally, then I tend to think I am on the right path. When my mental state gets unbalanced, then perhaps it is because I have started to meander off the best trajectory.

With that as a working gauge, these days, I’m definitely feeling more and more on an even keel. My wheel of life actually feels like it is starting to even out so that all spokes of the wheel are moving forward smoothly.

My job is good. My finances are improving. My health is stable. My friendships are strong (at least from my perspective 😛 ). My love life is fabulous. My free time is spent pleasurably.

All in all, I am more content with life than I have been for a long time. I generally feel at peace in my heart and mind. While I may complain about various aspects of life here and there about decisions to be made – as any normal person does -, I do feel quite satisfied with where I am.

With all that said, I do have a sense that there is more I should/could be doing. I’m never one to just be content with life – even when all is good! 😉

So, while I have renewed my own practice in yoga and meditation, I am not teaching it again (yet). While I have settled into a job and made the circumstances as ideal as I can, I’m not fulfilled or satisfied enough with just that. Therefore, maybe it’s time to start taking steps towards doing more….

As I contemplate this, I also come to a revised understanding of knowing whether or not I’m on the right track. When everything in my life is aligned, then opportunities seem to open up serendipitously. The idea that those who have get more chances to have more seems to be true in a way. This is not a boast in any way, but I am aware that when my life is in balance I am able to see more than when my focus is on particular aspects of life. A bit like ‘seeing the forest for the trees’ rather than ‘the trees for the forest’.

In my next post, I’ll share with you what I think is an example of what I’m trying to say here….

~T 😀

TWWs

Going Mental No Responses »

Oct 232017

I seem destined to a few times a week routine at the moment. I am not going to complain about that as it is definitely better than nothing at all. 😀

Monday (Oct 16)

Meditation 16 minutes
Vjnana Manual Monday practice (25mins)

Tuesday (Oct 17)

Mindfulness reading (15mins)

Thursday (Oct 19)

Meditation (Sam Harris on YouTube) 30 minutes
Yoga (30mins)

Friday (Oct 20)

Meditation (11mins)

Hopefully I will find a more stable routine in the week to come.

~T 😀

Zip Zapping Away

Going Mental No Responses »

Oct 212017

It’s the middle of the night as I write this. Despite falling asleep around 10ish, which is our usual weekend bedtime, I jolted awake feeling overheated and paranoid about the mosquito loose somewhere in the room even though M “locked it” in the closet. If I know there is a mosquito, I will not sleep as I could swear that I also heard buzzing in my ear. With no way to turn on the light or possibly kill it, I gave up on sleeping for now….

My fingers are crossed that the buzzing in my head will stop by the end of the weekend or early next week. It is hard to explain what it feels like, but sometimes I wonder if this is how patients feel after an electrical shock treatment. It occasionally makes me dizzy and definitely challenges any desire to walk around or move my head at all. If I really thought about it long enough, I am sure there are some yoga poses I could do to help the situation, but it is hard enough for me to focus my mind on one thing long enough to remember what it is I am doing….

I have noticed a massive mood disruption. My people tolerance has gone down – I didn’t even know that was possible…! M and I have had small quibbles and one big one of late. Old response are hard to break…. Although I am aware of these things after some thought, in the moment I am suddenly unable to pause and control what comes out of my mouth. The fuse is shorter at the moment.

Hopefully, this is just part of the stabilizing process and reconnection with my own control over my responses to others. Clearly I need to do more serious meditation and exercise to counteract whatever is currently going on with my mental faculties.

Anyway, step 1 is knowing. Step 2 is accepting. Step 3 is action….

~T 😀

Walking on Sunshine

Going Mental No Responses »

Oct 182017

Day 4 – chemical free with the help of a break from the grey and falling spit from the sky.

Yesterday was foggy both in my mind and in the weather. It continues to get colder day-by-day, but with the sun in the sky my heart warms today. It is not clear whether it is the lifting of the fog in my head or the fall climate that is affecting me, but really it does not matter – my own mind is returning.

I can definitely feel the difference. It actually makes me happy to know that my mood is no longer being controlled by chemical aid. While I sense the ups and downs happening much more acutely than before, I am actually reveling in the ‘crazy’. 😛

Actually, it gives me a chance to reflect on myself again and to get a new handle on how to control my impulses. The good news is that the fog is lifting inside even if it only worsens outside. 😀

~T 😀

TWWs

Going Mental No Responses »

Oct 162017

Well, this week turned out a little bit better than last. I can definitely feel the difference, so that is good news! 😀

Tuesday (Oct 10)

Meditation for 30minutes
Vjnana Manual Sunday practice (40mins)

Wednesday (Oct 11)

Mindfulness Reading for 20minutes

Thursday (Oct 12)

Meditation for 12minutes
Free practice (20mins)

Friday (Oct 13)

Meditation for 26minutes
Vjnana Manual Friday practice (34mins)

~T 😀

Writing Fodder

Going Mental No Responses »

Oct 132017

As I posted about a week ago, I am still writing and am currently work on series on spiritual well-being. 🙏🏽 To ensure that I am writing from a place of truth rather than theory, I decided that it was time to return more seriously to my own practice.

After my training finished, I sort of took a long break to focus on other aspects of my life (of which I am still working on getting out), so while I knew that there would be some consequences to that time off, it was worth it on a few levels.

First, any time that it seems that something is working or vital in life I think it is a good idea to take a step back and see if it really is. We can easily convince ourselves that a new fad or trend has meaning or positive effects, but it isn’t really until we stop doing it that we know for sure.

Let me digress with an example – I was convinced that taking a multivitamin was helping me from getting sick and feeling better. My skeptic husband said he was convinced they had zero effect and was just part of the money-making scheme of vitamin sellers. Well, I did not like that and I particularly do not like the idea of companies making money off of my ignorance. Still, I was not ready to admit defeat to my husband….. 😥 So, I quietly tested his theory and stopped taking the vitamins. Three months later, I realized that there was zero change to my health, energy-levels, etc. Thus, with great reluctance I admitted he was probably correct…. 😇 While they may have had some internal benefits, there was no physical change without them, so why continue spending my money on them? 🤑

Back to my original train of thought – unlike the vitamins, I noticed after three months that my skin was sagging, my muscle tone was diminishing and the back pains that I used to have had returned. 😳 My sleep was again being affected as well. 😴 On top of that I was dependent again on chemical help to balance my mind. All the things that had greatly improved from my regular practice were slowly returning to the detriment of my quality of life.

After just a week of fairly regular practice in both meditation and yoga, my body is returning to its fit form and my mind is definitely less agitated even as I slowly come off the meds. 🙃 For a 41-year-old, I take pride in the fact that I am probably in the best shape of my life without all the angst of having to maintain it as required in my 20s and 30s. 😜

Therefore, when I am asked how I keep calm despite other influences in my life, I can continue to confidently say that it is through the regular training of both my body and mind.

So, as I write this series for April Magazine, I keep in mind that this is after nearly 18 months of heavy training, reading loads of books and practicing daily that I have gotten to this place of ‘zen’. My hope to help others find this remains just as strong as ever before. 💪🏽 Now, it’s time to take action….

~T ☀️🙏🏽

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