Lately things have seemed extra insane in my life. The house seems to be getting extra messy faster, the dog extra barky and mischievous, kids activities all over the place - Not to mention the kids have been acting crazier.... More bills, more obligations and household chores, the list goes on and on....
Add to this a crazy week at work. Don't get me wrong, I love being busy at work as I find when left with little to do, I react by procrastinating. Weird I know. ;) But this week there's been a lot going on and the old Catherine would try to get it all done as fast as possible, skipping meals and breaks along the way in attempts to stay focused on the tasks at hand. I mean what does it say about me if I can't handle a little stress or busy times at work?! But it dawned on me recently that when you consider all the crap I deal with outside my workday too, that my exposure to stress is alllll day . I quite literally am push push pushing myself from the moment I wake up (6:15am and getting the kids up, dressed and ready for their day in addition to getting myself prepped for the day) until the moment I finish the kids' lunches at 8:30pm at night. And while yes, this routine is not new - I get through it day after day, I've also had a record year of very poor health... Coincidence?! I think not.
I'm both obsessive and a perfectionist by nature and will hone it on something until it gets done, no matter how much it kills me to get the end result and as close to perfect as possible. This pertains to something as simple as getting the kids' shoes on and out the door (which for those of you with young kids KNOW this is actually NOT that simple), to a project at work. The thing is, by not taking a step out of the "danger zone" as I like to call it (danger zone = the moment before my mind implodes), I am continually putting my body in a high level of stress. Too much stress on a regular basis is not good as it leads to high levels of cortisol which in turn will lower your immune system.
Sooooo... This is where my new discipline comes in... While this blog is supposed to chronicle my going greener and leaner, really it's all about my attempting to overhaul and improve my health from head to toe and from the inside out. This means my having to break any unhealthy behavioural patterns and inserting healthier options or strategies, whether it's easy or not.
This morning I was feeling scattered and a little crazier than normal. I had intended on going to a noon yoga class, but instinct told me I should stay and work through my lunch and push myself to get done what I needed to get done. *discipline, discipline, discipline* Oh yeah, it's all about making healthier choices - ok. So begrudgingly I went off to yoga. After only ten minutes in and I started to feel my whole body soften, my mind became sharper and I was calm... I was relaxed and calm and in a meditative state for one hour. While today was a much harder class than I anticipated it would be physically, once I got back to my office I was clear-minded and relaxed and WAY better equipped to handle the rest of the day.
I'm proud that I achieved this little milestone today in trying to correct unhealthy behaviour patterns that I've developed over the course of my life. Yay me!!!
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