It’s peak season here in the Coachella Valley and man, I can tell. It’s not because of the crowded classes at the studio, increased traffic or difficulty in getting into restaurants. Over the past 20 years of working and teaching here in the desert, a common phenomenon happens to us in the health/fitness industry. Many of us fall out of peak shape as so much of our energy and time is spent teaching and sharing what we do rather than fully practicing what we do. I’ve seen this cycle in myself as the busier my schedule the less time I have for my own workouts and self-care.
It’s truly an effort to find a maintenance program that sustains constant good health and to shift the focus from having to be in “top” shape. Part of this has been the uncovering of what it means to me, personally, to live well and then keeping in place the minimum things that support that. I’ve written about this in previous blogs as it relates to the “non-negotiables” we have in our daily lives. For me, that includes my daily meditation practice and keeping my own self-appointed exercise commitments. Beyond that, it seems to be a luxury to fit in an extra hike, bike ride, or pickleball game.
I was taking a walk the other day, listening to one of the many recorded sessions for my shamanism course and the instructor asked the question “How did I live well today?” as part of a much larger discourse. For some reason, it stuck in my head and has been the theme of this week’s teaching.
As I thought about what it means to live well, I went beyond the idea of hedonistic and economic pursuits. To me, living well is a reflection of the wholeness of who we are in our physical body, our mental health, the emotions we experience, and the spiritual connections we have…all on a daily basis.
Now, if you’ve just found that statement a bit overwhelming with the idea that we’re seeking the perfect self-help formula, now is the time to take a deep breath. Simplify with asking yourself at the end of the day, “How did I live well today?” The answer is a hopeful reflection of the positive choices you made in order to bring joy and simplicity to your life. BC Living describes it as,
“Living well gives you the energy to engage with life in a meaningful and fulfilling way.”
If you find that undertaking your daily activities to be a draining experience, on any level, then you can recognize that something is off-kilter. We can uncover what may be lacking by asking some of the following questions:
On the physical level:
How am I looking after my physical health?
What am I doing to nourish and nurture my body?
Is what I bring into my physical body full of life force or toxic?
On the mental level:
How am I managing stress?
How do I deal with anxiety and depression that may show up in my life?
Do I examine my thoughts and recognize that I don’t need to believe all that I think?
On the emotional level:
Am I allowing myself to feel my emotions or do I stuff them down and drown them out?
What are my emotions revealing to me at the moment?
And on the spiritual level:
What connects me to that force that’s bigger than me?
Do I find time to reflect, contemplate, and/or meditate?
Do I spend time in nature, stillness, and silence?
The above are simply prompts that reveal what might be neglected in our lives and what might be in place and therefore celebrated.
As you’re about to switch off the light tonight, ask yourself this:
How did I live well today?
Pat yourself on the back for all that you do to look after yourself and invite in small things that enrich your daily life even further. In the end, as Robert Breault says:
Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
