Mindfulness

I’ve been playing around with my morning routine this week and I’m pretty happy with it so far. I used to have to eat something right when I got up in the morning but I’ve found that I’m not actually hungry but rather eating out of habit and to wake myself up. This week however, I’ve skipped the pre-workout snack and instead I get to enjoy a breakfast after the gym. I may be preparing my breakfast mentally while working out… 😉

I also added a Nutri-Grain bar to my yogurt mix and it was delicious. It’s nice to be able to sit down and enjoy a breakfast in the morning, especially after a good workout. This morning, I did a half an hour of cardio and a heavy lower body workout. I’m sure my thighs will be yelling at my tomorrow!

After a bowl of leftover Thai soup for dinner and a few too many cookies for dessert last night, I started thinking about how strong our minds are. We are able to convince ourselves of just about anything, obsess over topics, and even force our brains to stop thinking about something. We are incredibly advanced creatures (compared to other mammals at least) yet so many of us continually struggle with things like health and fitness. Why is it so easy for us to worry too much about our finances or our things but difficult to stay committed to a healthy diet and exercise? Maybe it is all mental. If I believe that I can control the way my mind thinks, operates, and worries, then I can do anything humanly possible. Ergo, I take away my obsession over sweets or dropping 5 pounds by changing the way my brain processes these things. I tried this last night and noticed that my brain needed something to obsess over. Since I wasn’t thinking non-stop about cookies, my brain was rapid-fire and ready to chew something else. (If you can’t tell, I’m a pretty high energy person and last night was one of the few nights I had no plans so I had lots of free thinking time.) I watched tv with my roommate and after a little while, I got ancy and went upstairs to do some yoga. (I’m probably not normal.)

Yoga always makes me feel great and it did just that last night. Afterwards, I jumped into bed and read The Happiness Project, which I’m slowly trucking through. It is a great read.

Question of the day: Do you have a busy mind? If not, is relaxing easy for you?

Happy Tuesday!