In this series of blog posts, I share you my personal month-long effort towards sustainable change and also reveal personal before and after photos. To get caught up, read Week 1: 28 to Great, Cyber Purging and Meditation
Listening to My Body
As I count the days to DAY 19 on my cute 28 to Great barre3 calendar, I am impressed with myself but also acknowledge how hard the last few days have been. I’m tired. Despite my B vitamin shot last week with Dr. Elise, all of the great sleep I have been getting from the meditations I have been doing, and all of the amazing food I have been eating at home, I am just plain tired. Running a business, seeing 20+ patients a week, raising two amazing children and supporting/loving a husband, takes a lot of work. And a bundle of energy.
Today I took a rest day. There were multiple times when I *almost* ran errands or sat down to do administrative work, but I made an effort to stay home and do relatively nothing. And I am going to eat a big fat steak tonight. I consider myself an intuitive eater and that is what my body wants. Give me steak or hear me Roar!
An Early Reveal of a “Before” Picture
Ok, so let’s get to it. I can’t believe I am about to post pictures of myself in a sports bra. But I am inspired by these ladies on my friend’s Another Mother Runner blog (if they can do it, I can do it). Also, there is something cool I want to show you. If you are a secret anatomy geek like me, you will probably find it cool too!
What I didn’t mention before was that in one of the “before” pictures, my scoliosis was so apparent, it was shocking to me. I kept on taking the picture over and over again to see if it was the way I was standing. But I was crooked despite the fact that I felt like I was standing balanced on two feet!
DAY ONE
Check me out on day 1.
The picture I show here was the best of the bunch because I got a little freaked out and deleted the rest. In this picture, you can see that I am leaning on my left leg more because of my anteriorly rotated pelvis and my right shoulder is higher than my left.
After 16 days of Sadie Lincoln’s 28 To Great, a great yoga workshop with Tiffany Cruikshank and a blow-your-mind massage with Shaney Aalbers, I decided to see if I was still crooked.
DAY SIXTEEN
Check me out here on day 16.
See the difference? I took a few photos to make sure it wasn’t the angle of the shot, but my body does indeed look longer, leaner and straighter. My right shoulder isn’t hiking up as high and my pelvis is more balanced. Yahoo! I am curious what will happen after a whole month of taking great care of myself. Now, tell me that’s not cool.
One More Thing: The Cyber Purge
Remember last week I mentioned that I unsubscribed from a gazillion email lists? Well, my inbox is finally clean!
At first I missed all those emails but then I had a realization that I had spent a lot of time browsing emails, clicking links, and exposing myself to consumerism in excess. For instance, every time I clicked open that Pottery Barn email I would think,
Oh, I want that. I want this.
And then I would see the price, dream for a second or two longer and then feel bad and think,
I can’t have.
By exposing myself to all of those emails, I was constantly subjecting myself to the negative feelings that they elicited and this repetitive thought loop. Releasing myself of that exposure has been freeing on so many levels.
My recommendation is to unsubscribe to those emails. Recycle those catalogs. You know where to go when you need or want something. You do not need to be reminded of it every day.
That’s all for now. See you next week!