My Word of The Year Checkup – February
January was a hot mess. Actually maybe not even a HOT mess. Just a mess. But back at the start of January I wrote a post about my word of the year. My word this year is MOVE. So I thought it worthwhile to do a quick word of the year checkup to keep myself accountable to all of you. So here that is – my word of the year checkup. Month one.
I am generally good about keeping personal goals. 2017 and mindfulness was the exception to that one. And if you know me at all then you know that I work out a lot and I am pretty good about staying on top of that. When I work out I feel better. I have more energy when I hit the gym often and, when I ski or swim or spend time outside. My immune system responds better when I am physically active. In fact most of my systems do.
My Crohn’s Disease can sometimes mean a lot of aches and pains. That’s no fun. But I have a system that works for me most of the time. That’s monitoring my food intake. (Basically I avoid a few foods, not a lot, but a few) And exercising. Moving helps actually. Moving often. Moving more. In an ideal world, I get enough sleep too, but often that’s often the first thing to go.
I have heard it said a to recently that sitting is the new smoking. So, with that in mind, I am moving more. No surprise writing and consulting can be very sedentary jobs. But I need to move and I love strength building and balance so movement is essential.
This last couple of weeks have jam-packed with movement. We started January on a cruise, relaxing mostly. But, even on a cruise we found ways to workout. We hit the on ship fitness centre one day and I felt okay about that because the other days I was walking, or running or sliding down water slides. Those of you who don’t think that is exercise haven’t been to a huge waterpark like Atlantis in the Bahamas, where you march up and down 5 or 6 flights of stairs repetitively carrying an inner tube under your arm. That, my friends, is exercise.
Our January started with movement and ended with movement and I am happy about that. Last year, I managed to ski maybe once a week in the winter months and I worked out 2-3 times at Centergy, which is body flow, a sort of fast pilates set to music.
This month, I added a Yoga class in to the regular 2-3 sessions of Centergy a week. I have maintained all 3 Centergy classes a week almost every single week. The yoga class is unlike any other yoga I have done in the past so I like that. It’s a bit more challenging with respect to binds and balancing poses too. Typically I leave that class feeling my shoulders the next day, which is good because my shoulders are my weak spot. And I am getting better at Crow Pose and Headstands every day. Plus the vinyasa flow is very unique to that class. I love changing it up once in awhile.
This month I have managed to ski twice a week almost every single week and I have squeezed in 5 workouts on top of that. So my goal to move more so far is going extremely well. I am thrilled with that. Not sure it’s possible to maintain all year round. But for the winter months it’s looking good.
That’s two weeks in a row I’ve managed intense physical activity for 6 of the days each week. That’s a record for me. Hoping to keep that going.
Month One Word of the Year Checkup
Feeling happy with my progress at this point. The amount of movement has helped me feel better and in fact, I have not been sick this cold and flu season at all whereas my youngest daughter and husband have had their share of colds and coughs. February is so much better than January was already. When I am working out this much and skiing too I feel strong and healthy. Plus I feel better able to tackle work.
Hope I can maintain this next month too. Stay tuned for another word of the year checkup then.
How are your personal goals working out this year?
