Meditation is a mental exercise practiced through concentration, observation, and awareness. By concentrating on an object (internal or external), paying attention to the present moment and whatever is happening, and trying to get rid of the distractions that come to mind, one is able to calm the mind and provide solid moments of introspection. While mediation is often associated with stillness there are walking and moving meditations as well, and the ultimate goal is to bring mindfulness into most of our everyday lives.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and add moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity (such as resistance or weights) on at least 2 days per week.
During this 30-day period, every day I will try spend 30 minutes in some type of meditation and at least 30 minutes doing a form of exercise that gets my heart up, thus setting aside an hour each day for self care.
Day 25:
The day was busy with student and parent meetings throughout. I didn’t get much of a break during any point in the day, but I actually feel good about the work I’m doing and all the ways I continue to improve and do my job. I am a solid support for students and they know and trust me. I got caught up on some paperwork and data entry after a lengthy discussion on how to best support some of the teachers with the principal. Because of this, I missed yoga in the afternoon. Instead, I went to the store and bought ingredients for a delicious carbonara and spent the evening working on finalizing nomination votes for homecoming, preparing slides for whole school delivery, and cooking dinner. Tomorrow will be a crazy busy day, so I made sure to meditate tonight yo practice going with the flow. I began to get antsy near the end of the meditation, and I wonder if this is because my brain was too tired to focus anymore.
Day 26:
Today was the busiest day I’ve had this school year so far. Right away, in the morning, I had two parent meetings and had to get things ready for each. Homecoming nominations were done, but needed to develop more of the work. I spent the afternoon hopping from student situation to student situation. I had a lot of work to do for Chemistry, so went home and worked on that. I just barely managed to get stuff done by the start of class and then the teacher didn’t show up so none of it was due. In the future I really need to set aside 2 hours on the weekend to do that work. I’m nervous about my test, so when we got our break I stayed in the classroom and reviewed. I regret doing this as I didn’t get any meditation in. My mind is so tired at night and it’s hard to practice meditation all at once so late, but I needed the practice too and value my time trying to sit in stillness. I would like to get a full nights rest and then try to meditate, as I bet it feels better. Knees don’t hurt anymore after meditation.
Day 28:
Today I taught my first official Hot Yoga class. I was quite nervous for it and spent the morning studying cues for each pose and trying to get my mind in the right place to go. It went off without a hitch and I have now secured a class to teach at Yogapod Lowry on Saturdays at 4:30 PM. It’s the best studio I’ve been to and I love the community. Afterwards, I cleaned up the studio a bit and sat on my favorite cushion to meditate. The goal of this meditation was to smile through my entire body while focusing solely on my breath. I felt great afterwards and elated by the success of the class.
Day 29:
Riding on the wonderful and relaxed sensation of yesterday’s meditation, this morning I spent time in a seminar with my Sifu on generating true power for external Chinese Martial Arts. The seminar was a repeat of so many things that I’ve learned from my Sifu since I started training with him, but it’s always nice to spend time with him and I enjoy learning how to teach the foundational basics to different learners. We spent lunch together and worked a little bit on Lohan Shou and my movement through it. The afternoon was spent studying for my chemistry test coming up, and doing a photo shoot with my friend Amanda for the website. I love the photos that my Yoga mentor created, and know that Amanda can do a great job with them as well. After the hour had passed and we got so many action shots, I rushed over to restorative yoga for deep stretching and meditation. All in all it was a great Sunday.
Day 30:
As the final day of this challenge started, I was 15 minutes into riding my bike to work and I got a flat tire. It’s seems almost fitting that this happened seeing how difficult the exercise portion has been throughout the month. I did manage to walk my bike quickly back to my house and drive to work, but it was pretty heartbreaking nonetheless. The meditation practice that I tried tonight was without my Mala, and this made it much more difficult to do. It’s nights like these that make me realize how inexperienced and novice I am at this practice. While I’ve made significant progress in mindfulness, I’m still at the beginning of this lifetime practice.
Conclusions:
Life is a crazy thing that pulls you into so many directions. Never once was I able to establish a solid week of both meditation and working out for 30 minutes. An hour of designated solo time working on pushing the self can be a lot in a day that is already packed with work, school, family, and other responsibilities. This doesn't mean that I'm not taking care of myself in other ways like relaxing or spending time with friends, but it is interesting to come to a better understanding of how complicated it can be to only change an hour of the day. I really like the workouts that I already do (kung fu, yoga, running, etc) and each of them take much longer than 30 minutes. I think the greatest part of this challenge was the meditation practice that I established. I had never meditated for that long, and I had a pretty consistent practice going. This has probably left me a better person in my interaction with others, although I don't know if I've given it enough time to truly say this. I plan to continue the practice of meditation into the future, and I think I'll be easier on how I focus my time on the 30 minutes of exercise throughout the week and possibly focus instead on making those 150 minutes work every week.
Crockpot Bolonese Sauce and Lasagna
Bolonese Sauce Ingredients:
1 yellow onion (diced into cubes)
1 lb ground turkey
1 Lb ground beef
1 12 oz can tomato paste
1 28 oz whole plum tomatoes
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs pepper
1 Tbs Italian seasonings
Lasagna Ingredients:
1 package of lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded (do not buy bags of it as there is flour added to the ingredients)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
How to cook it up!
1. In a large skillet, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until slightly browned.
2. Place this cooked meat and all sauce ingredients into the crockpot and set on low for between 4 and 8 hours.
3. When sauce is ready, heat a large pot of water, salted lightly, and bring to a boil.
4. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
6. Putting all the pieces together, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish, then arrange the noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread a layer of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with an even layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon even layer of meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
7. Repeat this layer by layer with the top remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
8 Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. For a crispy cheese put under broil for 1 minute at the end.
10. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.