As I get older, I realize how important it is to keep a healthy mind every day. Boy do I wish I thought of this stuff in my 20’s! So many things can come at you on any given day. Whether that is someone scratching your car door at the grocery store without you know and driving away (true story and happened just last week) or a restructure at your company that doesn’t involve you. Sometimes it could be parent related, your child talking back to you or getting a bad report back from school. Whatever it may be, how do you keep your mind healthy all the time?
I was on a morning run this morning (my love-hate relationship with it – see by other blog post) and I realized that during those moments when I’m conserving energy I think about my writing and I think about some really good topics. I then proceed to verbally write my next post, saying it over and over again because I have a terrible memory. Pretty soon I come out of my fog and realized I’ve ran quite a bit of distance. So while this helps with my running, it is also keeping my mind healthy.
Practicing yoga
For over twenty years, I have been practicing yoga. What brought me to yoga was back pain from my scoliosis that was unbearable. Yoga is the only thing that relieves my pain. I found yoga when I was living in a one-bed apartment after college. This was the first real time in my life living on my own, paying my bills, dealing with things called car insurance and renters insurance. I absolutely loved those years. I got a membership at a Gold’s Gym in my town and while this wasn’t fancy yoga, I feel in love with how the teacher spoke, how she lit cute little candles to create a mood, and how I started to turn inward. I would attend this Wednesday night class religiously, like a Sunday service.
The way I would feel after these yoga classes was nothing like I have ever felt before. Definitely not like the boot camp class I would go to back then on Tuesdays. It was different. I remember driving home each Wednesday night, hopping in my car and purposefully not turning on the radio. I let my mind be still and I let my body enjoy the practice I just did. It changed my life. Not only did it relieve the pain and let me tell you that was incredible, it also changed my headspace. I was hooked!
Using the teachings
Yoga seemed to creep into my every day. Like that run and hill and oh that burn in my knee. I learned to use my breath to send it to my knee and stop the pain. Or that stomach ache that suddenly popped up, I would use the power of my breath to relieve that pain and soon the ache would be gone. Now before you go down a road that makes you think I’m crazy, I tell you there is something about the practice where these things become true. There were times during a heated fight with my husband, where I may stand back and breath (something my old temper wouldn’t necessarily have done in the past).
One of the greatest parts of the practice is it’s just for you. No matter where I was in life after I started yoga, I made sure that was in my life regardless. Years later, I would even accept a job with a local yoga company, spearheading the company and learning more about yoga than I ever knew existed. It’s a staple in my life. It keeps my mind healthy.
So whether surfing in the ocean, or biking, or skiing, or meditation is your way to keep your mind healthy, it is an important part of our lives. Keeping our minds healthy is what keeps us balanced. It’s what clears the fog and cobwebs. We should all be carving that precious time in our lives to find your healthy mind. How do you keep a healthy mind?
