A Healthy Success - Day 1
On December 31, 2014 I set the goal of doing my 9 Daily Health Practices every day during January 2015. Day 1 was a success!
The day started with a healthy breakfast and some family time. After that I got some work done and drove from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara. On the drive I sang and practiced breath control for more than 20 minutes. Even though a car is not the optimal place to practice Pranayama I was able to enjoy the benefits of focusing my awareness on my breath to calm the mind and cruise peacefully through traffic.
The technique I used was counting eight seconds for each inhale and 8 seconds for each exhale. You can try it using a longer or shorter count, make sure to pause at the top of each inhale and the bottom of each exhale to notice the space between the breaths. Some yogis recommend practicing breath control in nature, sitting in a quiet space with the eyes closed to allow the senses and awareness to draw in.
Once I arrived to Santa Barbara I picked up my friend Joe and headed straight to the beach where we ran and did our meditation practice and Qi Gong. Add in the health benefits of fresh air and sunlight and you have an almost perfect afternoon.
While I was at the beach I also practiced the Knee Hand Crawl alternating arms with legs. According to my teacher, Jordan Terry, this exercise mimics natural human movement patterns that help stabilize and mobilize joints in a beneficial manner. Crawling also activates and integrates different parts of the brain enhancing more efficient communication between the left and right hemispheres. Crawling is a natural developmental movement skill that serves as a building block for more advanced movements. Give it a try and see how you feel, it will surely make your brain happy.
After crawling and walking around the beach I drove home and had a healthy meal to nurture myself. Vegetable soup with oils and seeds was my choice. I then added some more hours of work and finished the day with some Yoga and Foundation Training before doing some self-massage and going to sleep.
By the end of the day I was so tired I didn’t have enough time to journal or do any creative writing. I will try to do more today to make up for it. In summary I was able to do 8 out of the 9 practices I was aiming for, I will round that to 90% and give myself an “A -“, what a great start for day 1!
Thank you to all of you who visited my blog and are accompanying me in this endeavor. I hope you also had the chance to practice self-care and take care of yourself. If you didn’t practice yesterday today you have another chance. Feel free to share your experience or add any questions you may have.
Have a Healthy Day!
- Bruno Treves
Sources: http://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/regain-and-build-your-original-strength-through-crawling
