When it comes to health and fitness we always talk about exercising your muscles with strength training.  We talk about exercising your heart with cardio.  We talk about eating healthy to support your exercise efforts and lose weight.  Sounds like the whole package right.  Well I say not quite.  We will make wonderful gains with all that, but we are missing a piece of the puzzle if we are not  exercising our spirit.

I have recently participated in a 21 day meditation challenge though Oprah’s website.  It is the 3rd one I have done and I have really been amazed at the effects it has had on me.  When I say spirit, I mean your relationship with yourself.  How you see yourself, how you feel about yourself and how you take care of yourself.  As I go through my journey with exercise, eating, working, and living my everyday rolls as Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister etc,  the effects of my workouts, eating and what I like to think of as “Spirit training”  all tie in together very well.  It is the balance of these that I think is important, not so much one over the other…

Each and everyday we are putting out our energy into the world.  What you put out is what you receive.  I want to put out the best energy I can.  To my spouse, kids, father, friends and clients.  The only way I can do that is to be the best I can be.  The only way I can do that is to take care of myself  outside and in.  It is easy for me to get into a routine to run, workout, get my sleep etc.  I feel I am doing all the right things to take care of myself, but I am learning more and more that taking care of my spirit is way more important than I had previously realized.  When I have taken care of myself by paying attention to who I am, learning who I am,  accepting who I am and loving who I am from the inside as well as the outside, then I can I truly be at my best.

I feel to help balance myself as a person it helps to have an inside and outside approach.  Quite time in meditation can greatly enhance all of your time with other people.  Now I am not speaking of just traditional style mediation with soft music, candle etc.  I simple mean alone quite time with yourself.  I find walking to be a beautiful form of mediation.  My running when I am alone is another.  The key here that I am trying to get through is quite.  No music, phone etc.  Just you and you.  Only in the quite can I truly be with me.

I know, the thought of exercising without music or phones can seem crazy and uncomfortable.  But soon you find yourself, your thoughts, your inner peace and in this quite time amongst the chaos of our lives… we can start to find balance.  I didn’t know I missed or needed the quite until I experienced what I was missing.  This balance helps me control the many facets and roles that I play in my life and helps me enjoy the ride more.  Being healthy in body and spirit is way more comforting than a number on a scale, a dress size, or a pace per mile.   I would encourage each of you to add quite time of meditation each day to help your balance and enhance your overall health.

The longest relationship your are going to have in life is with yourself, so make it the best relationship your have.  You are incredible.

Happy Training,

Dolores