The Proof

I wanted to share that I am following my resolutions that I made last week. When I do my yoga, my cat and dog instantly appear and crawl all over me, and if Scarlett is awake, this is what has been happening:

Mommy gets a massage while she is in Child's Pose

Reach for the sky! (and no, I'm not pregnant-it's just the shirt)

Although we missed the photo of Scarlett throwing herself at my leg while I was balanced in Tree Pose!

Some days I can do the entire 30 minutes at one time. On those days, 30 minutes is not enough & I feel like I'm barely getting started. Other days, I have to break my 30 minutes into increments and I feel like there is not enough time. I hope I'll soon feel a shift, that it is all enough.

But so far, I feel pretty good. I missed doing yoga. I'll think about adding space in my schedule for activities like yoga (I could get up at a more decent hour in the morning), but only one thing at a time.


If you are new, this a report on my resolution to do 30 minutes of yoga for 30 days. I was influenced by Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project.

Resolution Day

I have finally finished the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. As I've been saying over the past 2 weeks, now that I am finished, I am ready to commit to some form of my own happiness project. I think of it more as a Life Enjoyment Project since the reason I want to do this is to enjoy more out of each day and to have more in each day that I enjoy. As I've started to see over the past year and a half, life with a kid flies by without my even realizing it. I can spend a day focused on meals, naps, housework, getting ready for work, and maybe one fun or educational activity-where does the time go?

I like structure but I can't quite commit to the year long project as Gretchen did, with a different theme for each month. I've decided to just jump in and get started and brainstorm as I go for what I want to add during the year.

My resolutions:

1. For the next 30 days, I commit to 30 minutes of yoga (or meditation or breath work) every day.
2. I commit to a new adventure weekly with Scarlett in tow (either a new store, food place, activity or event)
3. I commit to cleaning up my to-do list and life clutter. (one item a day).

I plan to add as I go, and re-evaluate after 30 days. If I like them, they can stay, if not I'll move on. Those 3 resolutions will help my health, my parenting, Scarlett, my creativity, and clean up some physical and mental clutter. I have lofty goals to play more, create, be healthy, eat well, evaluate where I am, strengthen my community involvement, be more eco-conscious... but all in due time.

My blog will not be focusing on this, aside from some check-ins and re-eval days, although I think I will be reporting on our new adventures, while continuing to write about work and life with our babe in tow.

As for today, I did my 30 minutes of yoga - in increments. After my first 15 minutes, the nap ended and I had to postpone my plans. But I squeezed in a few more poses as the day progressed. I'm curious how Scarlett likes this-in the past she has copied some movements; today just the dog and cat appeared within minutes of my start. I would love to find a toddler friendly yoga class, if anybody knows of one? But so far, on day 1, I feel good.

Reporting on Happiness

I'm reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I'm loving it-possibly because I am an addict when it comes to Self-Help, change my life memoirs. Yes, I loved Eat, Pray, Love too. And I'm also not done the book yet, but have dozens of ideas that I want to apply to my life. I started by quitting the Book Club book that I hate (What is the What by Eggers). I will probably soon undertake my own happiness project and copy the idea that I can use it for all aspects of my life-work, parenthood, friends, health, etc. Because there's no reason that I (or we) have to escape my (our) life to make changes-which is one criticism of needing or wanting to travel to exotic lands to find the happiness that is in your lap. I still want to travel more-and the idea of a year in Italy, India and Indonesia is so appealing (or I'll take a year travelling anywhere), but I'll look for my little corner of happiness in Bowness. And at Elan. And in Calgary.

So far, I've bookmarked a few pages and some lines that I will share.

To be happy, I need to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of change.

I know that I need to focus on happiness to be happy, and remove the unhappy things too. But Change! That hit home for me. That's why I love going out to my garden right now and seeing how much the rhubarb has grown (really!). I know we should be at peace with who we are, and what we have, but I have always had an undercurrent of needing and wanting change. And to keep making my goals for the next step in life. We get to see the changes as the seasons come and go, I can watch my garden grow, see my patients change and improve and get better, watch our daughter learn about the world and gain inches and pounds overnight, plan holidays and vacations and new things to do around home and work. I like that sentence.

The challenge, therefore, is to take pleasure in the "atmosphere of growth", in the gradual progress made toward a goal, in the present.

Isn't that the same as, "If you can't find happiness along the way, don't expect to find it at the end of the road"? So, enjoy the journey. Look forward today to what's ahead because the anticipation is probably as much fun as the event itself. That would be like waiting for Santa Clause, or the Easter Bunny...

Happiness has four stages. To eke out the most happiness from an experience, we must anticipate it, savor it as it unfolds, express happiness, and recall a happy memory.

Of course she says more about it, but I can now justify my photos, scrapbooks and endlessly talking about events that have happened and will happen. And I may plan birthday parties with a little more enthusiasm too.

I think her book has made me happy already and I like to read so I think her book accomplishes what it should. I'm looking forward to starting my own happiness project soon.

Does anybody want to join me? Who's read the book? What are your thoughts this?