Happy Living Exercises

First off, sorry for the gap in posting. I've been busy with work and my studies and my writing, which I am sure you have seen on my I Chose Health blog and my Suite 101 account.

Recently I have been reading Kevin Gianni's book, High Raw, which is such an amazing read even if you don't plan to go on a raw food diet (which I'm not on so I can't really recommend it).
In High Raw, Gianni not only gives so much information on how to know if the health news on t.v. and in the newspaper is reliable (always find who funded the research) and about how to get and stay healthy, but also tips on how ot live and healthier, HAPPIER life!
He gives 4 exercises that, as I was reading, I felt they could be applied not only to getting healtheir but getting happier, which is what this blog is all about.

High Raw Exercises 1-4
These exercises do not have titles or deadlines.
Gianni also adds "You don't need answers to make changes in your life, just questions."

Exercise 1
Ask yourself:
What can I do tomorrow that will healp me reach my goals?
How can I improve my health?
What can I do to get healthier right now?
Who can help me improve my health?
What can I do to get the best water possible?
How can I help more people today?
What's the best way to get the best results?
What's the fastest way to feel better?

Exercise 2
What are you Passionate about?
What am I doing right now? Do I like it?
How do I want it to be?
How do I want to feel?
Once I achieve these goals, how will I feel?
What makes me truly excited?
What do I really like to do?
What makes this fun for me?
What are my dreams?
What motivates me?
What's important to me?
What am I doing to feel my best?

Exercise 3: The Perfect Day Exercise
Think about your perfect day and answer these questions, be detailed.
How would you wake up?
When would you wake up?
Who would you wake up with?
What would you see or do when you wake up?
What would you eat?
How would you spend your day?
Who would you spend your time with?
What would you have for lunch?
Who would you eat lunch with?
How would you feel through the day?
This exercise is your catalyst:
After answering these questions, make a list of 15 actions to take to move closer to your vision.

Exercise 4
How do I feel?
Am I feeling my best emotionally and physically?
What would it be like to feel my best?
How important is it to feel my best?
What are my priorities right now?
If I want to feel my best, am I willing to make it my top priority?
If it was, what would I be doing differently?

Beauty deeper than skin

I used to focus on my weight constantly. Having never been skinny or slender, I would look at everyone around me in a sort of the vs. me mentality. I would see other women and point out how pretty this feature or that is and when I looked in the mirror I saw only faults.
Not only is this thought process not healthy and negative thinking only keeping me from looking and feeling happy, but I now know that this is also blasphemy.

All women and men are created by God, a microcosmic reflection of the macrocosmic divine. To say someone is ugly is to say that the Creator is in turn ugly. Everyone is beautiful, don’t think otherwise.

So, in saying all of this, why diet or watch my weight?
HEALTH!
I am now the largest I have ever been. This wouldn’t be a problem, but in gaining weight, I have put a large amount of pressure on my small bone structure (I’m 5ft tall with the bone structure that my art teacher says never really moved out of pre-puberty). Also, I now have blood pressure problems and with my family’s history of heart disease, I don’t need to push my luck.

So that leaves the question of how?

There are so many diets and lifestyles and so on out in the world and all can be easily learned about with a little online research. I will post my decisions on this blog but I recommend that everyone find something that works best for them. What I do will not be the wa for everyone and I don’t expect it to be.

I have tried being a vegetarian and I would love to live organic but really can’t afford to.
I love pasta and cereals so Atkins didn’t make sense, and I wasn’t about to starve myself.
In the end, the chosen path sort of fell in my lap.

I found out about the Auryvedic diet from a friend of mine when we were discussing Indian religion and lifestyles. The next day I saw a show on the Travel channel about a town in Iowa that all lived on the Auryvedic lifestyle. The day after that, I visited the local used book store and found Prakriti by Dr. Svoboda...well, nothing happens as a coincidence...

After reading Prakriti (which means constitution) I learned a lot about Auryvedic medicine and lifestyle, but, most importantly, I learned a lot about myself. I learned that my doshas are Pitta-Kapha, that a lot of my constitution is based on my food and lifestyle choices and on my genetics (my mother is also Pitta-Kapha), and that by eating and living right, I can not only change my weight but my mood, the way I view life, and the way I interact with people!

The best part of Auryvedic dieting? I don’t have to drastically change my life. I can introduce and change foods and I can change the way I eat.
Svoboda says the best way to eat is slowly without focusing on tv or internet. Kaphas, like myself, should wait at least 2 hours (6 hours is best) between meals.

I will post more about my Auryvedic diet and the like in other posts, but anyone who is interested in it, especially those iving in the US and Western World, should read the following books.

Prakriti: Your Auryvedic Constitution by Dr. Robert E. Svoboda
What’s Your Dosha, Baby? by Lisa Coffey
Lisa Coffey also runs a blog and website WhatsYourDosha