Wellness Wednesday – Brain Health Awareness Month

 

Peloton Yoga with Chelsea Jackson Roberts

How is your brain health? Celebrate June as Brain Health Awareness Month by focusing on your mind, body, and spirit. The experts say practicing meditation and mindfulness regularly can help you focus more efficiently.

AARP is starting a challenge called the Staying Sharp Challenge. In the challenge you will learn breathing techniques, yoga, and meditation; techniques to help with mindfulness, and strategies for managing stress.

If you are a member of AARP, take advantage of the challenge. If you are not a member you may want to consider joining; grab the free gift and take advantage of healthy rewards(resources). I do not receive any compensation for suggesting this, I’m simply sharing information I’ve found beneficial.

Whether you decide to join AARP or not you can still make an effort to focus on your brain health. Be aware of your thoughts, be kind to yourself, and be informed about your health and wellness.

If you have never tried meditation before, give it a try. You can search Google for meditations you may like. There are a variety of meditations that I like on the Peloton app (this requires a monthly membership). What I like about the meditations is that you can choose different time lengths – 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.

When selecting a meditation think about your needs. There are morning meditations, sleep meditations, meditations that focus on peace, kindness, and so on.

Click here for a meditation video.

What is one action you will take today to focus on a healthy mind, body, or spirit?

Muffins with Mom – Planes, Trains, and Automobiles – Travel Plans Gone Haywire

“Ma, wake up, our flight was changed to 6:30am,” my son shouted into my dark bedroom. My hand lazily reached for the cell phone on my nightstand. A squeeze of the button on the side of the phone and a blinding light revelated that it was 3:35am. Meditation did not make it onto my morning routine that day.

My son roughly secured our luggage in the trunk of the car, and I hopped in the driver’s seat. Porch lights were still on, but the moon was beginning to fade away. My son’s stayed awake most of the night in their man cave. Their rationale was to have fun, then sleep on the plane. Isn’t there a saying about the best laid plans?

We arrived at the airport with just enough time to park in the most expensive long-term parking garage. It would have cost us precious minutes to drive to the lot for which I had a coupon. So, we settled on the $26/day lot, pulled into a space, and dashed to the nearest kiosk to retrieve our boarding pass. And that was our first roadblock.

Our boarding passes would not print. My sons and I were directed to a line where we stood with others who were having problems. The attendant asked to see confirmation of our flight. My son opened an email on his phone. The attendant leaned in to read the details, and said, “This flight has been cancelled.”

Little did I know that my sons and I were entering an experience like the classis 1980’s movie, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. We moved aside so the next person waiting anxiously in line could have their problem solved. We sat down…for the next two hours trying to find a flight to our destination. It was Friday morning and we needed to be at a wedding the next day.

One son positioned himself on a row of seats and went to sleep, sitting up, with his head back and mouth open. The other son was on the phone with the credit card company trying to determine what happened. We had a round-trip ticket but  decided to purchase a one-way ticket on the first flight and airline we could get.

Finally, we found a flight leaving in four hours. The catch was that we would have a five-hour layover, then fly one hour, rent a car, and drive three hours to our final destination. We got our car out of long-term parking, went home to rest, and wrap our mind around the next phase of our adventure.

Our round-trip consisted of three airports, two rental cars, and very nice hotel accommodations. This was our version of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but it was worth it to attend a beautiful wedding.

The beautiful bride and groom

Have you ever had travel plans go haywire? 

Fun Friday – The Grocery Store Scavenger Hunt

 

I’ve been shopping at the same grocery store over 15 years. I’ve made it through COVID changes (one-way aisles), but my recent visit was different. I wanted to pick up a few things and go back home to hurry up and relax. I was almost ready to check out when I decided to grab a few bottles of my favorite Sparkling Ice Water. And that’s when the scavenger hunt began.

The chilled bottles of Sparkling Ice were usually in aisle 10, but not that day. The entire cooler section had been relocated. I zipped down one aisle, up another. I cut left in a defensive move to avoid colliding with another shopper. I felt like I was on one of those old TV shopping spree shows, rushing to a destination.

My quick shopping trip turned into an unplanned scavenger hunt. I used context clues as my guide. I saw the pop aisle and knew I was hot on the trail of my thirst quencher. At the end of an aisle, on a center shelf, seven rows deep and seven rows across, sat all varieties of Sparkling Ice. My eyes lit up like bright Christmas lights.

The sign on the shelf read 10 for 10. It was often the special at that store to offer 10 bottles for $10. I quickly pulled ten of my favorite flavors and stacked them into my mini shopping cart and dashed to the checkout register…to stand in a long line. Swiftly, quickly, and immediately were not actions I was experiencing at that moment, but I wanted to.

Instead of letting frustration invade my body, I pulled out my cell phone and clicked on an episode of Dry Bar Comedy. Laughter bubbled in my throat and found its way through the passage of my lips. The process of relaxing had begun.

The scavenger hunt ended in victory. I eagerly carried my bag of flavored water that included Grape Raspberry, Strawberry Lemonade, and Black Raspberry, to my car. A Vision danced in my head of sitting on my couch with a tall glass of Strawberry Lemonade Sparkling Ice fizzing among ice cubes. And it finally happened…relaxation.

What do you do when a situation throws you off course?

Wordless Wednesday - National Nature Photography Day

Get out and enjoy the great outdoors for National Nature Photography Day on June 15th. Take your camera to capture the peace of nature.

Below are scenes I captured on a lunch time and evening walk.

Feel Good Friday – 10 Things that bring you joy

 

Joy – “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” What are you doing to experience your share of joy as often as possible? Do something today that gives you a feeling of happiness and great pleasure.

Don’t miss out on the joys in your life. An article I read suggested making a list of 10 things that bring you joy. For those who are writers, the article suggested that you write about one of the items in a journal, essay, or blog post.

For those who are not writers, don’t fret. Here’s your challenge…everyday for ten days, engage in one item from your list. What would you include as the 10 things that bring you joy? Below are 7 examples from my list:

1.      Relaxing on a lawn chair soaking up the sunshine

2.      Watching a Hallmark movie

3.      Reading a good book

4.      Laughing with family and friends

5.      Reading a devotional

6.      Experiencing a massage

7.      Sipping coffee and watching a sunrise

I could probably come up with a story to share related to each one of the items above, but I’ll share a quick one. I remember sitting in my backyard on a blanket on a warm sunny day during the COVID quarantine. I relaxed with a book, my bare feet, and birds tweet overhead.

An unwanted guest interrupted my relaxation. Out of my peripheral vision, a shadow swept past me. Was it a bunny, a chipmunk, a little bird who lost its’ way? No, it was a mouse. Minnie and Mickey Mouse are cute on TV, but no dashing through my backyard. I took up my blanket and left.

Now I enjoy the sunshine and breeze from the sliding door in my kitchen.

You may be able to come up with an extensive list of ways you find joy, if so, create a list of 30 things. Your task then becomes a 30-day challenge of seeking great pleasure and happiness. Go for it.

Words of Wisdom - Motivation to start your day

 

YouTube Video Credit: Law of Attraction Coaching

Motivational Monday – National Gardening Exercise Day – 3 Ways to observe

 

Bend, stretch, dig. Bend, stretch, dig. Blue gardening gloves covered my self-manicured hands. This was the systematic flow of preparing to place Impatiens flowers around a tree in my yard. I’m not a Master Gardener, I don’t have a green thumb, and I don’t like bugs. However, there is something therapeutic about gardening, and I recently found out there is a National Holiday called National Gardening Exercise Day.

National Gardening Exercise Day is observed each year on June 6^th. The intention of this day is to “recognize the important physical health benefits of gardening” (holidayinsights.com). It’s a win, win situation when your hobby is fun and has health benefits. The experts say that gardening tasks such as raking, hoeing, and digging are aerobic and muscle strengthening.

If you don’t believe the experts, take it from a commoner, me…carrying bags of soil for my garden is muscle strengthening.

Below are 3 Ways to observe National Gardening Exercise Day:

1.      Start a vegetable garden in a pot – if you’re not quite sure whether you want a huge garden, start small and see how you like it.

2.      Sign up for a gardening workshop – check your local recreation department or library.

3.      Participate in a community garden – if you don’t have space at home for a garden, a community garden may be an ideal option for you.

Whether you are a Master Gardner or a newbie, get out and play in a garden this week, just for the health of it. Bend, stretch, dig, and have fun in your garden.

 

Wordless Wednesday - Violin music can be soothing

 

YouTube video Credit: Daniel D

Damien Escobar - FUSE

YouTube Video Credit: Damien Escobar