Bunnies are Everywhere! Getting Side-Tracked
Bunnies seem to be in abundance this year. I do believe we have 3 times more bunnies this year than last year. Star is in “Dog heaven”! She can’t wait to go for a walk every day. Once she spots a bunny, she attempts to dislocate my shoulder just so she can go on an all-out chase with the bunny.
Thank goodness, the mama tone “uh-uh” works on her. She will freeze in mid-air once that is uttered from my lips. And my shoulder is saved!
Today, we went out for a walk and saw the bunny you see below hoppin’ across the lawn. Star attempts to rip my arm out of its socket when she hears “Uh-Uh” and she stops in mid stride to do my bidding. What a sweet obedient puppy.
Well…. Maybe not. For the entire walk, she keeps trying to turn me around and go back looking for that bunny. This girl is truly side-tracked. She can’t take 2 steps without digging in her strong legs, stiffening up her neck to slip out of the collar and giving me a look of “I am not going a step further until I can get that rabbit!”
I know how she feels.
I get side-tracked like that too.
Don’t you?
Here is an example:
You have the all-out intention to workout in the mornings…but sleep, beautiful, perfect, extra sleep is calling your name.
You have the all-out intention to meditate first thing in the morning…but rushing out the door takes precedence.
You have the all-out intention to stick to that meal plan…but gosh, its hot and you are tired and going through the drive-thru is so much easier.
We look at these and think that it’s sleep, lack of organization or fatigue that keeps us side-tracked…but is it ?.?.
Yes, sleep is a major component to being healthy. In fact, if you want to read my thoughts on that, read this sleep article I wrote a while back.
Lack of Organization causes undue levels of stress. And as you know, stress is the #1 cause of dis-ease in our world. Anything we can do to reduce or eliminate stress is another major component to being healthy.
Fatigue is so common that it is becoming the norm. If you aren’t fatigued, then you must not be working, trying or striving enough. Or the prognosis is chronic fatigue and the best excuse ever is at your fingertips.
I’d prefer to take a deeper look and ask a very important question:
If my intention is to give myself the greatest care that I am capable of then why am I allowing myself to become sidetracked by small things that can be easily rectified?
Star can be pulled off course so easily with a bunny hoppin’ across the trail. And if she gets loose and runs on her own, she could wind up nose to nose with a snake down in one of those gulley’s that we have around here.
When we allow forces to side-track us, we find ourselves nose to nose with something that will continue to hold us back from living the life we desire in a body we love.
Ask yourself the question, what outside force am I allowing to sidetrack me away from the intention I have for my life? It’s not the small things. It is something bigger and holds a deeper meaning in your life. It is not about fatigue, lack of organization or even sleep…those are the symptoms.
The question is…What are those the symptoms of?
After some deep soul searching, please leave a comment below. I would love to know how this lands for you.
Love & hugs,
Ashly
I’ve Got Things to Do, Have Time to Rest
- At June 06, 2017
- By admin
- In awareness, Energy, fat vs muscle, Power, sleep, stress
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I am sure that all of us have thought that at one time or another, especially coming up on this Celebratory time of year. Before the desire to cut out sleep over takes you, I want to share with you WHY you want to sleep. This is a blog post I wrote several years ago that I thought will be perfect for this Holiday season coming up.
We are given the impression early on in life that you can do all and be all. We have a job that we must be responsible to; a family to care for, child’s activities, and church activities…the list goes on. What about Rest? There is a saying…”I’ll sleep when I’m 6 feet under” that is very morbid, I know…and we always laugh it off. However, we really do need REST. In order for our bodies to heal, replenish, grow, build, repair, etc…we must have SLEEP.
There are 2 kinds of rest: One is SLEEP the other is RECOVERY
SLEEP
This here will motivate you to get some sleep….Research shows that those who only get a few hours of sleep a night are more likely to become obese. Your body needs to shutdown and repair itself…The only time to do that is at night.
There is also a correlation between sleep and the hormones that influence our eating behaviors. Ghrelin is responsible for feelings of hunger, while Leptin is responsible for letting you know when you are full. When you are sleep deprived production of ghrelin is increased and the production of leptin is decreased. This will make you feel hungry and never feel full. In conjunction with that, poor food choices are made when feeling tired. It is easy to see how these changes can lead to weight gain.
What should you do?? In addition to eating right, breathing deep and exercising….make sure you get 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Don’t short change yourself. This is important for your health!
Remember, when you don’t feel tired, you won’t feel hungry!
Recovery
This is taking time between workouts to rest, or taking time after a BIG weekend to rest. Allow the body to get back in sync with one of these activities:
- deep breathing
- yoga
- meditation
- stretching
- low impact activity that you enjoy and that brings out the “child-like” zest for living
- Tai Chi/ Qi Gong/ Shi Bashi
Recovery is important for muscle development; diminish symptoms of over training, mental and emotional balance. When taken on a regular basis, all you need is 24-48 hours of recovery time.
How can you tell when to take recovery time?? Listen to your body, tune into it. Here are some signs:
- sleep deprivation
- nagging joint pain
- lack of focus during workout
- over eating
- emotional eating
- snappy/irritable
- frequent minor injuries…etc.
If you have any of these symptoms, give yourself 24 hours to recoup and get back to it. You will find that your workouts are more effective when you give your body the proper recovery time.
To sum it up….Get your sleep, allow your body to recover often and the body in turn will work like a fine tuned machine for you!
sources:
2008 IDEA Fitness Journal,
Flier, J. Annals of Internal Medicine, Dec. 7, 2004; vol 141: pp 885-886
Van Cauter, E. Annals of Internal Medicine, Dec. 7, 2004; vol 141: pp 846-850
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