There are two things everyone always notices about me. I eat fast and I walk fast. I have yet to make a good friend who does not comment on these characteristics of mine. Reading Patrick’s blog about "Becoming Your Psychology" made me contemplate these aspects of myself. His blog reminded me that the physical change the PCP will bring will only go so far. In order for this transition to last beyond these 90 days, I need to embrace a mental transformation. I don’t want to be that girl who loves food so much she scarfs it down without truly appreciating the taste. Or who walks so fast she misses the beauty that surrounds her.
The idea of a mediation practice is not new to me. The first time I did yoga, during Savasana, I could barely keep myself still; much less keep my thoughts still. I am now at the point where I can keep my body silent, but I still have a hard time calming my mind and letting go. I’m going to try to incorporate the daily meditation Patrick describes in an effort to increase my mindfulness and figure out who I really am. One of the reasons I decided to do the PCP at my age (22) is because I figured if I could learn all these lessons and gain better self-awareness early in life, it would make things much better and perhaps easier later on. I might as well make the most of everything available to me. So I now have another goal to add to the program:
On a semi-connected note, I had an epiphany in yoga today. This was the first time I've had a chance to go since I started PCP and I was so ready for a good stretching session. The class was with a different teacher than usual and we spent the entire time connecting our breath with our movement. Now, I know every class does that, but we really focused on it above all else. There were no difficult poses today; it was just all about connecting with the breath. For some reason, that's what it took for me to FINALLY realize what "connect with your breath" actually means. It completely transformed how I see my body's movements and how I plan to approach my yoga practice from now on. And to think, if I hadn't happened to go to that yoga class on this day, I might have missed this amazing lesson.
I am with you on the eating fast thing. Recently I have been chewing carrots -- a whole carrot -- and by the time I finish it, my jaw is tired and I have been eating for 15 minutes, so I think I just figure I am done, never mind that I only actually ate one carrot.
ReplyDeleteI find that JUST EATING when I am eating really helps; no surfing the net, no music, just look at your food and eat it, bite by bite.
Also daily zen is pretty damn key, PCP or no. I am the last guy to wax on about meditation, but I did actually meet Patrick on a zen retreat several years ago, and as much as I can keep up my daily practice, it certainly helps. Or at least I notice that when I don't sit, I am certainly less pleasant and productive than when I do sit.
And doing PCP helps, in that it forces a routine: workout, sit, blog. Repeat.
It is also one of my 2010 goals to start a daily sit. Three months in, I think about it every night, but have yet to sit. This Sunday, I have a pretty busy couple days ahead, I'm going to sit. Let's do it!
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