April Focus: Balance

Trying out a new thing here. If you dig it, let me know. If you hate it, let me know.

I'll be sharing my focus for the month in mind, body, whatevers and fun. Making a list like this helps me to stay somewhat focused.

NOTE: Just because I intend to focus on one thing doesn't mean my direction can't change. If I'm moved to shift directions, I'll shift directions. But it's still nice to have a path to veer from.

(IS THAT A SQUIRREL?)

Key Theme: Balance

I have various things competing for my attention right now, so it's going to take strong intentions to stay balanced. Training for a half-marathon and teaching several nights per week can both take a lot of my energy. So to combat that, I'm working to simplify as many areas of my life as possible to give myself some breathing room. I'll let you know how that works out...

Mind

Restart my meditation/yoga journal. I kept a 40-day journal as part of my teacher training, and it was a rewarding experience. Writing helps me understand what's happening around and inside of me. I'm not sure why I stopped, but my friend and classmate challenged me to start again. I'm in!

Body

Half-marathon training. I'm running a half again, with a similar attitude as the last. Well actually, two half-marathons. Running with the Cows and the Corporate Challenge Half. So that training will be my big focus. Outside of training, my yoga practice will focus on being gentle with myself to recover from my long runs — lots of restorative work.

(P.S. Scenes like below are the reason I love morning runs.)

Whatevers

Learn the things. It's no secret that I'm passionate about yoga. But ever since yoga teacher training, I've been super focused on teaching. My home practice has been strong but I haven't attended many studio classes or workshops. Why? Because I usually have a teaching engagement. So I've dialed down my teaching obligations. It may not look like I have a full teaching schedule, but I don't publicly post my private sessions. 

I started to write more about this topic but two sentences quickly turned into three paragraphs. I'll write up a separate post and link to it when it's published. To be continued...

Fun

YOGA ROOM! My yoga room is painted and cleared out, but I have yet to put on the finishing touches. I need to put together a table we picked up at IKEA, hang some sconces and put up the awesome giant wall sticker thingy I found on Etsy. The room has been FABULOUS and is definitely usable, I just need to carve out some time to polish it off. Yoga selfie in the almost-complete yoga room below!

What are you focusing on in April?

 

 

Cara McDonaldfocus, list