The Healthy, Wealthy, + Wise Adventure – Day 22

Healthy:  Stand Up…

 

When not actively contemplating good posture, my default position is slouchy.  This stance is doing no favors for an old neck injury, nor is slouchiness particularly helpful for my occasionally creaky back.  Fearful of adjustments since a rogue chiropractor nearly snapped my head off after promising there would be no neck cracking, I settled on yoga as my best hope for a regal, runway-ready stance.

 

A little research turned up some great poses for improving posture, among them: Mountain, Standing Forward Bend, Cat-Cow, and Bridge.  Planning to incorporate these poses into a daily routine, and expect to be capable of running laps with a dictionary perched delicately atop my head in no time.

 

Photos of Posture-Improving Yoga Poses:

http://yoga.about.com/od/yogatherapy/tp/yogaforposture.htm      

Wealthy:  Squirrel Up… 

Must…stop…getting…parking…tickets!  The first parking ticket of the week was to be expected, as my vehicle, bag, and person were all free of change (well, the loads of pennies and nickels are irrelevant, as the parking meter will gleefully accept and fail to credit anything less than a dime). 

 

The second ticket was pure stupidity and lack of focus.  Prior to leaving the house (15 minutes late and with a still-waking-up 2 year old in footie pajamas at 1:45 in the afternoon) for open gym, I stuffed my pockets full of quarters from the change jar.  Found a spot right near the gym.  Bundled the kids into their gear, grabbed my bag, snatched the bamboo platter I had been carrying around for 2 months to return to my friend who was waiting for me in the lobby, and made a mad dash for the entrance.  Yeah, somewhere in the melee forgot to drop that pocket full of quarters into the meter.  A couple of hours later, the kiddos and I approached our Subaru and saw it – the lovely bright yellow rectangle so lovingly placed beneath a windshield wiper. 

 

Plan of Attack to Prevent Further Parking Ticket Accumulation: 

1.  Squirrel up dimes and quarters.

2.  Place said dimes and quarters inside vehicle.

3.  Ask daughter to remind me to insert dimes and quarters into appropriate parking meter.

4.  Failing daughter’s reminder, inform 2-year-old son he can help with dimes and quarters from now on – his stubborn streak should insure nary a meter is passed without insertion of coins – now must work on days of the week with son, to avoid feeding meters on free Saturdays and Sundays.

Wise:  Listen Up…

 

Life is happily busy.  Our kids are joyfully loud.  My husband and I are frequently distracted.  All of these factors combined result in less-than-perfect listening skills, particularly in the marital boat.  On nearly a daily basis, any number of sentences emanating from my mouth begin with, “I know I already asked you this but wasn’t really listening to your answer…”

 

Somehow, all of the typical tips for being a good listener – turn off the TV/Radio, offer direct eye contact, drop everything else – none of this breeds success if I fail to consciously make the decision to listen and RETAIN. 

 

From the outside, I am a model of listening excellence, in large part thanks to endless instruction in effective communication during grad school.  Internally, however, my brain is either three steps ahead of what is being said, preparing what I want to say, or ticking through items on the “To Do” list. 

 

My shoddy listening skills are really a symptom of a larger issue: the need to be more present right here, right now.  Food for thought…

 

Take good care,

Kim