by Carmen Greger
Our new column will honor, celebrate and prepare all to understand and embrace that
each Season of the year brings significant changes, energies, environments and opportunities. We will offer tools, techniques and insights in order to ease, enable and optimize those shifts.
We felt it appropriate to launch this series with a ‘pre-season’ introductory vitality boost, and when Fall officially arrives (September 22nd), we will have a beautiful Autumn-inspired piece and practice for you.
It just didn’t seem right to cut Summer short, thus pre-season was born and will likely be an annual cameo, as we shift gears from the relaxing, sunshiny days of Summer to a more structured, scheduled and demanding, yet still so inspired Fall Season, as school resumes and both business and ‘busy-ness’ pick back up while endless activities and responsibilities tug at your coat tails.
We will keep this super simple and very user-friendly.
The fastest way to optimize energy is to eliminate the blocks, or obstacles in its path.
The food you eat, the environment and company you keep have such an impact on your vitality.
We invite you to challenge yourself to do most, or all of the following as a very flexible, no-pressure, no-stress, no-judgement, no-competition, life-supportive, energy enhancing start to optimizing your energy for the long haul.
We will be offering a more specific monthly detox week, but for now…..
For the next two weeks……
1) Prioritize a healthy quality/quantity of sleep.
2) Wake up happy, even if you wake up stressed, choose again. Every day is a true gift.
3) Hydrate more than usual. Always carry a reusable water bottle with you and fill it often.
4) Choose to eat foods that are not processed or packaged and that are preservative free.
5) Consume a wider variety of Fruits and Vegetables than you are accustomed to.
6) Go to a new place. Try a new activity. Or a new ‘old activity’… when’s the last time you took the time to simply blow bubbles?
7) Take inventory of all of the organizations you are involved in, whether volunteer or other, and see if it may be time for change.
8) Evaluate the depth of your friendships and make a new friend.
9) Make a new, healthy meal. Share the meal and/or recipe with friends.
10) Eliminate or reduce caffeine, alcohol, gluten, dairy, sugar and salt.
11) Reduce meat consumption and focus on adding in more plant-based proteins
12) Take a multi-vitamin daily.
13) Use non-toxic products for cleaning body & home (understand & check product labels)
14) Journal daily. Just download your thoughts on the page (or the computer).
15) Exercise every day, whether it’s a 20 minute walk or a 2 hour bike ride, doesn’t matter. Just move your beautiful body regularly, respectfully and joyfully.
16) Take a relaxing bath or shower daily. Use salts, scrubs or aromatherapy as desired.
17) Clear the Clutter. Donate any old clothes or other that have been sitting around for a while taking up space, waiting to be used.
18) De-Junk (and organize) your junk drawers.
19) Adopt some plants and tend to them lovingly and regularly. They bring life to your life.
20) Don’t judge yourself.
21) Don’t weigh yourself.
22) On August 22, and in support of Townsend’s mission, be device free.
23) Write a handwritten letter to someone who has positively impacted you.
24) Write a love-letter to yourself, honoring who you are, what you’ve done, what you’re made of, and what you have yet to do… then make a flexible plan to start doing it.
25) Have an end of Summer Soiree’. Invite people you’ve been wanting to introduce.
We will take a much deeper dive into all of these suggestions over time.
For now, just try it all on, see what works, what doesn’t and get excited for
‘Gracefully Falling into Fall’
