diy natural yoga mat cleaner

Part of seeking health and happiness involves 1) exercise, 2) avoiding weird chemicals, and 3) being thrifty. For the first, I love to do yoga. :) For the second and third, I love to clean my mat naturally and cheaply. Here’s my recipe!

Supplies:

1. 1/4 c. distilled water
2. 3/4 c. white vinegar
3. 5-8 drops of these essential oils:
   • tea tree
   • lavender
   • pink grapefruit
   • eucalyptus
4. You’ll also need a funnel and a spray bottle.

Combine everything in the spray bottle. Give it a little shake before each use. Spray onto the mat, wipe down with a wet cloth, then wipe down with a dry cloth.

Namaste. :)

setbacks and successes

I’ve had a hard time getting back into the swing of training. After my winter hibernation workouts at the gym, I’ve lost a lot of my endurance simply because the treadmill is just not right for me. Now when I run, I feel sloppy and unnatural, like my body has forgotten how to do it properly. When I was training last summer, there came a point when my body would just propel itself forward sometimes…I could feel it telling me “now it’s time to go faster!” and I would just let it, and it felt great. Then after several seconds I could feel it saying “okay, time to slow down” and it would just happen. Now when I run, I feel like I’ve never done it before, like I’m working so hard just to stay upright and not trip all over my own feet. I miss being able to just zone out and let my body do its thing. I haven’t missed the struggle.

Last Thursday was the first time this year that I felt my body indicating that it wanted to take over and guide me. I felt so relieved in that moment but at the same time I’ve felt discouraged at how much progress I’ve lost. So over the last several weeks, I’ve missed some runs. I’ve had to run a couple days back-to-back just to get in all three runs each week. I look at the chart on the wall where I’m tracking my progress and instead of feeling excited about what I’ve accomplished, I feel ashamed at what I haven’t. I regret letting myself lose so much of my ability. I don’t feel proud at all.

Then yesterday I read this post on Don Miller’s blog. I’ve always had this problem…I’m an overachiever and have difficulty setting realistic expectations when I get a new project in my head. But worst of all, when I see that I’m failing at meeting the expectations I’ve set for myself, I become overwhelmed with guilt. (Guilt is a serious issue I struggle with…at some point there’s going to have to be a whole post dedicated to it.) I get stuck in this whirlwind of what I should’ve done, and what a failure I am, that I can’t feel motivated anymore, and that I’d rather just give up entirely.

So I decided to take that training tracker off the wall and throw it in the garbage. I decided to make a new one. A fresh one. With new dates and new (slightly altered) expectations. There’s no point in staring at everything I haven’t done if it’s keeping me from making progress. So I’m starting over as of this week.

As of today, I’m done thinking about what I didn’t do over the last few weeks. Tomorrow I’m going to wake up early and start over at Week 1, Run 1 of my training. At some point we overachievers have to choose to move on from what didn’t happen and be merciful enough on ourselves to start over. A clean slate.

I’m not going to let the past dictate the future. I’m going to stop getting stuck in regret. And I’m going to stop feeling guilty.

And I’m going to run.

dear mothers

Dear mothers,

You might say I have no right to claim what I’m about to claim, to admonish what I’m about to admonish. You might say that, because I don’t yet have children of my own, I have no right to request what I’m about to request. But I think it’s because I’m still only a daughter and not a mother that I can plainly see this problem.

Mothers, your daughters are listening to you, watching you. When you grimace at your reflection in the mirror, when you bitterly reminisce about how much you weighed in your 20s, your daughters see and hear you. Not only do they see and hear, but they internalize. Without realizing it, they begin to think the same, even from a young age. Without realizing it, you are perpetuating a lifetime of self-destructive thinking.

And it’s not just your daughters who hear and see this behavior. You must think of yourselves as potential mentors to every young woman, because we are always listening and watching your example. When you are constantly stuck in the past, it subconsciously makes us fearful about the future! Conversely, when you are content with your life and can value your own beauty, we have proof that it’s possible to age with self-respect, that we can be proud of our lives when we’re a little older, even if we have a few wrinkles and can’t wear size 6 pants anymore. When you show us dignity, we internalize that, too.

Despite how you see yourselves, I see you as well-versed, amazing women who have done much, seen much. I see women who should be praised for their accomplishments. The lines around your eyes tell me you’ve smiled heartily during your life. Your stretch marks tell me your body has been through feats of strength and difficulty. I respect you for the things you’ve achieved; I don’t judge you. Why do you so harshly judge yourselves?

You deserve the love you can give to yourself. But if you don’t do it for yourself, at least consider your daughters, and all the other women who learn from your example.

There are two cycles. Please work to extinguish the cycle of self-deprecation and build instead a cycle of pride. The way you treat yourselves teaches me to do the same.

(This post is dedicated to Marjorie Smith, my grandmother, who lives a fearless and boisterous life.)

round 2…fight!

Most of you who read this blog are friends with me on Facebook, so even though I didn’t post on here about it, you know that my official time in the 5k back in October was 30:26. I counted that as a substantial victory, because I know I lost at least 30 seconds at the beginning when I was stuck in the crowd, so I was victorious in achieving my goal! I came in 11th out of 51 women in my age group. But numbers and stats aside, that race was a win simply because I ran the whole thing. When I started training last June, I was running 60 seconds at a time, maximum. It was hard. I doubted myself even on Day 1. And when the 5k came around, I ran for 30 minutes straight! I wanted to quit several times and just walk for a few steps, but I pushed through it, and I’m so glad I did.

There’s the obvious physical benefits of what I’ve accomplished, but what has happened to me emotionally is worth far more. I reflect on last summer and on the 5k with pride and renewed strength. I’m filled with confidence when I see these photos of a moment when I proved to myself that I was capable of more than I ever thought possible, that I am capable of even more than I think possible right now!

During the winter, I didn’t run much. I discovered that I loathe running on the treadmill and, let’s face it, I’m just plain bad at it. I can run about a half-mile to a mile now before I get really fatigued, so I’ve kept some of my conditioning but lost much. This weekend marked the first lovely, warm, Springtime weekend in Nashville, so I’m confident that I can start running outside again soon and get back to my normal (strong, capable, runner) self!

The next step for me is to train to improve my time. I haven’t decided on a goal time yet, nor have I signed up for a 5k, but I’m going to start training again in a couple weeks with a Fall 5k in mind, so I’ll keep you posted.

reasons

I’m just over ²/₃ of the way through my 5k training. For 12 weeks I’ve been slowly improving. When I began, I was alternating 1 minute of jogging and 1-1/2 minutes of walking. I thought for sure in those first few weeks that there was just no way I’d ever get to the place where I could jog an entire 5k.

Tomorrow morning when I wake up, I’m going to get dressed, lace up my sneakers, and jog for 25 minutes straight. To athletes out there and to people who have been fit at some point in their lives, this might not sound like much of an accomplishment, but as trite as it sounds, thinking about it almost brings me to tears. It feels very surreal when I get done with my run. Sometimes I just laugh out loud, into the quiet of the morning, with no one else around to hear, because it seems so unlikely that it could be possible! I jogged for 25 minutes! Unreal!

Please believe me when I commit to you that if I can do this, you can do this! Start small. Work your way through. Make sure someone is there to hold you accountable. But most of all, have at least one good reason to change your life, because in those moments when your quads are cramping, your ankle hurts, you’re out of breath, and you feel like you can’t take another step, you have got to have a reason to keep going, a reason to push through.

Honestly, before I started training, I didn’t put much thought into my reasons. But what I’ve noticed is, in those moments when I want to quit, my mind automatically wanders to those reasons. Here are a few of mine:

1. To motivate others. If you know me personally, you know that being a good example to other people is important to me. I have always desired to be someone that people can look up to and can learn from. If I’m not taking care of myself, how can I expect others to take care of themselves?
2. To build confidence. Visibly, my body hasn’t changed much. The most notable change so far is that my calves are really muscular now! But my shirts and pants don’t feel any looser. I don’t really look that different. But I feel so different. When I look in the mirror, I see a beautiful woman, a strong woman who is capable and powerful. When you respect yourself enough to take care of yourself, your eyes are opened to your strength, which is one of your most stunning attributes!
3. To prevent health issues in the future. It is no secret that I have a blood clotting disorder. I have seen the damage this condition has done in my own immediate family, and I never want to repeat these problems in my own life. My future and the future of my family depends upon my health, so I mean to take control of it.
4. To be the best I can be for my husband. A lot of people say that you “let yourself go” when you get into a serious relationship. To an extent, that is true—you become very comfortable around your mate, which can be a wonderful thing. But if I can’t take care of myself for my husband, my lifelong partner, for whom can I? It’s not just about looking my best, either, although I would be lying if I said that isn’t a bonus. It’s about being an inspiration to the person who inspires me. Part of our responsibility and privilege to each other is to push one another to live well.
5. To prove to myself that I can do it! I was never in sports. I’m the kid who tripped on the kickball and got the wind knocked out of her. I’m the kid who hung helplessly on the rope, unable to move up, while the gym teacher yelled at her to climb. I’m the kid who gave up after one sprint across the basketball court, and probably faked an injury just to be done for the day. I have built this wall of impossibility around myself through all of these experiences over the course of my life, and I realize that I am the only person who can tear those walls down.

And tear them down I will!

no turning back

Today begins Week 6/18—when this week is over I’ll be ¹/₃ of the way done with my training! It’s hard to believe that I’ve come from jogging 60-second intervals to 180-second intervals, and even harder to believe that next week I’ll be jogging up to 300 seconds at a time (don’t get ahead of yourself, Misty). A lot of factors have contributed to the fact that I’ve been able to stay motivated:

1. A strong desire for change—The saying goes that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink; the same is true for any fitness goal. So many people admire healthful living and fitness in other people, but admiration and desire aren’t the same thing. If you truly, truly desire something, you will go after it, and you will get it. I’ve spent many years being wishy-washy about being healthier and living better, and the bottom line is, being fit enough to jog 3 miles at a time wasn’t enough of a priority for me. I have no other excuse. You can only succeed if you really, truly desire to! This is the most vital motivational factor.

2. Tangible results & a goal—This is something I’ve always been missing in my training, and I think this is a key reason I’ve been able to stay on track with this routine. By using the Couch to 5k training program, I can see my results week after week. I know that, so far, I’ve increased my jog intervals by 120 seconds since I started! And because I’ve been tracking it, I know I’ve improved my weight training routine time (same routine every week) by 06:14! Both of these things indicate that my body is improving in strength and endurance. Having a goal at the end, too, is vital here. I know I’m working toward jogging a full 5k, and I can push myself toward that goal when I feel tired or unmotivated.

3. Living healthfully in other areas of life—I believe my training would be a lot harder if I didn’t have other healthy habits besides jogging/walking and weight training. It’s important that you eat a balanced diet. I wouldn’t call myself a health nut by any means. I have canned vegetables and boxed snacks in my pantry just like most Americans. But portion control is important; eating veggies with every meal is important; indulging only every once in a while (I limit myself to no more than one indulgence per day) is important; drinking lots of water is important; avoiding all kinds of substance abuse (smoking, alcoholism, drugs, caffeine) is important! I know a lot of people who change one area of their lives and don’t change others and they never feel results. Living healthfully takes effort in all areas of life.

4. Accountability—This is so, so, so, SO important! I’ve been telling everyone—family, friends, the entire Facebook community—that I’m on this program. A lot of times, being accountable only to yourself isn’t enough to keep you going. In my case, when I don’t want to get up in the morning and go for my jog, I remind myself that everyone is counting on me to succeed in the way I’ve been telling them I will! I’m not just doing it for myself anymore! And you don’t have to tell everyone—you can have one accountability partner, someone who’ll check up on you and who expects you to check up on them, too.

Those four factors have been keeping me going over the last 5+ weeks of training. Yesterday, I added a 5^th factor:

5. A pair of real running shoes!—Welldang. Now that I’ve spent a pretty penny on a pair of actual running shoes, I have no excuse! I’m going to get my money’s worth out of these!

I should get them in a few days (the store didn’t have my size in the right color so they had to order them). What a massive difference when I put those babies on my feet in the store yesterday! I can’t wait to switch out my current shoes (they’re actually walking shoes—yikes!) for these in a couple days.

If nothing else, an excuse to buy another pair of shoes should motivate you, right? ;)

the nectar of the gods

Today’s “feels like” temperature high was 104 degrees Fahrenheit; that’s pretty typical for Nashville lately. There’s one thing sustaining me during my workouts in this heat—water, water, water, the nectar of the gods.

Usually I do a fairly good job drinking enough water. I almost always get 64 ounces (that’s eight 8-ounce glasses of water for all my fellow mathdicapped people out there) in a day. But lately my goal has been 96 ounces since I’m spending more time outside and plenty of time sweating bullets.

I found a great iPhone app called Waterlogged to help me stay on track—of course the best part is that it’s free. It’s really simple to use; it has a no-frills, basic interface. You put in your goal amount of water you’d like to drink each day and input water as you drink it. It’s been a vital tool this past week as the temperatures have been brutal!

In other news, I’ve finished Week 4/18. I improved my weight training time by another 01:04 (for a total improvement so far of 01:29). And today I made it through the first jog of Week 5 which took me from my usual 1-1/2-minute intervals to 3-minute intervals! I struggled through the last interval but kept telling myself to go, go, go! I got through it!

It’s amazing to me that in four weeks I’ve gone from struggling to jog for 1 minute at a time to jogging 3 minutes at a time today! It may seem like a small accomplishment, but I daresay I’m proud of myself. :) I’ve got my eyes on the prize—the endurance to jog 3.1 miles without stopping!

That’s a prize worth sweating (and rehydrating) for!