New day, same bad haircut, same gray winter weather that makes me want to crawl back in bed. I’ve been driving more lately and distracted from my practice of taking a morning walk. This morning instead of going back to bed I throw on the headphones and go outside. I let my body wake up via movement and beats that I love. Here’s my MUSIC LINK if you’re interested; find what suits you, everyone get’s energized by different music and each day is different (I recommend having a few playlists handy).
The walk to coffee about 10 minutes. My thoughts include some worries and some negative commentary (especially with regard to the weather). I consciously also notice what looks, tastes (like a big cup o’ joe!) and feels good. On the walk home, I notice myself smiling at other walkers and bicyclists, and there’s that familiar desire to put a little dance in my walk. Ahh! This is a great practice for me on all levels, I’m happy to realize it and get back into the walk.
Maybe I’ve shared this before, but I love this phrase and it encapsulates much of my self-coaching. One of my clients was taking sailing lessons in Spain and her instructor liked to ask her, “En tu salsa!?” Which translates to something like, “Are you feeling it?” Today, I got back to that sweet place of feeling myself, others, and the environment as positive. I like to take a walk at least twice a day to get “in my salsa.”
PRACTICE IDEA: Mind Body Heart Exercise – Move “En Tu Salsa!”
Go out for a walk, try it with music if you have an portable music device, it certainly works with the music of your heart beat and the pulse of the environment around you too. Walk for 10 minutes and then ask yourself, “How might I enjoy this more?” “My breathing is relaxed?” “Am I enjoying a natural swing in my arms and in my hips?” “How do my feet hit the ground?” I encourage you to play with it within your own body. Exaggerate. I do lots of experimentation with how it feels to shift my weight forward or back, bigger or smaller steps, loosen and soften here or there, let it swing more here or there, notice tight muscles and think of relaxing them…and sometimes I start a little dance, skip, or song in my head, and it’s always a laugh when I realize it’s no longer in my head and I’m actually singing out loud or wiggling down the street.
Laughing feels great!
Experience more possibilities in your body mind and a feeling of relaxation and joy from a simple walk. Reconnect with your natural “salsa!”
CHECK THIS OUT: Just as I finished writing this post I found a link from “KarmaTube” to an inspiring salsa video of a one legged dancer. It’s 2 minutes. See even ten seconds! I hope I can dance like that someday!