Training on the Hottest Day of the Year! {With Some Meditation to Cool Down 😉}

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Whew! Week one of corporate 5k training is done! We managed to kick off training right at the hottest part of the year, but that can't really be helped as the race I am helping lead groups for is on September 11th. Only 4 weeks away, so time is of the essence!

I think I might have mentioned previously I am helping with two different corporate clients of ours. I lead one company on Monday and Wednesday at lunchtime, and another one on Tuesday. Lunch always seems the best time as far as participation goes, though the heat in the middle of the day does make it challenging. The photo above was after Tuesday's session on the first 100-degree heat day here in three years. Hard to tell as I had recovered a bit in the photo, but I was dripping with sweat by the time we did a few easy-paced miles. With the conditions, all three sessions I kept short and sweet. So far the participants have been sparse, but the ones who have come are all fun to work with! Though I'm going to try to get out early a few times this weekend to actually get some quality training in for myself. Fingers crossed next week it cools off even a bit to make the training a bit more bearable!

On the more quiet side of things I've been working on my mindfulness in a number of other areas. I tried to start doing a 30-day minimalist challenge where you get rid of one thing the first day, two the second, and so on all the way up to 30 days. The idea is to clear out things you don't use or need, but ultimately to make you more mindful going forward what you spend money on and bring into your space. Though I slacked off on the official challenge after the first week, I'm still taking time to clear out and donate some things and continue to improve my consumer habits in a much more sustainable manner. I have to say it feels quite awesome to let go of some things and work towards a much cleaner space in our home. I always feel much more productive with less junk around me.

I am also sooooo happy and thankful that @bewithbreath is back leading the group meditations in the @naturalmedicine discord. I've tried to cultivate the practice on my own for quite some time, but always seem to fall off the wagon at some point. Having a bit of accountability makes all the difference in the world. Plus the energy is fantastic, no matter how small of a group we have joining. I'm so very grateful for the opportunity to join!

A week ago Wednesday was the first session back. I found that 30 minutes so impactful. Like many people, I don't think I realize the daily stress that I carry sometimes. As the meditation focuses so much on the breath, as we started getting into it I realized how shallow and quick my breathing felt. By the time we completed the meditation I could tell a huge difference in how much deeper and more slowly I was breathing. My heart rate went down and I felt much calmer yet also more focused to take on the day. My mind wandered as usual during the practice, so it's not like I went into some deep healing place. It just shows you, though, meditation isn't meant to always be perfect. Just spending the time to slow down and focus on your breathing can be the most beneficial thing you do all day. I truly love the balance between this quiet time and my daily fast-paced other activities!

After enjoying some of the last of our seasonal peaches this morning (taking time to be very appreciative of them as @porters reminded me in one of her fantastic mindful posts), I actually took time on my own for about a 30-minute meditation again! Some days it is tough to fit in, but like anything else in life if I make it a priority I know I can work it in. I make time to move each day in a physical way to train my body, so hopefully at some point I will have the same discipline to train my mind. 😉

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Daily Activity, Running



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26 comments
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Congrats, you're doing great!
You should claim your sports tokens and stake them to earn more :)

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Ahh, yeah I need to get back on Steem Engine, haha! Thanks for the reminder!

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Wonderful that you are starting to incorporate a meditation practice into your life! I too, was so happy when @bewithbreath returned and we could have our group meditations together again!
Although I meditate regularly every day in the morning and occasionally in the evening (more spurattic there) this session in early afternoon is a perfect way to start off my afternoon, making for a better rest of the day!
I work on that mindful of my spending and consumer habits and it can be a real eye opener when you track your spending - I found I had monthly bills on stuff I wasn't even using!
Just wait until you become more mindful of how you are spending your time! That is quite an exercise in keeping focused!
Thanks for sharing and all the best in your endeavors with both your physical training and your training of your mind!

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Having him to lead the groups is such a blessing! It really does help me so much to have all of you to continue to inspire and motivate me to continue moving forward in my practice. I have a hard time switching gears between tasks sometimes, so I agree that having that afternoon session helps me transition in a much smoother way and recharge at a time when I usually tend to lag in energy.

I know I still have a lot of work to do on being mindful of my habits all around, but each week I get a little better! Always fun to continue to share the journey with you all!

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Totally agree it is wonderful to have the support of such a teriffic group of people!

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Not even the heat slows you down and glad the trainign with the group is goign well I hope you can get some training in for you this weekend

Thanks for being an active member of SteemUSA !tip

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Haha, well my pace might be a little slower, but I try not to let it keep me off my routine for too long! Hopefully some cooler days aren't too far ahead so I can start actually enjoying these runs again. ;)

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LEts hope it cools down and you can get some good and fun and comfortable runs in before the race

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100 degrees! Blah! That's just nasty, but it's great that you get to go out like that. That would either be a lot of water or a lot of watermelon for me, afterward.

Awesome that you've gotten back into meditation. It's a great way to calm the body, mind, and soul.

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Oh yes, chugging some water and eating a ton of fruit for sure! I'm fully back on the smoothie bandwagon again for post-run fuel and re-hydrating, as well. Working on the body and mind all around. :)

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You’ve been visited by @riverflows on behalf of Natural Medicine!

I love decluttering! What a great activity to do. Both my husband and I are always getting rid of stuff - it's liberating. And then it makes you think more of WHY you need it - what's the attachment here? Does it bring me joy? Does it serve my life? It's a really mindful thing to do and you're right - it helps your consumer habits too! So glad you are finding benefit from the mindful sessions. It's so good to connect to ourselves and create space, as well as knowing that others are there right with you in this moment.

This fortnight, we're having a HERB MEDICINE challenge, sponsored by Curie! You can win over 40 Steem in prizes. Check out the details by clicking here!


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Consider supporting us through continued use of the #naturalmedicine tag, or through delegation. We're all for empowerment through natural wisdoms, and love to support those on their healing journey. We're also the home of 'Mindful Life', a meeting place for meditators on Steem. Come join us on Discord if you're not already there!

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It can be tough to get going sometimes, but once I start on the purging path it really is a wonderful feeling! One of my friends just let me know last night that her office is starting to work more with one of the local homeless shelters, so even better that I have a great place to re-home my goods to people who can really use it. For whatever reason, that is sometimes the biggest challenge. I'll pull stuff aside to give away, but then I slack off on actually getting it out of the house, haha! Not this time!

I just love how the meditations continue to translate into so many other areas. And having the community is priceless!

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I considered starting this response with I really connected on this article but that’s been happening with everything you put out lately so I’ll just open this response with the paragraph you just read instead.

Really though. Let’s start with weather, I have a few extremes. First, I was in Laughlin, NV the weekend they set record at 126 degrees. <— that’s not a typo. But here in England—ooh wee!

It’s only August miss Katie! Oh my goodness gracious, it’s gonna be F’ing freezing! When you look at UK on the map it’s obviously much higher from the equator compared to the states—compared to a lot of places actually. If you’re like me and backed by a US education, we have to do things like look at the map because our geography skills are a little worse than suck. What that means is..... it doesn’t warm up! July, August, doesn’t matter, we and everyone around us wears a sweater under a jacket and a beanie. And it’s August!! Yeah i got like 5 pairs of boardshorts in the suitcase—won’t be needing those! We’ve been told by multiple people that in the winter (“winter”) it just stays at zero (“zero”). Eh, regardless if you read the weather with an F or a C, zero still means zero! Oh crap.

And the minimizing tact—good one! The part about teaching yourself how to control your consuming should be practiced by your followers—good one! Did i already say that? You know.. although we’re in mobile mode and we’re each down to 1 suitcase and 1 backpack, we still manage to weigh ourselves down and will often need to remind each other “you’re gettin heavy.”

Another thing, this has nothing to do with your article. Recently my phone stopped capitalizing I so in the event you see me type i instead of I, it’s because my phone has an attitude problem and I’m tired of using my thumb to zero in on one little i with a magnified cursor I’m trying to control with a thumb to correct it.

:this just in: I probably could’ve posted this article-size response as an article to you, titled it to you, click the post button and receive some reward along with rep points. 🤔

I didn’t like this article at all Plants, can you tell?

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Haha, happy to get a "novel" response. ;)

126?? That should make our 100 feel perfectly pleasant. Though I think I'd rather just take your word for it. I am not really a big fan of extremes. Middle child syndrome extends to my weather preferences, as well.

Sounds like you'll be minimizing out of those board shorts soon, eh? I hope you've got plenty of other layers to stay cozy. No wonder they drink so much tea over there. Definitely a pleasant way to at least keep your belly warm.

I don't know what's harder, trying to stay minimal in just a few bags or trying to keep the clutter out of a house that's way too big for two people. I love where we live, but sometimes I find the size of our house challenging. When you have so much space, it's easy to keep it full and not have to worry about getting rid of things. However, I know I work better and feel so much lighter and more creative when I have a tidy space. I'm trying to use this meditation to keep my mind minimal even if my space is not, haha.

Tackling the kitchen today after I get done replying to all these awesome comments. Does a kitchen cleaning spree count for #fff? 😉

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Does a kitchen cleaning spree count for #fff?

Do duckbills quack? Shooooot.

I used to have a house in Bullhead City, Arizona, on the Colorado River, across from Laughlin, NV. It’s been a good 7 years or so since I sold it, it was roughly 5–7 years prior to that when they set the record so we’re looking at around 15 years ago. So, I asked DuckDuckGo so i could link some facts for you and check out what I found.... 128! Apparently 126 isn’t a big deal anymore.

Hundred shmundred.

Posted using Partiko iOS

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My wife is trying to take up meditation as part of her routine... her brother has managed to integrate it, and he says it works pretty well for him! I'm less keen... I find my quiet times myself... I'm not sure that I would call it meditation, but I don't find myself stressed or put out easily... so I guess it works...

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I think we all find benefit in different sources of quiet time, so it's great that you have found what works for you! The funny thing is that I don't usually consider myself a highly stressed person, but I think I do tend to worry about things more than I need to. It is nice to find a method that brings to light some of those things so that I can continue to work on them. I hope your wife finds what works for her!

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Love the idea of the 30-day minimalist challenge ~ Casting aside one thing on the first day and increasing from there every day. Sounds like a great way to tackle the ever-challenging decluttering. Will have a go.

I walk heaps but haven't been running for years. Have been contemplating getting some runners again ~ You are another inspiration for me now. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎

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I think the challenge helps when you have some accountability, so let me know if you decide to jump on it! I have the day off today so I think I'm going to jump into the massive task of going through our kitchen cabinets. Wish me luck! :)

Also I will happily cheer you on if you get back to running! There's a pretty solid community in the @runningproject. It's always fun to see what everyone else is up to in their training. :)

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Nice count of steps in that heat @plantstoplanks, and interesting to read about your minimalist endeavour, and how to destress with meditation, it's awesome.


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