Hi Friends!
I have been thinking about coming back the blogging world for a while. I miss writing and having an outlet for all of these thoughts I have about health, fitness, wellness, and of course, mindfulness. In the past 4 months I have begun my first post-grad job as an outpatient therapist. This job has already taught me so much about myself and I feel that in the past sixth months, I have grown and changed immensely.
I finished up grad school in early May and saw a major decrease in my anxiety and stress levels (well, duh)! I finished up my internship by the end of May and had my post-grad job all lined up, hurray! This was a great deal of fun and excitement all bunched together in one.
The summer was a wonderful and crazy whirlwind of family, fun, and new experiences. I began my job one week after my internship ended and really hit the ground running. This summer has brought 3 weddings, several family parties, 3 grad parties, many cookouts, and one fabulous 25th birthday party.
Me and my cousin and mom, love them!
So where were we? Graduation, end of internship, new job, wild and crazy summer, lots of celebrating…most of those involving a new and wonderful guy in my life. So where has that all left me? A little out of check with my self and my body. Between the busy schedule and the stress of a new and challenging job, I find myself stress-eating and checking-out more than being mindful and true to myself. This is all a part of life’s process. The idea of balance is that there is that it always requires maintenance. While many parts of my life are up and in a good place, others are running on auto-pilot.
In my job, I work with many teens and young adults struggling to find a happy stride in their life. They are overwhelmed by life’s demands and feeling out of control or unsuccessful. I talk to them about balance, about wellness, about mindfulness. If you haven’t said it to this screen as you read this yet, it is the perfect place for “practice what you preach, girl.”
I am a natural born giver and I have been givin’ givin’ givin’ to many people lately and have left little for myself. I am a type-A (in recovery) gal who has no problem getting to the gym and eating healthy foods. The problem is this auto-pilot mode means that I assume it’s all going right without taking a minute to check-in with myself.
So here I am, not back where I started by any means, but back in a place of acknowledged maintenance. I need to become mindful again and more in-tune with myself and listen to my body. Last winter, I took a course in grad school that focused on healing stress and pain through mindfulness and natural medicine (from yoga to herbal remedies). During this class, we did a practice in mindful eating. We stopped before mealtime, checking in with our body on level of hunger (1-10), cravings, and types of food we were needing to eat. It was amazing to really stop and think “what does my body need” and to answer that call. We are much more fulfilled, in eating and in life, when we stop and listen to our bodies, our hearts, our guts.
So here I go, coming back to a fresh start of listening to myself and letting my own body and gut guide me to better health and wellness 🙂
Mindfully Emily 