Mind-Body Connection…

As February comes to an end, I’m reflecting on all that I’ve accomplished and learned during this month, and what I wish to leave behind.

Last month, I wrote a post about my progress in January, and that my theme for February would be all about simplicity. Looking back in retrospect, I can say with definite certainty that I indeed embraced simplicity. However, as with all things in life, I didn’t understand what simplicity meant until I truly lived it.

I thought that simplicity was all about, well, keeping things simple. And, it is. But, even simplicity goes deeper than that…

Stepping inside of myself
For me, keeping things simple had a lot to do with eliminating the fluff and tuning into the truth. This played out for me physically, mentally, spiritually and professionally. Throughout the month, I did a really great job of listening to signals from my body. I was really aware of how my body reacted physically to different emotions. For instance, when I’m really happy, I feel very light and almost fluid. My soul feels almost like it’s out of body, and radiant. When I’m anxious, my heart races and knees shake. When I’m excited, I feel like I’m spinning in all of the possibilities. And, the list goes on.

(If you haven’t tried tuning into your body’s reaction to emotion, I highly recommend you do. Emotional intelligence is critical for those of us who wish to truly understand ourselves and others. And, extremely critical for photographers, who want to have deep empathy and connection with their clients.)

Feeling my way to my intuition
Yes, there was definitely a mind-body connection this month, and it served me in so many ways. Because I was tuning into my body, I was very aware of my need to take care of myself. This month, I suffered fairly intensely from seasonal allergies. Had I not been aware of my inner world, my seasonal allergies could have developed into a bronchial infection or something far worse. But, because I’d been listening to my body, I was able to read its warning signals, telling me to slow down and take it easy.

February was filled with photo shoots, family commitments, and extra work at my 9-to-5 job. I couldn’t afford to be sick. So, thank goodness, I prevented that by taking care of myself… because I was tuning into my body.

Intuition leads to insight
This month gave me the knowledge I need to put more concentrated effort into my business. I have a more defined marketing strategy thanks to some great epiphanies. Those epiphanies came to me because I was shutting down my monkey mind, listening to my body’s reaction to emotion, and uncovering the truth. (Who knew business could be so woo-woo, right?)

What I’m most proud of
I’m very pleased to say that February was overall a successful month. I’m proud of my ability to look within myself. Not only did that reap all of the rewards I mentioned above, but it also helped me to tackle the ego. That’s something that I’ve tried to become much more conscious of in 2013, as I know that is the enemy of all of us. That dirty dark ego! I was tested many times throughout February, and overcame it. I’m very proud of that.

In addition, I’m proud that I balanced all of my commitments without too much exhaustion. This is probably due in part to my being conscious of how I spent my time. As busy as the month was, I even had time for a little bit of pleasure. And, I discovered a new favorite television show (Downton Abbey, of which every episode of I am now completely caught up on), a new favorite musician (John Fullbright, who is freaking amazing), and a new favorite beer (Squatters India Pale Ale).

(^^Er, actually those three discoveries were made during the last few days of January, but happened after I wrote my January reflection post, so they count!)

What I need to improve on
While I made some advancement on my sleep-wake cycle, it’s still no where near 4:50 AM wake-ups and 9 PM bedtimes. I’ll continue to push toward that in the month of March.

The house is a complete disaster right now. (And, so is my desk at work, for that matter.) I’ll definitely be cleaning up! In fact, this weekend Dave and I plan to give the house a thorough cleaning. Our beautiful home deserves the TLC. Once it’s clean, maybe we’ll start cooking at home more, which brings me to my next item…

Health! Yes, I kept myself pretty healthy in February, thanks to the listening to my body thing I mentioned earlier. But, my eating is pretty bad, and I need to start feeding myself nourishing food, like black beans, brown rice, eggs, spinach, and oranges. I mention those things because they are what makes my body feel happy. I know! I know! The mind-body thing again! But, I’m telling you – tune into your body and it will light the way.

What I hope to accomplish in the month of March
Aside from getting my sleep-wake cycle back on track, cleaning the house (and my desk at work), and eating healthier, I still need to get back to yoga. I had two yoga photo shoots in February, and those definitely inspired me to want to get back to it.

Also, I plan to start working on an exciting personal project. I’ll share more details on that later.

And, of course, I definitely want to blog more. I started February with a pretty strong effort, but then that effort kind of fell to the waist-side around mid month. So, in March, I will be much more disciplined about my blogging, and try to do a little better planning.

Thanks so much for reading this! And, please feel free to share your February insight in the comments below. Cheers!

Oh, yeah! I almost forgot. My theme for March is about “Keeping the Eye on the Prize.” I’m saving up for my new camera, and I’m almost halfway there. So, I’m keeping my eye on the prize in regards to the camera, as well as all of my goals. I think keeping my goals front and center will help me accomplish what I wish to in the month of March.

Alright. There you have it!