I’m going to be starting a series of posts about Balance.  Today I got this:

My box from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I am now officially a student studying nutrition, wellness, and am training to be a Health Coach.  The box also included this:

Yes, an ipad!  All of the course materials are on the ipad, although in the box are brochures, textbooks, and lots of stuff that I haven’t looked at yet because I was too busy playing with the ipad.  Look at that thing – it is a fingerprint magnet.

I have been reading the online materials and listening to the audios for a few weeks now, and one thing that jumped out at me is balance.  Balance is the key to wellness.  I knew this, because I worked with a Health Coach last year, but it is so easy to fall off balance.  According to IIN, there are 12 crucial areas of life and they should all be in balance.  Of course no one can be in balance all of the time, but that is the goal.  Someone once told me that my life is so balanced, and I didn’t think so at all at the time.  Sure, I did a variety of things, but there were serious gaps.  I suppose they just don’t show on the outside.  It’s not quantity, it is quality.

Lately, when the boss is away, I go to yoga.  I take a “gentle” yoga class, focused on hips, knees, and the back.  Most people in the class have had an injury, or surgery.

Today we did tree pose for the first time.

But our feet weren’t quite that far up the leg as in this picture.  Balance.  It’s hard.

Then we were doing our gentle stretching pose, and we are supposed to do this “with ease”, but of course in yoga class we feel we need to push ourselves to the limit.  At least I do.  The instructor walked around the room and said, “It looks like we have a class of overachievers here.”  She gently moved our legs down until we had ease.  Aaahhh.  Better.  Too much pushing, and we are again not in balance.

So I will be writing about balance.

And, because I just can’t resist, I have to show you pictures of the juice I made today.

That produce on the white towel above – it made 3 cups of juice.  The ginger gave it a nice bite (I just used a little piece, not the whole thing as in the photo, and it was powerful).  I brought some home with me for tomorrow, since the juicer stays at the boss’s house.

Tomorrow is a 10 mile run, and a vegan meet up dinner.  Sunday is an 8 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail.  And maybe I’ll go over to the boss’s house tomorrow and make more juice.