Being fit, healthy and mindful does NOT have to cost money...

It is not necessary to pay money for a lot of "things" that many people are convinced should cost money.  I've been around a lot of health minded women who place value on "things" according to how much these "things" cost.  For instance, I was once in on a conversation about back and hip pain and that in order to alleviate this pain one must see a chiropractor.  And that the chiropractor would, in addition to adjusting the spine, give some exercise ideas since movement is the key to controlling back pain.  In seeing the demonstration of the exercise I exclaimed, "That's a lot like the T'ai Chi I teach!"  I went on to try and elaborate a bit on the subject and was met with angry looks, rolling of eyes and scoffing at what I was trying to share.  I had been shunned and I felt angry.  But it only got worse.  Later with the same group, I overheard the conversation which was all about how to increase one's circulation in the legs in order to offset unsightly veins.  I really don't have any unsightly veins (I'm almost 50!) but I did when I was pregnant.  I had read that elevating the legs daily can increase circulation and even reverse varicose veins in the legs.  So, I got into this habit of elevating my legs for at least 10 minutes per day.  WOW!  It really worked!  And I did not have to pay a penny.  I felt I had to share my experience due to the fact that one woman was telling another woman that she paid a massage therapist $100 to give her a very special leg massage to help offset and alleviate varicose veins by increasing circulation...That's $100 per week!   She also claimed that this was the only method that worked and that, although it was expensive, it was worth it!  So, I chimed in with my opinion on the subject only to be met with more scoffing, "Oh right!  You naturally have perfect legs, so just shut up!"  My anger got the best of me at this point...  I said something like, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!  YOU THINK ALL OF THIS COMES NATURALLY!  YOU THINK I DIDN'T GAIN 35 POUNDS WITH MY 4TH PREGNANCY!  AND DEVELOPED VERY PAINFUL AND UNSIGHTLY VARICOSE VEINS!  I WORK VERY HARD EVERY DAY TO BE FIT AND HEALTHY! ALL I AM SAYING IS THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY $100 TO A MASSAGE THERAPIST!  THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO ACHIEVE RESULTS WITHOUT PAYING SO MUCH MONEY AND I AM LIVING PROOF!" At that I walked away and have never brought up the subject again with this particular group of women.  However, I feel the need to blog about what I feel passionate about.  I am nearly 50 years old and I have kept fit and healthy without expensive diets, chiropractors, exercise equipment, personal trainers, etc., etc.!  The list goes on and on and that's why it's a multi-billion dollar industry.  So, now the "thing" with this same group of women is meditation and how it's important to pay for proper training!  I find this so absurd!  Why should I pay money to someone to train me how to sit quietly and notice my breath?  And when my mind wanders and I am aware of it wandering, I go back to noticing my breath.  That's it!  It takes a lot of practice to actually quiet the mind but that's all it takes...practice!  To pay someone to teach you how to meditate is, in my very humble opinion, a waste of money.   There is a discipline involved with meditation that won't happen just because you found an expensive teacher! It must come from YOU!  It happens when YOU are determined to continue with a meditation practice even when it feels like a waste of time or that it is doing nothing for you.  It requires a daily intention to just sit and breathe and to practice loving kindness with yourself even when you cannot quiet the mind.  The important thing is to keep practicing!  Meditation is wonderful because you can practice it anywhere!  There will always be distractions but learning to relax and breathe through them is a wonderful feeling.  And of course there are many ways to meditate.  T'ai Chi, Yoga, coloring, knitting - just to name a few.  Find your way but PLEASE, don't pay a penny for it!  

T'ai Chi: It can cure what ails.

I was recently sick...and then soon after I was sick again!  It was horrible.  First I had a virus that began as a sore throat and then felt like the flu for about 2 days.  By Day 4 I felt normal again. And on Day 3 I was able to get up and go through my full 30 minute T'ai Chi routine.   So, that wasn't so bad.  I was healthy for the next week week (thankfully it was the week I traveled to Ireland to visit Jackson, my oldest son).  The day before we left to come home, I felt a tightness in my chest and began coughing.  It was the kind of tight, deep cough that really hurts.  By the next day (unfortunately for my fellow travelers on the plane) I was feeling VERY sick.  It was the worst day of traveling I have ever experienced and the one and only silver lining from the experience is that I can be assured that air travel will NEVER be worse for me than it was that day.  This virus felt different than the one I had two weeks prior...it felt much WORSE!  The next day in bed it hurt to move.  I just laid in bed.  Sleeping didn't come easy so I watched mindless TV shows on Netflix - kind of phasing in and out of wakefulness.  The next day I did actually manage to get out of bed and I forced myself to do about 10 minutes of T'ai Chi - very easy breath guiding movement.  It was exhausting!  The next day I did the same and felt slightly less exhausted.  I continued to practice T'ai Chi-as much as I could manage-each day and once a week had passed I felt almost normal again.  I even went on a very slow jog.  I'm sure what I had was the flu.  By the way, I did get the flu shot this year AND last year and I got the flu this year and last year.  I guess my point to writing about my illness is to sing the praises of T'ai Chi.  My husband also got the flu - two days after I came down with it.  He continued to feel sick well into his second week with the virus.  I encouraged him to do just a little easy movement and deep breathing.  I told him that as difficult as it was to get up or even just sit up and move he may feel better if he did just a little bit.  I told him that I felt normal again after a week and reminded him how long he had been feeling sick.  It had been 10 days for him when I decided to suggest he move and breathe (aka T'ai Chi).  But, alas, he was not the least bit interested so, finally, after about 2 weeks he was feeling almost normal but what still isn't back yet (16 days for him since he started to feel sick) is his energy!  My energy is FANTASTIC!  Last week I took it slow but by the end of the week I was up to my normal hour long swim and hour long run which included intervals!  I can't help but attribute my Great Energy to my T'ai Chi practice.  I can't help but attribute getting over the flu in just under a week to my T'ai Chi practice.  And I can't help but wonder if my husband's illness would have been shortened and his energy back had he done what I suggested - easy movement and deep breathing.  I would love to prove my theory but that would mean getting sick again...NO THANK YOU!!!