Yoga Mission

About 6 years ago for Christmas I got a yoga mat and DVD from my parents.  I think it came with a book, but I can't be sure.  I think I went through it once or twice (and twice is generous) and it was put to the side.  When I moved back in with my parents I had a ton of shit and did some major purging.  I'm glad I kept the DVD now.

In high school I took yoga as an option for a few weeks in PE.  I loved it.  Our classes were 84 minutes, and for the last 20 or so we would "meditate."  Most people napped.  Another bonus was that I was closer to touching my toes than ever before.  It's pathetic, but I can't even make it to my ankles with out bending my knees.  (On a side note, I once encountered someone completely shocked, "because, like, you're skinny."  I don't know how many people have this idea, nor where it came from.  Being skinny does not mean one is flexible, nor is it required.)

Okay, back to the subject at hand:
The last two days I have done this DVD.  I figure, I have plenty of time for StumbleUpon and FB (more than I want to admit, but I can say I don't watch TV and we don't have table, so don't judge too severely) so why not start doing the things I want to learn.  Maybe someday I will learn a language.  Maybe not. 

I posted a little while back two goal management sites I came across.  I signed up for both of them... and that was it.  Today I entered yoga 5 times a week on Goal Happy.  If I'm going to start using it, let's put in something I am doing (yes, two days counts) instead of overwhelming myself with all the other things I want to do and don't get around to.

When you enter your goal (you can also put in something like have less than 2 times a day) it has a place to enter why it's important to you.  So instead of thinking, wow, I should really do this thing because it's cool, I reminded myself of all the reasons I do want to get into it. [I want to be in better shape/more toned, it relieves the (minor) back pain I have, yoga hand help me be more mindful/grounded (which is something I need a lot of help with), I've wanted to be more flexible for at least 10 years, and to help balance out my energies (think eastern medicine.)]

It also has an area to enter things that you think may help you achieve your goal.  I'm going to try to do the yoga video during my toddler's morning nap on the mornings I don't work, and on nights that my fiance isn't home.  The other days I'll squeeze it in somewhere. 

I have already learned that my son thinks I'm a jungle gym when in these positions, so it's a little more challenging with him belly flopping on me, crawling under me and climbing me.  My friend also mentioned that her 70 lb dog thinks it's playtime when she's down on the floor.  Considered yourself warned if you are thinking of picking up the habit.


Here is a link to the benefits of yoga. Massage your organs today!
And here is a link to Gary Bromley's dvd on Amazon starting at $1.99.  I say it's worth the investment... even if it takes you 6 years to use the damn thing.

Quotes on Time

I'm currently working on putting pictures together, and I was looking for quotes to put on some of the pages.  I looked up time, and I found that many of them are very good.  I think when dealing with stress and anxieties how we perceive and manage time makes a huge difference.  Seeing other people word things somehow makes things more cemented to me.  I love quotes.

Here are a few of my favorites:

“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.”  -Jeremy Irons

“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.”

“Time is free, but it's priceless. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it you can never get it back."  -Harvery McKay

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” -Albert Einstein 

(I ♥ Albert Einstein quotes, a lot.)

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” -Steve Jobs

“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever...” - Isak Dinesen 

“You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future” 

“Don’t count every hour in the day, make every hour in the day count.” 

“The time is always right to do what is right.” - Martin Luther King, Jr

“Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” -H. Jackson Brown, Jr. 

“We say we waste time, but that is impossible. We waste ourselves.” -Alice Bloch

“In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” - Albert Schweitzer 

“Often times I have hated in self-defense; if I were stronger I would not have used such a weapon.” - Kahlil Gibran  

Motivation

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.
—Zig Ziglar


I was reading this article on how to get/stay motivated.  In the comments I came across some goal management sites.  I know my fiance is a huge fan of check lists, our drawers and surfaces become littered with them.  The problem with paper is it's easy to lose, and hard to edit with out starting over.

http://www.goalspalpal.com 
This site was good for a to do list, managing chores and projects.  You have the ability to add steps to each goal, and it has the intelligence to say, okay, here is what is next.  I think I would have liked it better if I hadn't seen the next site first.

http://www.goalhappy.com/
This site was cool because it was set up for daily, weekly and monthly goals.  It looked like the goals were reoccurring ones, so not good for one time items, unless you wanted to edit them out after completion.  As for creating and breaking habits it looked awesome.  Like meditating 15 minutes daily, drinking no more than 2 sugary drinks a week, etc.  Even cooler, if you have one of those smart phones, it had a free app to download.  You also had the option to share you success with friends to get further encouragement, or to be held more accountable.

                                                                              I wish there was a way to combine the two above ones!

http://www.goalsontrack.com/ 
this one has a free trial.  It looks like there are a lot of management options, including graphs.  Some one with true issues in time management and organization may get overwhelmed with the options, but some one who is just improving their productivity would most likely do well.  I think this product would best benefit someone who is already pretty highly motivated, but I haven't tried this one.