May: Mental Health Month
I am fully aware of when I am feeling overwhelmed and know it is time to rest. I did nothing overly exerting yesterday, just basked in the calmness of the day. To me mental health is of the utmost importance, without our mind’s health who are we? Our mind is a part of our body; it is occupied by a vital organ that needs to be in good working order so it can take care of the rest of our body. So then why are so many people against taking care of it? Why are employers not advocating more for mental health, and punishing their employees who do take time to take care of their mental health? EVERYONE needs a break once in awhile, if not just to refresh. There is no refresh button in life, but there is such thing as a break.
*I am a big advocate for naps and I believe naps are
important for one’s mental health. When I was working my teaching job I took a
30 minute nap, just about every day on my lunch hour.
I began my day with my normal daily devotion, breakfast and
then some TV in bed. At noon I stepped onto my yoga mat for live yoga with
Adriene Mishler of Yoga with Adriene. It was lovely to have practiced with her
live, even if we were in completely different states. She invited us to set our
intentions for the practice, to repeat I am anchored in… and focus on that for
the duration of the practice. “Breathing lots of love in and breathing lots of
love out.” I love how she puts this, not only are we breathing in love, but we
are breathing that love back into the universe. I usually hear or see "breathe in positivity and breathe out negativity." With all the negative breath/energy going into the air no wonder there are a myriad of negative events. I
moved onto a New Moon meditation, carrying with me those same intentions. At 1:39pm
when the New Moon was to appear in the sky, not like I could see on what felt
like the 100th cloudy day in a row in good old Ohio. This is the
time when the Moon would sit between the Earth and the Sun, creating the New
Moon. It is important when meditating to focus our thoughts on our intentions,
another important reason for our mental health. Slowly calming our bodies,
breathing in and out slowly focusing on the breath until the mind can relax. Playing
calming, peaceful music; lighting incense, a candle, or a diffuser with calming
scents, and having a nice comfortable place to sit for an extended amount of
time are all good ways to prepare to relax the mind, body, and spirit.
This is a little corner of my yoga/meditation/prayer garden area. My yoga mat is laid out on the floor, I have a bolster for meditating and a space with all of my spiritual items, including books, notebooks, bible, stones, etc.
After meditating my very good friend came over and we
chatted for a bit, even though she did not stay it was a nice midday visit. After
she left I treated myself to lunch of leftover stir fry I made the night
before. I ate two helpings it was so delicious (and after I write this I am
going to go finish it off : ) ).
Recipe for Kelly's Version of Stir Fry
Ingredients:
1 Zucchini - sliced and cut in half
1 Yellow Squash - sliced and cut in half
1 container of mushrooms - quartered
1 bunch of asparagus - chopped into quarters
1 Onion - chopped
Sesame seeds
Soy sauce of choosing
Organic ginger stir - in puree
Rice or noodles
Butter and olive oil
Yum-yum sauce
Directions:
Melt butter over medium - high heat
Add in zucchini and squash, cook until tender
Add in mushrooms and onions, cook until tender
Add in asparagus
Marinade in soy sauce and ginger puree
Cook well
Make rice or noodles of choice - according to directions on box
Add rice or noodles to bowl
Place vegetables on top
Top with sesame seeds
Finish with green onions or scallions and shredded carrots (I use a peeler)
Top it all off with Yum-Yum sauce
*Add protein of choice if desired
I decided instead of just sitting around that I would do something with my time. I wanted to learn something, I wanted to study something, I wanted to take an online course. I signed up for a six week online herbal course, The Art of Simpling, hosted by the lovely woman from Growing Up Herbal. I finished my first week yesterday and it was very exciting, every day I took time to sit down with my lesson, take notes, participate in online group chat, and do the hands-on activities. I am having so much fun with it and the first week was only the introductory state, next coming weeks we move into more hands-on things and get to hear from guest herbalists speak about their knowledge, more on all that later. I did get a new notebook for herbal notes and a field guide to help me out.
Recipe for Kelly's Version of Stir Fry
Ingredients:
1 Zucchini - sliced and cut in half
1 Yellow Squash - sliced and cut in half
1 container of mushrooms - quartered
1 bunch of asparagus - chopped into quarters
1 Onion - chopped
Sesame seeds
Soy sauce of choosing
Organic ginger stir - in puree
Rice or noodles
Butter and olive oil
Yum-yum sauce
Directions:
Melt butter over medium - high heat
Add in zucchini and squash, cook until tender
Add in mushrooms and onions, cook until tender
Add in asparagus
Marinade in soy sauce and ginger puree
Cook well
Make rice or noodles of choice - according to directions on box
Add rice or noodles to bowl
Place vegetables on top
Top with sesame seeds
Finish with green onions or scallions and shredded carrots (I use a peeler)
Top it all off with Yum-Yum sauce
*Add protein of choice if desired
I decided instead of just sitting around that I would do something with my time. I wanted to learn something, I wanted to study something, I wanted to take an online course. I signed up for a six week online herbal course, The Art of Simpling, hosted by the lovely woman from Growing Up Herbal. I finished my first week yesterday and it was very exciting, every day I took time to sit down with my lesson, take notes, participate in online group chat, and do the hands-on activities. I am having so much fun with it and the first week was only the introductory state, next coming weeks we move into more hands-on things and get to hear from guest herbalists speak about their knowledge, more on all that later. I did get a new notebook for herbal notes and a field guide to help me out.
After that I
watched a few more episodes of the show I was watching and then took a nap (see
BIG advocate for naps!) At around 6pm I
got up walked around and then went into my next lesson. A few months ago I
purchased a book, Ayurveda Beginner’s
Guide/ Essential Ayurvedic Principles and Practices to Balance and Heal
Naturally. I’ve chosen to read a chapter a day, take notes on the chapter
and then take notes on where I can begin making some changes in my life to
balance and heal naturally, like the title says. Everything is connect – mind,
body, and soul if we are only focusing on taking care of one thing we are not
doing ourselves any favors by ignoring the others. Mental health is important
to an overall balanced well-being.
By this time
it was 8:30pm, time to wind down for the day. I began with my spiritual work
with my book, The Cup of Our Life, a
lovely day on thanksgiving. I brought my intentions from early into my even
meditation. I ended my mental health day with an abundance ritual bath. Last
week I made up a batch of abundance ritual bath salts, a lovely recipe I got
from Meagan over on Growing Up Herbal. I
tweaked it a little to make it more for more, but I stuck to the basic ingredients.
It was a lovely bath with soft peaceful music, a glowing candle, and
incredible smelling bath salts. The ritual can also be found on Meagan’s
website. I will attach a link below, links to all items discussed can be found
below.
I believe we
all need a break once in awhile, it is important to our overall health and
well-being, our mind, body, and spirit. Do not be afraid to make and take time
for yourself. Do not let anyone make you feel inadequate if you are in need of
a mental health day. Yoga, Meditation, walking, nature hike, play, swimming, sun
bathing, dance, exercise, drawing, painting, crafting… all of these are
activities to aid in taking care of your mental health. Find something relaxing
that works for you and do it. Know that you are important and you DESERVE it!
.
.
.
Below I have
included some facts about mental health found from a few online resources.
Found on the NAMI website.
Facts on child and teenage mental health, provided by the soma psy network (found on google).
A link to 11 Facts About Mental Health on the dosomething.org website.
A link to Mental Health Myths and Facts on the mentalhealth.gov website
.
.
.
I am in no way a mental health professional. I only know what works for me, since I began my journey with spiritual work five years ago. I have learned and practiced techniques that work for me. I have also reached out and sought guidance from professionals. Always seek guidance from a professional or a trained spiritual worker before inviting and beginning in any new physical, mental, or emotional work into your life. Make sure you are doing what is best for you, not someone is telling you is best for you.
.
.
.
Until next time my friends,
Namaste!
Found on the NAMI website.
Facts on child and teenage mental health, provided by the soma psy network (found on google).
A link to 11 Facts About Mental Health on the dosomething.org website.
A link to Mental Health Myths and Facts on the mentalhealth.gov website
.
.
.
I am in no way a mental health professional. I only know what works for me, since I began my journey with spiritual work five years ago. I have learned and practiced techniques that work for me. I have also reached out and sought guidance from professionals. Always seek guidance from a professional or a trained spiritual worker before inviting and beginning in any new physical, mental, or emotional work into your life. Make sure you are doing what is best for you, not someone is telling you is best for you.
.
.
.
Until next time my friends,
Namaste!
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