Week 13: My First Prayer Class
Ahhh! Synchronicities happened and I received guidance to take a Prayer class at Agape. It came through meditation (after the blatant synchronicities) and I'm not one to ignore guidance, so I signed up for the class kicking and screaming. #1 it was a multi-week class and signing up for a multi-week prayer class commitment didn't sound like something I wanted to do because #2 I don't like praying in front of groups or guiding prayer. And I heard the still, small voice say, "And that's exactly why you're going to do it." Signing up for it was definitely out of my comfort zone.
It was a lot better than I expected. We covered the steps of a prayer treatment, one per week and it was more about praying through activity and as an expanded state of awareness than leading prayers in front of class. We did, however, have a prayer partner each week of the class (changed partners weekly) and during each day of the week we had to call our partner at agreed upon times and pray. I did okay. The first steps of spiritual prayer treatment is recognizing God in things around you/everywhere and recognizing/acknowledging your Oneness with God, so the class served to help me focus seeing God in everyone and in feeling my Unity with God. That was good. And I'm more comfortable praying in front of others now. Most of the prayers focused on just being grateful.
Week 14: Crossfit
The particular location I tried wasn't for me. I don't doubt that there are great Crossfit studios out there, but I didn't like the vibe at the one I bought a Groupon for. And the boot camp I tried last month felt better to me, so I went back to the prior bootcamp instead. I'd definitely be up for trying Crossfit at a different location because I hear each one is different.
Week 15: Salt Therapy
I love salt water baths. They're my simple solution (from Pranic Healing) for just about everything, so when I saw that "salt therapy" existed I was immediately interested. Salt is such a great healer and absorber of negative energy. So I went on down to the salt therapy location to try it out.
This is what the room looked like:
You got to sit in there for 45 minutes. Chillin:
Not only is it a salt room with salt on the walls and floor, but when they turn the room on salt starts coming out of this hole in wall:
It was definitely something new and relaxing. I didn't have a stuffy nose or cold or any respiratory issues (it's popular for healing those things), but the owner still gave me a box of tissues when I went in the room and to my surprise I did need them. Apparently when you breathe in the salt it cleanses your nose and respiratory system and you end up needing tissues. Coolness.
Week 16: Drinkbar Juicery's 3 Day Raw Juice Cleanse
I've done juice cleanses before, but not this one: http://www.drinkbarjuicery.com/collections/frontpage/products/3-day-cleanse
My brother and his girlfriend were going to do it off of a Groupon and I decided to join them. It was a bit experimental because we had never heard of the juice shop and they don't list any of the juice ingredients on the website so we weren't sure what we were getting into.
It was pretty good. The notable thing to mention is that I shed "emotional eater" as one of my stories/labels. I was on the cleanse the entire time my dog was sick and when she transitioned. I had been one of those people who eats when stressed out, but I somehow managed to remain on the cleanse during the very stressful situation. Every time I left the emergency animal hospital I FELT like eating a pizza with 2 sides of In n Out fries followed by a hot fudge sundae, but instead I just drank my green juices. I was very amazed by my behavior and discipline considering the situation. And it was a pretty strong cleanse, complete with strong green juice and apple vinegar cider. It was also my first time juicing with apple vinegar cider. I didn't cheat at all and I lost 5 lbs in 3 days.
Week 17: 30 Day Squat Challenge
A.K.A. This:
I actually started a little over 23 days ago, but I'll count it on this week since it's almost over, I've seen great results, and I need something for this week. A friend was doing this challenge on FB and posting pictures of her backside throughout the challenge. When I saw the kinds of results she was getting, I decided to try it too.
I wasn't expecting big results because I already do squats. But apparently I'd never done them this consistently and with this pattern. The above works. Within 15 days I had a new backside! The results are quick and the exercise easy! My butt has a cool new "pop" to it. I took a 4 day break in there when my dog transitioned, but I picked up again a couple of days ago and just finished Day 23. I DEFINITELY recommend this to everyone.
Okay, now I'm caught up. :-)
