Keeping myself occupied while in lockdown.

 This course is becoming much more interesting as I move on to each module.  The first two modules talked about the importance of changing our diet to allow our bodies to become more alkaline, which means eating a lot more vegetables, a little fruit and very little red meat. Juicing is also very good for you together with smoothies made with vegetables, fruit and a little water. You are advised not to mix the smoothies with any kind of milk.

Now the fun part begins …  I now have to write a composition explaining the changes in my body and mind when following this diet for a week. At first I thought I’d be able to get away with it, just say what they say should happen but that’s not going to work, so for the first 3 days I only ate salad and vegetables which made me feel good, my body felt lighter inside. On the 3^rd day I leapt out of bed wanting the day to begin.

I also have to concentrate on mindfulness and do breathing exercises in an effort to meditate, so for the first 2 days I spent an hour in the garden WITHOUT my phone, just sitting listening to the birdsong and making friends with my robin.

I kept practising the mindful breathing for a couple of minutes at a time and even these short sessions helped me to relax a little. I also did some grounding, walking barefoot around the garden, marvelling at the blossom on all the trees and watching the petals being carried by the breeze and gently falling to the ground like snow.

On the 3^rd day I spent 2 hours in the garden practicing my breathing more often. I also got my quota of vitamin D on those days. You are supposed to be in the sun for 40 minutes without any suntan lotion for your body to absorb the rays.

I loved this part about mindfulness:

If you’re going to eat the cake, eat it and enjoy it. Don’t go worrying about how it will make you fat, or that you shouldn’t really be eating it, or how bad it is for your heart. These thoughts take you away from experiencing the moment which is eating and loving the cake.

How does it look? Notice how you feel excited about eating it. Now you take a bite and experience the explosion of taste. So much pleasure in each mouthful. Mindfulness states that it’s better to be “in” the experience of eating that cake than worrying about all the negative effects.

Take note ladies and gents for the next time you decide to sneak a piece of that cake!

As it’s going to take a week before I can finish this module I decided to move on to the next one thinking that I can do all the ground work instead of wasting time. Wait for it ………

Over the next THREE weeks I must start walking until I easily manage 10 000 steps per day! Amazingly I started doing the ‘walk for life’ 30 minute exercise yesterday so made myself do it again this morning. It’s quite a workout, for me anyway, tomorrow I’ll use the pedometer to count my steps. It will be interesting to know if that will be a major or minor part of my daily steps.

I haven’t checked the next module yet and have no idea what surprise is in store for me.

Keep a look-out for the next follow-up in a couple of weeks to let you know how I’m getting on.

What courses are you doing to keep you occupied ….. hope it’s as interesting as mine!