From Ed's Book, "The Way of the Wellness Warrior"
These exercises are simple and can be done anywhere to
Gain the wisdom from knowing oneself and the nature of
forces that prevents one from attaining one’s goals;
Learn techniques from taichi to overcome problems that
hinder us from winning in our daily life battles.
A. Think in terms of martial games –
1) 21-Day war
2) Daily battles
3) Enemy identification
4) Strength and weaknesses of enemy and your forces
5) Opportunities and threats
6) Strategy & counter strategy
7) Winning finally, losing and learning
8) Training
9) Resources
10) Timing
B. Identify situations, conditions, events that would stop
you from fulfilling your commitment goals. For example:
1) Woke up too late
2) Too tired to do anything before sleeping
3) Mind too preoccupied with problems and concerns
at work or at home
4) Not in the mood to do this project
C. Reframe the situation as a martial game and play it to
win and/or to learn event:
1) Each commitment period which you have to fulfil
for compliance is a battle of engagement if you
encounter a resistance;
2) The enemy is the force you have to contend with
and neutralize; Recognize and acknowledge the
enemy to be within you;
3) You lose if unable to fulfil compliance of your
commitment.
D. How to Score the Game: Winning, Losing & Learning
1) You win because there is practically no resistance,
there is little or no learning here; (1 pt)
2) You win despite of an overwhelming resistance. You
could have lost, but eventually you won only after a
long or difficult maneuvering. There is great
learning and experience here; (3 pts)
3) You lose, but the loss may be investment or not:
4) It is total loss if you did not learn from it and may
have even lost your fighting spirit; (-1 pt)
5) It is an investment if you understood why you lost
and had gained wisdom from your struggle against
an overwhelming force. This is better than winning
without learning. Your spirit is high as you are more
ready for future battles.(2 pts)
To win the war you must be able to gain at least 21pts
in 21 days.
Learn and use, taichi concepts to win.
TIME COMMITMENT AS GOALS:
When to do:
While this can be done at numerous times in a day, it is best to
make the Journaling as well as Taichi Thinking commitment at
specific periods such as
1) Upon awakening or better even before rising, put your
intention on how best to go through the day
2) Before going to sleep would be the best time to organize
your notes and put them down on your Chi Journal.
3) During work breaks
4) You can do reflection and short notes while:
5) Commuting or while driving through heavy traffic
6) While doing Chi Stances
7) For how long each time:
8) Just set a minimum like 30 minutes for actual writing, which
you can divide up to 3 period of 10 minutes at different
parts of the day. It is helpful to do the last part of the
writing before you sleep to give a closure to your day
activities as this would also help you sleep better.
9) For the reflection and jotting down random notes, this can
be as little as 1 minute to as long as you like as when
commuting long distances.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
In the mood for sleep...
Beware Mountain Dew!!!
I had mountain dew two nights ago because I figured I havent had it for, like, 20 years, and I'd like to ehem, reconnect :) turns out it was loaded with caffeine, more than coffee or even coke, and it left me awake all night, not a tiny bit of sleep!
I had a really busy morning, which left me all too sleepy after lunch, and I caught a really tiny 45-minute nap, from which my sweet DS9 woke me. Thankfully, that is, because I had to catch a 2 PM meeting, which turned out to be equally sleep-inducing, because I was on teleconferencing, and they were discussing minutae of foliage for the upcoming anniversary. Foliage! good grief! Thankfully I was awake in time for my report, a whole five minutes of it, and maybe five minutes thereafter, of the 2 hour meeting... Nonetheless it was a good show, but believe me when I say that I have no wish to discuss foliage after a day and a half of no sleep.
Which just shows that my age is showing. I used to be able to discuss almost anything after three days of no sleep!
Anyway... how goes my Chi Habits?
I've decided that I will call myself determined. That's my new middle name. Lazy doesnt cut it anymore. I'm determined and I'm doing this!
But it does take a lot of getting used to. My body is getting spoiled with all the water that I'm drinking, hehe, and all my trips to the bathroom. Thankfully I'm mostly home-based or office-based but when I'm out of my usual haunts it really is somewhat difficult. My standards for toilet cleanliness has matured once I've started cleaning my own bathroom, and I cant stand wet, icky toilets!
Anyway, my new bag, that DH has chosen for me, has a nice compartment for umbrellas and a nice compartment for a water bottle :) I was wondering what that compartment was for until I tried putting my water bottle there. Perfect!
With regards to breathing and drinking and food, I've yet to become mindful of my everyday work, but, yep! I'm determined, all right! I'll get there! I'll do it!
I'm still eating and drinking in front of my work desk (as in., right NOW :) but I'll really try to remember. Just remembering to breathe properly removes the tension from my shoulders, and let me tell you, my shoulders really hurt from tension!
We're embarking on really exciting things this year, and Chi habits is one of them excitements. I'm happy to do this, and to remember doing this.
On negative emotions, I get really cranky when I have a toothache, and with this cool cool weather at night, my phantom teeth are acting up. My health is really catching up with me, but I'm determined, DETERMINED to improve it!
Go me!
I had mountain dew two nights ago because I figured I havent had it for, like, 20 years, and I'd like to ehem, reconnect :) turns out it was loaded with caffeine, more than coffee or even coke, and it left me awake all night, not a tiny bit of sleep!
I had a really busy morning, which left me all too sleepy after lunch, and I caught a really tiny 45-minute nap, from which my sweet DS9 woke me. Thankfully, that is, because I had to catch a 2 PM meeting, which turned out to be equally sleep-inducing, because I was on teleconferencing, and they were discussing minutae of foliage for the upcoming anniversary. Foliage! good grief! Thankfully I was awake in time for my report, a whole five minutes of it, and maybe five minutes thereafter, of the 2 hour meeting... Nonetheless it was a good show, but believe me when I say that I have no wish to discuss foliage after a day and a half of no sleep.
Which just shows that my age is showing. I used to be able to discuss almost anything after three days of no sleep!
Anyway... how goes my Chi Habits?
I've decided that I will call myself determined. That's my new middle name. Lazy doesnt cut it anymore. I'm determined and I'm doing this!
But it does take a lot of getting used to. My body is getting spoiled with all the water that I'm drinking, hehe, and all my trips to the bathroom. Thankfully I'm mostly home-based or office-based but when I'm out of my usual haunts it really is somewhat difficult. My standards for toilet cleanliness has matured once I've started cleaning my own bathroom, and I cant stand wet, icky toilets!
Anyway, my new bag, that DH has chosen for me, has a nice compartment for umbrellas and a nice compartment for a water bottle :) I was wondering what that compartment was for until I tried putting my water bottle there. Perfect!
With regards to breathing and drinking and food, I've yet to become mindful of my everyday work, but, yep! I'm determined, all right! I'll get there! I'll do it!
I'm still eating and drinking in front of my work desk (as in., right NOW :) but I'll really try to remember. Just remembering to breathe properly removes the tension from my shoulders, and let me tell you, my shoulders really hurt from tension!
We're embarking on really exciting things this year, and Chi habits is one of them excitements. I'm happy to do this, and to remember doing this.
On negative emotions, I get really cranky when I have a toothache, and with this cool cool weather at night, my phantom teeth are acting up. My health is really catching up with me, but I'm determined, DETERMINED to improve it!
Go me!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Comfort food
Late night snacks are actually comfort feeding in disguise. I'm hardly hungry, yet I eat!
Right now I'm eating a corned beef sandwich. Just because!
Right now I'm eating a corned beef sandwich. Just because!
A good place for greens
I wonder where I should get my veggies? I miss the times when we were almost vegetarian and we had veggies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner... I can still be almost-vegetarian by adding lots of veggies to our dishes, like my chicken with lots of veggies soup in Quiapo. the kids are looking for their meat and so do my parents, so in cooking for them we have to sacrifice our own wants a bit, or maybe just accommodate everyone with a few adjustments.
Maybe I should just monitor my veggie uptake so that I dont feel deprived.
Maybe I should just monitor my veggie uptake so that I dont feel deprived.
The Grateful Heart
Today was a busy day.
DS9 developed a bad case of asthma during the night, maybe because of the New Year's Day debris slowly settling toward the ground or maybe because of the dust accumulated around the house, or maybe because of the cold early morning air. Anyway, it left the parents sleepless. I was not expecting such a bad attack, I have all but hidden away his nebulizer because of two years of successful asthma management, and I have been remiss, because I have forgotten where I stashed his nebulizer, and upon finding it, I realized that his ampules were expired! good gads, what a stupid thing to do!
Anyway...
We had to sleep later on during the day, leaving us the morning in bed, and then we had to postpone our trip to Manila in the afternoon. Manila was a nice surprise, it was neither crowded nor dusty, and the cool air (even in the mid afternoon) coupled with a sunny cloud-free day made for good walking weather. We had a few setbacks but managed to tick off most of our to-do's. What we forgot was to bring a water bottle so after a while we got thirsty and we were running late so we didnt have time to take a break.
Anyway, dinner time found us in Quiapo near the mosque, so DH treated me to a chicken place. We both ordered warm bowls of chicken soup, at PhP 60 each. Ten minutes later and still no soup, we decided to try the house specialty of barbequed chicken with a cup of rice each. That order was given to us straight away, with two extra rice for the both of us, which we had to return (yes, no extra rice because we were still waiting for our soup). some three minutes later, our soup arrived, low and behold, each bowl had a ladle (!) and was around 1.2 L each! The soup was pleasantly warm, with vegetables and mushrooms, and we were pleasantly hungry and tired, so it made for a really satisfying feast!
Sometimes I miss the days when I used to cook :) Maybe I should go and make broth that we can just heat up or something so that every meal will have a soupy dish...
But anyway, I came home and did this and that, and logged my expenses in my online calendar and I thought, hey I should go and do my chi habits blog... which is when I realized I forgot my Chi Stance (hehe) and my water and my food, and whatever else, but at least i remembered to blog :) So now I'm doing my chi stance and drinking my water, and when I read through the journalling, I realised that I've been wrong in my approach. This journal is for making sense of my world and dealing with negative emotions so that they dont cripple my outlook on life...
I've developed some negative emotions today, mainly towards the kids (what is this mess?!?), towards my DH (when he complains about my bad habits) and towards DS9 (who is still peeing in his pants!!!) Really it is the little things that drain the chi. Most of the time I just brush off the criticism (that's how I do things, so why should he complain?), or get it out of my chest (as in taking it out on the kids), or end up with a good five minute rant (with DS9). I can actually approach these in other ways, more creative and possibly more effective. I just dont feel like it.
WHY i dont feel like it is a blog for another day :)
DS9 developed a bad case of asthma during the night, maybe because of the New Year's Day debris slowly settling toward the ground or maybe because of the dust accumulated around the house, or maybe because of the cold early morning air. Anyway, it left the parents sleepless. I was not expecting such a bad attack, I have all but hidden away his nebulizer because of two years of successful asthma management, and I have been remiss, because I have forgotten where I stashed his nebulizer, and upon finding it, I realized that his ampules were expired! good gads, what a stupid thing to do!
Anyway...
We had to sleep later on during the day, leaving us the morning in bed, and then we had to postpone our trip to Manila in the afternoon. Manila was a nice surprise, it was neither crowded nor dusty, and the cool air (even in the mid afternoon) coupled with a sunny cloud-free day made for good walking weather. We had a few setbacks but managed to tick off most of our to-do's. What we forgot was to bring a water bottle so after a while we got thirsty and we were running late so we didnt have time to take a break.
Anyway, dinner time found us in Quiapo near the mosque, so DH treated me to a chicken place. We both ordered warm bowls of chicken soup, at PhP 60 each. Ten minutes later and still no soup, we decided to try the house specialty of barbequed chicken with a cup of rice each. That order was given to us straight away, with two extra rice for the both of us, which we had to return (yes, no extra rice because we were still waiting for our soup). some three minutes later, our soup arrived, low and behold, each bowl had a ladle (!) and was around 1.2 L each! The soup was pleasantly warm, with vegetables and mushrooms, and we were pleasantly hungry and tired, so it made for a really satisfying feast!
Sometimes I miss the days when I used to cook :) Maybe I should go and make broth that we can just heat up or something so that every meal will have a soupy dish...
But anyway, I came home and did this and that, and logged my expenses in my online calendar and I thought, hey I should go and do my chi habits blog... which is when I realized I forgot my Chi Stance (hehe) and my water and my food, and whatever else, but at least i remembered to blog :) So now I'm doing my chi stance and drinking my water, and when I read through the journalling, I realised that I've been wrong in my approach. This journal is for making sense of my world and dealing with negative emotions so that they dont cripple my outlook on life...
I've developed some negative emotions today, mainly towards the kids (what is this mess?!?), towards my DH (when he complains about my bad habits) and towards DS9 (who is still peeing in his pants!!!) Really it is the little things that drain the chi. Most of the time I just brush off the criticism (that's how I do things, so why should he complain?), or get it out of my chest (as in taking it out on the kids), or end up with a good five minute rant (with DS9). I can actually approach these in other ways, more creative and possibly more effective. I just dont feel like it.
WHY i dont feel like it is a blog for another day :)
Sunday, January 2, 2011
One year later...
Happy 2011!
Ed wants to re-do the Chi Habits Project and I promised to help him with it. Go Ed!
Where to start?
We need this Pillar Content write up on Where and How to start.
The answer is Right Now with Me!
What do I want from this?
1. A peace-filled mind
2. Better health
3. Self-knowledge, translating to...
4. Work done satisfyingly, on time.
What boons do I have?
1. An open mind, a work-in-progress
2. A learning approach
3. Time
4. Hope! (I'd like to say Determination, but am too much of a coward...)
I'd like to look at this as a means to sharpen my tools so that I can achieve better and with more people :) I'd like to start this Learning Community with public school teachers and am hoping to extend myself in the next year... I'm putting together my stuff for this year and putting together the community site and so on, so that by this time next year we will have 50 or more active members of the community and I would have become a habitual writer/blogger/journaller by then.
A good advise comes from Seinfeld of, well, Seinfeld: Get a calendar that spans a wall, and put your daily goal in it. Then for each day that you have done your goal, cross that off with a marker. Eventually, you will see a chain forming. The idea is NOT to break the Chain.
I remember that the first step is to develop the right posture and the correct breathing.
From the book: The 8 Chi Habits work at
1. Gathering Chi
2. Plugging leaks
3. Removing blockages
4. Moving Chi
5. Balancing and Harmonizing
I am now practicing my Chi Stance and taking note of my breathing. I've adopted an indian sitting position I wouldn't have used if it were one year ago, before I had my Hilot sessions because my hips would have complained back then. Hilot is really good for the body, but I'd love to be able to do something for myself, regularly. Something that is also good for the mind, clearing, and satisfying.
My diaphragm is tight, and my breathing is not relaxed. My back is tight, and something aches at waist level at the back... I hope to see some improvement on this the more that I do it.
I'm finally getting my teeth fixed (yay!) and also my kids', with this nice dentist who is really accommodating and doesn't charge too much, just right. Go Dr. Albano!
Flylady says "Let's Do Seven in 2011!" This could be my Chain-making Goal!
What will my Magnificent Seven be?
To breathe
To drink
To hug
To dream
To plan
To do
and finally...
To Thank!
Ed wants to re-do the Chi Habits Project and I promised to help him with it. Go Ed!
Where to start?
We need this Pillar Content write up on Where and How to start.
The answer is Right Now with Me!
What do I want from this?
1. A peace-filled mind
2. Better health
3. Self-knowledge, translating to...
4. Work done satisfyingly, on time.
What boons do I have?
1. An open mind, a work-in-progress
2. A learning approach
3. Time
4. Hope! (I'd like to say Determination, but am too much of a coward...)
I'd like to look at this as a means to sharpen my tools so that I can achieve better and with more people :) I'd like to start this Learning Community with public school teachers and am hoping to extend myself in the next year... I'm putting together my stuff for this year and putting together the community site and so on, so that by this time next year we will have 50 or more active members of the community and I would have become a habitual writer/blogger/journaller by then.
A good advise comes from Seinfeld of, well, Seinfeld: Get a calendar that spans a wall, and put your daily goal in it. Then for each day that you have done your goal, cross that off with a marker. Eventually, you will see a chain forming. The idea is NOT to break the Chain.
I remember that the first step is to develop the right posture and the correct breathing.
From the book: The 8 Chi Habits work at
1. Gathering Chi
2. Plugging leaks
3. Removing blockages
4. Moving Chi
5. Balancing and Harmonizing
I am now practicing my Chi Stance and taking note of my breathing. I've adopted an indian sitting position I wouldn't have used if it were one year ago, before I had my Hilot sessions because my hips would have complained back then. Hilot is really good for the body, but I'd love to be able to do something for myself, regularly. Something that is also good for the mind, clearing, and satisfying.
My diaphragm is tight, and my breathing is not relaxed. My back is tight, and something aches at waist level at the back... I hope to see some improvement on this the more that I do it.
I'm finally getting my teeth fixed (yay!) and also my kids', with this nice dentist who is really accommodating and doesn't charge too much, just right. Go Dr. Albano!
Flylady says "Let's Do Seven in 2011!" This could be my Chain-making Goal!
What will my Magnificent Seven be?
To breathe
To drink
To hug
To dream
To plan
To do
and finally...
To Thank!
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