Day 6: Sept. 27, 2013

Daily Yoga Meal Record:
9/27  4:00 p.m. On my own. Cafe Latté.  Indonesian Peanut Salad.

• Remained seated. Yes✓ No. 
• Refrained from conversation while chewing. Yes✓ No. 
• Refrained from external distractions. Yes✓ No. 
• Waited until food was chewed before taking next bite. Yes✓ No. 
• Refrained from putting more than two handfuls of food on my plate. Yes ✓ No 
• Waited 3-5 min. to see if I wanted any more food. Satiated? Yes ✓ No 
• Waited 2-6 hours before next meal. ✓

Comments:  Ate alone.  Lunch break.  Worked in Saint Paul today.  Did not bring my own lunch to work so stopped at Cafe Latté.  Chose a small salad - a plate with the circumference of my hand.  The salad was very colorful with fresh red peppers, jicima, snow pea pods, peanuts and rice.  Crunchy and refreshing.  I ate slowly savoring the flavors of the fresh vegetables and peanut sauce.  I also had a small focaccia roll with rosemary. After about twenty minutes of savoring, I decided I was satisfied.  I had eaten half of my small plate and the entire roll.  The rest of the salad I took home and ate as my dinner around 9:00 p.m. with a small serving of homemade chicken noodle soup (courtesy of Philippa).



Daily Meditation: 10:50 p.m.  to 11:18 p.m.
Tonight's meditation went better than last night's.  I was going to meditate this morning but then spontaneous breakfast plans took precedence.  I would like to say that I stayed "focused" tonight but I observed my mind's thought patterns circulate around work.  What it would be like if I transferred, how it might affect others... My mettā-meditation tonight also sprung from this place.  Clearly I need to spend some good time this weekend soul-searching this issue.  I was able to say thank you in my meditation to all the teachers I had today :)  I just wish my mind weren't so talkative/obsessed with the potential work change in my life.  It was like going through a to-do list.  I need to remember to observe my thoughts and not become invested or investigate them -- mark them as "to-return-to-later."



Daily Practice:
n/a
Today was my one "day off" this week.  Apparently I'm allowed to let my body recover.  Upon reflection, today is the first day where I have woken up not completely sore.  My abs do ache when I sit up from lying down, or raise to stand from a seated position.  My arms aren't completely wobbly.  My feet ARE tired but I think with some good rest tonight I will be ready to go back at it tomorrow!  I think I will check out Ryan's Yin class at 11:15 a.m.



Daily Gratitude:  I am so happy that I got to spend the morning with Andrew.  We had breakfast together and talked about cars/finances and my excitement/concerns regarding potentially transferring locations for work.  Every day I am thankful for his listening ear and his feedback.  I know I can confide my concerns and feel heard.

I am glad I found a place to park along Summit today, I did not have to walk too far to or from my shift.  I am thankful for the welcoming atmosphere of Saint Paul -- the team there was easy to work with.  I was nervous at first navigating their computers!  I am grateful for the perspective this experience gave me -- to experience being new again.  It is odd orienting myself to a different location -- learn names, faces, domains, price points; verbiage for phones. If I do transfer I will miss my Roseville team and the guests I have formed relationships with.  However, I do believe if I transfer I will have great happiness and feelings of belonging in this new location.  It can be a fresh start with more opportunities to learn and not stagnate.  I am happy I was able to help several guests on the floor today :)

I am glad that I was able to spend some time with Philippa tonight.  We were able to share time together by watching the first two episodes of How I Met Your Mother S9.  Now we are sitting silently together in the living room.  It is nice to share a space with her.  I am happy to have the glow of candles and hear the quiet flow of traffic outside.  There are no loud noises of celebratory college students tonight -- they must be off somewhere else (at least at this hour).  I look forward to a good night's sleep and am happy that I get to relax with a book before I unwind for the night.