Fluffy Bacon

This has been a whirlwind couple of weeks (months, years) and though I am focusing on trying to maintain a better balance between work and life every now and then I get a little caught up in all the "should-do's" in life. This past week was no different. I was traveling to California with two clients to search for new equine partners for them and suffice it to say we had an ambitious schedule. The three of us were on a jam-packed schedule of multiple cities, barns and horses to fall in love with. Since I was to be gone 3-4 days, I made the mistake of leaving my yoga mat at home. This proved to be a simple yet important detail. You may have ascertained that I am an all-or-nothing personality, as are most horse professionals. What invariably happened was that by leaving my mat at home, I made an excuse not to practice while I was traveling. We were too busy, I was too tired, we didn't sleep enough, we were driving again, etc etc etc. This developed into other small movements away from good life choices. Since I was traveling and tired, my diet changed a bit. Mmmmmmmmm fluffy bacon! Don't ask. My client and friend even commented, "I was surprised you ordered the sandwich, I thought you were wanting a salad." {insert kale joke}

So now I'm not doing yoga, not meditating, and eating food I know will annoy my body. In addition, I am not writing, not meditating, and am somehow surprised that I end up feeling less than stellar on this trip. Shocking, isn't it? Thankfully my clients seemed to be understanding that I was a little tense in moments and we all survived the fluffy bacon and cotton candy incidents. (JK! Or am I??) We even had hugely successful horse shopping experiences thanks to some amazing folks in California. On the red eyed FREEZING COLD flight back from LAX to Austin, I shivered and pondered how ironic it was that I had let myself slide into feeling crappy the weekend before my first OM Riding clinic. Sometimes we all need reminders. Gratefully, I returned to my home barn at Storm Ranch supported by my wonderful groom, clients, and horses. Even Falkor told me how much he missed my by promptly fulling his front shoe off (again). Back home, I appreciate the reminder of how important it is to try to practice self care especially when we have all the excuses not to do so. None of us are perfect. What fun would that be? However, we can bring mindfulness into our day slowly but surely. Try to take time to listen to what your body and soul are telling you. If you think you don't have time, that might just be when you need to be mindful the most.