Act I Scene I: Connect with Body & Image

It's day one of reconnect! Even though the first month is mostly getting into good habits, I am still incredibly excited! I have a great feeling about 2012 and the thick blanket of snow this morning was pretty symbolic. A perfect white canvas for the first day of my project!

General health goals to be completed during month one:

• Find a naturopathic physician and schedule a check-up
• Find a dentist and get my teeth cleaned
• Find a lady doctor and take care of annual exams
• Get on a (relatively) normal sleeping pattern
• Wake up earlier
• Only sleep in bed (no reading, no lounging, no writing in journals)
• Eat at the table with no distractions (no reading, no drawing, no internet)
• Get a haircut
• Go through my closet, get rid of clothes I never wear and find what items I need/want
• Join a gym or yoga center
• Contact Troy & schedule another Phoenix Rising Yoga session
• Complete 40 days to Personal Revolution (a yoga program by Baron Baptiste) 
• Continue running and training for marathon
• No alcohol/caffeine/tobacco/medication/drugs (prescription or otherwise)
• Go to bed earlier

Weekly goals to be completed during month one:

• Try one new hairstyle/week
• Wear lipstick once/week
• Buy one new item of clothing/week

Daily goals to be completed during month one:

• Take my temperature
• Start the day with meditation
• Start the morning with juice
• Take my vitamins
• Complete a nutrition log
• Use herbs/teas daily
• Drink enough water (my body weight divided by two in ounces, plus an extra glass for every half hour of physical activity)
• Eat breakfast
• Eat meals at regular times
• 30 minutes of activity
• 30 minutes outside
• Running
• Stretching
• Floss
• Skin care
• End the day with meditation

Me, Myself & I

Act One is all about me.

The idea is that if I want to reconnect with the outside world, I need to first connect with myself.

I will start with the most basic, but one of the most vital elements: my body. Especially after a recent serious back injury (which I am still recovering from) I am very aware of the role of physical health in the larger scheme of general well-being. I plan on working on building good habits and taking care of body/health related tasks. A healthy body means a clear mind. Which leads to...

The second month will focus on cultivating my mind and intellect. I will work on emotions and reactions and how to better control my relationship with stress. I will delve into cultural awareness, meditation and reflection, literature and poetry, as well as any other general learned topic I see fit.

During the third month I will discuss things related to the soul and spirit. I will search for what others define as sacred and try to define some ritual in my own life. It is always good to have something to believe in.

The last month of this act will deal with all that is serious in life. The least fun month of the entire project, I will tackle organization, work, chores, money, fears and my future. I already have an overwhelming sense of dread just thinking about this theme, but some small part of me is convinced that this is part of the grunt work necessary for enlightenment further down the road.

As they say, in order to truly help others you must first help yourself. Act one is about just that. I long to strengthen my connections to the outside world, but I first must become truly acquainted with myself.