How you feel physically, emotionally and spiritually from day to day are of absolute importance. This will determine how you function in every part of your life; work, parenting, friendships, family, your own feeling of self worth, etc... Problems in any of these areas can have a dominoe effect on your life causing even bigger problems. Missing days at work can cost you a promotion, raise or worse the job. Not functioning well as a parent can cost you a very precious relationship with your children because they do not understand. Feelings of depression or low self worth can keep you from striving for and accomplishing the things that you would like to acheive in your life, professionally and personally. The list goes on .

In our first segment of this series, we'll talk about how you feel physically. Each month on the 15th I will update this section to the next segment. Feel free to print off each month of this series if you like.

Obviously, some physical problems are beyond our control, having not done anything ourselves to bring it on. We want to talk about what we can do to lessen the likelyhood of problems starting in the first place and, depending on the problem, see if we can ease what we are already experiencing.

First of all we cannot stereotype because one person can respond to a physical problem very different than the next. You have to get to know your own body. What helps you and what does not. Personally, if spinning in circles and quacking like a duck helps your lower back ache or migraines, I think you should do it! Whatever you do be sure it is safe and if you are not sure talk with your doctor or a professional.

Learning to listen to my body is something I did not learn until after I was 30. I have always had difficulty sleeping. I do not like to take any type of medication, even over the counter, if I do not have to. So I begin to keep track of what I am doing and eating, etc... I now know that If I drink juice before bed I do not sleep as well. I drink a glass every morning and that natural sugar in the fruit juice (not from concentrate, real juice) gives me a boost of energy and I feel more balanced. I take an allergy medication every evening, and I found it works best to take it simply with water. I sleep better when I do.

Another thing I have found I must do to get a better nights sleep is to excercise. Now I go to bed at 9:00pm and after experimenting with the times, I found that excercising from 7pm to 8pm works best for me. I excercise vigorously every other day and on the off day I have found I feel better if I still take that hour and just relax. I go to my bedroom, shut the door, turn off the lights and light candles, I turn on the kind of music I like (something relaxing) and just do stretching excercises in a very slow method. I do not think about anything, just humm with the music and I do everything very slowly.

I eat a bowl of cereal about quarter of nine, clean my face and teeth and at 9pm I am in bed. Now I read for about 30 minutes and then lights out!

Following the same routine every evening helps me to sleep better too. Of course sometimes the routine must be changed for school plays, etc...but my body doesn't mind so long as more times than not I follow the routine.

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