Flow 5/8/2011 Issue 9

Flow is based on Sustainable Seattle's Happiness Initiative and is inspired by Vinyasa, which means one leading to another. Flow gives small, but important steps that can improve one's contentment amongst all nine domains of happiness. Flow is a weekly jolt of inspiration, pragmatism and a collection of local events that will raise our happiness. This month of May we are taking a look at some simple actions we can take to get our mental health on a better path.  First before we get started, this month is not meant to replace professional psychological advice nor should it be used as a substitute for seeking assistance for serious problems such as depression.  Psychological Well Being Issue 9 This week we are going to look at two techniques to help our mental health.  They could not be further apart if I tried, but they both get to the same place, calmness amongst our chosen stress filled lives. One of the best ways to bring peace to one’s own mind is to help another better their own situation.  I’m talking about volunteering and how giving of yourself and bringing happiness or sustenance to another gives you the same sense of contentment. Some of the best ways to find a volunteer opportunity is to make a list of your skills, interests and passions.  There is a great need for skilled volunteers in numerous non profits that includes: bookkeeping, administration, phone banking, grant writing as well as the best type of volunteers—the do what needs to be done folks. Secondly, we still spend most of our waking time at the workplace so let’s look at a few more things we can do on the job to be productive and still be happy. One of the most underestimated way to unplug at work is to use your lunch breaks and other breaks to get away from your desk or place of work.  Making a healthy lunch the night before and then eating it away from your work area will really give you some separation and a chance to think of other things besides work for the duration of the lunch. Another quick tip is to make sure to talk to your co-workers when good things are happening at the workplace.  It gets very easy to just turn to coworkers in a crisis or when you need something.  By spending time talking about successes and triumphs you can spread some happiness and build up those relationships. Nathan Jackson Recommendations This week’s website recommendation is: Humanosphere.kplu.org This week’s book recommendation is: PLAN B 4.0 by Lester R. Brown Sign up for the weekly newsletter. Support Flow		Flow Suggests: 5/8-5/14 2011 KBCS: Michael Eric Dyson Psychological Well Being, Community, Cultural Vitality www.townhallseattle.org Tuesday, May 10, 2011 7-8:30pm Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources Environmental Thursday, May 12, 2011 9am-5pm www.sustainableseattle.org Be the Spark with Desmond Tutu Cultural, Material, Community Friday, May 13, 2011 | 7:30 – 9:30pm www.compassionateactionnetwork.com

Exercise Fun

Ever since I can remember I ran around.  I've always been an active person who made every movement an exercise in movementism, er movementee?  Anyway, I did every sport I could all the way through school and the only one that I could never do officially was Football due to a mother's intuition/"oh my god my kid is gonna die."

The other day I talked about my conversion to Yoga and how it has really helped me work on my main weakness in regards to physicality, my flexibility.  I've always been pretty flexible since I'm a dancer and a track runner.  I used to do the hurdles, long jump, almost every sprinting event and once in a while an 800 and one time in High School I had to run the mile.  It was a "run" in technical terms only.

The idea of muscle confusion or cross training has always been something I've done even as a kid without knowing those technical terms.  I always changed up my workouts and my playtime with running, dancing, weights, throwing, chasing, ya know the basics.  As an adult in college I had four or five full hour routines that I would run through.  I worked out every day right after work and I would go through my routines of half cardio, half lifting randomly depending on what machines were available and what music was playing.

I've started doing three classes per week with two Yoga classes and one Step class.  The Step class is interesting because there is a group of regulars, who shall be henceforth referred to as "the cool kids," and they know the instructor's routine by heart.  The routine is vigorous and quite enjoyable and the cool kids have a call out and call back with the instructor.  I feel like I'm back in my church days with the pastor yelling out this and that while the crowd nodded their heads, fanned their sweating faces and blurted out "Amen," "yeah boys," "What chu talkin bout Willis's," and the ever popular "Arrrgh!."  The cool kids were shouting encouragement to the others in the room, joking with the instructor and using each other's steps in an elaborate dance of stepmania.

I loved it.  This is my third time in this class and now I understand the instructor's calls and his method, his madness and his enthusiasm.  If you have never taken Step, each instructor is different and uses different terms for similar moves.  What one instructor would call "around the world" another might call "Wadda wadda bing bang."  So it takes a bit to get used to each instructor you encounter.  The teacher at this 24 Hour Fitness likes to mess with people.  He gets close to you and makes faces if you are not smiling.  He jumps up and down flapping his arms and makes sounds somewhere between the squawk of a crow and the lowing of an oxen.  It's quite impressive actually since he is doing this while stepping to "Single Ladies" without any sense of irony.