Jen A. Miller Consulting

Tag: meditation

Retreats: The Journey, Not the Destination

Lara Torii shares a lesson in forgiveness + tips for making the most of your time away

To say I’m familiar with retreats is an understatement. I’m a bit of a self-care junkie. If I could go on a retreat every month I probably would. I was fortunate enough to go on two in the last three months. After three years of volunteering—two of which were international—my program sent me on a ten-day re-entry retreat.

Before I started each year of volunteering, I attended an orientation retreat to prepare myself for community, social justice, simplicity, and spirituality. This was my first time attending a re-entry retreat, specifically for people who have gone abroad and have to deal with reverse culture shock. The activities were geared towards helping us heal the hurts of the past, celebrate the joys, and move forward with purpose.

If I have learned anything during my time as a volunteer, it is that life is best lived open-heartedly. I always try to let go of any preconceived notions I have of any situation and any person I meet. So I made my way to San Antonio ready to receive whatever the ten days had in store.

What Is a Retreat?

For me, retreats have always been an opportunity to step back, evaluate life, and take a breather. I’ve been on retreats where we are given tons of space to talk to each other. I’ve also been on silent retreats where we are asked to unplug from all forms of chatter. Regardless, retreats offer activities to help you balance the emotional, physical, mental, and social aspects of yourself.

One of my favorite retreat activities is hiking by myself or with a group. I always feel reset by getting my blood flowing, breathing fresh air, and letting go of those routine thought processes. That is one of the most beneficial things about retreats: they are active breaks from the daily routine, a break—unlike a vacation—that allows you to make space for new energy, new creativity, new insight. If it’s not possible to commit to a full guided retreat (typically two to seven nights), we may try to find ways to step back from our daily lives in smaller ways. However, in this time of constant social media and technological connection, we can all benefit from time away. Here is what I learned from stepping away from the everyday and a list of things to keep in mind once you commit to a retreat.

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May 30, 2014
An Apple a Day

The Single Diaries’ guide to annual health care

PHOTO: someecards.com.

My April horoscope warned me that I would have to pay special attention to my health and schedule any appointments that I may have neglected. When I read it, the dentist was the first thing that came to mine but I would find out soon enough that I had developed a condition that would change my current life path. I went through a mental checklist of the standard medical appointments I should cover. After chatting with a friend I realized I was actually more on top of my health and more informed about my care than other people my age. With the help of new medical graduate Veronica Esmero, I have put together a quick guide for annual health care: who you need to see, what you need to keep top of mind, and where to go for extra resources… if you don’t have a direct line to a nurse. [Happy Nurses Week!]

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May 8, 2014
On Burning Out

Catherine shares the story of her wake-up call and tips on avoiding burn-out

PHOTO: JJ Jumoc-Casas.

A friend and I were talking about people’s different thresholds of “busy.” She has a full-time office job and teaches fitness classes 3 to 4 days a week. A colleague of mine has a full-time job, teaches an extracurricular class once a week, oh, and has a husband and four kids to care for. I attest my own desire to fill my days to my early training in elementary school. My mom had my sisters and me in after-school activities galore—from ballet to swimming, speed reading (an excuse for me to spend more time at the library) to student council. Once I left school for the real world, I felt the need to continue being “involved”… I became my high school alumni association’s class representative, joined my sorority’s alumni chapter and took on a leadership role, then found other ways to use my marketing knowledge by joining my sister’s company’s team part time and decided to get back into writing by launching The Single Diaries with Jen.

The only sure thing is that we have 24 hours in a day and, when you have an inflexible office job, you have to wake up at a certain time every morning. For someone like me who can stay up all night, it is a challenge to stay committed to a bedtime when I can find other things I want to do but didn’t have time to earlier in the day (write or edit a post, read a book, watch Melrose Place). There were evenings when after work I thought I could do it all: run off to an early barre class, stop by a book club meeting, then finish editing a post scheduled to go up the next day. Other days I had to make sacrifices. Instead of organizing a boozy brunch (one of my favorite pastimes), I committed to a Saturday work session at a local cafe.

Jen recently wrote about taking up a side hustle, which is great in the years after college when making money needs to be your priority to pay for student loans and to get your feet off the ground. In those years, most of us need to work a traditional full-time job to learn the value of a paycheck and to garner experience to build our resume. A side hustle is a way for you to find your passion and develop the skills you need to make your dreams a reality. But what happens when your full-time job and your side hustle leave you with little to no free time?

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April 25, 2014
Spring Awakening | Morning Yoga

Yoga Teacher Megan D’Amico presents six yoga poses to awaken your body, begin your day, and welcome spring

Change your morning routine, and you will change your life. Just because you’re not like your “gym-rat” co-worker who is on mile five while you’re pressing snooze for the third time doesn’t mean you should give up an active morning routine altogether. Even adding something as simple as three minutes of conscious breathing can make a world of difference.

When we sleep, our muscles are in rest and recovery mode. They go cold because they are not being used, which explains why most of us wake up stiff and sore. Getting up like this and continuing on your day would be like microwaving a frozen Hot Pocket for 30 seconds… all kinds of wrong.

Instead, we should be actively waking up our bodies by doing postures that stretch and activate the muscles, circulate our blood and pump oxygen to our brains. By accelerating the natural wake-up process, you kick those morning blues to the curb and allow yourself to function at full capacity at the very start of your day.

When you first awaken, resist the urge to hit the snooze button. This simple decision sets the tone for the rest of your day. Take 3 huge inhales through the nose, exhaling through the mouth. Reach your hands above your head and stretch as far as you can, pulling your lower body and upper body away from each other, and begin your morning routine.

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April 7, 2014
Single Girl Reflection: What Defines Me

A guided reflection to begin answering the question “What defines me?”

PHOTO: S-tatement N-ecklaceS.

Writer. Marketing manager. Jen’s friend. I am proud to be associated with organizations and the central people in my life. When asked who we are, we tend to identify ourselves based on our relations. But what happens when you strip all of that away? What makes you uniquely you?

We’re nearing the end of January. 2014 is a time to rebuild, a time to strip away the excess and the toxic energy that holds us back and a time to refine our foundation based on who we are and what we believe in. Last year, many people started to question the existing systems that were governing their lives. People quit their jobs. People felt unfulfilled in their day to day. We set our resolutions for the year, but what can we do now to evolve into who we should be for the rest of our lives? I personally struggle with the question “What defines me?” so I’ve put together a list of questions inspired by various sources to break down this equivocal idea and make it more concrete for all of us.

I’ve found that it’s quite easy to embody the person you want to be. The challenge is to know who that person is. This exercise may be reminiscent of your college English Writing class, but the easiest way to delve in to these questions is to use stream of consciousness. Don’t get caught up in thinking too much about your answers. Just start.
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January 27, 2014