… As 2007 Descends Upon Us …
Jan 2nd, 2007 by Jennifer Lynn
Happy New Year, everyone.
I’m working on an article for tomorrow on small ways to help improve personal finances. I didn’t want to publish the article prematurely so I decided to reflect on ambitions for the coming year.
Here are some current goals that have been a work in progress for months now, so none of them should be too daunting.
- Broke-Ass Student will be relocating to a new home. Thanks to a generous donation from John Chow, I can afford my own web hosting. Bare with me during the coming weeks as I make the transition to a new domain. I’m still new to coding and web design, so I’m learning as I zip along.
- Some financial goals are to contribute to a 403(b) retirement plan with a new job I’ve started today. I’m also going to look into opening a Roth IRA, to start dabbling into the stock market. But foremost I’ll be aggressively slapping chunks out of my current debt, which consists mainly of car payments and pending student loans.
- Establishing a healthier overall diet. I’d like to transition toward a more wholesome balanced diet of organic fruits and veggies while trimming down on meat. I’d also like to up my physical exercise.
- More time for meditation. Currently I practice 45 minutes of yoga every day, usually 20 minutes during sunrise and continued asanas in the evening hours. I’m ultimately aiming towards two hours of yoga per day, with a half hour dedicated to quiet meditation. It’s an invigorating way to start and end the day, and mental and health benefits outweigh any sacrifice of time on my part. It naturally detoxifies my body and soothes nerves while setting my creativity into an exuberant frenzy. My body feels more refreshed and I actually need less sleep, therefore gaining extra hours for productivity. It’s been invaluable for staying awake longer and accomplishing the zillion things buzzing around in my head (or for quieting the chaos in general).
- Running regime. One of my favorite Christmas gifts is a pair of New Balance running shoes. I’ll be sure to put these to use with a dedicated running regime at the gym this week. For an enlightening and humbling read, check out Japan’s Tendai ‘marathon’ monks.
- Writing each day for at least half an hour.
If one of your goals this year is to include more physical exercise, I suggest starting out with an hour of light-to-brisk walking every day. It will do wonders for your mood and health. Try it for a week - you’ll love the results.
That’s it. I hope everyone had a lovely New Years celebration. Due to limited finances, I kept it simple. My boyfriend and I cosied up with some candles, wine, a veggie pizza and a huge snuggly blanket, and we watched the Godfather all night
… an awsome prerequisite to what a fabulous year it’s going to be.
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Congratulations on the new job, and just wanted to say that I am enjoying your articles and to keep up the excellent work.
On a side note do you have any books or videos that you would recommend for beginning yoga. It has always fascinated me, but I’ve never really got into it.
Did you manage to see the post on John’s site about MonsterHosting.ca? Wasn’t sure if you had a host in mind but they did have a special code to get 15% off their services.
If you need anyhelp with coding, I can lend you some help etc.
I too am looking at converting to a more healthier lifestyle. I’ll be visting my local running room to get assessed for some new running shoes and hitting the trails. My goal is to lose weight, feel great and be able to run around a lake trail that I normally hike (takes 4hrs to hike it).
Anyway Happy New Year and I will continue to follow your progress!
Congrats on your new job
and Happy New Year to you too. I know that selecting a hosting provider can be a daunting and confusing task, so take your time.
I too will be following your progress, so good luck with all your endeavors.
Congratulations! It is always a big event when you can finally host your own site. I can’t wait to see the great things that are yet to come.
Count me in on the new list of fans. Love the title of your blog by the way. Im curious what other titles you had in mind.
Thank you, everyone, for the encouraging comments.
Financial Imbalance, I was very blessed to have a wonderful instructor who studied extensively with yogis in India. She has now been teaching hatha yoga for over thirty years in the states.
My suggestion is to first look into a yoga studio in your area. (They run around $15 per class here). Invest in a few introductory classes to learn the basic asana postures and proper breathing techniques. After a month or two, you’ll have a better grasp and feel more confident with your technique. You can then establish your own routine at home or continue private lessons if you desire.
After a few introductory classes, go to a local library and snag a book or two with detailed instructions for further guidance. “Yoga, the Path to Holistic Health” by B.K.S. Iyengar is heavily illustrated and very easy to follow.
http://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Holistic-Health-B-K-S-Iyengar/dp/0789471655/sr=8-2/qid=1167903041/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-3294561-4252047?ie=UTF8&s=books
There are also many excellent yoga resources on the internet. If you have further questions, feel free to email me.
Tyler, thanks for the monster hosting suggestion. I will be sure to check into it.
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Congratulations on the new job, and thanks for the insights into yoga. I do about 30 minutes of physical exercise a day (skipping & weights), but yoga and meditation is something I’m looking into trying. Anything that helps to quiet all the ideas swimming in my head has got to be good!