2011's Mountain

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves” – Edmund Hillary

“To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.” Kofi Annan

2011 will be an interesting year. In many ways, it will still be a foundational year – paying off debts to lay the ground work for future plans, working hard at new jobs, and other such practical goals.

In other ways, I will have freedom I haven’t had in several years – more vacation time, more disposable income, more time to myself.

What does one do, while both laying foundations, and exercising new freedom? It feels like a mental yoga pose – like Tadasana – standing firm on both feet, while stretching the top of the head toward the sky. So, in honor of this Mountain Pose kind of year, I’m going to draft my 2011 goals as if they are the pose itself....

The foundation. The base of the Mountain. Standing firmly on both feet, feeling the four corners of the feet, using the toes to balance, but able to wiggle them, spread them and lay them back down one by one.

• Pay off credit card debt
• Live within my means
• Replace windows and doors on the house

The limbs of the mountain. On an inhale, fire up the quadriceps and feel the pelvis glide forward a little bit, sliding into place. Legs feel relaxed, but active.

• Exercise 300 minutes per week
• 4 duathlons with Tri the Parks (and maybe 1 triathlon?)
• Work on running speed – decrease my 5K time to under 30 minutes, decrease my duathlon time to under 2 hours.
• Biking a century
• Log my food 100% of the time, and strive to get 30% of my calories from protein

The mountain ridges. Remember intrinsic equilibrium with a nice slow breath cycle. The spine does not need muscular interference to keep us upright. Breathe my ribcage down and back, breathe my core to support effortlessly.

• Go on a real vacation with Brett
• Hike a bit of the Appalachian trail with Jessica in July (a real mountain or two for the Mountain year)
• Girls weekend getaway with Kara
• See my family
• Throw a party

The penultimate peak. Roll the shoulders up and back, allowing the shoulderblades to flatten against the back like wings, and the hands to curve forward, palms flat.

• Make something beautiful and useful with my new sewing machine
• Finish a draft of one of my stories, and the How to Think Sideways course
• Meet minimums on Suite 101 – that’s 180 articles up by this time next year
• Regular blog posts on both blogs (goal is 24 minimum posts on each)

The Mountaintop. Inhale and lengthen the back of the neck, tilting the chin forward to straighten the spine. Imagine an invisible cord from the crown of the head pulling the spine even longer.

• Finish reading the 40 or so books I’ve got on my shelves
• Regular yoga classes, regular massages
• Regular morning pages. Really stick with it!
• Habitual self-care, be that wardrobe updates, alone time or a good haircut

Oh, and don't forget to breathe.....