Hi Everyone!
I hope each of you had a great holiday break and are recharged
and ready to take on the New Year! Over the winter break I had time
to think about a lot of things.
Beginning with this blog for at least this trimester and perhaps
into the next, along with my usual ramblings concerning campus
life, classes and the experience at NUHS, I will be talking more
about my personal journey of returning myself to a "basis for
health." Returning a patient to a basis of health is the key
concept of naturopathic medicine. Time for the med student to tread
the path of self-healing in mind, body and spirit.
I thought about the past 3.5 years and the balancing act of
classes, study, research, exercise, proper diet, down time, and my
overall health. During this time I have physically deconditioned to
the image you see here. I absolutely did not see myself in this
condition! Well, it's time to reverse this 35-pound (that's right,
35 pounds in 3.5 years) trend and start living what I'm learning! I
thought about the joy I gained from taking time each day to nourish
my physical body. Through taking time to keep my physical-self
strengthened and nourished with proper diet, exercise, movement and
breath, I was able to make time to "center," meditate, or pray...I
have always called it "sitting and thinking."
With all of this in mind, I considered the schedule this spring
at school with 17 credit hours of classes on top of being an intern
in clinic three days each week. I decided to take the step of
delaying entering clinic for another trimester to become more
centered and physically healthy. To do this I would need time to
recondition my body with physical conditioning, time to prepare
proper meals and time to center. I personally cannot ask
another human "be-ing" to work with me on returning to a basis for
health when I have not taken that path in the proper manner. My
journey begins with this "personal time for mind and body to enrich
my spirit."
So, once I made the decision to center and recondition, I needed
to set some goals. Once the goals were set, the next step was to
put together an action plan. Good thing I have my old project
manager skills to fall back upon in this case! My goals and plan
are listed below. I may need to add goals or modify some of the
plans as I near the goals and I will let you know as the plan
evolves.
Physical Goals:
- Reach a healthier Body Mass Index (25 - top limit of
normal)
- Run the 8 mile Spartan Race in Illinois in July 2013 (I ran the
3 miler in October 2011)
Plan:
- Subsist on a whole foods diet (By making all foods I consume or
purchasing food items consisting of five ingredients or less,
chemical free and organic when possible)
- Exercise at least 5 days per week with a muscle confusion and
cardio mix
- Drink water to tolerance each day or a minimum of 120
ounces
- Ensure seven hours of good quality sleep each night
- Attempt to attain all vitamins and minerals via my diet, only
taking supplements or minerals as needed (let my food be my
medicine when possible)
Mental and Spiritual Goal:
Become more centered and grounded to become the best medical
student (and ultimately naturopathic doctor) that I can
achieve.
Plan:
- Laugh!
- Maintain a mindset of abundance rather than restriction during
the transitional time
- Ensure seven hours of quality sleep per night
- Ensure one hour of "sitting and thinking" time each day
- Ensure all classwork, assignments and studying is completed
well ahead of due dates or exams
- Ensure personal time with family, friends and loved ones is
available
- Allow some time each week for personal fun time!
- Allow room for mistakes while committing to learning from
them
- Love in the best way that I can and be thankful for every
person in my life who adds value (regardless of how that value is
added)
Each of us has our own way of reaching our goals and learning
along the way. I have pushed to complete medical school as quickly
as possible, all the while knowing that I could have taken a
lighter class load to give more time for personal maintenance and
growth. I chose to take the fast path, which in retrospect, was a
metaphor for the life I led prior to entering med school and which
I voluntarily walked away from in order to be more healthy. Only I
found over three years later, that I was falling back into the trap
of "push, push, push" rather than "achieve and enjoy the journey a
bit." I will miss graduating with my current cohort as we have been
through many classes together, yet so many of us are mixed
throughout our journey right now, I'm still rich with friends who
will be Interns in clinic at the same time. One of the most
beautiful things about NUHS is its people. You will hear me say
that again. :)
My path is not the path for everyone. Some folks are eager to
start and finish the journey here at NUHS in 10 trimesters (I call
it the insanity track, hehe) while others are forced to slow due to
having to repeat a course (my journey early on), only to speed back
up for the clinical courses. I have chosen to voluntarily slow down
to have a richer clinic experience by finishing most of my classes
prior to entering clinic. This will allow me to heal myself, and
then when I am ready, have the best academic foundation and self to
help others with their healing process or point them in the proper
direction to be the healthiest person they can be. If you choose
NUHS, your path will be as unique as you are. You can determine
your course load and timing for your journey as a medical student
on our campus and plan for your best maintenance plan for your
mind, body and spirit while becoming a healer.
Stay tuned for the journey!