Week of Wellness

So I have decided to take a week off work next month for no particular reason other than that I need some time off. March and April are shaping up to be extremely busy at work, so I decided that the last week of February will be my time for a little space and rejuvenation.

I have dubbed it 'Theresa's Week of Wellness" because I'm going to do all sorts of nice and healthy things during this time off. Sort of like a retreat, but I am going to do it at home. And this blog post is part of how I'm setting my intention of what I'm going to do. (Thanks to EcoYogini who introduced me to this intention-setting concept!) So here are some of the basic things I will be including in my W.o.W:

• Meditate each day for 20 minutes (this can be in two, 10 minute sessions)
• At least twice during the 7 days, meditate for one sitting of at least 30 minutes.
• Do 10 minutes of Tai Chi warm up exercises every day. This would be best to do right before meditating.
• Practice doing a set of Tai Chi at home from start to finish at least twice.
• Attend my two regularly scheduled Tai Chi classes
  
• Drink 6-8 glasses of water each day.
• Catch up on my sleep - this works better by going to bed earlier rather than sleeping in later, so I plan on being in bed by 10:30 p.m.
• Notwithstanding the above, sleep in if I want to (although if I go to bed on time, even getting up at 8:30 a.m. will be sleeping in).
• Stay at home for 4 of the 7 days - i.e., on these days I don't have to wear anything other than pajamas, and I don't have to put on any makeup or do my hair. If the doorbell rings (which is unlikely but possible,) I just won't answer it!
• Have at least one warm bath during the week with candles on and nice music playing.
• Read to my heart's content. I plan on putting my library card to full use, and I have also given in and ordered Noah Levine's "Against the Stream" book, which should have arrived by the time my W.o.W. starts.
• Listen to some Noah Levine, Gil Fronsdal and/or similar podcasts.
• Get a massage (this is already booked - hooray!)

In addition to these healthy and relaxing things, I also plan on doing some catching up on stuff that I have fallen behind or which I never seem to get a handle on, and which then stress me out in the background of my mind. Some of these things include:

• Making a new, Mac-based budgeting spreadsheet that is simpler and less time consuming for data-entry.
  
• Doing some cooking of soups, chili, etc., that I can freeze for later use. I have quite a lot of stored beans (dried and canned) and I want to use/eat some of them to keep my 'stores' in proper rotation.
  
• Bake some bread again - I haven't been doing that lately and I miss it.
  
• Submit some insurance claim stuff I've been putting off.
• Place my vegetable seed order.
  

I may end up making up some kind of daily schedule for myself to ensure: (1) that I do what I intend, but still (2) leave enough time for tea throughout the day and week so that I don't have to rush through things. That would sort of defeat the purpose after all.

Anyone else out there planning on a week (or day) of wellness?

Photo courtesy wildmind.org