The first month of My Year of Me Journey has flown by, and we have turned the page to February. The first month was successful and taught me several things about myself. In this blog post, I will share with you an update on January and my goals and self-care areas of focus for February.

Here is a quick reminder of the 8 areas of self-care that I am focusing on this year.

The two areas of self-care that I focused on in January were my physical and spiritual well-being. I am excited to say that I had many wins in these areas, but I faced a challenge or two.

In January, incorporating a variety of activities, such as the gym, chair yoga, arm exercises, and cycling, made a noticeable difference in my physical health. Each of these activities contributed uniquely to building strength, improving flexibility, and boosting cardiovascular fitness.

I started at the gym in mid-December, and I was surprised by how much I liked going to the gym and how it helped keep me motivated.  I took advantage of the e-Gym and walking laps in the pool. I need knee replacement surgery on both of my knees, and these are both activities that I can do without increasing the damage to my knees. It was a big win to walk 45-60 minutes in the pool and feel no strain on my knees. I quickly learned that in the winter in Colorado, I must have a backup plan for working out when the weather is too bad to leave the house. This is where the recumbent bike that I have in our basement comes into play. Our basement is one of the nicest rooms in our home, so riding the bike gives me an excuse to use this room and work on my health. Besides the gym and the bike, I have focused on chair yoga and arm exercises.

The first few weeks that I did chair yoga, I looked like the Tinman from Wizard OZ before Dorothy and the Lion oiled his joints. I wish I was exaggerating, but I am not. I did not realize how stiff and inflexible I had become, but I pushed through, and now I do 80% of the moves with relative accuracy. Sadly, I also had the most challenging time inhaling and exhaling when I was supposed to. So, in the beginning, I was the tin man who was inhaling when I should have been exhaling. This is why there are no videos of me doing chair yoga.  I worked through all my initial hurdles and have fallen in love with chair yoga because it provides a gentle way to improve flexibility and mobility. Lastly, it helps me by relieving stress and relaxing the muscles in my neck and shoulders. I highly recommend chair yoga for someone who needs a less intense place to start working out.

In the middle of January, I kept my granddaughter for a couple of days, and I quickly realized that I needed to add specific arm exercises to my weekly routine, especially on days that I do not use the e-Gym. Nothing motivates a grandmother more than being able to hold her grandchild for extended periods. I found several YouTube videos that use small dumbbells and added those routines to my weekly rotation. If you want to start exercising or change your exercise routine, YouTube has many great resources.

In addition to the physical activities that I engaged in during January, I also had my yearly physical and mammogram. Ladies and gentlemen, no matter your age, regular physical exams and screenings are essential, as dictated by your age, medical history, and family history. Take care of yourself!

Now, let’s dive into the other area that I focused on in January, spiritual well-being. I must be frank with you because I struggled with this area.  Years ago, my husband studied and practiced meditation, and I saw the benefits he received from meditation. So, I selected to work on meditation as part of my spiritual well-being. There are many different types and definitions of mediation. Depending on your goal, you can choose what fits your needs. I decided to focus on mindful meditation to improve sleep, provide relaxation, and focus on the present.

I attempted to practice mindful meditation sitting in a chair or lying in bed.  As soon as I close my eyes to meditate, the hamster in my brain jumps on her wheel and starts running 90 MPH. After many attempts like this, I decided to use the Peaceful Mediation soundtrack available on Amazon Music. I am glad to report that the hamster is no longer running on her wheel but is now slow dancing. I count this as a win. Mediation is a skill that I will conquer, but it will take a significant amount of practice. The best part is that you can meditate for short amounts of time, so I can practice this whenever I have a few minutes. I often take a few minutes to meditate while sitting at the desk in my home office.

Other areas of self-care that I spent a little time focusing on in January.

• Emotional: At the end of the month, I started reading ATLAS if The HEART by Brene’ Brown. I will give you a report on this at the end of February.
• Financial: I went 31 days without buying an iced coffee. This also counts towards improving my physical health because of the reduced calorie consumption.
• Social: I joined a new book club.

Overall, I am happy with my results for the first month of My Year of Me Journey. I feel invigorated by what I was able to accomplish this month. Additionally, my sense of purpose is so liberating that it truly feels as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  

It is now time to take all this positive energy and take on self-care goals for month two in My Year of Me Journey.

I am going to continue to focus on my physical well-being in February because I have put off and made excuses for not working on my physical health for way too many years. Simply put, I am scared that I will revert to my old ways if I do not keep this as a significant area of focus.

I aim to expand the type of activities I engage in to improve my physical well-being. I am adding balance activities to the weekly rotation of activities.  Sadly, it is possible that my 15-month-old granddaughter has better balance than I do. My bad knees cause weakness in the hips. So bad knees plus weak hips equal poor balance. I see this as just another opportunity for self-improvement.

My second big self-care area for February is the environmental component. Environmental self-care can be focused on creating positive indoor or outdoor spaces in your home or workplace. Other aspects of environmental self-care include spending time outdoors or doing activities to conserve and protect our natural resources and the environment. I plan to take a two-pronged approach to this area by focusing on the indoor environment of my home and spending more time outdoors.

Do you ever ask yourself why you have so many things in your home?  I ask myself this whenever I try to find a “home” for something. Intellectually, I really want to be a minimalist, but my heart and emotions will not allow me to follow that path. So, that leads me to my plan for February of organizing one closet or room at a time. I am reading Organizing For The Rest Of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any House Under Control by Dana White. This book has excellent reviews, so I look forward to learning new techniques. I am also going to go through every clothing item my husband and I have and hope to reduce the amount by 33% or more. I think that my home environment will feel less cluttered and more organized by the end of February.

The other part of my environmental self-care plan is to spend more time outdoors. I have a nice glider on my front porch that is a great place to sit and read a book or drink a cup of coffee, and I have not taken advantage of this space. A bonus is that I can soak up some vitamin D. In addition, I want to take our three crazy dogs on some short walks. Our 16-year-old Chiweenie walks even slower than I do, so she is the perfect walking partner for me. I look forward to spending more time outdoors.

I am eager to see what February has in store for me in the Year of My Journey. If all goes well, my physical fitness will improve, my closets will be organized, I will have a system for keeping my home under control, and my vitamin D level will increase.

Are you ready to start your Year of My Journey? You don’t need to wait until January 2026 to start. In fact, if you are ready for self-transformation, you can start tomorrow.