Ready, Set, Recharge!

It is that lovely time of year again. Crunch time. The semester is practically over, summer is practically upon us. Yes, summer, do you remember it? Sun-filled days, red melting popsicles, and rolling azure ocean waves. Sweet, glorious summer vacation. The only thing that is now stopping me from enjoying summer vacation is the inability to time travel into the future and the fact that I still have a sprinkle of exams and papers to dote on before Mr. Finals Week shows up at my door with a bouquet of stress, lack of sleep, and all around chaos. These next few weeks are usually the ones in which I feel listless. I never sleep right, running becomes a thing of the past, and I become overwhelmingly homesick. It is an all around horrible feeling, a feeling that I will be trying my best to avoid this year. With a little hope, a lot of support, and a 100-watt smile I will cross that finish line!

This morning I dragged my butt out of bed and threw myself into the chilly morning. I really did not expect it to be that cold at nearly 7am, but it was. I had goosebumps all over and an overwhelming compulsion to jump back into my warm bed and forget the whole ordeal. But I ignored it and took off, hobbling a little from my still sleepy stature. I also made it to yoga class today (I know, I am a fitness overachiever) which was absolutely lovely. I feel centered and relaxed, what could be better? I also recovered from my embarrassing err this past Saturday at yoga in which I toppled over in the middle of doing the "Crow pose". No tumbling today, no way Jose.

I also received an e-mail from Fitness Magazine with tips for staying energized and I thought I would share, because that is just the kind of blogger that I am :) These are just a few that I particularly like.

1. Hang out with happy people :)

2. Orange scents do this really scientific mumbo-jumbo, but really just helps you relax.

3. Find a better way to "unplug" than t.v., like yoga (yes!) or reading a book (YES!)

4. Speak your mind: When your adorable blonde-haired friend writes her own blog, let her know that she is by far the most amazing person in the entire world! No, but seriously take the time to be overly positive :)

5. Flowers: Buy yourself some! Because obviously you deserve a bouquet of lush, beautiful petals and they also help with the stress releasing process. Or buy your favorite blogger her favorite flowers...

6.  Stretch: Here's the deal. Close the door to your room, go into a secluded area of the library, or hide behind the frat boys in your lecture hall. Then get down on all fours, taking a couple of deep breaths. Inhale and round your spine (you'll look like a kitty stretching), exhale and return spine to normal. Repeat a couple of times. We do this in yoga, it feels nice :)

7.  Inspiration board! Create a collage of pictures, articles, what-have-yous of things that will inspire you to work out. Love yoga? How about some Nameste pictures? Love running? How about a funny picture of your two best friends (your left running shoe, and its partner)? Creativity! Winning!

8. Tea, drink it. I love chai tea (tastes like cinnamon, nutmeg, and gingerbread houses. In other words delicious!) and green tea. I have caffeine sensitivity issues and find that drinking tea has a milder effect on my body than coffee.

9.  Laugh...a lot! Something I am quite good at, my friends and family can all attest to that! So whip out those old funny cat videos on youtube or reruns of The Office and giggle for a while.

10. Embrace the sunshine, doctors say lots of complicated things about this. It just feels nice :) Remember the sunscreen though!

For more tips here is a link: Ready, Set, Recharge!