My semester is one of love, laughter, immense growth…and unexpected stress. I am in the midst of my hardest semester at BYU while simultaneously bombarded by many personal and imperative decisions. After my second round of midterms, I spontaneously ditched the rest of my classes, jumped into the car with my sister and my cousin, and headed to Midway to attend my mom’s retreat. [In correspondence with my mother’s recently published book, “Be Well,” Beneficial International hosted a four-day retreat. Individuals from all over the country came to recommit to a happier and healthier lifestyle...recommitting to a better life.
This retreat consisted of numerous classes/seminars each day on various chapters of my mom's book.
My mom is a bomb teacher. I love her SO much.
Food curtailed around the Candida Diet...aka vegetables. No fruit, breads, flour, sugar etc. Everything I eat=prohibited. Good thing for Grandparents who smuggle in sugar for a few of us who were not anticipating it nor quite mentally prepared for it.
Reflexology.
My Grandma is brilliant professional and helps countless numbers of people come to understand the body every day. One day she gave a entire demonstration on reflexology and I was lucky enough to "help her out"...yeah baby!
(Below: Chels workin' on Natalie's feet. Look at that concentration)
Meditation in the Crater
Evil Twin :)
One Obsession: The Yoga sessions.
One Evening: Candle-Light Yoga:
(Sweet picture of Emily, our instructor)
Yoga gave me an excuse to “step outside” of my life, my insecurities, and my stress to channel my energy and my focus entirely inward. For the first time in years, I took the time to hear myself breathe… to literally focus solely on an action I subconsciously do every second I am alive. I could feel the slow rising and falling of my stomach, like a small balloon inside of me…the steady beat of my heart…the serenity of the silence. Our bodies are sacred and beautiful creations; it does not matter the size or the shape, they are all unique and all beautiful. I love my body. I recognize it is a glorious gift from God. I felt an unbelievable closeness to Him as I detached myself from the world and centered my focus on Him and giving me the gift of life on this earth. The silence was a blanket that protected me from the bombardment of responsibilities and allowed me to fully channel my thoughts on me, who I am as a person, Rachel Jackson. A light and energy radiated within my soul as I realized how blessed I am to be alive. Happiness consumed every part of my body. Gratitude quickly brought me to reality as I contemplated how lucky I am to be alive. I can see, I can hear, I can love, I can laugh, I can run, I can talk. I have only one life to live and every second wasted worrying, hating, and stressing is a second snatched away from really loving it. I am realizing the importance of living in the here and now. I must not take another day for granted.
We all had positive affirmations lying beside our mats, defining and bringing hope to our individualistic situations. My affirmation card stated:
“Today is a very exciting time in my life. I am on a wonderful adventure and will never go through this particular experience again.”
