Health and fitness is not about just following a diet or working out 30 mins a day. It’s an overall lifestyle. It’s about building habits that will ensure a better you! The often overlooked area of fitness is the spiritual aspect of it. Buddhist practices of the phrase citta-bhavana, meansthe development or cultivation of the heart/mind. Transformation in fitness can be a similar experience.

There are some rules I have learned towards my success, where I had to delve into a deeper place to achieve the results I wanted.

Today, for the first time, I am sharing them with you!

1 Commit

The first law is commitment. If you are unable to whole heartedly commit to a process, you will yo-yo in change, and further delay your progress. Visualize your end goal and then commit. Commitment is to full acknowledge that change is necessary and without change you will remain the same.

2 Dedicate

Dedication is part of prioritizing but also learning. When you commit to change, you dedicate yourself to everything that comes with it. You will learn, absorb, make mistakes, and learn again. You will also with time become the teacher. As you learn and practice your dedication, people around you will benefit from what you have learned, mostly your closest companions. This alone can be one of the most rewarding experiences for you. Embrace it.

3 Breathe

There will be times of frustration. You will be tired. You will have doubt of your path. You will have obstacles. This is where it is very important to meditate daily. A simple practice of breathing in the am and pm for 5 minutes can make a world of a difference. Remind yourself of your goals and why you are committed. And Breathe relaxation.

4 Nurture

No negative self-talk! Period. We will make mistakes through life, and the worst thing you can do to yourself is put yourself down. Learn from your mistakes and move on. Negativity has a very powerful way of creeping up on us and making your hard work seem worthless. Practice nurturing yourself. For example, when you had a really great productive day, give yourself a night off and take a bubble bath, or go for a massage, or schedule coffee/tea date with a good friend. Do something that makes you happy and feel like you deserve it!

5 Give

Sometime being focused on a goal requires us to pull ourselves away from everything else and JUST focus on the goal at hand. And it is easy to get caught up in our own paths and forget those around us. Find some time (once a week or once a month) to do something for someone else. Perhaps someone needs help with meal planning, and you can go and do your grocery shopping together. Or perhaps a family member just hasn’t had a shoulder to lean on, reach out to someone you think you have neglected. Or give to the homeless. A small warm meal can do wonders. If you have a support system that is there for you on your journey, try to do something for them and support them where they may have it the least.Any small act of “giving” will make your path to achievement all the more worthwhile.

6 Focus

Goals are about focusing and measuring your progress. If you didn’t visualize and commit, it will be very hard to see real results. SO you need to focus on the big picture, and break it down into everyday small tasks, and FOCUS on each step that helps you reach your successful end.

7 Believe

There comes a time, where you have done everything under the sun to accomplish a goal and you doubt yourself. Fear has a way of absorbing people and yet fear is a false feeling we create within ourselves. This is the time where you just have to believe. Believe in the professionals you seek guidance from, your support system, and mostly, believe in yourself! You will make this journey and come through it!