No matter how crowded my calendar gets, I know my health and well-being must remain the foundation of everything I do. Keeping myself focused on my wellness through systems of self-care is the key for feeling most content with myself. If you have ever asked yourself “what does it mean to live intentionally,” this blog is for you!

One of the ways I am able to keep focused and live intentionally is to do regular check-ins with myself. I want to make sure that what I’m feeling and how my body is responding is authentically myself.

There are three questions I ask to really connect with myself:

·         How am I feeling?
·         What does my body need?
·         How can I thank my body for doing what it does every day?

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Based on how I’m feeling, I can make adjustments in what I am doing to honor what my body needs. Tuning in to the answers to these questions provides me the feedback I need to make sure I am living in alignment with my true self. This intentional living honors the desire to feel contentment on a deep, real level and is about not just my health but my wellness.

What does it mean to live intentionally?

When I stop to think about how I am feeling right now, I keep myself present rather than mentally spiral down my to-do list. I am empowered to live with intention.

I like to ask myself:

• Am I working on something that resonates with my true self?
• Is this a regular activity that often brings me down? Is there any way to outsource it? (Or if you’re feeling really bold, ask yourself what the real result would be if you just stopped doing it?)
• Do I feel this way a lot? Do I like feeling this way?
• If I’m feeling happy, content, or well, can I spend a few seconds basking in that positive feeling?

Listening to my body’s needs gives me the opportunity to nourish my physical self. Maybe I need to stop working and eat a healthy snack. Or maybe I need to adjust my workstation and posture. There are plenty of days when my body is begging for a nap. Do I push through, or do I take 10-15 minutes to fulfill my body’s request?

It may seem simple, but breathing is pretty powerful stuff. Breath work engages the parasympathetic nervous system– and that’s responsible for slowing our heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and increasing the desire to tend & befriend others. When we slow down and breathe deeply, our whole body benefits.

Moreover, if I can remind myself to breathe consciously, I am more present and more connected to whatever I am doing. I can offer my best work. Being present and working to the best of my ability is absolutely part of intentional living.

By regularly checking in with my body, I am more aware of all of the seemingly simple things I am able to accomplish because of it. When I don’t take my body for granted, I can be amazed by the wondrous machine it is. Sure, it may be creaky and a bit cranky as the years go by, but there are still opportunities for gratitude towards my body sprinkled throughout my day.

Connecting to my emotional state and physical body helps me shift into being grateful for what I can do rather than focused on what I haven’t yet been able to achieve. Even better, this intentional pause in my day to check in with my body keeps me present and reduces anxiety of what lingers on the to-do list.

Incorporating this body scan practice throughout my day has helped lessen negative self-talk and idle mind chatter. These scripts can be so prevalent in the mind, but they are so darn unproductive! By focusing on the positive rather than the negative, I am much more at ease with myself.

What I’ve learned is that when I take the time to give my body what it really needs (including gratitude!), I have so much more energy. My family would probably say I’m nicer, too. That’s a wonderful gift of self-care!

So when I consider what does it mean to live intentionally, I feel that it means living in alignment with my true, authentic self.