Student Blog
Life Hacks

Self Love ⟩
February 14, 2012, by Kimberly

Getting Involved Life Hacks

This semester I have taken on running groups for the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society. Once or twice a month I go to Rancho Los Amigos Hospital and work with community members who are diagnosed with MS. Each group is different and has their own goals and needs. This month’s theme for the group is — bet you can guess it — love! It is a common theme for the month, but is somewhat hard to match to all the goals we are working on with the particular groups. So for this week I have decided to take the route of focusing on self-love. This is something we all need to get better at doing: taking time to thank ourselves for the work we do, planning some pampering every once in a while, making sure we take the time we need to ourselves away from tiring responsibilities, and overall acknowledging the fact that we need love ourselves to be able to love and attend to those around us. Self-love also helps us to feel in control of our own emotions, capabilities, and life. I’m excited to bring this to the group and see what personal goals they come up with.

I want to challenge you to do the same! Here are some ideas to get you started:

Watch your favorite film
Make a valentine to yourself
Write down the things you love about you, then work on remembering them when times are lower
After a work-out, thank your body
Make a fabulous meal, just for you
Meet up with a friend who brings you joy
Think of a way to make life easier and take steps to make it so
Try something new

How will you love yourself more?

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New Year, New Teachers ⟩
February 2, 2012, by Alix

Life Hacks

Since moving to LA a couple years ago, I’ve been faithfully going to Exhale Center for Sacred Movement, a great yoga studio in Santa Monica. Some of my favorite teachers — Shiva Rea, Saul David Raye, and Erich Schiffmann, to name a few — teach there, and it’s really close to my house. But for 2012, I wanted to branch out and try something new. So I’ve started going to a new studio, Santa Monica Yoga, and I’m remembering now just how much a new teacher helps to revitalize my practice. The classes are smaller and more intimate, so I’m getting lots of great adjustments. And I’m learning even more about teaching techniques, which helps me to be a better instructor for my students. (Also, the teachers at SMY have really good playlists, which helps.) With the help of one of my new teachers, I’ve even able to achieve one of my 2012 goals: freestanding pincha mayurasana!

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Me vs. the Gym ⟩
January 30, 2012, by Floyd

Life Hacks

So this is it. It’s time to get back into a regular exercise routine. I used to be very active and go to the gym regularly; however, [insert excuses here]. No more excuses, it’s time to get back to it.

I am not going to do the “gym thing” because I am not willing to shell out the monetary funds to support something I can do on my own for free. I think the only reason why I am writing this blog because it will motivate me to follow-through with my commitment. For my sake, let’s hope that it will bloom into fruition. I would love to do something like P-90X but I have no one in my house! There I go again with my excuses . . .

Let’s see . . . I can do push-ups and sit-ups on my yoga mat at home. My room is really cluttered so I would have to do some organization and kill two birds with one stone (clean my room and exercise, yay!). Plank exercises are good right? Maybe some of those will be good. Oh, I can throw in some free weights! This way, I can watch TV and do some lifting. Ok, I know myself. I know if I put too much on my plate, I will not do it. So maybe just the free weights for now. Then throwing in some push-ups and so on.

Now what to do with scheduling this exercise in. I think 3 times a week is a good start. Hey, it’s better than the nothing I’m doing now.

That’s me down there . . . the T-REX!

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Penny the Kitten ⟩
January 25, 2012, by Alix

Life Hacks

Last week we adopted a new kitten! Her name is Penny. She’s extremely adorable. She’s also completely fearless, which makes her the opposite of our other cat, Jimmy. (He is afraid of anything bigger than a bottle cap and/or anything that moves.) We read a lot of horror stories about two cats living in the same household and hating each other, so we were nervous about how Penny and Jimmy would get along. But I am happy to report that they are best friends already. They follow each other around all day long and play hide-and-seek. The only problem happens when Penny tries to play with Jimmy’s favorite toy, a fuzzy plush tick (yes, a tick), which he would protect with his life. Here’s a picture of Penny in her favorite little house. Welcome to the family, Penny.

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Happy Holidays ⟩
December 22, 2011, by Kimberly

Life Hacks

We hope you’ve enjoyed all the blogging this semester. The Ambassadors will be signing off until January 9th so we can enjoy a break from school and work. Hope you are finding time to relax as well. Just in case you need a few hints, here are some of our favorite OT strategies to relax and unwind. Whether the holidays allow you to do that or bring more stress on, these should help. So enjoy and we will be back in the New Year!!!

Reduce Your Stress
Breathe (simple, yet essential)
Be thankful
Work out
See an old friend
Write in a journal
Play with a pet
Use this
Get creative in how you do something
Have fun and laugh
Drink green or chamomile tea (it calms you down and is good for you)

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