My Makeover for Mind, Body, Spirit

STORM CLOUDS

I’m fairly certain that everybody has bad days. Yes, even those ridiculously peppy people that we all know occasionally wake up with a storm cloud over their head.  It’s simply part of life. Not every day is going to be filled with sunshine and rainbows (surprise?). There’s really nothing wrong on those bad days, they’re just bad, and they often pass quite quickly.

This isn’t a topic that I generally dwell on, but for me recently, the “off” days were lining up.  My life of palm trees and beaches was feeling far from perfect and I could feel myself slipping into a negative spiral.  My storm cloud wasn’t going away and something needed to change.  I quickly took a step back and diagnosed myself with “business saturation”—my life was being consumed by my business. The Tailwind Jungle Lodge was becoming successful, but the stress, challenge and constant demands of it were destroying my personal well being.  My remedy? Take a step back and bring on the NEW.  Time to give my “work/life” balance a serious makeover—mind, body and spirit.

SPIRIT

I realized that I had been completely neglecting the spiritual side of my life. Yes, I live in the wilderness and appreciate the beauty of the natural world daily, but I was missing something.  I decided to add two pieces to enhance my spiritual development. The first piece was meditation.  About 30 seconds into my first session, it was painfully clear to me that this is going to a seriously challenging life long project. For me, the goal of meditation is to not only to clear my mind, but also to truly absorb my surroundings and gain a broader, less self-absorbed perspective on life. Despite the initially tremendous challenge of this, I’m patiently training my mind, and attempting to calm it every day.  I truly believe that this one of the greatest gifts I could give myself. (Check out Adri’s article Meditation 101 for tips about seated and moving meditation.)

The other piece was to spend some time volunteering at the local community center and non-profit for kids, EntreAmigos. I now spend several hours a week volunteering as receptionist, which is a great way for me to connect with some of the local people in the town of San Pancho as well as give back to the community.  My business already donates 1% of our profits to local non-profits, but the value of giving my time and energy feels much more significant than any money I could give.

BODY

Next on the list was to embrace a new physical activity. In this case, something I’d never even heard of before: power ropes.  I walked into the class not knowing anyone or anything about the class.  Ropes with handles at each end hung from the ceiling (a palapa roof in this case) and each person in the class had their own rope. Within minutes I was drenched in sweat, using my weight to lean against the rope and work every muscle in my body. I was completely absorbed and empowered by the sensation of my aching muscles growing strong with every pull. This combo of resistance/strength training and aerobic activity was incredibly unique and absolutely fabulous—a much needed compliment to my other physical activities.  As I walked out of the class, every muscle in my body was glowing.  The next day I awoke ridiculously sore, but happy and totally hooked. (Check out Mexifit.com for more details.)

MIND

It was also time for some new intellectual stimuli. I’ve always been a health freak, and have often considered delving into the nutritional field, but where to find this in the middle of the jungle? Bring the school to the jungle of course! I was elated to discover the popularity and user-friendly format of distance learning and certification programs. With a bit of research, I was excited to find the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and their year long distance learning program.  This program has definitely gotten my inspiration flowing once again. Over the coming year I will study holistic nutrition—not only food, but also the importance of lifestyle and primary food (spirituality, physical activity, relationships and career) in people’s lives. At the end of the curriculum I will be a certified wellness counselor. I’m delighted to have found this school and to be able to run my jungle business at the same time!

SUNSHINE

Several months have passed now and my stormy days have been replaced by sunshine and inspiration.  The new elements I’ve added to my life have allowed me to have a life outside of my work.  This break from the business has also allowed me to renew my passion for my job. Of course, I’ll still have those bad days, but for the most part the skies over my life on the Mexican Pacific are as blue as the ocean— I am coming to understand why they call this the Emerald Coast.

TAMARA JACOBI is the co-owner, hostess, website-designer, bookings manager, and expedition guide for Tailwind Outdoor, a family-owned eco-lodge and adventure tour company in San Pancho, Mexico. She is a lifelong athlete whose accomplishments include completion of 2 marathons, sea kayaking 850 miles down the Baja's Sea of Cortez, mountain biking 2000 miles of the USA's continental divide trail, mountaineering up Pico de Orizaba's 18,700 feet, and more. She is also a passionate trail runner and practicing yogini... {more »}