ARE YOU building a healthy habit today?

Today is a beautiful Wednesday. It’s warm and sunny at 78F in Saratoga County from morning till late afternoon. I had decided to resume my wellness walks ALONE. Just me, no walking buddy. No waiting for others, no delays due to schedule conflicts. No disappointments. Just a simple intention to regain my overall wellness: physical, spiritual, mental wellness, and beyond. My goal was to regain my overall wellness including physical fitness, doing light cardio exercises like wellness walks, strength training, flexibility training, and balance exercises. Afterall, I was a school athlete decades ago and I miss those times when I was known to be intellectual, super fit and agile.

After changing to my gear and applying some sunblock on my face and hands, I did a 5-minute whole body warm up before heading out to my neighborhood to begin my wellness walk. I met and greeted a neighbor who was also taking a walk with her daughter who was riding a bicycle and waved at neighbors who passed by. Despite the heat, it was a good 40-min walk. I could have lasted longer if I were more fit. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the ni’mah or blessings from God Almighty, my Rabb, Allah SWT. Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah SWT.

A cup of filtered water with some lemon juice and mint leaves to quench my thirst after the wellness walk.

After the walk and a cup of lemon and mint infused drink, I am invigorated and happy to enjoy three (3) key benefits of a simple walk around the neighborhood:

  • Better mood

  • Better purpose in life and clarity

  • Better productivity

All these benefits have the great potential of preparing me better for my marital relationship and parent-child relationships with my young adult son and daughter. Having a neighborhood with surrounding nature full of greenery and vibrant plants and trees made me appreciate the beauty of nature created by God Almighty, my Rabb, Allah SWT. That experience alone enhanced my connection with Allah SWT. In June and July, I was preoccupied with an intensive Novice Arabic course online as well as hosting relatives from Singapore. It was certainly too hectic for me to find time and energy to write and post any article while also having to schedule for meetings at a local masjid or mosque. It feels wonderful that I can now work on pending tasks that I have set out to do today in between my daily salah or prayers:

  • Writing

  • Cooking/baking

  • Book project

  • Online study of Orientation module for a new course enrolled

  • Reviewing Tajwid rules to prepare for a live Quran online assessment

If you are looking for some inspiration to do the same, I hope this article will uplift you, InshaAllah.

Wishing you wellness always!

Sincerely

SBM Sani aka Madam PepperNose

Note: This article is also posted on SBM Sani's Substack: faith2wellness.substack.com.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Secrets Behind The Scene: World Hijab Day 2024

Image
February News DO you know why  many Muslim women wear the hijab or head scarf also known as poncho? Do you need some inspiration to wear the hijab full time? Or do you need ideas to motivate someone to wear the hijab?  World Hijab Day 2024  To commemorate World Hijab Day 2024 on February 1st, we released a new episode on the ASK Trio About Wellness podcast entitled, World Hijab Day 2024. The topic on the significance of hijab for Muslim women was discussed effectively with a book discussion on “ Hijab: Everyday Stories of Muslim Women from Singapore and Beyond”  edited and published by Hidayah Amin of Helang Books, Singapore.      World Hijab Day 2024 (Ep. 54) Fun facts The world of podcasting is often fun and exciting! Any secrets behind the scenes? Of course! Here are some fun facts we discovered about our special guests, Hidayah Amin, editor/publisher of Helang Books (Singapore) and Malaysian university lecturer, Nadia Rose Noordin:...
Read more

WRAPPED in Reflections: Financial Wellness

Image
It’s THAT time of the year again: year end freezing temperatures, lots of snow and the shortest days (longest nights!) in Saratoga County, New York and around the Capital Region. Brrr… If I were to select which dimension of wellness to reflect and write first in a blog, it would be financial wellness. Why? Because a healthy budget and strategic financial planning makes an economically stable and happy family. Yes, money is not everything. And  statistics don’t usually lie; yet sometimes they are engineered to generate certain results by the publisher. So it’s good to take it with a pinch of salt just like you would with news reports. According to Statistica, a global data and business intelligence platform based in Germany: “As of 2021, there were about 690,000 divorces registered in the United States and the divorce rate stood at 2.5 per 1,000 of the population. Data on family income levels show that, in aboslute values, there are more divorces among the lowest and the very high-i...
Read more

Holiday Travel Planning and Wellness

Image
A Children and Special Needs Friendly Parenting Tool Kit ARE you contemplating a short family getaway soon? Do you know that there is a positive correlation between holidays and wellness, even if you have special needs kids?       Beautiful deer spotted at Wayne, New Jersey in Fall 2023 during a road trip  The upcoming public holiday in the U.S. this year is Memorial Day which falls on Monday, May 27th. In about a month’s time, many public schools will be closing after the final exams and the summer holidays will be here again. Yeayyy! If you’re a parent blessed with kids especially those with special needs, you’ll probably be questioning: how can I travel with my special needs kid(s) and still enjoy peace of mind? Give It A Second Chance and Beyond Perhaps you might dread the idea of traveling with your kid(s) with special needs after several not-so-pleasant experiences in the past?  As much as you might want to lament those bad travel memories, you cannot...
Read more