Shvat: Elevating the Physical

Dear Friends,

God willing, before each Hebrew month, I will be posting about that month from The Chazak Plan.

Rosh Chodesh and the first day of the month of Shvat is this Thursday, January 2nd.

The 15th of Shvat is Tu B’Shvat, the New Year for trees. An aspect of this holiday is celebrating and elevating the physical. Part of sanctifying the physical is taking care of the body with which God entrusted you. During this month, choose to upgrade either your sleep, exercise or diet habits.

Pick one change you will make on a daily or regular basis, for at least this month, and using your own checklist or the Daily Checklist Template, track how often you do it; if you find the change very easy, add another one. Some examples: Go to sleep 15-20 minutes earlier each week until you feel refreshed in the morning; exercise 2-3 times a week or go for a daily brisk walk; cut out sugary drinks and/or foods from your diet. Making water your preferred beverage is a great place to start. If you don’t like the way your water tastes, consider getting a filter.

I came across a new book which has 50 suggestions for enhancing your health. You’re likely to find something which resonates with you. The title of the book is One Simple Change: Surprisingly Easy Ways to Transform Your Life by Winnie Abramson. You can read many of her ideas for free on her blog. Please note, a number of her suggestions are non-conventional, but interesting nonetheless.

Another point of focus for this month is to consider if there is an area of your life which has become unbalanced and excessive, e.g., overeating, overspending, overworking, overuse of the internet etc. Most of us have at least one area which, at a minimum, wastes our time and takes us away from more fulfilling activities. This month, after reading the suggested reading below, pick one behavior to reign in and one behavior you’d like to do more of instead.

Reading for the month: Overcoming our Soft Addictions.

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Take care, and may God grant you success in the coming month,

Yaakov