Will just doing what you can make a difference?

I’m not sure about you, but my to-do list gets a little long…

And by long, I mean Rapunzel’s braid long.  Kind of makes me want to throw it out the window like Rapunzel did with her braid :-D

Having a list like that can be overwhelming.

So can starting a hard-core diet, or an over the top exercise routine.

While going all-out can work for some things, ultimately, things get done when we take them one thing at a time.  Burning yourself out with hours of gym time every day just means you won’t get long-term results.  Most crash diets end up in more weight gained than was lost.

So, for today, what is one thing you can do to support and nourish your body.

Is it going for a 20 minute walk?  Or adding 10 push ups to your routine.

Maybe it’s as simple as starting the day with a big glass of water, and carrying water around with you the whole day.

Or perhaps it’s taking a few minutes every morning before jumping into the day to think about some of the gifts of your life.  Roll them around in your mind and notice any sensations that come up in your body.

Find your one thing, and do it every day, until it’s a habit.  Then find one more thing.  Repeat as needed.

When we add one thing, we create way less resistance and backlash within ourselves.  After all, who can’t do just one little thing?  Doesn’t have to be hard, or take a long time.  But that one thing, when it’s a habit, can make a hug difference in your energy level, and  it can boost your confidence because you see you can make changes in your life.  And they don’t have to happen all at once with drama and suffering.

What will your one thing be today?

How to know when it’s time to shake it up

There you are, going about your routine.

You’ve got it down, run for 20 minutes, stretch, eat something…

It’s all gotten routine, and it’s been a while now.  The honeymoon is over, as they say.

Our bodies are incredible, adaptive organisms, that have a way of getting used to what we throw them.  Sometimes, it’s  a good thing, we can handle less sleep when we have newborns, because, to a certain extent, we get used to not sleeping.  Not that we could go on forever like that, but we do adapt.

However, we also adapt to a routine.  Our muscles stop being challenged when we do the same thing all the time.  We slip into auto-pilot when there is no variation to what we are doing.  Even practicing gratitude can become ineffective if it just becomes a mindless thing that we ‘check off our list’ at the end of the day.

So what’s a girl to do?

I say SHAKE IT UP!!

If you workout in a flat place; find a hill, add more intensity, stop every 5 minutes and do push ups or sit ups or jumping jacks.  If gratitude is something you do every day, change the way you do it- go outside, express your gratitude with a picture or a symbol, rather than writing it down.   You could also include some other positivity boosting exercises, such as tapping into your sense of awe and wonder, or searching out ways to laugh more.

If what you are doing feels dull and ineffective, even if those things are ‘good for you’, find a way to shake it up, add some spice and sizzle.  You will feel more alive, more inspired, and more likely to continue doing fabulous things for your mind, body and spirit.

Why more of this is NOT a good thing…

It’s everywhere.

We can’t escape it.

The amount of information that bombards us, promises us what we want, shocks us into reading more of it…

So right now, this moment,

Take a break.

Take a breath.

Put down the information- whatever form you are consuming it in.  And walk away.

Get in nature.  Dive in the ocean, sink  your hands into the earth, wiggle your toes in the sand or the dirt or the air above you. Turn on music and move your body to the beat. Bite into a sweet, juicy strawberry.

Get out of your head and into your senses.  Allow your thoughts to be what they are, and immerse yourself in the only reality that exists right now- saturate your senses with feeling alive.

There will never be a shortage of information.

If you miss it this round, (contrary to what they may tell you), if it’s good, it will come back around.  If it’s not worth hearing, than better not to waste your time with it.

Experience this moment.  Savor the juicy richness of what surrounds you.  Explore your world for what is alive in it.   Notice what feelings this inspires in you.  Is it joy, awe, love, peace, or something else?

It can take just a minute or two, but it can alter the course of your day.

Release the overwhelm and Enjoy!

Do you have energy for your life?

Are you living your life the way you really want to live it?  Are enjoying a level of health and Joy that makes you smile?  If you have more inside of you than you are now capable of sharing; what are you waiting for?

We had a death in our family this week, and it got me thinking- as deaths often do.

Am I really sharing the gifts that I have to offer?  Am I filling myself up, so that I am able to be a model for my children, a source of inspiration and light to my friends and family?  There are certainly places where I am, and places I know I could do better.

Sometimes, I think I have to hold it all myself.  That somehow, I will be able to shoulder everyone’s burdens, and make it better.  But I recognize, when I do that for too long, my energy fails, my light dims.  So I am taking a deep breath, filling myself back up, and excited to share some new offerings in the next couple of weeks.  Keep your eyes out, we can all fill ourselves up together.

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

Appreciation for those who bring us JOY

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom” ~Marcel Proust

Who made you happy today? Who in the last week made you smile til your face hurt, laugh til your cried, or left you chuckling to yourself hours later?

Two incredibly simple(though not always easy) ways of being happier yourself are captured in this quote.

1) Being grateful is profound.  Turning your attention and awareness to what is wonderful and precious in your life right now can bring an incredible sense of joy and awe.

2) Being kind to someone else.  When we bring kindness into an interaction, we infuse ourselves and them with Joy.  The same goes for being willing to receive kindness.  Receiving allows the other person to enjoy the act of giving.   Both can be challenging for some people.  (Especially the receiving part if you are a busy mom entrepreneur who thinks she just needs to ‘get it done’.)

Bring these practices into your life today, and notice what happens to your joy-o-meter.

Starting here

Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?

Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?

When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life -

What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?

-       William Stafford

How do you re-fuel yourself?

Are you busy taking care of everyone else this Summer, it is important to remember to take care of yourself as well.  I remembered this the other day as I was trying to squeeze in 10 more things before picking my kids up from camp, finish writing an article, respond to emails,  and put that last load of laundry in.  As I looked ahead at the rest of my day, I could see there would be no time to do anything for myself.  So, I let go of the details, and went for a quick run, 20 minutes, tops.  WOW!  It reminded me what a quick blast of exercise does for my body and my mind. I felt great, and was a much better mom and wife, at least for the rest of that day.

That said, I know that getting physical exercise invigorates me, and it also calms me- smooths down any ruffled feathers.  You may have something else that does it for you. Each of us is different in what we need to re-fuel ourselves.

In case you need an invitation, I would like to offer to each of you the gift of self-care.  It does not need to be complicated or time-consuming.  It is much more important that you do it consistently.  The list below is a place for you to springboard from- start your own list of what does it for you.  Be sure to include items for all time frames.

Kalia’s List:
1) Go for a short run or walk.(10-20 minutes).
2) Lengthen my spine and take deep breaths into my belly, (the beauty of this is that you can do it while driving, standing in line…(1-2 minutes))
3) Take a moment to savor beautiful colors, textures, tastes, or sounds.(1-2 mins)
4) Dive into the ocean for a surf or a swim, (30-45 minutes)
5) Connect with a friend for a walk or a cup of tea, (20 minutes- 2 hours)

I hope this list has gotten your wheels turning.  The next step is to choose one thing from the list every day this Summer, (see now why having those 2 minute options are a must?!)

The trick is to not put taking care of yourself off until tomorrow -  Giving to yourself daily allows you to show up the way you want to.  If you can do one nice thing for yourself every day, you will be well on your way to sailing through the Summer feeling energized and ready for anything!

What’s on your list? Post below your ‘must-dos’ that keep you fueled.

Reach Beyond

What is ‘Reach Beyond’?   Reach Beyond is an invitation to go further than that place of settling, for any part of your life that is not leading you towards your best health.  Maybe it shows up in your energy level, the amount of patience you have with your loved ones, the way you carry your body, or perhaps the fit of your jeans.  In each moment, each choice, we have the capacity within us to reach beyond.  One way of doing so is to notice those moments, catching the precise breath when the choice is made.  The first step is being able to be aware of those moments when they happen.

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Finding this moment

Here are two practices for bringing your body back into balance after a stressful moment (or moments)

  1. Take time (even 10 minutes) to go for a walk.  Move your body, get your circulation going, clearing your mind of stressful thoughts and lingering stress hormones that keep you out of balance.
  2. When you are sitting at your desk, or in your car, or otherwise unable to head out for a walk, try these three moves (adapted from Healht Acton, Inc)

Mindfulness

Everyone I speak to lately seems to be living with a lot of intensity in their lives.  Whether it is too much exposure to sensational media, or the intensity of day-to-day life, we are all living with heightened levels of stress.

Our bodies are programmed to handle brief periods of stress.  Hormones such as cortisol are released by our bodies as part of our ‘fight or flight’ response, and when the stress is occasional, our body is perfectly equipped to bring itself

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