It’s no surprise that parents like us are getting creative when it comes to juggling our kids, work, and “me” time. I am often asked how I am able to fit in my meditation practice while I have both young kids at home in quarantine. Simple answer: I include them. Today I am partnering with Brilli, to show you three easy ways to set up your mindfulness space with kids (even if it’s in the middle of the kitchen).
Read MoreOh the holidays. Now that we have two kids, we are traveling less to be with family, and inviting the family to come to us instead. I don’t know about you, but I find that I vacillate between two buckets of thinking when it comes to the holidays. Bucket A includes ecstatic emotions, smiling as big as Buddy from Elf when he finds out Santa is coming to the North Pole, and becoming fully engrossed in daydreaming about how our family traditions will be experienced by my two small children. Bucket B, on the other hand, rudely points out that I have two full time jobs, I have little to no time to do things like clean the house, and I have massive stress about the logistics of hosting. What will everyone eat? What activities should I plan?
Read MoreThis summer, I made a conscious decision to better nurture myself in the morning. I was so used to waking up and diving headfirst into the hustle and bustle that by the time 9 AM rolled around, I was already feeling depleted. I partnered with MegaFood® to bring you 5 quick and effective ways to make sure you are making time for self-care in the morning.
Read MoreI feel like I have waited an eternity to be able to write this post.
Today I would like to introduce to The Mindful Mamas Club, an online membership site dedicated to teaching mothers mindfulness tools, practices, and techniques.
Click below to check it out!
Read MoreLast week, I announced an exciting new project that I have been pouring my time, energy, money and resources to, The Mindful Mamas Club. It's an online membership site that will teach Moms across the globe how to do mindfulness tools and practices to enrich their lives. With a membership, you also get access to a closed Facebook group where we will be diving into deeper themes and topics. Members get access to videos, guided meditations, mini pauses (1-5 minute mindful activities to do throughout the day to reset), breathing techniques and more. It's something I am so proud of, and I hope to see you all there!
I am a firm believer that if a person has an idea and isn't ready to receive it, bring it to life, or run with it, the idea will be transferred to someone else. This is an idea that I could not risk slipping through my fingers as it is one that pulling at every heartstring that I own.
But with starting a new business endeavor, I am challenged with long hours, stress and emotions surrounding the launch of this project. Up until now, I feel like I have been "keeping my head in the game" so to speak. I wake up every single day and balance family life, building this business and maintaining the blog. I have had minor moments of panic and thoughts like, "What am I doing? Is anyone even going to want to join my membership site or interested in learning mindfulness? And can I do this?"
Read MoreI am gearing up towards something huge and I cannot wait to share it with you (hint: it has to do with mindfulness). But, with new ideas or initiatives can also come self-doubt and worry. I can feel the negative self-talk turn on and I am trying to build myself up anyway that I can so I can continue to trust that inner voice inside of me that says I can do this.
Read MoreThere is a new technique that I have been trying in the mornings with Winter that I wanted to share with you. It's called 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and it's as simple as the name!
Sometime during the day take two minutes to tap into all five senses and observe what is going on around you. I find the most simple moments for this meditation technique is when I am getting my daughter ready for the day, heating up my morning coffee or when I am doing the laundry. Here's how it works:
Read Morehese past few weeks, I have noticed myself become so intensely in tune with how I spend my time with my daughter. I already get emotional when I think how one day she won't be the only child that has stolen my heart (and I am not even pregnant yet). I want to breathe in as many moments with her before our family size does grow. One of my most favorite times of the day with Winter is before bed---it's my time to practice mindfulness with her, wind down from the day by stretching and to spend uninterrupted time with my girl.
Read MoreWeekends may as well be the best invention in the whole wide world. It's a way to slow down, enjoy ignoring the to-do list and spend quality time with family. I have been doing a ton of reading on how I can bring mindful living into my everyday life as a working mother. I have noticed that mindfulness has helped me to stay centered, calm and grateful for the here and now. I am less reactive and a whole lot more patient. I feel less overwhelmed by the demands of motherhood and I notice myself having thoughts of gratitude.
Read MoreSo many of you ask how you get started in living a more mindful life. While I don't think it takes much to learn how to practice mindfulness, I always like to encourage others to create a space that will inspire them to meditate.
Read MoreThe other day I had the privilege of creating and delivering a professional development presentation to my entire school staff on mindfulness and how trauma effects the brain. I was blown away with how well it was received and I am hopeful that my staff will not only begin to use it themselves, but use it with their students as well.
Read MoreAfter completing a 10 week course in mindfulness last fall, I have been trying out different apps to make sure I keep up with my practice. Mindfulness is just like working out: If you don't use it, you lose it so to speak. It's important to make a concerted effort to practice on a daily basis to reap the benefits. It doesn't have to be a huge chunk of time. I typically aim for at least 10 minutes a day and can tell a difference when I don't get it in.
Read MoreI get asked about my mindfulness practice on a daily basis. I think one of the biggest misconceptions about living a mindful life is that you have to set aside 30 minutes a day or longer to do it. This is simply not true. In fact, I practice being mindful several times throughout the day. I have noticed that by doing even these simple techniques, I am less reactive, more attentive, feel more grounded and am able to manage stress with more ease.
The following is a list of my favorite ways to take one minute to be mindful. Note: You don’t have to do them all in a day to reap the benefits. Just pick one or two from each category and mix them up.
Read MoreWhen I am having a bad day, I feel consumed by negativity. Unfortunately, this makes a lot of sense from a psychological perspective. Our brains respond to negative information three to five times more than they do to positive input. In the old days, this was crucial to survival. It wouldn’t have been wise for our brains to notice the beautiful scenery when we had to be attuned to natural threats such as predators. Even though we aren’t faced with the same threats today, our brain is still wired the same, which is a major bummer if you ask me.
Read MoreFor my New Year's resolution, I told myself that I would do better at managing difficult emotions, that I wouldn't be so hot-headed and that I would give into my emotions for a short time, instead of letting them fester. I also vowed that I would give myself more slack and stop trying to be so damn perfect all the time. To hold myself accountable, I want to write about how it's going and share something that I use all the time that seems to be helping.
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