Category: #retreat

#retreats #journaling #healthycooking #visionboards #manifesting #meditation #deepbreathing #dreamcometrue

#retreat

Are You Grounded?

singlesassymom

During the summer when I was a kid, I don’t think I wore shoes, well except when I had to go to the store with my mom or church. I seriously spent 99% of my time barefoot. Playing outside without shoes, riding my bike without shoes, running through the sprinklers, playing in the irrigation ditch (I will say I have had a few close calls of stepping on a snake being barefoot outside and playing in the irrigation ditch, but I’m terrified of snakes so I become like a ninja and can jump higher than humanly possible when I see a snake). Even now as a woman in my 50s, if I’m home, I don’t wear shoes. One of my favorite things to do then and now, is to be outside barefoot when it rains. There is something about feeling the ground beneath my feet and feeling the rain fall from sky. For the longest time I thought it was because I’m an earth sign so I love connecting with the earth. And although I still think that is part of it, I know it is more than that. Shoes restrict our toes and feet. I know that when I wear shoes, especially close toed shoes like tennis shoes, my feet will get hot and start to ache. I need to take my shoes off to let them cool off and be able to spread my toes out and have free range of motion in my feet. I even started exercising barefooted because I just can’t wear shoes while I exercise. Being barefoot allows us to stand and walk the way we were supposed to that is more in line with how our bodies should be.

Our life is full of toxins. Those toxins come from our food, pollution in the air and the toxins that are given off by the electronics in our lives. Think about it, we have at least 1 TV in our home, tablets, electronic books, at least 1 computer plus the computers we use at work. At work I look at 6 computer screens. Not only is that stressful on the eyes, think of all the toxins those are giving off. We also all walk around with a mini computer in our pockets that we call a cell phone which puts off a lot of toxins. These are called emf, electromagnetic field. Extended exposure can be detrimental to our health.

Electricity has to be grounded or you will you cause a fire or electrocution. Our bodies need to be grounded as well in order to recover from injuries or pain, reduce inflammation, improve circulation, improve our mood, fight toxins and so many, many other health benefits.

There are grounding products out there that you can use while you work or sleep. You can also stand outside barefoot. The earth is negative energy which helps us to ground ourselves. Standing barefoot in the dirt, grass, sand or on a natural rock like a boulder helps your body absorb that negative energy which helps to ground your body. I’m not saying stand in gravel and cut your feet up but stepping out and standing on the dirt or grass for a few minutes will help to change your physical and mental health. We also have pressure points in our feet that are connected to our organs. I believe having direct contact with the earth on those pressure points helps to heal those organs. (I didn’t find scientific proof of this. This is my own belief.)

I also feel like getting your hands in the earth does the same thing. You are putting skin in direct contact with the earth and something about playing in the dirt to plant flowers are vegetables takes us back to our childhood.

The best part about this? It’s free! So, throw your shoes off and get those tootsies outside in the grass! Your body will thank you!

#retreat

What is Bio-individuality?

singlesassymom

I am from a very small town. Over a couple of decades ago when I was living in that small town, I started noticing several people in town were losing A LOT of weight. I remember asking how that was happening. They were taking some kind of supplement or pill. It was so long ago; I really don’t remember. I just remember a lot of people were taking it and they were noticing a difference. Over the years there have been some popular diets that people have been doing to lose a lot of weight. Atkins, Keto, Paleo, etc. I was one of them. I went on the Paleo diet exclaiming it was a lifestyle. And, truly at the time it really was a lifestyle. I was dedicated to eating the way the Paleo Diet says to eat. No gluten, no grains, no refined sugar, no dairy. You can eat meat, veggies, some fruit, nuts and seeds. That is the Paleo Diet in the simplest form. I definitely lost a lot of weight and I felt great!

Then I started dating someone who didn’t eat that way and started saying to myself, “Just a little bit of sugar or 1 piece of bread will be fine.” Next thing I know I’m no longer being disciplined, and I gained the weight back. Over the years I have tried a few other things like Keto. I couldn’t stick with it for some reason even though I love dairy and Keto “allows” dairy, it just wasn’t working for me. I tried to go back on Paleo and my body would not respond to it like it did before.

That’s when I had to say to myself, “Self, your body has changed, and you need to find what works for you to make you feel good. You are not the same as everyone else.” Everybody and every BODY is different. What works for one person, won’t work for the next. We have to do what is best for our own bodies. I used to be jealous of those people who could run miles and miles everyday. Let’s be honest, I still am kind of jealous. I so wanted to be able to run, that I years ago I joined a running club to learn the proper way to run. I learned A LOT and the ladies in this club and the woman who runs it and still has a running club to this day, are AMAZING! I did a half marathon, running and walking. When that was over, I was done running. I didn’t like it ( I wish I did!) and I could never get up to where I was running a straight mile without stopping to walk. Even in high school when we had to run everyday, I couldn’t do it. I realized, running is not my thing and that’s ok. I had to find what is best for me.

Bio-individuality means each person is different and has different nutritional needs. I would take that a step further and say the type of exercise our body thrives with is also individual. If someone has an auto-immune disease, they are not going to be able to eat the same things as me. If someone is diabetic or has high blood pressure or heart disease, they can’t eat the same as me. Same with exercise. Some people do well with weight training, others it may be too hard on their bodies.

How do we determine what is best for us and our bodies? Well, unless you have a health issue like the ones listed above, you can do things like elimination and experimentation to determine how your body reacts. Say for example, gluten. For me, gluten is not a good thing. Am I allergic? I don’t think so. As much as I love gluten, I feel sick when I eat it. I still eat it once in a while and I always regret it. I found this out by eliminating it from my diet and got in touch with how my body feels without it. Then I added it back in and paid attention to how it feels when I have it and realized, gluten should not be in my diet. I do this with everything that I eat.

I recently went vegan. The only reason I decided to do this was because I wasn’t feeling good and Paleo wasn’t working. I gave up meat and dairy and I feel better. I haven’t lost any weight, but I do feel better. But I also have noticed that now that it’s hot, I get the shakes a lot more so I eat sugar. When I do that, I feel better so I think the heat is dropping my blood sugar. Now I have to figure out what foods I need to eat that are good for me that will help with that so I don’t eat sugar. Juice is another thing that I absolutely love and love how it makes me feel.

There are certain things everyone should be doing. They are, stop eating refined sugar. It truly is bad. Also, eat more veggies! Everyone should be eating more veggies. The rest, pay attention to your body and how it reacts to foods. Do what is best for you, not what is best for your bestie and don’t let anyone convince you that you don’t know what is best for you. Let me know how you feel!

#retreat

Do You Believe?

singlesassymom

Years ago, I read the book The Secret and then they came out with the movie. I was intrigued. Could you really put your wishes out into the universe and receive them? I have spent many years doubting, but the last couple of years I have tried to have an open mind about manifestation.

I attended a class where a woman was talking about vision boards. A few people in the class shared their vision board and talked about how things on their boards were coming true. So, I decided to try it. I created a vision board and hung it on my wall. I had 1 thing come true from the board.

Since then, I have learned more about vision boards and have taught classes on them. Basically, a vision board is a dream board. You put pictures, words, phrases, stickers, etc that best describe your dreams and goals. Put it somewhere that you will see it all the time. This is your reminder of what your goals and dreams are. Then it is time to get to work.

I think the misconception is you will automatically get these things. I have come to realize that yes, the universe will help you achieve these goals and dreams if you believe, but you also have to put in the work. You get busy working towards achieving those goals and dreams. You also express gratitude to the universe as if you have already received those gifts and blessings. Then you believe! That is the hardest part, really and truly believing.

This all goes back to, what you put out into the universe comes back to you. If you put negativity out there, then you will get negativity back. If you put light and love out there, you will get light and love back. With practice, you will eventually start receiving the gifts the universe wants to give to you. As my friend says, “Be careful what you wish for because you will receive it.”

Do you believe?

#retreat

Juicing

singlesassymom

Does everyone remember the guy Jack LaLanne? He did infomercials about juicers and how important juicing is. He got himself in trouble with his sponsors because he would say in his infomercial, “I don’t care what juicer you use, just juice.” He was so passionate about juicing. He credits juicing for curing his cancer. When he was 20 years old and playing football, he was diagnosed with cancer. He met with a doctor who told him to drink carrot juice. He started drinking carrot juice and his cancer disappeared. That got him hooked on juicing.

I’m not saying that your cancer will be cured by juicing, but I am saying juicing has a lot of health benefits. Why? In the words of Elyse Myers, “Great question, I would love to tell you.”

Juicing takes all of your fruit and vegetables and grinds the juice out of them. Because it is raw and liquid, then the nutrients are absorbed into your system much faster. The digestive process has already begun before it even enters your system by being liquified. If you are eating the whole vegetable, it will take hours for your body to absorb all those nutrients because of the fiber. Juicing is a great way to consume a large amount of vegetables during the day. 1 glass of juice can have several servings of vegetables and fruit.

Fiber is definitely good for the body, but too much fiber can cause gas, bloating and constipation. Juicing can help clean out your system by cleansing your liver and cleaning out your digestive system. At the same time your body will absorb all those nutrients and vitamins. Fruits and vegetables are natures medicine and I for one would prefer to use nature’s medicine over the medicine that is pushed on us that doesn’t heal us, but masks the symptoms.

Each vegetable and fruit does something for our bodies. They help to strengthen our hearts and circulation, reduce our blood pressure, help to control blood sugar, cleanse and detox our liver and kidneys, help with digestion and immunity and in some cases, can help fight cancer. There are so many more benefits to consuming a large amount of vegetables and a little bit of fruit. Fruit is good for us, but we have to be careful not to consume too much because it does have sugar.

I started on my juice journey about a year ago. I saw an online school to become a juice therapist and I signed up for it. I can tell you that since I have started juicing, I feel soooo much better. I can actually feel the energy hit my body when I drink it. It is like a rush.

There are a few key things to remember if you start juicing. 1, use a cold-pressed juicer. Using a juicer that grates the fruits and veggies, it is heating it up which kills the nutrients. Using a cold-pressed juicer grinds the produce and keeps the nutrients intact. Because of this, you can store the juice for up to 3 days. 2, try to buy organic as much as possible. Consuming any fruit and veggies is better than not however, organic is better if you can do it. 3, make sure you wash the produce very well. You don’t know who or how many have touched the produce, so you want to remove all of that. There is a lot more, but I will save that for classes that are coming down the road! Happy juicing!

#retreat

Retreat was a Success!

singlesassymom

Over the years I have tried a few things to get going with my health coaching, but everything I tried didn’t feel right. It wasn’t right for me and it wasn’t right for those I was trying to help. My intentions were genuine, it just wasn’t the right fit. I love helping people which I think is obvious with my 27 year career in law enforcement. I want to help others with their health too and be able to do that moving into retirement. So many people struggle with physical and mental health issues and if I can make a small dent in that trend then I have been successful.

A few months ago, when I was getting ready for bed, I did some deep breathing and I said out loud to the Universe that I want to help others and I need inspiration to do that, then I went to bed. The next morning at 5 am my eyes popped open, I sat straight up in bed and said, “Retreats! That is it!”. About an hour later I got onto Facebook and I saw an add that said something to the effect of pay what you can for a 3 day training on retreats. Seriously? I also happened to be on vacation while those classes were going. That was definitely a sign! I paid a little bit of money, took the classes which was an online all day 3 day event and I learned a ton. The longer I sat in those classes, the more validation I had that retreats was where I needed to focus and add in some classes after the retreat as well.

I then went to Dollartree and they had servicing dishes in my business colors! What? I only found them at the one store and I scooped them all up. I had no idea how I was going to use them, but by golly, I was going to have them. I also went to Target and found super cute little spray bottles and jars. I scooped those up too not knowing how I was going to use them, but I knew they were there for a reason and it was meant to be for me to have them for the retreat.

I set out to plan the perfect 1-day retreat. There were hiccups along the way for sure, but that just made me realize this was the right thing to do and I had to work harder! I created a journal that was special for the retreat. I agonized over the food because I wanted it to be perfect. My sister volunteered her home. I created a little healthy cookbook that was just for the retreat goers so they would be able to go home and start creating in their kitchens. I typed up a couple of cheat sheets about food that they could refer back to regularly. I made homemade hand sanitizer so we could be safe. I made little folders for them to hold all of their goodies. Teaching about deep breathing, journaling, cooking and vision boards was the easy part! I know that looks like a weird combination. Trust me, it all flows together! I wanted these ladies to have an amazing experience and make the day just about them!

I cannot explain to you how much joy I felt yesterday. Watching these women interact with each other, laughing, crafting, learning and sharing their stories that came from the deepest parts of their souls brought tears to my eyes and filled me with so much love for them. I am teary as I type this! Every single person has been through sh*t and having them open up and share that with us all was awe inspiring. They wrote in their journals and started the journey of digging deep inside to start healing from their past hurts. They created their vision boards which was a self-reflection journey as well. One of them was scared of the vision board and it ended up being one of her favorite parts. The women were texting the group in the middle of the retreat offering to be there for each other. 10 women shared and bonded and no one left there feeling alone.

I will continue to say this until I leave this earth, health is not just about diet and exercise. Those are important for sure, but health is so much more than that. It is finding balance in every single aspect of our lives. If we are struggling with something, it doesn’t matter how much we exercise or diet, it won’t help. We have to deal with our past traumas and with the stuff we got going on in order to be healthy. Also, good health is not an end game, it is a journey. One we have to work on every day. Some days it is easy and some days it is hard.

I want to help you on your health journey. Why? Because I love you. I may not know you yet, but I love you and you are worth it! I hope to see you at the next retreat!