• brain training - healthy - inspiration - life challenge

    Step Into the Fire, Pt. 2

    Click here to read Step Into the Fire, Pt. 1 Last week I did something CRAY CRAY. (Well, at least for me.) I have been wanting to do a photo shoot with yoga poses for my website but have kept talking myself out of it for the past year. So many excuses! Fear plays a good mind game, yes? But not this time.  This time, I realized my vision of me posing outside, literally on a sidewalk, in front of a huge graffiti mural. No tranquil beach scenes, no Crow, no palm trees gently swaying at sunset. Just me, my…

  • blessings - healthy - inspiration - life challenge - self help

    Step Into the Fire (Pt. 1)

    Today I did something way out of my comfort zone that I’ve envisioned doing for a while, but had been too scared to attempt.  It was one of those things that I really wanted to do, but kept talking myself out of by mentally postponing it. “I’ll do that when I have more time/lose some weight/am stronger/blah blah blah.” You ever play that game with yourself? The one where fear wins and desire loses? Yeah. That game sucks! Anyway- in my role as an empowerment expert, I am all about encouraging people to keep reaching for their big dreams by…

  • brain training - Friday Feels - healthy - inspiration - life challenge - self help

    #FridayFeels Accomplished 

    On September 1, I started my 30 Day Challenge which included a 10 minute daily walk, daily gratitude journaling, and eliminating certain foods from my daily diet (no sugar, dairy, grains, or alcohol).  Aside from the total of 5 days of planned travel in which I released my food restrictions (4 in NOLA, 1 in Vegas), I was able to stick to my Challenge in all three areas! I’m feeling pretty accomplished and I have to say, pretty darn proud of myself. On this final day of my Challenge, here are my observations: This wasn’t about counting calories or weight…

  • brain training - Friday Feels - healing - inspiration - life challenge - self help

    #FridayFeels: Rise Above

    Yesterday I had the honor of being interviewed* for the new Do It Scared podcast. The premise of the show, hosted by Danielle Schnakenberg and Liza Wilde, is to showcase all of the scary shit we choose to do in our lives; stuff that makes us feel alive, vulnerable, powerful- stuff that pushes us to become better versions of ourselves. As I was preparing for what I wanted to talk about, I was frankly blown away by all of the (not literal) fires I’ve jumped into over the years.  I was struck by how much I’ve changed and grown and…

  • healthy - inspiration - life challenge - self help

    September 30 Day Challenge: Halfway Point Check-in

    Here I am, halfway through my September 30 Day Challenge and I have a few observations to share with you. I’ve broken them down into the three categories of my Challenge: Diet, Exercise, and Gratitude. DIET CHALLENGE: 30 days without consuming any sugar*, grains, dairy, or alcohol. (*No artificial sweeteners too. I do allow honey in my tea and pure maple syrup in my almond butter) Changing the way I eat is actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. I knew I was ready for a change, and I started out with the mindset that this is…

  • blessings - brain training - healing - healthy - life challenge - self help - The Cocoon

    Adulting: Tips for Easing Back in After a Holiday

    Adulting can be so hard sometimes, AMIRITE?  Don’t worry Lovelies, you can do this! Whether you are trying to get yourself out of bed and back to work after a long holiday weekend or perhaps an even longer vacation break, there are a few simple things that you can do right now to make your reintegration to Responsible Adult Life a breeze. Here are my Top 5 Tips for Easing Back in After a Holiday: Re-Hydrate!  Top of the list for getting your body back on point. Spending fun times with friends and family almost always revolves around food &…

  • blessings - brain training - life challenge - Mantras - Meditation, Mantras, & Mindfulness - Monday Mantra - self help

    #MondayMantra: I Allow Things to be Easy

    Lately I’ve been thinking about how often  we tend to make a task or project or process far more difficult than it needs to be. Do you ever get frustrated when:  You find yourself waiting in a long line and the person at the front is placing an unnecessarily complex order? Or… The person carrying out your service request is reciting back a time consuming list of company policies? Or… You are trying to find basic information on a website and it is nowhere obvious? Or… The assembly or installation instructions for a new product make NO sense to you…

  • healthy - inspiration - life challenge

    September 30 Day Challenge

    HAPPY SEPTEMBER! Lazy days of summer are coming to an end (okay I am honestly NOT great at being lazy) and you feel the energy around you shifting.  What is one positive, healthy thing you can challenge yourself with over the next 30 days? If you need a teensy bit of inspiration & encouragement, you can join me on my September 30 Day Challenge!  Here’s what I’m challenging myself to do for my health & well-being: 10 minute walk Adjusting my diet Daily gratitude journal   Here’s the details: A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single…

  • blessings - brain training - healing - inspiration - life challenge - Mantras - Monday Mantra - self help

    #MondayMantra I Am Choosing to be Joyful

    Did you know that you have tremendous power to make choices and changes in your own life? It’s true!   Our minds are incredibly powerful and give us the ability to shape how we perceive and respond to our daily circumstances.  Regardless of what type of person you consider yourself to be, we all get to choose our attitude. Even in challenging and difficult circumstances or seasons of life, we can choose to be joyful. This is not to say that we will never experience bad things, or feel sad sometimes, or need to take a time-out to recharge our emotional…

  • blessings - brain training - healthy - inspiration - life challenge - The Cocoon

    Body-Positive Fitness, My Top 5 Tips, & Why I Created The Cocoon

    For the past couple of years, I have been wanting- no, longing to- create a series of fitness videos for people living in bigger bodies, with a crazy twist: I don’t want you to lose a bunch of weight (unless that is something YOU want for yourself).  Instead, I wanted to simply love, support, and encourage people just like me to love the body that they are already living in, and provide them with some easy action-steps to help guide them to a healthier lifestyle.     I had this radical notion that I could begin to deeply, truly LOVE…