2014 brought me so much insight and knowledge about myself and the world around me but one of the biggest things that 2014 showed me was to honor the process, honor every step of growth, celebrate the process and to SLOW DOWN.
Being present and really paying attention to what is going on in your life will tell you SO much about your health. For example: in the early part of 2014 my body was physically tired, I had aches and pains that I had no idea where they were coming from. I mean come on, I work out on a regular basis, yoga every damn day, I eat a very clean diet with the occasional times that I let things slide, so why was I feeling so run down. Well, for starters, I was ignoring what my body was trying to tell me, I was ignoring my process, I was putting so much expectation and pressure on myself that it manifested into fatigue and body aches. It wasn’t that I was unhealthy, it was that I had to press the reset button on my lifestyle. So I decided it was time for me to put ME first and guess what happened…. a whole bunch of amazing things! My body physically feels better now that I know how to relax and slow down, I pay more attention to what I am eating, when I am eating there are no distractions when I am eating, I feel I am not having to give myself as much physical food because I am filling my cup of hunger in every aspect of my life, not just physically. So, here are 5 ways you can wrap up this year and 5 ways you can welcome 2015 in with Love, Grace and Ease:
5 Ways to Release 2014
- Take a few moments to sit quietly and reflect: Taking a time out to reflect on how this past year was for you can do wonders for setting new intentions for the new year. By doing this you can see how far you have come in such a short time, validate your process and keep moving forward with intention. It’s a simple practice of awareness of your own life. This is a great way to take ownership of your life and step into the energy of letting go of what was, and creating more space for the amazing experiences that have yet to happen.
- How does your body feel? In that same time that you are reflecting, take a few more minutes and sit with your eyes closed, and just tune in to how you are feeling physically. Ask yourself, am I working too much? Am I fueling my body properly… please do this with as little judgment about yourself as possible. Be compassionate to yourself as if you would someone you loved deeply…. This will help you release the past year and resolve to physically be in your body and present with whatever shows up in 2015.
- Are you paying attention to what you are eating? Take a few days and really pay attention to how you are feeling physically and what’s going into your mouth. Are you eating the same things everyday? Are you wanting to feel better but still putting the same things into your mouth?? You know that is a definition of insanity. Doing the same actions expecting different results…. If you want to change the way you feel, you have to change the way your fuel.
- Clean out your food storage: Take a little bit of time, grab a chair and go through your pantry. What have you been holding onto that needs to go. At the same time, pay attention to how many ingredients are in the packaged food that you have… if there are ingredients that you cannot pronounce, have no idea what they are, OR the product has more ingredients than 6-7 it’s time to go. If you have had this food in your pantry for more than 6 months, please, get rid of it. You should not have to “count calories” the foods that you have in your house should not have a “nutrition label”
- Decrease your sugar intake: The first step in this process is to actually see how much sugar you are consuming. If you are trying to really improve your health, there is no way that you can change it if you have no freaking clue what’s really going into your body. I recommend keeping a food journal for 3-5 days. Take a peak at what ingredients are going into your diet, how much sugar are you actually eating (this will surprise you). Once you have figured that out, it’s time to find some alternatives. These alternatives to sugar should not be artificial sweeteners or no calorie sweeteners, those actually do way more harm than good. The key to weight loss isn’t a decrease in your fat intake, it’s a decrease in your sugar intake and an INCREASE in your fat intake. Chew on that one for a minute.
5 Ways to Welcome Abundance, Ease and Health in 2015.
- Set Your Intentions: A really good way to set your intentions for the new year is to think about how you would like your year to flow, how do you want to feel, what do you want to welcome more of in your life this year? This may sound like, My intention for this year is: I am vibrantly healthy, my life is full of love and ease. By stating this intention that it already has happened, you will open yourself up to that energy of what you intended to bring into your life. This may change throughout the months of the year, but write it on a piece of paper, card and put it in multiple places where you will see it. Reciting this out loud everyday, multiple times a day will help bring that into your life. You will quickly feel shifts if you keep up with it.
- Go on a digital detox: Yeah, I know what you are thinking, seriously, it will change the way you live. You may actually enjoy being present with the people around you, who know you might learn something about yourself while you’re at it. Each day set aside time to just be with yourself, away from technology so no emails, no texts, no social media. Just taking a little bit of quiet time can really make you feel more grounded, relaxed and happier. Over time you will find that you are more connected with yourself and your thoughts become clearer. Taking this time out helps to reset and recharge your mind-body connection, which we all know is critical for overall health.
- Eat Mindfully: This means eating with no distractions by technology or books. Simply sit with your food and really taste it. These days we are set in this go-go-go more-more-more state of mind which is actually leading to a huge decrease in overall health by increasing your stress levels. Taking the time to really taste your food, you will after a bit of time really eating with 100% awareness that you will consume less, enjoying the entire process of eating. We aren’t paying enough attention to our meal times and just simply rushing through them like everything else in our lives leaving us feeling empty and always wanting more, so take the time to let your body know that you love it and be present while eating instead of rushing… again taking time to SLOW DOWN.
- Create a filling up your cup routine: I used to use the phrase and hear it all the time “ I’m just too busy” “ I have no time”…. My answer to that now- yes you do. If you have time for facebook, you have time for yourself. Already get up at the crack of dawn? Cool, get up 20 minutes earlier to take care of you before you start rushing around and taking care of everyone else besides yourself. This is critical to creating health and abundance in your life. Simply letting yourself know that you are worth it by loving you before others, man, that’s the key right there.
- Be Grateful: Wake up with a grateful heart. Each morning take 3 minutes and write down 5 things you are grateful for. I’ve mentioned this one before and I think it’s worth mentioning it again because it sets the energy for the day. If you wake with a grateful heart chances are you will carry that energy into your day and seeing the positive and abundance in life instead of focusing on what’s lacking in your life.
