32 Ways to Feel Good

If you're like me, adjusting to this new-life has been interesting to say the least. One moment I can feel like I'm doing so well and on top of everything, and the next moment I feel like things are falling apart.

Even if I wake up feeling great, things can easily pivot and I can feel like pulling my hair out before the day has really begun. The only way I've been able to survive and somedays thrive (in the best way I know how) has been to ground myself each day with something for myself....whatever my soul / mind / body is craving.

A lot of times it takes effort, other times I feel inspired.  No matter what, it really works for me, and has often saved me from doing a downward spiral when things get too bumpy. Today I want to share this with YOU!! 

Here are 32 ways to feel good! Think of it as a toolbox of some tools to use when you might need a little pick me up.

1. Pump the music

2. Take a hot bath 

3. Yoga or Dance and really connect to your body

4. Drink a hot tea

5. Just be (as in literally do nothing for 10 mins) 

6. Read a few pages of a book

7. Colour a colouring page

8. Do your nails, hair, or makeup

9. Move your body

10. Call a friend

11. Eat a treat and take in the joy of the moment fully

12. Sit for a moment and literally do nothing 

13. Take a hot shower

14. Have a glass of wine

15. Give yourself an epic orgasm

16. Take a walk

17. Learn something new

18. Journal

19. Put on a skincare mask

20. Watch a movie

21. Write a letter to someone

22. Buy yourself flowers

23. Order something online

24. Forgive someone that wronged you

25. Appreciate nature

26. Sit in the sun

27. Crank the tunes

28. Take some vitamins

29. Send someone a kind message 

30. Declutter an area of the home

31. Choose positivity

32. Smile just because 😊

Create your own list using some of these as examples. Make it yours. Having a toolbox with different "tools" can stop you from heading down a not so good path, and can help you FEEL GOOD!  

All the love to you, 
Jen xoxo

Exercise in Early Postpartum

Once you have a baby life looks and feels completely different. Those early days can feel like a losing battle with trying to do anything for yourself (shower, eat, get dressed, etc). Your baby is literally an extension of you, and we haven't even mentioned the hormone roller coaster yet.

You have a big important role to play for that newborn!

First things first, when talking about early postpartum exercise we are not talking about "losing the baby weight". Mama please! You have enough to worry about right now. If you feel pressure about this then please understand it’s from society and it is NOT something you need to put your attention on right now. Things like keeping your baby alive, keeping yourself hydrated and fed and finding time to sleep when you can is your main priority! This time is so precious try not to waste it by worrying about the crazy idea's society has tried so hard to market to us about “bouncing back”.

So how do you know you are ready to begin thinking about exercise?

• you're starting to get some sleep again

• you are feeling less pain and discomfort when standing for longer periods and/or walking

• bleeding has stopped

Ok so you are ready to begin exercise again - this is NOT the time to jump into a bootcamp class and go all in. You're body has been through A LOT over the past several months and it is very important to ease into exercise again. Slow and steady wins the race!

Here are some exercises to begin strengthening the body again, preparing you for more of a challenge in a Mom + baby focused class like the MamaFit or StrollerFit class I teach.

Video: Exercises for Early Postpartum

The goals here are to 1) Start feeling less pain/discomfort, 2) Re-gain strength and function of the core, and 3) Start feeling good in your body again!! If you start with 1-2 of the exercises shown and do 10 reps that is a great start! This should feel easy to moderate at the beginning, we are aiming for a 4 or 5 out of 10 in difficulty. Depending on where you are you might want to do all 10 exercises 10 reps each and run through it twice.

For cardio Light + Non-impact, ex) Walking

Start with 10 min bouts 1-2 days a week.

Work up to 30-45mins 5-7 days/wk, always make sure to be able to hold a conversation, about 4-5 out of 10 in difficulty.

As you get stronger and better this can improve with time!

Link to full video: Early Postpartum Exercises

Check it out and let me know if you have any questions!!

Jen xo

Tune into the Magic

Are you listening? Are you connecting to that inner magical wisdom?

This body knows exactly what to do if we just are willing to tune in and listen. Our body is constantly giving us hints and little messages in the form of intuition on how to heal and live our best life.

Are you listening? I encourage you to tune in and listen to some of the things it is telling you. Listen to all those little messages it is trying to relay. Trust yourself and when you get an inkling it most likely is your body trying to tell you something! LISTEN TO IT! And go and do that thing!

Are you craving more sleep? Movement? Yoga? A bath? Listen to music on your own? Are you craving a workout? To dance? A walk through the trees? These things don't have to be loud messages they can be even the softest little whisper. - LISTEN TO THEM. Go do what you can as often as you can. WHY? Because it's during these times that you get the most magic sent to you!! It's during these times that you get downloads of intuition - ideas or thoughts that can become real manifestations in your life.

It doesn't always have to be a regular habit (as in you don't have to start a daily habit of walking through the trees. It can be random, whatever your heart is calling for. But I do suggest getting into the habit of listening and being open to what comes up. And honoring yourself enough to give this gift to yourself for 2 important reasons.

#1 - To RECHARGE. We are so busy giving to everyone else that we are so often left to last.

And #2 - OPEN YOURSELF UP TO THE MAGIC THAT WILL COME OUT OF IT!! I've had some of my BEST ideas when I've taken these little moments to myself. These little moments have fuelled and directed my business in the best way possible.

Trust yourself and your intuition - See what magic opens up to you! Let me know I'd love to hear some of your stories because I know there will be some great ones!

All the love to you,

Jen xo

7 Ways to Shift Your Lifestyle

7 Ways to shift Your Lifestyle!

One of the simplest ways to improve our lives in a massive way without necessarily taking a massive step (because those can be daunting) is by changing some of our habits. It doesn't take much, just a few little steps in the right direction over time can really set us on a whole lifestyle shift.

Reduce sugar as much as possible.

A study that was done shows that elevated sugar levels have been found to suppress the immune system. This affects the bodies ability to fight off sickness, disease, and inflammation. Along with a slew of other things like increased brain fog, low energy, mood swings, problem skin, weight gain and more - there are more and more reasons to reduce sugar every day.

Plan your food.

Meal planning can feel like an elaborate + detailed plan however it doesn't have to be. Have a few breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas ready at the start of the week so that when it comes time to prepare the meal you can skip the part where you have to figure it out. Already having it planned will feel like a weight is lifted off your shoulders

Write down your goal

What is an area you'd like to focus on right now? Is it to start making health more of a priority? Or to start a new habit? Or to spend more time with friends? Whatever it might be - Write 1-3 goals down now! A goal in your mind is just a wish.

• Be clear on the goal. Instead of "I’m going to work out more", try "I'm going to walk 6 days a week". Begin with a few small action steps you can start taking right away and then start!

• Read your goal every day. Commit to it. And keep doing the work. There will be days where you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up about it, just get back to the commitment you made to yourself because you're important!

Create healthy disciplines

Humans work pretty well around routines (consistency is something we crave even from birth) so if you create healthy easy to do routines supporting your goal you’ll be more likely to stick to it. For example- leave your running shoes in your bathroom so in the morning you wake up, get dressed in workout clothes and put your shoes on and head to your workout space to do your thing. Or if your goal is to drink more water - have a glass of water beside you always so you're often reminded to drink water!

Creating these healthy disciplines will start to feel easy and just part of the routine after a while. And if you create the routine there is more likely you'll stay on course!

Catch the energy drainers.

We all have them whether its a person, a device (hello phone I'm referring to you), a habit, a thought process, the list is endless. These energy suckers are out there and can cause us to spiral downhill on even the best of days.

• 1st - Determine what they are for you. Maybe this means doing a review of how you feel at checkpoints during the day. You'll get an idea of when you feel good and when you don't and why. What foods did you eat, people you encountered, activities you did that made you feel that way? Some of you reading this already know exactly what those energy drainers are already.

• 2nd - Once you're aware - CREATE HEALTHY BOUNDARIES around these or if possible CLEAR THEM all together. If checking social media is one of these for you then maybe checking your phone first thing in the day is NOT the best choice for you. Knowing yourself and having awareness around this is a great place to start mastering your energy!

SET A REWARD

Accomplishing goals is great and all - but if we just go from one goal to the next without rewarding ourselves it can be boring. When you set a goal - also SET A REWARD. A reward that will be worth putting in the work for. Doing the hard stuff can get less motivating as the excitement fades, so keep trekking along and remember you’ll have the prize at the end to look forward. This is new for me, I’ve set a lot of goals but have never really thought about rewarding myself for them. This is something I'm challenging myself to this year and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes for myself.

When setting your reward, set it in relation to the size of the goal. Don't set a tiny reward for a MAJOR goal. And be sure to honor yourself by actually giving and enjoying the reward once you accomplish it.

Build your toolbox

As we go through life there are many obstacles and challenges we are faced with. Our energy is going to be up and down, and sometimes we're not going to know what hit us. For myself, having a toolbox of different "tools" so to speak has helped bring me back to balance when I've needed it. Tools like yoga, music, meditation, podcasts, kale, running, taking my dog for a walk - all of these things help to bring me back 'home' or to my centered and balanced self.

As we go about our lives growing and overcoming challenges we should keep in mind different things we can do (tools we can use) to help bring us back home.

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So there are 7 habits to shift our lifestyle. What habit speaks to you the most? What 1 or 2 are you able to implement into your life this week? Which one do you feel the most resistance towards? I challenge you to try out 1 in the next few weeks and see how it goes. And remember success isn't sustainable when we jump in with all we've got. Success works better when we make small incremental changes over a period of time.

Thanks for reading,

Jen xo

Anatomy of a Buddha Bowl

Soulful. Nourishing.  And provides the body with good wholesome energy. If I had to choose 1 meal to have every day for the rest of my life – it would be this, it is so versatile and can’t get boring because there are so many parts.

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You can't mess up creating a Buddha Bowl. Any part can be swapped out for basically any ingredient. You can use whatever you have, including any leftovers you’re trying to use up.

 Greens:

• spinach, kale, romaine, arugula, collards – anything

 Grains:

• rice, quinoa, amaranth, wild rice – anything

 here’s where it gets interesting…

Protein:

• black beans, chickpeas, lentils, tuna/salmon, small portion of meat, hard boiled or fried egg – again anything!!

Vegetable:

• Roast Veg - sweet potato, butternut squash, broccoli, brussel sprouts. 
• Fresh Veg - tomatoes, cucumber, shredded carrots, sprouts, bell pepper, etc

Healthy Fats:

• avocado, Olive oil made into a dressing, shredded cheese, greek yogurt

Extras:

• Hummus, chia seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.

You really can’t go wrong!  This is a GREAT option for reducing meat throughout the week (use lentils or beans instead of meat). A great place to start meal prepping -  preparing some stuff ahead of time becomes easier with practice and you’ll have something clean and nourishing to grab and go!

Let me know what you think - if you've tried to make one before? What were your favourite pieces to add? Or will you be trying this out in the near future? Love to hear your thoughts! 

All the best, 

Jen xo