Author: Amy

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Less Anxiety & Fear….

Good morning, Happy Thursday, can’t believe another week has almost passed us by, make today count, you won’t get it back.

My morning poem:  Been having some real confusion on the direction my life needs to take right now, can’t seem to make a decision that will please everyone.  So I went to the ocean, to let my body unwind a bit, to just let my thoughts come undone.  Just for awhile I thought nothing but about the very moment I was in.  The sounds, the smells, the beauty, the way the mist felt on my skin.  And later when I returned, my problems were still here, but I’m facing them with less anxiety, and most importantly, with less fear… – Amy –

I know not everyone can just take a stroll down the road and be at a beautiful beach or a waterfall or in the mountains. But everyone can step outside, whether you live in a major city, suburb, or way out in the middle of nowhere, millions of miles away in Egypt.  Today if you’re struggling with decisions, or just life in general, take a moment or two, step outside, think of what’s beautiful, anything at all.  Maybe you see a beautiful tree, flower, puppy, ocean, mountain, or waterfall.  Or maybe all you can see is people busy bustling around with their stressed out lives.  Even that can be a blessing, think about how you don’t want that for your life, and then do your best to make it all slow down.  Breath deeply, in through your nose, big exhale through your mouth, be mindful for just a few moments, and then go back in, take on your day, see if it helps just a bit.

I know a lot of our health issues today, especially in America, are stress related.  We think we have to have our shit together at all times, that we have to know exactly what our plan is, where our life is headed and how we’re going to get there.  We need perfect lovers, spouses, children, we need to be perfect ourselves.  And it’s all a lie.  I can highly bet that the majority of us are in the same boat.  We don’t know what the hell we’re really doing, we’re just doing it.

Life shouldn’t be this difficult, there should be hard work, yes, but if we aren’t enjoying life, then why were given it in the first place?  Find some joy today, put away thoughts of perfection, we’re all a little fucked up and that’s ok.  I have a real issue with this, and I’m doing my best to find a way to deal with it.  Ocean therapy is a big one for me, but any type of nature brings me peace and healing.

I hope you find a little peace today and I hope it brings a little healing to your life.

I love this poem titled “Peace” by J.W. Von Goethe

“There is only silence

on the mountain tops

Among the tips of the trees

You perceive barely a breath

Even the birds in the forest

Keep still and are silent

Wait then

Just a little while longer

and you too

will find peace at last.”

Cause I”m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff……

 

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Be your own Valentine….

 

Happy Wednesday, I hope you do something for yourself to make today beautiful!

My morning poem:  A holiday celebrating love can be the loneliest time, especially when you have no Valentine…-Amy-

So listen, I know there are a lot of people out there that won’t have anyone to say Happy Valentines Day to.  Maybe you won’t receive chocolates or flowers, or even a sweet text, but please, don’t let it ruin your day.  After all, today is also just Wednesday, and there are a lot of things you can do to make it beautiful.

Here are a few things I’m going to practice today to make my day better:  Send my kids cute messages, because I want them to know that not just today, but everyday I love them, they’re my forever Valentines.  Buy flowers for myself, to put on my stand in front of where I do my yoga practice, this is where I also placed rocks that I brought back from the beach, just to bring good memories and make me feel more relaxed. Take a hot bath, sprinkle some lavender in the water and just soak in it.  It’s rare that I take the time, I’m usually jumping in feeling rushed to hurry in and out of the shower, so this will be really nice.  Just basically loving myself.

I know it’s kind of cliche these days, everyone seems to be into “self-love.”  I think self-love is great, do I think you should only care about yourself, and not put other’s feelings into prospective, and sometimes put them above your own feelings, absolutely not.  There are a lot of times we have to sacrifice a bit of ourselves to make someone else happy.  At least I do, because making others happy is often what makes me the happiest.

So today, whether you have a Valentine or not, show yourself some extra love, be mindful of how much you have been blessed with, and honestly, you may not at this moment have a “love of your life,” but believe me, you are loved, and you need to remember that today and everyday….

Also….as a side note: who needs chocolate anyways? go workout, it’s healthier for that heart that everyone will be posting pictures of 😉

So here’s my message to you: Happy Wednesday, Happy Valentine’s Day, make today beautiful cause you are beautiful my friend!

Peace & love

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff…..

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Light in the dark…

Good morning, hope your Tuesday is beautiful!

My morning poem: She placed the picture by her bed, she knew there would be some dark times ahead.  It was majestic and made her focus on the light when she was sleepless, on those very dark nights.  Meditating on the sound of the waves made her body calm.  She had always known the ocean, was where she belonged….-Amy-

Spent a long weekend in Rhode Island with my daughter.  This picture was a flight I took my drone on, it came back with some amazing videos and photos.  I’ve always loved nature, but the ocean, has always seemed the place that made my heart feel renewed.  I’ve visited all different places with beautiful oceans from Florida to Washington State to Oregon, to Rhode Island, and all are equally beautiful and majestic.  This was, however, the most beautiful lighthouse I have seen and also one of the oldest.  It was the 3rd light house built on the Atlantic Ocean way back in the 1700’s.  I felt so much history and though a little spooky, it was so calming to know that this beacon of light had probably saved thousands of lives.

Have you ever placed your favorite pictures by your bed, or just in your bedroom?  I have several.  A few of my favorite sunsets, flowers, and now this one of this lighthouse.  I used to think that mediating was quite odd, and to be honest, I can barely get my mind to “be still” for a few seconds, let alone several minutes.  Since beginning Yoga though, I’ve really been focusing on just being mindful, which has helped me calm my mind and let it just be still, even for a few minutes.

I’m a really light sleeper, and honestly don’t sleep too well most nights, but I’ve started practicing placing my most calming pictures closest to my bed.  On those nights I wake up restless, or sad, or my mind is just going a thousand miles a minute, I reign my focus in on one of those pictures, and I replay how I felt at the moment I took the pictures, or on how the picture itself makes me feel.  I remember the excitement of flying the drone and just listening to the crashing of the waves, and it makes me feel happy to be alive and to have had the chance to be there.  I focus on one of my favorite sunset pictures from Washington State on the ocean and it makes me remember how happy I was at that moment, and how absolutely beautiful it was and it calms me.  Sometimes I focus on a few of my favorite purple flower pictures, I think about the smell and of how beautiful the world is if we truly just look to find the beauty in it.

I hope maybe this practice will give you some good ideas if you struggle with resting like I do.  It really has helped me, and just the practice of being mindful alone has changed my life for the better.

I hope your Tuesday is truly beautiful, and hey, run to CVS, print off some $0.39 pictures, put them in some lovely frames, it’s cheap and one of the best therapies I’ve found….

Peace & love

Cause I’m not there, but perhaps, Soon Enuff…

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Life is short why not live…but live healthy!

Hope this weekend finds you well!

Here is my Saturday morning poem:

I hope that you will find me, there along the shore talking to the waves.  I’ve marked the spot where I’ll return each morning to think about the day….If you could just find a way. -Amy-

Yesterday I arrived in Rhode Island for a short weekend visit with my daughter.  It’s a beautiful part of the earth, and I’m so glad I’ve been blessed to get to visit this area.

I went to bed not feeling well and woke early this morning, after not sleeping much through the night, and wondered why I may be feeling this way.  Often, when traveling and getting busy I lose track of exactly what I’m putting into my body. And I’m definitely paying the price for not eating well yesterday.

After doing some restorative yoga this morning, just to get my mind right and hopefully my body as well, I feel much better and ready to face our fun day.

I hope, that like me, you’ll be more aware today, as we can’t control everything around us but we can control what we put into our mouths.

I love this Mindful poem by Anna

“My awareness settled comfortably in the seat of the present moment open to the symphony of life…”

Life is short, why not live!!

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff

 

 

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Perfect is an Illusion….

Good Morning, Hope you make this Thursday beautiful….

My morning poem:  Exercise, it’s not an obsession, I hope you haven’t been given that impression.  Just finding a better way of living, of balancing this life, all while continuing breathing.  You have to do it for yourself, don’t chase perfection, because I’ve come to the conclusion that “perfect” it doesn’t exist, it’s just an illusion.

Far from perfect as you can see, knees not up high enough, head down to low…but you know what, this shit is hard and it took me almost a month of practicing this everyday just to do finally hold a side crow. I’ll keep working until I get it better, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made.

You have to strive everyday for a healthier way of life.  It’s hard, we’re under a lot of stress to balance family, work, exercise, sex, basically to just find balance in this life, all while continuing to inhale and exhale.

I’m a real beginner at Yoga, but in the short amount of time I’ve been practicing it, I feel better.  Yes, it’s very hard, but hey, so is life.  All we can do is the best we can do, everyday striving to do a little better.

The breathing techniques and just being mindful of each feeling my body has, the temperature change, realizing how tense my body actually is, and then how great it feels to release that tension, even if only for a short while, it’s well worth the sore muscles you may feel the next day.

I challenge you all to simply give it a try, if I didn’t believe it worked make a healthier mind, body, and soul, I would never suggest it, I would have tried it and said, “forget this, it sucks.”  But I truly love this way of living and I’m hopeful that you’ll find benefit in it as well.

Peace & love

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff….

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Love or Lust, or is it?

Good morning, hope you take this Tuesday and make it beautiful…

So here’s my morning poem, and also my thoughts on the matter of Love or Lust…

“Why do they say, “you’re in lust, not love?” Why is it fantasy and dreaming versus reality and life?  I’m not sure about the type of love others are in, or their opinions on the subject, but I can tell you that the one I long for, the person I crave the most, the one I fantasize about during the day and dream about at night, the one I lust after, is also the one I love.  Why would you ever settle for anyone that doesn’t make you feel all of the above?”

Ever really thought about it?  Why does love tend to get boring after years?  Why do we start to take the ones we love for granted, not look at them with the same lust in our eyes as when we first met?  I believe it’s because we get in a rut.  Often on the part of both partners, we get complacent.  We stop worrying so much about how we look for them.  When we first met, we would dress up, make sure hair and make up looked good, probably worked out to be in tip top shape for them.  We had sex all the time, cause it was exciting and new.  And then, we let the days turn into years, life gets complacent, we think everything’s fine, we stop trying to impress the ones we love.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we have to impress at all times, I’m just saying if you want to keep some spice in your love life, remember what it was like when you first met.  Dress up and do your hair and make up, especially on occasion.  Buy a sexy nighty, buy some candles, reserve a hotel. Why not keep life fun and keep love interesting and romantic, sexy and you know what, those fantasies you have? Make them a reality….

I know life can get tough, things get in the way, we’re tired, overworked, stressed.  If you still have young kids I know you’re frazzled, sometimes the last thing you want at night is someone else grabbing at you, ha. Believe, me I was there at one stage in my life.  But from experience, looking back now, I wish someone would have told me how important it is to keep the sex life alive in your love life.  Sometimes you just need to breath, relax, let your partner know you’re tired, but that you do want to be with them, let them take the reigns, and let yourself be mindful of just the moment your in.  Don’t think about the day or what you have to do tomorrow, just think about how it feels to be being loved at that moment, your body needs it, your mind needs it, and believe me your partner needs it as well.  I honestly believe our sex lives are just as important as eating right and exercising, it’s all part of a healthy well rounded life.

Love & peace!

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff…..

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Mindful Aging….

My morning poem:  When you walk out this morning be mindful of every smell, color and texture, all these things will bring your senses pleasure.  And just perhaps one day, we’ll share these treasures together….-Amy-

Good Monday Morning,

New day, new week, let’s make it great!

So does growing older every give you a bit of anxiety?

There are days I get so excited about the stage of life I’m in, kids are grown, I’m older, but still young enough to do pretty much anything I want to.  Still, there are days, I look at myself in the mirror, see the little lines getting more pronounced, having to color my hair a little more often, and times when I worry about my future (older) self.  Financially, health wise, all of it, some days it’s a struggle.

But as I’ve grown in my practice of mindfulness, I’ve come to realize, there’s absolutely nothing you can do about getting older, it’s going to happen, we can’t stop time, and honestly, who would want to?

However, we can change the way we age.  Why does the word age get associated with illness, and becoming decrepit.  Why can’t we grow old and remain healthy?

I believe if we take care of our bodies, minds, and soul through exercise, healthy eating, and healthy living, life can be absolutely wonderful until the end of our days.

Learning to live moment to moment, really living, really tasting life, not just being alive, but being open to every opportunity life gives us, seems to make living worthwhile, and worth living a hundred years!

I hope you take today to be mindful of all the beauty around you.  And if your day is stressful or sad, that’s ok too, accept it for what it is, what it’s showing you, and then tonight when you close your eyes, know that you made it through, and you’re ok, and you’ll be energized to wake up to a new sunrise tomorrow.

Peace & love!

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff….

 

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Dreams or Reality….

Good Morning!

I hope this beautiful Saturday finds you well and excited for a new day!

I want to touch base today on reality and dreams.  I’ve struggled with it myself, and would love to hear how you’ve dealt with similar situations.

Have you ever had a dream that touched your reality for just a very short time in your life?  But it was so profound that it has become an obsession.  You continue chasing that feeling you had by that touch.  Maybe it was love or lust or happiness or some other emotion that really hit home with you.  However, the moment was fleeting, and now you have to face the reality that the moment is passed.  How do you do that?  How do you face that reality?

Well, most of us actually don’t face it.  We may seem like we do, but in reality, we just busy ourselves with more things.  It may be work, texting, or calling, anyone and everyone, just to keep our mind off the fact that we need to move on.  We don’t physically want to move on, we want to feel those feelings again so we put off the fact that we aren’t going to feel that way again.  Not that we’ll never feel good again, just not that particular feeling.

So today, I challenge you, and myself, just for today, not promising tomorrow, let yourself feel.  Let yourself grieve, be sad, be upset, whatever emotion it is, let yourself feel it.  Understand that you deserve to feel it, it happened to you, it’s ok to feel the things you’re feeling, it doesn’t make you a failure.  I’m not saying to “waller in misery.”  But unless you let yourself go through it, painful as it may be, you’re never going to get over it, and you’re never going to face reality, you’re going to continue to live a dream life, one that’s made up in your head, and that’s not good for your mind, soul, or body.

Then tonight, when you close your eyes, tell yourself your’e okay, that you made it through the day and tomorrow will be a new day that you’ll also make it through.  One day at a time, step by step, letting yourself feel whatever it is, just be present in your own life, but make sure it’s real….

See ya’ll on Monday!!

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff….

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Fit Friday….let’s talk fitness

Hi guys…

So my daughter, who is also a Doctor of Physical Therapy, has been telling me for months to see a Biomedical Doctor for my stomach issues.  Here’s a little history behind that:

3 years ago I was having some really bad stomach pain, worsened as the night went on until I could no longer take it.  My husband finally made me go to the ER where they did some blood work and rushed me into an emergency exploratory surgery.  Turns out I almost died…had diverticulitis, which I never knew I had, and it ruptured, spilling poison in my body.  Five days in the hospital and my stomach cut from chest bone to pelvis bone. It was really traumatic, I didn’t much want to live, let alone, think I would ever recover.  Six months later, they went back in and reversed the surgery I had, re-opening the same area and also cutting horizontally this time.  So, needless to say, my abdominals have never been the same, nor do I think they ever will be. That’s also why you’ll never see a fitness picture of me with my stomach in it… 🙁

However, after the surgeries and now 3 years later, I am healing and feeling better each day.  I have, though, continued to struggle with stomach issues, despite the fact they also removed my gall bladder during the surgery.  I still have so many foods that I cannot eat without getting very ill.

So, upon listening to my daughters advice I started a new diet and workout regime consisting of very healthy eating (though I do love sweets on occasion…lots of occasions ha) and I work out 6 days a week, sometimes twice per day.  I have started incorporating yoga as well as P-90 and Barre.  Once it warms up a bit I’ll venture back out for a few runs a week, though I’m not super stoked, running isn’t my favorite thing to do.

I wanted to share with you a few things I’ve started this year that have already really improved my overall feeling of well being.  First, I started taking a probiotic called Visbiome.  After doing some careful research I believe this to be the best on the market, having over 112.5 billion bacteria per capsule.

I ordered it on Amazon, around $59 for 60 capsules.  It does say to take 5-6 per day, but I honestly only take two, one in the morning and one at night, and I can tell a big difference.  Well worth the cost…

I’ve also started to just add “more color” to my plate.  For instance, this was my breakfast this morning:

I cooked kale in about 2 tbl. of olive oil, along with a 1/4 of a yellow pepper, onion, and mushroom, just until tender.  Then I scrambled up two eggs, poured it over the top of the veggies and then cut up some little cherry tomatoes on top.  Used some corn tortillas, which have no gluten, and very low carbohydrates to make a little breakfast taco.  Cut up some strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and pineapple.  Like I said, colorful, and oh my, so, so, tasty.  I’m not a kale lover, but I’ve been trying to incorporate it into my meals at least twice a day.  Kale is low in calorie, high in fiber and has zero fat. One cup of kale has only 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber and 0 grams of fat. It is great for aiding in digestion and elimination with its great fiber content. It’s also filled with so many nutrients, vitamins, folate and magnesium.

I’ll get into the benefits of the other ingredients on another Fit Day.

My workout today is 1 hour morning Yogaflow, and then P-90 legs and back.  I’m telling you I used to think Yoga was honestly for wimps that couldn’t handle a “real work out.”  I’ve been doing P-90 for about two years, and it’s a killer, but I love that type of hard exercise.  I’ve been doing yoga now for about a month, and I don’t believe any other type of exercise has pushed me to my limit quite like this.  I’m a super competitive person, so not being able to master some of the moves is really good for me, it just makes me want to work harder at it until I get it.  I’m quite sure I’ll never be a master at it, but it’s fun, something new, and very challenging.  It also gives me a great time to just concentrate on my breath and be mindful of what my body is doing.  I honestly love it and have rarely missed a day since I started.

If any of you enjoy Yoga, let me know what your favorite type of Yoga is and also what position gives you the most trouble, or that you’re best at.  I love to learn what other people are doing for exercise.

I hope your day is awesome, try to make some better choices for your body and mind today.  Remember, we can’t control everything, but we can control what we put in our mouths 🙂

Not there yet, but perhaps, I will be, Soon Enuff…..

 

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Make it a February to Remember…a month full of love & kindness

Happy February!!

Woke up this morning with this thought:  How many times at the end of the day do you feel you have completely done nothing? Wasted every second of the 24 hours you were given?  I know for myself, it has been a lot of times!

Perhaps this month, if we show kindness, even in the smallest of ways, we’ll never feel we’ve completely wasted another day!

February is the month of “love” let’s use these 28 days to practice kindness, be mindful of it, see how much it not only makes the people you’re being kind to feel, but how much better you end up feeling:)

Not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff