It’s the season for setting goals … and today I’ve got something that will help you to make them a reality!
It’s a checklist to stay on-track, no matter what goals you’re working toward.
First: do you need help figuring out your 2021 goals? Click the photo to download my free Goal Setting e-book.
1. FOCUS & DECIDE. Instead of choosing several goals to work on all at the same time, harness all that energy and focus it toward just 1-2 main goals.
2. Pick the goal with your BIGGEST WHY.
This is the goal that you emotionally connect with and have a STRONG REASON for choosing. (example: “I want to have the energy to play with my kids.” - that’s a pretty big reason)
It’s your “WHY” that keeps you going, so it has to be a good one.
3. COMMIT (No, Really.) Commit the right amount of resources (time, energy, and...
I want to talk about something today that can set the tone for your ENTIRE YEAR.
It can help you make great decisions … set your priorities and stick to them … and even help you achieve your goals!
PLUS … it can even help you feel GREAT in the process. AND NO, it’s not an energy drink or a miracle cure!
It’s your FOCUS WORD for 2021.
Your word will set the tone for the entire year. It’s basically your 2021 mantra. It’s your intention.
Examples of focus words could be something like “STRONG,” or “RENEW,” or “TRANSFORM,” or “INSPIRE.”
Whatever word you choose, it should align with your goals and also, maybe MOST importantly, make you feel GOOD when you say it.
Words with a strong emotional response will keep you feeling excited and fired up!
First, having JUST ONE WORD to keep in mind is simple – and reminding yourself of the word every day will help you stay on track.
The whole idea is...
This week my kids and I had a contest who could design the best gingerbread house.
My tried and true recipe is one I make every year, and it tastes sooo good PLUS it's dairy free and gluten free, as I have an allergy to those ingredients. I have included the recipe below.
For my private, semi-private, and group class clients, I thought you all would get a chuckle at this coffee mug I found online:
Funny eh? My sets of ten normally turn into sets of 12...15...18 :D
It seems I am not alone with my struggle of ten, lol!
Dairy Free and Gluten Free Gingerbread Recipe
Ingredients:
1 Egg
0.5 cup Brown sugar
0.25 cup almond butter
3 tbsp molasses
0.25 cup earth balance
0.75 tsp ground ginger
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
0.25 tsp salt
0.5 tsp baking soda
0.5 cup quinoa flour
0.5 cup oat flour
0.5 cup buckwheat flour
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, add egg, softened butter, molasses, almond butter, brown sugar, salt, spices, baking soda and beat on low with a mixer, or...
Why I love Pilates mat:
Practicing Pilates mat helps build a strong, balanced body inside and out, while increasing flexibility through dynamic stretching movements.
As you progress in your practice you will notice improvements in breathing, focus, stress management, and body awareness.
Pilates mat is perfect for beginners because you only need your own body, a mat, and some floor space to start. And perhaps investing in a light set of hand weights down the road.
My Pilates Fit classes take all that is good with classical Pilates and put a functional fitness training twist to the class. Adding light hand weights and/or a long resistance band to some of the exercises challenge our entire musculoskeletal system to improve...
I rarely purchase packaged snacks, but I always have sugar, butter, and flour for my kids to make their own snacks.
Lately my daughters have been making chocolate covered biscottis which look soooo good. I am allergic to gluten and dairy so I can't eat theirs, but my craving was strong enough to bake my own.
I used to bake amazing "paleo" biscottis from one of my favourite cookbooks called Make Ahead Paleo by Tammy Credicott. So I pulled out my old cookbook and in the end the biscottis are as yummy as I remember!
Dry Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
Coating Ingredients
Preheat oven 350F
Combine all dry ingredients. Combine...
Given that we are seeing rising numbers of those affected with COVID, it often feels like this whole situation is beyond our control. I don't know about you, but lately I have felt overwhelmed with the amount of unknowns. I thought to write an article about the tiny bit we can control.
We can try to boost our immune system by eating healthy foods, especially a diet rich with a colourful variety of fruits and vegetables.
Another great way to boost our immune system is through exercising with moderate intensity. This is one of the main reasons I am so passionate about teaching healthy movements for our bodies and minds (mental health).
Studies show exercise:
Diets don't work. Clients may lose weight initially, but diets don't get to the root of the issue. The main issue concerns your habits.
Focusing on changing habits is much less painful than starvation diets where you have to rely on pure discipline and willpower.
40-45% of your decisions actually come from your habits. A problem emerges here because most of our habits are autopilot. Habits are more powerful than conscious thought and willpower.
We can use habits for positive or negative ends. We have "bad" habits (we can break those with skillful strategies); however, we can use this autopilot habit feature to create "good" habits too.
Many of our current habits help us feel safe and secure. When we feel stressed a certain part of the brain is activated which then gives us a powerful urge to do something to relieve that stressful feeling. When the distress is relieved, our brain relaxes and it remembers that habit for next time.
For...
Pilates was developed by Joseph Hubertus Pilates, born in 1883. He spent his life studying the body's healthy movement patterns, first in Germany and later in New York, USA, developing a system called Contrology.
In his beginnings, Joseph worked in a hospital at the end of World War I and originally his exercises were primarily used as rehabilitation for wounded soldiers. Joseph, with his wife, then brought his method to the United States in 1923 and spent years refining his approach for all bodies.
Pilates can be performed on the mat using props or on the equipment, called “apparatus”. Pilates equipment (reformer, cadillac/tower, barrel, stability chair) are unique as it only uses springs, levers, and your own body weight to provide resistance. Pilates mat props (bands, gliders, light hand weights, rings) mimic equipment style movements, maximizing their benefits.
Pilates movements work the whole body as every muscle gets worked from the inside out. Most of...
Most of you don't know that my older brother is a really cool guy and we have the most interesting conversations (some of you know my older sister as she comes to my classes and she is awesome too). My brother Ron is a Mindful Habit coach. If you are interested he wrote 100+ Habits of Great Leaders.
Habit change is super important for exercise and nutrition. If we can master our habits, then we have the ability to get the body and health we desire. But as we all know, incorporating and sustaining healthy habits can be very challenging.
I enjoy the way James Clear of Atomic Habits describes habit change. I have summarized his main takeaways below:
Clear says "your entire day is a summary of your life's habits." Powerful stuff to ponder!
He says "what you repeatedly do ultimately forms the person you are, the things you believe, and the personality you portray."
Clear has broken the process of building a habit into 4 steps: cue, craving, response, and reward.
The cue...
Exactly what is strength training? Strength training is any planned exercise that challenges your muscles by adding load (weight) to your movements.
By challenging your muscular system you slowly and gradually built your lean muscle mass. As an added bonus you also strengthen your ligaments and tendons that surround your joints.
Why is this important? Strength training lays the foundation to building a highly functional body. In the end this helps your body perform optimally so that it eases the demands on the body when you go about your daily activities.
One of the cool side effects of exercising consistently is your body functions better even at the cellular level. That is why after a couple of weeks of exercising, you gain more energy. Amazing that when you exercise you are even making your cells stronger and more efficient!
Other Benefits of Strength Training:
50% Complete
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