Creating Wellness and Balancing #Momlife

Is it possible to create and balance wellness in all areas of life? Especially for moms? When we focus on the right things, overall wellness is attainable....even with the crazy #momlife we lead. It takes dedication and determination everyday, but it is easier than you think.

Wellness is typically thought of as good health and being free from illness. However, wellness truly is the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal. That means working on your wellness daily as it has become your lifestyle.

But is balance possible? For a very long time I though balance was bullshit. Once I became super intentional about my life and overall wellness, I found that balance changes daily and it does not have to feel chaotic. I can choose where I put my energy. I work on integrating mom life and work life to achieve optimal balance for me. It looks different for everyone and it changes every day.

Wellness is an active process of becoming acutely aware of and making purposeful choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. Wellness is more than being free from disease, it is a dynamic process of intentional change and growth and a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.

There are 8 Dimensions of Wellness that impact every area of our lives and balancing the 3 fundamentals with in that makes achieving overall wellness in each dimension a breeze. Obviously, if you have a disease you will need to work on that on different levels (through traditional medicine and maybe some not-so traditional avenues), but in general terms, achieving wellness and balancing wellness is not that difficult.

I firmly believe that there is a direct correlation between food, purpose, relationships and toxins that affect us. Integrative wellness encompasses all of the 8 Dimensions of Wellness with a focus on the 3 fundamentals to balancing wellness. These all play into how we feel, look, behave and live. To thrive we need to educate ourselves on wellness and commit to intentional growth in all areas.

These are 3 areas that I work on for optimal health and wellness:

1. Well-being- determined by overall health, happiness, and consists of positive relationships with others, and includes having a sense of purpose

2. Whole Nutrition- fundamental building block to overall wellness from the inside out, as it affects health, function, growth, mood, disease

3. Clean Living- essential to achieve optimal health and aids in the prevention of illness and disease

I believe in bio-individuality, which means that we all have our own unique balance of wellness and what works for us. By using this guide, you will be able to take the steps to achieving balanced wellness in the 8 dimensions through the 3 fundamentals. You can read more on the 8 Dimensions of Wellness here.

The simple daily steps to achieve wellness in all areas of life:

• Eat clean, whole foods

• Practice gratitude

• Set your worth

• Have a purpose

• Girl, drink your water

• Self-care "mini's"

• Get those greens

• Detox your home

• Clean up your beauty routine

• Focus on good, healthy relationships

It may seem like a lot, but once it becomes a habit and a way of life, it will just be your norm.

Wellness is a lifestyle.

....a way of life that requires purpose and intention every step of the way.

So I bet you are thinking, HOW?!? Just tell me HOW!

Let me break it all down into bite size chunks that make it manageable and easier to achieve....

WELL-BEING

Have a purpose

Well-being at it's core starts with having a sense of purpose in life. Being mom or a career woman is not what I mean. Knowing WHY you are here and what you are doing (beyond that) in this life to make a difference is your unique purpose.

Example: My purpose to impact the lives of others through health and wellness. From helping moms achieve and balance wellness, closing the diaper need gap, preventing pediatric vehicular heatstroke, being an advocate for cleaner and safer personal care products for everyone, to coaching others on integrative nutrition, my WHY and purpose is to help others create and balance wellness so that they can live the most fulfilling lives.

YOUR purpose is unique to YOU and having that purpose is fundamental to leading a good life. Having a sense of purpose is both a social and a public health problem: research increasingly suggests that purpose is important for a meaningful life — but also for balanced wellness in all areas of life. Read my previous post on how to live a more purposeful life.

Focus on good, healthy relationships

Relationships are more important than food. Yep, you read that right.

Relationships are so impactful on our lives, our emotions, our attitudes, our self worth, our everything.

The influence that others have in our lives is instrumental in how we feel and how we perceive things. Surrounding ourselves with people that make us feel good, that have the similar values, and people that understand our goals lends to how we feel about ourselves and our lives.

Even our work family impacts us beyond work, so choosing them wisely helps with our personal lives. Relationships are our primary food. They feed our souls (good or bad) and have a profound influence on us. Being in a loving, committed relationship (or happy and fulfilled as a single) is step one to balancing primary food (relationships) and our lives.

Forgiveness is essential to being able to move past blocks that we have with certain people in our lives. It frees us from the stranglehold that keeps us from having good relationships. This was by far the hardest part of intentional wellness for me. It took me 12 years to forgive and let go of a previous relationship that was literally poisoning my life. The freedom that I feel now is indescribable. Free yourself from the people and relationships that are toxic in your life. It is liberating. You can read my personal story on love and forgiveness to see how impactful relationships can be on our lives and how by owning our past leads to opening up our future.

Daily Gratitude

It is scientifically proven that practicing gratitude enhances our lives. Taking some time every morning to appreciate and be thankful for what we have has been shown to enhance and elevate mood and raise your vibration.

Spend 20 minutes praying or journaling about what your are grateful for everyday. Get a gratitude journal or an app on your phone to make it easier! I like to list the 3 things that I am most grateful for each day. Sometimes it is coffee and others it is a message at church. I end each day praying and being grateful, but to each his own.

Read more on how 20 minutes can impact your life.

"I AM" affirmations

WE determine our worth. No one else. WE have the power to change our lives. No one else. When WE believe in ourselves, no one can take that power from us. WE are enough and we must remind ourselves of that.

What we think we are, we are. So creating I AM affirmations about ourselves and repeating them daily, sets the tone to how we perceive ourselves. Sometimes I need a reminder of this because the trials and tribulations of life can make anyone second guess themselves.

A good gut check for me is to affirm my I AM's and think about what doesn't serve me and how I can remove that from my life. If it does not increase my happiness and joy, I release it from my life. Repeating our I AM's daily reinforces how we feel about ourselves and reminds us that WE are enough.

We rewire our brains with positive repetition!

Self-Care made simple

Self-care does not need to be a day at the spa or a manicure. Self-care is really a simple thing at its core. Listening to our bodies signs and signals (and doing something about it), spending some quiet time alone (even for a few minutes) recharges us, doing a facial mask, reading a book, going to the dentist etc. are all forms of self-care. To get in a daily dose of self-care, commit to at least ONE thing for YOU for 20 minutes.

Spending a small amount of time on YOU can make or break your day. It allows time to recharge, refocus and rejuvenate ourselves.

I don't get much me time, so this small chunk everyday is a game changer for my sanity. I change it up daily to keep it exciting and new. Check out my previous post on the 20X3 Method.

NUTRITION

H20 is your BFF

Girl, drink your water! And lots of it! Our bodies need about a half gallon of water everyday to be hydrated. Since up to 60% of the human body is made of water, we need to drink it throughout the day to stay hydrated. It is good for our skin, our organs, our digestion and being able to feel good and function properly.

Use the 8X8 rule to remember it (eight, eight ounce glasses). Write it down, use an app...whatever it takes to hit your daily goal. Your body will thank you and you WILL notice a difference in how you feel and how your skin looks.

P.S. dehydration sometimes masks itself as hunger. If you feel hungry, drink a glass of water first and wait a few minutes. It could just be your body begging for some h20.

Get in Green Goodness, daily

We need leafy greens in our diet everyday. Whether you don't like the taste, or don't know clever ways to sneak it in, it is a simple thing that can get skipped. My daily solution to getting in my greens is a green goodness smoothie. I drink a raw veggie and fruit smoothie everyday that consists of 2 cups of greens and I get about 2-3 servings of greens in one snack! I add fruit to sweeten it up (not much) and other veggies to add more fiber and hit my 7 servings a day. If you need a simple way to track your fiber, you can learn about my free veggie tracker here.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here is my smoothie recipe. For some, this is hard to do...but worth a shot.

Eat clean, whole foods

I know it is not affordable to eat organic for everyone. I understand that some people do not know how or like to cook. I get it that "we only live once" and people want to enjoy food. I'm there with ya.

Understanding that nutrition plays a key role in our overall health is what is important. Clean (non GMO, organic), whole (minimally processed or fresh) foods are essential to optimal nutrition. Fresh veggies and fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes are key for preventing disease and maintaining good health. We eat G-BOMBS as part of our meal planning weekly. Check out my previous post on G-BOMBS to understand what they are.

Let's not assume that we don't eat a cookie or some almond milk or coconut ice cream every now and then. Because we totally do. Oreos are vegan (not intentionally) and although they are pure junk, I do allow the kids to have them every once in a while. And you bet your bottom dollar that I eat some too.

Depriving ourselves of things we like is NOT the answer.

I have made the conscious choice to be very intentional about what I put into my body and my children's bodies....and it is still delicious and enjoyable. This new found appreciation for nutrition and understanding of how food impacts every aspect of our wellness, has totally changed the game for our family.

Moderation is key and as long as we are eating clean, whole foods the majority of the time, a little Oreo or pectin based gummy bears never killed anyone. You can read my tips on eating healthier here or my tips for transitioning to a whole foods lifestyle.

NON TOXIC LIVING

Detox your home

The hardest part of this process for me was to detox our house. We had so many (sooo many) products that were not good for us in our homes. We were polluting the air with candles and freshening sprays and likely causing some underlying asthma issues. We started detoxing our house by making small changes. It began with cleaning products and then paper products. I found that the kitchen was the main place that we needed to do damage control. We stopped using plastic wrap and switched to beeswax wraps instead. We changed to glass containers. We started using better cleaning products.

This is obviously a big expense to anyone, so one step at a time is all you can do. You can get my swap to safer guide by subscribing to my newsletter.

Clean Up Your Beauty Routine

By far the easiest thing on the list. We decided to #switchtosafer once we discovered what was lurking in all of our personal care products. About 10 years ago I started researching the cosmetics industry because I wanted to create my own natural lip product line. Once I found out how under regulated it was, I was scared to do anything in the industry and tabled the idea. Fast forward a few years and I was introduced to Beautycounter.

The company stands for all the things that I do. Is a B-Corp and vows to keep certain ingredients out of it's products with The Never List. Our switch to safer has been very slow and gradual, yet very intentional. We have made the swap with almost everything, including toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper, sunscreen and products for the kids (wipes were a massive swap).

Subscribe to The Wellness Edit (my monthly wellness newsletter) and get the Swap to Safer guide. This guide will help you eliminate the poisons in your home and in your personal care products.

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Are you ready to up level your wellness? Join me on your wellness journey!! I offer a few ways to enhance and improve your wellness. Whether you want to swap to safer products, work on your well-being, detox with food, transition to a plant-based lifestyle or overhaul your wellness, I can help!

Shoot me a message and tell me a little about your needs! I'd love to help you on your wellness journey.

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