I use an app called co-star that sends me a sometimes-ambiguous daily statement based on my horoscope.
Today’s hit me a little differently.
“Your body is, first and foremost, a dwelling.”
So naturally I wanted you to dig deeper into what co-star is trying to tell me here so I googled “dwelling.”
The first thing that pops up is that a dwelling is a home — where someone lives.
And I just started thinking.
As moms we give so much of our bodies and our energy to our kids. This is the nature of the job, and I’m here for it.
We, as moms, need reminding that our bodies are ours first and foremost.
We have one body to live with, one dwelling, one space.
The shape we keep it in impacts our day to day life. Our thoughts, our emotions, our level of overwhelm, our feelings of well-being.
In our homes, we get rid of clutter, take out the trash, keep the space as clean as possible, and we feel so much better when the work is done. Maintaining that feeling is, of course, an ongoing task.
But why not apply the same practice to the dwelling that is our body?
Get rid of the clutter in your mind, feed your body nourishing foods, think happy positive thoughts, stay hydrated, and truly maintain a pleasant dwelling. Just as housework, this will be a journey, an ongoing task to maintain.
And we will have so much to show for it.
Our children, especially in the very beginning, are so heavily dependent on us. We give so much of ourselves to them, but how much of ourselves do we have available to give?
The better we take care of ourselves, the more we have available to give.
We fill our cup so it can overflow and fill the cup of others.
This is the major, overarching topic I cover in my signature online course, Thriving Momma Blueprint.
Surviving isn’t good enough, we deserve to thrive.
We will be happier, and by extension, so will our kiddos.
Don’t forget to take care of yourself, momma.
Your body is, first and foremost, a dwelling.
Did you know…
Your brain can’t tell the difference between what is true and what you imagine to be true.
It’s why we jump during scary movies.
It’s why we feel stressed just thinking about stressful situations.
It’s why vision boards help people reach their goals.
Have you ever woken up from an upsetting dream not quite realizing that it wasn’t reality? So then it takes you a few moments — or sometimes even a few days — to recover from the situation?
Yes, the situation that never actually happened.
I had a dream a few days ago that still pops up in the back of my mind! And when that happens, I have to remind myself all over again that it didn’t actually happen.
It got me thinking: if we can be so easily convinced fiction is reality, why do we limit ourselves so much? Why do we shortchange ourselves? Why are we not doing the impossible?
We’re the ones holding ourselves back.
Call it self sabotage or self preservation, but you truly have the power to change your reality through your thoughts and your mind.
What if we started speaking life over ourselves?
Instead of “I’ll never be healthy,” think “I’m learning to make better choices.” Or better yet, imagine yourself at optimal health! What does it look like? What does it feel like? Where are you? What are you wearing? Paint as detailed a picture as you can, and revisit that place often.
Replace “I’m a terrible cook” with “I look forward to practicing with new recipes.” Better yet, imagine what your dishes will look like, will taste like, will smell like. You can do this!!
Our brain is such a powerful tool, and we don’t even take full advantage of it.
Take back the power and start creating the reality you want.
You’ve heard the cliche before. Becoming a mother changes you. It’s a cliche for a reason — there’s truth to it.
Having had my son, I know a love I’ve never known before. A love no one can know until they experience it for themselves. I have a responsibility I never had before. A purpose I never felt before.
Despite so much that’s changed, I still love being a health coach — talking about simple changes anyone can make to create real benefit in their life and therefore living a healthier, happier & longer life. Especially talking about naturally and holistically kicking eczema to the curb, since that’s what I struggled with for years.
But it got me thinking about my brand. And it all really started with a blanket I bought for my baby.
When you see the image of sun rays like the one above, what do you think of - a sunrise or a sunset?
When I first bought this blanket for my son, there was never a doubt in my mind it was a sunrise. But then I got thinking it could just as easily be a sunset.
Why did my mind automatically think sunrise when it could just as easily be a sunset? Because of what a sunrise means to me. A sunrise represents a new day, new opportunities, light after dark, fresh starts, endless possibilities, clean slates..
Every day is a new opportunity to make a healthier choice. Just because you fell out of your exercise routine, eating habits, meditation practice, etc. does not mean you can’t jump back in whenever suits you and your season of life. Give yourself grace and be constantly striving for your own personal best.
All that to say: my logo now sports a sunrise. The more I thought about what a sunrise represents, the more I loved it. Waking with the sun, living by the elements, represents a balanced life to me.
I want my clients, followers, friends to feel like optimal health is attainable for them no matter where they are in their journey. If you’re at the beginning or somewhere in the middle, there’s always a new chance for a new goal to be set, but you must also give yourself grace. Be kind to yourself. Talk to yourself like you would your best friend.
If you loved this blog post, there's more where that came from in my free Facebook group here where you'll find a 5 Day Eczema Relief Training and more!
*Updating on July 1, 2023 to mention I'm divorced now, because I feel like that’s relevant 🙃*
Thinking back on my wedding day, I'm reminded of my motivation to eat cleaner & avoid eczema triggers. I knew there would be a LOT of pictures of my hands, nice and up-close. The last thing I wanted was for red, scaley skin to be in every picture from my wedding day.
I do not advocate for unsustainable, majorly restrictive diets. That’s not what our bodies were made for, but sometimes it’s necessary for a short period of time for your body to recalibrate.
Leading up to the wedding, I was restricting most fruits including fruit derivatives - palm oil (in most gluten free breads, crackers, baked goods, peanut butters, etc.), vitamin A palmitate (in most store-bought dairy alternative milks), grape-based vinegar & anything with avocado, olives or coconut. Anything with garlic or onions was out too.
I didn’t come up with this list on my own. I was tested for food sensitivities by a naturopathic doctor. That didn’t make this list any easier to follow.
And you bet your bottom dollar I indulged like crazy on the honeymoon - eating the foods I had been depriving myself of for so long.
That list of food sensitivities is not a fluke. When I eat too much of certain foods on that list, I’m destined for a flare up. But I’m learning my boundaries.
A year later, I'm able to eat some of the foods on my trigger list without having a flare up.
The trick is to know what your body can handle, and not to overdo it. And if your body starts to rebel whether in the form of an eczema flare up or an unsettled stomach, you know you need to pull back.
The moral of the story is I was desperate for clear skin on my wedding day, and for me that meant restricting for a bit. But not forever.
Variety is the spice of life. Your body craves variety. Feeding it the same 3 foods all the time is not only boring, but it’s not good for your body systems - including your immune system.
Your immune system depends on a healthy gut, and a healthy gut is made up of a diverse microbiome. A diverse microbiome is nurtured by a variety in diet.
So just remember - if you need to go on a special diet for a special reason for a short amount of time, that’s totally okay. But don’t forget to keep some variety in your diet, and your life for that matter!
If this was helpful for you, join my Facebook group where you can find more wellness tips – free of charge. <3
We live in a world of go, go, go. A global pandemic forced us all to take a pause for a little while, but a lot of us are back to being busy. A lot.
First of all, if you haven’t seen this said anywhere else yet: being busy is not a badge of honor. Being SO busy that you don’t have time to cook for yourself is not a badge of honor.
Being SO busy that you don’t have time to get 7-9 hours of sleep at night is not a badge of honor.
Being SO busy that you don’t have time to exercise or take the dog for a walk is NOT a badge of honor.
In fact, it’s a really great way to make yourself sick.
What do I mean by that? A state of constant stress wreaks havoc on your immune system.
Have you ever been fighting off a cold, but you have so much going on that you didn’t take the time to slow down and give your body the rest it needed to fight whatever bug off, so you ended up getting sick? Your immune system was under too much stress to do its job.
I recently learned that when a doctor performs an organ transplant, the patient is given a stress hormone that our bodies produce when under massive stress IN ORDER TO SHUT DOWN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM so the body doesn’t reject the new organ.
If that doesn’t paint a picture of the insane destruction stress has over our bodies, I don’t know what will!
Another saying you’ve probably heard is “you are what you eat.” Well, in health coaching I learned this saying should actually go “you are what you absorb.” If your body isn’t digesting properly, it won’t absorb properly.
In order to ensure optimal digestion, your body needs to be in a state of calm.
Your body is EITHER in “Fight or Flight” OR “Rest & Digest.” Can you guess which one you want to be in when you’re eating?
Fight or Flight is great if you’re being chased by a bear, but we don’t want or need that adrenaline rush when we’re eating.
In order to digest our food properly, our bodies need to be in Rest & Digest. This means making mealtimes sacred. This means turning off screens. This means NOT eating dinner in front of the TV or while scrolling instagram.
REST & digest. Give your body the chance it needs to calm down so it can function the way it was designed to.
First of all, if you haven’t seen this said anywhere else yet: being busy is not a badge of honor. Being SO busy that you don’t have time to cook for yourself is not a badge of honor.
Being SO busy that you don’t have time to get 7-9 hours of sleep at night is not a badge of honor.
Being SO busy that you don’t have time to exercise or take the dog for a walk is NOT a badge of honor.
In fact, it’s a really great way to make yourself sick.
What do I mean by that? A state of constant stress wreaks havoc on your immune system.
Have you ever been fighting off a cold, but you have so much going on that you didn’t take the time to slow down and give your body the rest it needed to fight whatever bug off, so you ended up getting sick? Your immune system was under too much stress to do its job.
I recently learned that when a doctor performs an organ transplant, the patient is given a stress hormone that our bodies produce when under massive stress IN ORDER TO SHUT DOWN THE IMMUNE SYSTEM so the body doesn’t reject the new organ.
If that doesn’t paint a picture of the insane destruction stress has over our bodies, I don’t know what will!
Another saying you’ve probably heard is “you are what you eat.” Well, in health coaching I learned this saying should actually go “you are what you absorb.” If your body isn’t digesting properly, it won’t absorb properly.
In order to ensure optimal digestion, your body needs to be in a state of calm.
Your body is EITHER in “Fight or Flight” OR “Rest & Digest.” Can you guess which one you want to be in when you’re eating?
Fight or Flight is great if you’re being chased by a bear, but we don’t want or need that adrenaline rush when we’re eating.
In order to digest our food properly, our bodies need to be in Rest & Digest. This means making mealtimes sacred. This means turning off screens. This means NOT eating dinner in front of the TV or while scrolling instagram.
REST & digest. Give your body the chance it needs to calm down so it can function the way it was designed to.
If this was helpful for you, join my Facebook group where you can find more wellness tips – free of charge. <3
You can also grab my free guide on 3 Easy Steps to Lose Weight and Feel Amazing here.
