No matter who you are, where you live or what your background is, this time of year tends to be chaotic for everyone. The days are jam packed with work meetings in an effort to get it all in before the holidays; social calendars are filled, often double booked on weekends for both kids and adults; and the shopping trips often create heightened traffic and chaos in our local communities. It’s hard to be zen because everyone is moving in different directions. So many Americans cite the holidays as the most stressful time of year. So, how can we really make this easier on ourselves? Last year, I showcased some of my favorite tips for de-stressing over the holiday season. This year, I want to keep it simple – just smile.
A Smile Experiment for the Holidays
Yoga: From Multi-tasking Over-thinker to Mindful Athlete
As a recovering work-obsessed multi-tasker, I spent most days analyzing work and life situations while also writing emails, listening to conference calls in the car driving, or reading industry information during exercise sessions. The idea of “doing it all” energized me. But truthfully, I was always exhausted and stressed. I took yoga a few times to “de-stress,” but found limiting my thoughts to be impossible. In addition, I felt foolish because I thought everyone around me was “better at stretching.” So I gave up before I really even began. Despite my lackluster first experiences with it, I ran to yoga after my second breast cancer diagnosis and haven’t turned back since.
Confessions of a Diet Dr. Pepper Addict: My First Clean Eating Changes
Prior to launching Pretty Wellness, I rarely revealed to friends and family how much I really knew about health and wellness. Perhaps I didn’t want to sound too preachy. Or maybe I was afraid of sounding hypocritical, given my former Diet Dr. Pepper addiction (it was once my biggest vice). Regardless, years of nutrition electives in college and part-time jobs as an ACE certified aerobics instructor have given me hands-on access to the latest nutritional information. (Not to mention the countless evenings chugging light beer and reading girly fitness magazines.) While I knew that eating whole foods would contribute to a more healthy and active body, a part of me still felt invincible and wasn’t necessarily practicing what I knew. It took my second round of breast cancer to re-educate myself on fueling my body.
Our Food Network Short: Healthy Hot Chocolate
Channeling our inner Food Network host skills, in this Pretty Wellness Health Minute, we demonstrate how easy and quick it is to make a healthy, hot chocolate. No more cocoa packets filled with artificial ingredients, just use three for a delicious, sweet treat.
Natural Solutions to Prevent Colds for Kids
Do you remember the early months of your child’s life and the fear of sickness that went along with it? Whether you put them in daycare or signed up for mommy-and-me classes, their exposure to the outside world introduced them to heaps of germs. For me, three days into my son’s daycare career, he came home with sniffles and a fever. I cried. I stayed up all night nursing every moan. And I somehow believed that his immune system would be stronger as it fought off these minor illnesses early in life.
Maybe true. Maybe not. Now as a second grader, he still gets sick every now and then. However, it’s minimal with preventative care. I use natural products and modalities to boost his immunity so that he stays well and so do we. If his body is healthy from the start, it can naturally fight off the sickness that gets passed around in school.
Stage IV Needs More Cancer Research
Sometimes I forget I had cancer.
Sometimes I forget I have cancer.
Sometimes I forget how very lucky I am to be living in an age where we have information at our finger tips. It’s frightening and often overwhelming to skim the daunting prognosis stats, hear the triumphant stories and research every ache. Whether it’s right or wrong to self diagnose, initiate treatments or push doctors for more, at least we have it. So many people don’t. So many did not.