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Filed Under: ADVICE AND INFO, Daily, Dear Diary, HEALTH AND WELLNESS

OPTIMIST SYNDROME AND HOW TO CATCH IT

how-to-become-an-optimist It’s not actually a syndrome, but I like to think it is and I tell people I have “it” all the time. That glass is half full, my glasses are tinted a little rose and the sun is most definitely always shining – but I still see the grey clouds and the half empty glass, I’m not doozy I just try to make conscious decisions to find the positive. I haven’t always been the annoying optimist I am today, pretty sure I was an annoying argumentative pessimist at one point. Seeing the positive or seeing a positive outcome in a rough situation can help you through it, can help to teach you something and can open up new doors (when one door closes there is always another to open, or some other cheesy line like that).

Being an optimist is all about how you talk to and treat yourself. Being kind and fair to yourself and knowing that you and only you are responsible for your happiness. Positivity and optimism mean different things for everyone, but there is no doubt that there is a pretty big power in positivity (I’m crazy about the cheese in this post). This isn’t a fool-proof way to instantly change pessimism to optimism or negativity to positivity, but these are a few really good habits that anyone can easily pick up, and  that might even help you catch “eternal optimist syndrome”. It’s not contagious you have to work at it but then it can easily become second nature.

SMILE – even if you aren’t feeling optimistic or particularity even happy, most likely you will be met with smiles in return and those will add some pep in your step. Happiness is contagious, try to smile even when you just want to growl. And try to be around happy people, they will rub off on you (and you on them). Basically: smile through a bad day it will help you through it and invest your time in people who make you feel good.

DON’T COMPARE/BE CONTENT – You are not your neighbor or that beautiful IG feed – it’s just a highlight reel of another’s life, so don’t compare it to your behind the scenes junk. Find reasons why you love your small home, rather than why you dislike it. Instead of looking at your closet and being upset because you have nothing to wear, accept the challenge and try to find something new in there. Being content in your life is a huge first step towards positivity – it’s probably also the hardest one, but not impossible. Basically: Choose to be content, after a while it will catch on and become second nature.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF – often our personal internal dialogue is the worst we ever hear, no one else would ever speak to us the way we speak to ourselves. We are harder on ourselves than anyone else will ever be, it’s so important to be kind and compassionate to others but returning the favor to yourself is equally (if not even more) important. Shifting your internal dialogue to be more positive and kind when something goes wrong rather than beating yourself up for it, remember you are only human. Maybe you had an off day, maybe the task was just really hard. Same goes for when you do something well, give yourself an internal pat on the back, don’t go over analyzing and picking at your faults. Basically: Treat yourself the same way you would treat your kids, with kindness, patience and love.

THINK POSITIVELY – try and find a positive to (most) every negative, it’s there even if sometimes you really have to stretch. Try and train your brain to see the sunny side. *I know some really crappy things happen in life and seeing the sunny side isn’t always possible/easy. I’m talking about the everyday, which will hopefully help if those extremely rough 1-100 things happen in life (but hopefully they don’t ever). Basically: Be positive, smack those negative thoughts and kick them to the curb.

AT LEAST – Together these two words, when used when speaking to others and their struggles can be two of the most un-compassionate words in the English language. But when used for your own thoughts and self talk, they can be magic: “at least I have some clothes to wear” “at least it’s summer and not winter” “at least my eyes still work” (IDK, but you get the idea).

Super small changes, that over time can make a gigantic impact. We are taught about the importance of being kind to others, but often the being kind to yourself part is overlooked or forgotten about. Positivity and optimism all steam from how we treat ourselves – basically (have I said basically enough yet?) learn to be more optimist and positive and all that other happy stuff will follow.

*sorry it’s been so quiet on the blog, summer has been a crazy busy and awesome one! (I really shouldn’t apologize for that) Hope you all are having a fantastic one also! ALSO…optomist / optimist, spelling was a post long struggle.

August 8, 2014     |     written by Brandy     |     3 Comments



Filed Under: ADVICE AND INFO, Daily, HEALTH AND WELLNESS, YOGA

YOGA AT HOME: HOW TO MAKE IT A PRIORITY

#yoga at home: how to make it a priority #yoga at home: how to make it a priority #yoga at home: how to make it a priority #yoga at home: how to make it a priority #yoga at home: how to make it a priority During the summer months, I honesty don’t have time for much other then my family. My blogging schedule takes a hit, so does the house work, but yoga I always seem to find time for yoga. My home practice days begin to outweigh the studio days in the summer. Practicing a t home is not quite as mind clearing, focused and strengthening as practicing in the studio – since home is filled with distractions (so many cute distractions trying to jump on me while I move). I really focus on making my practice a priority, its key to keeping a consistent home practice. And there a few habits I have acquired along the way, to make sure I can’t talk myself out of practicing at home – because usually that whole ‘talking myself out of it’ is the hardest hurdle to overcome.

*These habits, work well for all other forms of home workouts too!

PREP YOUR SPACE

The night before or in the morning, lay your mat out and prep your space. That way you see your space first thing in the morning or when you walk in the room – much harder to say no when you know what awesome come from time spent on your mat. Make sure you go a step beyond laying out your mat and tidy up the space or even the room you plan to practice in. I have a hard time getting in the zone when things around me are in disarray – a quick tidy can do wonders for focus. *my mat is from Magic Carpet Yoga Mats – it is hand-painted and totally beautiful. It is perfect for my home practice (makes it that much more inviting to hit the mat), since it’s pretty slippery when covered with sweat  (basically how hot yoga goes) and I wouldn’t want to cover it with a yoga towel. (I still use and totally LOVE my Jade exclusively for vinyasa or hot classes- one does not replace the other).

PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON

Or just go ahead and put them on. For a first thing in the morning practice, I make sure I lay my clothes out the night before – less excuses. During the day I put my clothes on, and tell myself I can’t get ready for the day (no real clothes) until I practice.

CHOOSE A TIME

Set it in your head or even better, set it as an appt in your phone. This way you schedule other things around your yoga time, and there is none of that “I’ll do it later” sorta self talk.

SET UP YOUR PRACTICE

Since I rarely get a full practice in at home and always end up feeling like I’ve missed something when I’m done. I try to switch the focus of each days home practice, one day it’s more hip opening, maybe heart opening, arm balancing, etc. That way, at the end of the week or the next time I head to the studio – I feel more complete, rather than just doing the same half practice everyday feeling like I missed the same thing everyday. I use Yoga Glo and Yogify App, they both allow you to choose the type of practice you want (lot’s to choose from).

GET SNACKS AND AN ACTIVITY GOING

Because if you have kids, you just know someone is going to ask you for something as soon as you begin. It’s like when you are on the phone, no one wanted your attention until that moment when you were giving it to someone else. I plan ahead and get the kids the things they will probably need before I tuck myself away on my mat. Also, I give them the promise of doing their own yoga practice after I’m done – which for future reference is usually a Cosmic Kids video.

LOWER YOUR STANDARDS

Don’t expect to have a 75 min uninterrupted practice, cause that probably just won’t happen. Shoot for something more attainable at home, 30-45 mins heck even a 15 min practice is better than a 0 min practice.

LOOKING FOR? MY YOGA ESSENTIALS / YOGA TO FIT YOUR BUDGET / HOW TO START PRACTICING / HOT YOGA:  GOING TO YOUR FIRST CLASS

July 8, 2014     |     written by Brandy     |     9 Comments

Filed Under: Daily, HEALTH AND WELLNESS, YOGA

WHAT YOU DON’T SEE

A beautiful image only shows one single beautiful moment. Not saying that these images are beautiful (hello crazy hair) just referring to images in general – to be clear. What we don’t get to see are the years of struggle, work, love or dedication that came before that single snapshot. We don’t see the time (maybe years) spent practicing, the hard work spent gaining strength, mindfulness, focus, control, maybe the natural ability to be flexible, or the trials and constant fails. An image is a teeny tiny glimpse, everything that comes before and after that image is built-in our imaginations. Images of beautiful yoga poses are no different than images of beautiful things or people, it’s all to easy to let the dialogue we have built up in our heads after viewing images injure our own practice or our mindset.

DONT-SEE1 DONTSEE2 We only ever see the end result of a perfect second in time, and an edited version of that. Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that others do fall, struggle, have unflattering angles, make mistakes and they are just following their own practice.

Take time to grow and build strength don’t rush into anything, don’t let your ego tell you to try something because you saw it somewhere else. Follow what your body needs and what it is asking you for, breath between the place you are now and the place you want to be – your practice. (a gentle reminder for myself as well, because no one is perfect and most definitely not me as you can see by my very ungraceful/unflattering spill).

 

June 5, 2014     |     written by Brandy     |     3 Comments

Filed Under: ADVICE AND INFO, HEALTH AND WELLNESS, REAL LIFE, SIMPLE LIVING, YOGA

Hot Yoga: Tips and Advice for Newbies

Tips and Advice for Hot Yoga Beginners Did I ever tell you about the time I became totally obsessed with Moksha Yoga? I had always wanted to practice yoga, I even tried it a few times but not enough to actually say “I do yoga”. I was more into other styles of working out at the time (P90x, Insanity, 30 Day Shred, etc, etc) but my obsession with those were fleeting and they faded when the 30-90 days were up. I can now proudly say “I do yoga” and it feels way less cheesy and granola-y then I thought I would (a big thank you to my friend Ashleigh for introducing me to it, she owns this awesome studio). When you fall head over sweaty heels in love with something it’s really hard not to talk about it a lot (but I will try to keep it to a minimum on the blog) – for the past two months I have been hooked on sweaty hot yoga, 4-6 times a week wishing is was 7, sorta hooked. The benefits I have noticed in my mind and body have been pretty astounding, no other physical activity has offered so many fantastic positive changes. I really wanted to share some of my thoughts, why I am head over heels in love with it and some tips from a nervous and scared beginners point of view (I was SO nervous and intimated to start) – so if this is something that you want to read more about…read on if not, don’t worry regular content will be back on the blog tomorrow!READ MORE

June 7, 2012     |     written by Brandy     |     25 Comments

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CULTIVATING YOUR
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