GUYS! HOW IS IT ALMOST DECEMBER ALREADY?! Time has gone SO fast since I came home from England. So where are we at? It’s colder, we move less, and eat more…and generally feel more sluggish. So many people I’ve spoken to have told me that they are struggling with feeling heavy and bloated and just generally in a crappy mood and that’s what I’ve been feeling too! So here’s what I’ve been doing to take care of myself this month.
Zumba with Trish
If you don't know this about me yet, I love me some zumba. But not just any kind of zumba. I found myself an incredible class - 'Zumba with Trish'. I'm gonna write a whole separate blog post on this class because it's THAT good. But for now, here's the low down. When I went to a Tony Robbins conference in 2017, the one thing I brought back was the importance of being able to physically change my 'state'. The power behind moving my body and feeling the change in my physiology. If you can change your state, you can change your mind...and that can change your life.
SO when I got home, I wanted to find some kind of exercise that would work and my friend had been bugging me about going to this class for about 18 months so we finally decided to pull the trigger. One of the things I love about this is that 2 out of 3 classes aren’t in a studio. No mirrors. No judgement. Instead our instructor Trish holds these classes in local clubs - club lighting, club music, an actual DJ, club atmosphere...think clubbing without the alcohol and sticky floors. and I fell in love with it! It.Is.Incredible. The classes are an hour and a quarter long and feature all kinds of music - yes we have salsa and merengue but also hip hop, some Bey...put it this way, I've never been someone to exercise on the regular, but I now do it at least 2 times a week and I actually look forward to going. Whenever I'm feeling down, stressed out, these classes help so much and the people are some of the best I know. They feel like family - and just look at all those sweaty happy faces!!
So as I’ve been feeling my body go stiff with the cold and as I started to feel my mood going downhill, zumba has been such a saving grace. The routines are challenging and innovative, everyone has FUN and no one gives a shit if you mess up, want to modify or sit one out. You do you.
Mindfulness with the babes.
So I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I never used to be an animal person. In fact, I grew up thinking I couldn’t really connect with animals. Also most of the people I cared about were deathly allergic to animals…so it was never a good fit. Until I met my wife. Now we live on a farm with dozens of animals, 6 of which live in the house with us.
A couple of years ago, I started out on a gratitude journey. It helped me stay mindful and grounded. But since being let go from my previous job I have been hustling hustling hustling. With a marketing business, this passion project and looking for full time work, I have been moving at 100 miles an hour. The problem with that is that I don’t take a moment to just be. The animals get less attention and I just start feeling disconnected. So this month, I’ve tried being more intentional about switching off the tech and spending time with the babies. You know, if you tune into their behaviors, you see how intuitive they are. They know if you’ve having a bad day or aren’t feeling the greatest. They know if you need a bit of space or if you’re happy for them to cuddle in. Animals have been some of my greatest teachers and I am so grateful to be their Mumma!
What has been keeping you grounded this month? Let me know in the comments below!
