Life is full of challenges. It’s a beautiful chaotic mess of ebbs and flows.

One thing I’ve learned over the years after facing many challenges (as a single mom in burnout), not only the ones life throws at you, but the ones you face on purpose to stretch, grow or overcome something is the incredible importance of REST.

I feel like I can’t express this enough.

You have to recharge your energy before the next challenge begins, so you are refreshed. Even if you feel super driven or motivated, you can’t always be in production mode. It’s so important to take time out from the busyness of life to restore your energy. This is the only way you can really heal your body and mind.

Listen to podcast version of this blog post -Episode #46  : Find A Joy To Be Me on iTunes, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or Spotify 

You see, constant stress and tension will break even the MOST RESILIENT people. I believe I am resilient, but let me tell you, life took me down...

I spend a lot of time in the woods daily hiking, meditating, contemplating. I like to tap into the wisdom of the woods to help me stay in touch with myself.

I never used to give myself this gift of space and time. I always felt like I had to be doing something else that seemed more ‘responsible’ or dutiful. Needless to say, I was rather anxious and kind of uptight. And probably not the happiest or most fun mom either.

And I know I’m not alone in having felt that way.

I believe our culture as a collective is struggling to feel like themselves and most people (if they were honest) feel like they are just ‘getting by’ in their day to day life.

This leads to not knowing who you are or what your soul passion really is. What really lights your soul on fire. That was true for me.

Thankfully, I woke up and gave myself permission to start doing things that allowed me to expand and get in tune with myself. Space to breathe, meditate, dream, grow.

As I walk...

So it's another New Year, what are you going to do with it? How will you move towards your most vibrant health and life in 2019?

I shared recently how I reflected on my journal last year over the holiday season. It's a powerful fucking thing reading through your daily musings for an entire year, I highly recommend it. One thing I noticed in doing so, was where I let myself down. I'm not sharing that to feel regret or elicit any pity, but to acknowledge it for what it is/was, so I can shift.

You see, I played small many times in pursuing my dreams and visions because I kept seeking approval.

Playing small is the same thing as DOUBTING yourself, your abilities, your gifts and your soul purpose work.

A big lesson I learned, like a hard smack in the face lesson was that I was seeking approval when what I really needed was to give myself permission to BE exactly where I was at and show up as ME. I'm talking about in my work, in my life, in my relationships, with my writing.

I needed to...

Yes, I am aware I just used self-care as a verb that was entirely intentional.

The Collins dictionary definition of self care is: "necessary care activities, such as eating, sleeping, and, which are or should be initiated and performed by the individual receiving them, rather than an external carer."

I’m sure you’ve heard all the typical analogies & quotes giving you permission for your own self care.

“You can’t pour from an empty cup”.
“Put Your Own Oxygen mask on first”.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
“Self care isn’t selfish”
“Self care is not about indulgence, it’s about self-preservation”

Logically you can understand why self care is important, but do you actually follow through? It's time to give yourself permission to get really radical about your own self-care this year, I certainly am.

As you know, I’m a single mom running...

A vision board is a way to create a powerful visualization practice.

My first ever vision board I did a few years back, was when I decided to start living much more intentionally. Instead of feeling held back, I chose to break free from the old ways of thinking that were keeping me stuck. And boy, what a journey that has been.

I decided that instead of waiting for life to happen to me, I wanted to happen to life. What a shift that mindset was, let me tell you. While I can’t say I embodied that mindset overnight, what I can say is that it has led me to a greater experience of self-actualization.

My vision board from 2016 helped me take my breakdown and turn it into a breakthrough. You can read my first vision board post here and follow along with my progression.

Last year (2018), I decided to do a quarterly vision board. I love doing it this way now, instead of once a year, because it gives me a chance to shift with the seasons. Every season I feel is a new opportunity for...

Here we are in 2019, and I for one could not be more excited and grateful. Grateful for all that 2018 taught me. Excited because I get to take the lessons forward into this new year and leave behind what no longer serves me.

One of my favorite tools to help me on my personal growth and health journey is my journal.

Journaling has taught me so much more than I could possibly express in one short blog, but allow me to share some of the best benefits.

What happens when you journal daily for a year

You increase your self-confidence, spark creativity, remember what you have been grateful for and how your gratitude grows, you learn to manage your emotions, you write down your goals and realign them as they and you shift, you heal more deeply from trauma, you let your dreams speak powerfully into your life, you learn a state of mindfulness you never knew before, you strengthen your ability to communicate your ideas... In essence, more than you could have ever imagined!

The top 3 benefits I...

Let's get vulnerable together, shall we? Totally naked, real, raw and unashamed.

Let's have a conversation about letting go of all the shame and judgement we put upon ourselves about our bodies.

I've gotta be honest and say, I'm pretty sick of the diet industry, the beauty industry, fashion industry mindset. Basically, any industry trying to make us believe we are not already WORTHY enough as we already are.

American culture has perpetuated a lot of body shaming. And you and I are at the effect of that unfortunately. But we don't have to let it impact us anymore. You and I, we can get honest about how we observe our own bodies and do something about it.

In this video, (you can watch it by clicking the play button in the image above), I shared my thoughts about this very conundrum we face.

My mission? To help you learn to love yourself just as you are.

How do you observe your own body, are you super critical of it? The only way you can embody more self-love is to shine the light on...

I am not sure it's possible to express the immense feelings of love, joy, pride and gratitude I feel when I look at these two photos of my boys and I.

There is just something so powerful about being a mother. Something so incredibly rewarding when you look at the children you birthed and raised and see who they are becoming. It warms your heart to the point it feels like exploding.

And that feeling, is never just a one time feeling. It's a lifelong vibe you get to enjoy, if you choose to. The immense gratitude for everything you can possibly think of and imagine about what it means to be a mother, as well as the joy you take in creating life and watching it grow, is indescribable.

The same is true when it comes to actively appreciating anything and everything in your life. Expressing your gratitude for everything you can possibly think of fills you up to the point of bursting.

Over the years, I've practiced gratitude to the point it has become a way of life. It wasn't always that...

Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. Hippocrates

First, let me just remind you, Hippocrates was alive in a very different world than we are today. He’s an ancient Greek physician who lived during Greece's Classical period and is traditionally regarded as the father of medicine (in case you weren’t aware).

He wrote that infamous quote in a time when the world was very different. At a time when most people attributed sickness to superstition and the wrath of the gods, Hippocrates taught that all forms of illness had a natural cause. His writings of the time were used to form what is known as the Hippocratic oath. Today, many medical school graduates still recite modern variations of the oath. Essentially, first do no harm and a focus on prevention.

Today reading that quote may mean something entirely different because of how the world currently is. So let’s unpack it a bit, shall we?

Food is powerful medicine. It is energy as well as information. Every...

In light of how much my physical body had gone through over the years, all the intense stress, I had to learn to rest a lot. So my body could heal and re-energize.

My body was basically telling me, by my constant crashes, to find time for rest and relaxation in order to improve my overall health. I was in it for the long game, no more quick fixes. Sustainable, lifestyle change became my new mission.

It really became necessary for me to take a reprieve from action and make space for contemplation. So, while I did just that I also began to do a lot of planning so I could clear all of my clutter; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

Since I had plenty of down time to rest and recoup, planning became my new hobby.  I no longer wanted to live a life of reactivity. Or act as if life was just happening to me. Instead, I realized I have more control over how my life went than I previously thought.

Instead of rushing into action (aka: living in 'fight or flight mode'), it became...