Weekly Wellness

Hey there beautiful!

As we enter into the next phase of the year there have been a lot of changes I’ve been preparing for in my life. Changes like sending the little ones off to school yet again, anticipated changes with my 9-5 work schedule, changes happening with Monarch Serenite, even changes with the weather. Not to mention how all of this will impact the changes needed to be made with my daily routine.

It’s the little things that you don’t think about that really have the opportunity to disrupt our lives in such unforeseen ways. In the past, I’ve been really bad at preparing myself for changes such as these. Usually, I would wait for them to come around and just adjust to the best of my ability. But now that I’ve upgraded the way I care for my mind, body, and spirit I’ve also upgraded the way I prepare for such changes.

So, I thought I’d share with you a wellness technique that I’ve been putting into practice to help me better prepare for changes. What’s great about this wellness technique is that whether or not you can relate to the changes mentioned above, it is something that you can add to your daily wellness routine as a means to just maintain your overall well-being. And of course, it can have a significant impact on any changes you may be experiencing or anticipating at any point in your life.

So, what’s this wellness technique you may be wondering. Well of course it’s one of my favorite topics and practices in the world. Mindfulness meditation. We’re going to look at how this practice can help you care for your overall well-being through all the big and small, expected or unexpected changes life may throw at you.

[Read more…] about Weekly Wellness: Practicing Mindfulness Meditation

Let’s take a minute to talk about mental health.

For years it has been something viewed as bed or wrong, and held a very strong negative stigma. The view on mental health has always been that those who identify with it are believed to be dangerous, crazy, or not well. This often leads to discrimination, mistreatment, and a false placement that the individual is responsible for the mental health issues they may have.

And it is because of this negative stigma that mental health has never been taken seriously, or has had the necessary resources available for those suffering from mental health to be able to properly care for it. Flash forward to 2024 and we are seeing the general public embrace and view mental health in a much different way.

There are more resources available for people to access (still not necessarily affordable, but it’s a step in the right direction), and more individuals who are openly sharing their mental health struggles in hopes of helping others. There are also various mental health seminars and events that happen around the world to continue to bring awareness to this issue, and provide resources to help treat various mental health disorders.

[Read more…] about Wellness Tip: Staying Mentally Well

As I write this, I am taking a deep breath in…holding it for 3 seconds…and then releasing it. In between these breaths I am reminding myself to remain focused on the present moment, and to meet myself where I am at currently. Even if that means my mind wanders a little, but I am challenging myself to be as present as possible, for as long as possible.

This is a technique that is often taught and practiced with meditation. It serves as a reminder to be kind and patient with yourself, while experiencing the journey of self-discovery.

I’ll be honest, this is by far is one of the hardest things for me to do on a daily basis. It’s not because I don’t practice meditation (at least not as often as I should), but it’s because I have always been my hardest critic. I have always held myself to a high standard and have judged myself very harshly when I don’t meet those expectations.

Truthfully, nobody could ever be as hard on me as I am on myself.

However, these past few weeks I have been finding it a little bit easier to show kindness to myself. Especially when I feel like I’m not meeting my own expectations (which unfortunately is often). Yes, this loving-kindness behavior has a lot to do with meditation, but I have to give the majority of the credit to practicing hot yoga on a daily basis.

[Read more…] about Wellness Tip: Yoga for Self-Care