Category Archives: fitness

Keeping Mommy and Baby Happy and Healthy

There is nothing more ever mother wants than for their babies to be happy and healthy, specially while in the womb. The not being able to physically see them for those nine months is agonizing, there is constant worry and hoping that everything is ok and baby is growing the way they are supposed too be. Of course we have check ups but if your anything like me then the knot in your chest before the doctor says, “everything looks great”, is always there right before those appointments.

I can’t help it, I’m a worry wart! I’ve always been that way but specially since this is my first pregancy and EVERYTHING I am going through is completely new to me and honestly a little overwhelming at times. I don’t just worry, I overthink. I know, not a good combination to have for a new Mom. Thankfully, I haven’t reached the googling every symptom yet so there’s a relief there, but I do think about everything I do, everything I don’t do, everything I eat or drink, everything I haven’t planned ahead for, just all of it!

I try really hard to make sure to calm myself down and know that, one, everything I’m feeling is normal. Two, the more I stress, the more baby stresses so breath. And three, ITS OK! I don’t have to be 100% perfect for this pregancy. If I slip and eat a deli sandwich, which I do try to make sure is fresh at least, its okay. If I wind up drinking two cups of coffee and then some sweet tea all in the same day, it’s okay! I don’t have to constantly keep track of every single thing, and you shouldn’t either! We will drive ourselves mad trying too!

Now, yes it’s important to know what you do and put into your body! It’s important to make sure you are giving baby all the good nutrition they need to grow healthy and happy. They may not be here yet but our jobs as mother’s starts the day we find out about them. So with that I do try and make sure I am eating good proteins, vegetables, and fats. I try to make sure I stay active throughout the week, cause as much as I love my job, I sit and stare at a screen all day for five days a week, so definitely not the best for you in the being active department. Every week is different and it doesn’t always go according to how I want, but I try, everyday I try, cause it’s not just me it’s our baby girl that I have to be healthy for. It’s knowing that if I can push myself now and do this for her there’s nothing stopping me for making this a life style and being better for her when she does get here.

I wanted to include the link to my favorite online workouts, its completely free, and the instructor is seriously amazing! She is my goals for keeping healthy and happy while having little ones.

https://youtube.com/c/PregnancyandPostpartumTV

Her channel, which is on YouTube, has a variety of different workouts for prenatal, pregancy, and postpartum Moms. She has fitness workouts, yoga classes, and a whole lot of tips and tricks on delivery! She even has a nutrition guide to help for meals. Her workouts aren’t crazy either, there are different ones for each stage of pregancy and most with little to no difficulty!

I would highly recommend checking her out and seeing all the different ways to stay active during your pregancy. Rather it being getting a good class in once or twice a week or even just taking some time for yourself to go on a walk each day. Staying active is key to keeping yourself and baby healthy and happy!

Below are a few of the videos thats are my go to for reference!

Your Practice Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect

This mornings Yoga and workout definitely didn’t go as I had planned, but honestly sometimes those are the best practices!

My sweet Callie decided she wanted a hug right when I was trying to do this move! Bless her!

It doesn’t have to be perfect!

It doesn’t have to go exactly how you think it should! I promise most the time it won’t.

It doesn’t have to be like everyone else’s practice, cause this isn’t Everyone else’s practice, this is yours! Your practice, and your time to come and just be!

The fact you took a moment today to just come and be with yourself. To come and breath in all that the day and world has to offer. The fact that you chose you.

That right there is what I want you to take away!

Your practice doesn’t have to be perfect. It just have to start with you choosing to take a moment for you!

Motivation Is Key To Achieving Goals!

What do you do to push yourself to get motivated? To push the others around you to get motivated? Does it just come naturally or are there steps to take? Can one find motivation even when the act they are doing is no where near what they thought or wanted?

The answer to each of those all depends on the person. It depends on the dedication your willing to put in to get the results you want. It depends on what your goal is and how much you really want it.

We’ve all had those moments where you’re so ready to go somewhere or do something, that others might not be excited about, and you’re just ready! Like pumped up ready! You remember that feeling? You remember wanting something so bad you didn’t care what it took? That’s motivation.

The literal definition of motivation is, “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.”

The desire or willingness to do something!

Is what you desire worth the dedication it takes to stay motivated for it? Are you willing to put in what’s needed to get what you want?

To say that each of us has motivation inside of us is true, but to say that we all use that motivation…well sometimes that’s a different story right?

So what can you do? What helps people stay motivated? What can you do to make sure you don’t loose what you desire?

1. Write down your goals! Write down what you actually want or desire to have. Review this regularly! You don’t have to constantly remember every goal you have, write them down so when you do come back to that list it will be there. It might just spark some motivation as soon as you see it again!

2. Use what makes you happy! Do you love listening to music? Pump that jam up then! Do you like to chew gum? Girl grab you some of that hubbu bubbu and get to it! Find the small things that make you happy and incorporate them into what you want, or need, so you can get more out of what your doing!

3. Reach out to others! I know, some people feel that if they reach out for help on something then it “doesn’t count” when they do it or finish it. This has to stop! We NEED each other in this world. We all need help at times, and to say you can do it all, all by yourself, is pure insanity. Reach out to a mentor when you need help in your career! Reach out to a couch if you want to work on physically feeling better! Reach out to a teacher if you want to learn something new! Reach out to a friend is you need encouragement! Reaching out doesn’t make you week, it makes it to where when you do get where your going you’ll have a tribe behind you that you know supports you!

4. Exercise! I can hear it now, “Boooooo, no work outs!” Sorry, not sorry though! Exercise is key to physically, emotionally, and mentally feeling better! Just 5 mins! Take 5 mins everyday and do a stretch, go for a jog, go knock out some crunches and abs! Be active! We can’t expect our goals to just come to us we have to chase them down, tackle them, and make them ours! Can you do all that if your not feeling good? If you barley get up and move everyday, how do you except to tackle that desire you have? Exercise just 5 mins a day, if you’re not use to it, and use that drive to push you in your other goals!

5. Reward yourself! No, I don’t mean go eat an entire tub of ice cream after every workout! No, I don’t mean go buy yourself everything in site because you were able to redo your budget and have extra money this month! No, I don’t mean go fly to the Bahamas cause you got an A+ on your test! I mean, if you just did a hard workout, go reward yourself with a nice hot bath and a piece of chocolate! A PIECE of dark chocolate is the best! If you were able to redo your budget and got some extra money, go have a nice lunch with a friend. If you just scored an A+ on that test, hell ya by the way, go celebrate with a nice relaxing night at home where you dont look at books or anything to do with that class! Or go have a nice night out with friends! It’s the little rewards that actually help push us for more!

So what are you going to do to get motivated? What tools will you use to keep yourself accountable for staying on track?

Write it all down! Whatever you think, or know that helps, write it down! Go back to it over and over and over again! Push yourself!

You can achieve everything you desire, you just go to GO FOR IT!

Monday Morning Yoga – Beginners Edition

Good morning, I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to conquer your Monday Morning! Heck your whole week!!

This morning we are going to look at a few key Yoga pose’s to help open you up for an incredible amount of breath and energy!

And it only takes 5 minutes!

Yoga is a great way to help wake your body up in the mornings and really get your overall energy and health up!

Benefits of Yoga:

⁃ Breathing! It helps to open your chest, and this will help with concentration and focus for your day!

⁃ Increased Energy and Mood! Feel good after knowing you took time for you and it helps your health!

⁃ Reduces stress! Allow yourself to relax! That is what you deserve!

⁃ Physical Strength! Grow your outer and inner strength through balance!

⁃ Mental Health! Don’t take this time for granted, truly come to your mat and just be. Do the moves that bring you energy and strength. Find peace knowing your mind and body are connected together, the way they should be!

⁃ Overall health! – sounds silly when you say but yoga is one of the easiest exercises to help your overall health! You don’t have to do the hour long practices either! Just a good five minute practice every day will help make you feel better, stronger, and with more energy!

Now with benefits like those, and so many more, do you think you too could spare 5 min from your day? Just 5 min to set yourself up for success!

It’s that easy!

Morning Stretch:

⁃ Start with hands by your side and breath in.

⁃ Go into Mountain Pose and make sure you reach as far as you can with your fingertips!

⁃ Grab left hand and pull to the right. This is a sideways stretch and opens the ribs. Do one side and then the other.

⁃ Hands back up to Mountain Pose.

⁃ Next, down to a Forward Fold. If you cant go all the way down that is totally fine! Only go half way, but make sure to breath!

⁃ Hands back up to Mountain, then back to a slight backbend. Release your breath when you go back!

⁃ Come up then go into a Goddess Pose! This is my favorite! Its such an Empowering move and really opens your whole body up!

⁃ Breath! Breath! Breath!

⁃ Stand up to do shoulder stretches. Left then right!

⁃ Take your hands by your side and breath in. Roll your neck to the right. Roll it to the left. Go one side all the way around twice. Then go to the other twice.

⁃ Come back to Mountain Pose!

⁃ Hands down, breath in the out, make noise when you breath out! Use your vocals to really get that last breath out!

⁃ Then, SHAKE IT OFF!

Whoooo! You did it!! See! Wasn’t so bad was it? And now you’re filled with extra breath for your body, your mind, and soul!

Now!!! If you want to push for more, below is an added on sequence to the top that I move through! I love really moving in my practice though! Just do what you feel comfortable with!

⁃ So you just came back to Mountain Pose after your neck rolls!

⁃ Let’s go down to Downward Dog!

⁃ Breath! Take a moment in this.

⁃ Down to all fours. Hands and feet. Make sure you Re-situate yourself!

⁃ Time for some Cat and Cow! Make sure your breath is alined for each. Don’t rush this! When your in Cat, check your shoulders, how do they fill? When your in Cow, hows your lower back? Be aware of your body in each pose!

⁃ Back to Tabletop.

⁃ Come back into a Child’s pose and breath.

⁃ Breath here for three good full breaths.

⁃ Come up and flip around to where you are sitting with legs straight out.

⁃ Stretch down to your feet. If you can’t thats completely okay!!! This takes time, and this is will come!

⁃ Hands up! Reach as far as you can with your hands while sitting!

⁃ Lay back all the way down!

⁃ Breath!

⁃ When your ready! Flip over!

⁃ Flow from plank to Downward Dog in one motion. Breath through this!

⁃ Once in Dog, walk yourself back up to a Forward Fold. (Half way is great too!!)

⁃ Breath in and reach up to Mountain Pose one last time!

⁃ Breath out and bring your hands to your heart!

⁃ Close your eyes and let go. Dont focus on poses or breath or any of it. Just be.

⁃ Open your eyes, take one more big breath in! Breath out and use those Vocals! Make it a breath that you are pushing Everything bad out of your body!

⁃ Then, SHAKE IT OFF!

You did it!!! How do you feel?

The time you take matters! Don’t rush through these just to say you did them. The time you make for yourself is your oasis. Own it, and Grow it.

Happy Mondays Loves! Go forth and make today and each day after YOUR DAY!