Black Zen and the Weekly Wellness

We hope everyone has been well and pushing through this crazy time in a thoughtful and peaceful way. Over the last few months, we’ve had quite a few partnerships with businesses and schools looking to introduce guided meditation in a virtual way, to help students and adults alike cope with this new environment. In an effort to continue this work and really stay true to our mission of bringing meditation to the masses, something has to give. The need right now is working with our partners to further our mission of making meditation accessible and relatable to those who are struggling in this new environment and we're creating the time and capacity to answer this call by putting an indefinite hold on the podcast. While this decision was made reluctantly, please know that it was carefully considered. As you know from our past breaks, we will always leave you with resources. To help you build during this time, we've compiled our best 10 topics and recapped them in this episode. These are all the episodes most likely to keep you growing while we’re away! For those of you who may miss our couch conversations, jokes and banter without the Weekly Wellness podcast, we encourage you to start from the beginning. We've covered so many topics over the years that we feel comfortable in taking this step without leaving you hangin'. You have access to all of our past podcasts on Soundcloud, iTunes or other streaming services to keep you going and we have over 100 episodes of mindful wellness tips to keep you engaged, peaceful, and growing. We’re also not going anywhere. If you miss us, reach out at info@blackzen.co to chat or say “hey”. We love you all like family, so please treat this as an open invitation to keep in touch. We'll also update our website (blackzen.co) with news when we have it, and you never know, with us we could be back in the near future if the feeling strikes ;) Always your partners in progress, The Black Zen Team

We can't even begin to describe how your girls have been affected by recent events. We've been in Minneapolis for some time and the feeling in this city is fraught with anger, frustration and ultimately a heavy heart. The murder of George Floyd has confronted us with the important question of how do we, as peaceful meditators, manage our rage and handle all of the other emotions that we experience living in a world that too often doesn't make sense, while also holding on to our core values of compassion and love in all things? For us, that means utilizing meditation to help fortify our resolve for the work ahead. It means providing our community with a safe space to process grief and to continue building a community that is mentally and emotionally equipped to do what needs to be done to create change. In light of this, we're providing free, community guided meditation for anyone who needs it. Sign-up is available on our website - blackzen.co. To our community members protesting in the streets, we are donating I STAY ZEN face masks to reiterate this message of being peaceful while protesting and holding onto our zen while fighting for our right to exist. This is a lot to hold, but know that we are here to support you and help you carry it. The Black Zen Team

We hope everyone has been well and pushing through this crazy time in a thoughtful and peaceful way. Over the last few weeks, we’ve have had quite a few partnerships with businesses and schools looking to introduce guided meditation in a virtual way, to help students and adults alike cope with this new environment. In an effort to continue this work and really stay true to our mission of bringing meditation to the masses, something has to give. The need right now is working with our partners to further our mission of making meditation accessible and relatable to those who are struggling in this new environment and we're creating the time and capacity to answer this call by putting an indefinite hold on the podcast. While this decision was made reluctantly, please know that it was carefully considered. As you know from our past breaks, we'll always leave you with resources! To help you build during this time, we've compiled our best 10 topics and recapped them in this episode. These are all the episodes most likely to keep you growing while we’re away. For those of you who may miss our couch conversations, jokes and banter without the Weekly Wellness podcast, we encourage you to start from the beginning! We've covered so many topics over the years that we feel comfortable in taking this step without leaving you hangin'. You have access to all of our past podcasts on Soundcloud, iTunes or other streaming services to keep you going and we have over 100 episodes of wellness tips to keep you engaged, peaceful, and growing. We’re also not going anywhere. If you miss us, reach out at info@blackzen.co to chat or say “hey”. We love you all like family, so please treat this as an open invitation to keep in touch. We'll also update our website (blackzen.co) with news when we have it, and you never know, with us we could be back in January if the feeling strikes ;) Always your partners in progress, The Black Zen Team

This is definitely one to get your pen ready for taking notes! The more we looked at how to start viewing food as medicine, the more information we found. In our final episode of this month's topic, we provide you with the Cliff's Notes version ;) We highlight the every day foods we can incorporate into our diet that not only help prevent sickness and disease, but can also heal certain ailments over time. Listen in now to find out the obvious (and surprisingly, not so obvious) things we can eat that significantly improve our health and well-being...

Now that we have a handle on some of the great foods we should be incorporating into our diet, we decided to use this week to find out which foods to avoid to ensure we’re living our best life. We also uncovered some surprising things about junk food that even we were shocked to find out! Food is so integral to our bodies, our mood and our health, so it only makes sense that being more aware of what we eat can have a profound effect on our day to day experience…

Last week we discussed the 4 happy hormones that keep our spirits up and our lives feeling healthy and full. We’re following that up this week with the low cost, easy access foods we can incorporate into our daily meals to help keep all those good vibes going! This is also the episode where your Black Zen team may have cracked under the pressure of shelter-in-place. In this episode we’re definitely at our silliest, but always serious about making sure that our community begins incorporating some feel good foods into our diet. Tune in for laughs, good vibes and to unravel the conversation that covered everything from oats and almonds to grits and a good malbec…

Last month Jas and I talked about creating your own personal wellness and meditation retreats and we hope you’ve been able to implement that in your home, especially now! One of the most direct actions we can take post-retreat is to start becoming more intentional about our food choices. This may seem like a small thing, but the foods we eat affect our energy and moods a lot more than we think. We now have the time to cook at home as we stay in place, so tune in to find out about the 4 happy hormones you need to know about so you can start cooking up some happiness in your home...

With all this extra time on our hands, your girls were digging through the archives to find things that would help us all navigate this "new normal". This week's podcast includes 3 of the most important clips we found relevant to creating a home retreat, whether that's watching what we consume in our newly found free time, tips to building that meditation practice or what we've been personally putting into place, trying to make lemonade out of lemons. As a reminder, for the rest of March (you have one day left!) we will be sending this month's guided meditation to everyone who needs it and without subscription. Message us at info@blackzen.co to get your home retreat in gear. There is LITERALLY no time like the present...

With all that's going on in the world right now with the corona virus outbreak, it's definitely putting all of our inner-peace skills to the test! In this week's podcast, we take a detour from our regularly scheduled program to address what's happening in our nation and the world around us. We talk about how we as meditators can meet this challenge and come out peaceful and whole on the other side. Listen in now to get a free perk and to find out how to create the boundaries necessary to guard your peace and joy amidst these uncertain times...

In this week’s conversation, we continue discussing how to get the most out of your personal meditation or wellness retreat. One of the trickiest parts about taking time out to center yourself and find balance, is that eventually you have to go home, or back to work, or end up right smack dab in the middle of all the problems or circumstances that you thought you’d left behind. How do we keep up the momentum to change after the retreat is over? And how do we find time for wellness given everything that’s going on around us? Most importantly, once we return from our retreat experience, how do we navigate our new self in our old life?…

In this week’s conversation, we discuss the most crucial ingredients you need to craft a thoughtfully planned personal wellness retreat. We take the guess work out of what to prepare, how to find the time off work or from other obligations, and even share tips on how to make sure you get the most out of the time you set aside. Whether you have a few hours, a full weekend or even longer to spare, we share all the details on how to set up the best environment for your personal growth! Tune in now to start planning a retreat designed with your unique needs in mind...

The Black Zen Team has been debating for the last few days about meditation versus wellness retreats and the benefits of each. After numerous discussions about our own personal experiences, we did come to one shared conclusion. Every style of retreat has to have some component that helps us drown out the noise of life to give us the space to find and hear our inner voice. And when we say drown out the noise of life, we’re talking about both the internal chatter within our mind and the external noise we experience every day. This external noise can include things like the sound of traffic, taking in the news, interacting on social media, or even just listening to the conversations around us. The appeal of a retreat is that, by design, it removes us from our daily obligations so that we can get a bird's eye view of our lives, and this month’s Weekly Wellness podcast discussion is focused on building that retreat wherever you are...

Don’t you hate how every romantic comedy stops right at the end of the “meet cute” moments? This week we wanted to find out what happens once we’re finally in relationships and passed the honey moon phase? In our final installment in this month’s series on relationships, we take some humorous and surprising advice from couples who have been together for over 20 years to find out the best ways to make our relationships last the test of time…

When it comes to choosing a partner or determining if the one we're with is right for us, how do we know what to look for? On this episode, the Black Zen team spills some personal tea from past relationships and narrows down a few key things to pay attention to when trying to figure that out. Listen in to find out how your relationship stacks up when we look at a few crucial indicators that let us know we're with a true partner that can stand the test of time...

In part two of this month’s series on relationships, we take a look at the unfortunate side effects of putting your relationship to the test and discuss the 1 subtle thing that could be damaging your relationships over time…

Since February is always associated with love, we thought it was the perfect month to take a deep dive into relationships! In Part I of this topic, we include the 1 key thing to remember about all of your relationships and we humorously break down the most important element that holds every great relationship together…

Now that we know that each of us has power, which is the ability to impact or create change - what do we do with it? How do we know where to focus our power to see the most impactful results in our life? The surprising thing we uncover in this week’s final episode on January’s theme is that usually the thing that needs to change is often not what we think it is! Tune in for the final conversation of this month’s theme to start your year off with power…

To continue the conversation on this month’s theme, we talk about how to double down on the power that you have or how to get it back if you think you’ve lost it in a certain situation in your life. This is the key to navigating this year and actually getting results!...

To continue the conversation on this month’s theme, POWER, we used this week to look closer at what happens when we unknowingly give ours away – whether it’s thinking we’re stuck in a situation, letting other people control our moods, or even worse, believing that we don’t have any. This week is all about how to recognize the power that we do have, and how to use that to create the change we want to see in our life. 2020, let’s go!! Listen now to dive in to part II of this topic…

We're back! Another year, another day, another opportunity for a fresh new start. Speaking of fresh (shout out to the 80's babies!), you may have noticed our new website (blackzen.co) but the most notable shake-up is that our Weekly Wellness editorial is now the Monthly Meditation. We heard you when you said you love our content, but found it hard to incorporate everything all at once. To help alleviate the overload, we’re going to focus on one topic for the month to give you plenty of time to implement the advice. We’ll of course look at the topic from all different angles, but we’re hoping this helps you make all the changes you want to see in your life for this new year! This month we're talking all about POWER. We think it’s a perfect topic to start off the new year. Setting our intention and using power to fuel the follow-through will set the stage for an amazing 2020. Part I starts now…

It's official. Your BZ Team is on its annual December break. As you know we take wellness seriously, so incorporating mindful pauses into our business is not only true to form, but we find it necessary in keeping our content interesting and helpful to you. Last week we mentioned wanting to leave you with a ton of resources to get you through the rest of the holiday season. We also want to help set you up for the year ahead. In addition to 20% off of the BZ Beginner’s Guide to Meditation workbook for the full month of December (use promo code: 2020 at checkout), we've also completed our review of past wellnesses to give you the final top pieces of advice from 2019! Listen in now for the second half of our year-end countdown…

For the folks that have been with us for a while, you know that we take a holiday hiatus for the month of December and devote that time to our personal wellness. We use that time not only to rest and recharge, but to evaluate how we can continue to help and support you. Now with the sudden realization that there are only two weeks left in November, we wanted to leave you with a ton of resources to get you through the rest of the holiday season. To do this we've reviewed all of our past wellnesses and pulled out our top 10 pieces of advice this year. To not overload you with all ten at once, here’s Part I of the countdown. And be sure to tune in next week for the rest of the best tips of 2019. Together, these two weeks of the wellness should keep you going (and growing!) until our January return…

If we look throughout history, every generation before us thought the world was going to hell in a hand basket. And yet, here we are. Our lives continue to evolve and the most important things like love, purpose and the ability to move forward still remain. When we meditate we give ourselves a chance to see society's problems on a much larger scale, our personal view gets a wider perspective, and we become equipped with a lens that sees all possible outcomes rather than just focusing on the current state of affairs. Being present and aware we will feel more and see more of what's really going on, and can then become the change makers to fix the ills that disrupt our world. Even more, it allows us to achieve these changes without sacrificing our own peace, damaging our emotional well-being, or affecting our physical health from the negative impacts of stress. Most of all, we grant peace permission to thrive no matter what else is going on around us…

It may come as no surprise that the same person who invented water torture for prisoners also came up with sleep deprivation as another form of punishment. Fam, the struggle is real! This week we’re giving you the tools you need to get your zzzz's back on track. We wanted to uncover the easiest and most effective ways on how to get consistently better sleep. Just like consistent meditation or regular exercise, good sleep is vital to our well-being. When we're getting enough of it, it allows us to be at our best. A healthy sleep schedule is more important than we think and it’s worth putting in the time to make sure we’re getting our best night’s snooze as consistently as possible…

No one likes to feel like their back is against the wall, whether it’s literally or figuratively. Being physically pinned in a corner, or “caught on the ropes” to borrow a well-known boxing term, can often leave us feeling like we’ve already lost the fight. This same situation can be true in life. When we’re in a match between our goals and our reality (which may be taking a bit longer than we’d like to catch up with our vision), it can make us feel like we’re trapped. Rather than take the beating lying down, we can make the best of a setback or an unanticipated set of events by having inside-fighting skills (another boxing term since we’re already on a roll)…

At Black Zen, we consistently look for ways to create the best conditions for our success and our peace, and the most important factor we've found in achieving this has been surrounding ourselves with amazing, ambitious and authentic people who inspire us to be our best. It's these folks who truly make up a winner's circle. When selecting your team it's also important to know when to trim the fat. There are some people in our lives who just aren't all that positive. While we would never cut them out of our lives entirely, it may be necessary to create a bit of distance to make sure their influence is not derailing our progress. Listen in to find out the best benchmarks to look for when picking your winner’s circle…

We’re celebrating our 100th episode of the Weekly Wellness podcast! In honor of this milestone, we’re taking some time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about meditation. As we continue to grow our organization and move our mission forward, we hope each Weekly Wellness is an opportunity for you to enhance where you are, let you know that you've been seen and give you the motivation and the humor to keep on moving towards your best life! Humbled to be your partners in progress, The Black Zen Team

As people interested in meditation or for those of us with a developed meditation practice, we tend to hear a lot about being "present". Generally, we equate being present with mindfulness in our daily activities and noticing our lives as they are happening in real time. But what does being present in the day-to-day actually look like when you’re also an ambitious person working to put important plans in place for your future? In this Weekly Wellness, we set out to find examples of what being present looks like and how to remain in this state of awareness when working on long-term goals (even when your present is less than pleasant or downright sucks!)…

I'm going to go ahead and date myself here and say I miss the 80's! Gone are the days when I can hop on a bike and head to the Boys and Girls Club after school. There I would squander my days away with Chinese jump rope competitions and tetherball battles (more of a slaughter since Jasmine stopped growing in grade 2, lol). Reflecting on it now, I think I just miss being playful. And while we touched on this back in June in an effort to bring back the idea of a traditional summer vacation, I see no reason to relegate fun to just the summertime. This week's wellness is dedicated to taking the seriousness out of life and finding more playtime, in every season, and even in our meditation practice…

Recently someone asked me, "What do you want out of life?" and my immediate (conditioned?) reply was, "To just live comfortably and be happy." It wasn't until the "to just" came out of my mouth that I realized how small and limiting "to just" can look like in real life. The person I was speaking with nodded and seemed to agree with this sentiment which leads me to think this is the accepted and expected dream of most people. Fam, the dream of "to just" is not enough! When we start our expectations and goals with this phrase we are co-signing and then striving for average. It's time to think and dream bigger, and this week’s wellness is dedicated to re-framing our mindsets to do just that…

The butterfly effect concept was articulated best by meteorologist and mathematician Edward N. Lorenz. His theory stated that the flapping of a butterfly's wings has potential to cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. While this may not generally be the case, it's a good example of the idea that tiny changes in complex systems can cause huge and unknown effects. If we think of ourselves as the system being altered, how large of an impact could we potentially have in affecting our trajectory with tiny changes made in our everyday life...

I'm not sure why the "What's going on in your life?" question leaves me unnaturally inarticulate, but it does. It makes me question what the hell I've been doing for the last year and if anything has changed in what feels like quite a bit of time. Even without the holiday season looming, I'm sure we've all gotten questions from distant friends or new acquaintances asking, "What are you up to?" The clarity we provide for ourselves is an important step to being able to convey this information to others. And once we're aware of where we are in life, it becomes much easier to have conversations around what we’re doing…

I imagine all good habits from working out to eating right starts with a plan. When I started doing yoga, my only plan was to shrink the arse following me and to lose an extra chin. It was never my plan to learn a skill set that would prepare my mind and body for meditation, but that's exactly what happened. As it turns out, this is truly what the practice of yoga is all about…

Let's be honest. You know what you need to do to move forward on your goals. So the question is not, "What do you need to do?" but rather, "Why aren't you doing it?" You've read every "do better" article out there and probably have a stack of self-help and success books in the corner of your living room right now, but if all this knowledge leads to no action - what's the point?…

"Most people live their entire lives in prison, not physically but mentally, a mental prison of their own making, the mental prison that you have accepted to be confined in. You hold the keys within you to escape, a prison break must take place, let the one you want to be break you free from the cell of conformity that wants you to remain who you are. Project your mind forward and see the self-made successful [person] that you want to become. That individual, that vision, that dream is what can free you.” – Asad Meah. What we’ve come to understand at Black Zen is that dreaming big requires vision and clear thinking, and sometimes that process starts with clearing out the old misconceptions and limiting beliefs that were clouding our minds in the first place…

In the spirit of confronting our fears, this Weekly Wellness is all about how to name what we're afraid of so we can finally put it to rest - or at least have it close enough in our view that we realize it's not as scary as we think. Naming our fear loosens its foothold on us. It frees us up to move about our lives with confidence and ease. The dreaded difficult conversation or circumstance we're fearful about is understandably uncomfortable, but it's usually only scary because our imagination of what might happen is so much wilder than what the actual experience will yield...

It's been a minute since your girls have completely nerded out on a Weekly Wellness, so let's get into it! In this week's post, we're studying The Room of Requirement. If you are not a Harry Potter fan and have no idea what we're talking about, The Room of Requirement supplied the students of Hogwarts with whatever they needed in that moment. How great would it be to need something and then instantaneously have the means to acquire it? I know what you're thinking, and no, this is not a post about meditation being that room! In fact, that room already exists and everyone has access to it. Here's what we mean...

The keys to a more balanced way of life are none other than patience and equanimity. Equanimity is a $400 word defined as mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation. It's keeping our cool even when it looks like the needle hasn't moved on our progress or when unexpected emotions come up in our meditation practice. Once we learn patience with ourselves, it's that much easier to extend that patience to the people around us...

Imagine for a moment going into the store and getting every ingredient for the perfect meal. You come home excited to cook because you’ve already thought through all the steps to make sure this meal is epic! There’s just one problem. As you start putting all of your flavors together, you realize you’ve forgotten the most important ingredient of all – salt. Sometimes, this is how life without a meditation practice can feel. It’s like you’ve got all the right elements in place, but something crucial is missing. The flavors of your experience just don’t taste as good as they should, and day-to-day life seems to lack zest. For the Black Zen team, we’ve found that meditation enhances every moment by training us to be fully present and teaches us to enjoy the fullness of our experiences. This week, take a look at your life and make sure you have a well-seasoned plate of mental, emotional and spiritual food. And if you find any area lacking in flavor, like salt, meditation is always available…

You may be asking, "What do my personal finances have to do with wellness?" In short, it’s about having peace of mind. When I first began meditating, the common theme that ran through my thoughts were around money - not having enough of it to live comfortably, how I could make more of it, and what experiences I was missing out on because I didn't have enough. I knew then that to get the most out of my meditation time, I had to either develop a peace about where I was financially and/or change my financial situation. I chose to do both and we’re encouraging you to do the same. To save you the strife of living from paycheck to paycheck, this week's wellness is dedicated to getting your financial house in order. It all starts with finding peace in your current financial situation, and then taking ownership of that circumstance. From here, we can each make the necessary changes to reach our personal version of financial freedom and find peace of mind with our finances…

Embracing imperfection in ourselves is about looking at our internal cracks and personal quirks without disapproval, and instead seeing them as an opportunity to paint those perceived flaws with something wonderful. It’s a gentle process and it happens when we step away from the business of life to truly see the canvas we’re working with. Before our break we encouraged you to truly rest and enjoy the summer, and even to take a break from striving toward your goals if that's what you needed. We all know that soon our "summer-life" will fade and it's back to the grind. Yet, by embracing the cracks and imperfections that we all work with, we can keep a bit of that summer peace with us as the seasons change. When we view our process in the Wabi-Sabi way, learning to work on ourselves with patience and acceptance truly does take the "work" out of it…

Think back to when you were in school, there were really only two important days - the first day of school and the last day of school. I distinctly remember organizing and re-organizing my pencil box and Trapper Keeper in anticipation! Fast forward to June and your girl was spent; I couldn't wait for that last bell to ring. While summer was uneventful (imagine your girls living in jammies watching The Price is Right and playing Monopoly for an entire two months), it did come with the promise of no classes, homework or study hall. It's a shame that as adults we no longer have these days to look forward to... or do we? I'd like to officially declare a summer break on #adulting! This is not to say we neglect our responsibilities, but we really should make an effort to feel that release of duty, obligation and expectation on some level, just as we did during those childhood summers. In an effort to practice what we preach, your Black Zen Team is reclaiming a summer break of our own! We're taking off the month of June for writing the Weekly Wellness editorial and producing the Weekly Wellness podcast. In European fashion, our vacation will be a month long. Your team will be back in July refreshed and pencils sharpened ready to jump back into the swing of things. We're taking this time off and we encourage you to do the same. And as the typical yearbook entry goes, have a great summer!

The most surprising discovery at any stage of life is that we're still in the process of creating our story. Given the average age of life expectancy in the U.S. is now 81 for women and 76 for men, once we reach our 40's we most likely still have another lifetime left to live! This Weekly Wellness is all about acknowledging that we are never too old to do something we want to do and are never too young to live life in the 60+ range when you have the freedom to do what you want, and are armed with the understanding that you are your only audience.

I found myself curiously unable to sleep last week. For those that know me, this is especially rare as I've been known to sleep standing up, or if really exhausted, even in mid-conversation! So staring at the ceiling at 2 a.m. only amplified a steadily growing and nagging feeling. As I laid in bed, my thoughts drifted between decisions about my future (both personally and professionally) and whether those decisions would align with the outcomes I was hoping to achieve. These thoughts started out innocently enough; a low rumble amidst all the other noise of the day. Then they seemed to morph into a sticky feeling in the pit of my stomach, until ultimately landing like a rock in my chest. It wasn't until a few days later that I was able to pinpoint the name of my sleep invader - worry…

I don't know if it's the weather changing or watching all the dry trees sprout new leaves, but there's something in the air right now and it's got your Black Zen Team feeling like it's time to shine! And when we say shine, we mean walking tall and proudly in our accomplishments, which goes well beyond an Instagram post or an updated Facebook status. This is the time to boldly stand out and put all of our wonderful uniqueness and growth on display. If not now, when? We've been working on planting good seeds and nurturing the parts of ourselves that we want to see grow. We've been diligent about putting in the work to start seeing results in the areas of our life that were dormant before now. It's crucial to remember that letting ourselves step into this new light is just as important and necessary as the hard work we put in to get here…

Through our previous experiences we've developed habits, defenses and thought patterns to deal with the rough spots. We continually create habitual responses to certain circumstances, people and situations (both good and bad). Now is the time to examine those automatic reactions and see if we're responding in a way that truly moves us forward. Whether we know it or not, we have full authority over our thoughts, the words we say, and the choices we make. These are the things that shape what we experience. And if so much of how we experience our life has to do with how we tell our story - why not make it a good one?...

Jas and I often discuss how meditation can assist and/or fix any difficult situation in life, and while we stand by this, there is another hitch to this cart to make it work. What meditation won't do is alleviate all of our problems quickly, especially if we don't have a true intention to change. All of us have an opportunity to retrain ourselves and live up to our full potential, and ultimately, the process is worth it! Once we are truly ready to grow, we have to start by being willing to change the mindset that created the issues in the first place…

I was digging through my purse a few days ago and found a $50 dollar bill. Now there are three things you should know about me before I continue this story: 1. My loved ones have frequently described me as, "frugal AF" 2. I rarely carry cash. 3. If I somehow have more than a $5 spot on me, it ain't mine. So imagine my elation at the discovery of this "big face" bill that miraculously made its way into my possession. My first thought, "Who's is this?!' My second thought - "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth ;)" The surprise and delight of the unexpected can be rare for some of us, so it's important to acknowledge and celebrate these small wins as they come. You want to automatically brighten your day? Think of one unexpected good thing that happened to you in the last week. Notice how you feel at just the thought of that experience. Now, imagine navigating all of life's experiences with that same enthusiasm and belief of something unexpectedly awesome being just around the corner...

We talk a lot about letting things and people go that no longer serve or help us. This week, we want to add guilt and shame to that list! At some point in time, despite our best inclinations and intentions, we have all done something we are not proud of. Remembering these experiences can make us cringe, and at its most heavy-handed, make us feel worse about ourselves even long after the shameful event has occurred. So the question we're posing this week is, "Why dwell on these old memories?" For instance, think of one thing you are most embarrassed about right now. What feelings come up? Has your demeanor or mood changed? Unless you're feeling more empowered than you did 2 minutes ago, remembering that experience is not serving you…

In last week's Weekly Wellness, we touched on the slight difference between being unmotivated and just plain tired! So once we've taken the needed rest to help us jump back into the swing of things or re-gained our motivation to see our goals through, we should still be calculated about next steps so we don't end-up in the same tired/unmotivated slump once again. For this week's Weekly Wellness we're going to focus on how to not mistake activity with achievement…

Jas and I were out to lunch today and we laughed for a good 5 minutes over the following statement: "The juice ain't worth the squeeze, and the squeeze ain't worth the juice!" Given the state of our appearance, it would have suggested that our efforts should have produced more than the current results and both the ridiculousness and realness of that statement truly hit home in that moment. We were taking stock of what we had accomplished this week with work, life's chores, etc. and since we both looked so bedraggled, couldn't help but call it out. For the next few minutes we were laughing because our efforts had brought us to the place of pure exhaustion. Well no more running ourselves ragged and we're encouraging you to take stock of what takes up the most of your time, and then ask, is it worth it?...