March 2023

This week isn’t about sitting cross legged on the floor for a long period of time. It’s about spending a few minutes focused on your breathing. There are so many proven health benefits to doing this that makes it worth it.

Easy: When you get overwhelmed or stressed, try this intentional count breathing exercise. Count 1 on inhale, and 1 on exhale, count for 2 on inhale and 2 on exhale. Continue until you get to 5. Close your eyes to avoid distractions. Focusing on the numbers also helps stop your mind from wandering. Breathe slowly.

Medium: Do a breathing exercise 2-5 minutes everyday this week. Set a timer and start with 2 minutes and work your way up. Do the counting method in the easy challenge or I like to inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, and then exhale for 4. You can change up the counting on what works best for you.

Hard: Consistency is key so let’s up the game to 60 days to make it a habit in your life. Doing it at the same time everyday will help establish the habit – right before you go to bed to clear your mind or 1st thing in the morning to start your day off. Another way is to repeat a mantra with your breathing. Breathe in – I am, Breathe out – (insert your word). Repeat this over and over for at least 2 minutes.

There are also apps that you can use if you want something guided. Try different methods to see what works for you.

These next 10 challenges will be about your health & wellness.

This first one I struggle with because my mind wanders where I start thinking of stuff I need to do, feeling bored, or thinking this is not burning calories.

Yoga is about connecting your mind and body. It’s taking the time to stretch the muscles that work hard for you everyday. Give yourself that time to just relax and be still. You don’t need to start out crazy with hour long sessions. Start out with just 5 minutes of breathing.
Which gets us to our challenges.

Easy: Set a timer for 5 minutes. Stand or sit in a quiet spot. Relax your body and inhale for 4 counts drawing your belly in. Exhale for 4 counts expanding your belly. Breathe like this until your timer goes off. Clear your head and just concentrate on the counting & breathing.

Medium: Try 5 beginner yoga poses and hold them for 30 seconds to 1 minute each. Here is a website with 30 beginner poses to choose from: https://www.verywellfit.com/essential-yoga-poses-for…

Hard: Do 4 yoga classes this month. Target 1 each week. There are a ton of utube videos free to try or check out your local gym.

Remember progress over perfection. You will fall but remember to pick yourself back up and try it again.

How many times this month have you done something you really didn’t want to do, but felt like you had to or you should do? I’m not talking about doing a workout or showing up to work on time. This is where you do something that goes against your personality because you want to fit in or feel like you should because the world says so.

We put ourselves in these situations because otherwise we feel guilty or even sometimes ashamed that we don’t fit into the mold that someone wants us to be. We tell ourselves it’s good to get out of our comfort zone which is good for you every once in awhile BUT not all the time.

For me, I used to feel ashamed that I didn’t have a ton of friends like other ladies. They would talk about all the things they did that weekend and honestly felt a little jealous. But if I’m truly honest with myself I would absolutely HATE having to do that every weekend. I absolutely love hanging out at my house with Joe and the kids just chilling. I LOVE sitting on the recliner with a blanket and good book. I like to call myself an introverted extrovert. I’ll go out and do the things and have fun doing them, but then just feel completely wiped out.

Let’s get to the challenges:
Easy: Make a list of what you don’t like without trying to convince yourself to like them and without thinking about other people judging you for your list.

Medium: Stop doing the thing you secretly hate. Go through your upcoming calendar. What’s 1 thing that you are really doing to try to fit a mold someone else has for you? Then respectively decline the invitation.

Hard: Accept who you and who you are not without feeling ashamed about it. What someone else loves to do doesn’t mean you have to too!

Living who we are by our values & priorities is where we live a happy life true to ourselves.

This week is about doing something that isn’t on our to do list. We get so focused on all the stuff we need to do that we forget that life is supposed to be fun. This week I am going to challenge you to throw away the list for a couple hours.

Easy: Do something that makes you laugh and smile a lot. Some activity where you just let go of all the to do list thoughts and enjoy. Some examples could be dancing around the house with some good music, sitting outside with a good beverage, watching your favorite movie, baking cookies, riding a bike,….

Medium: Give yourself permission to not be productive. When it comes to non-productive activities we have this guilty feeling after. A feeling like we should have spent our time more wisely because that list isn’t getting any shorter. Give yourself permission to take that time for you. If you are constantly pouring yourself out, eventually you will run out. Nobody wants to burn out so make sure you are regularly filling yourself back up with activities that have you enjoying life.

Hard: Start or restart a hobby you do purely for enjoyment. Our fun hobbies usually get put last on our schedule which means we never do it. If you don’t have a hobby, think about what you could do if you had all the time in the world. Pick one and try it out.