Sports Massage

Are you aware of all the benefits of Sports Massage?

This information comes from The Bancroft School of Massage's Regional Massage handbook, which specializes in specific regional massage, deep tissue, and sports related treatments. 

If you are an athlete training for an event, adding massage to your training may be extremely beneficial; both pre and post event. 

If you are suffering from a previous injury that has left you with limited range of motion, pain, or stiffness, regional massage can help you regain your mobility as well as relieve discomfort. 

With these treamtents, you work with the therapist by performing active range of motion movements against gentle resistance. You are in control of how much pressure is used based on your comfort level and tolerance. 

These are just a few of several treatment methods used within sports massage. 

Try it out for yourself! You won't be sorry :)

Thank You Social Media

Social media, for me, has evolved into something amazing: a place where I can go to find inspiration for anything I need. I have "liked" and "followed" so many wonderful people, places and things, that my newsfeed is buzzing with constant positivity and opportunity. 

Yoga & mindful pages remind me to stay present, true, and peaceful. Paleo chefs inspire new meals for the family and baking ideas for the kids. Parenting sites are constantly keeping my eyes open to better myself as a mother. Exercise and crossfit pages inspire new work outs and motivate me to keep me going. 

I rarely used to "browse my newsfeed". My social media time was spent uploading countless photos of my family and then logging off. But now I have to admit I thoroughly enjoy it - especially when it results in the next weeks worth of meals, a solid work out routine, resolving parenting conflicts, and constant reminders to live in the moment.

Whatever it is you need a push in life for, search, like, and be inspired! If we're all going to be wrapped up in social media life, it might as well better the people we are growing to be. 

Working Man, Stay At Home Mom

On the way home from bringing Lyla to school, Hannah snoozed away in the backseat while I listened to some junk morning radio. Along with several celebrity updates I couldn't care less about, came a topic that caught my attention: When your man works full time and you are the stay at home mom, does it dismiss all household help from his responsibilities? The specific family the talk show was referencing was one where the woman stayed at home with their children, and took on the usual dishes, laundry, shopping, childcare that comes along with the SAH title, and also grocery shops and cares for her husband's parents. When her husband returns from work, he expects dinner ready, and to do nothing but relax since he was the one who went to work all day.

Several people called in with a variety of opinions and responses. One woman was all worked up about how being a SAH mom is a job - and even more, a job that has no end time, unlike the husband's 9-5. Another woman was outraged, saying that women need to stop complaining about not getting enough help from their husbands once they return home from work, because if they were single parents, they'd be doing it all on their own, and therefore should be thankful they have someone paying the bills and coming home each night.

Why does it have to be so black and white? I am a SAH mom with a full time working husband, and I don't side with either of those callers' opinions. In our home, there are no rules regrading chores, cooking, or errands. What we do works because we respect each others hard work.

I do agree that staying home with children is a full time job with no "end time" - especially here, where our little Hannah still wakes several times a night. It's a full time job, but it's not always tough. I can gear our day around how I am feeling; if I didn't get much sleep, maybe I'll plan a movie day and spend the day in  pajamas, snacking on the couch with my girls - a luxury my husband does not have at his job. If he was kept up all night with a crying baby, too bad, he's still up when that alarm goes off and works until his shift is through. It would be selfish of me to expect him to walk through that door and take on the two kids and cook dinner just so I could kick my feet up. I'm sure I had a few small moments to do that throughout the day. When he gets home, I give him his time to unwind.

I consider the household stuff "my" job, but if I don't get to it, Eric has no problem helping me. It eventually gets done, no matter who does it or how many days it may sit there. No stress. With that said, I do expect his help with the girls. Regardless of how hard he worked that day, our family is a shared responsibility. And again, I think we work because of the respect we have for each other. He respects how hard I work at home with the girls, and I respect his work outside of the house. So instead of the useless "I worked harder, I'm more tired" argument, we just help each other out. We give each other down time, but also share responsibilities of the girls, cooking, and whatever else. Other than the fact that I stay home and he goes to work, we have no expectations of each other when it comes to "work". It's how we keep our marriage stress free. If dinner is hot and ready when he gets home, great, if not, it's never a problem. If he had a tough day at work and needs some space when he gets home, he deserves it. He has never complained when I want to take a nap or go for a run. We're married. We're in this together. It's not a competition.

Controlling Stress

One thing Hope Yoga Studio's instructors are always reminding us is that we are the ones in control of our minds. We dwell on the past and stress about the future, when what we really need to do is let it go. The past is over, and the future isn't here yet - and this brings us to the never ending effort to stay present. But what happens if your present moment is overwhelming or stressful?

One thing I have repetitively told myself lately is this: things are only stressful if you allow them to be. This one little sentence may not seem like much, but it has helped tremendously. When both kids are screaming and I feel my tolerance plummet and my blood pressure rise, instead of lashing out and yelling (or crying), I take a moment to myself, breathe, and say aloud: things are only stressful if I allow it to be. These 10 little words completely level me, and I can then think with a clear mind - "Lyla missed her nap today. Hannah is bored in her seat and needs to be held" - Okay. I move forward, and do what needs to be done. Maybe Lyla needs a few minutes in her room alone to calm down - and now, I can tell her to do so calmly instead of lashing out, frustrated.

I use this sentence to help me get through the day, being the best mother/wife/person I can be. Anytime something isn't going as preferred or planned, it helps me take it for what it is, and move on. My best days are days where I feel I was fully present with my girls and husband - and this one sentence helps me reach this goal nearly every day.

Our mind is in our control, and this means stress, frustration, and overwhelming feelings too. Who wants to feel that way, anyway?

Yoga

I splurged and ordered a $70 yoga mat last week. Normally, I have anxiety attacks when I buy ANYTHING for myself because I'm always convinced I don't need it. However, this time, it's not something I thought twice about. Partially because we used our rolled-coin collection to buy it, but mostly because I know how much yoga has helped me. 

The $70 mat may sound extreme, but when you've gone through 2 other ones and slip and slide all over the place when you're supposed to be grounded - it doesn't make for a very yoga-esque mindset. So, I got the highly recommended non-slip pro. There. Justified. 

Anyway. Yoga fucking rocks. No other way to say it. Not only does it allow me to get out of my own head, but it's transformed my body to be more flexible and strong. I sleep better (between feedings), I run better, but best of all - I calm down easier, which has been an essential tool during these rough toddler times. 

I'm not perfect. I lose my cool, I raise my voice. But what yoga has taught me is that it's not about when you have these moments, but how quickly you recover from them. When I'm feeling overwhelmed, I've learned to walk away and focus on my breathing to bring myself back down to neutral. From there, I feel better equipped to deal with the situation at hand. And when I do overreact, I am quick to catch myself. I always find myself apologizing to Lyla when I become frustrated, and then explain why mommy felt that way. I remind myself that things are only stressful and overwhelming if you allow them to be. We create our own anxiety. If I don't want to feel that way, it's a simple as not allowing myself to. But getting out of your own head is, once again, easier said than done - especially in those moments where both kids are crying and everything seems chaotic. 

But yoga has given me the power to control myself, and use my energy where it needs to be, and keep it from where it doesn't. If I dwell on how hard a situation is, or how overwhelmed I feel, then I'm destined to struggle. If I remind myself that this moment will pass, and that tomorrow is a new day, then my glass is half full. Optimistic is the only way to be. 

So come on, Mr. UPS man, and bring me my ridiculously expensive but life saving mat!

Self Challenge

Staying present has more to do with the mind than the body. Sure, I can physically be on the floor with Lyla doing a craft, but if my mind is thinking of the lunch I need to make or the things I need to get to, by no means am I present with my daughter. The main thing I've noticed in my journey in mindfulness is how much I watch the clock. According to the clock, my day is planned out for me - and mainly revolves around food. 

Wake up: breakfast. Playtime until snack. Crafts until lunch, then nap. Activities until dinner. And finally, a bath and stories or tv show before bed. Like clockwork - literally. I even found myself thinking things like "okay, just another hour before I can start making lunch" - how terrible that I am planning things with Lyla in order to "eat up time" between meals, rather than enjoying them with her in the moment. 

So, I proposed a challenge to myself. One day, when we have nothing to do, I'm not going to look at the clock. I'm not going to countdown the hours until Eric gets home and I can go for my run. I'm not going to plan things according to how long they will take or how close to lunchtime they will bring us. I will feed Lyla when she tells me she's hungry, not when the clock strikes 11. I'll sit and play with my girls and let time fly by, blissfully unaware of the time frame I'm in. 

It sounds so simple, but knowing how often I check the time, I know it will be difficult. But I also know it will be worth it, and allow me to be one step closer to a clear mind and being fully present in motherhood. 

Here goes nothing. 

Introduction

I feel most compelled to write and blog after reading, attending yoga classes, or cooking. All 3 of these things give me new outlooks on my everyday living, and I always feel inspired afterwards; so, I started this blog for when writing inspiration hits. Some blogs may be spin-offs of an excerpt I read, some may be a thought or feeling that strikes after yoga, and others about my adventures in raw-cooking and how it effects my body, mood, and energy.

This new wholistic life style has truly made me feel like I am being the best person I can be, and I am eager to share this feeling and my adventure to get here.

Stay tuned, if you wish :)
xo