Hiking Adventures: The Top 5 Benefits to Get on the Trail
Hiking deep into the woods, moving my body, getting into a rhythm and becoming one with nature MOVES me in a such a powerful way. I find that hiking daily helps me be more creative and allows me to get my mind clear before doing tasks that require a lot of focus. And believe it or not, there's actual research to prove that spending time outdoors increases attention spans and creative problem-solving skills by as much as 50 percent.
I've been an avid hiker for several years now, and thankfully I live near numerous trails. Recently, my boyfriend and I went on a hike to Glen Onoko Falls in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. It was breathtaking to say the least. If you are anywhere near the area and reasonably good physical shape, I highly recommend going. You won't regret it. 
I am so passionate about my hikes and getting into the woods (or nature), that I've inspired a number of folks to do the same. So, I'm here to spread the love a little more and share some of the benefits as well as my tips...
How Being Grateful Helps You Overcome Fear
There have been many times throughout my life I've found myself paralyzed with fear. The longer I'm in it, the worse I feel; physically, mentally, emotionally.
I've experienced fear so intense that I've gone into a full blown panic attack, with vomitting and hysteria. Thankfully, that only happened once in my life. Once was enough for me to know I never wanted to feel that way again.
But fear comes in many forms and while it can be good and teach us if you allow it. Fear can also hold you back and impair your health. In fact, it can be so severe it can cause anxiety that leads to heart related complications (such as high blood pressure leading to heart attacks). For me, allowing my fears to consume me has led to asthma attacks and emergency room visits.
In light of those extreme physical symptoms, I've had to learn coping strategies to face my fears in a whole new way (especially as a single mom caring for 4 kiddos with no support). Through daily journaling and my nature walks, I've...
How to Shift from Burned Out to Thriving
Like many modern women, I've experienced total burn out. Totally unmotivated, dissatisfied with life and struggling with anxiety. I even sought medical help but didn't get any answers. My doctor looked at me like I was nuts when I suggested adrenal fatigue. I also stopped caring about myself and didn't bother to take care of myself, neglecting my appearance. I went through periods of stress eating or not eating at all.
I eventually decided I no longer wanted to feel this way, I wanted to THRIVE and enjoy vibrant health.
To me, thriving means waking up daily happy to be living the life I live. It means I wake up able to do things I once was not when my health crashed and I finally realized that I had adrenal exhaustion, to now being able to wake up and make breakfast for my kids in the morning with the chance to bond with each of them.
Now, I can take leisurely walks during the day and actually have the energy to get in my 10,000 steps. I get to wake up and do the work I love with...
How To Create A Healthy Diet That You Enjoy
I spent many years of my life trying to create a healthy diet I enjoyed. Following all the diets out there didn't work for me. I just wanted a healthy diet that made sense for me, was easy to do and that I actually liked.
Like I mentioned in my post; 'How to ditch 'the perfect diet' mentality for good', there are SO many diets out there ranging from vegan, vegetarian, raw food, paleo, keto, low carb and everything in between. And of course, proponents of each diet proclaim that they know the ticket to health, justifying their points with well researched documents and case studies. Problem is, no ONE diet ever works for everyone or anyone forever.
It wasn't until the summer of 2009, when I was out of my marriage and own my own that I finally said enough is enough. I had been on the fence for many years trying to find a healthy diet I could actually stick to. I had gone through a huge life transition after a volatile marriage ended and I finally felt safe, ready to do my own...
How to Honor Your Hunger & Stop Feeling Deprived
No one enjoys feeling deprived. I associate deprivation with punishment, and it feels lousy to me. That's why diets don't work, IMHO...a dieting body is a starving body.
I can still remember it; I was on the Fat Flush diet, sitting in my kitchen frantically obsessing about my next meal. Starving and irritable. I went from just living day to day, eating as I pleased, when I was hungry, totally happy go-lucky; to feeling like a crazy lunatic, not enjoying my days, voracious appetite, impatient, wanting to find a way out of my newly committed diet.
Experiencing intense hunger, wanting to binge or hide and binge, eating much larger portions in some meals. I became a slave to food and eating. I spent exorbitant amounts of time, meticuloulsy planning meals, searching for recipes and food shopping. Buying new cookbooks and kitchen gadgets that were recommended for every new diet plan.
So many times I'd commit to a diet plan, go buy all the stuff for a week of a regimented meal plan, then...
How to Ditch 'The 'Perfect Diet' Mentality For Good
Ladies, are you ready to get set free from 'the perfect diet' mentality'?
It was 1998, and I was searching for a way to feel better in my own body and find a 'path' to follow. I felt I needed a diet to follow because I honestly needed something to control my health as well as have a mission, something to believe in. Truthfully, I was not informed, connected to myself and quite frankly feeling a bit lost.
I had found out I was pregnant for the first time and all of a sudden my diet, what I put into my body mattered. I also had a lot of symptoms of IBS, which at the time, I didn't realize was what I was struggling with.
So I set out on a path to find 'the perfect diet'.
I began to read everything I could get my hands on at the time. I have to be honest and disclaim, going on a 'diet' when you are newly pregnant is not the wisest plan. But that was where I was at during that period of my life.
My first diet attempt was the 'Fit For Life' diet. Again, NOT a smart choice for a ravenous,...
What Happens When You Create A Vision Board
Many years ago, during my Nutritional Therapy training, I learned about using a vision board to help fuel my goals for my business and practice. It was one of those, "Oh Yes!" I am SO going to do these moments, where I just knew that it would be a powerful project to utilize.
Fast forward four years, and I finally got around to creating my first one. Today, I want to share more with you on the 'how,' but first, I need to share the immediate benefits I saw shortly after I created my first board.
As I added things to my board, I started to get happier than I had been in a while. My focus became clearer and I became more proactive about my life in general because I had a grand vision to actually look at and forward to. Knowing what I wanted and what made me happy, fueled me daily to take BIG action and not waste time.
Within six weeks, I started to see things on my board appear or happen in my life. I focused a few minutes several mornings a week on going over my board and revisiting...
How To Increase Joy By Decluttering Your Life
It was 2004 and I can still remember my excitement when we arrived at the workshop all about organization. I only had two kids at the time and they were little. Life felt chaotic and out of control. My ex was a bit of a hoarder and I was the one left to manage it all. It felt incredibly overwhelming to me; mentally, physically and emotionally.
I learned far more than I ever imagined in that workshop all those years ago, it was like therapy. Going in to the meeting I felt like I just needed to be more organized. What I really learned was my home wasn't bringing me joy OR peace. And by clearing the clutter in my physical space I could also clear the clutter in my mind, relationships and enjoy my time more. Instead of carrying all the heaviness, the stress, the energy to manage all the stuff we had that we didn't need.
Ever since that day, I've been on a mission to live a simple life with less stress. One of my healthy habits is an ongoing practice of de-cluttering. I...
How To Become Who You Want To Be
It was the summer of 2007, I had gone through the eternal fires from the pit of hell in my life experience in many ways. I was barely surviving. Deep down, I knew there was more to life that my current experience dictated. My soul was screaming at the top of her lungs; "I want more than this, there has to be more!"
To give you a little picture of where I am coming from. I had just had my 4th son and had to flee from his father to another state to escape his abuse. At the time, I felt like no one could help me but myself. And truth be told, I was exhausted beyond all comprehension of fighting - I was drained to the core; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
It took a lot to get to this point in my life and that’s all a story for another day (I’m actually writing a book about it), but that summer was the turning point when I finally ‘woke up’ and began to fall in love with myself. The me that was buried and hiding my whole life dying to be...
Praise & Testimonial: She Learned How To Love Herself
I am incredibly grateful for the amazing women I get to work with and support. Today I'm sharing Julie Thorn's story of how she learned to love herself AND overcame some major health issues over the course of our time working together.
Julies's Biggest Challenge
I could say I was eating like crap, not getting proper sleep, no time to myself, recurring yeast infections and rosacea. While all of those things were true, I would say one of my biggest challenges was my emotional state (stress, worry, you name it). It is linked to all of the above, one thing leads to another.
In the past two years, I have been through quite a bit emotionally. I was an emotional wreck inside, but I kept on smiling. I have always kept everything bottled up inside me which is not good. I have always been a people pleaser and felt like I was not worthy. I put everybody else first including people who do not have the right to be first in my life. After going through what I thought was ultimately going to...
