Actions are based on beliefs. What is it that you believe?

What are your beliefs when it comes to your health and wellness (mind, body and soul)? One of my current "gurus" is Jen Sincero . In her latest book she talks about "mastering the mindset of wealth". While there are many, many amazing tidbits in You Are A Badass at Making Money, the way she explained what drives our actions has changed my life. No joking. Life changing. 

We often try to work harder and willpower our way through changing our actions but as I've discussed before, we only have limit efforts and willpower is not an infinite resource. It is for this reason that it's crucial to have other tools in the habit change tool box for those times when our willpower has been depleted. And if you're able to explore this tool (concept) with an open mind it might be one you use the most. Jen explains that our beliefs about a certain habit will directly affect our actions.

  1. Beliefs - We all have certain beliefs about things. Beliefs about money, our health, our bodies, what a relationship should look like, what a successful 35 year old female looks like, and so on. These beliefs are instilled throughout childhood and/or big moments in our lives. Difficult moments like being told we aren't cut out for something or when that relationship ended and we believed that we would never find someone better. Sometimes we let social media (and before that, Hollywood) trick us into believing that our bodies need to look a certain way in order to be truly happy. These beliefs run around in our minds controlling the show. 
  2. Thoughts and Words - Because of this mindset we tell ourselves things that reinforce those beliefs. If the belief was from childhood we may have been telling ourselves that we weren't good enough for a very long time. We then start to say things that further drive home this belief. For example, when we say things like "I can't do that cause I'm broke as a joke", or "Are you kidding me? I'm way too lazy to ever accomplish that" or "I will never look like her in a bathing suit", we are not only further drilling that FALSE belief into our minds, we are literally cutting off any hope of getting to a place where we are financially flush, running that race, and feeling like Ashley Graham in our bath suits. 
  3. Emotions - Imagine if someone followed you around and constantly told you those things? Eventually you would take the comments to heart and let them drag you down or you'd flick that person right in the forehead, three stooges style. Feelings of never being able to achieve something severely limits the actions you will or will not take. 
  4. Actions - Why bother working out if you'll never lose weight? Why change your spending habits if you're too broke to save any money? Why look for a different job or relationship if you're not worthy? Those emotions will kill your motivation and sabotage the efforts you do muster. 

Beliefs ----> Thoughts/Words ----> Emotions ----> Actions

You don't have to know anything other than what you believe about yourself can have serious affects on your success and happiness and you can absolutely change your beliefs. Simply start to peel the onion on the actions you are looking to change. Notice your words. Witness your emotions. Pay attention to your actions. Dig around to find what it is you believe. If you choose to no longer believe that then don't. Flip the script and find out what it is you truly want and believe in that! This may take some time and effort but once you believe you are worth it and you're thinking and speaking in positive manner, you will feel a sense of desire and confidence thatmakes taking action a much easy task. No willpower needed. 

The only question you need for change.

When life goes sour there are many questions that I start to rattle off in my head. Why did I go to that mental space again? How did I let this get out of hand again? When will this all make sense? Who the hell do I think I am? What the hell even happened?? These questions might start the reflection process but they don't work towards solving the root of the problem. 

I often discuss the issue of neglecting to work on the root of the problem. Most of us tend to focus on the symptoms of the problem, placing a temporary fix, like placing a bandaid over the nail that is stuck in our foot. In order to really relieve the pain, you have to remove the nail and allow for the healing to begin. Of course, pulling the rusting nail out will hurt like the dickens but once its out you can nurture your foot back to health. Using this bandaid method only sustains the pain. Numbing with pain relievers and continuing to cover it up, results in a nagging ache that won't ever go away. Sometimes this neglect will result in a very serious situation, forcing you to remove the nail but now there is all sorts of added pain such as infection, increasing the amount of time and level of expertise needed to heal this wound.  I now personally choose to go through the pain, knowing that it will be temporary, so that I can have health and happiness for the rest of my life. 

When I am reflecting back on a situation that has not gone in the way in which I hoped, the first question I ask myself is "What could I have done differently?". You know the definition of insanity right? Doing the same thing over and over, yet wondering why you keep getting the same results. By asking yourself this simple question you start to uncover the point at which you are straying from your path and with enough investigation you will start to uncover the reason you are straying in the first place, which is the root of the problem. 

For example, last week I continued to spend money on eating out, despite the fact that I had also spent a good bit of money on groceries. So instead of just beating myself up, I started to ask myself what I could have done differently so that this wasn't a reoccurring problem. Through this I concluded that I needed to have quick and easy meals that I can make from pantry staples, so that my excuse of being too tired to cook would no longer be an excuse. I also brought into focus that I hate having to do dishes before I even start cooking, so ensuring that I tidy my kitchen as I go will take this excuse off the table as well. By taking the time to come up with easy meals made from foods I always have and tidying my kitchen on the regular I have begun the process of removing the nail. 

Another, bigger example is why I quit drinking. I was tired of the physical and moral hangovers, I was tired of the pull it had from my health and wellness, and I was tired of the way it affected my relationships. Before I started to look at it this way, I simply managed the symptoms of this problem. I would only drink so much or on certain occasions and would make sure that I was safe when I did drink. I would try to drink different types of alcohol and did my best to hydrate and make sure to eat while consuming the booze. None of these changes actually changed anything because they were not the root of the problem. Because I neglected actually removing it for so long there was definitely a lot of infection that surrounded this problem but when I did finally remove the nail I allowed myself to start the healing process. I am still going through this healing phase and my wound is still sensitive but I know that I am on the right path as I have tackled the root of that problem. I can see how much I have already healed and I know that a full recovery is in sight. 

3 Lessons From Mother Nature

My one and only planned vacation for this year was a recent trip to North Carolina. I've visited this particular spot on this mountain numerous times throughout my life and yet I saw things very different this visit. My perspective on my life has drastically changed over the past 6 months, allowing me to see things from a different lens, a different perspective. Here are three things that I learned from my stay with Mother Nature, turned into mini lessons for life. 

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao Tzu

I first read this quote on a tea bag tag one night and of course, I thought how genius the idea was and made a little note of the quote. But it wasn't until I was having a mini meltdown at the cabin that this actually started to mean something to me.  Even though this was my only planned vacation for the year, I decided to put some silly and grand expectations in my head about using the time there to create content for my business. I really badly wanted to take advantage of the setting and to crank out a bunch of work so that I could use it to build the dream I have in my head, FASTER!!! My expectations were not being met and then all it took was one other hitch in my day to just leave me in tears. Don't worry, the tears were counter attacked with a shower and a meditation session, and those tears are the reason for this lesson. They made me stop and take a further look at what the root of the meltdown really was. 

Life is not about getting somewhere fast. When you move fast you tend to miss things. You miss important tasks, you miss errors in your work, you miss all of the good that is happening around you, you miss the view. You also miss the lessons. Each experience is a chance to learn something new, making you that much stronger to take on your goal. I am learning that no amount of speed will ever be better than really working to prepare yourself, showing up to do the work, and learning from your mistakes. This is how life works. 

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All of the calm is in the quiet. - Me

I had lots of quiet time on this trip. Hammock hangs, challenging hikes, meditation and long drives provided lots of space for thoughts. The quiet is when you really get to connect to what is it you want out of your life. Its when you hear your thoughts and if your willing, maybe even hear some guidance in the stillness. THIS IS SCARY. Some of my thoughts are beyond scary, as in, "I'd rather not think about you right now, maybe ever." But the best way to move through those thoughts and let them free is by sitting with them. The more you take quality quiet time the more space you give yourself to work through stuff, its the time in which your best ideas will emerge. If you use mediation as a regular source of your quiet time you will also get better at creating more calm on the spot, as this is the practice of not reacting to the noise - both the inside and the outside noise. Find the quiet regularly, even if just for a few moments each day. 

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After all you're just as tall as the mountains that you climb. - Thomas Wynn and the Believers

The analogy of a goal being like climbing a mountain is of course a popular one. Well, when you actually start climbing mountains, I guess there's a chance that this could start to really take shape. You set a goal and you are stoked. You are at the bottom of the mountain with all of your gear and you are off, but first a selfie :) The first few steps are exciting and the setting is crazy cool, but then you realize just how many steps its going to take to get to the top. The enthusiasm starts to fade and your focus turns from the trees and the sights to putting one foot in front of the other and just breathing. Now, it will depend on your mountain and it will depend on your attitude just how long that miserable stretch will last. If all you focus on is the pain you feel and the distance left to climb you will suffer more. But if you notice fatigue yet focus on what's happening in the moment, you will find spots for loving rest and breaks. If you simply continue to place one foot in front of the other, and maybe even ask for help along the way, your focus will be on what's thriving in the moment, providing yourself with the motivation to keep going. 

Once you reach the top, make sure to take in the view and be grateful for the climb. Then understand that the work is not over. It is now time to do the ever so tedious task of walking down the mountain, to then start searching for the next mountain to climb. Every time you attempt to climb you are growing into a stronger, taller version of yourself with handfuls of wisdom from your climb. 

I am going to leave you with this gem of a song by one of my favorite bands Thomas Wynn and the Believers. And FYI they are locals and they are amazing. 

Becoming lit from within.

If you're not hip to the lingo the term lit is now being used to reference anything that is awesome, turned up, exciting, intoxicating in any manner, that lights one up, as if lit from within. Parties, outfits, substances, music, food, places, possessions, money, careers, and even people can be a source of awesomeness and excitement that helps to light us up, providing us with an intoxicating hit. Throw them all together and you will start to understand why it is so hard for most individuals to light themselves up naturally. It is why we struggle to just be. To just be alone, to just be quiet, to just be still, to have less, to let go of our ego, all of these things are foreign because of this mash up of an overwhelming 24-hours-a-day stimulation. We have slowly grown accustom to receiving multiple sources of these outside things to make us "happy", "calm", "content" or more appropriately, just distracted. 

The problem is these will only work for a short moment, and then you're back to the sadness, the solitude and the quiet. If this place is uncomfortable and unfamiliar it may be time to get to know this place a little better. Inside each of us is a comfort zone and an un-comfort zone. They both have really valuable things to each us but we will only decipher what they are by spending time in both spaces. That space where we are sad, fearful, stressed, frustrated, angry, jealous, or whatever other spaces are uncomfortable for you, are meant to be explored. They are meant to be felt and to be experienced fully and presently, and no this does not feel good. But that does not mean that we aren't meant to feel it. It is only through the mud that the lotus flower can bloom. It is only by sitting with those feelings (whether on your own, with a loved one, or with a professional) that it can it all start to become clear again. The clouds may come but behind the clouds the sky is still blue. You have to learn to sit in the cold, cloud covered, lots of times stormy spaces, and patiently wait the suns return. Nurture your self and do what's best so that you can be in the mud, perhaps you turn it completely into a mud bath, fancy spa treatment. #selflove

It is in these quiet, cloudy moments that the challenges start to unfold and become lessons, making you stronger and wiser than you were before, preparing you for the next step on your path. If you run from these moments and instead drown them out with all of the outside noise and nonsense, you will miss out on that lesson and be forced to stay right where you are, you will be stagnant, forced to sit around and wait for this same lesson to come around again. You will continue to encounter the same storm over and over, a groundhogs day moment everyday. Sitting in this space is no easy feat, but just like anything else it is a practice. The more you choose to experience it the easier it is to move through, and if there is ever a truly unfortunate circumstance such as a family members illness or death, you will have been practicing moving through these emotions and it may be just that much easier to endure.

You have a choice to run or to stay. If you choose to run start to ask yourself why. If you choose to stay start to ask yourself why. These thoughts are scary at first but then comes that moment of enlightenment, your ah-ha moment and then you move on, tackling the next mountain and peeling the next layer all while moving closer to the truest, happiest version of yourself. You will be learning to become lit from within. 
 

Sadness give roots. Happiness gives branches. Both are needed. - Osho

Food does more than make you fat.

Have you ever wondered why you get "butterflies" in your stomach when you are nervous? Or why you develop a stomach ache or nausea when you're stressed or angry? This is because of a crazy cool connection between our brain and our guts. Hippocrates, a greek physician known as the father of medicine, is quoted saying "all disease begins in the gut". He said this over 2,000 years ago and most are still struggling with creating a healthy gut today. 

We have all felt the reaction that our stress and worry can have on our digestive system, but now it is time to understand that that path works both ways. The food you eat is not simply, "good for you" or "bad for you", or simply food that will make you fat or food that will make you skinny. The food you decide to eat each day is information for your body. Our bodies begin breaking down the food and send the necessary components, such as protein or vitamins and minerals, to their appropriate places to be used, while waste is sent in another direction.

This process works great when you are choosing to eat real fresh organic foods, because your body knows exactly what do with that information. When you eat fruits and veggies, the vitamins and minerals found in these foods are sent to be used for many metabolic processes, the phytonutrients are sent to be used to fight inflammation in the body, and the fiber is sent to assist in digestion and to trigger the feeling of being full.

The trouble arises when you start to replace fresh organic foods with processed, hormone filled foods with fake, laboratory-made ingredients. Your body has no freaking clue what to do with artificial colors and flavors, partially hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners, monosodium glutamate (msg), high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and most other ingredients in processed foods. If the ingredient list looks like a science experiment that is because it is. Studies on these foods long term are few and far between. High consumption of these foods will give your body the wrong information and cause malfunction in some way, shape or form. You are giving your body the wrong information. 

Now before you get all stressed out about what you should be eating, I want you to simply start to witness how frequently these processed and fake foods are in your diet. Take notice of how often a restaurant is in charge of what you're eating. Start to look at the food labels of the foods you are regularly eating and see if you can possibly find a more natural version to take its place. This will be a slow process and will require an open mind. Most of these fake, foreign-to-our-body ingredients are in the foods for a reason. They make food super sweet or super salty without the need for real ingredients, saving them money and altering your taste buds to only like really sweet or really salty things. Are you someone that always needs to add salt or sweeteners to your food? This may be due to consistently eating foods that are hyper salty/sweet. Your taste buds can change back if you start to remove the processed junk. 

Companies use hormones and antibiotics to make animals really big so they can make more money (despite the health of the animal and the quality of the product). They add artificial colors to appeal to kids that like to eat things that make their tongues turn blue. Unfortunately, this is not an accident. The people responsible for our mass food production are more interested in getting people hooked and increasing their profits than they are in caring for the health and wellness of the people that eat it. Not cool man. 

That is why it is imperative to start to witness and educate yourself on what you are regularly consuming. Understand that your food choices will affect more than how you look in a bathing suit, they will affect your sleep, your moods (depression and anxiety), your energy levels, your ability to focus, your motivation to stick to your wellness goals, your entire body and therefore your entire life. Your food is information. What messages are you sending your body?                                 

“If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.” - Michael Pollan

Self love is not a luxury.

The term self love has been exploding on my Instagram feed. This could be because my feed is filled with yoga lovers and positive vibes (weed out the negative shit). Even though I am starting to feel like the idea is being overplayed, I am still 100% behind spreading the message of placing your health and wellbeing above all else. That's all self love is. It's the practice of showing yourself love and doing yourself no harm. It is an act of service. When you take care of yourself you have the best chance of serving and positively impacting others. In order to meet the requirements for proper self love you must put forth effort in improving your mind, body and soul. 

This is not a simple task. This is by design. If it was simple it wouldn't be as rewarding and feel so good. If you could see the amazing view from the bottom of the mountain, would you climb to the top for the exact same view? If you have to put in some work to see that view, a sense of accomplishment and "self love" is also enjoyed as you soak in the view, giving you a boost of motivation to tell others about your climb and then climb a different mountain.

Self love, self care, self respect, whatever you want to call this, call it Fred for all I care, does not have to be grand. Simple and accessible is always better to have on hand for emergencies, such as a traffic jam when you're already late and a no smoking sign on your cigarette break. Wait... if I've never said this before, smoking is bad. Alanis is good. 

  • Essential Oils - Peppermint, Lavender, Chill Pill, Rosemary (Rosemary is amazing!!!!!) 
  • Herbal Tea
  • Whole Foods pit stop - Kombucha, Dark Chocolate, Dates, a new Oil
  • Meditation
  • Book Break
  • Dance Break
  • Sing Along
  • Duolingo - Learn a language app
  • Daily Reflections type book
  • Quick yoga video or workout
  • Bubble Bath
  • Brisk walk
  • Dog snuggles
  • Chat with a bestie
  • Making a healthy meal
  • Jump in water!
  • Three deep breaths.

These are some of my favorite instant mood changers for my mind, body and soul. And like I said these are so crucial in achieving true wellness BUT I also think there is a place for more "luxurious" things to be apart of your daily self love journey and they should be guilt free. Such things as massage, acupuncture, therapy, spa treatments, yoga retreats, trips to quiet places, trips to places where you have to use a foreign language, workshops and continued education. For so long these things were on my, "One Day" list, as in one day ill have enough money to maybe afford some of those things. This is where I went wrong.

By treating such acts as getting a massage and booking a vacation as mere luxuries that I will maybe have one day, they became just that. I recently heard a Home Podcast episode with a yoga teacher by the name of Elena Brower where she explained that these luxurious things are what enable her to be the best yoga teacher she can be. They are not luxuries, they are necessities. You know when you feel like you've heard something for the first time, even though you know it's been told to you 100 times? It clicked. The lack mentality of one day getting something I wanted was actually getting me no where. I am going to start finding ways to include these necessary activities into my schedule. Now, this will have to be done in sneaky, coupon-y ways and involve cutting back on some other UN-necessary activities. That is fine by me. You know why? Cause I just had a massage and I feel fabulous. 

100 Days Alcohol Free

So before I dig into why I quit drinking and how things have changed over the past 100 days, I want to be clear that this is not a call for others to quit drinking (although I will recommended it to anyone who is curious). This is not a push for prohibition or a source of judgment for those who continue to drink. This is just MY experience, and seeing as it has affected my health -- physically, mentally, and spiritually, I thought sharing MY experience on MY health and wellness blog made perfect sense. I am sharing for those who might question their relationship with alcohol as I have. 

Why did I stop? This is a big question. The short answer is that I realized that I was using alcohol as a coping mechanism for life's stressors. It was my go-to when I felt I needed to "relax or unwind". Now, this was not an all-day, everyday kind of coping mechanism, but it was a regular tool in my toolbox. It was a part of my week, even more so a part of my weekend. It was the way I socialized and slowly became engrained in my habits over the past 15 years. The second part of this is that as a sufferer of depression, the alcohol, which is a depressant, was making things worse. This is like drinking coffee and then wondering why you can't sleep. It was affecting my every day life, as it was taking me, not 1 or 2 but 3 days to come back to my real self after drinking. Even knowing that the alcohol was adding to my depression the thought of completely removing it was incomprehensible. But my life and body were craving a break. I am a firm believer that when "bad" things happen it is actually being presented as a lesson to be learned. If you ignore the lesson you will just be presented with another version of that "bad" thing until you actually stop and take a look at why it is happening. So, I finally chose to look at the root of this problem and see what life would look like if I removed the source of inevitable ickiness.

Mind

When I first removed the alcohol it was constantly on my mind. It was hard to ignore as I was seeing it in every aspect of life. It is such a common thread in todays society. Everywhere you turn there is a song, an advertisement, a social media post, hell, Lululemon even has a beer now. It shows up in every social event, even fitness events, sometimes its the only part of the event. As a 30-something single woman, finding new ways to socialize has been a very big task and is a work in progress. 

As far as my state of mind, I am noticing the little things much more than previously. When you take out alcohol, and the time, money and energy that went along with it, you find you have a lot of extra time. That extra time has allowed me to notice the small beautiful things around me that I previously overlooked. This might seem like nothing but those little beautiful things add up to make my day a little brighter, even when life's throwing lemons. 

My depression has lessened significantly but unfortunately it is still here. I started doing research on other factors such as sleep and food and have made significant changes in hopes of further lessening my depressive states. I found Dr. Kelly Brogan's work to be of great help in this area.

I have had to create more routine and have been way more productive than in the recent past. Without hangovers and the dullness that alcohol can sometimes bring, I have been able to use the momentum gained from this change and parlay it into all sorts of other projects. I have some really cool ideas and I am excited to see where they lead. I have more time, energy and money for my to-do list/dream list. I have saved an additional $600 over the past 100 days :)

Body

Removal of alcohol has made me truly understand the value of self-care. Cravings for things that we are trying to steer clear from are less intense when you are taking care of yourself. When you consistently check in with how you feel and then take action to reduce stress and nourish your body, there is less urge to snap and say "damn it, just give me a cookie!!". I have however noticed the use of other things to get that comfort feeling. Things such as food, sugar, social media, coffee, and shopping. My eyes have been opened to how frequently I rely on stuff outside of me to deal with stress, loneliness, or just life in general. 

Starting my day with hot lemon water and a filling breakfast, instead of jumping right into the coffee and sugary treats, helps to keep blood sugars stable. Continued hydration, healthy meals, meditation, yoga/exercise and regular mind/body compass check-ins, help to keep the water from boiling over. Sleep, hydration and daily movement are now at the top of my priority list everyday. 

My skin has cleared and I have noticeably less cellulite!! I have not lost weight but many have commented that I "look skinny" or have asked how I lost so much weight. I am not sure if this is meant as a compliment or not, as it sometimes just feels like a concerned question with a kind of puppy dog face, but there are a handful of reasons why I have leaned out. First, I have not been lifting weights regularly over the past 2 months, resulting in a decrease in muscle mass, however yoga and long walks have been consistent. Secondly, I have been witnessing my diet and reducing grains, sugars and diary where I can, although they are all still present in some form. This has also led to reduced stomach issues and bloating.

The last factor is that I have removed all of the alcohol calories as well as the stellar food choices that tend to accompany the use of alcohol. I have started lifting again so we will see what happens over the next few weeks. Something else that I have noticed is intense sugar cravings. Because alcohol is primarily sugar, the removal has resulted in strong sugar cravings which I have been fulfilling with yogurt, dark chocolate, dates and kombucha throughout the week and ice cream on the weekends :)

Soul

This is where some really unexpected changes happened. Seeing as having wine after a stressful day was a regular activity, I was forced to find other ways to unwind. Baths and long walks are good but they do not have the same mind-numbing results as a glass or two of wine. This means that I always have to be PRESENT! Whoa. It has led me to examine every aspect of my life; my health and fitness, my business and life goals, my finances, my daily routines and habits, my social life, my friendship/relationships, my thoughts and my spiritual life, which was pretty lack luster before.

I feel more level headed and calm than ever before. I feel more confident in my decision making skills. I am able to create boundaries and say no to things that do not align with my goals or that I simply do not feel like doing. I understand now that I cannot expect to have the truly fulfilling life that I have always imagined living, if I am dulling my sensations, avoiding discomfort, and ignoring life's lessons. So, naked as a jay bird I am going to tackle another 100 days. Here's to 200!

Shout out to Holly Whitaker from Hipsobriety.com as she is why I made it this far. I also want to thank the friends and family members who have stuck by me through this and have continued to check in. Sometimes, a simple "How's it going?" can change someones day. 

"If you drive down the same dirt road day after day, your car will form ruts in the road that will limit your ability to maneuver. Unless you pay attention and become mindful, your car will default to the ruts, and in doing so, reinforce the prior patterns in the dirt. If you want to get out of the rut, you will need to consiously choose another path and reinforce this new path until it becomes your established way of traveling." - Deepak Chopra

 

 

Night time is the right time.

I am a night owl. I come alive at night, I get my best ideas at night and I am a grumpy monster in the mornings. I have been trying for years to "make" myself a morning person. I have all of these visions of early morning yoga sessions with hot lemon water, long walks with my dog and reading and writing, followed by a healthy breakfast and getting ready with tons of time to spare. In all reality, while I've made progress, I still only have time to make lemon water and toast, maybe meditate for 5 minutes and then run out the door to start my day.  

I am not sure why it took me so long to try a different method, but instead of placing all of my focus on forcing a morning routine, I have taken a step back and started focusing on my night time routine. The hopes are that with regular, quality sleep I will be able to get up more easily, allowing time for all the things I'd like to do before my day starts. 

A night time routine will be different for every one. Because I am single and only have a snoring, bed-hog of a bulldog to deal with, I can place a little more time and effort into my routine, but you do not have to do what I do. As with every habit change, it is best to start small so that you can gain some consistency and then add on if you want. So start with 10 minutes before and grow from there. 

The first step for my routine is an alarm on my phone at 8pm that alerts me to start wrapping up my day-to-day tasks and start the switch into night time mode. My lights out time is usually around 9/9:30pm. From the time that my alert sounds until then my routine looks something like this:

  • Make dinner with a Relax and Unwind playlist playing in the background. 
  • Clean kitchen. Tidy up house.
  • Prepare for the next day - clothes, meals, etc. 
  • Hot shower - w/ lavender oil infuser.
  • I then move the infuser and music to the bedroom and dim the lights - Our bodies are designed to sleep in the dark, hence no TVs, phones or computers. 
  • Brush teeth.
  • Meditate or yoga for sleep - Try this 7 Minute Bedtime Yoga (I love me some Yoga with Adriene).
  • SleepyTime, Nighty Night Tea or Golden Milk.
  • Face and body lotion and essential oils - I put lavender and frankincense on my feet. 
  • Set alarms and double check calendar.
  • Horoscopes - This is my guilty pleasure. Instead of gossip about celebrities I read about real stars :)
  • Sip tea and read or write until lights out. 

This routine will help to trigger your body for sleep. You cannot expect it to swiftly transition from a go-go-go, race through the day mentality and staring at a bright TV or computer screen, right into peaceful sleep. You have to train it to know when its time for rest. This will not only help you sleep better it is a form of stress relief and self care. It shows your body some love as you drift of to Neverland. 

"Let her sleep for when she wakes, she will move mountains." - Napoleon Bonaparte