Expanding your full health consciousness
I really thought that by the time I was going to be writing this post today that I would have some great personal news to excitedly share. And yet another month goes by where I’m convinced that I’ve done everything possible to become pregnant and sure enough I discover that I’m not. This month felt so different though. I decided to make some major shifts in my self-care, gave up having a glass or two of wine, honored each phase of my cycle more consciously than before, eliminated excess herbs and replaced them with prenatal formulas. I felt pregnant, I looked up potential due dates, and started crafting my summer plans accordingly. This might feel a bit preemptive, but I felt that different that I took every little sign as seriously as I could. As you can imagine, it’s a bit heartbreaking to get reminded once again that your body’s signaling was off. Or maybe I was just so convinced that I was doing everything right that I created a fun narrative in my mind that when you follow a specific formula, you can get the expected end result. That’s when it hit me. I have spent my entire career educating clients that it’s not that simple, yet I still couldn’t really comprehend it for my own ability to conceive. The parallel inspired me to share my story so it can hopefully inspire you when it seems like you’ve done everything for your skin but the result is still not what you expected.
Express gratitude and embrace change...
When I was in beauty school I remember how a lesson in acne led into one of the most powerful life-changing discussions. We were exploring the root causes of acne and how that can be related to stress on all accounts (physical, emotional, etc.). The simple solution our guest teacher had for stress management was to express gratitude and embrace change. At 18, this had me totally shook! It was so simple but it was something I never really sat down to think about how the combination of those two seemingly simple action could turn your entire life, and health, around. My expression of gratitude is a daily practice, however, I do like to take the opportunity to sit deeply on this topic whenever I can. So with Thanksgiving around the corner, I wanted to share my gratitude for the year with all of you. 2017 was not at all what I expected, especially since 2016 felt like we all were hit by a bus. I sort of expected it to be a little easier but with so many life changes it’s easy to think back on it now and realize that this year was going to be a big one. Emotionally, financially, physically, all the things just grew towards a new level I never thought was possible. Without my gratitude practice, I don’t think I could see this year as positively as I do but the old saying still runs true: what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. That’s where the embracing change part creeps in. It’s one thing to express gratitude but when life is throwing you all sorts of curve balls, it’s how you embrace the journey that truly transforms you.