The Greatest Tool to Changing Your Life

While my world gets busier and crazier I am often reminded of how thankful I am for the quite moments and the moments of silence I get. Meditation has been a huge life saver in my life for many reasons and in many ways. To be completely honest with all of you, until I found meditation I do not think I was truly accepting and okay with myself. My meditation practice is what has got me through some of the biggest ups and down's in my life and it has continued to be the one thing that I know I can count on every day. Meditation for me is a must, it is something I would not, and could not live without. It has so many health benefits to it and it has helped so many people take control and change their lives around. Exploring the world of meditation for many can be intimidating and very scary; some do not know where to start, some do not know how they could do it, and some just do not even understand or really know about the concept. Because meditation has become such a big part of my life and has helped me in so many ways it has become my personal goal to help others understand and realize the potential of this amazing tool, and this is exactly what I am going to do by giving you; simple meditations, helpful hints, and reasons why it is so grand!

Meditation is an amazing tool that can help in so many areas, actually thousand's of area's, in your life. Meditation has the power to take your life and change it in to something that you never even believed it could become but only if you let it! Here are some areas and things that meditation can help you with in your life:

~Improved concentration: when you exercise your mind by meditation it activates your minds ability to concentrate on one thing at a time, this is a really good thing for everyone but is especially good for those with ADHD, ADD, those who feel like their mind is constantly on the go, and people who have constant mind chatter.
~lowers stress and anxiety levels! The slow breathing and concentration that meditation takes helps the brain to focus on something else and not magnify or focus on the things that cause stress or anxiety. Also meditation has been known to release serotonin and dopamine into the blood system, which we all know are feel good, blissed out hormones!
~Helps us to focus on the here and now instead of past and future. Do not get me wrong there are times where we need to think ahead or remember things from our past but most of the time this does not serve us any good. While you are meditating you are bringing your focus into the here and now and forgetting about all the small details that do not matter to you other than what is happening at that moment. When we practice meditation and experince the here and now through meditation we are more able to bring this thinking into our everyday lives, this is oh so good in too many ways!
~Lowers blood pressure, helps the muscles and body to relax deeper (which can aid in helping with insomnia), helps aid in weight loss, increases stamina and vigor (this is why athletes are told to meditate)!
~Helps to increase confidence and better sex!!!! Both of these are due to the fact that your hormones regulate with a mediation practice and also you are more prone to in the moment thinking and positive thinking :) And really who would turn down the possibility of better sex!
~Increased spirituality!!! Meditation helps us to connect more deeply and purely with our true and higher selves which helps us to connect more into our version (which ever that might be) of spirituality.

There are tons of benefits and area's in life that can be helped by meditation, these are just a few, to check out more visit http://www.artofliving.org/benefits-meditation

When starting out meditating there are many ways that you can go about it but I recommend taking it slow and using guided meditations. Lots of people rush in to meditation thinking that it will be easy and they will just be able to do it, but truth be told meditation actually takes lots of energy and focus so sometimes it is not so easy. When you start out you may not meditate for more than 5 minutes and that’s okay, or you might not be able to completely calm your mind and body and that’s okay too. It is called meditation practice for a reason, you practice, it is like any activity, the more you do it and the more your body/mind gets used to it the easier it comes to you. The point is just to do it without expectations and see what magical things happen fro you. I still to this day do not set time lines around my meditations I just meditate until my body and mind no longer want to, some day’s it is 10 minutes and others it is 30 or more. When you meditate and come more in tune with your body, you body will let you know exactly what it needs and how much. I also recommend using guided meditations when you first start out, this is not a must I mean after all I did not do this when I started out, but guided meditations when you first start out can make it easier for you to focus, less scary, and they usually help to relax your mind and body more (sometimes silence makes us anxious and can be scary fro some). Anything from Gabrielle Bernstein or Deepak Chopra are my favorites!!! Doreen Virtue also has some great meditations but they are much more spiritual so if you do not want to go down that road just yet I would not recommend them.

Most morning's I start my day out with a meditation, after I have showered to wake myself up that is, and this has been an amazing way to start my day out I have realized, I also meditate during the evening as well but both meditations are very different from one another, yet similar. My morning meditations are usually my longest ones as my body and mind are still relaxed and usually are not completely "turned on". In the morning I sit cross legged with my hands face up on my legs in my meditation area, light some incense, and turn on some meditative music; I then close my eyes and take a few deep breathes and bring focus internally and begin to thank my guides, angles, etc for the day that I have before me and all the love and good things I will experience, I also ask and pray for those in the world experiencing hurt/pain/sickness to have love and healing light directed towards them, I then ask my guides to let me hear any guidance that I may need for the day clearly in my meditation and throughout my day, after this I bring my focus to my breath and go completely within for however long is needed. I can usually tell from my body when my meditation is over because I will just feel the sudden need to open my eyes, stand up, or move in some huge way. By starting out my day with this meditation I have noticed my mood through out my day is over all better as I am focusing on positive things before it even starts! My evening meditation's are very much the same as the morning minus the insence, music, I also usually do these in silence and thank my guides for the day that I had and list 5 things minimum that I am grateful for that happened. My evening meditations are usually done after a workout, run, or yoga class so that I can thank my body fro doing the activity and I always end them the same, I bring my hands into prayer at heart centre then I bring them to my third eye and say "may you think love", then to my throat chakra "may you speak love", and then back to my heart chakra with "may you be love". I do other forms of meditation but these are the two most common as I do both pretty much every day. There are many forms of meditation and almost anything can be meditative. For me when I am running in nature this is highly meditative, also when I am dancing I find the same stillness in my mind as I do when I am sitting cross legged meditating. If you can find stillness in your mind (without falling asleep) and relax your body then you can make anything meditation, focusing on your breathing also helps a ton! There are many people that meditate while cooking, cleaning, creating art, playing music, drumming, walking and so much more!

Meditation is a tool that has been given to each and every one of us and we all have the potential to change our lives with it, after all it could be the greatest tool given to us to do so. Meditation can change you physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I encourage each and every one of you too try out this tool that has been given to you and see exactly how life changing and magical it truly can be. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about meditation, as I have only touched on a small amount here, please feel free to contact me. I hope you all see the love and light within yourselves and within others. Namaste.

Whoa, There Ya Are?!

My fur-buddy Vitton snoozing <3

I know I have been keeping you all in suspense for a while now as I have not been posting much, but for the last little bit I have been focusing on some big things that are happening in my life right now and trying to further a few others along the way. This has all been highly exciting and equally exhausting some days. But don't fret, I am going to give you bits and pieces but not all of it right now, just to keep you on edge :)

Thing's I am doing right now:

~Detoxing from processed and refined sugar!!! I am currently 2 weeks free from processed and refined sugar!!! This means I have not been consuming anything that has refined or processed sugar in it, noodles, cookies, muffins, bread, chips, etc.
~Healing my body; emotionally, physically, and spiritually. In the last month not only have I detoxed from sugar but I have also detoxed from all alcohol (I used to be a glass of wine a night girl) and all the detoxing has forced me too look at things in my life even more different that I did before....ch-ch-ch-changes
~Tons of detox baths...duh cause I am detoxing!!! Plus they are just totally awesome!!
~Participating in tons and tons of online seminar's and courses about nutrition and body balance.
~Looking at different schools in Vancouver and area...for what you will never know ;) okay you just will not find out quite yet!
~Focusing on my words...I know that this one sounds a little odd so I will try to explain it without giving away too much. I have been starting to notice that sometime's I do not communicate effectively, I know, I know everyone could use a tune up in this from time to time...but my communication problem is actually in the tone of my voice and the words that I choose to use, mostly out of habit. Some times I use very aggressive communication even though I am not wanting to come off that way, and it is mostly in the words that I am using, so my goal/focus right now is to speak with more intent instead of directness, as directness can often come off as being rude.
~Awakening, invoking, and cherishing my inner goddess...this has been a huge thing this week and so exhilarating!
~Raw-king new raw and vegan recipes!!!! Some have been a fail, some have been lick the bowl/plate delish and some have been nothing special but still dam good!

Well these are some of the things that I have been up to, plus work, plus yoga/running, plus mediating, and my social life...yepp busy busy so I have had a little less time than I would like to finish these epic post's I am working on. I would tell you everything but I do not want to give away too much of what I am doing and working on as they will be unveiled shortly. I am hoping to get a post I have been working on up by Tuesday so you can all learn about these new magical little adventures I've been having!

One last thing I'd like to talk about is something very important and major coming up. My big, HUGE, amazing move to beautiful Vancouver, BC!!! It was about a year ago when I made this huge decision, I am sure when I started talking about it people thought it would never happen but I knew deep in my heart it would. I put it out to the universe and slowly over the last year, with I must say little work on my end, things have alined and happened to point me more towards Vancouver and moving than I would have ever imagine!. BUT now with the moving being only next month and a trip to Vancouver coming next weekend (!!!) it is time for me to start pulling some weight and working more with the universe on this. So, I will apologize now, in advance,


if I do not post much over the next month, I have some posts that I am working on and will continue to do so and hopefully get up.

New Raw Yummy Recipe...Sugar Free!!

Anyways thats a little of what I have been up to and what I am working on at the moment. There is so much more to come your way, and mine as well, so until later keep beautiful, balanced, and your heart full of grace!!

Love, What Makes Our World Go Round

Love is a funny thing, you can be in love with someone, a thing, a place, yourself, anything really. We are all taught that we should choose love in all possible situations over any other feelings. We are taught  to love not judge, to love, not hate, to show love not anger, and so on and so forth. What we tend to forget is that what we ultimately need to do is love ourselves, know ourselves, and love the universe , so that that love can manifest and set forth into the world and come even more into our lives. After watching many people relationships end over the last 2 months and hearing them and others asking over and over again "what happened they loved each other?", "why would he stay with her when she cannot even trust that it will be okay" or "I do not understand why he would treat her like that?"  I began to take a deeper look into love and relationships in general and came up with what I believe makes relationships successful.

When I first started looking deeper into love and relationship's I took a look at my own; past and present. I looked at how successful, full of love, trust, and all those good things my current relationship is and compared it to ones in my past that had ended or that had not been so great. I looked at what had been different between all of them and thought long and hard about it. The one thing that was different was ME! I could not believe it, it was so simple, I was different. How might you ask? Well I will explain. See through out this journey I have learned, and still am learning, a few things I could not do or wouldn't do before hand; I learned to love and accept myself, I learned to be able to bask in silence, and I learned that no matter what everything will always be okay. Now let me explain what I mean by these and how they have impacted my relationships.

Until the past year I never realized just how much of an introvert I am, I for my entire life thought that I was an extrovert and could not understand why it was that when I was around people for a long period of time without a beak I would get irritated. Now I love to do a lot of solo activities and actually enjoy spending time by myself, or in silence with others. In fact this is one of the very first things my boyfriend told me he loved about me,he said he loved that I did not always need to be out and talking, that there was a comfort in my silence. Now I will be honest I used to be a chatty kathy but only because I was scared that if I did not talk it would get weird and awkward for everyone; and I also used to be the person that always had to be surrounded by people because the silence of being alone scared me. It was not until I got comfortable with just being in the moment and recognizing that silence was not scary at all that I over came both of these and started to learn who I truly am. Knowing myself better than ever has helped in so many ways, I look at the relationships that I used to have when I did not know myself well enough and I can se how it affected them. For example when I would fight or argue with someone it would end up being so heated even if it was something small, this was because at the time I did not realize that what I truly needed was to take 20 minutes to myself to process what was going on in silence, now that I know this I use this frequently. By being able to just be I have also learned that I do not need someone around all the time because being alone at times, minus when you have just watched a scary movie home alone in the dark, is not a scary thing. I look back to one particular relationship where we were together all the time and how horrible it ended up being because of this, I did not have my own relationships, interests or life and nor did he. Now in my current relationship I have a healthy balance of me time, our time, and our lives together and separate. It was me taking the time and challenge to learn about who I was that has made my relationships since successful.

The universe has always always always got our backs no matter what happens, and we just need to trust and believe in this. I know on a crappy day or when something bad happens it does not always seem like it but the universe will never let anything happen in our lives that does not teach us a lesson or help us to grow into a more fruitful life. I did not always have this out look on life; I used to be scared of a lot of things in life, I used to think that if something bad happened it was the end of the world, and I used to think that no one and I mean no one truly had my back. I am not going to lie sometimes at my worst moments these thoughts will creep in but I now know myself and the universe well enough to know that they are not true. Viewing my life through fear took a toll on my relationships, I viewed them as something to fix the things I was scared of, I would look to my partners to fix any and all problems and tell me it was going to be okay. By thinking this way I glorified my partners by thinking that they were the ones that could fix me and everything around me, this took all the power away from me and placed it in someone else's hands making them seem more capable or better than me. By changing my outlook to everything will be okay no matter what I took not only my power back, but also showed that I was responsible for myself and very capable at facing whatever life threw at me. All to often we look to others to fix our problems and to support us, this disempowers our inner self and even though we are not saying it intentionally we are telling our self "I cannot do this, I am incapable of doing it at all but someone else can do it for me because they are better than me". Now do not get me wrong it is okay to ask for help when you need it and it is nice to hear that "everything will be okay" and so on and so forth but we should not be dependant on these things from others to make ourselves feel like it will all work out. We all have all the tools in our back pockets to fix any problem that the universe throws at us, this is why the universe always has our back, and by asking someone else to step in and fix it you are doubting yourself and the universe's capabilities. And you do not need to think or believe that it is the universe that has your back, that is just how and what I believe, it could be God, Buddha, Ganesh, destiny, fate or whatever you believe in, just trust in something bigger.

Everyone has heard the saying "we accept the love we think we deserve", this is incredibly true and I never used to think so. I have had moments in my past that I have hated myself, loved myself, and half assed liked myself. When I look at the relationships that I had in any other time than when I fully loved myself I will be the first to admit they were crap! When you do not fully love and accept who you are you not only view yourself as a lesser person than what you are, but you also project that outwards which attracts people who will treat you the same. We cannot let something enter our life unless we accept it, and if we accept that it is okay to call ourself ugly, fat, worthless, dumb, etc then what makes it not okay for others to do the same. Now I will be the first to admit there are things about myself I would like to change but I have learned to accept them because without them I would not have all the things that I love about myself, and maybe one day the things I am not as fond of will change but if not I will love and accept myself anyway.

Learning to accept and love yourself is an amazing thing because then we are not looking to others to fulfill our needs, and we are already fulfilling them on our own then if someone does something for us that helps to meet our physical, spiritual, or emotional needs, that's awesome, but then if they do not then thats awesome too because the need was already met. But I guarantee you that if you start taking care of yourself, loving, and accepting yourself then you will see others step up to the plate as well. I recently watched a vlog from Gabrielle Bernstein where she explains that she wanted to feel more supported so what she initially did was start supporting herself more and in turn got more support, and its soo true; if you want something in your life start by loving/accepting and doing it yourself then this will project and you will attract it in to your life. Loving yourself and accepting who you are is the biggest make or brake in any relationship.

All too often we look to others to fulfill our needs, fix our problems and teach us about who we are. I often see so many couples who lose who they are as individuals and become just a couple that are so dependant on one another. I see girls who hate themselves, or half ass like themselves, and wonder why they are with a guy that treats them like they are dirt. I see relationships fail because one or both of the people do not know who they are, and are unwilling to learn by themselves about themselves. Last but not least, I see couple's and individuals that look to others to make themselves feel good about life instead of trusting the universe and the tools that we have to do so ourselves. I truly believe that the key to a successful relationship whether it be business, friendship, love, or family is to know yourself, trust in the universe that everything will always be okay no matter what, and love and accept yourself the way you are. Our inside world matches that of our outside world, be love and attract love.


If you would like to check out Gabby's vlog about how she got more support here is the link:
http://gabbyb.tv/vlogging/how-to-feel-more-supported

Magical, Healing, Wonderous Fullmoon Practices



Alright so here it is FINALLY!!! I have been asked by many many people to write about the full moon and some of the practices that I talk about often on my Facebook page. So after all that asking and begging from people, I will finally be letting people in to see what the full moon can mean, bring, and change in your life if you allow it.

Before the introduction of heavily organized religion and modern technology full moon celebrations were something that everyone took part in every full moon to help center themselves, let go of the old, and welcome the new. The full moon has magnificent power over our bodies and minds for two main reasons; 1) the majority of our bodies are made up of water and the full moon effects gravitation pull on water, and 2) at the time of the full moon the moon is not only giving off its own energetic rays but also the suns as well so double the energy is coming in through its rays, when we combine both of these we get a super force of greatness that can be useful to us if we allow it. If we allow the full moon to work its' power over our body, mind and soul we open ourselves up to spiritual clarity and inspiration. It is even said that during the full moon there is a gateway for any ascended master, deity, god, or goddess to enter our realm and help us to connect more deeply.

Many religions and spiritual practices are centered around the moon and its cycles, science has even started to research and support how the moon can affect the human body, mind, and spirit. In most traditions the moon represents a great feminine power, intuition, emotions, and creativity. The full moon helps and signifies closure, rebirth, and manifestation. There are many people that will tell you that they feel the difference with in their body around the time of the full moon and those in the helping professions will even tell you that they can see a difference in their cliental around this time as well. Many people cannot sleep properly, feel a lack of energy, or their intuition spikes, this is our bodies way of telling us to pay attention to what is going on around us and take part in the celebration that is happening.

By developing a full moon practice or celebration, or simply taking part in one you allow yourself to open up and receive so many benefits that can come to us from the full moon. I will share a few of my practices some that may be a little shocking and others that will not surprise you at all. You can pick and choose any or all of these to create your own practice, because after all not every practice is beneficial for everyone.

1. Write down any thoughts, feelings, or messages, also known as journaling. Now I used to be a big journaler but I longer am, except when it comes time for the full moon. People often find around the time of the full moon their heads are usually either; racing with chaotic thoughts/emotions or foggy with hard to make out any thought/emotion. I, personally, am one where my head is flooded with information, thoughts, and emotions and writing these down really helps to make everything more clear. When we put pen (or pencil) to paper and write any messages we are getting from our higher self, or guides, it all becomes very clear and because this is a time where we will get flooded with messages journaling can be very beneficial to help us hear and see the messages more clearly if needed.

2. Do a cleansing/clearing of your house, mind, body, anything really! This is a great time to do any kind of cleanse as it can help to release any stagnate energy that has been built up anywhere. I sage my house around the full moon, drink plenty of water, eat very clean, and also do a saltwater bath to help cleanse my home, mind and body. If you want to know how to do a salt bath see my post on balancing.

3. Charge anything that has high energetic properties in the moonlight. During the full moon I place all of my crystals and ritual items outside to absorb the rays that come off the moon, remember they are twice as powerful at the time of the full moon. The moon at the time of the full moon is giving off crazy feel good energizing power that can be absorbed and thus placing objects or even yourself in the rays of the moon makes this absorption possible. There are a few people I know that also place any food they frequently consume, and healing houseplants outside to absorb these rays. By absorbing these rays from the full moon not only does it energize the item, or yourself, but it also clears it and releases any of negative stagnate energy that may have attached.

Some of my favourite crystals to work with



4. Now I bet you were wondering where this one was but here it is, meditate! The full moon is great time to deepen and increase mediation and meditation gives us another way to connect in with your intuition and hear your messages more clearly. Meditation during the full moon is most beneficial when done outside but you can still get the same wonderful effects mediating inside, so do not worry about that. Meditation also gives us time to absorb all the wonderful energy that is pouring out from the moon. I have my own full moon mediation that I have developed over time to suit my needs but if you would like one that is already created there are tons out there, Doreen Virture has an amazing one that I used to use. Also, if you can find one or get friends together meditation groups around this time are amazing as well, there is already so much energy on a regular day that you can absorb in a mediation group and paring it with the full moons energy is just magnificent.

5. Do something creative! The full moon release a lot of energy and a lot of people report feeling more creative and creating their most creative work around the time of the full moon. So dance, write, play/create music, draw, paint, do anything that engages your creativity! You will thank yourself later!

6. What can make you feel like you are setting up physical balance in your body? Well of course it is YOGA!!! Yoga is a great thing to do the night of the full moon and the night after. Yoga on a regular basis helps us to open up and absorb energy while releasing stagnate energy, but on the night of a full moon it can also help us to open our heart so that we can receive any manifestations, or thoughts that we have put forth for ourselves into the universe. I recommend going to a yin or restorative yoga class around the full moon as these classes work deeper into your muscle tissue than others and release more stagnate energy than regular yoga poses, they are also full of hip and heart openers which is important because you need to open your heart to receiving the energy of the full moon and opening the hips also helps to ground your root chakra which is also highly important. If you cannot make it to a class do some poses at home, I suggest pigeon pose, down dog, bow pose, dancer pose, bow, warrior 1 & 2, sun warrior and some sun salutations.

7. The full moon is great time for releaseal as I have said. During the day of the full moon I gather my thoughts and think about that which is not serving me anymore, has negative thoughts/emotions attached to it, blocks or anything really that I want to release. I write these items on a piece of paper and then I meditate for about 5-10 minutes and focus on releasing any emotions/energy that are tied to these items I have listed. When I have finished meditating I burn the piece of paper in a small flame such as a candle and say out loud all the things that I release. There are others ways to do releasing and unblocking this is just the method that I use. Another popular one is cord cutting, which is also great to do around the full moon or just anytime really, if you would like to learn more about cord cutting Gabrielle Bernstein has some great mediations as does Doreen Virtue.

8. Last but definitely not least I use the full moon to enhance manifestation in my life. The full moon is great for manifesting anything that you would like to add to your life, dreams that you would like to work on coming true and so on and so forth; because you are releasing so much during this time you can make room for new things and experiences to come into your life. Manifesting is something that is widely talked about and practiced there are just different names for it. To manifest you simple just need to think about the item/thing/place that you want in your life and then picture it in your head, by doing this you are creating the visualization piece. Picture yourself doing or being where ever it is that you want to manifest, let yourself experience the emotions that come along with it, the experiences that you would experience, see yourself doing all of it. I do the visualization piece while I meditate in my salt-water bath as I am completely at one with myself and my greatest good at that time from releasing toxins and relaxing my body. After the visualization piece, or you can do it before just make sure you do it at some point, create something that is concrete that involves what ever it is you are trying to manifest, vision boards are great, you can draw a picture or simply write it down. Keep the concrete version of what it is you are trying to manifest in a sacred place, I keep mine with all my goddess cards, crystals, and meditation items on my alter. When you need a reminder of what it is that you are trying to manifest take a look at this item and go back to what you visualized along with the feelings.

I hope you will all celebrate the full moon and create your own practices/rituals after reading this. The full moon can be very beneficial to everyone as long as we allow it to be. Open yourself up to the wondrous, magnificent, magical energy and power of the full moon and experience all that it has to give to you. If you have any more questions or would like anymore direction on this feel free to contact me via a private message on Facebook, email, or in person. The light in me is equal to the light in you <3 namaste!

Full moon and rainbow celestial body

Creating Balance in an Unbalanced Life

So last post I talked a little about how I was trying to bring back more balance into my world along with the heart chakra and opening/balancing it. Well this last week has been all about adding even more balance again into my life and creating balance in moments that I feel the most unbalanced in. I have been using a lot of different methods from energy work, mediation, nutrition, self care, ayurvedic medicine, and knowledge to create it and today I am going to share with you some of the things that help me to balance myself and my world.

1. Meditation- this one really should not come as a surprise to you all as I am a huge advocate for meditation. Meditation gives us a time where not only can we go deep with in our selves but it also gives us insight as to what may be causing us to become unbalanced, as when we meditate we can hear our intuition the clearest. Try meditating for even just 5 minutes and you will feel a difference in how you feel.

2. Eating less processed sugar!!!!- This one for me is crazy hard but a must, as sugar feeds any kind of unbalance or negative energy that you might have within your body. A diet high in processed sugar also is linked to all sorts of cancer as it feeds the negative energy that cancer needs to thrive. This week I have been trying to limit, and in the future, get rid of processed sugar. When I get a sugar craving I have a piece of  dark chocolate made from cacao, snack on dates, have some fruit, have carrots (as organic ones are nice and sweet), or have a teaspoon of raw honey.

3. Run more- Now that the weather is getting nicer out again I have been taking my runs outside off the treadmill more! Running has always been super balancing for me but running outside is even more so as I find it highly meditatve. Also running, just like any activity where you are moving your body for more than 20 minutes, helps to move stagnate energy out of your body. You do not have to run just move your body in a way that gets your heart rate up for minimum 20 minutes.

4. Salt water baths- Now this one I will warn you takes a lot out of you, I am highly exhausted after one of these and ready for bed. Salt water baths force your body to expel out any toxins you have in your body, which we all have tons of. To have a salt water bath fill your bath tub with the hottest water you can stand, then add in 1 cup of epsom salts and 1 tsp of baking soda, and any oils you choose (I use lavender or eucalyptus), then sit and relax for minimum 30 minutes. You can listen to music, read, watch a movie, meditate or whatever during this time just make sure that you try to keep your hands and feet in the water as much as possible as thats where the toxins will be coming out of. Then when you are done take a cool shower but do not use anything that has perfumes in it! Also make sure to drink lots of water during, before and after and DO NOT  eat within an hour of doing one of these!

5. Nature Love!!!! This one I must say has really been a truly big balancer. By getting out of the unnatural light and into some natural light with nature all around you, your body naturally balances its self as it is meant to be outdoors not cooped up inside for hours. I have been getting outside as much as possible this week and even went on a winter hike to Waterton National Park with my best friend, it was such a blessing!!

6. Sleep...zZZZzzz...- This is something as a species we do not do enough of anymore. The average adult sleeps about 6 hours a night when they need and should be getting about 7-8 hours a night. I know when I am not sleeping properly things in my life get crazy, I become moody, eat junk, low energy, mind fog, and so much more. Also when we are sleeping is when our body gets a chance to process any toxins and expel them, and balance any hormone imbalances as well. If you have trouble sleeping or getting to sleep try drinking more water, more vitamin D in your diet, creating a bed time ritual, or using oils. I also give you permission to nap!!!

7. Yoga- Of course I had to put this in here! :) There is no better feeling than the blissed out, up lifting feeling you have after a yoga class...it is almost the same kind of high that you get after sex. Yoga is very balancing as it makes you mind, body, and soul all work as one unit and the best part is you do not need to go to a class to do it!! You can practice simple, advanced, or any pose right at home. I personally get up every morning and do about 30 minutes worth of poses to start my day out feeling liberated.


There are plenty more practices that I use for creating balance within myself and my life but these are just a few of the simple ones I have been focusing on lately. Our bodies and minds can become unbalanced very easily which can create unbalance and chaos with in our lives. It is important to practice some sort of balancing practice everyday to prevent this from happening. I hope that you will use one if not all of these to help you to create balance and maintain it within your life.

Universal Love & the Green Goddess

Hey everyone, I really apologize for not posting the last few weeks but they have been crazy!! Between my boyfriend moving to Vancouver, working full time plus a few extra hours, being there for a few friends that needed me, and then just average everyday things, life has been crazy and the only down time I got was far and few in-between.  But after all the craziness I took the weekend to myself to re-centre, regroup, and just spend a little time with me! All of this me time this weekend really got me to look at what had been going on in my life lately and where all my time was really going, and this is what this weeks blog is about!

In the past year I have spent so much time focusing on myself, or so I thought, I forgot how exhausting it can be when you focus most of your time and energy on giving to others. Now focusing on others is what I kind of do as a job, after all I am a Life Coach and I am expected to help people out for 8 hours a day 5 days a week, but most of the time when I am not at work I am focusing on doing things I like and love, and spend a small portion of time outside of work trying to give to others. I know when I say it like that it sounds selfish and maybe it is but in a good way! You see when you give give give to others (and yourself) and do not take time to receive from others (and yourself) then you become out of balance. And what might you ask exactly makes us feel and become out of balance? Well I will tell ya!! There is this little energy centre in the middle of your chest cavity called your heart chakra that becomes out of balance. See your heart chakra is responsible for universal love and can only work properly when both giving and receiving in your life are in balance. We must be both open to giving and receiving in order for this chakra to work its wonders, open us up to universal love, and not cause us to become unbalanced or cause health issues.

Balancing the heart chakra is something that does not come easy to everyone, especially those who are in the helping profession, parents or who are extra sensitive to others feelings. When my heart chakra is out of balance or just needs some extra love and care I notice a lot of things in my life change; I begin to feel like I have no time alone/to myself, I am exhausted all the time, I begin to let negative feelings such as disappointment and desperation in, I begin letting negative self talk into my space and I get upper back tension. These signs that I experience are just some of many that you may notice but you can easily balance yourself to relieve yourself of any of these. I am going to give you a few exercises that help to balance and open your heart chakra:

1) Tapping!!! For those of you that know me I am a huge fan of EFT (emotional freedom technique) or tapping. To use this exercise to help open and balance your heart chakra take your index finger and your middle finger and begin to tap on your sternum for roughly two minutes while repeating to yourself "I am open to the love of others and I mirror the same love back". This will not only help to open your heart chakra but balance it so that you will not only receive but give love as well.

2) Eat some green food!!!! The heart chakra is also associated with nature as well as love, and green is a not only the colour of the heart chakra but is also the colour most associated with nature!!! So eat some green natural, organic goodies!!!! My favourite are green smoothies and kale chips. By feeding yourself good for you greens not only are you receiving the love that nature indented for us but you are also giving yourself love and respect thus opening your heart chakra.

3) Mediation, meditation, meditation. Now I know I say this is the answer to everything but it truly is. If you are feeling blocked or like your heart chakra needs a little love and balancing do a heart balancing/opening mediation. Get into your meditation posture (sitting, or laying down comfortably) and close your eyes, start focusing on your breathing, let your breathing get deeper and deeper, then start to focus on your heart centre, see your heart centre as a bright green light that is open and equally balanced, ask your guides (either spiritual or angelic) to help you to open your heart more and balance it. This mediation is wonderful and can be done in 5 minutes or an hour, it really depends on what you need.

4) Last but not least be open to all the giving and receiving happening around you. Be willing to give love to loves, such as opening doors, a shoulder to cry on, a coffee, or anything; BUT also be willing to receive a compliment, a prize, a day off work, any kind of help at all. If we are not willing to give or receive we close ourselves off to the most amazing kind of love there is, universal love and trust me you do not want to close yourself off to this!

Now I know I make it seem like you should be walking around hugging everyone, helping everyone out, and such but this is not what I want unless you can balance it with receiving as well. See a perfectly balance heart chakra not only gives and receives but it also has boundaries, it knows when to say when and knows what it is capable of and not. Boundaries are something each and everyone one of us can work on, even me. Learning to say no to something is not a bad thing, telling someone that you cannot help them move is not going to shut down your heart chakra because at that moment you are giving yourself love and thus still giving. I do not know how many times I have told people that I cannot come out with them or help them because after working with people and giving for 8 hours I just need a break and this is okay. Giving to yourself is just as important as giving to others as long as you are doing it with your boundaries in mind.

I could go on and on about balancing, healing, opening your heart chakra and same with boundaries but I will cut it short here. If you have any questions, or would like to know more feel free to drop me a line of some sort. Just remember to let your green goddess from with in you project her love for giving and receiving equally, so that you can become open to the amazingness of universal love!!! <3

Tummy, Budget, and Taste Bud Pleaser

So to go along with last weeks post on food I thought I would give you two of my favourite recipes that are super easy to make, quick to make, super healthy/good for you, and also very easy on the pocket book!!! The first one is a green smoothie and I know some of the ingredients sound gross to put in or weird but trust me it is soooo amazing!!! I never would have dreamed in my wildest dreams that I would like it but I do, and it is one of my go to in a hurry snack's!! The second recipe is a vegan version of a meal a lot of people love, this was also a recipe that I was very unsure about how it was going to turn out but let me tell you I ate them 3 days in a row this week!!! Both recipes are definite tummy, taste bud, and budget pleasers :) Enjoy!

Creamy Tropical Smoothie

1 Cup of Pineapple (I buy a fresh one, cut it and then freeze it)

1/4 Avocado

1 Inch Piece of Ginger (peeled and cut into smaller pieces)

2 Handfuls of Spinach

1 Cup of Coconut Water

Combine all the ingredients  together in a blender and enjoy!! Seriously a must try! I never in a million and one years thought I would like avocado or ginger in a smoothie but it is one of the most enjoyable combinations ever!!! The avocado makes it creamy as if you have added dairy, and the ginger gives it this crazy tang that awakes your senses.

Chickpea Taco's with Homemade Guac!!!

For the Tacos:1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 red onion, minced
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 14-oz can, drained and rinsed)
1  taco seasoning packet or make your own 

(I make my own seasoning 1/2 tbsp of chilli powder, 1/2 tsp of paprika, 1 tsp of cumin, 1/4 oregano, 1/4 salt, 1/4 pepper, 1/4 cornstarch, 1/8 cayenne pepper, 1/4 cup water)

Either Gluten Free taco Shells or Corn Shells

For the Guac:

1 Avocado

Generous Handful of Cilantro Chopped

Juice of 1 Lime

1/4 Chopped Red Onion

1/4 Chopped Tomato

1/4 Chopped Red Pepper

1. First prepare the Guac by mashing the avocado and then mixing in the other ingredents. Store in fridge until Taco's are done.

2. In a medium size skillet over medium low heat combine olive oil, chickpea's, onion, and garlic. Stir frequently and let cook uncovered.

3. When the chickpea mixture has cooked for about 10 minutes add taco seasoning and let simmer for about 5 minutes on low.

4. Prepare taco shells or corn shells as per package.

5. Fill taco shells with chickpea mixture and then top with guac and enjoy!!!!