Learning Opportunities

How silence affects your brain and your health

March 28 2018

Why silence affects your brain and health

Hey there. I’d like to share a quick story with you. I spent a lot of my childhood playing alone, well except for the super loud thoughts rattling around in my head. I thought of this fact one day, when I sat across from a client, who had the very opposite. Her childhood was constant stimulation, chaos and trauma. My recommendation for her at the end of our session was to take a day to go have time with her SELF. To be ALONE. Maybe get a massage, see a movie by herself, take herself out to lunch.

I knew this was going to be a challenge for her and she needed it. What I didn’t anticipate was the near panic and terror that came over her face when she heard this from me. The very thought of being alone with herself was quite possibly her worst fear in life. As time went forward in our coaching together, we learned why… she had been carrying so much shame and pain and it was so scary to look at it. She was afraid to be alone with herself because it might mean that she would have to face some uncomfortable things.

I created this video talking about how silence can quite literally grow your brain! Watch it above.

Us humans, we are pretty addicted to our thoughts and being silent, even for a little while can be a challenge.

We also know silence can change your brain chemistry and that silence is becoming more and more essential to your health.

What about you? Could you imagine being silent for a half day?

As you read this – I’m gone and taking 10 days of complete silence on a vipassana meditation retreat. I share a bit about this toward the end of the video if you’re interested.

I also talk about the benefit of a morning practice and how to incorporate some silence and alone time into your day and how this can grow new cells in your brain and impact your memory, emotion and learning.

Silence is powerful.

Enjoy the video!

Thanks for tuning in,

Renee

PS. Applications are open for My Nutrition 360 Group! Click the My Nutrition 360 button on this page to fill out your application.

Oh and if you want more information on the vipassana retreat center I went with, visit here: http://www.dhamma.org/en-US/index

September 11 2017

It’s time to examine what you tolerate

Renee 0

One of the things I’ve been hearing recently from clients and people who reach out to me are things like these…

“I want more energy!”

“I’m exhausted!”

“Why do I wake up so tired?”

“I have a lot of worries right now”

So I decided to write to you about how I help people in these situations.

First, there are a dozen physical body reasons someone can have low energy and be exhausted – (too much sugar, too much dairy, hormonal issues, thyroid or adrenal problems, overweight, auto immune problems or lack of quality sleep).

However, today, I want to speak with you about the emotional and mental reasons because each and every day we deal with other people that drain our energy. And it’s this subject that I feel needs more attention than ever before.

This topic has a lot to unpack and it’s extremely important, so I’ve decided to make this blog the first part in a 3-part series of blogs on “Emotional Intelligence”.

Part 1 – What do you tolerate and say ‘yes’ to? (read below)

Part 2 – Who you surround yourself with? (click here)

Part 3 – Where do you need to set boundaries? (click here)

You know those people that just exhaust you and it seems like every interaction with them seems to be a challenge?

We are going to call these people “saboteurs” for the sake of this blog series. This word saboteur is an archetype. An archetype is a very typical example of a type of person. The saboteur archetype is the type of person that pushes your buttons, triggers you or irritates you. It may feel like this person is engaging to sabotage you. Likely they don’t consciously know they are even doing this to you. I would also bet that you may have not thought about this person in this way before either. I want to share that there are some cases where people are consciously trying to sabotage you, and although this isn’t as common, I will be mentioning it later in the blog series.

The first thing that I want you to remember is that every-single-human-being is surrounded by saboteurs in their social circles. In fact, you might even be one for other people.

These people show up as these archetypal characters to help you grow, should you choose to accept the opportunity.

In my personal experience, if we do not choose to grow through our interactions with saboteurs, then we will continue to attract more and more of these people in our lives.

Have you ever felt like you attract the same kind of people or like you are living patterns with the same experiences happening over and over? Yeah, well, this is a good place to start. Chances are, you probably already have a good idea who the one or two different saboteurs are in your life right now.

A saboteur’s way of showing up in your life can feel toxic at times, they can suck the energy out of you, making you feel exhausted after interactions with them. I would bet that many times you might not even realize that it’s happening. Maybe you’ve known this person for most of your life or you live with them. Maybe you work with them or you only see them at family reunions. Perhaps you never connected the relationship you have with this person and the low energy and exhaustion you feel afterward.

In a moment, I am going to give some examples of how to watch out for these saboteurs.

For today, we’ll establish what you tolerate and say ‘yes’ to and why it’s so important for you to begin working on your NO muscle.

We all have lessons to learn (i.e. mental and emotional healing) from these saboteurs but it doesn’t mean that we need to purposefully engage in behaviors that allow them to drain our energy!

Later in the series, we’ll examine who you surround yourself with and where you need to set boundaries and why this is so important to your overall health.

It should also be noted that sometimes, we don’t have an option to avoid these saboteurs. They may live in our homes, we may work with them. Some of us could move on, some of us don’t have that choice.

There are many people self diagnosing themselves with depression, low self-esteem and anxiety and while I’m not diminishing these real feelings and experiences or missing the important point about taking responsibility for one’s self… sometimes we forget to take a look at who we are surrounded with in our life.

The saboteurs in your life can be your best teachers. Trust me, I know from many experiences. Few relationship experiences can be more powerful than standing up and rising above the old patterns that have you attracting saboteurs in your life. It’s time to acknowledge how you have been functioning in relationships and that it may be time change.

In other words, these saboteurs act like a “mirror” for you to look at your deepest shadows to do the internal work needed to grow. Instead of pointing fingers at them, we learn to look back at ourselves. Make no mistake, this is not always easy work. That is why I have a job helping people as a coach. However it is some of the most important work of our lives.

I want to share with you some characteristics about saboteurs so you can recognize what you have been tolerating.

Before I do that, I want to make an important distinction here. If you remember anything, from this post, remember this:

It may feel at times that we want to blame these saboteurs in our life. We might want to point the finger at them and spend our time and energy talking about them, over and over again. Worrying about them. Rehashing the conversations and issues around them. The reality is that you will not change them. You can only change yourself and that is what I help people to do professionally. So if you need help in this area, reach out to schedule a breakthrough session with me.

Next, remember that because you have been tolerating the following behaviors from these relationships, it ultimately means that you have been saying Yes to them. If you ignore situations or pretend like they don’t exist, you are still saying “yes” on some level to the experience. In part 3 of the series, I’ll discuss the power of saying “NO”.

We must acknowledge that we are not victims to these situations. We must begin to see that our actions, old patterns and ways of coping and dealing with relationships may be tolerating circumstances with people who suck our energy and drain our resources. This directly impacts our health and it’s our job to make sure we make different and necessary choices to protect our health.

Boundaries are the highest form of self care that I know of.

Examples of a saboteur behavior:

They seem to need you, they seek you out often for things they want from you.
They search for your support, advice and want anything you have to give.
They call you to vent and you don’t feel like they ever truly listen to you when you need a shoulder.
They rarely change their ideas or behaviors, expecting you to be the one who does the changing.
They will work to negatively impact situations and it may appear that “it can’t be real” that they would do such a thing. You may continue to give them the benefit of the doubt in these situations.
They pit and turn people against each other, often using a triangulation technique where they often talk about a “third party that is doing everything wrong”. They don’t take responsibility for their own actions or poor choices.
They bring chaos to situations or overly dramatize events.
They may have many angry outbursts and consider these a form of justice. They might even blame you for their angry outbursts.
They may exhaust you. You feel drained after being in their presence.
They are happy about their unwillingness to change.
They may be extraordinarily loud or obnoxious.
They may be the biggest bully in your life.

Note this: Every person has stressful situations and challenging people in their life from time to time. However, if you feel suffocated and emotionally imbalanced, it is because YOU are allowing this saboteur to affect you in a way that is not healthy.

You can blame them or you can grow.

One quote that has always stuck with me:

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn.

There comes a time when we must take a look at what we are allowing ourselves to tolerate? To question ourselves and why we keep tolerating experiences that do not make us feel good?

It’s not always easy to live with people like saboteurs and it’s our job to draw some lines in the sand and create some safeguards for our own health and well being.

Every person is different with their tolerance to saboteurs. Some find it easy to speak their truth, others struggle for years and others find it extremely challenging. None of these ways is better than the other necessarily because it is based on how we were brought up, our personality, our limiting beliefs and unconscious fears.

Please know this, you may need help to make these changes and I can help you. Also, as we grow ourselves, our self esteem, how we love and approve of ourselves, it allows us to invite in relationships that inspire and lift us up.

In the next blog in this series, we are going to look at who you surround yourself with so you don’t spend precious time and energy that negatively impacts your health.

Remember, saboteurs teach you to see your “shadow” and ego self. You can learn a lot about how you must grow as a human by taking a hard look at these relationships. It is not as much about them, as it is about you.

As always, I love hearing from you. What have you learned about yourself from the saboteurs in your life? What are you willing to commit to? Share with me in the comments below.

Click here to read Part 2, “Who do you surround yourself with?”

Thanks,

Renee

September 7 2017

38 Ways to give to others

Renee 4

Today is my birthday. I’m celebrating 38 trips around the sun. In honor of that, I am sharing 38 ways to give to others.

I have earned every one of these 38 years of my life with battle scars, wounds, hard work and many privileges.

My life has been about facing my demons and learning to love myself along the way.

I’m so grateful for all of it!

Throughout these 38 years, with SO many others who have lifted up and supported me, I want to share some of the ways I have given back. In an effort to inspire both you and me to continue doing so.

The world needs us right now.

Will you join me? Here are 38 ideas to give.

Help build homes for others (Habitat for Humanity)
Volunteer at shelters or nursing homes
Teach summer school or after school programs for children
Give away free or discounted scholarships to your paid services
Fix things for people
Soup kitchen volunteer
Buy coffee, food and water for the homeless
Send supplies to hurricane victims (or any national disaster)
Donate your time to cleaning up the environment
Purchase a meal, groceries or cup of coffee for the person behind you in line.
Plant trees
Support your local farmers by buying their produce or volunteering at their stand or farm
Volunteer at your community organization/church/synagogue/mosque
Speak at Gilda’s Club to cancer survivors and thrivers
Volunteer to help pull weeds, plant flowers or maintain a garden
Donate clothing, furniture or other items to places in need (ie: women who have been abused and want to start over)
Raise money for an athletic event you are participating in and donate it
Teach English as a second language and health to children
Tutor children
Start a blog or continue to show up and share your unique knowledge on your current one.
Donate your time to share your best gifts with groups who could use the support (motivational speaking, singing, translations, sewing, etc)
Promote local businesses that you find value in
Promote individuals, particularly minorities, doing great things in the community
Random acts of kindness for strangers
Random acts of kindness for friends and family
Sponsor an event to impact a good cause
Take part in a holiday food drive
Offer to carry groceries for someone in need
Purchase a backpack of supplies and distribute to the homeless, especially during cold months.
Encourage your organization to volunteer
Be a friend, listener and shoulder for those grieving or mourning
March and Resist for minorities being impacted by oppressive groups or laws
Use your creative talents and step up with your gifts so that others can be inspired and impacted by them
Offer to help family, particularly those who are elderly and needing extra support
Ask your local schools if they need help – children need our help more than ever before.
Volunteer or serve in local or state government or run for a major office spot (I have not actually run for office, although it does cross my mind)
Bring something thoughtful to your neighbor
Donate your time or holiday presents to children at a local hospital
Give money to causes I believe in (I want to continue to do A LOT more of this one into my 39th trip around the sun)

18076538_10155217078613784_2230851695239695202_o

May 16 2017

Time

Renee 0

What do I see? What do I hear? What do I allow in my environment? What do I focus on? With whom am I spending my time? There is one thing that we do not have more of and that is time. We never get it back. Time is my most important asset. I value my time. I do my best to value your time.
After being on vacation last week, I realized how manipulated I am, (we all are) by “the google”, Apple and the entire social media world, news, advertising, marketing, cultural oppression. Huge wake up! Once you see it, you cannot unsee it… well until you find yourself stuck on Instagram for 35 minutes and time slips by.
I desire to grow consciously with how I use my time. This is another self love boundary that must be handled with care. When we become conscious to how others are using OUR time, it is a strange feeling.
YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Netflix… These companies (and many others), are all marketing toward my time. A boundary gets crossed when this happens. These companies make more money the more “time” I spend on their platforms. They actually have a name for this and calculate their business analytics based on the amount of time they get you and I to spend on their platforms. Then, they set up algorithms to make sure we see them all the time when we are online. For example, many programs are designed to market toward your likes and where you will be clicking to spend the most time. After this realization, I felt so differently about my role in the web, online and as a business owner and how I market to people. What am I consuming, what are we all consuming? What am I doing with my time? I want to help people build strength, community and esteem and not be a contributor to wasting time. I want to add value.
When my meditation timer goes off at a certain time each day, telling me to meditate, I listen… (well sometimes I ignore it!) and yet, mostly I do exactly what I am told. When an interesting person pops up with a message, I may stop everything I’m doing to read it. When Netflix offers to play the next one, I often agree.
I desire to consciously choose how I spend my time. I choose what and whom I allow into my space. More time with good humans, in nature, alone, in community, moving, quiet, playful, present. This is a good start. I am worthy of my time. You are worthy of your time.
I can prove it.
This is not just my time. It’s your’s too.
Thank you for reading this,
Renee
#day19 #100daysofcreativeselflove #100dayproject

November 1 2016

Why saying NO is saying YES to YOU

Renee 0

I want to share some gratitude and a subtle lesson I learned.

My son received some candy from his school Halloween party at the time I am writing this. I suggested to him that he could go through his bag of goodies over the weekend. I was kind of pleased that he forgot about the candy bag for a few days all together…! We decided together on the idea that he would make three piles of his treats: (YES, NO, MAYBE).

He took about 30 minutes to sort through all of his little goody bags and treats from friends, putting things into the “YES” pile, “NO” pile and “MAYBE” pile.

I personally took a long shower while he did this (self care at it’s best).

I also wanted to empower him to make his own choices about his treats without me around.

When I returned to him, he was so proud to show me how huge his “NO” pile was. He had 4 items in the “MAYBE” PILE that he needed my help with deciding on and then he kept around 15 items in the “YES” pile.

He was so excited to throw away the stuff from his “NO” pile and wanted to share with my man and I how large it was.

I asked him about his “NO” pile and he said this, “it’s so big because I don’t need to keep things that won’t make me feel good, mommy”.

In other words, sometimes saying NO gives us tremendous freedom and joy to enjoy what is right in front of us fully and completely.

Saying NO is saying YES to you.

SAYING NO is releasing guilt and weight of things that aren’t aligned with what we really need.

When it comes to food and sweet treats – willpower is not as important as you think it is — trust me, it really isn’t.

It’s about taking action to change your taste buds and sometimes we have to have periods of time of saying “NO” in order to take action to change those taste buds.

THE ACTION TAKING COMES BEFORE THE WILLPOWER DOES.

“Action precedes motivation”

First we take action, then we feel confidence and proud of ourself, therefore increasing willpower and motivation.

If you wait around for Willpower to come first (before action taking), you’ll be waiting a long time.

Sometimes we need support, structure and community to do it.

And all the time, we need a RESET to calm our body of inflammation so that beautiful body can do it’s job at balancing and thriving.

By the way, the 18 Day Love Yourself Naked Cleanse Challenge could be perfectly timed to break your tastebuds of those sweet sensations – and they will need it desperately after holidays.

Click here to register for the next cleanse.

We begin with the “pre-cleanse” in the first few days, which gives you plenty of time to shop, get used to the plan, delicious recipes and what you’ll be doing in the days ahead.

The “main cleanse” begins between days 4-5 of the cleanse so don’t worry if you feel you “don’t have time to prepare”, you will have plenty of time – I designed it so you could ease yourself into this.

Also, saying YES to you and NO to inflammatory foods for just 18 days could be the biggest life change you’ve ever had.

It was for me. About 12 years ago, I reluctantly signed up for a cleanse that led me to now writing this note to you… it was the catalyst that changed my entire life and I’d be remiss if I didn’t get to pay that forward.

Renee

PS. Click here for details and registration for the cleanse.

November 14 2012

Immunity, insanity and acceptance

Renee 7

Years ago, I had a nasty cold. I couldn’t breathe for weeks. You can relate, yes?

A Story

I was just starting college and I didn’t cook anything but white rice with salsa and cheese on top and meal option #2 was chunky soup with more white rice. I ate several different sugary cereals + milk for breakfast options and whatever was left over for snacks.

Sugar was a staple throughout the day and I prided myself on not being able to cook.

I lived on allergy meds and took them twice a day so I could handle the cat that I had, Tiger. I really loved Tiger but it was a very unhealthy relationship that we had…

He peed on my laundry when he was mad and made me sneeze a dozen times a day but he made me feel love at a time I didn’t…. Likely the reason I kept a cat I was allergic too…

I smoked Marlboro Light cigarettes at the time, and when I wasn’t smoking, I was chewing watermellon or Big Red gum.

I ate BBQ, salt & vinegar or Hot chips often and my favorite beverage… none other than Coca Cola and a little Dr. Pepper on occasion. I also drank milk sometimes with that Hershey’s chocolate syrup.

At the time, my job was managing a local ice cream parlor so I had access to all the treats and hot dogs you can imagine.

You get the picture.

Obviously not a vision of health both emotionally and physically.

It was around this time that I began realizing that I was always sick. I started off blaming the cat allergy, but when my nose was so plugged I couldn’t breathe; I had to admit it was a cold.

I’d pick up the cold and sinus drug from the pharmacy and take them around the clock. Nothing worked for me. The allergy meds didn’t work anymore either.

I paid a visit to my doc and she did some routine blood tests. She came back and asked me to have more blood tests; I was concerned for days waiting…

Long story short, my white blood cell count was so low, they thought I had leukemia… (I did not have leukemia) But, I was told that since I was constantly exposed to an allergen (the cat primarily) my immune system was severely compromised.

About 6 months after this experience, I began noticing an area on the side of my body (below my armpit) that looked like a spider bite. I stripped the bed. I vacuumed like crazy. This “bite” hurt badly and I wanted that spider dead.

The next day, there was another bite and then another and another… Now I’m going to visit the doctor again, concerned.

It turns out that I had Shingles (a virus like rash that is kind of like chicken pox…).

Now Shingles is common in leukemia patients so then I’m sent back for more testing again for that. Negative results again, thankfully. I became so sick I missed a month of school and ended up failing a class.

I’m 18 years old and I’m told that my body is acting like an “old person”.

Two years prior to this, at age 16, I was told I had high cholesterol and I didn’t really think anything of it. I ignored it actually. Now at 18 this is my news and my response:

“There is no way I’m getting rid of my cat and I’m not stopping smoking!”

Insanity at it’s finest.

Denial.

I had doctors and meds treating me for everything you could imagine at that time and I can honestly say it never once dawned on me to look at my diet or lifestyle…

I wish I could say I had a memory of thinking about the health food thing, but I can’t recall anything. I literally just felt stuck with the hand I was dealt and figured it was what I needed to live with.

If you don’t listen to your body, you will keep getting wake up calls that get bigger and bigger until you finally wake the hell up! Obviously, I had some more afterward since these didn’t do the trick.

My emotions.

At the time, I had just started college, I had recently broken up with a boyfriend after 3 years together and I was living in a house with a parent who was going though a divorce.

I was just trying to hold myself together emotionally and I didn’t have too many people I was talking to about was going on with me. I didn’t want to be that complainer, debbie downer.

Now

{Please knock on wood for me}

I very rarely get sick and if I do, it is always emotionally connected. For example, if i’m not in my truth or I am having a hard time making a decision, etc then my body will react by getting sick.

I know this because I have the health stuff figured out now.

When I heal the emotions, nurture myself with love and the right foods/herbs, I believe I can now knock out most of what is ailing me in a day or two because I focus on the root cause.

BUT…

Healing the emotional stuff is the hardest one to focus on and many of us never even realize that it is one of the biggest contributing factors to our suffering immune system.

Immunity

“Your relationship is either growing or dying”

“How you love one person is how you love everyone”

I’m going to speak to one relationship today: the one you have with YOU.

Is yours growing or dying?

How to do you love you?

No really, how do you treat and respect yourself? How do you speak to you? How’s your intimacy doing or your quality time? Do you have a date night with you?

Reality check.

The clients and patients I see these days are complaining of depression, lack of energy, dry skin, colds, flu’s, allergies and feeling like they can’t lose the pounds…

It’s this time of year that we can be in a semi-state of fear with the holiday’s coming and how we will manage the stress, the foods, the family, the shopping and the parties without packing on more weight or getting sick.

{Lymph}

I love talking about our lymphatic system and I won’t bore you with all of the geek knowledge I have on it right now.

Know this: the lymph system is your drainage system. They are the pipes within your naked body that keep it flowing easily and effortlessly.

It is when these pipes get clogged up and blocked that we experience immunity problems and we get sick, fatter and unhealthier.

Your immune system will not work well for you if your lymphatic system is sluggish and you will have issues fighting infections.

Your skin is a mirror of how things are going on inside your body so listen to it.

Get sick often?

It isn’t normal by the way… getting sick isn’t a seasonal thing that is supposed to happen every year. By the way, I get it. I used to think that too when I got sick all the time.

The pharm companies want you to believe it’s “that thing that happens” every year so you need their drugs. We’ve been telling stories of “it’s cold season” for years.

Yes, it’s easier to get sick when the season changes but it only happens if your lymphatic system and immune system are not working right.

I’m living proof that it doesn’t have to be that way.

I have not taking cold meds, antibiotics or allergy meds (very thankful) since 2004. My allergies are completely gone and I don’t get colds.

Exceptions

I got a cold in March 2011 last and it was definitely emotionally related.

I still have a small allergy to cats, and I’m working on healing it. The 70+ other back-prick allergens don’t seem to bother me anymore.

I took antibiotics in 2009 because I was bit by a brown recluse spider… yes, another insane story!

How do you know if you have clogs in your pipes?

{Commonalities}

*You lived a lifestyle similar to mine above and you haven’t cleansed

*Lots of dairy in your diet

*You get viruses easily

*Pesticides/chemicals in your body

*Smoking

*A lowered immune system (you get sick regularly)

*You take regular medications

*You are dehydrated (Not drinking half your body weight in water each day)

*You are often tired and low in energy

*You have poor circulation

*You have regular allergies and sinus stuff

*You sweat excessively

*You may have high blood pressure

*Itchy dry skin can also be related (not all skin conditions are related)

{Commonalties when I got sick a lot in the past}

*I was not in my truth and stressed out

*I was eating dairy often

*I was eating processed foods often

*I was smoking lots, eating fast food lots, soda and sugar.

*I was around allergens that lowered my immune system

*I wasn’t taking time for myself

*I was stuck in my “head”… thinking too much a not following my intuition

*I was really stressed out

*I was trying to make a decision and didn’t know what which path to choose or what to do

Two paths to build immunity

{Emotional}

When you are sick:

It’s your body warning you!

Your mind is working overtime and it needs to be shut down.

Take time and get recentered on loving YOU.

Find more ways to experience joy with YOU.

If you can’t do the love and joy thing, then you’ll be no good for others and your immune system will suffer.

This gives new meaning to the phrase, “peace of mind”… that’s what you’re looking for.

You must pursue all love and joy with deep passion.

You must pursue YOU.

{Body}

Cleaning up your lymphatic system is often works best with a cleanse or a long-term plan for your “drains”. I can help you or someone else, but just make sure that your path ahead includes someone you trust to look at your whole body and personal history. Drinking juice for 10 days isn’t always the answer.

Acceptance

Here are some things I do now that you can too.

My diet includes mostly whole foods

Avoid eating/drinking dairy (My calcium levels are off the charts in case you’re curious)

Brisk walks or quick, fast runs

Yoga

Dancing around the house for 5 minutes each time throughout the day

Use a rebounder

Drink warm water with lemon

Eat seasonally

Drink half my body weight in ounces of water each day

Cleanse my other organs (kidney’s, liver, colon) 1-2 times per year.

Get massages

Avoid skin products with chemicals

Acupuncture/chiropractic care

Wherever you are at with your health, here is my biggest suggestion:

Stop Blaming!

Nothing good will ever come from blaming or point fingers.

Stop blaming others for your feelings or emotional stuff

Stop blaming the kids you’re around for getting you sick (it’s your immune system that is compromised to begin with)

Stop blaming the season you are in or saying that your body “just gets sick at the same time each year”

It’s not your spouses fault that you are unhappy

It’s not your parents fault you have issues and bad genes (by the way, there is scientific proof we can change our genetics now so you can’t use this as an excuse much either)

It’s not that girl in the 4^th grades fault who called you fat.

It’s not the airplane ride that you took that lowered your immune system.

It’s up to you.

It’s your body.

It’s your responsibility.

Accept this.

When you do, things will change.

Takeaway truths:

Please don’t be hard on yourself and those near and dear to you… especially during this time of year when there is mores stress around the holidays.

“An inflexible attitude plants seeds of rebellion” {Don’t deprive yourself because you will always rebel}

Thinking about healthier habits both with food and emotions isn’t going to change them.

You must open yourself up to action!

Ask for help if you need it.

Practice kindness, especially to you.

“Think of your social network as your immune system safety net. At some level, every human illness is connected with a lack of social support. Thus it behooves you to look at your life and ask yourself how many different types of people are in your safety net. Remember, no man or woman is an island. You are a member of a herd species.”

“When nobody else celebrates you, learn to celebrate yourself. When nobody else compliments you, then compliment yourself. It’s not up to other people to keep you encouraged. It’s up to you. Encouragement should come from the inside”

Cheers to your Love Yourself Naked journey!

I’m so honored to be a along for the ride,

Renee

PS. Please comment below. I love hearing your stories. xo

November 1 2011

7 Tips To Channel Mr. Sandman

Renee 0

It feels so awesome to sleep deeply and wake up in my own little drool puddle on occasion.

I love waking up, lying in my cozy bed for a bit and taking in the wacked out dreams that I have each night… you really don’t want to know about most of them. Well, maybe you do. However, that is another video-blog all together.

So, you might be following the journey of Love Yourself Naked where my soul-intention is to plant some seeds of love in you so you can grow into a more loving version of YOU. Yes, you… the woman or man who will one day be walking by that mirror and winking while you utter… “Hi Sexy”.

If you haven’t checked out the success stories, there is lots of LOVE YOURSELF NAKED going around these days and it’s amazing for me to be a spectator.

Now onto the reason we are here. I asked you if you had questions for me. YOU ANSWERED.

ENTER SANDMAN.

Great tune, but not the road we are traveling today.

Today, it’s estimated that over 40 Million Americans are sleep deprived. When it comes to health, you can eat all the “right” things, drink all the best smoothies and amounts of water, become a yogi or even have tight and toned tushes BUT, if you are not sleeping then it will soon catch up with you and then you are not leading the life, career and family you want to.

In today’s video, I will show you 7 Tips to get you on track with your sleep and pay attention to “what I don’t say about sex” in Tip #4…

Here are some bonuses sleep remedies.

You heard it right. SEX, actually can help you sleep, according to Dr. Laura Berman.
Healthy grains throughout the day encourage deep sleep (millet, oats, brown rice, amaranth, quinoa).
Acupuncture can help for serious cases.
According to Paul Pitchford, stresses such as sexual excess, infection, overwork, alcohol, tobacco, drug use, excessive salt/spices, worry, radiation for electromagnetic sources all contribute to depleted melatonin (the hormone that can help us go into deep sleep).
Put a few drops of lavender essential oil on your pillow case. Vanilla and jasmine are known to work great too.

In the comments below, I want to know how you are sleeping. Share with me your little tricks and ask your questions. I like chatting with you.

xoxo (with honey on top)