How I Stay Balanced With thinkThin® / City Yoga Chicago

This post is a sponsored conversation for thinkThin®. All opinions are my own. 

Photo Credit: Instagram/WomensForum

Yoga has been an important part of my life for over 10 years now. It keeps me grounded, focused and calm. It is an important part of my balanced lifestyle and is an integral part of my mind, body and spirit routine.

My goal is to live each day with intention. I am mindful about the foods I eat, getting enough exercise and keeping a positive mindset. I have a very active lifestyle.  I teach multiple corporate yoga classes weekly, am training for a half marathon, am a Girl Scout Leader and volunteer with cancer patients: all while being a single mom of three. With this schedule, it’s important to me to focus on championing weight wellness by eating things that nourish my body and keep me full.

Beautiful moves!

I recently attended a Sunrise Yoga Event in Chicago taught by Andrea Metcalf. It was such a wonderful way to start my morning while being surrounded by amazing, beautiful and empowered women! Nutrition and wellness are important to me and thinkThin® provided us with breakfast for the event. The thinkThin® bars are high in protein, low in sugar and great for women who care about quality like I do. We even got to try the thinkThin Oatmeal®, which is high in fiber and protein, non-GMO and only 200 calories per serving. Their products are great for my active lifestyle as I can throw one in my bag and go on about my day .

Yoga centers us and brings us back to the present. By starting my day and week at the Sunrise Yoga Event hosted by thinkThin® and Womensforum.com, I was given a jumpstart on a positive and productive week. With each sun salutation, through my breath I became centered and grounded in purpose. Each asana was not just a pose but a metaphor for where I was in my life at that point, and through each one I exhaled and let go of what no longer served me. Each of us is unique and amazing, and when we quiet the mind and reconnect with ourselves, we are able to live our life at its fullest.

Start each day with a positive mind, open heart and thinkPositive!

Andrea Metcalf, myself, and fellow Chicago blogger Jasmine!

Balance

I've been told by a friend that I lack balance. This came as a shock to me because I have always multi tasked and have always felt balanced. I gave it some thought after being told that "as spiritual that you are and being a yogi, its interesting that you're not balanced at all". WTF?

I take on more than I can handle, my head is always spinning and then I take on more until eventually I have some kind of epiphany that I'm doing too much. That's balance right? I quit when I realize that I'm a hamster on a wheel going nowhere. I balance 3 kids, activities, teaching, social life etc... That's balance right? Or is it not because I'm so exhausted at the end of any given day.. That I crawl into bed exhausted and still can't sleep because my mind is racing.  I wake up with more to do in a day than i can handle and somehow cheat my way thru it. Major realization.. I. AM. SO. NOT. BALANCED.

So I raise my hand here.. Totally NOT balanced BUT working on it. Here are my goals to bring more balance into my life.

1. Say NO . No explanation required.

2. Make time for My practice daily.. Yoga and mediation 

3. Set a limit on kids activities , they don't need to be overbooked and neither do I 

4. Get organized so I don't waste time searching for things that are hidden in plain sight 

5. Get rid of the things that no longer serve me 

6. Take I time for ME, when I'm happy and have good energy, everything just seems to flow a little better

7. Make To-Do lists ( daily and weekly)

8. Use a calendar to keep track of activities : I have double booked half marathons a couple of times , expensive lesson

9. Un-plug - so very important to spend time face to face with people and not try to document every moment on social media. 

10. Realize that I can't do it all 

So thank you my friend , for being a true friend and speaking your truth . For forcing me to see (although it's taken awhile) how I could live more authentically. 

In every relationship, whether with a friend,co-worker,spouse ,partner or family member...we are there to teach one another and also to learn. Our only goal is to do so with an open heart and mind. What we see in others is usually a reflection of something within ourselves .