Fight Seasonal Allergies with a Venta Airwasher : Improve your air quality with this Air Humidifier and Purifier

It's finally warming up here in Chicago, and with warm weather comes seasonal allergies.  Since I have a daughter with extreme allergies, having Clean Air is very important to me.

Constant Sneezing, Itchy Eyes and a runny nose are rampant for my daughter during the Spring and Summer months and I had been looking for natural ways to reduce her symptoms. We had been using essential oils the past year for her allergies but also needed something to clean and purify the air in our home since that's where most of her time is spent.

Having a Venta Airwasher in our home has been wonderful! The Airwasher is simple to use , in fact my 11 year old set ours up. The unit comes in 3 different sizes, depending on the size of your space. Venta also has  their own line Essential Oils that are to be used with the unit.   Pet Dander, Dust and Pollen allergens are everywhere and the Venta Airwasher uses cold water evaporation that traps the airborne allergens .

Since using the Venta Airwasher for the past 2 months, my daughters allergy symptoms have lessened dramatically. Our home doesn't feel as dry and the air quality is much better. Stop by Venta's website and see what they have to offer!

Venta YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/VentaAirwasherInc

Venta Twitter: https://twitter.com/ventaairwasher

Venta Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VentaAirwasherInc

My beautiful heart

There are times when my heart and head are in disagreement , at odds with one another . My mind makes logical decisions but my Heart, my sweet and brave heart make choices based IN love .

Which one do I follow? Which one is the correct one ? The thinking  logical mind or the wild, carefree ,bursting at the seams heart ? 

Today , right here and right now , on my current journey , I listen to my heart and only my heart.. For she is the one filled with compassion , passion, trust and faith.. She is the one that has hope for something better , she is the one that guides me in the darkest of times and heals me. She is without walls or barriers , she is the purest of pure .. And is oh so vulnerable . 

My beautiful heart. 

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!

A yogi makes the front page of The Chicago Tribune

I woke up with the strongest desire to be at the beach . To plant my feet on the earth and feel the sun on my face . I made a detour before teaching my class so that I could spend some time at the lakefront , reflecting and sneaking in a short yoga practice .  I knew it wouldn't be the easiest to achieve as I would have my two youngest children with me, yet I also knew that they would enjoy playing at the beach . 

They played in the water and in the sand while I sat in solitude and did a short yoga practice . And slowly I began to feel at ease , reconnected to the divine . The water brings me peace , calms me in a way that nothing else can . It's these moments that make me appreciate living  just  blocks away from Lake Michigan .

A gentleman approached and asked if he could photograph the kids and I for an article he was working on and said to just keep doing what we were and to ignore him . As I once again got lost in my practice and my children played , he snapped away and captured my soul .much to my surprise  I woke up the next day to see ME on the front page of the Chicago Tribune . 

Humble , grateful and thankful . 

-A

I love LOVE

I love LOVE, to love others, to be loved. It's a beautiful, mystical, empowering thing. LOVE gives us confidence, character and puts a smile on our face. It gives us Hope. It gives us Strength. Love Heals.

A year ago I came across an article written by an amazing and beautiful soul named Bryonie . Her words resonated with me so deeply, on a soul-ular level that it's as if I had written them myself.  Every word comes from a open and vulnerable heart and THAT is pure beauty.

With my 45th Birthday Approaching, her piece on How to Love a Leo is perfect.

 I AM imperfectly perfect and am grounded in this beautiful truth.  I continue to to grow and evolve daily, as each moment contains a beautiful lesson.  I do not apologize for who I am nor choose to change as I am living authentically . In this beautiful space, my heart is alive.

It is through heart ache, that we know what it means to Love.
and in this, my Heart Roars.

 In love and Deep Gratitude.
-A

(a little snippet from the post is below, please click on one of the links  to read the full post )

"She is stubborn—but she is kind and her compassion reaches to the far corners of the earth. In her heart, she holds it all; the joy and the sorrow, the laughter and the tears. As much as she wants you to wrap your arms around her and be held, she also needs long moments to hold herself, for a Leo feels so deeply at times she wonders if it is a blessing or a curse.

So to love a Leo, you must first love yourself; let the space in your togetherness be like the sea and in her rhythm, you will learn the meaning of a heart roar."

Read the rest Here

Brightstar and Buffalo

I am grateful for social media. I have met some of the most beautiful, compassionate and talented people through Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. It's amazing to meet like minded souls that are in other states or other parts of the world , yet be able to close the gap and connect through the internet.

I met Natalie on Instagram. She is the creative force behind Brightstar and Buffalo. The website drew me in immediately, not for what she was selling but for the comfort the site brought to my heart and soul. Such beauty on every web page and filled with powerful intention and purpose. The pieces on Brightstar and Buffalo speak to the yogi in me, the earthy girl that craves to be adorned in pieces that speak to my heart and remind me to live in love and light.

I received the Solar Union dvAra Wall Hanging and was so pleased with the detail and craftmanship. It is made with recycled metals and beautiful sari yarn and hangs where I can see it every morning. It is in my Sacred Space, the place in my home that settles me and brings me so much comfort and peace.  I love being surrounded by beautiful things, and this piece speaks to my heart.

My children are in LOVE with the hand made mala necklaces that Brightstar and Buffalo makes. They are whimsical and beautiful yet help children become focused and balanced . Each mala focuses on one of the Chakras and is made from recycled pine with hand etching and hung on an organic hemp cord. The children's malas are one of my absolute favorite items that Natalie offers.

Take some time to stop by her Instagram Page  and say hello and check out the Website  and get lost in its pure beauty , I promise you'll be captivated as something will speak to your soul. 

In Love and Light

-A

I Got Lost

July 1st, 2015 - journal entry

I have been anxious for a few weeks. This is a new feeling for me, the uneasiness, the lack of sleep, my mind constantly racing. I am human and one little detour off of my path,one day of not taking care of ME, made me lose my way. 

 I have always been so grounded, faithful, patient and full of gratitude. Knowing and allowing the universe to guide my way and allowing my heart to know what it is that fuels me.

 For the last couple of months I have been bombarded with 3 deaths in the family which meant lots of last minute travel, a diagnosis for my son that blind sided me and financial repercussions from my divorce that I wasn't expecting. I started wondering where we would be living next year instead of just being grateful for where we are living now. I worried about my son day and night and worried about my finances.  What else did I do? I  stopped my daily routine. My routine of reading, writing in my journal, creating art, meditating and practicing Yoga and I got lost in day to day life. I stopped hanging with my "tribe", those women that support me and fuel me.  I stopped living in the present and allowed stressing over the past and worrying about the future to take control. I let worry, fear, stress, anger, insecurity and  uncertainty become the primary forces in my day to day routine. Racing through each day without focus and intention, without gratitude, without love left me empty.

I am thankful for those in my "tribe" that notice when I get quiet. That hear my silence and come to get me and pull me up for air. Reinforcing to me that I know what to do, that the power is within ME to get back to that place and space of beauty, gratitude and abundance in my life. 

We are all the same and divinely connected to one another and that , to me, is one of the most amazing things ever. The knowing that we are not alone. The ability of placing our hand over our heart and feeling the beat of our own heart, yet also the heartbeat of others.Being Present. Being Connected. Deep Gratitude.

I found my way back, I am Present. I have my routine of Self-Care that grounds and guides me and allows me to Just Be.  Although we all may get lost at times, the most important part is finding our way back.

In love and gratitude.

-A