Not So Sweet - Food Hangover

Mother's Day weekend was filled with activities symbiont with scrumptious and not so healthy food. Mother's Day dinner put me over the edge of indulgence.

Monday rolled around I was "Eyes Wide Open" from 2:30am until almost 6:00am this morning.

What the?

Could this insomnia be related to the decadent trough of food I consumed over the weekend?

Knowing a little about how the liver functions, I realized how I got myself in this temporary window of being UP all night. The liver plays a major role in metabolism and has a number of functions in the body, including glycogen storage, decomposition of red blood cells, plasma protein synthesis, and detoxification.

The poor bugger must have been working overtime to filter all of the indulgence. Fried fish, bacon and eggs, curry chicken, escargot, crab cakes, and whitefish dip ...

This culinary list reads like food p*orn for the unlawful consumer of TOO MUCH.

My body is begging me for healthy food, rest and recovery from an over the top - food hangover.

Time to reset and detox with a some True Balance* blend tea, chicken broth and fresh veggies.

5 Tips to Nurse a Food Hangover

1. Drink a lot of water. I'm talking about a gallon over the course of recovery day.

2. Drink Tea.* There are hundreds of tea blends that are healing and nourishing.

3. Munch on diuretic foods like: beets, cucumbers, asparagus, artichokes, oats, carrots, cabbage and lettuce.

4. Rest and remember that overeating can cause symptoms of depression. The point is, be gentle with yourself the day after your food frenzy madness (doing my best to follow this advice today).

5. Move your ass and start burning the extra calories you ingested. This need not be
a marathon of pain. Even a 20 minute walk is better then staying down for the count all day. I plan to walk my daughter home from school today.

I hope these ideas will help you reset your body and mind if you find your needing to recover from too much of a good thing.

*I am happy to report that I created a lovely blend of organic tea made with love in Leelanau County at Light of Day Organics. The True Balance Blend will be available for purchase soon. Our blend is a delightful mixture of white tea, chamomile, lemon grass, blue corn flowers and calendula. A one ounce tin is $16.00 plus $3.95 shipping and handling.


My clients and friends tell me I have a winner with this delicate and tasty blend of tea. Our tea will be available for sale on the True Balance website, blog and Squidoo lens later this week. Email me if you want to order a tin today.

Drink, Enjoy, Relax ... Drink Tea.

Ready to Hire a Life Coach?

If you are ready to make some significant changes in the way you live and you have some targeted goals to achieve, a professional coach could be a great option for you.

The key is to find the right one. By doing a little homework, asking friends and family for referrals along with interviewing potential coaches, you should have no trouble finding a coach who complements your personality and situation.

Here are some questions to ask anyone you interview:

How long have you been a coach and how many clients have you worked with?

Are you certified? If not, why?

What is your most dramatic success story?

What is a more typical client experience?

Do you have a specific approach, philosophy that you use when working with clients?

Do you have expertise in any specific areas?

What is accomplished in each coaching session?

How long are the sessions and how many per month?

If you were to ask me these questions I would answer as follows:

I have been a sales and marketing coach for 16 years and have coached hundreds of sales professionals and business owners. I have been coaching in my practice for two years.

I am a Coach Training Alliance Certified Professional Coach

Helping an entrepreneur become an outstanding sales person and create a magical life!

Great life success stories and lasting friendships

My philosophy encompasses extreme self care, creativity, honesty and personal development

“Solo” preneur Coaching, Life Balance Coaching, Transition Coaching and Sales Coaching

One or Two key agenda areas are discussed along with client action plans

Coaching sessions are 45 -50 minutes in length, three times each month with unlimited email. IM coaching and group coaching are also available.

People I want to coach are:

... abstract, fearless, unconventional
People who feel that playing follow the leader is for 5 year olds
People who feel that life is a gift
People who feel that a quick wit is marvelous
People who think that success is attainable
People who feel the laws of attraction are in play
People who feel that living out loud is the only way to live
Clients who enjoy a wicked sense of humor
Clients who feel recharged by nature
Clients who are genuine, silly and kind
Clients who feel good about who they are
Clients who feel that taking risks is a part of living a good life
Clients who think it's important to have integrity
Clients who feel that being ordinary is unacceptable
Friends who aren't afraid to open the hood and look inside themselves
Friends who believe in forgiveness
Friends who have an idealistic / reality mixed view of the world
Friends who are upbeat and positive
Friends who love me and willingly recommend me to friends and family
Friends who think honor, integrity and loyalty are important

Ready to get coaching? Visit my website to set up a complimentary coaching session.

The Planet Earth

This is a beautiful video.

Click here to take a minute to relax and enjoy the energy.

Cranky? Get Over it!

My Friend Tim over at A Daring Adventure tagged me this week to share some of my magic remedies to overcome crankiness. This post was brewing before reading his request.

And yes, Life Coaches do get cranky sometimes.

GRINNING

I woke up yesterday to an email that really bummed me out. I read the text, thought I understood the message and replied with complete surrender.

I was picking my battles and moving forward. As it turns out, I misunderstood the email. RATS...

The day marched on caked with drama and uncomfortable exchanges in order to unravel and clear up the situation.

The day had became FUNKIFIED. The flow of my emotions carried me to what I call the shame pit. Instead of being irritated and allowing the situation to permeate the rest of my day, I had to let it go. Misunderstandings happen and I did my best to resolve the issue. PERIOD.

Lunch with a friend helped me regain my sunny nature.

Here are several examples of what you can do to shift your attitude if you travel to the land of Evil Crankdom and can't find your way home.

Laugh at Yourself

Pay attention to how silly you behave when you are pissed off. Witness all of the extra grumbling, dramatic gestures and drama . This silly behavior is enough to bring about a healthy laugh. Lighten up and get over it!

Clear the Air

Tackle the situation at hand with direct and heartfelt honesty. (After sitting with the issue for awhile) Too many of us walk around carrying luggage full of passive aggressive issues. This is not about CONFRONTATION, this is about clearing the air of any misunderstandings.

Go to the Water

When EVIL Shann shows herself, I gravitate toward water. Thankfully, I am never to far from beautiful lakes, rivers and streams. If I can't get out in the world, I can always get in the tub. Getting into the bath is one way to rid ourselves of the uncomfortable stickiness that can accompany an anxiety filled bad mood.

Concentrate on your Breath

Deep breathing can eliminate the stress of a bad mood. Thankfully, wherever you go ... There you are breathing. Zero in on your breath when you are all cranky and moody blue. Breathe in deeply, hold it for a a few seconds and breathe out. Repeat a few times and experience a much needed chill factor.

Do not engage in conversation
(Unless you have a friend that can take it)

Two schools of thought here.

The first is to be quiet and deal with your particular brand of madness in your own. Doing all you can to be left alone while you work things out. Decapitating loved ones with your venom filled tongue only causes more angst.

The second is to call your closest friend and let them know you are chalked full of crazy madness and you need to let it fly. Knowing you well, they will hold a space for you and let you tear up the issue with bolts of lightening and thunder. Normally this leads back to much laughter.

Does anybody remember laughter?

Yoga Sabbatical in Lake Leelanau

Sandra Carden is teaching a 200 level yoga certification intensive this Summer in Lake Leelanau at the Center for Contemplative Arts / Union Yoga.

If you have no idea who Sandy is ...

She is an inspirational yogi, successful business woman and a student of life. Sandy is well respected in the Michigan yoga community and I am grateful to be a part of her teaching program.

My yogi sabbatical starts this August. I look forward to 28 days of intense learning and training from 7:00am until 5:00pm. Why? It's seems only natural to combine my love for coaching, yoga and writing into something even more delightful.

The training will flow quite nicely with the luscious retreats I will host in the coming years.

Diving into this challenging and nourishing opportunity makes me feel shiny and new, like a freshly minted copper penny.

Thank goodness for life changing transitions, spiritual growth, and most of all ...
My family and friends who understand this is the kind of learning that lights the way for more joy all around.

What are you doing to further your passions? Any reason why you can't get started today?

Namaste'

Shann

Life Balance, Massage and Rainy Days

Last Friday the day started by lying in bed listening to the Spring rain tap dancing on my roof.

Stretching and allowing my body to wake up peacefully, I realized my tanks were empty. I was pooped and in desperate need of some down time.

Thank goodness for a scheduled massage later in the morning.

The week had been loaded with " Shann - On" activities.

Parenting, coaching, writing, facilitating a workshop, teaching a night class and hosting a booth at women's evening event.

Frankly remaining "ON" all week kicked my ass.

The morning rain was a symbol of renewal ... We all need to honor our bodies with rest, relaxation and rejuvenation.

For me, body work is one of the best forms of extreme self care.

Here are some beautiful benefits of scheduling regular massage therapy.

• Alleviate low-back pain and improve range of motion.
• Ease medication dependence.
• Enhance immunity by stimulating lymph flow—the body’s natural defense system.
• Exercise and stretch weak, tight, or atrophied muscles.
• Improve the condition of the body’s largest organ—the skin.
• Increase joint flexibility.
• Lessen depression and anxiety.
• Pump oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation.
• Relax and soften injured, tired, and overused muscles.
• Release endorphins—amino acids that work as the body’s natural painkiller.
• Relieve migraine pain.

If you live in Traverse City or plan to visit our gorgeous area this summer, here are a couple of amazing women to reach out to for a fabulous massage. I am grateful to know and receive body work from these amazing women.

Jennifer "Jen Moon Bear" Hayes
Sacred Ways of Healing
Jenmoonbear AT yahoo.com
www.sacredwaysofhealing.com
231.392.3835

Ronda Whaley
Kevala
Idaloise AT yahoo.com
231.357.0538

In Balance and Prosperity ...

Mother Earth Day

Earth Day is here and droves of people are creating awareness about
preserving and caring for our magnificent planet.

Here are a couple of excellent blog posts to celebrate awareness of this special day.

Enjoy!

Earth Day, A New Earth, And Energetics

by Edward Mills

My daughter and I had a great day at our local Earth Day festival on Sunday. Compostable balloons from Whole Foods, Seed Balls from a local summer camp, some great music and our awesome Sunday farmer’s market combined for an awesome celebration. In the afternoon I planted some salad greens, sunflowers (volunteers from the compost pile) and more broccoli in our garden.

I love days like that and I embrace the belief that “every day is Earth day!” It’s not always easy to act in ways that feel nurturing to the Earth. But by staying conscious about our relationship to this planet, our home, we can begin to live and act as if today and every day is Earth Day.

There was a beautiful coincidence - if you believe in such things - in the timing of this week’s A New Earth webcast with Eckhart Tolle and Oprah. This week’s discussion focused on the discovery and exploration of Inner Space and the stillness you find there.

This is what Tolle writes about Stillness:

Stillness is really another word for space. … You are never more essentially, more deeply, yourself than when you are still. When you are still, you are who you were before you temporarily assumed this physical and mental form called a person. You are also who you will be when the form dissolves. When you are still, you are who you are beyond your temporal existence: consciousness—unconditioned, formless, eternal.

It is through stillness that we can truly connect with the Earth. It is from our Inner Space that we can see the Earth not as an object but as a Being. From within the Stillness we can connect and communicate with and learn from the Earth.

The Earth is an amazing teacher! She has taught me much about the Law of Attraction. The Earth is the ultimate Deliberate Creator.

One of the reasons that many people struggle to attract their desires is because they focus on sending their intentions “out” to the Universe. In order to attract things in the physical world it is equally important to send those intentions “down” into the physical Earth. The Earth provides the medium within which your desires will become “real.”

The ability to ground our desires into the Earth was one of the tools we explored in the free Energetics of Attraction teleclass last week. If you missed it you can access the recording on the Energetics of Attraction Resource Page.

You’ll also get access to the free report on the Harmonics of Human Awareness. I agree with what Eckhart says in the quote below. When you are detached, or I prefer to call it fully present on all levels of perception, not locked in at one level of awareness, you experience and enjoy life more fully!

Being detached does not mean that you cannot enjoy the good that the world has to offer. In fact, you enjoy it more. … When you are detached, you gain a higher vantage point from which to view the events in your life instead of being trapped inside them. You become like an astronaut who sees the planet Earth surrounded by the vastness of space and realizes a paradoxical truth: The earth is precious and at the same time insignificant.

What steps will you take today to explore your Inner Space, honor the Earth and fully enjoy all the good this world and this life has to offer?

Visit this page to download recordings all of the Eckhart Tolle / Oprah webcasts on A New Earth.

And go download your free Energetics of Attraction Resources before you forget!

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5 Little Things - To Help The Environment

By Bruce Kuykendall

Today is Earth Day! It seemed only fitting that today’s 5 Little Things should be ways to help the environment. Although it would be great if everyone could drive hybrid cars, have solar powered houses loaded with energy efficient appliances - if you are like me, you don’t have the resources to just go out and get all those things. But every little bit helps - and in some cases in very big ways. Try these 5 Little Things to do your part!

Turn off the water when brushing your teeth. A conventional bathroom faucet with an aerator uses between 3 and 6 gallons of water per minute. Shutting the tap off while brushing your teeth or shaving saves as much at 3,000 gallons of water per person per year.

Turn off ceiling fans when you leave the room. As a fan generates air movement downward across the skin, evaporation of body moisture takes place, causing a cooling effect. So, unless you are in the room to feel the air movement, that benefit is lost. According to Florida Power & Light, simple things like turning off ceiling fans when leaving a room can save $7.00 per month in energy costs. (multiply that by 340 million Americans - and you have some significant savings!)

Buy a water filter instead of bottled water. The average American drinks 22.6 gallons of bottled water a year. Making all that plastic releases over four pounds of carbon dioxide per person and consumes a surprising amount of petroleum (.005 barrels, or nearly a quart of oil per person).

Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

Wash your clothes in cold water. About 90% of the energy used for washing clothes is for heating the water. There are two ways to reduce the amount of energy used for washing clothes—use less water and use cooler water. Unless you’re dealing with oily stains, the warm or cold water setting on your machine will generally do a good job of cleaning your clothes. Switching your temperature setting from hot to warm can cut a load’s energy use in half.

Recommended Viewing:

If you are one of those last people who really don’t think there is much to global warming or that you just don’t see why you should care, then I strongly suggest that you see the following two videos:

National Geographic: Six Degrees Could Change the World

A Global Warning? (History Channel)

They have been running on the History Channel and on National Geographic - or you can purchase them from Amazon.

Join the movement and take the 5 Little Things Challenge!

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I'm off to help my daughter pick up trash in our neighborhood. It feels good to know she respects the earth and wants to improve our environment.

In Balance,

Shann

Stress Busters

Photo by Tom Haxby

The Wiki definition of Stress ..

Stress is the condition that results when person-environment transactions lead the individual to perceive a discrepancy, whether real or not, between the demands of a situation and the resources of the person's biological, psychological or social systems.

My definition of Stress ...

Stress is a condition that creates a sense of deep, dense suffocation which assaults my calm.

Stress, the voracious little bugger that grabs us by the tail and spins us about can be dealt with quite handily by embracing a few simple ideas.

Here goes ..

Meditate - Breathe - Relax

Do it. Meditation is not an exclusive, esoteric thing for Yogi's.
Concentrating on closing your eyes and breathing in and out for
two minutes daily to lower your overall stress levels.

Exercise - Movement - Strength

Do it. Get out of the house or office and move your butt at least once a day. You will feel better with the added benefit of sleeping sound.

Have a good "Ugly" cry

Do it. Let your emotions fly. Have a good "ugly" cry. Need assistance
bringing up your emotion? Rent a chick flick and grab a box of tissue. Crying is good for your soul.

P.S. Men need to cry too!

Road Trip - Adventure - Explore

Do it. Get in your car or on your bike and take a mini road trip. My friend refers to these little trips as "iDays". Change your scene and feel stress melt away.

Read - Get lost in a great novel

Do it. Go the library and check out a great classic. Have a stack of books you plan on reading? Allow yourself to get lost in the story for 15 minutes each day.

Chill - Be Lazy - Relax

Do it. Allow yourself to sleep in on the weekend. Take a delicious nap. Relax and luxuriate in nothingness for an hour or two each week. Lay down on the ground and watch the clouds roll by.

Stress is apart of life. Trust that some of these simple life balance tips will help you move gracefully through some of the more difficult situations in your present world.

Gratitude Guest Journal

Why is it that for most us it takes a life changing ordeal to snap out of it and wrap ourselves in a warm, cozy blanket of giving thanks?

We must become more mindful of grace in each moment.

I have asked several friends who are also prolific bloggers to share their personal stories of grace and gratitude. Check out the first moving post from Katie West at Life Renovations

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?
-Mary Oliver

This quote resonates deeply with me because this has been a week of looking at the way we live life and feeling resounding gratitude for being here. What served to wake me up was that an amazing teenage boy in a neighboring community died this week. He was a witty, kind, and caring kind of kid and it is hard to believe that 12 months after his diagnosis of brain cancer that he is no longer here. The loss of his life has been a shock to the community and a reminder once again how important it is to live the life we want to live, which is something that he was a model of even at such a young age.

During this week, I had the privilege of being able to help support some of the teens who were his closest friends. After a meeting about dealing with grief, I watched as they hugged, huddled, and stared at each other in disbelief. They talked about their friend and then, they talked about anything but their lost friend. At some point in the evening someone put on music. Soon afterwards, someone dragged someone who dragged another someone to start dancing. In a room dimly lit by Christmas lights, a pack of teen age kids were dancing. It was a celebratory kind of dance. They were dancing for their best friend as if he were in the room. They were smiling and sometimes crying, but mostly, they were caring for each other. I remember thinking how happy their friend would be to see everyone honoring his life so perfectly. As the night wore on and the kids drifted home, you could tell that an infinitesimal part of them was healing. In the midst of their deep grief, some where inside of them they understood the point of why we are here.

And the point is to celebrate everything. To love. To breathe in one's gratitude for being alive with each inhalation and exhalation. The above quote reminds us that we really only get one life here and this is it. What are we going to do with it? Often, people I work with as clients feel they are too busy to slow down and envision what they want their life to look like. They are intelligent and highly competent people. They want to do and accomplish, but slowing down to center or listen to their intuition seems too time consuming and self-indulgent. They often find themselves so busy trying to live up to the imagined expectations from those around them that they wake up one day having forgotten their wildest dreams.

Letting intuition guide us into living these wildest and most precious dreams is an amazing way to express our gratitude for being here. By allowing the calmer, more centered part of ourselves to have a voice, we are encouraging our deeper, spiritual selves to emerge and feel connected to the life we are living.

How do we get there? One activity that I have clients do is a LIFE LIST. This exercise is a great way to let the mask of our ego and our fears drop away and let our playful, possibility-loving selves speak up. The whole point of this exercise is to GO BIG with your DREAMS!

1. Choose a moment when you know you have some time.

2.Then, get yourself in the "Thinking BIG" mode-whether it is by reading something that inspires you, watching a favorite scene from a movie, or going for a quick run.

3. Take out a piece of paper and title it, "MY LIFE LIST." In your centered space, allowing yourself to brainstorm what you truly desire and want to experience in your life, start writing all of the dreams and activities and goals you have for your life here. Don't worry about getting it right, just get it down on the paper. The only rule is that what you write down has to make you feel good and energized, not drained or feeling weighed down. Ideally, it should make you smile. Once the list is complete for now...let it sit on your desk or hang on a bulletin board to remind you of all that is possible in your life. And so that you know what path you are shooting for. Feel free to add to it or to change it as you wish and as your dreams change.

The best way we can honor being alive is to cherish it, celebrate it, and LIVE IT! I love to ask my clients, " What one thing can you do today to begin living the life you most desire?" By bringing this awareness to our days, we are able to live a more peaceful and energized existence.

Carpe Diem ...

Ode to Spring

The cold weather has finally broken in northern Michigan.

I'm ready for longer lingering days, warm weather and playing on the beach.

One of my favorite reasons for living in the Midwest is complete immersion in our revolving seasonal color palette. The rich spring colors come back to life and remind us of how blessed we are to witness and embrace divine creation and renewal.

We are magnificent beings who may have forgotten about our true capacity for revitalization.

Think about it ...

YOU hold the power to make your life anything you want it to be.

Maybe you want to earn more money, get in better shape, live a healthier lifestyle or meet a special person.

Maybe you want to write a best selling novel, meet a charismatic mentor or learn a new language.

Why not start today?

One of the best ways to invite change is to start communicating your desires with your higher power, your loved ones and your notebook.

HUGE GRIN

Revitalize your body, mind and spirit in an Ode to Spring!