Zing-Pow

[First Name], when was the last time you woke up with an abundance of energy, when your body felt amazing, when your mind felt sharp and clear all day, when you literally had a spring in your step?

As a mama to an (almost) 8 year old and an (almost) 1 year old, I have to admit, it had been awhile for me.  Lots of sleepless nights, carrying small humans around during the day, and a general degradation of attention on my personal care left me feeling foggy in my head and heavy in my body.

So, when one of my bestest friends, Nisha Moodley, texted me to ask me if I wanted to start a small accountability group for feeling “zing-pow,” I was 100% in.  Four of us started each week sharing what activities we would be adding to our days to get us feeling vibrant again.

Here are some of the things I chose over a month period:

1. Take my herbs and supplements daily.  I’m so lucky to have an herbalist husband that prescribes me the fantastic herbal formulas and supplements to take for my optimal health.  And somehow, I don’t always remember to take them (read: basically only when he puts them in a small dish and follows me around the house with them), so committing to taking them every day was a huge step – and gave me so much more energy and mental clarity.  
   
   Do you have vitamins and herbs that you want to be taking, but aren’t?  If this is you, I get it.  And . . . I challenge to you take them regularly for one week and see how you feel.
   
   Or do you have zero clue what where to even start?  If this is the case, it may be that you don’t really need anything, or it could be that there are things you could be taking that would have you feeling so.  much.  better.  I recommend at least twice a year checking in with a naturopath or other holistic medical professional and seeing how you can tweak things for optimal health.  (Of course, Dr. Peter Borten (my husband) is the my highest recommendation and he does phone consultations 😉 )

2. Eating green vegetables with every meal.  I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to get vegetables in throughout the day.  Dinner I have down.  Lunch, sometimes.  Breakfast, what?  Vegetables for breakfast?
   
   That’s why I love my dear friend Jadah Sellners new book Simple Green Smoothies.  It makes eating green vegetables for breakfast and snacks so much easier.  Her book just came out and you can buy it here. 
   
   Here’s one of the most popular recipes in the book, incase you’re interested:
   Beginner’s Luck
   2 cups spinach, fresh (tightly packed)
   2 cups water
   1 cup mango
   1 cup pineapple
   2 bananas 
   
   Directions
   Tightly pack your leafy greens into a measuring cup and toss into blender. Add water and blend together until all leafy chunks are gone. Next add in mango, pineapple and bananas and blend again.
   
   Tips
   1. Use at least one frozen fruit to chill your smoothie.
   2. If you aren’t a big fan of bananas, feel free to substitute with another fruit, like extra mangos. You can even freeze the bananas first to reduce the flavor and also add some extra chill to your smoothie.

3. Drink 70 ounces of water a day.  I know, I know, drinking water is so basic.  But really, I wasn’t drinking enough, and especially in this dry Colorado environment I noticed that my joints were feeling achy, my mind was a little sluggish, and my skin was getting dull from dehydration.  When I upped my water consumption, I noticed a marked difference.
   
   How much water do you drink a day?  Want to up your water game?  I recommend a large mason jar with a drinking lid so you don’t have to refill your glass that often and you can take it everywhere with you without putting it in plastic.  Add a little lemon or a few pieces of cucumber or strawberry to infuse with a little yum yum.

4. Moving my body.  I love to dance, hike, walk, jump on our trampoline, bike, do yoga, and play – but when I’m already feeling heavy in my body and tired from not getting enough sleep (that darn baby), it’s hard to motivate to do more.  
   
   But I know that movement creates energy, as long as it’s not over done or too vigorous.  So, this commitment was perfect for me.  I just moved.  Not an hour of exercise a day, but sometimes just a ten minute dance party with my family or a long walk after dinner.  
   
   And it worked, it generated energy and connected me to my body in a sweet way, so I felt more aligned, less sore, and stronger.
   
   If you don’t already exercise regularly, I suggest starting a movement commitment that feels light and easy, it can be fun!

5. Daily Meditation.  I’ve been meditating since I was 17, and yet I find that when things feel squished in my schedule, it’s the first thing to go.  Bringing it back in to a daily practice hugely affects my mental state.  
   
   I may not be able to get eight hours of straight sleep, but if I can get 15 minutes of meditation in, it definitely helps.  
   
   If you find that you fall asleep when you meditate or just have a hard time making space for it, try scheduling it in your calendar (I recommend our Dreambook+Planner) for the middle of the day.  Ten to 15 minutes is not that hard to find if you just make a conscious choice to do it.

6. No refined sugar.  For a week.  Truly, I wish I could make this a lifetime commitment, but I just love salted caramels too much!  But, taking a week off of sugar truly made me a. notice how much sugar I was eating to comfort my tired mind and body and b. how much better I felt without it.
   
   The awareness that came from not eating sugar helped me consistently have a lot less sugar in my diet.  
   
   If there is something that you want to change in your diet, try committing to a small amount of time and then evaluating, rather than trying to make grandiose vows that are harder to stick to.

I mixed up these six practices over the course of a month and am so happy to be feeling a lot more zing-pow than I had been.  

So, how about you?  You ready to feel more vibrant, centered, and peaceful?  Try some of these things, add your own, and maybe even start a small accountability group with some friends.  

After all, you can do anything for a week, right?

All my zing and all my pow,

Briana