Stop Dieting Start Living (part 2)

Well........the 12 weeks (of this program) have come to an end and that went really fast. I want to send out a huge thank you to Rachel Fox, the facilitator of this program. This was a very personal journey for her. We got to hear about her life long struggles with weight and body image and how she changed it all around to put the focus on being HEALTHY  and feeling great, and not to worry about what the scale says.

I have to admit, I'm still struggling with that one. In one of our sessions, Rachel asked us if we'd be willing to bring our scales in to get rid of them. I think I actually had heart palpitations. It really showed me how deeply ingrained that programming is for women to always be looking to the scale for validation. On our first night when we were introducing ourselves and telling a bit about our stories, I told the part of how for 2 years I have been tracking my food and hiking my butt off (unfortunately NOT literally!), and how disappointed I was that I had not lost an ounce. Yes, I was feeling stronger, Yes, my chronic pain that I deal with as a part of my illness has become less, but because those numbers on the scale had not moved, I felt like a failure.

Being a person that is obsessed with personal development, I have done SO much work on my self mentally and emotionally, but going through this process showed me that I still have a major mental roadblock when it comes to weight and body image. I have been avoiding it, while working on other areas that I felt were more important, but I definitely realized I need to kick this part of the work into high gear. As we went through the program and talked about food, moving our bodies, drinking water, I was like: check, check, check......so what am I doing wrong? It confirmed to me that my issue is with mindset. I can pinpoint when my weight started to become and issue and why, now it is time for me to spend some time to meet it head on, and the thought of that is a bit scary, but it truly needs to be done if I am ever going to be free of this.

In my first blog post, I had mentioned some of my fave parts of the first half of the program, now I will mention my fave parts of the second half. On one of the night, Patricia Dominguez, a nutrition expert from Integrated Nutrition Canada, came and spoke with us and some points she made really stuck out for me. When it comes to the Canadian diet, we are dealing with 3 main problems: Our obsession with sugar, a hijacked mindset and the troubling toxin that are so prevalent in our foods today. Some of the demos that she showed us were enough to turn your stomach. We also talked about how to reset the body through removing toxins from your organs, replenishing the natural flora in the digestive system, restoring the gut where inflammation is concerned, nourishing our bodies with whole foods and changing our mindset to make better eating choices. On another night, Sharon Villars from Bootstrap Lifeskills came by to talk about the 50 Shades of Blues, in how stress and overwhelm can affect your health. We did some pretty great exercises that definitely got us thinking about the language we use and how it affects our lives and health.

So, when I first agreed to be a part of this program, I had no idea what I was in for. I have done several 'weight loss' programs before, so I will admit that I went in a tad cynical about me learning anything new. But the truth of the matter is, this is not like all those other programs. You don't have to show a food journal, you're not counting calories, there are no weight ins or measurements taken. This program is learning about strategies that you could implement in your life in different areas that affect your weight and overall health. And in the end, it's your choice if you want to implement them or not. You are the one that has to do the work, this is NOT a quick fix issue.  So if you're ready to be honest about where you are and how you've been treating your body and wanting to learn some new tools to add to your repertoire, then this is the program for you. I believe in going forward, Rachel is thinking about changing it to a 2 day event instead of holding it over 12 weeks, so keep an eye out for that being advertised

As for Rachel's other venture of the Body Exchange , which is the Bootcamp for plus sizes.......I cannot recommend this enough. While I was there, I was LOVING it.....and my body was actually handling it quite nicely........until I took a bad fall in February, and my back and hip just haven't been the same since, and add round #3 of a nasty cold on top of that, and I was completely knocked out from completing my time there. Definitely check it out if you are wanting to get serious about moving your body and feeling awesome! Stop by Rachel's Facebook page to connect with her there to get more info on the programs.

On a personal side note......this will be my last blog post under the Positivity Kitty name, I am transitioning over to my life as a Certified Relationship and Life Coach and will be blogging under my business name of Reignite Your Purpose. I'm hoping that the website will be somewhat up and operational soon, so I will post later with the links to that.

Thank you for spending your time with me as the Positivity Kitty, and I hope you come on over to Reignite Your Purpose soon.

Hugs,
S

Are you a SLAVE to TIME? Here are some tips to make time work for YOU!

Do you ever feel like you are a slave to time? Like there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done, or at the end of the day you feel like you've been SO busy, but yet you feel like you've accomplished nothing?

Today I listened to a guided meditation from Deepak Chopra. The focus in this meditation was Timing For Success and it resonated deeply with me. Deepak states that 'even though our true self is timeless, we live and experience sequential time'. I, for one, find it hard sometimes to think of our selves as 'timeless', as we have been so programmed to watch the clock or calendar. For the most part, in my opinion,  we let time control us. Lord knows I have fallen victim to that more times than I can count! Left feeling like I am running out of time, or i'm short on time, or there just isn't enough time.

The truth of the matter is, everyone has the same 24 hours in the day, and yet some can accomplish SO much in it, while others flounder. It all comes down to how you manage it. Deepak states that 'we must respect and manage our time each day skillfully so that we synchronize our biorhythms with Nature'.  Dr. Daniel J. Siegal from UCLA, came up with a great model for mastering time that helps support our well being, have a healthy brain and nurtures every aspect of our personal inner growth. He says that it's best to proportion our time into 7 different categories each day.  At the beginning of each day, have a look as to how you are going to make sure that you hit all of those categories during the course of the day.

The categories are:

1. Sleep time : Did you get enough restful sleep? 
2. Physical time: Did you allow your body time to move and to be active? 
3. Focus time: Did you spend some time alone to concentrate on what matters most to you? 
4. Time In: Did you set aside some time for prayer, meditation or inner reflection? 
5. Time Out: Did you set aside some time to just BE and rest in existence? 
6. Play time: Did you have time to just have some carefree fun? 
7. Connecting time: Did you spend some private time with your loved ones? 

By incorporating those 7 categories of time into your day, you are making time work for YOU! As those categories optimize different areas of the brain, which lead to expanded awareness and a sense of fulfillment.

I am definitely going to make an attempt to incorporate this into my life. How about you? Do you think it is do-able? Do you already do this? I know for me, there are some categories that I do better at, and I sacrifice others thinking that they're not as important. But now I see that they are all equally important and it's about time I treated them as such!

I will leave you with today's centering thought:

I allow the flow of time to carry me forward

Hugs, 

S

The Lessons I Learned on Friday the 13th!

So......here it is, Friday the 13th (well it was when I was writing this) and while I see people posting about superstitions, bad luck and quips about 'stay safe out there', here I am basking in glorious Nature, watching the world go by, without a care in the world. I honestly didn't even make the 'Friday the 13th' connection for today until I looked at my social media feeds. Why do people make such a big deal out of this day? If you're on the lookout for something bad to happen on this day, I can guarantee that The Law of Attraction will answer that call! So seriously......let's move on!

You see.......I had this day planned on my calendar for a while now. It just happened to fall on this 'fateful' day because it was the ONLY day this week where I didn't have an appointment to be at. I would love to say that I bask in the glories of Nature that surround me often, but the truth of the matter is as much as we love each other, we haven't been spending much time together lately. I've just allowed myself to get too busy with other things.

And isn't that just how it goes with a lot of relationships, mostly with the MOST important relationship, the one with ourselves. We get too busy with the daily grind of life; work, kids, business, obligations, family, housework, you name it. We have an endless amount of avenues that take our energy.....and by the end of the day we have absolutely NOTHING to give back to ourselves!

My logo for Re-branding my business

Right now, i'm in the middle of transitioning my Positivity Kitty blog into a full fledged coaching business (yes, that means there is a name change that you will already see on my social media), and WOW, there is SO much to do! Re-branding, graphics, domains, hosting, website design and optimization and not to mention the training that I want to do to beef up my skills! Then there are the programs that I will be offering. I need to get complete clarity on those and write the programs! Some days....(OK seriously, most days).....it feels VERY overwhelming. This is a HUGE step for me to truly step out on my own, embrace the whole 'stepping into my greatness' mindset. It can leave you feeling very naked and vulnerable. And then the doubts creep in.......can I actually do this? What makes me think that I can do this? Who would want to listen to what I have to say? I have no real business blueprint to work off of, I'm a Scientist and an Educator, I'm not an MBA!


On my weekly session with my coach, Andrea, we talked about the doubts, the overwhelm, and we put a few more pieces into place, and she focused me on what my steps for the week will be. Then she asked me what my passions are? At first I was confused, as I thought haven't we been talking about the passion I feel for building this business and helping people create transformation in their lives and relationships? Then I realized that she meant my 'personal' passions. What things do I like to do that 'fill me up'? I have 3 main passions in my life; travel, nature and photography and the ultimate is when I can combine all 3.

Me sitting at my fave log on the Beach

So, Andrea gave me my homework for the week. I had to plan a little excursion for the day, to get out of the house, away from the laptop, away from all the things that I felt that I needed to be doing, and go spend the day re-charging. When she asked me where I would go, the first place I thought of was my fave  beach of Spanish Banks here in Vancouver. I told her how I had a favourite log that I sit at because it is set at the perfect angle that the whole city is directly in front of me. So the date with myself was set!





Friday morning as I got things ready to go, I struggled with the idea of my ever growing to-do list being left behind, but I jumped in the car and headed to the beach. I am SO grateful that I live in the one part of Canada that rarely gets snow, and even though it is only March, we've been in full Spring mode for a few weeks now. I knew that the moment I got there, any guilt I had about the work that I had left behind would soon melt away. This was MY time, time to reconnect with nature, time to reconnect and be present with me, time for me to be quiet with my thoughts and just soak up the natural beauty around me. It was quite a realization for me, that the approximately 6 hours that I was there, that I did not speak a word.....it was SO peaceful!

digging my bare toes into the sand! 

It's an incredibly grounding experience to get up close and personal with nature. By this I mean in the flesh, bare skin touching Mother Earth. We live in a very insulated world and with the great shoes that we wear all the time, we actually cut our selves off from the flow of energy from the Earth to us and from us back to the Earth. If you think this sounds like hocus pocus, Google 'Earthing' and see that it is an actual practice and has HUGE health benefits!



I believe that a lot of the stress that we feel in our every day lives is due to thei flow of energy being cut off and we living such insulated lives. As cliche as it sounds, we are all connected energetically and in turn connected to the Earth and when we cut off that flow of energy, it is like we are cutting off our life force.

So, I ask you.....what are your passions? What activities or places can you go to that re-charge you and fill you up? No matter how busy you are or what is going on in your life, make some precious time for you, put it on the calendar and KEEP that appointment!




Take care of you and you will have more to give back to those that you love!

Hugs,
S

PS.......in the near future, the new website and blog section will be set up, so things will look a bit different. At that time, I will set up a proper form where you can subscribe to ensure you don't miss any posts....because you wouldn't want to do that!!! LOL

Want to make your Passion more Profitable? (special offer included)

On October 19-20, The Women in Biz Network (WIBN) is putting on their 4th annual conference to show us how to do exactly that! Women from all across North America will be gathering in Vancouver for 2 days of networking, learning and building relationships to help recognize their business dreams. Essentially you will be getting a mini MBA on small business growth. Where else can you get such valued information from so many successful entrepreneurs in one place? My brain is already spinning in anticipation of all the great nuggets that I will walk away from this conference with!!! I think this calls for me to go out and buy a new notebook, as I have a feeling that I will be walking away with pages and pages of business goodness!

Women in Biz Network is one of Canada's fastest growing national organizations of social influencers and thought leaders dedicated to professional and entrepreneurial development of all women. 

This years conference is centered around turning your Passions into Profit and will focus on Smart Growth Strategies where some of North America's top entrepreneurs will talk about how they built their empires and will provide real world skills for women interested in turning their passions into profit. 

Check out the Passion to Profit page for all the details of the speakers, topics and the agendas. 

Featured Speakers:

• Two Profit Canada Magazine Top Women Entrepreneurs (Kelsey Ramsden and Victoria Sopik)
• Canada’s First TSN Female Broadcaster and Author of the In-credibility Factor, Teresa Kruze
• Author Christina Rasmussen of Second Firsts
• Juno Award Winning Aboriginal Artist Brenda MacIntyre (now Success Shamman)

Sessions will focus on mentoring (including mentor matching), round table brain storming, pod casting, building online communities, developing your story, finding your voice, smart business plan expansion, breaking through barriers, how to survive the business tug of war and what to do when you get lost. I seriously CANNOT wait to get there!! 

What do you walk away with after the conference?

• Clear vision and goals for your business for 2014/2015
• Your business story defined
• New relationships
• Mentor possibilities (if you find a mentor through our program)
• Ongoing follow up and opportunities to speak to our experts with our follow up series
• 1 year WIBN Membership
• Ongoing opportunities to stay in touch via webinars, events and tweet chats

So here's the deal you've been waiting for..........if you use my promo code of "PassionPartner", you will get 50% off the regular ticket price! That means you get to hear all these amazing speakers and have mentor opportunities, all for just $100!!!!!!! That is a steal of a deal! Not to mention that lunch and refreshments are included in that on the Monday, and complimentary child care! Seriously, how can you say no to all that! The pre-conference day on Sunday is an optional add on for conference attendees. 

Is it time to take your business to a new level? Is it time to truly step into your Business Greatness? Is it time to stop playing small and finally realize your Business Dreams? Then it's time to invest in yourself, your business, your passion and turn it into some serious PROFIT!

See you there! 

Connect with the Women in Biz Network on 
Facebook  and Twitter

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you” ~Oprah

Do You Desire To Live an Extraordinary Life?

I know that I do, but I also know that sometimes the thought of being extraordinary is overwhelming......I mean, where do you start? What does living extraordinary mean to you? At this point, to me living an extraordinary life would be one filled with freedom, love,  happiness, integrity, authenticity,  sharing my gifts, helping people make their lives their definition of extraordinary. Maybe after this event my definition of extraordinary may change, grow or intensify in all these ways, who knows, but I am sure excited to find out!

When the opportunity came to me to be a Blog Ambassador for the Living Extraordinary event put on by the Conscious Divas, I was like, YES YES YES.......this is SO perfect for me!!! Here was an event that will focus on what I am always talking about and trying to live my life like........being more consciously aware of what is going on in your life and the world around you!

What would be better than sitting in a room full of like minded people, listening to 10 local luminaries, sharing their amazing experiences and insights on what it means to be EXTRAORDINARY? I seriously couldn't jump on this fast enough! And so should YOU!

So.......are you free on Oct 21st? Juggle your schedule, get a babysitter, PVR your fave shows, grab your best friend and get your butt down to the Imperial Theatre on Main St in Vancouver. This is a night for you to be inspired, enlightened, challenged and to raise your degree of conscious living.

We've all gone through challenges in our lives, some big, some small, some down right life changing. These challenges can leave us restless, wanting for more out of life, wanting to change our paths...at least I know that is what it did for me.....but when that happens, a lot of times we don't know where to turn. Who do we listen to? How do we take that first scary step? Here is your chance to listen to 10 people talk about what has gone on in their lives to help them raise their conscious awareness and be better connected with themselves. You never know what nugget you could walk away with, which story is going to resonate with you and who is going to inspire you to take that leap into EXTRAORDINARY.

So who are the Conscious Divas?

"We are a local organization dedicated to helping women (and open minded men) experience a more authentic, conscious and connected life. We are on a mission to spread ideas and possibilities that elevate consciousness and collectively increase ones state being in the world." 

Don't think this event is just for women, it is NOT......this is for anyone and everyone that yearns for a life that is conscious, connected and beyond ordinary. For those ready to discover new ideas and concepts in living consciously, and for those that find it exciting to spend an evening with others who share your conscious ideology!

So who's with me?

Go to the event page HERE to check out the bios of the speakers and to reserve your ticket. If you use the PROMO CODE of "MYFRIEND", you will get 25% off the regular ticket price.......how can you say no to that?!

Connect with the Conscious Divas on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about this amazing group of women and what their goals and visions are.

I would love to see you there!