For me, one of the biggest obstacles to wellness in my life is, well, me!  And one of the ways I am in my way is moving. I am pretty lazy and all of my favorite things to do involve sitting. Additionally, moving usually requires some things I'm not too fond of - outdoors (especially the sun), sweating...I'm an indoors girl. BUT moving is vital to wellness. I saw this infographic about the lack of movement in America - it IS concerning: I gotta get moving. Because I am an indoors girl rather than an outdoors one, we do have a treadmill. That's right people, I have a treadmill and I'm still lazy about moving! Perhaps you can see where my thoughts are on this #WellnessWednesday - walking. Walking for wellness.  Here's what walking does for us - it does things I wouldn't even associate with walking! Which proves that wellness IS holistic, it has benefits for us that we aren't even aware of.  The goal is 10,000 steps a day - which

What do your positive pants look like? Are they underpants or pants for the public to see? *grin* Well, whatever they are put them on today and go forth in positivity.  HA! I love this.  Positive pants - tailor...get it?! *wink*

Is January getting to you? Not just the literal January but the figurative one? The cold, the letdown after the holidays, the tedious rhythm to the days. If so, take a moment today to think about summer and what you love about it (assuming you do). Is what you love about summer something that can be translated into the winter? Perhaps summer is there in you after all and the cold of winter made you forget it. Take today to draw it back out, to find it again within you. Maybe your January hasn't arrived yet, keep in mind when it does that you hold summer within you - your soul remembers summer and will hold it for you.  How can you celebrate summer - in the midst of this winter day?  How do you recall summer in your soul when winter is chilling it? 

Because this is how I look when I take a selfie, I thought I would use #SelfieSaturday as a chance to let you in on some tidbits about me and ask about tidbits of you! A twist on selfies! So today here's my selfie share...MBTI. Say what?  Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® Here's your chance to get some insight into my sometimes very contradictory behaviors. But first of all, what's your MBTI? Do you know? If not you can take a free test here (based on MBTI, the real licensed MBTI costs money) and get some info on your type. In high school I tested as an INFJ (introversion, intuition, feeling, judging). A lot of people change over the years as they get older and life experiences alter things about them. But not me. I am still an INFJ - tried and true. As you get older you are supposed to change and grow so it might seem like staying an INFJ isn't positive but the qualities that make up the personality types are core things - things that we were born with and

Another favorite flower of mine is the Dahlia. It is such a fascinating flower because it can look so many different ways! I love all the looks of the Dahlia and the beautiful colors they show up in. Here are just three of the different looks of a Dahlia.  I don't know what it is about flowers but they make people smile and feel loved. Consider showing some love to someone today by giving them their favorite flower or just a bouquet of wildflowers. 

Let's talk therapy methods today for our #TherapyThursday. I think it's pretty accurate to say that there are only about a *gazillion* methods in existence. So what's a person to do? How does one know what kind of therapy they need? Best thing to do is to go visit a psychiatrist who is knowledgeable of the various therapies - maybe not all *gazillion* but probably one to help you. Most recently I've done a method of cognitive behavioral therapy that includes EMDR. I have found it very helpful for getting unstuck on things that kept snagging me. You'll find CBT and EMDR listed in the links I've included below, along with other therapy options. Educate yourself! The A-Z of Therapy Methods Types of talking therapies and their purposes and beliefs that create them

Guess what today's #WellnessWednesday topic is about? Those coveted zzzzzzzzz's we all NEED each day/night in order to function well.   How's your sleep been? Mine has been awful for the most part. Just awful. I have these weird periods of insomnia, backward sleeping patterns (think newborn - up all night, sleeping all day), restlessness, and...snoring - ugh! I saw the following list of symptoms of deprivation and could agree with most of them when it comes to me. Are you experiencing any of the following? To add to those negative outcomes of sleep deprivation I found this about the effects of deprivation on our mental health long term. No wonder insomnia is a serious issue that needs to be fixed in people. So let's talk sleep. Sometimes it's as simple as putting down your phone, cooling off your room a bit, and shutting off your brain. Sometimes it's not that simple. At times you might need to take a warm bath in addition to what I j

Sometimes what it takes to get what you want is a routine that you will tire of at times. A schedule can feel tedious and dull and can feel like a weight around your neck. Your desire for the thing you are working toward will be what keeps you in the routine. The question is how strong is your desire? The answer to that determines your level of motivation. 

It probably doesn't surprise you that I'm glad for the longer summer days because of the light...for reading. But here we are - in January. So I make the best of it. And I hang on for the light of summer. I'm not a fan of the longer days just for more reading time, I really love the light of summer evenings. The softening of the colors in the sky, the sounds of the birds still singing their songs, the breezes finally cooled off from the heat of the day. Something about summer twilight always feels softer to me than any other season's twilight. Same with summer mornings. I adore summer mornings for the same reasons. I could do without the actual daytime of summer but the bookends of each day certainly do something in my soul. And today, as it gets dark at 5/6 pm and the morning has dawned crisp and hard, I am conjuring up the light of summer for a moment of soul respite. 

Because this is how I look when I take a selfie, I thought I would use #SelfieSaturday as a chance to let you in on some tidbits about me and ask about tidbits of you! A twist on selfies!   My selfie for today is about baking. I love to bake, I've actually talked about it before.  Baking serves as a form of therapy for me. It's precise enough to soothe my Type A tendencies but it's loose enough to allow me creativity and messiness. But I won't bake unless I'm feeling the love. It seems my ingredients and my oven know if I'm not feeling the love and my baked goods do not turn out if I'm not feeling the love. If I'm feeling rushed or obligated then there's not a lot of love, it doesn't serve as a form of therapy for me, and the baked goods that are produced tell on me. *wink*  I live in a high altitude and all recipes tell us to add flour to help the baked goods rise to the occasion. However, I have never followed that 'rule&

A flower I love and hate is the Lilac. Why do I hate it? Because it appears suddenly and has the shortest season ever. It's like two weeks and feels like 30 seconds (at least in the climate I reside in). I hate them for that reason because I LOVE their smell so much. I feel greedy for them when they appear. I feel intoxicated, I can't get enough. And then they just disappear. It makes me so sad. There is something so special about the fragrance of the Lilac. What's a flower you can't get enough of when it comes to their fragrance? 

My oldest daughter said to me once, "Mom, you think everyone needs therapy (counseling)?!" And my answer was, "Yes, of course!" And I stand by that. The reason I do is because we all have *stuff* that we should look at closely and decide what to do with it. And a lot of times that *stuff* needs the eye of someone not attached to us or it. That someone will have a clarity we probably won't, they will be able to offer insights we can't see on our own, they will have a purer response because they will lack the emotional ties to the *stuff*. So yes, I believe all people can benefit from therapy and should do it at least once in their lives. Albert points out a really important reason, in my opinion, for therapy. Someone not so attached to our lives can help us figure out new ways of thinking. We all need that.  If you haven't been to therapy before, or if you have, here's a head's up I thought was really good to have.  

One of the vital parts of our wellness is laughter. Truly! Happiness and laughter are key components to our mental health, which is a huge part of our overall wellness. So for #WellnessWednesday I want to talk about laughter. There's a proverb that says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength." And it's true - think about the times when you have felt broken in spirit, you didn't feel very strong or well did you? Happiness and laughter is necessary for our well being. In fact, check out what laughter does for our bodies! So today, increase your wellness by indulging in some laughter! Find your favorite comedian to watch, your favorite comedy sitcom or movie, funny YouTube videos, or whatever makes you laugh. Laugh a lot, laugh hard, laugh long, and invite others to improve their wellness also through laughter!