~Priorities~

How have you all been? I have been away for a while, SO busy. It is time to talk about priorities! Everyone struggles with “doing it all”. Can we really do it all and what does doing it all really mean?

How do we start our day? I saw a post on Facebook from Strala Yoga called “What did you eat for breakfast”? And it made me think…..and do you know what I had? I am embarrassed to say… I ate Cap N’ Crunch for breakfast! Yep…..sugary, sweet and SO awful. What was I thinking? Well, the truth is I wasn’t thinking. I just ate.

Maybe you start your day calm with meditation or prayer. Maybe you rush out of bed at the sound of the alarm after hitting the snooze for the fourth time. Maybe you are an early riser, and you have already worked out, cleaned the house and done three loads of laundry before the rest of the world has even wiped the sleep from their eyes.

Whatever our routine, however we choose to start our morning really does affect us throughout the day. Have you seen the commercial where the lady chooses a Nutri-grain bar over a doughnut in the morning? As cheesy as that ad may be, it is totally true. I find that if I start my day with oatmeal or whole wheat toast and fruit, it makes me want to choose something healthy for lunch and dinner. If I eat Cap N’ Crunch I feel like I have blown my whole day so what’s the point. Do any of you know where I am coming from?

We can’t be “perfect” ALL of the time. But if we make smart choices most of the time it’s all good. Instead of thinking if we can’t “do it all” then the heck with it. Perhaps we shouldn’t try to do it all. Wrestling with your thoughts about really needing to do one thing, but thinking you should be working out instead isn’t benefiting anyone.

Someone once told me that working out is like “paying yourself”. Most people don’t put themselves first. We don’t make ourselves a PRIORITY! It isn’t wrong to be “selfish” when it comes to our health. I KNOW that I am a much better wife and mother when I have paid myself and then proceeded with my day! I need to get back to that way of thinking. I have started a home-based craft business and I am trying to juggle so many balls in the air, that I have let my “ME” time slide. If I don’t do Yoga, I am not a happy camper.

So, I am making ME a priority again! Join in….and start putting yourself at that top of your “to do” list!

You will never "find" time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.
~Charles Bruxton

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
~Buddha

Until next time, be well.

~Sarah~

 

 

 

We Can’t Be So Hard On Ourselves

Hello everyone! It’s been a little while since I have posted. I have been busy lately. It’s a good busy and it’s an exciting busy! I am getting my own little online business off the ground. Trying my hand at selling some little crafty handmade goodies. Anyway, that has taken a huge chunk of my time lately.

So I wanted to talk about feeling guilty. I found myself these past couple of weeks feeling guilty. When I wasn’t working out and was working on my little business, I was saying to myself “I should be working out right now”. And vice versa, when I was working out I was thinking about orders that I needed to get packaged up and sent out. Where is that balance that I am so desperately searching for?

This is a question I constantly ask myself, can I “have it all”? Can I have many facets to my life? How do I fit it all into my day or week or month? This is when it occurred to me that these thoughts were consuming me. And that is not fun.

I don’t know about you, but I am very hard on myself. Sometimes that can be good. It keeps you motivated and active. But on the other hand you and your thoughts can bring your own self down in the dumps in a matter of minutes. Without even realizing it, in the last three paragraphs, you all just took a little trip through my mind and cruised around some of my daily thoughts. It is exhausting!

I HAVE to realize that I can’t always be spot on with my nutrition, I can’t always be so diligent about my workouts. And the hardest thing of all…I have to LET IT GO! I have done some of the hard work, I have made a lifestyle change, I won’t “fall off the wagon”. I am conscious about my health. I have to be more forgiving.

I haven’t done my cardio and lifting the last week or so, but I have still done my Yoga, it is my saving grace. It is what keeps me grounded. The last 10 minutes of class is our relaxation time, our meditation time. Our instructor encourages us to think of NOTHING, concentrate on our breath. And just relax before we all have to go back out into the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. It is MY time and I love it!

The next time you are hard on yourself, stop….think…and reflect on it. Is the worrying worth it? Probably not. It goes back to the 80 – 20 rule, if you make healthy choices 80% of the time you will be doing just fine.

I guess Winston Churchill said it best. "Never, never, never, never give up."

Here is another Tara Stiles video that I just love. It is called “Letting Go Of Guilt”. She is such a free spirit that has her own way of  getting her point across. But I really believe what she says here makes sense. We have to train our minds to think in a different way. She really wants us to think about why we feel guilty, what do we feel guilty about and what we can do to change that feeling. And change our habits.

Thanks for listening…like you had a choice. Haha! But we will all do our best to live the best life we can and not be SO hard on ourselves!!

Until next time, be well.

~Sarah~

~Just A Little Something Is Enough~

Hello everyone. I hope today was a good day for all of you! The weather here was rainy and misty all day. It would have been a perfect day to stay inside and hang out. I was about to make the decision to do just that when I found this quote and I am so glad I found it, it inspired me!

“I never regret it when I do it, but I always regret it when I don’t”

So guess what? I went and worked out! So glad I did! It feels so good to sweat! And I would have regretted it if I hadn’t gone.

The title of my post “Just A Little Something Is Enough” means that doing some type of activity during your day can make a difference. If you aren’t working out on a regular basis you may feel too over whelmed. You may feel like if you can’t run a marathon or lift weights or if don’t know what a Downward Dog Yoga pose is than what’s the use?

Baby steps. Think of it this way. Everyone has to start somewhere. Everybody DID start somewhere. In the beginning, making small adjustments to your day can get you on the right track. Try Yoga before you get out of bed in the morning. One of my Yoga instructors at the YMCA is 82 years young. She says one of the best things for your body is the child pose in the morning. And she is right. It feels SO good on your back. Loosens everything up just a bit.

Here is an example of child’s pose, click on the picture to go to the web page for instructions.

Photo courtesy of Mind Body Green

If you want a great bedtime routine to wind down to at the end of the day click on this link Yoga for bedtime with Tara Stiles.

Throughout the day you can do little things to slowly change your habits and your lifestyle. Walk or bike to work if that is practical. I see so many people working out over their lunch breaks. I admire them so much for that. They are MAKING time out for themselves and for their health. Maybe take a simple walk over the noon hour. If you can’t workout over the noon hour, make an effort after work to change right into your workout clothes. I think Nike says it best….. “Just Do It”! 

It doesn’t have to be a long two hour workout. Doing something is better than doing nothing! Start with a half hour commitment. Think of it as paying yourself. You owe it to you!

Work out at home or at the gym, wherever you feel most comfortable. An at home Yoga practice is great. It requires no equipment, just yourself and maybe a mat if you want one.

I want to share a few more of my favorite fitness quotes. I hope they inspire you as they have inspired me.

My #1 favorite quote:

"Discipline is just choosing between what you want now and what you want most".

"It's a lifestyle - train like there's no finish line."

"If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you'll find an excuse."

“Take care of your body.
It's the only place you have to live.”

“Commit to be fit.”

"The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work."

“Life will work out if you do”

Those are just a few of my favorites, I will share more in another post!

If are already in a workout routine, good for you! If you have just started a routine, good for you! If you haven’t started a routine, starting one NOW will be good for you!! Put yourself first!

Until next time, remember… The greatest wealth is health.

Be well,

~Sarah~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It Feels Good To Feel Good

Hello everyone, I would like to welcome you to my blog Commit To Be Fit. My hope is that I can share some simple tips on how to fit some type of physical activity into your day. There are so many ways to do this and it doesn't have to be so time consuming that it seems like an overwhelming task.

You will find that I am passionate about Yoga. Which is the subject of my very first post. I want to start off by saying that *in no way are any of my suggestions or tips to be considered professional or medical advice* I am just a Mom of five who is trying my best to lead by example for our children by living a healthy, active lifestyle.

I am so excited to have this blog as an outlet to share “healthy news” that I am excited about. I want to let you know about a wonderful women named Tara Stiles. She is an amazing Yoga instructor at her own studio Strala Yoga in New York City. I first heard about Tara by following the one and only Deepak Chopra on Twitter. After his many mentions of Tara I decided to check it out. I went to Tara’s You Tube Yoga Channel and was amazed at the videos, information and pure humble talent that is Tara Stiles.

If you visit any of the links that I provided you will see that Tara is the real deal. She makes the Yoga, she IS the Yoga. She truly wants to reach as many people as possible and open their hearts, minds and eyes to Yoga and all that it can be for them as an individual. One of her greatest quotes which is the title of this post “It feels good to feel good” is SO true. We all know that feeling of a  “fitness high” after a good workout, or that proud feeling after making the right choices in our nutrition. It does takes some effort, some thought and preparation, but if you follow through with it and make healthy choices at least 80% of the time it will add years to your life and life to your years!

Tara just came out with her new book Slim Calm Sexy: The 15-minute yoga solution for feeling and looking your best from head to toe. I have ordered my copy of it and also her DVD Yoga Anywhere: The New York Session. I am anxiously awaiting their arrival so that I can get my Yoga on! Here is a link to purchase her book if you are interested. Visit Amazon.com You can also read an excerpt from her book to get an idea of what it’s all about!

Slim Calm Sexy

Yoga Anywhere: The New York Session

I will be talking about Tara again in the future and I will definitely be making future posts about Yoga in general. Sharing the benefits of Yoga and what it can do for you. Another quote of Tara’s which I think is great “Wherever you go, there you are”. She says Yoga is for EVERYONE and I totally believe it, anyone can do Yoga!!

Until next time, remember…try the 80-20 ratio. If you can make healthy choices 80% of the time you will be doing your body a favor!

Be well,

~Sarah~