Yoga Teacher Training and Upcoming Travel

A very zen koi pond at the Yoga Barn in Ubud, Bali. 

Hello my friends! A personal post coming atcha today. :)

A peek at my first homework assignments. 

As many of you may know, my preferred form of exercise is yoga (for more of my thoughts on fitness read here). My first experience with yoga was in my second semester of my freshman year at Indiana University (Go Hoos!). I enrolled in yoga as an elective, thinking it would be fun to try. It changed the way I felt about exercise, and opened me to the mind-body connection. I hadn’t been an athlete in high school, so moving my body wasn’t something I had realized could affect my body AND mind for the better. I fell in love with the movement, and how yoga made me feel. 

Sometimes I am more into the physicality of the practice, other times for the mental peace and clarity that comes from the focus on the mat. Through my practice I have cultivated a deeper sense of mindfulness that has led to a career changes and other shifts on my journey. 

The Yoga Barn in Bali (2012)

All that being said, I have decided to pursue yoga teacher training this spring. I have been contemplating teacher training for at least 5 years at this point, so it is time! I am hoping to deepen my own practice, and also bring my new knowledge to create some Zen for the Wed in your lives!  

I haven't decided how much yogi stuff to share with you guys, but would love to hear if you are interested in my learnings, asanas (poses), guided flows or meditations or anything else related to teacher training. 

Doing TT locally (not somewhere warm!!), just thought this pic captured my excitement and vibe at this moment. Xx

On a related note: one of my long term goals is to practice yoga on every continent. So far I have practiced in (North America - duh), Australia/ Oceania, Africa, and Asia! Europe is up this month. I will be traveling to London this month for a week celebrating my birthday! I would love your recos - particularly for some healthy eats and yoga studios. 

Today is my first day of teacher training, so please send some good vibes my way! 

Namaste :) 

AHS

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Wellness

I have used stock photography of "wellness" or "meditation" throughout this post to demonstrate how unattainable wellness can feel. Wellness is achieved by doing yoga in a fjord, clearly.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by wellness? Like, you couldn't be taking good care of yourself if you aren't adding reishi ashwaghandha adaptogenic blends to your coffee (wait, excuse me, MATCHA) every morning. Or you drink alcohol (GASP!).  Or you just can't get yourself up for a 6am cardio class before work and then you end up skipping the gym that day and all is lost? Do you eat cheese? Like what is Keto? Why is everyone doing it? What is bio-hacking and should I call my IT guy to help me with it? Where does all of this fit into one's daily existence? 

It is hard to keep up y'all. 

I truly enjoy trying out all the new trends. I like seeing how each new superfood/ supplement/ vitamin/ way of eating/ workout / etc.  affects my body and mind. It's fun, it's interesting. And it is not what actually matters. 

First, let me define wellness. 

ˈwelnəs/ noun 

1. the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal.

Meditation is swimming in the ocean at sunset surrounded by mountains. 

Okay so great - pursuing good health. Yep, all about it! It’s great that all of these superfoods and supplements can help us feel awesome. It really is. More things that fuel the body, and help us kick some a- every day – hey all good. But sometimes it feels like the wellness industry chooses to be confusing. Really, to be well, you need to eat lots of vegetables, sleep, drink water, move your body.  The trends that require you to eat a certain way, those are just diets. Diets are fine, but diets are not sustainable. Diets are not wellness. You can add superfoods to your daily morning beverage, and that can aid in wellness- but you don’t need to spend excessive amounts of money on supplements and superfoods to be well. Being thin is not wellness. Sometimes it’s a byproduct of wellness, but not always. It can also be the byproduct of very unhealthy behavior. 

The second you begin to obsess over your food choices, your fitness level, etc- it is no longer wellness. That means “wellness,” “eating healthy,” or “fitness” is no longer serving you. That means it has become a distraction from the things that really matter. 

Now that we cleared up what wellness actually is and what it is not…why do we pursue it? 

Quite simply, good health is a means to help fulfill our work on Earth. Our soul's purpose... This is not about feeling 22 forever.  

....Woah, Alexandra. That just got intense! Soul's purpose? I don't know what that is?! 

I know, I know. That's not an easy question to answer. 

You too, can be well if you manage to meditate on the beach with your arms up in the air. 

If you already know the answer. Fantastic. Now go and be well, and have food fuel you and movement inspire you! You are done here. 

If you don’t have the answer to this, you may not have an answer for awhile. I encourage you to dig deeper. Start to meditate. Pray (yes, I said pray). Go to yoga or for a run - whatever gets you in your zone. Think about what lights you up. What gets you out of bed in the morning? How do you help others in your day to day life? Your purpose could be related to your career, or not. It could be related to your family, or not. I unfortunately don’t have a guide book for this (although I bet one exists). I don’t have the answers, only you have the answer inside of you.

Balanced rocks in water - clearly you have reached the pinnacle of enlightenment if you sit near these bad boys. 

My action steps for you: 

1. Reflect on what has sparked your interest in nutrition and wellness. We are human, having a booty like Eva Mendes is a fine answer- no judgement. 

2. Keep it simple. If you enjoy wellness trends, feel free to jump on board - but you don’t need to eat like Amanda Chantal Bacon to be well (see links here and here). Remember at the end of the day, the wise Michael Pollan deduced healthy nutrition to: “eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants.”

3. I want you to stop sometime in the next day or 3- put down your phone. Turn it off. Spend some time alone and reflect. Reflect on what matters most to you. If you were to be gone tomorrow, what would you have wished you had done?

4. Use that beautiful body and soul of yours to thrive!

Yeah, I went deep on you guys. I hope if nothing else, this gave you some food for thought on this chilly winter day. I hope that this helps inspire the divine light within you. 

Be well, 

AHS

New Year, New Intentions

It's that time of year again! We are all feeling the post-holiday blues/ bloat. I don't know about you guys, but I love the feeling of a fresh new start and I am feeling pumped about 2018! I actually subscribe to the belief that you can set goals at any time (so feel free to come back to this page later if you aren't quite in the mood yet!). That being said, the new year always feels like a great time to reflect and hone in on what you want to achieve over the next year. Also, any new brides out there? This is the time to reflect on how you want to feel in your engagement "season". 

I am going to walk you through my intention/ goal-setting method. There are so many variations out there, and I use a bit of a hybrid. 

The biggest question that gets overlooked with New Years resolutions is "why?". Why do you you want to accomplish stated goal or resolution. If you aren't connected with your why you aren't going to reach that goal, and if you do- you probably won't feel satisfied by it! Connect with your why! 

One answer to the "why" question is answered by author and influencer, Danielle Laporte. This lady knows where it is AT when it comes to goals. I highly recommend her book, The Desire Map. She has figured out that it is not just about what you are achieving, but really, how you want to feel when you accomplish the goal, and throughout the process. Feelings are often the "why." She encourages you to come up with your core desired feelings. I reflect on them and adjust every year. Pick no more than 5, it can be really challenging to focus if you have more than 5. They should be high vibe. Take some time,  sit with them. Make sure they feel right!

My 2018 core desired feelings are written in the back of my planner! 

My five for the year are: 

1. Thrive 
2. Disciplined 
3. Glow 
4. Heart-centered
5. Nourished

A theme I've observed over the past few years is that I crave "connection." I need my humans! But this year, instead of using that word - I decided this year that "heart-centered" is more relevant and will bring me connection. My point being, it is okay to change things up! These words should light you up and feel excited!

Once you feel good about your 5 core desired feelings, then we can talk goals and intentions. 

At the beginning of the year I like to focus on my 'intentions" versus "goals." What's the difference? Well I think of intentions as where I want to spend my energy. It is a judgement free zone. Goals are more specific. You either accomplish them or you don't. I like to make goals SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Lastly, I don't use the term "resolutions" because it implies that something needs to be "resolved" as if you weren't fine as you were last year! Poo poo. 

Here is an example: 

• An intention for this year for me is to "feel good in my body". This ties back to the core desired feelings of the year of: thrive, disciplined, glow, and nourished. 
• A SMART goal under that intention could be "practice yoga 5 days a week through the end of March."

By accomplishing my goal of practicing yoga 5 days a week through the end of March I should "feel good in my body" and subsequently help me to feel thriving, glowy, disciplined and nourished. Make sense? 

I choose specific areas of my life that I want to set intentions for. Each segment has an intention that links back to my core desired feelings of the year. This year I chose health, career, family, community, spirituality, and travel. What are the important pillars in your life you want to set intentions for? Other options could be, but aren't limited to,  "relationships," "personal," or "home".  

Each month I try to set SMART goals that link back to the intention. For me, just having the intentions written out really helps me focus in my daily life. I rebel sometimes against goals- they feel too forced. BUT sometimes I need more specific goals to accomplish bigger things though. Deadlines are important!

We are human. There is no perfect solution. This is my own method that works for me. Everyone is different. The way our brains work can vary so much. Know yourself. Don't push against your own nature. You are brilliant as you are. Lean into your personality, and it will make it so much easier. Maybe you know that you won't accomplish anything unless you have concrete goals written out. If you know that - you better get those goals written out! Maybe you know you rebel against goals - better to focus on your intentions and desired feelings.

Also to note: this should actually take you time. If you figure out your goals in 30 minutes, you probably have not connected well with your why. (Alternatively, you did all this leg work already and feel very connected to your why! And then you are prepared. :)) You don't have to have everything figured out immediately. Enjoy the process. Take some time, drink some tea, cozy up, and do some soul digging! 

You are the captain of your own ship- you get to steer where you want to go! Isn't that incredible? Goals and intentions light me up, because I just love helping people get stoked about their lives, and that is what it is all about! 

To wrap this up: where are you going to spend your energy this year? What are you going to accomplish? Or not? Sometimes, "just be" is the answer. 

If you have any questions about my process or would like help with your own goals, shoot me an email (alexandra@shedforthewed.com) or leave a comment below! This ish brings me so much joy, I would love to hear from you beauties!

Cheers to new beginnings! 

AHS

Shedding for the wedding: what's the deal with exercise?

So you've found my biz. It's called Shed for the Wed. For a lot of folk it brings up horrid ideas of living on the elliptical and drinking your meals for months before your wedding. 

I hope if you have read anything on my website at all, you have figured out I am NOT about that life. 

You know that the way we operate here is about making soulful, healthy, eating decisions – and that is what is going to make you feel your best on your big day and EVERY day (if we are being honest here). But the truth is – it could just be "SHD" – soulful, healthy decisions. That is the big picture. In terms of your waistline, yes, eating is the number one priority. But in terms of who you are and living your best life, SHD is the ticket. 

So where does that leave us re: exercise? I'm sure you all know the girl who spent her life at the gym before her wedding. That is one approach that works for some. In my humble opinion, I find that few can sustain that level of vigor, and then after the wedding the weight comes back (and sometimes more) [This also applies to extreme cleansing. NOT about it].

Moving your body shouldn't be just about trying to lose weight. It should be about what makes you feel like a #bossb**ch (someone cue the Cardi B or Lizzo or both)! But I'm going to tell you a secret—before my wedding, I think I exercised twice in the entire 10 months leading up to it. I felt amazing on my wedding day and it was just good, clean, eating. Yes, this works too, but that being said- I would not advocate you follow that approach either! It was not good for my mind or body to not exercise during that time. It's all about SHD- and I would've been much more zen during my wedding process if I had been moving my body more. 

I really found myself loving fitness AFTER the wedding. I started experimenting while I was working at Lululemon (#joblove) and I learned so much about myself and how I like to get my sweat on. 

I know that I still am in love with yoga 12 years later my first class. That HIIT is what it takes to push my body past a plateau. I know that with pilates my body can do things I didn't think were possible to my abs. I also know I need lots of hands on adjustments because of all my hyperextended joints. I know that SoulCycle is my JAM and I feel like I can do anything if I can ride on beat (#rhythmchallenged). I know I hate spinning (or any class) with a leaderboard. I know I like going to Orange Theory because they monitor my heart rate so I can compete with myself (and it's right next to my house – easy = good!). I know that a good long run can do wonders for my mind. I know that even though I love getting my sweat on – it is still a mental challenge for me to make it out the door. 

That being said, that is all my own journey, and only you can figure out what is your jam. I can't give you a magic formula that will be the answer to all of your exercise needs. I wish I could, but unforch not how it works. Every person's body is different and will have different needs. I've compiled a list of questions for you to ask yourself to find your own fitness groove:

• What is your current level of fitness? 
• How active are you? Daily, weekly? 
• What are your goals for your activity? What is the why behind them? 
• What exercise makes you feel good? During or after? 
• Have you found something that makes you feel good and strong in your body? If so, what is it? If not, what have you tried? What are you interested in trying next?
• Do you prefer outdoor activities or classes? 
• Does one activity give you more joy than others? 
• Do you feel better with cardio or slower strength? 
• What is it going to take for your to add movement to your life? 

If you want more direction re: your fitness goals – schedule a FREE consultation with me below. I'm happy to chat to figure out a sweat sched that gets you excited to sweat and is sustainable for you! 

What's your favorite way to sweat? Let me know in the comments below or on insta! Have a lovely day, babes! xx