Digital Detox || 6.1.15

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+ could you do a digital detox?

(tips and bennies at the bottom)

How many times have you truly been able to unplug and enjoy the everyday life without having the need to check your phone, refresh your facebook, or see how many likes your last picture had on instagram? It's a terrifying reality that we have all become so connected to our phones and computers; we meet possible dates, we coach clients, we watch tv, find work out videos, recipes, and so much more all from a screen maybe 13 inches wide with 78 keys to press and a trackpad to press our thumbs into or from a touchable surface that fits in the palm of our hand. Whattt?!! It's rantable (not a word but I'm making it one), really. How many times do we stress over how long it will take someone to respond with the time, date, and place when we could call them up on the phone and find out in seconds? And how many times have we sent that same message to someone living in the same space? It's okay. It's not our fault that life has become this way. BUT, it is our fault if we let it continue to dictate our lives.

Last week when my computer broke, I had to hand it over to those more qualified for a couple of days. To be honest, it was a relief. Finally, I had a reason why I couldn't complete more hours of study time or log on and market myself and my business. I didn't have the resource to edit photos, comment on blogs, or heaven forbid, online shop. I had my phone, but my fingers are long -- hellooooo hand cramping. No thank you. So instead, I hung out with my mom, had extra cups of coffee, read more books, did some yoga, took the dogs for a walk, made a yummy salad, finished a recipe, took photos when the sun was just right. It was a command from mercury (it was/is(?) still in retrograde, ya know), but man was it the best order I needed in my life. It was like letting go of a breath I hadn't been aware I was holding.

And then two days later, the internet went down and I couldn't do anything remotely online related for two and a half days. Not only did I do all of the above, but I actually sat around the table with some interesting people and talked about as much as we could think of over the course of five hours. Time that would have been spent watching Netflix, scrolling through pinterest, emailing and staring at a screen that's making us blind to the rest of the world. Boy, oh boy, was it something.

Now it's all back: my computer works, the internet is motoring along, and nothing is quite out of whack (knock on wood). What will I do with my weeks experience of unplanned stops to my everyday life? I'm truly going to embrace what I've learned and make a habit of this digital detox. Maybe once a week, maybe once every two weeks I plan to unplug. Really unplug. From the internet, from the digital world, from everything that makes me stare at a screen and not at the beautiful facets of life all around me. Maybe that means all I will do is take in the words on a page and hold a hot cup of coffee in my hands, but to me, that is enough. What's the worst thing that could happen?

5 Ways to Digitally Detox

1. Time On, Time Off Young Grasshopper

If you burn the midnight oil too long, eventually your light goes out. So if the idea of a shut-everything-off-don't-touch-it-forever kind of detox is intimidating, start small. Work 30-50 minutes and then take a 10-15 minute break that includes stretching, breathing, walking outside, or anything else that gets you away from the blue screen.

2. There's an App for That

Really. You can find an app that keeps certain other apps from working during specific times or blocks of the day. This is helpful if you need to do a social media cleanse rather than a total digital cleanse, but can still be great in the weaning off phase.

3. Thou Shall Not Have Temptation

If seeing a computer, tablet, or phone makes your nerves buzz and your mind say, 'baby, come here', hide it. No kidding, tuck those gadgets out of sight. Hide them away. Eventually, when you realize the amazingness that comes from being unplugged, you'll be able to leave them out and say, give me five more minutes with this book. What?! A book you say? Yes. Ink on pages never looked so sweet.

4. Tell the Rest of the World

Just like going on a diet, trying a new exercise program, or scoring the best tickets to an event, we share. We overshare. The best way to stay motivated is to know that others are informed. So tell the world! Let them know what you are doing. Encourage them to do the same. Being held accountable for not using your computer or tablet or phone does not make you weak in the eyes of the busy. It makes you enviable. Imagine all you can gain, and share that with the world.

5. That Being Said ... The Benefits

Okay, not a way to detox, but certainly one you've been waiting to read. Here's what you could gain when you unplug (some do not apply to all. that is okay. there is more than enough to go around).

  • falling back in love with your significant other // you start to talk to their face again instead of to a phone while you tell them about your day. queue the feels.
  • losing weight // being conscious about your intake of food and not on a screen sends the full signals to our brain at the appropriate rate (which is often a lot quicker than we think). Also, you might find you using your time to breathe or move around, both linked strongly to weight loss.
  • people want to be around you // showing others the respect of listening actively to how they are doing and feeling equals those same people wanting to come back for more
  • seeing the small things and taking pleasure in them // how many times on instagram or facebook are there pictures of a sunset you wish you had seen? Look outside! You have those! The things you have FOMO for are in your backyard or available to you if you stop staring down and start looking up
  • awareness of the world around you // read the newspaper instead of the online paper. Notice how lovely it is to feel the paper beneath your fingers and to really read instead of scanning the headlines. You'll have far more topics to choose from when talking with random people or your loved ones if you know what happened throughout the world.
  • acknowledgment // you know how it's so easy to take for granted all that is before us? After doing this detox, you realize the magnificence that is technology and how we need to use these tools for good and not just venting or ranting or having our say. Spread peace and acknowledge how amazing it is we have access to this greatness.
  • so many more // everyone does this differently, and thus, there are so many benefits specific to the individual. I could tell you more, but that would just be keeping you staring at this screen for more time than necessary.

Try it with me.

How will you unplug? What did you find about this detox that you liked? That you didn't like? Let me know below in the comments or on facebook!

If the idea of doing a digital detox alone is a little scary, let me help.

okay. really. close the computer, turn off the tablet or phone, and start living. there's a whole world out there. make mud houses, do some yoga, take a deep breath. it'll be worth it.

More || Embrace Yourself Series Pt. II

This is part of the Embrace Yourself Series. It's all about leaving the notion of fitting into boxes behind and instead, finding the space within to respect and value who we are in this very moment. See the first post and first steps from last week here.

Sometimes, life wants you to be an image. But life is messy and glorious and anything but a picture perfect snapshot. How are you more?

I am more than my belly. I am more than the thoughts of others in regards to the female ideal. I am more than the ideal pick-up, the catcalls, or the careless compliments that verge on inappropriate. I am more than advertisements telling me I must lose more weight or grow more inches or eat this something or other. I am more than blue eyes and blonde hair. I am more than the clothes I do or do not wear. I am more than the size of my chest, the stretch of my jeans, more than the way I fill out my sweaters, more than the height of my heels or the tightness of my pants. Without a doubt, I am more than what is seen.

I am thoughts that take flight into action. I am a sweet dessert filled with the most wholesome and glorious ingredients. I am bare feet sinking into the sand with the waves crashing down. I am heart shaped confetti falling from a midnight sky. Giggles that turn into kisses and smiles that turn into the longest hugs, I am love incarnate. I am not defined by my size, by the thoughts of others, or by the events that happen in the past. I am even more than these little thoughts, but sometimes more can be too much and acknowledgement is just enough.

+ tell me, how are you more? Let me know on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or in the Comments Below

Want to feel like a million bucks with high energy, self-love, and freedom from fad-diets? Let’s work together.

Be Bad*** || Don't Be Defined By The Check Boxes -- Own Who You Are

"It's not easy being green" said Kermit.

And it's not easy being our true selves, either. In this world it's about a three sentence description to sum up who you are, but how is that even possible when we are so much more?

I'm inviting us all to embrace the roundness that is our lives and to stop forcing them into these tiny boxes that are anything but our truth -- introvert vs extrovert, tall vs short, large vs petite, young vs old, shy vs exuberant, blond vs brunette, thin vs overweight -- what is this a yes or no game? The answer is never as simple as the world wants. So, I suggest picking up a pen and grabbing a piece of paper or turning on that recorder, and try expressing yourself in every possible way you can. I've written all about myself below ;-). Recognize that it's a never ending list, because you are always changing, evolving, growing, and becoming more and more you every day.

Come back to the list when someone calls you a mean name or when you're feeling defeated or even when you just want a reminder that you are more than your title, your job, your marital status, your race, your gender, your size -- you are so so so much more. Enjoy what you discover, loves xx

So who am I ....

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I'm a mystery. A believer in the unseen. A hopeless romantic. A stay-up-too-late-because-of-cute-boys kind of girl. I'm a flowy dress in the wind, torn denim under the moonlight, barefooted everywhere and anywhere kind of woman. I'm a dreamer of the future, of lost past, of ideas. I'm a person of gratitude, strength, courage, and of freedom. I like my potatoes to come with an extra helping of potatoes and a bottomless bowl of ice cream for no other reason than I can. I'm a stop-the-fear kind of activist and a crushingly empathetic ear to humans and animals alike. I get overwhelmed easily and often, because I put myself in situations that are daring albeit sometimes too much. I lay out best intentions, but sometimes the path changes mid stride and I'm on an empty coloring page.

I write weird words together and sometimes in all lowercase because it inspires me to be authentic and honest and real. I don't practice yoga everyday, despite the tags on all my pictures, but then again maybe I do, because conscientious breathing is yoga. Ha! #yogaeverydamnday -- yes. I want to have a pig, maybe some chickens, a goat, definitely huge dogs (yes, multiple), and I somehow want them all to fit in an awesome studio apartment -- I could have a rooftop barn, right? I like to watch Netflix like it's my job, which it should be, but I'm a sucker for a romance novel and a bowl of popcorn. I like weird pairings and things that shouldn't taste good, taste good to me, like chlorella tablets, raw cacao unsweetened, Trader Joe's tofu, and cheap champagne.

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I like imagining the good in people first and seeing the unexpected later. I like to have high expectations, but sometimes I convince myself they aren't there so I can enjoy life. I want to go to all the festivals in the world, but I'm a little scared of not showering or drinking enough water. Some days I feel like the oldest soul alive. On days that I can't think straight, I often give up, but those same days I usually have the greatest breakthroughs. Somehow life is working out for me, so I'm done questioning it and finally accepting the journey.

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Sometimes I think to myself, how is this my life -- in equal parts excitement and oh-dear-lord. I could watch puppy tails wag for hours and curl up with my not-a-lap-dog baby for days. I'm still looking for the best bread out there and am just now realizing life isn't about all or nothing. Ask me my favorite song and I'll have to get back to you never. Give me anything gluten-free and vegan and I'll love you for life. Make my heart beat faster just because you smile and I'll love you as long as time.

Life isn't the characterization of a person into one group or another, large or petite, hard worker or lazy, romantic or cold. It's messy and complicated and undefined and feeling good and enjoying the time. I'm pretty content to be this crazy, chaotic, dreamer of a girl who hopes for things that never happen but loves to imagine the infinite possibilities. I'm okay with being no one's idea of normal, because who's normal? You can't capture the essence of a person with a photo and a quick description -- it's how the energy changes when you're with them, how they make you feel -- about yourself and about others, how they inspire only the best change and encourage the transformation, and most of all how they are never constant, always changing, like the sun and the moon and the stars. So let the judgement go, the ideas that hold you back, stay open and wild, but most of all, just be yourself first, and the rest will follow.

+ what is it like to realize you are so much more than a three sentence summation? how will you embrace your authentic self? comment here, facebook, or twitter ;)

Want to feel like a million bucks with high energy, self-love, and freedom from fad-diets? Let’s work together.