Monday, April 2, 2018

Time for Re-birth!

Happy Spring and Day After Easter!

I want to chat about what this time of year means for a hot minute.  Whether or not you are a Christian and believe in the true meaning of Easter Sunday, this season is a time for re-birth for YOU.  How, you may ask?  Well, let's think about it for a sec...Spring is a time of renewal, for shedding the old and welcoming the new. Mother Nature magnificently shows us the beauty of it's plants and animals that start birthing, blooming and growing!  It is such a magnificent time of year and regardless of your spiritual beliefs, YOU TOO can feel the beautiful energy that Spring brings!

Let's break this down...what are three steps you can take TODAY that will help you get to feeling light, full of energy and like you are ready to just burst into your life? 

1. Get outside.  This is a no-brainer.  Even just spending 15 minutes per day out in nature and being fully present.  This last part is the KEY! BE PRESENT.  Using all five senses, take it all in.  Don't rush anything and truly enjoy where you are.
2. Get still.  I know so many people who struggle with stillness and not doing anything.  Find a space where you are comfortable without any distractions...tell your loved ones that you need just 10 minutes to yourself!  Many people feel like there is a "right" and "wrong" way to meditate and get still but let me tell you, there isn't.  You can lay down or sit up, you don't have to place your hands and fingers a certain way and you don't need to chant anything.  You simply need to BE STILL.  Once you are all comfy-cozy, focus on your breath and the rise and fall of your chest.  If any thoughts come into your head, know that this is okay and completely normal!  Just put them aside until later.  Last point about meditating, don't go into this as a newbie and think that you'll be able to do it for 10 minutes straight.  This is a muscle that you need to build so if you get through 2 minutes, YAHOO!  Work your way up!
3.  Release old patterns. Whether you do this in your meditation or afterwards (I highly recommend journalling after a meditation to process what comes up for you), this is so vital to you blossoming into the person you know you are meant to be.  Let go of the thoughts, behaviours, and beliefs that don't feel good to you anymore.  Let's dive into this a bit...let's say you are ready to start eating a clean diet and moving your body more to lose some weight and fit into your fave jeans. What old thoughts and beliefs do you need to shed in order to start living this way?  If you are constantly thinking, "I'm so overweight.  I can't do this.  Eating clean is so hard for me. etc, etc.", do you really think that these old ways of thinking and being are going to get you to your goal?  NOPE.  They won't.  So you need to release these before you even begin...and I mean TRULY release them in a purposeful and legit authentic way...and this is why your meditation is so important!  Starting to see the pattern here?  ;)

Remember, you can't do any of these wrong! ↑↑↑  You do you and don't worry about anyone else.  I would love to know if you try any of these so comment below if so! 
Start small and celebrate every single win.  You got this.  👊

Jen xo

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Do you ever stop and listen?

Tune in.  Get still.  These are sooooo important to being a good listener...and do you know why?  Other than because it feels good to drown out all external stimuli, this how you tune into what your body is trying to tell you.  Yep, your body.  Every single day, it sends you (probably 100s) of messages and signals to let you know how it is feeling, telling you what it needs from you and I am curious if you ever stop and listen to what it is trying to communicate to you?
There is a quote that is floating around social media that says something like, "If you listen to you body when it whispers to you, then you won't need to respond to it's screams."  Now that isn't exactly what it says, but you get the drift.  Let me paint a picture for you.  You have this off and on low back tension.  You aren't sure what it is, but you assume it'll go away in a few days and you carry on with life as usual, even though you are pretty annoyed with it when it's there, but it's not all the time so it's no biggie.  A few more days pass and before you know it, you realize that the pain is there pretty much all day, every day.  It's a aching and you know that you should probably go get it checked out but all you have time for is to pop a few pain relievers when it gets really bad...if it's still like this next week, you'll call for an appointment to have it looked at.  By the time next week rolls around, you call your chiropractor and the earliest available appointment is in 5 days and by now, you are on your second bottle of Advil and you're tired of using a heating pad just to be able to fall asleep at night.  Finally, it's your appointment day!  You are excited to be able to get some relief at last!  Little do you know that it is going to take about four or five appointments to get your low back and YOU functioning like a normal human being again.  Ugh. 
Does any of this sound familiar?  I know that this has been me on countless occasions in my life.  But not no more people!  Nope!  I refuse to let "life" get in the way of me taking care of myself.  Because here's the thing, if you don't take care of YOU, then everyone else that you take of will not be getting the best of you...they will get the rest of you.  #truth
Your body is speaking to you right now.  Stop and listen.  Is it telling you to go to bed early because it's tired?  Go do that workout because it needs some energy?  Do you need to take a night off of working or doing housework and just veg out in front of the TV?  Or maybe it needs a visit to the dentist, doctor or other health care pro?  Hey...I'm all for a massage in the middle of the week, too! 
Why is all of this so important??  Because honestly, I don't know about you, but I DO NOT like dealing with the screaming.  I don't want an injury, toothache, sore back, or to shut down because I am so stressed out that I can't even deal. 
So before you go to bed tonight or the next time you can steal just a few moments of peace, close your eyes, deepen your breath and tune in.  Listen to what your body is trying to tell you.  Then, please HONOUR THAT.  Your body will thank you.  <3

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Feel ALL the feels & Cardinals

This last week was a challenging one for me.  I travelled across most of Canada and helped my family lay my dear, sweet Grandma to rest.  I was gone for five days and left Trevor and the kiddos at home to carry on with life back here in Alberta.
My Gram passed away on Saturday morning and I left to London on the red-eye flight on Sunday night so I arrived early Monday morning.  It was a busy, productive and sad time for all of us.  For the first few days, we were all so busy preparing and getting ready for the funeral.  These times were filled with laughter and tears, an impromptu "game night" to release some stress and lots of good food and alcohol.  My cousin/sista and I decided to give Gram's eulogy so we took some time to ourselves to reflect and write a beautiful tribute to her as well as help write the obituary that went in the newspapers.
Why do I tell you all of this??
Because I knew that it was important for me to completely step into this space and time in my life...to laugh, cry, accept and simply JUST BE.  If I didn't, I knew that all of these feelings would come rushing back to me and it just wouldn't be a good situation.  You see, this has been one of the times in my life that I have fearing since I was 9 YEARS OLD.  I can remember crying in my bed as a young girl, dreading the day that I lost my Grandparents.  And here we are.  The time had come and I was so freaking scared to get on that plane.  I almost felt like all of the mindful and intentional work that I had been doing had brought me to this place.  I knew that I had to FULLY and COMPLETELY step into my grief and sadness and let those feelings just surround me. But I also let the joy and happiness of being with my family help me work through my feelings all week.
When Friday morning rolled around and I got into the Uber that took me to the airport, my heart felt so damn heavy.  I didn't want to leave because I knew that meant back to reality and the shocking fact that when I thought of her, she was no longer with us.  I felt the same thing when I unpacked my suitcase yesterday... I put it off for 24 hours and then couldn't anymore.  I cried as I took out the clothes I wore to her funeral and smiled when I looked at the cardinals I brought home that used to be on her window sill.  Now they perch on my shelf to remind me of my sweet Gram.
Funny thing about cardinals...when you see one, it is a representation of a loved one who has passed and they are visiting you.  They show up when you need them the most or miss them.  They make an appearance during times of despair or celebration to let you know they will always be with you.  Look for them and you will find them.  I find it no coincidence whatsoever that Gram had about five or six cardinals on her window sill and now they belong to her grandchildren.  I know you are always with us, Gram.  I love you so. <3

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

I. AM. BACK!!
Oh my word, you all.  I have been absent from this blog for a year now...if there was an emoji available of me hiding my face in my hands available on here, I would be clicking furiously on it right now!  But, alas, there isn't and all I can say is that I am dedicating myself to writing at least one blog post weekly starting TODAY and going into 2018.  
Ok, let's just start with that...2018?? I honestly cannot even believe how fast this past year has gone.  I LOVE the holiday season and this is the first year that I think our kids get the whole idea of Santa and they are so dang excited for Christmas!!  Luckily for me, Trev does most of the Christmas shopping for the kiddos in our house...we talk about what we are getting them and he goes and gets it!  I don't even have to nag him to do it...mama's happy dancing over here! ;)
I feel like I have gone through a lot of ish (in a good way!) over the last 12 months...huge growth and change in so many areas.  I will be posting more about that as we begin to close out 2017 and welcome in the new year.  It's funny how a date on the calendar causes us to be extra reflective, set new goals and think about what changes we want to see in our lives in the coming year.  If you are anything like me, you have been thinking about what you want for your life in 2018 for a while now and I don't know about you, but I am so freaking excited for the things to come!  
I wish you all a fabulous week and I promise that I will be back very soon to chat!  

Much love to you all!
Jen xo

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Smile for the Camera!

Good evening to you all!  It has been a while since I have been here and I have missed it!  Being a Kindergarten teacher is all kinds of busy during the dreaded Report Card season...but they are done, they have been sent home and this girl can finally take a deep breath again! 

A lot has been on my mind lately and I am pretty excited to share it with you all! We have had a great but busy weekend, like most people during the holidays.  For the first time, we had family pictures taken yesterday.  I was probably the one who was the MOST excited about this...I'm sure most Mom's can relate to me on this!  It was an outdoor shoot in a beautiful park setting and the kiddos did so FANTASTIC!  I was worried that some anxiety was going to creep in for them but there were no meltdowns or tears from anyone.  WIN!
So about this...I hesitated for a LOOOONNNNGGG time to book this shoot.  For the sole reason of how I was going to look in the pictures.  Cause here's the thing...I am not in denial about my size or how I look anymore.  I know I am a size 16.  Yes, 16.  I said it out loud to you all.  Am I happy about it?  No, of course not.  Have I accepted that this is where I am in my journey right now? Absolutely.  For the past 6 weeks or so, I have really been working on getting my head around accepting and LOVING me for who I am RIGHT NOW. Not when I lose 60 lbs.  Not when the scale shows a number I like.  RIGHT FREAKING NOW.  Because if I don't love myself now, losing the weight won't make any difference at all.  I will still be dealing with the same negative self-talk, the shame, guilt and denial that I have been feeling for 5 years.  Weight won't change that.  BUT...starting to truly love myself at my current size and weight will.  And you know what? I have felt a shift.  I am starting to dress better. I don't live in yoga pants anymore, I wear a REAL bra (I know you feel me on that one, ladies!), I am enjoying pretty jewellery, loving the yummy lotions I have had in my cabinet for months and just overall showing myself the LOVE and CARE that I DESERVE.   I mean, who doesn't want to feel beautiful and amazing every day?  We all do!  And the most important person who make you feel that way is YOU

So, my point in all this? Take the damn pictures. I even asked her to take some of just me for my website I am creating along with a friend and I am SO pumped to see the pictures!!  I encourage you all to smile your best and most magical smile and light up the world in a way that only you can!  Don't put off living just because of a number on the tag in your jeans.  


In love and health,


Jen xo

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Pure Gold

I am sitting here thinking of an appropriate title for this post...and I just can't.  I am having conflicting feelings about things today.  My number one emotion for the majority of today has been sadness.  While at school this morning, I learned that the AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL AND TALENTED assistant who works along side me in the classroom, is moving to help kiddos in another grade.  Cue the heavy heart.  Deep down, I knew this was coming.  I knew that one day I would be walking into school and I would receive this news.  Today was that day.  I am SO very happy for her because it means good and amazing things for her and her family.  Plus, honestly, she is incredible at her job. Any teacher would is lucky to have her.  So, we both knew that today was our last day together and we held it together well until the end of the day.  Then we both started crying and hugging and acting like we would never see each other again, even though she's only moving down the hall!  ;)

So why am I telling you all this?  Well, for a couple of reasons.  The first is to openly express my gratitude towards this beautiful soul.  I am so thankful that I got to spend the last year side-by-side with her and having her guide me through the crazy journey called Kindergarten!  It's a trip, y'all!  And any newbie needs as much support as they can get!  The second reason is because my first inkling with all of this news and our emotions at the end of the day, was to wave it off, push my feelings down, remembering I will see her next week and for the rest of the year, so it'll all "be ok."  But I didn't.  I sat with my emotions.  Expressed them all.  Yes, I know things will be ok.  That doesn't mean it still doesn't suck.  I sat at my desk, tears flowing, cleaning up to go home.  I knew I needed to FEEL all of this because if I didn't, I knew that sadness would eventually shift to stress, disappointment or even anger.  And THAT I do not want.
So the positivity I saw today was recognizing how grateful I am for her and that I am owning my journey and growth.  I am honouring my emotions and sitting with the crappy ones, even when I don't want to.  And this, my friends, is so vitally important to living a true and authentically happy life.

I love you and will miss you, my friend!  You are pure gold! xo

P.S.  The title came to me at the end. :)

Jen

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Welcome!

Hello Beautiful Souls!
Welcome to my blog!  Starting this new adventure has been brewing in my mind for almost three years now.  I have finally come to sit in my (new!) office and just starting typing!


  • My name is Jen and I am 41 years young on this beautiful earth!
  • I have two kids...Matthew is almost 5 and Katie is 2 1/2.  They are the loves of my life!
  • I have been married to my wonderful hubby, Trevor, for seven years and he is my biggest cheerleader in everything I do.  
  • I live in Strathmore, Alberta, Canada
  • I am juggling many different roles right now...the main ones being mama, wife, Kindergarten teacher, yoga teacher and I am getting certified to be a Health Coach.  Whew.  That seems like a lot when I actually write it out!
I am starting this Balanced Souls blog for a few reasons.  I feel that as I am an "older" mama (as society may deem), I have a unique outlook on parenthood and what we, as moms, go through raising these little humans on a daily basis. 
 I also think that this blog will serve as a tool for me to express how so vitally important it is for women to go after all of their dreams, no matter how big or small, and no matter their age.  I became a yoga teacher at the age of 39 and now I am almost ready to get my Health Coach certification at the age of 41.  I truly believe that these two passions are my calling in this world.  I debated on whether to follow these dreams or just stay in my well paying teaching job on a full-time basis (I live in Canada, we are paid well here) that gives us great health benefits and a good pension.  In the end, dreams won out.  As they should.  For everyone.  I am so much happier now that I am living my true, authentic life!
I have struggled with anxiety and weight issues for as long as I can remember.  I am JUST NOW realizing what it means to LOVE myself 100%, no matter what the size of my jeans are.  I will be sharing A LOT of this on here.  We are always a work in progress, aren't we??

Balanced Souls came about as a result of me learning that we all need to focus on what inside our souls, accepting what is on the outside and being in love with all of it.  When we stop, be still and truly listen to what our souls are whispering to us, our true and authentic self will start to emerge. 

Good health and LOVE to you all!

Jen xo


Time for Re-birth!

Happy Spring and Day After Easter! I want to chat about what this time of year means for a hot minute.  Whether or not you are a Christian...