Hi Everyone, 

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? We hope it was awesome and that you are excited for the week ahead, this is the thick of the holiday season after all.  With the holidays often come vacations (!!), which is why today we wanted to talk about the importance of vacations. 

Whether we are jetting off to a tropical island, heading up to a cabin in the woods, or having a staycation at home, taking a break from our everyday routine is so important for our well-being.  We can get really caught up in our routines, even our weekend routines and while there is nothing wrong with that it can become rote and we can start to mindlessly march through our day-to-day.  Vacations and staycations give us a change of scenery, change of pace and perhaps a change of perspective.  They are a chance to re-charge our batteries and maybe even re-focus on our goals. 

So, this holiday season, even if you just have 1 day off, take advantage of it! Do something that is outside of your normal routine! Maybe that involves swimming with dolphins or maybe that means waking up to no alarm.  Just take some time to do something you enjoy, or try something new. We're planning to take some time to read books that have been on our list and try a new yoga class that we have been meaning to fit into our schedule! 

We hope you have a wonderful holiday!
Namaste. 

Hi Everyone, 

Happy Monday! We hope your weekend was great and that you are energized for the week ahead. This #MindfulnessMonday we want to talk about practicing having an attitude of gratitude. 

In our world of mass consumption and social sharing we see A LOT! We see romantic shots of a couple's "perfect" relationship, we see news of a high school peer's latest promotion, we see how our friend ran 10K in under 50 minutes, and we see that so and so went on this amazing trip to Tahiti. We see, we watch and unfortunately we compare. We think, why doesn't my boyfriend leave me love notes? Am I progressing enough professionally?  Why can't I run that fast? Why aren't in Tahiti!? And this is all normal, but it is not really helpful. It takes us out of our own here and now, which we should be enjoying for exactly what it is. 

So, this week we want to ask to try to practice an attitude of gratitude. This can be done in many ways. It can be done in the form of a list where you just write down or think to yourself 3-5 things you are grateful for today. And, these don't have to be earth shattering things - it can be "I am grateful that I have $4 to buy the latte that I so enjoy". Practicing an attitude of gratitude can also be done on-the-go, for example, while in a yoga class if you feel yourself getting frustrated that you are not deep enough in a pose, turn those negative thoughts around and think about how far you've come in your practice and be grateful for that. Or, maybe be grateful for the fact that you have the time to go to yoga at all. Or, that your body is physically well enough to do yoga at all. 

We know how easy it is to focus on all the things we are not, all the things we lack, all the things we wish we were more of. And, it is okay to strive for more, to work for more. We are just asking you to be grateful and positive in the process. 

Today, we are grateful for: 1) having time to work out this morning (that's out of the way!) 2) a little book club we just started 3) our supportive friends and family 4) chocolate, we're always grateful for chocolate. 

Have a great week everyone, namaste. 

Hi Everyone, 

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Ours was great and it has inspired our #MindfulnessMonday theme for today, which is connectedness. 

As we grow our lives change a lot - we change jobs, we change cities, countries, continents, we change social circles, we change focus, we change priorities and we change our world view. Through all this change though, there are certain connections that remain constant; not necessarily continuous, but constant, and as we get older we come to value that more and more. 

We love that we can have a 1 hour conversation with a childhood friend after months of no contact and it is like no time has passed - we can still call them on their sh*t and laugh about nothing. We love how one look from our college roommate can elicit an epic dance off, even if we haven't seen each other in a couple of years. And, we love that we can call our old bestie in tears and know they will listen and just get it. 

Certainly, this isn't possible with everyone we have ever known, with some people a casual "hi, how are you" seems painful even though we once shared a toothbrush, but with a cherished few it is, and we think this connectedness comes from knowing yourself first.  As we mature, we try to get to know ourselves more intimately. We let go of some of our insecurities and our dramas (and yes, we still hold on to some too) and we make decisions about what's important in our lives and who we want to share it with, and though these people may not be in our daily lives, they still make up an important part of our community/tribe/squad/crew. And in being a part of our crew, they are a part of our identity. 

We cherish our crew and are so grateful for our people. Wherever you are, and wherever your squad may be, take a minute this week to think about your connections and what they mean to you.
Namaste.