Dear Friends,
A small and humble note before today’s post.
Creating each offering in this publication takes hours of energy and planning every week. I love to do it! That said, I have created a way for subscribers to optionally donate $6 per month to support Courage + Kale. Do you enjoy this publication? Find it useful? Please consider making a small monthly donation here. (If you would rather not donate, you will still be able to read the publication for free.) Thanks for considering! Now, onto today’s offering!
XO
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I was a late-bloomer to the traditional work force. When I was working as a singer/songwriter what the hell did a schedule matter? I had time in between writing songs to garden and sew and go thrift store shopping. I was the mom in pajamas dropping the kids off at school.
All that changed about 15+ years ago when the music business became a lot harder to financially navigate. Already a part time yoga teacher, I shifted gears to teaching full time eventually becoming a personal trainer and health coach. And look at me now, folks. I’m a seriously normal working mom. (Well, I’m seriously working, I’m far from normal.)
Going from musician to owning my own health coach buiness wasn’t an easy transition. Suddenly, I had clients in the wee hours and needed to get up at 5:45 am! The long days kicked my ass and in the first months I just kept saying to Brad..This is so hard. How do people do this?
One thing was for sure: it was a loud call for me to dive into my own lingering health issues and figure out how to get a good night’s sleep! I also had to finally learn to set limits for myself around what I could and couldn’t achieve. For the first time in my life I found I could not “push” under any circumstance. My brain had always been wired to push until I exhausted myself. Back in the day it kind-of worked because I could sleep in or nap. I could process feelings through hours of songwriting while sitting on my bed and sipping tea. I could simply live tired, emotionally exhausted even, and still write a song and make it on time to pick the kids up from school. That all changed once I was running my own yoga + training business. All of a sudden there was no room for running on vapors.
And so, here we are today. I am on a self-imposed schedule and living within a lifestyle and framework that allows me to (usually) wake up well rested and have energy to do my day. Not every day is perfect, but after much trial and error, I’ve come a long way from where I once was.
I thought I would shed more light on some of the things I do so that I can function. While life is an ebb and flow and change is inevitable, I seemed to have plateaued here for now - where I’ve found the most success (thus far) in terms of sleep, energy and overall health.
Sleep.
For a few years there, I didn’t sleep. Probably hormonally related- the beginning of peri-menopause. But what did I know? No one in the medical world mentioned that possibility. It was awful. MD’s handed me prescriptions that didn’t work or had nasty side effects. I tried cannabis but it only added massive anxiety to my sleepless nights. (I have a “funny in retrospect” story about that I’ll tell you sometime.) What I’ve found works for me most of the time is really simple:
-Early bedtime (no matter what!)
-2 Magnesium Glycinate and two dropperfuls of Ashwaganda at bedtime. Also I will take Melatonin if I think I will need it. I found these things took a little time to work and “build up” in my system.
--No Alcohol (I stopped drinking alcohol a while back and only partake on special or awful occasions…like recently when I had to put my dog down. Big ol’ shot of tequila.)
Exercise
-Cardio: 2-4 X/week. Either a 1 mile run or jump roping for 15-20 minutes.
Weight training- 4-5 X/week, anywhere from 10-40 minutes a workout. (Seriously. 10 minutes counts and it’s all I have sometimes!)
-Yoga 1-2 X week and at least 60 minutes a week total.
-Walking 3-4 X week, mostly dog walks, also occasional hikes.
Diet
Plant-based, gluten-free and dairy-free with lots of organic produce- as much local as possible. I am plant-based, not vegan. A few times a week I have small portions of chicken or fish on a big salad or mixed into a veggie bowl type of situation. I don’t eat eggs or any other animal proteins. (As you know by now, I don’t like eating meat, but at this place in my life, I feel I need a small bit of it. I hope I won’t always feel this way and can go back to cutting it all out. ) I make green juices on a good day (i.e., my schedule is running in a way that affords me the time.) No refined sugar, either. No alcohol, like I mentioned. I have a small cup of coffee in the morning. This is my only "vice.”
Supplements
I trust and use Vimergy and Pure Encapsulations because they are high quality and don’t add yucky fillers. (I am not in any way affiliated with either company. I just like them.) In addition to the Magnesium, Ashwaganda and occasional Melatonin I also do…
~ Spirulina and Barley grass powders in a smoothie on most days as they are filled with essential vitamins and minerals.
~ A good B complex everyday for neural health and energy (among other benefits).
~ Vitamin D
~ Vitamin C ( I love the Vimergy Micro C Immune Powder )
~ Ionic zinc (viral killer)
~ Lysine, which I take every day to keep my immune system strong - it’s great viral killer.
~ Cucumin (Turmeric) I don’t use it all the time, I do think it helps with inflammation.
Truth be known I spend a good amount of money on high quality supplements because I believe it will save me money in the long run. When my health really struggled and I had a lot of chronic symptoms, I was taking a high dosage of most of the supplements I’ve listed. My dosage has lowered and plateaued since I’ve lowered or totally knocked out my chronic issues.
Water
As we all know, we are made of mostly water. Gotta drink water. Most people walk around dehydrated and don’t know it. I am not sure how much I drink exactly but I try to sip steadily throughout the day. Not always easy to keep up on the ol’ agua.
Teas
I like Traditional Medicinals brand. Roasted Dandelion is my fave. Good for the liver. Also nettle and red raspberry is good for female balance.
Again, trail and error is what has worked for me to figure out exactly what works and what doesn’t.
I don’t always do everything perfectly.
Everyone is different.
What makes sense for me may not for you.
However, I DO hope this post will inspire you to get yourself on your own unique journey to be well if you are feeling less than 100%.
Well friends, that’s a wrap for this week.
I hope this post has been helpful. Have a beautiful day + stay strong out there.
You are, as always, an inspiration!