Last night, after work, my friend Sarah and I attended a Bikram yoga class at Ocean Street Bikram Yoga in Pawtucket. I’d been to the studio once before for mine and Raquel’s first-ever Bikram class and had a great experience with it. I love how uniquely challenging the class is and how you are pretty much guaranteed to take away something new every time.
After work, I drove over to Sarah’s house and the two of us headed out! I was so excited to be with her for her first Bikram class. It’s incredibly challenging both mentally and physically, so a support system always helps. She really liked it and we both left the studio on a pensive, zen post-yoga high!
Schweaty and happy.
When I got home, I took a much-needed shower before enjoying a nice meal and an episode of House Hunters.
Snack
This morning, I woke up nice and early, got in a good stretch, and then got to work from home. Mid-morning, I broke for a simple snack that has become a staple for me over the past few months: hummus-cabbage wraps!
Cabbage is packed with vitamin C and silicon, which helps strengthen our hair, skin, and nails. It’s also a great cleansing veggie because of its high fiber content, which allows everything to move more smoothly through our GI tract. Naturally, I sprinkled my wraps with Mrs. Dash seasoning.
P.S. – The roasted garlic-chive hummus from Whole Foods is incredibly good and only $1.99! Have you tried it?
Lunch
This afternoon, I stuck with the tried and true salad and a side of sweet potato wedges.
There are so many things wrong with the above picture.You can excuse the salad’s lackluster slash gross-looking appearance. I promise it was incredible. Also, the squirty organic ketchup … I was lazy and didn’t feel like wiping the edges before snapping a picture. Anyways, let’s talk salad ingredients:
- Kale
- Red pepper
- Sauerkraut (obsessed)
- Hummus
- Hemp seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Drizzle of Annie’s Lemon Chive vinaigrette
So yummy and so filling!
5 Minutes with My Ego
I’ve been doing a lot of back-talk to my ego lately. It’s interesting; I’ve started to notice that, despite beating my ED and ridding myself of this fixation on thinness, I still hold onto many external notions for self validation. I sometimes desire my make-up and my hair to look a certain way in order to complete my look as opposed to enhancing my look. There is a distinct difference, huh?
I’m the first to admit that I love me some make-up and a good hair day. When you enhance your best features, it brings out an inner confidence in you – one that is both necessary and important. But it’s only when we use that inner confidence for the benefit of others that we find true joy. For example, if I invest the time to get ready in the morning and put on a bangin’ outfit, I’m a better nutritionist. I portray that inner confidence to my clients and they can benefit from that energy – they can feel the necessary love and positive energy and not only use it to better themselves but, hopefully, pass it onto others.
In that spirit (pun intended), I’ve been reeling in my ego and it feels damn good.
To start, I’ve been waking up five minutes early to meditate. I used to believe that, because I have faith in God, meditation wasn’t a good idea. It was either praying or nothing. Now, I’ve adopted the notion that a balance of the two is something better than I could have possibly imagined. I set my alarm bright and early; I lay still in bed; I erase all thoughts from my mind and allow my breath to reach an even keel – to have a balance (there’s that word again!) between the inhale and the exhale.
Once we achieve that balance, we have a heightened sense of appreciation for our spirit. That, in turn, allows our ego to settle into place – a place in which you’re totally content with yourself and simply “being.” It’s a great thing to love your own presence.
It wasn’t until this week – Tuesday to be exact – that I really tapped into that idea of allowing my ego to tell me what I’m feeling; to allow the discomfort to be there. Once I allowed those feelings to happen, my answer just appeared. I found a quote and it said:
“Ah ha!” I thought to myself. That’s what I’ve discovered! What I have is pretty freakin’ awesome. It’s enough. I’m enough. You’re enough.
Stay lovely,
Heather
I am always impressed with your openness and honesty
This is a very good topic to cover! (The inner ego) Thanks so much for sharing and writing with such wit as always!!
Thanks, Lydia! I’m so glad you liked it, love.
I think it’s awesome that you’ve become open to the idea of meditation in addition to prayer! Prayer, to me, is your time with God, whereas meditation is your time with yourself. I know both are important to you so it’s wonderful that you can do both without any guilt. I love how open-minded and accepting you are
I think … YOU’RE awesome.
I love this plain and simple. It is so very true and that quote is perfect. There are so many people out there who need to do those self check-ins and be grateful for the things they have. I see and work with so many people who say well if I only had this then my life would be better, but what they should be doing is focusing on the things they have and how great they are.
Isn’t that quote so beautiful? I thought you would love it, Kaitlin! So simple but so profound. I’m totally on board with you – a self check-in is something we all need to do!
I too feel that way, that my fixation on outside appearance whether it is through worth or status still affects me more than I would like. Your openness with it though is refreshing, growth comes to those who are honest and willing to change. I think people should be inspired with what you do each day to make that difference, way to go.
It’s definitely a struggle – especially when our country weighs so heavily on big business, wealth, etc. We all know it doesn’t bring us true happiness but it’s still hard to rid your brain of it. Thanks for your sweet words, Alex! I always love your comments.
Great post Heather! I think I look to my external image way too often and wish it were more this or more that when I need to have confidence it what I already am! I love this quote and can’t wait to share it!
I really admire your admitting that you look to the external too often. It’s so important that you recognize it, girl! I’m so happy that the quote gave you some comfort.
such an honest post! Maybe I should start meditating in the mornings, it must set such a nice tone for the rest of the day. I feel like the second I wake up my brain is like “go go go…what are you gonna wear…etc”
thanks for sharing
Amy, yes! I would ABSOLUTELY recommend trying it. Setting your alarm just 5 minutes early will make all the difference in your morning.
You’re always such an inspiration. I love that you mentioned meditation- it’s something I’ve been incorporating into my routine over the past week and it’s already making a huge difference in my mentality and outlook on life.
We really are kindred spirits… <3
And I haven't tried that hummus from WF, but I'm headed there today so I'm going to look for it!
I always look forward to your comments, Emily! They’re always so genuine and well thought-out. It’s so funny that we’ve both been better connecting with meditation this week. I love it! Pleeease let me know what you think of the hummus!
Heather, I need to try the cabbage with hummus, it looks so good. On a side note, I do not think I have ever seen a bad picture of you, you always look lovely!
Yes, Dena, you DO need to try that! It’s soooo good. Thanks for the sweet comment too!
Lovely post Heather! You are truly beautiful inside and out
Aww, Melissa! Thank you so much, girl. <3
Ah, I love what you said about reeling in your ego. Its what I do most mornings too. As busy as I get, I always make sure to set aside at least 5 minutes a day and get into a meditation. It becomes such a routine after a while, and it truly makes my mind so much more peaceful. Sometimes I do have a hard time staying in the peace, without having thoughts enter my mind, but I try! Love this post! Such great wisdom:)
I’m not surprised that you do the same, Lisa. After all, we are besties separated at birth.
What you wrote about seeking internal contentment through external validation is a phenomenon that I feel is both common and encouraged by society. It’s difficult to battle the forces that promise that wearing a knockout outfit or impeccable makeup will bring us happiness. I think the only way this is possible is if, as you say, we use that inner confidence to help others. But I think it’s also important to recognize that the confidence gleaned from material items is only temporary; the *lasting* confidence is what we get from self-reflection, prayer and meditation (<–which I've never tried).
I realize I just recapped everything your wrote using slightly different words, but it really helped me process the thoughts that you shared! <3 LOVED this post, Heather. I am definitely guilty of using external notions for self validation, but over the past year I've become more aware about it. Maybe incorporating meditation into my mornings will not only help me become more mindful about my inner emotions/feelings, but as the quote suggests, encourage me to be grateful for everything just the way it is!
Hope you have a lovely weekend! I might need to recreate your kale salad tomorrow–yum! Oh, and I've been meaning to ask…what is the name of the Whole Foods salad dressing you love?
xoxo
Girl, you’re so brilliant! And your point about the confidence from material items being temporary is SO true. Thank you for pointing that out! I’m so, so, so excited for you to start meditation. I think you will grow to absolutely LOVE it, Sara! The Whole Foods salad dressing is the Whole Foods brand and is called sesame-ginger dressing. Nom nom nom! Love you!!!
Beautiful post, Heather. Self awareness is so important and allows us to realize our weaknesses and areas we need to ask for help… Meditation and prayer have been crucial for me, as have journaling and exercise. Thanks for your insightful post.
So true. It’s so important to look inside!
These eats all look good. I’m so boring lately – thanks for some inspiration
My pleasure, girl. Enjoy!
I love how open & honest you are with your readers! I’ve always wanted to try introducing meditation as a regular part of my routine.. and now I’m inspired
thanks!
This made my day, Ashley! I’m so happy to hear that you’re going to incorporate meditation. You’ll love it!