Yoga at Amansala Bikini Boot Camp, May 2014
I love January. As much as I love the holidays (and wow, do I LOVE the holidays!), January is never a let down for me. Why? Because there’s nothing I love more than a fresh start. A chance to re-examine things, make some changes and believe that you can stick to them. Now, I’m not talking about resolutions per se…I’ve never really been into those…but I am talking about habits and lifestyles and changes for the better both big and small. I truly believe that every day I wake up is a new opportunity to be the best version of myself, and January is like the ultimate new day! Not surprisingly, a lot of the changes that I start thinking about each January have to do with food, health and fitness.
This year, however, my focus is a bit more on mental health than on food, physical health or fitness. Why? Because I feel like I inadvertently dabbled in this space a lot in 2014 as I went through my hardest year yet. And every time I dabbled, it felt really, really good. So good that I want to make this focus a more central part of my life and routine. In 2014 I crossed an item off my bucket list and went to Amansala’s Bikini Boot Camp, I took a 6-week meditation class, I got back into therapy after 10+ years off, I read a couple of really empowering and fantastic books (The 5 Things We Cannot Change and Nonviolent Communication for those interested) and I just genuinely focused on improving myself in areas where I was feeling a bit shaky.
So to start off 2015 I’m heading to a 3 day yoga and meditation retreat to try to lock in all of that cumulative goodness that I acquired in 2014 and really start this year off right. I’m super excited to take a solo and leisurely drive up the coast, have a few days with no cell service, practice lots of yoga and meditation, eat all organic, vegetarian meals, have time to hike in beautiful Salt Point State Park and then cozy down each night with a good book and a warm bubble bath all while surrounded by the beauty that is coastal Northern California. I mean really, doesn’t that sound divine?
But before I head out, I thought I’d leave you with a few links to my blog posts, below, summarizing what I focused on in January 2013, two years ago. That year the focus was on food, so I did the 3-week Whole Living Detox which was amazing. A lot of prepping and cooking each Sunday, but so worth it as you’ll see in my four summary posts below which are chock full of all of the amazing recipes and photos. And the three habits that seemed to make such a difference for me back then, I’m proud to say are still 80% a part of my life 2 years later! When I return from my 3-day yoga and meditation retreat I’ll be picking out a few of my favorites from that detox to include in my weekly menus throughout the rest of January to keep my healthy momentum going, so stay tuned.
The 2013 Whole Living Detox – Week 1 Update
The 2013 Whole Living Detox – Week 2 Update
The 2013 Whole Living Detox – Week 3 Update
Fad or Fixture? One Week After the Whole Living Detox
If you try any of these recipes or have your own tradition that you’re kicking 2015 off with I’d love to hear about it, so please share in the comments below!