Welcome to day 28! A big congratulations for completing the Love Yourself Challenge, and taking time for YOU this month.

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Week 4 here we come!

This week, we are focusing on stretching and mobility. If you are wondering what the difference between the two is, well, mobility is the ability of a joint to move freely through a full range of motion without pain or discomfort. Flexibility has to do with the ability of a muscle lengthen fully.

Why is this important? It’s not just because of all the hard work you’ve been putting in the past few weeks, but because even everyday activities have a way of stressing our bodies.

A very good example is sitting for eight hours (or more) each day in front of your computer. This can make your hip flexors tight, which in can affect your glutes since they have to lengthen to compensate, which then can lead to glute muscles that won’t activate properly. What does that mean, well this can interfere with your workouts and leave you more vulnerable to injury. The good news? You can prevent this by incorporating yoga classes or stretching and mobility into your week, we have a few suggestions on the Love Yourself Challenge you can try out!

DIY Hair Mask

Day 23 involves pampering yourself with a hair mask! If you are looking for ideas, this DIY hair mask is great for shine and hydration:

Ingredients:

• 1½ avocados
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• Juice of ½ lemon

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
2. Coat the hair evenly, cover with a shower cap and let sit for 45 minutes.
3. Wash out with shampoo and conditioner.

There you have it, easy peasy, no reason not to show your hair some extra TLC this week.

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Hello Week 3!

This week ends with spending some time outdoors! Winter is beautiful, winter-ful we should say! And while it may be chilly (really chilly), Mother Nature has a way of rejuvenating the soul and taking the time to get out of the house, or going for a weekend walk, can do wonders when it comes to relaxing your mind, body and soul!

Getting some fresh air and vitamin D can help lift our spirits when we are feeling low or stressed, even just sitting for a few minutes, being mindful and taking in our surroundings can help us reset and calm us.

You might like to sit and observe the movement of clouds in the sky, or snow falling on trees. You can close your eyes and practice some breathing, or go for a walk and allow your senses to notice the sounds and smells – whatever you choose, be present, so that Mother Nature can dust her magic over you!

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Welcome to week 2 of the Love Yourself Challenge. This week includes a 5-min meditation as a ‘self care task.’ Whether you practice already, or are new to meditation, it never hurts to be reminded of all it’s wonderful benefits!

Incorporating a meditation practice into your day can be one of the most beneficial things you can do for your mental and physical well-being! Numerous studies have proven the benefits of meditation, including decreased stress, improved concentration, lower blood pressure, and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression, just to name a few. Meditation also allows you to tap into some high vibrational feelings which will help attract more positivity and happiness into your life.

We often hear a-lot of people say, “I don’t have time to meditate”, and trust us we’ve been there too. The good news is that you truly only need 5 minutes, to sit, breathe and slow down.

Let’s take the example from Steven Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective people, habit 7 is Sharpen the Saw. For Covey, Sharpening the Saw is about taking the time to renew and refresh the four dimensions of our natures — physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional — so that we’re more effective in our daily life.

Did you ever hear this story growing up?

A woodcutter strained to saw down a tree.  A young man who was watching asked “What are you doing?”

“Are you blind?” the woodcutter replied. “I’m cutting down this tree.”

The young man was unabashed. “You look exhausted! Take a break. Sharpen your saw.”

The woodcutter explained to the young man that he had been sawing for hours and did not have time to take a break.

The young man pushed back… “If you sharpen the saw, you would cut down the tree much faster.”

The woodcutter said “I don’t have time to sharpen the saw. Don’t you see I’m too busy?”

Like the guy trying to cut a tree with a dull saw, you might think you don’t have time to take care of yourself. But the reality is you don’t have time NOT to take care of yourself.

Although this weeks task is a morning meditation, meditation can be done at any time of the day (we prefer finding some time to meditate first thing in the morning as it sets us in the right mind frame for the chaos of the day ahead).

If you are new to meditation, there are some really great apps that offer guided meditations without having to pay a subscription or fee (we love Insight Timer and Calm). You can download them on your phone, and all you have to do, is show up!

Here are two great morning meditations we recommend for this week:

Morning Glow Meditation

Morning Gratitude Meditation

We hope this week brings some stillness and calm. Let us know how you get on!

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Welcome to week one of the love yourself challenge! We’re starting this week off with gratitude.

Writing a daily gratitude list can be very calming for the mind and soul since it allows us to focus on more positive thoughts than negative ones. It sets us up for a good day, with an open heart and positive mind.

When we are feeling stressed it can be hard to switch our minds off from what is unsettling us, taking the time to slow down and focus our energy on what we are grateful for, can actually bring more happiness and positivity into our lives.

This week we challenge you to list 5 things you are grateful for. It helps us see that there’s a lot in our lives that we can feel good about –  even the little things like your morning coffee, your cozy bed, a sunny day, or a conversations with friends. Choose to focus on what you can be grateful for and see more of that energy appear in your life.

Love Yourself Challenge Workouts

This week, you’ll find a Zumba and Strength class on the calendar. We’ve carefully selected the classes  throughout the challenge to keep you feeling energized, strong and relaxed this month. If you want a refresher of some of the benefits of adding strength training to your weekly workouts, check out our blog post from a little while ago here.

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