Clarity Wellness

It's that time of year again.  You're coming off a busy season of shopping, cleaning, cooking, eating, drinking, and if you have teens like I do--concerts, final exams, final projects, and occasional full-on meltdowns.  It's exhausting. And in the process, I'll bet there are are a few things that moved down on the priority list, mostly the healthy things that keep us grounded, like exercise, sleep, carefully-planned meals, alone time, etc. If you're in the mindset of looking forward and planning for a healthy, happy 2023, here are a few things to consider in building a killer morning routine that will set the stage for a day that feels calm, productive, and self-directed. There are hundreds of books on building a morning routine, but you ultimately have to figure out what works for you. Have you read The Miracle Morning ? It's one of my favorites.  If you have, you'll remember the SAVERS acronym for a successful morning: Silence Affirmations Visualization Ex...

  The holidays bring up all sorts of emotions for us—the good, bad, and the ugly.   Along with those emotions, there’s a lot of eating going on.   We eat to celebrate, to soothe ourselves, and sometimes even when we’re hungry. 😊 Do stress and eating go hand in hand for you?   Find yourself reaching for the chips or chocolate when things get rough?   I know that for me, just the thought of a difficult conversation can make me reach for the nuts (giggle, giggle!)   It also happens when something suddenly doesn’t go according to plan.   And again it happens when I’m just waiting for something or someone and I’m mindlessly scrolling through my phone.   Sometimes it even happens when I’m working on a difficult project that requires a lot of brain power.   The crunchiness seems to help my mind work better. I’m sure there’s some science behind it somewhere. I know I've written about this in several other posts, but I also know that we often ha...

  This time of year can pass in a blur.  We get so busy making things merry and bright, rushing from party to party, cooking food and buying gifts, that we forget to stop and enjoy the moments.  We stop paying attention.  Then one day we wake up and find that we’ve put on five extra pounds, our joints are achy, our heads are a little stuffy, and despite the fact we feel like we could nap at any time, we are wired—either on caffeine or adrenaline (or a combination of both!) and eager to rush to the next thing planned. I had this happen already last week.   I enjoyed Thanksgiving with friends and family, then another Thanksgiving meal with relatives, then a tailgate party—all lots of fun, but they took a toll on me.   There may have been a few drinks involved, a piece of pie or two, and some other foods that I know I should be more careful with (gluten, I’m looking at you!)   I had used the Holiday Loophole .   You know the one:   I only e...