​We all know that diet and exercise are very important to weight loss and health, but I want to remind you that mindset actually comes first. The mindset you need to develop in order to lose weight (and keep it off) is that of completely loving and accepting yourself.
 
I know this seems a little bit counter-intuitive because most of us who are trying to lose weight are in the habit of feeling bad about our bodies and punishing them with strict diets, excessive exercise, and negative thoughts.
 
But it’s time to stop that pattern once and for all. No longer should you hate your body, starve yourself, push yourself too hard, and ultimately collapse back into unhealthy eating and self-loathing. The time is NOW to start loving and listening to your body.
 
All healthy behaviors start from a place self-love, and once we decide to completely commit to loving ourselves, we create weight loss that lasts! No more swinging back and forth between gaining and losing weight. Loving your body creates life long change and stability.
 
So how do we develop a self-loving mindset?
 
First of all, we need to become aware of our thoughts and silence the voice of the inner critic (the voice in your head that says you are too fat, not good enough, not beautiful enough, etc.). Start to listen to your thoughts and cut out any negative thinking patterns.
 
Secondly, replace those self-critical thoughts with words of kindness and love toward yourself. Be proud of yourself for trying your best to lose weight; celebrate those things that you love about your body; appreciate your health and your life.
 
Finally, we must develop a deep self-awareness by getting in touch with our bodies and listening in. The path to true health and wellness is through the guidance of the body.
 
The body always knows what it really needs in order to be well- what foods to eat, what exercise to do, when and how much to rest. We just aren’t used to listening to this wisdom from the body! We typically use our minds to choose behaviors that we think are what we need, but they often go against what the body needs.
 
Example:  you push yourself to exercise when your body really needs rest, and so you get sick with a cold. Or your body is craving meat because you need more protein in your diet, but you force yourself to eat salad instead.
 
The wisdom of the body is vast and extensive. We just need to learn how to trust it. Listening deeply to the body’s needs will help us develop a loving, trusting relationship between mind and body.
 
The body trusts that the mind will nurture it and care for it, and the mind trusts that the body will lose weight and stay healthy. This positive relationship between mind and body is the sweet spot for wellness and happiness!
 
In order to practice this deep self-awareness, you can try a meditation where you listen closely to what the body is telling you. Start by sitting or lying down comfortably. Close your eyes and feel the room around you. Feel the ground beneath you and the air touching your skin.
 
Then feel your whole body: your feet and legs, your hips and back, your belly and chest, your arms and hands, your neck and head, your face and your breath.
 
Listen closely to what your belly is saying: are you hungry right now? Are you already full? Are you satisfied? If you are feeling hungry, what are you hungry for? Quiet your judgments and assumptions, and listen closely to the guidance of the body.
 
Then listen to your heart:  what does the heart need? Does it need more self-love and acceptance? More compassion and patience?
 
Finally, listen to your mind and the quality of your thoughts. Does your mind know the truth of your body and your heart?
Could you come into more alignment with your mind, body, and heart? Start to really trust the wisdom of your body and silence the voice of your inner critic.
 
When you practice this mindset for losing weight, soon you will love the body you already have!

As I write this, I am stuffy, congested, sneezy, tired, can't taste, can't hear... SICK for the 3rd day in a row.  

In my ego, I'm like, this isn't right! I'm normally strong, healthy, and bouncing back quickly from any illness or ailment. But my soul whispers, this is just right. Be with this experience. Be here now.

When we are experiencing illness, it's tempting to ask lots of questions:  Why me? Why now? What did I do wrong? When will this end?

But we might never get those answers.  And sometimes, the more we fight an experience, the tighter it grasps us.

I have to be willing to let go and soften toward my illness. Worst case scenario, I might be sick forever... could I love my body anyway?

I taught two yoga classes today (stuffy and all), and in Shavasana (final relaxation) I felt suddenly inspired to say, "Wait for nothing, be present now. This very moment offers you something beautiful and divine."  (Oooh! I definitely needed to hear that one!)

Do not wait for health to be happy & at peace. Find peace & joy in the present moment, no matter the circumstances.

Even though I'm looking forward to feeling better, I'm also working on feeling grateful for this sickness. In this moment, I am offered a chance to forgive, rest, surrender. I am learning about patience and dealing with the unknown.  I am stronger because I know how to be sick, not just how to be well. 

I love myself & my body deeply even though I make mistakes, even though I get lost, even though I get sick. I know that I can get through anything because I am able to sit with sickness, hold her hand, smile & be present with her for as long as she needs.

In the name of soulful evolution, I open myself to the immense variety of earthly experiences that help me grow- one of which is... getting sick! I treasure these times as much as the fun, healthy ones. And in this glowing light of self-love, I will heal.

Blessings to you and whatever THIS MOMENT brings you!  
Smile and allow it.

Love,
Gia xoxo

4-13-15

Photo credit: Hartwig HKD via Flickr

“‘It’s impossible,’ said pride. ‘It’s risky,’ said experience. ‘It’s pointless,’ said reason. 'Give it a try,' whispered the heart.”  -Unknown

I don’t know about you lovely souls, but lately I’ve seen just how important it is to listen to my heart.

My mind has taken me on torturous roller coasters of doubt and shame… “I’m afraid I’m not a good enough musician to even be worthy of making music.” “I’m worried that integrating my yoga & music businesses is stupid and no one will get it.”

On and painfully on in a dark, twisted spiral of emotion. 

But a tiny voice in the center of my chest whispered to me, “Let all of that go and trust your heart.”  

I immediately placed my palm over my chest, as if to hear my body better with my hand.

"All of this is perfect, sweet pea. You’ve done everything just right, and things are unfolding beautifully."

OH MY!!  The sweet sensation of unconditional love washed over me.  That loving little voice was my heart reassuring me that none of my struggles, emotional freak outs, or mess ups have actually been mistakes. It was all just perfect.

PHEWWW, what a relief!  What makes no sense to my mind (or anyone else’s mind) is the pure and beautiful song of the heart. It’s the wisdom that makesmagicand miracles happen if you listen deeply. And dammit, THAT’S HOW I WANNA LIVE!  From the center of my creative, brave, mystical, expressive, & unconditionally loving heart.

Don’t you, beauty??

So here’s a simple exercise I created for listening to your amazing heart. :)        
(There’s a demonstration video below!!)

1) First, get grounded in your body and out of your head.  Feel your feet and legs, feel your hips and spine, feel your belly and chest, feel your arms and hands, feel your neck, head, and face. Bring all your awareness and attention out of your thoughts and into the sensations inside your body.

2) Send a grounding channel of energy deep into the earth.  Imagine that at the base of your seat (i.e. first chakra), you have a channel of energy flowing effortlessly, deep down into the earth, almost as if a magnet in the center of the earth is pulling this energy out of you. It’s infinite & free flowing and keeps you solid and safe on earth. 

3) Place both hands over your heart. Clear your mind and focus your awareness on the feeling of your heart center. Maybe you already will feel a blissful, loving sensation or will hear a sweet voice whisper something reassuring. 

4) Imagine a light glowing in your heart as you breathe deeply. With each breath you take, you add more light to your heart, and it expands to encompass your body. The light fills you and surrounds you with the loving energy of the heart. Feel the warm tingles of safety and compassion as you are surrounded by heart energy.

5) Hear a sweet & gentle hum coming from your heart.  You can just listen for this loving hum or you can actually hum with your voice. (Sounds like “mmmm” as in something yummy).  Enjoy the bliss and peace that you feel when you connect with your beautiful heart!

6) Finally, write down any messages or images that come to you from your heart and place it on your mirror, by your bed, or on your door.  Each day remind yourself of the sweet & gentle voice of your heart.

So that’s my simple heart listening exercise!  I made a little video to demonstrate this exercise (see below).  I hope you enjoy it, and if so, please share with friends!


Much love to you all!  From my heart to yours,
Gia xoxo
​
2-23-15

Photo Credit: Alice Popkorn via Flickr

I know… it’s not always easy to be loving toward ourselves.  

Just the other day, I was in a storm of doubtful thoughts about my place in life. My birthday is coming up, and I really wanted to be in a positive space for the celebration of my life!  Finally I broke through the clouds and thought, HEY! I wanna be on MY TEAM!  

Like, no more self-sabotaging, self-limiting beliefs or actions.  

Whatever scary, uncertain thoughts we have about our futures…they are merely thoughts. Not truth. Not reality. And if we cut them out right from the start, they don’t gain power and momentum by being repeated in our minds day in and day out.

Yes, thoughts are super powerful.  We can also take actions that support positive thinking, feeling great, and truly loving ourselves. So here are my 5 tips for self-love in 2015:

1) Journal often-  Omg. Writing stuff down is so powerful. If you’ve never journaled before, start. If you’ve journaled but you don’t make it a habit, step your game up.  I try to journal every morning, especially if I’m stressed out or have a lot of kooky thoughts going on. And what, you might ask, should we journal about? Anything on your mind!  I write down dreams I had, worries I’m stewing about, plans and to-do lists, hopes and dreams, anything that’s keeping my head in the clouds and out of the present moment.  The powerful part is, when you write something down, you can release it from within. Your mind can cleanse itself of all the gunk and you can be aware and present for your amazing, fun, and beautiful life.

2) Be alone- For some of us, this is actually uncomfortable and a little scary! And for others of us, it seems impossible to get some space for ourselves with all of the busyness of life. But it’s ohhh so important. You have to get comfortable with the skin you’re in and get to know yourself without the distraction of others. Alone time is when you can process your emotions, daydream about the empowered steps you’re going to take on your path, and, —this is a BIG one— connect to your higher guidance and wisdom. Your intuition speaks when you slow down, quiet yourself, make space, & listen. Mmmmm. Even if it’s a few minutes when you wake up or before bed, find that time to go within and nurture your inner being. 

3) Think positively- Yikes, I know this can be so tricky. We’ve all got a thousand voices in our heads with all kinds of opinions, fears, and worries. But once we step back and witness all the chatter, we see that these thoughts are taking us out of the present moment, which is the only time & place where we can actually LIVE and do anything about our issues and struggles!  Practice this:  notice yourself thinking a negative, self-limiting thought and say firmly in your mind, “Cancel that thought!”  Take a deep breath and then reach for a higher thought. Replace it with something more spacious and hopeful.
      Example:  Negative thought- “No one has signed up for my meditation meetup!  I must be no good at this, and I’m never meant to succeed at being a yoga-meditation entrepreneur.”  (True story)
                      Higher thought-  ”I trust that whatever happens is in my highest good. I believe in myself and my abilities.  All is well.”

4) Forgive yourself-  We aaaallllll make mistakes. And really they are perfect little mistakes that help us grow and find our way back to our souls. Let everything you’ve ever done wrong GO. Right now. Let it go.  Free up your energy to live in the present and take empowered actions toward the life you want to live. My cute little suggestion:  give yourself a pet name. I started calling myself “Monkey” when I need a nurturing little pat on the back.  In my head I’ll say, “It’s okay, Monkey. I love you and you’re doing a great job. Keep going!”  It has saved me from some dark and heavy days.

5) Breathe- You’re thinking, Ha! Already got that one covered- thanks lungs.  I meant… breathe deeply, consciously, lovingly.  This is truly the most powerful thing on this list because it can transform your energy, your mood, and your thought process in an instant!  Practice taking 3 deep breaths when you’re upset and see how different you feel. Take 3 deep breaths in between bites of food and notice that you won’t overeat.  Take 3 deep breaths when you wake up and welcome the life force energy into your being to start the day!  IT’S MAGICAL YOU GUYS.


I hope this simple, yet profound list will help you fall in love with yourself this year. At the end of the day, you are the only beautiful thing you’ve got. Be in love with the person you are. Be love.
Gia xoxo

​2-23-15

Photo Credit: Noval Goya via Flickr