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sweet yoga sequence

feels like summer.

enjoy this simple yoga sequence as the sun sets this evening.

this is a flashback video–back when I had a different website, before I shaved my head.

I like to say this hair is my tribute to FRIDA K.

Ahhh… there’s an art to being yourself. it’s the kind of art that evolves as your experiences, energy, and realizations morph and ground you.

keep creating yourself and life’ll never be dull.

☆

liveaboveordinary.com

michelle bernard

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messy memories.

who hasn’t got a gnarly stash of ‘em?

In the past, I mainly journaled to navigate challenges. By challenges, I mean relationships. After graduation, I cried on a yellow legal pad as my first grown-up “love” dissolved. We’d moved in together. The skid from college and its comforts (including a social conglomerate of which I sat high on the pyramid) down to adulthood, gave me diaper burn. To assimilate I charged a pair of khakis and a full-sized futon with the Discover card I had no way to pay off, and I clocked in with the rest of the grown folks. I’d moved to Chicago to follow destiny which was supposed to include bright light, big city realness and a forever bond with my dude. Instead, I nestled into the only stable relationship within reach: the one with my journal.

How many ways could my pen write disappointed? My journal knew them all. Heartsick over my “roommate” plus contempt for my soulless job forced my lips into a permanent frown. On weekends when I wasn’t taking a 12-hour nap or eating, I’d scribble why and WTF over the legal pad. Because of good time-management, I’d usually squeeze in equal parts of all three. Eventually my roomie boyfriend resurrected his bed back at his mama’s house. I was left to plummet into the deep blue futon abyss—alone, pissed, and puzzled.

I was living and working full-time in the big city, wasn’t I? Wasn’t this one of my dream bubbles? I’d gotten some of what I asked for plus some of what I didn’t, like withdrawal symptoms over losing boundless friends and a rapidly thickening waist and hip circumference. With tubes of room temperature cookie dough to keep me company

(I don’t think salmonella poisoning actually exists) and a Sade record on repeat, I entered into Saturday night staring contests. Eyes on the phone, then the wall, then the phone again. Twenty-two years in Eastern Iowa had not prepared me for the reality I was experiencing. Why were people so eager to become adults? My inner Voice groveled when I wrote about this in my journal. Toughen up, girl. The Voice said. Organize a city attitude. Go hang out in coffee shops like you did in school.

Plop me in any city, anywhere on a map, and in three weeks I can tell you where the coolest cafes are. In that LA cafe under The Bodhi Tree bookstore I wrote myself into and out of a romance with an older man who had four Emmys and a casual habit with cocaine and pot. Doma Cafe in Greenwich Village felt like Italy. I’d dedicate twenty minutes of journaling to exorcise my real-life Gnome, Phil, who was my Italian lover and ex-boss. Afterward, I would slog through first drafts of college papers with Lauren who wrote the foreword to this book. Oh, then there’s Max Cafe. I wrote half this book there. I journaled at Max more than any other cafe in New York City. Journaling at Max got me through two other romances—one weird and one amazing, and… Let me stop right here to ease your mind again: this is not a book about the best cafes across the country nor is it about how to get over your exes. It’s just that my journals were bridges over those kinds of challenges. Journaling handed me an understanding of why I choose certain relationships. You know what else I want to tell you? Journaling about my lovers in cafes fared safer for me. Seriously, how much cursing or crying could I get away with on a public sofa?

The journal has been a mirror. Regarding relationships, my journal revealed what I was allowing and what I was blocking. The entries reflected what I really thought beneath my surface. I was uninspired by the concept of marriage. During adolescence, I lacked faith in the forever scenario. I considered marriage a fairy tale. I didn’t believe forever love was real.

I never journaled about my wedding or imagined the perfect dress. I didn’t cry when tin cans rattled from car bumpers. I gave my pen and imagination to romance. I dreamed of having conversations on the terrace at sunset, sharing dinners in cozy restaurants, singing and playing games during long car rides. I wrote about these things as much I wrote about my distrust of matrimony. Connection, romance, and friendship were my ideas of relationship bliss. The things I wanted and the things I feared about relationships, I experienced in real- life. It was is common for my exes to call years after the break-up to chat, be friendly, and ask me out for cozy dinners. It made sense that I kept becoming buddies ever-after with my long-term boyfriends.

This pattern matched the decision I’d made unconsciously, a belief I’d programmed unknowingly. I manifested the kinds of relationships I was available to receive. If I wanted to manifest a life-long bond or a lasting marriage, I would have to imagine, decide, declare, and believe in one. I’m doing that now in my journal.

Okay, what I just told you about my relationship imprint is a recent revelation. My journal exposed my contradictions to love while I was writing this book. I can envision and declare the kind of love I desire, now. Right there… another reason why I’m happy today, and another reason why I journal every day.

click me. I’ll get you there.

beyond words is available on Amazon.

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Happiness is a choice.

happiness is your choice

I’ve been leaving breadcrumbs that mark my path to feeling good. I’ve never felt as good as lately.

This is the last 5 of the 50 reasons I’ve turned an emotional corner. I had to think long to come up with 5 more reasons. Mostly it’s because I simply had to tweak a few things and raise my eyebrows to a new perspective to get to this state of long-lived fulfillment.

You can look back at the last 10 posts to see what’s under this happy-hood of mine. I’m sure I’ve written things that’ll make you smile. Isn’t that the point?

Here we go.

46. I changed my idea of happiness.

The word HAPPINESS has become FULFILLMENT to me.

47. I rarely complain for the sake of being pissed.

If Whenever I do complain, I immediately look to my left for a solution–any solution that will give me peace or help me see my situation from a new perspective.

48. I live by my personal mission: If you spend time with me, you will leave feeling better than when you came.

I wanna listen. I wanna hear you. I wanna let you feel cherished and seen. I wanna connect. I wanna tell you: YOU CAN. I wanna tell you: Go forward.

I see myself, I see you.

I am me because of you. Nelson Mandela said that. Yep. I am me because of you.

49. Coffee. I just love it.

It’s good for you/it’s bad for you. They can’t figure it out. It’s bulletproof, it’s contaminated.

To me, it’s my soulmate when I journal, write books, read, walk through the city, talk to my brothers at the kitchen table when I visit. Coffee must be good for me. I just love it.


50. I live like I could die one day.

I have little time to waste. You too.

We are all gonna… you know, croak. I realized this early. I lost my loved ones when I was a young woman.

Not only did I mourn over losing them, but I mourned what they might have lost: TIME. OPPORTUNITIES. DREAMS.

I know I’ve got time (now), opportunities (which is another way of saying: COURAGE), and dreams (to live in every city I love, to teach women around the world, to live in an artist’s loft in paradise, to share my wild with as many people as possible).

I live every day without letting fear choke my time, opportunities, or dreams.

Won’t you join me.

Come alive. It’s a blast.

www.liveaboveordinary.com

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Happy into the year

I’ve been busy. Clearly.

The remaining 10 items I’m adding to my 50 ways to happy are definitely worth presenting.

Actually, having time between turning 50 and getting closer to 51 has clarified the last 10 reasons for my happy. I really want you to think about these next 5 items and consider how they impact your life and fulfillment.

Here we go.

5 words that embody my way of living a happier life.

41. CONNECTION

I teach exercise to 100s of women (and dudes) every week. They are not just faces and bodies to me. I learn their names, listen to their life stories, vault their secrets. Being connected to other people is how I see my life as valuable past an egocentric lie.

My connection to my students and clients has deepened my ability to feel and love. It has increased my empathy. It has shortened my distance to loneliness. It has increased my ability to feel love and know that I am loved.

42. DISCIPLINE

Michelle Bernard: the D word from Michelle Bernard on Vimeo.

43. REGRET

Okay, here’s the deal. I welcome DISCIPLINE and COMMITMENT because I am terrified of REGRET.

I don’t own any REGRET. I’d rather be scared than regretful. I’d rather be overwhelmed and busy than regretful. I’d rather be humiliated than regretful. I know how that sounds.

Humiliation really sucks. But humiliation doesn’t last as long as regret. People remember the energy you bring forth in your/their now more than the stuff you put in front of them in the past.

44. NOW

Live in the now and plan for the future.

Regret gets a lot of air when you stand craning your neck over your shoulder.

Look forward. Dream yourself totally alive. Journal your goals. See them fulfilled.

Your now-steps will move with pep. Try it.

45. IMAGINATION

Your imagination can penetrate your reality. It always does.

Whatever you rehearse the most in your mind, you will make your reality.

I know this now.

If you don’t know it, pay attention to the images, beliefs, and outcomes you keep rehearsing.

You can imagine your life amazing.

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50 ways to discover your HAPPY

Michelle Bernard

this is 50

and, boy, do I feel better than ever.

I’m happier now.

Happy came for me toward the end of my 40s. Bam!

I’ve figured out a few things. Big things and little things.

Some of this stuff I’ve always known but needed a bit more evidence before I trusted it.

Some stuff is simply new to my awareness.

Below are the 50 things that have made me happy at 50.

You don’t have to read them all at once. I’m not posting them all at once.

I’ll be adding 5 each week over the next 10 weeks.

Let each group of 5 sink in. Ponder them. Practice them, if you want.
Maybe you’ll agree, maybe not. Maybe they’ll inspire you to add to my list.

Tell me know what you think in the comments below.

1. Tell the truth.

Perhaps you’re thinking, duh, but people lie all the time. They say YES to things that feel like NO WAY.

I used to accept subpar treatment from a friend or a partner, because I didn’t want the relationship to break-up. I used to say YES to doing stuff I couldn’t stand doing.
Today, I surround myself with amazing friends. I admire all of them, which is important to me.
Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, I would say NO to opportunities I wanted by avoiding them because I was scared, thought I wasn’t ready, or believed I wasn’t good enough.

What if telling the truth about ourselves makes us available to receive the life we really want? 

2. Leave food on your plate.

I used to eat until there was nothing left on my plate or in the pot on the stove.

There are so many strategies to help over-eaters: chew 600 times before you swallow, don’t eat over the sink or, in my case, the stove, only eat when you’re hungry. Rubbish.

As a fitness professional who had a real eating-too-much disorder, I couldn’t honestly tell my clients to do something I believed was impossible to maintain (except for the not-eating-over-the-sink one…  I still do that!).

But learning to leave a few uneaten morsels on my plate then saying I’m finished has trained my mind to be comfortable with abundance. You see, I had a scarcity mentality; a belief that if I didn’t finish ALL the food, I’d miss out on something.

I’ve trained my mind to believe there’s plenty. Now, I’m not anxious when I eat.

If we all ate less in general, we’d not only lose weight, we’d help eradicate the food shortage around the world. 

 

 

3. Laughing and smiling often works miracles on your health.

 Yep, there is  research to justify this, but I’m not writing a research paper.  I’m writing from my experience. I’m the lab test, so take my word or try it out yourself.
When I teach an exercise class, I make everyone laugh their heads off. It creates community. It makes exercising seem like an event, not a chore. It takes the sting out of muscle pain. It’s entertaining to me.
Centenarians, the folks who live past 100, site laughter as one of the reasons for their long, healthy lives.

If I go one day without laughing, I must be in the wrong environment, around the wrong people, or doing something that sucks.

It doesn’t happen much anymore. 

4. Tell every human customer service provider who creates a pleasant experience for you that you appreciate their help.

I know it’s their job, but some folks are super awesome at doing it. It’s not an easy-breezy effort for customer service people who’ve had to suffer all the hostile folks before you called or stepped up to the counter.

Tell them they’re awesome when they treat you like you’re special. 

It’ll make you feel good, too.

 

5. Ask questions.

Like a 4 year-old, ask why, ask how.

Find out if what “they” are telling you is true, healthy or valid for you.

Question things you hear from the FDA, pharmaceutical claims, and from people offering advice about things they’ve never experienced themselves.

Trust yourself and trust your body.

Check back next Friday for 5 more ways to discover happy.

Till then, live above ordinary.

Michelle Bernard

@my birthday party
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You need a nap.

Michelle Bernard: You need a nap — Live above ordinary from Michelle Bernard on Vimeo.

It’s quite apparent that taking the nap has rejuvenated my energy.

I used to think napping was a waste of my day. I thought it was for slackers. Then I noticed how my energy dips at 3 o’clock most days. Instead of fighting droopy eyelids or getting frustrated because I keep spacing out when I’m writing, I set my echo dot or a timer on the iPad and snooze.

 

The naps help my muscles repair, cleanse my emotional palette, reboot my mind, and restore the day back to 1.

 

 

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21 Days to Your Summer Body

Did someBODY say SUMMER?

Summer officially starts in less than 21 days, folks. Let’s make sure we feel confident, strong, and satisfied in those denim cut-off shorts and that white tank top.
It’s the perfect time of the year to begin losing weight, and I wanna help. For the next 21 days Imma be sharing simple steps that’ll walk you into a healthy lifestyle for Summer and (if you continue ’em) beyond. Summer officially starts in less than 21 days, folks. Let's make sure we feel confident, strong, and satisfied in those denim cut-off shorts and that white tank top. Click To Tweet

Do you wanna lose some weight? Maybe 5 or 10 pounds? Maybe a bit more?

Okay.
Once we decide we’re ready to lose weight, we want it to happen as soon as possible.

Weight-loss goals are reached by setting up and repeating lifestyle habits.

The repetition of new lifestyle habits may feel slightly unfamiliar and not always comfortable. Ne’er fret.
It gets easier.
But I want you to know upfront: It does not take 21 days to change a habit.

It takes about 21 days to set up a new habit.

I believe it takes 70-90 days to CHANGE an old habit into a new one.
That’s 9-12 weeks.
This is not bad news. Good things take time to take root.
Remember, if you have a goal to elevate your health and lose excess body-fat, get stronger, and raise your level of natural energy; you’ve chosen goals that are gifts.
Of course, you want to achieve these goals as soon as possible! And you deserve to achieve them.
Give yourself a few weeks, 21 days, to set yourself on course to receive these gifts.

Check-in every day for easy steps to create your summer body. You’ll learn the habits that will gift you a summer body and also gift you an ongoing lifestyle of health and leanness.

DAY 1

Find a place to workout.

You need a gym, studio, basement, back yard… Use that membership you bought January 3rd.

Advance-schedule your workout days and times.

Advance-schedule specifically means ➪ pick the same days and times every week.

 

 

Automating your workout schedule will make it feel like a responsibility, not a luxury. Responsibility simply means RESPONSE ABILITY.  Respond to your health and fitness. You can do that each week.

Aim for 4-6 workouts a week if fat-loss is your goal. If you’re a new exerciser, advance-schedule 3 workouts per week.
That’s all for today, folks. Except one more thang: if you advance-scheduled Saturday as a workout day—go workout tomorrow!

DAY 2

Weigh yourself today.

Don’t get too attached to the scale, though. I don’t advise you to weigh yourself again till June 21st.

Does that feel like holding your breath? It might if you’re as addicted to weighing yourself as you are to breathing.

You don’t have to check to see if the seed has sprouted roots, just water it and give it plenty of sun.  It will grow.

Take every step in these next 21 days, and you will see your meaningful goal become reality.

Now, set a meaningful goal to achieve in 4 weeks or by July 4th weekend.

Your goal needs to answer these questions.

How do you want to feel in 4 weeks?

Pick 2-3 words.
In case you’re blank, here’s some help:
focused
confident
disciplined
determined
sexy
strong
devoted
gorgeous
athletic
powerful
motivated
decisive
Use one of these or choose your own.

What will be different about your body in 4 weeks? Describe how your legs will look, how your abs will look, how your clothes will fit.

How will you know you’ve reached your meaningful goal?

There are many ways to answer this question.

Think about the comments you might get like “Daisy, are you doing something different? You look younger.”

And, “Bella, you have so much energy. Are you working out more?”

You could also describe a piece of clothing you will wear in 4 weeks.
White skinny jeans,
a form-fitting back dress,
a tank with spaghetti straps.

Remember, do not weigh yourself again until day 21. Let your clothes give you information about your progress for a couple weeks. They’ll get looser.

Review DAY 1.
By now you should have your workouts scheduled for the week. To save energy, keep your workout schedule the same every week so that it becomes an expectation not a luxury.
See ya tomorrow.

DAY 3

Cultivate what you wish to create on the inside, and live like you expect to see it reflected on the outside.

What if you could look and feel the way you imagine?

Write a 6-month fitness, health, and body vision today.

With a consistent workout schedule of 4-6 days a week and a healthy eating plan, you can completely elevate your health and lose excess fat. I believe it takes 6-9 months to give birth to a new experience of your body.  I was certainly able to lose my first 20 pounds in 9 months ☞ 20 pounds that stayed lost because I become a person who practiced the habits of being 20 pounds leaner.
In my thirties, when I started lifting weights, I changed my body again in a span of 6 months doing 5 workouts a week for no more than 60-75 minutes each workout.

During both of those transformations, I also read more library books than usual, received more work oppportunities, and accomplished other personal goals.

In other words, the tenacity and focus I used to remain consistent and  devoted to my health and body goal fed into every area of my life.

Now, write your 6-month body, fitness, and health vision today.

How will you look in 6 months?

Describe your energy level, activities, doctor’s reports, size, outfits you will wear, and the way you expect to feel.

Try this to describe your 6-month vision :

Find pictures that represent the way you’d like to see yourself in 6 months.

Make a private PINTEREST board.

Select pins that represent your fitness, health, and body vision.  Include pins of body parts like abs and arms, quotes you believe in, workout outfits you’ll wear, daily outfits you’ll wear, a trip you’ll take, and meals you’ll eat.

Day 4

Now you have two goals. You have a short-run goal and a big picture goal.

After July 4, set short-term goals every 8-12 weeks and keep setting big picture goals every 6 months.

Look at your goal every day.  Look at your vision every day.

Look at your Pinterest board and play make believe. 

make believe: Michelle Bernard

Make believe you are living your vision —— while showering, during cardio, before bed, or whenever you have time to dream.

It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.
                                                                                                                     Muhammad Ali

Day 5

Find the perfect water bottle.

You can tell whether your bottle contains BPA or not by looking at the bottom of it–#2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene), #4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene), or #5 PP (polypropylene) means your bottle is fine. A #1 is recommended for one-time use. Unfortunately, some of the fun, colorful bottles so pervasive on the market today often contain polycarbonate plastics. You can identify them by the #7 recycling symbol. (quoted from the article link below)

Find a water bottle without a PBA lining.

You need to drink 50 percent of your body weight in water ounces per day.

Don’t weigh yourself again. Use your weight from two days ago.
Back away from that scale! I gotcha.
Certainly fruits and vegetables contain water, so eat a fruit every day along with 3 or more vegetables.  This counts towards getting your water, too.
Also, drink 100% coconut water. Try this one. It’s sensational.

Day 6

Add more green to your life.

I call it a GREEN MUSTACHE, instead of smoothie. 

A smoothie is usually stocked with fruits. For most of us, smoothies add extra sugar calories to a day of already eating a majority of high sugar meals. Michelle Bernard green mustache

A GREEN MUSTACHE is stocked with green and other colorful veggies! Try parsley, cucumber, celery, kale or spinach (fresh or frozen) and blend with lemon rind and pulp, lime, ginger, and/or carrots or beets.

Pick 3-6 veggie ingredients and add one fruit or two fruit halves like one banana or half a pear and a handful of blueberries. Blend with water and ice.

Sometimes I use half unsweetened almond milk and half water. I always add a scoop of whey or hemp protein. 

Drink a GREEN MUSTACHE once a day 5-7 days a week!

DAY 7

Remember to Advance-Schedule this week’s workouts. Re-view DAY 1.

Add a strength training workout to your weekly schedule.

This includes body weight training like yoga or Pilates, push ups, dips, and squats w/o weights. It also includes using free weights, kettlebells, machines, bands and tubes, the Bosu, and the TRX.  Classes like Soul Cycle, CrossFit, and Barre have a strength building component.

Increasing muscle density makes your bones stronger, raises your metabolism, and can improve your posture.

I love strength training because of these reasons, plus it makes me feel like a warrior.  

I advance-schedule 4 strength training workouts every week.

How many strength training workouts are you advance-scheduling?

DAY 8

Start a daily journal.

Write about your experience losing weight, working out, and eating. Write your feelings. Write your challenges. Write your successes. Write your progress.

Write for 20- 30 minutes in the morning or before bed.

Re-write your meaningful goal in detail every week. Re-write your long-run vision every week.

Keep your imagination occupied.

DAY 9

Surely you’ve advance-scheduled your workouts this week!

Also, re-view the first 8 days today.

Stretch and relax for at least 10 minutes after each of your workouts.

Stretch your large muscles: your quads ☞ stand and balance. use your R hand and fold your R ankle behind you. repeat on the L leg.

Stretch your hamstrings and back.

 Child’s pose to stretch the back.Forward bend stretches the hamstrings.

 

Tight muscles limit your range of motion and can hinder agility. Stretching after each workout will help prevent injury and reduces the tendency to exacerbate a mild injury.

 

DAY 10

Good morning. I bet you’re feeling great! You’ve been working out 4-6 times each week, so your body is beginning to change.

Your appetite has probably changed, too. It’s likely you’re craving healthier foods, and loving those green mustaches.

To keep your portions small, use smaller plates. Make sure they are lovely plates. My favorite plates are the Asian-style sushi and noodle plates.

High sugar foods like pasta are usually served on a family-size platter. I don’t know about you, but even with my years of training and awareness, I could easily finish a family-sized platter of gnocchi.

So, if I want pasta and clams for example, I serve it in my wine goblet. It ends up being less than a cup of cooked pasta, which I feel no guilt about eating. I just love it.
I eat my morning oatmeal in a wine goblet.

Beautiful plates make food feel beautiful. That’s how it ought to feel when we eat.

DAY 11

Listen to your thoughts when you eat.

Would you believe that paying attention to your thoughts while eating can help you eat less, eat healthier, and digest easier?

But just as important, listening to your thoughts while eating points you toward what you’re really craving.

Sometimes just a few bites of cake will do, especially when what you really crave is a sweet conversation or alone time in a sweet-smelling flower garden.
Perhaps you’ll realize you don’t want an extra slice of pizza; you’d be more fulfilled with a staycation so you can paint canvases and go to the museum.

Listen to your thoughts while you eat for a week.
Write your observations in your journal.

DAY 12

Turn the world OFF 30 minutes before going to bed.

Do this so you can get the 6-9 hours of sleep your body needs to rejuvenate cells, reboot your mind, relax your nervous system, and dream.

Blue lights, computer screens, and Law and Order in the background can interrupt your biorhythms making you tired the next day. Restless nights can also make you gain weight. If you keep waking up with a mind full of thoughts, be sure you also have a body full of cortisol. And when you have too much unneeded cortisol, your belly gets fatter.

So, turn off the world 30 minutes before you turn off all the lights.

TV, Facebook, InstaG, email, text ☞ OFF YOU GO. Let your mind stop grinding.

Tomorrow I’ll share the mental massage, a way you can point the mind at your goals and intentions.

DAY 13

Give your mind a mental massage before bed or in the morning.

I prefer my mental massage before bed during the 30 minutes when I’ve shut off my gadgets.
Mental massages can be as short as 5 minutes and long as 30.
Sit or lie still and close your eyes. (I like to make hot tea and sit on my bed.)
With your eyes closed, take three slow breaths. Set an intention.
An intention is a desire that you are willing to allow into your life experience.

Last night my intention was: LET ME LEARN MORE ABOUT MYSELF THROUGH TEACHING. AND LET ME CONTINUE TO SHARE WHAT I LEARN.

Monday night my intention was: I RELEASE ATTACHMENT TO PERFECTION. MAY I BE POSITIVELY IMPACTFUL.

You can also intend a short phrase or single word like: I’M FREE, LET GO, EASY, LOVE, and THANK YOU.

Repeat your intention 3-5 times then breathe in silence. After 5-30 minutes say THANK YOU or YES or IT IS DONE.

I’d like to know how you sleep after the mental massage.
Leave a comment below!

DAY 14

Is your conversation about food and exercise optimistic or annoying?

Have you ever been around those constantly complaining dieters?
Have you spent time with exercisers who have contempt for exercise?
Or those people who tell anyone who will listen how tired they are, how hard losing weight is, how deprived they feel?
I can’t have that…
Oh no, I’m not supposed to eat…
Ugh! I wish I could just take a pill…!
Exercise and healthy eating has helped them manage their weight, reduce joint pain, and sleep better yet they complain about it.
I hope this is not you. I hope this will never be you.

Being able to eat healthy food is a blessing.

Being able to move, climb stairs, walk without swollen ankles, carry groceries for blocks, bend over without getting stuck bent over, and all the other benefits like reduced susceptibility to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer IS A GIFT.

I hope you are grateful for what your body can do. I hope you feel blessed to access real, natural, clean food and water.

Think about this today. Is your conversation about food and exercise optimistic or annoying?

DAY 15

Yesterday you observed your conversation around food and movement.

Today, listen to your thoughts about your body. The perfect time to notice what you’re thinking is when you look in the mirror. Are you pleased? Are you disappointed? Are you impressed? Are you not looking?

We have unconscious thoughts that flood our minds when we look in the mirror at our image. Pause and listen to them. If they are negative towards you, write about those negative thoughts in your journal.
Ask yourself why you have those feelings?

Then practice WHAT IF?

Ask yourself WHAT IF…(add your personal desire regarding your body and health)?

See each of the questions in your mind.

WHAT IF I had sculpted legs?
WHAT IF my belly was flatter?
WHAT IF I loved vegetarian meals?
WHAT IF I felt comfortable seeing my body in the full-length dressing room mirror?

Ask as many WHAT IF questions to address the negative thoughts you have about your body.

 

WHAT IF is a way to make believe. The more you change your negative thoughts into WHAT IF, the more they become suggestions to your subconscious mind. The images of you embodying your WHAT IFs will help you start to believe you can become what you imagine.

 Good job, if you’ve made it to HERE. One week till SUMMER.

 

 

 

DAY 16

By today you should have advance-scheduled and completed 9-14 workouts! Congratulations. Have you advance-scheduled strength training as well as cardio and flexibility training, too? Keep your BODY of EXERCISE well-balanced.

BODY of EXERCISE = a combination of strength, cardio, flexibility, and relaxation.

I know the value of having muscle, so I advance-schedule 4 strength training sessions a week. I do 2 cardio sessions and 3 hatha yoga sessions each week. Most days I combine modalities, for example I do strength, cardio, and yoga on Thursdays.

I workout 5 times a week. I prefer to keep my workouts at 45 minutes.

Start thinking about how you’ll reward yourself for maintaining all 21 days.

List of possible rewards…

Get a massage
Buy a new workout outfit
Buy new sneakers
Take yourself out for a healthy picnic
Go to the Botanical Gardens for lunch among the flowers
Buy a rosemary plant
Get a pedicure
Buy a journal
Buy an orange bikini
Get a Vitamixer!

Every 8-12 weeks, when you’ve achieved your meaningful goal, reward yourself!

 

DAY 17

Get support.

It’s always easier to start a new goal. Most of us need help maintaining our results.

Get yourself around people who are living healthy and excited about it. Get yourself around people who can motivate you. Get around people who can teach you. Get around people who support you.

Find a tribe that shares your vibe. 

DAY 18

We are only days away from the start of summer.
Summer gives longer days, more light.
What does MORE LIGHT mean to you?

Are you available to living lighter than you’ve ever been or feeling lighter than you’ve ever felt?

This is a question that challenged my belief.

You can believe you deserve more LIGHT, more health, more love, more help, more happiness.

Choose this right now. 

Notice that when you’re open to being and feeling lighter, you become LIGHTER.

I’ll talk more about choosing LIGHT tomorrow.

DAY 19

What other ways can you become lighter?

Begin by shaking off some of your stuff.
Do you have extra stuff weighing down your fridge,
your purse,
your closet,
your car,
your desk?

Clear away the excess. 

Take 20 minutes today and throw away stuff you don’t use, don’t need, that doesn’t speak to you, doesn’t represent you or your goals, and the stuff that doesn’t matter. Choose one area from the list above to LIGHTEN. 

Then LIGHTEN up tomorrow, too. Spend another 20 minutes discarding unnecessary weight (stuff) in your personal areas.
If you want to become lighter in a big way, spend 20 minutes every day this  week. Clear away the excess.

DAY 20

⇪ Would you look at that?

Tomorrow is day 21.

You made it.
How do you feel?
Today is the perfect day to re-view the last 19 days. Scroll up and check your progress.

Today, add PINS to your Pinterest vision board.

You’re going to weigh yourself tomorrow and again on July 4th.
After that, maintain 4-6 days of exercise for at least 30 minutes (I prefer 45+). Your body will change.
Resist checking the scale every 2 hours.

Only weigh yourself every 12-20 weeks. Fit of your clothes will give you more information.

The step for today is for your mind.

Choose a healthy life.

Advance-schedule 4-6 workouts so you can move your body regularly.

Drink a green mustache 5-7 days a week.

Fill your body up with LOVE TALK.

Say thank you for the amazing things your body can do.

Write your feelings, dares, decisions, and declarations in a journal EVERY DAY.

 

Instead of feeling rushed to lose weight and eat perfectly, just choose to live healthy.

Then shift your thoughts and habits into the thoughts and habits of a person who lives healthy. 

If you want more support ☞ Lean Happy Healthy You Michelle Bernard

DAY 21

Congratulations!

You’ve got everything you need to start summer with a healthy and fit body.

Keep re-viewing the 21 steps. July 4th is a few weeks away.

Reward yourself today! What reward did you choose on DAY 16?

Set another meaningful goal for August 1. Re-view DAY 2.

Weigh yourself today and again on July 4th.

And there’s one more step for today: encourage someone else to live healthy and fit with you.

Supporting someone to achieve what you aim to achieve will help you to become more successful.

Books I recommend for more info on bod and mind.

       

Happy Summer

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21 Day Summer Body Starts Soon

There’s good news here in New York City. We’ve finally made it to Spring. I’m not sure what to call the interim season we just went through following Winter–the rainy, chilly, humid, 80 degree and 50 degree span of weeks.
No matter, Spring is gonna be as long as it takes you to snap.

So let’s talk Summer.

It’s fast approaching and you know what that means: moonlit outdoor cafes, Saturday afternoon swim parties, and white spaghetti-strap dresses.

Are you ready for a gloriously, confident summer?

Don’t panic. You’ve got time. Twenty-one days, to be exact.
I’m gonna give you a checklist that’ll bring your body, health, and fitness into the summer peacefully.

Beginning on June 1, I’ll be giving you an action each day till June 21st to help you lose weight and create a summer body.

 

 

By June 21st, you’ll have 21 habits and actions to implement over the months of the season. And if you continue to implement the 21 actions after summer ends, you’ll keep seeing awesome results of improved health and body confidence.

See you here on June 1st for day 1.

 

 

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18 decisions that’ll probably sabatoge your health and fitness goals

You are determined to lose 20 pounds.

Congratulations.
I commend you for making the space in your mind and life for this new manifestation of yourself.
Since you’re ready for this courageous undertaking to get into your desired shape, shake-off some old habits.

To elevate your life, make a change in the way you use your energy, manage your time, and live above ordinary by actually pursuing your meaningful goals, you’ll need to uphold certain boundaries and beliefs.

 

There are old behaviors and decisions to leave behind.

Here are 18 behaviors that’ll probably sabatoge your health and fitness goal. Shake them off.
  1. ✄Have conversations about how hard it is to schedule a workout 
  2. ✄Smoke a pack of cigarettes every day
  3. ✄Buy boxed, packaged, and bottled diet foods
  4. ✄Eat what everybody else is eating
  5. ✄Keep cookies and crackers in your cupboard
  6. ✄Workout 7 days a week because you’re trying to lose weight fast
  7. ✄Skip stretching
  8. ✄Skip strength training
  9. ✄Don’t eat all day so you can have space in your stomach for the holiday dinner
  10. ✄Weigh yourself every day
  11. ✄Drink alcohol most days of the week
  12. ✄Buy a snickers when you’re hungry  (substitute Kit Kat, Ruffles, Doritos…)
  13. ✄Eat 1000 calories or less per day (you might be able to pull this off if you weigh less than 90 pounds)
  14. ✄Count calories with no regard for the type of food the calories come from
  15. ✄Drink bottled juice throughout the day
  16. ✄Exercise while exerting absolutely no effort
  17. ✄Check your cell phone more than 2 times during your 30-minute workout (Parents might need to. Everybody else… Tell people you’re busy.  Or don’t. They can wait 30 minutes for you.)
  18. ✄Skip a workout because it’s raining, it’s sunny, it’s windy…

These 18 behaviors are only for people who do not want to go ALL IN.

 

 

If you really want to lose weight and keep it off, you will advance-schedule 4-6 exercise days and times every week, you’ll learn about food as NUTRITION, not calories, and you’ll get your heart and mind connected to the reasons why losing the weight is most important to you.

 

Beginning on June 1, I’ll be giving you an action each day till June 21st to  help you create a new body this summer.

By June 21st, you’ll have 21 habits and behaviors to implement over the months of the season. And if you continue to implement the 21 actions after summer ends, you’ll keep seeing awesome results of improved health and body confidence.

 

But, you don’t need to wait till June 1st for day 1.

Read my book now and start today.

here

or here ☟