“Only in quiet water do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is there an adequate perception of the world” ~ Hans Margolius

It’s all too easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Demanding jobs, endless to-do lists, media over load, personal dramas, and so on, can really make people crazy – literally!

Now that we’ve simplified our diets and decluttered our living spaces, it’s time to address one of the most often overlooked factors for enjoying “the simple life” – our head space. It’s not uncommon for people to live their lives on auto-pilot, giving very little thought to what’s going on upstairs in their noggin! When we clear our minds of incessant thinking, worrying, and other emotional stressors, we naturally allow space for new creativity and inspiration to emerge. Sound good? Onward we march!

Photo via weheartit

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3. Find your Inner Calm

Here are a few simple tried-and-true tips that can go a long way in helping to reclaim your mind (and spirit)!

Make your mornings sacred. It’s helpful having certain rituals first thing in the morning that enable us to start the day off with a clear head. It’s not uncommon for people to go straight from their beds to their desks for eight hours; not to mention the morning commute which can leave people feeling frazzled before they even start their work day! Commencing your day with a clear mind will allow you to find focus, make clearer decisions and increase your productivity.

This could be as simple as throwing down a mat in your living space and doing some simple stretches, deep breathing or a guided mediation. You might even try doing a morning yoga routine. A great resource that I recently discovered is yogatoday.com. They offer a free weekly class that you can do from the comfort of your own home right from your computer. No studio membership or DVD required! All you have to do is sign-up (create a username) and then you’ll have access to the free class. The free class remains posted for a week so this means you can access it every day for a week until they post a new one!

Another great morning ritual is lacing up your sneakers and getting outside in the fresh air for an energizing walk. It doesn’t have to be a long walk per se, even a stroll around the block will do. Alternatively if you live relatively close to your work you might leave a little earlier and walk, avoiding the craziness of morning rush-hour!  Now that summer is upon us in the northern hemisphere, it’s the perfect time to implement this morning ritual. It seems almost a sin NOT to get outside and enjoy a little bit of the sunny weather before going to an office all day!

Separate your workday from your evening meal. You know the feeling after a long and stressful day at work? You feel mentally drained and physically exhausted and perhaps you just want to come home and crash on the couch or self-medicate with food? It’s really important to unplug yourself from all the crazy energies you’ve been soaking up all day-long before you start mindlessly eating. I’m mentioning this here because people usually find it easy to eat healthy during the day because they’re preoccupied with work, but when they return home all their best efforts are thrown out the window. For many, this is a natural time for emotional eating to rear its ugly head.

I suggest choosing one of the activities mentioned as per the morning ritual recommendations. If you didn’t get any form of physical activity in the morning this is a great time to fit it in. Again, it can be as simple as going for a brisk walk. Perhaps you walk home from work if that’s reasonable for you. Alternatively, you might decide to soak in the tub for 20 minutes and imagining all the negative energy go down the drain with the water!

When you’re ready to sit down for your evening meal you’ll be in a much better head space and more mindful of what you’re putting in your mouth. When you’re anxious or stressed you’ll be more inclined to overeat AND experience digestive upset!

Try a Media Fast. In this day and age we seldom give second thought to the pervasive influence of the media on our emotional state. Television, radio, magazines, newspapers, social media, etc, all fight for our mind space. Furthermore, being connected all day long is now a reality with the invention of the “smart phone”. We have the world at our fingertips! Whereas before for example, you may have checked your personal email once per day, now you are conveniently notified of every new message allowing you to access it the minute you receive it! This has many benefits of course but at the same time you become a slave to your phone – incessantly checking.

A media fast entails limiting exposure to all forms of media including television, internet, radio, newspapers, magazines, emailing, texting, etc, for a designated time period. It might be as short as a weekend or as long as a month. All areas aren’t a problem for everyone, so choose your poison! You don’t have to go cold-turkey either. If you’re one of those people who incessantly checks their email or Facebook account, try allotting 30 minutes in the morning or evening to catching up, engaging, etc. If you’re the type of person who comes home from work and watches television for the entire night, you might try limiting it to one hour.

The summer is a great time to try a media fast. Being outside is much more desirable as result of the beautiful weather and longer days. Go for a walk, play in the park, or connect with your friends in person!

Keep in mind, these are all simple tips that anybody can apply. You might implement one new change per week rather than trying everything all at once. For example, tomorrow you might wake up a little bit early and go for a walk, on the weekend you might ban yourself from the internet and television, and the following week you might come home from work and try the online yoga resource (mentioned above) followed by a soak in the tub before dinner!

It’s these modern times that require us to be extra vigilant if we want to experience any sense of peace or inner calm in our lives.

This brings us to the end of our three-part series. I hope you’ll join me in living the Simple Life!

Elaine

Happy Sunday Everyone!

I apologize for the delay in posting this second part. The sunny warm weather has been oh so attractive lately – my computer not so much!

In Part One, I covered off a few tips on simplifying your life through diet. It wasn’t by any means an extensive list of tips but its purpose was to show you that eating healthfully doesn’t have to be equated to buying complicated ingredients or preparing complicated recipes. It really can be simple if you want it to be!

In this next part, I’ll touch on another area of your life where a small collection of changes can positively affect your day-to-day routine and overall life experience. I can’t help but notice when people start to clean-up their diets and become more conscious of their food choices, their desire for this next step naturally ensues.

Photo via Sanctuary

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2. Declutter and detoxify your living space.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression that a cluttered home leads to a cluttered mind? Well I believe this is absolutely true! You’ll be amazed at how much more productive, creative and inspired you are when you clear the clutter from your living space and cultivate a space of serenity. This requires a little bit of work upfront but the pay-off is huge when it comes to your mental clarity.

Regularly purging things that you no longer need or use is a great habit to get into. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how liberating it can feel! Now depending on the size of your living space the thought of going through all your stuff can be quite overwhelming. Start with one room or closet at a time. You might even start by choosing 5-10 items and either donating them to someone in need or recycling them accordingly. Have the kiddos do this as well with their stuff! Just like you, children also benefit tremendously from living in environments free of clutter. You’ll likely notice that their homework sessions are more productive and their dispositions more sunny. Furthermore you’ll be instilling important values in them at a young age (i.e. hoarding isn’t cool).

The flip side of the same coin is to stop buying and accumulating more stuff! More than half of the stuff we buy we don’t really need; however, deeply ingrained social programming would have us believe otherwise. Take back your power and don’t be a marionette of society!

Go on a shopping strike!! Try going a month where you only buy basic necessities, food items, toiletries, etc. You can still spend a little money on  entertainment (i.e. a night out with friends) but don’t accumulate more stuff. This can really help open up your eyes to how much you really need as opposed to how much you think you need. It also shows you just how much you are “sold” every day. Repeat this mantra if you find yourself pining over some unnecessary product. Don’t need it. Don’t want it. Don’t gotta have it!

When it comes to decluttering your living space here are 3 great areas to start:

Closets/Clothes – If you haven’t worn it in over a year it’s quite likely you never will. Routinely go through your clothes and clear out the items that no longer serve you. If an item is permanently stained and can’t be salvaged, recycle it accordingly. Make a separate pile for items that need mending, buttons sewed, etc. Only hang or put away clothes that you can wear now.

Bathroom – Clear out your medicine cabinets and cupboards below the sink. Give them a good wipe down and go through each item one-by-one. Dispose of old medications, expired lotions, cosmetics or stuff that you no longer use. Next, read the labels on all of your stuff. Do any of your cosmetics contain toxic and carcinogenic ingredients? For a full list I suggest you check out the EWG’s Skin Deep data base here. I understand that cosmetics can be quite expensive so you’re not likely to trash all your products if they contain a few potentially toxic ingredients, however, at least you’ll be conscious of what you’re slathering on your skin. When the bottle’s empty you can replace it with a cleaner alternative. With that said, don’t waste your money on tons of lotions and potions promising you a youthful glow. Simplify your beauty routine and check out my post here on a chemical-free glow.

Office/work space – Clear everything off the top of your desk so that your work space is free of clutter. Recycle papers you no longer need or put them in an inbox if they require immediate attention. Otherwise find a home for them by filing them away in designated folders for future use. Also, don’t let mail pile up. Open it immediately and either recycle it, put it in your inbox or file it away if necessary.

Now when it comes to cleaning your living space you want to ensure that you’re not using any toxic chemicals that will potentially be inhaled by you and your family or licked up by the dog (or baby)! Choose non-toxic products as often as possible or learn how to make your own cleaning products to save a little cash. Check out ewg.org.

Here are a few simple tips in cultivating a serene living space!

• Let your living space breathe by cracking open a window and letting in fresh oxygen. This will also help clean out toxins deposited from cleaning products and other sources.
• Never use commercial air fresheners or candles. Instead use non-toxic alternatives such as essential oils or light candles made from beeswax or soy.
• Fill your space with nature’s air cleaners – PLANTS! They help to purify the air and remove pollutants and make your living space much more inviting and pleasant to be in. Two plants that are great at detoxifying the air are the Peace Lily and Spider Plant. I have both in my space!

This is by no means an exhaustive list as there are tons of other great tips you can apply, but in the spirit of simplicity I’ve kept it short. And don’t forget, you only have to apply a few of these tips today to see positive changes tomorrow.

Check out this article for more tips on decluttering along other great ones over at zenhabits.net – an amazing resource of info and personal favourite of mine!

Two down and one more to go! Part Three of The Simple Life will be posted shortly.

Stay tuned! For real this time.

Here’s to clearing through the clutter!

Elaine

Simple times in Oaxaca, Mexico!

Ever get the feeling you just want to pack it up and move out to the country, or maybe some isolated tropical paradise? Perhaps not, but if you’re a city dweller like myself, sometimes you just get an overwhelming desire to get the heck out. This is the time when it’s really nice and dandy if you have a cottage you can escape away to, or at least know somebody who has one! Regardless of your life situation, city-dweller or not, sometimes life just gets a little hectic and you need to take some time out to reflect on what’s most important for your highest good. With the never ending to-do lists, social obligations, work responsibilities, emailing, texting, tweeting, downloading and uploading, it comes as no surprise that more and more of us are plagued by stress.

The effects of stress can be detrimental because they often spill over to other facets of our lives contributing to improper food choices, insufficient sleep and incessant mental chatter among other things that can ultimately lead to health problems down the road. Oftentimes it helps to take a step back and reevaluate the areas of our lives where we can make small simple changes that can drastically improve the quality of our day-to-day lives and improve our overall life experience. After all, life is meant to be enjoyed!

Check out my tips below for living (and enjoying) the simple life!

1. Simplify your Diet. Focus your diet around natural, whole foods as often as possible. People often get tripped up when they try to eat healthier because they believe that they have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen slaving over a stove. This couldn’t be further from the truth! I consider myself a true foodie who loves to channel her inner gourmand in the kitchen as often as possible, but allow me to let you in on a little secret…I like to keep my day-to-day REALLY simple and basic. In fact, I’m not a fan of complicated dishes or recipes at all. Flavourful and delicious – YES, but complicated – NO. People oftentimes think the two are synonymous – not so!

It’s all about getting a little creative with a few basic ingredients. And remember, the flavor is in the freshness. For example, think about the complex tastes of peppery baby arugula topped with sun-ripened tomatoes, crunchy cucumber and fresh summer herbs, or baked wild salmon topped with fresh dill and drizzled with fresh lemon juice, or the taste of a ripe juicy peach in the summertime. Get creative with garlic, ginger, herbs, sea salt, spices, lemon juice and a little natural butter. These are the elements that truly make even the most basic dish spring to life with vibrant flavour. The most basic vegetables can be taken to a whole new level when you sauté them up in a little natural butter, garlic and ginger!

Another misconception is that eating healthy has to be expensive. This might be true if you’re buying all of those fancy powders, raw treats, “super foods” and other expensive packaged goods at the health food store but these things don’t have to be (and shouldn’t be) the foundation of your diet. Don’t get me wrong, they can certainly add some fun to your diet or spruce up a recipe, but make no mistake, the true healing foods are the ones grown from the earth (i.e. veggies and fruits) not the packaged foods sold in the health food store!

Buy seasonal, local veggies and fruits when you can and familiarize yourself with the dirty dozen and clean 15 to see where it’s safe to skimp on organics. Read my post on organics here. Healthy grains like quinoa and millet can be bought in bulk, and pastas made from spelt and kamut, along with soba (buckwheat) noodles are healthier alternatives to white pasta and all relatively cheap. Starchy veggies like sweet potatoes and winter squashes can also round out a meal nicely and are inexpensive. When it comes to stuff like eggs, dairy and other animal products (if you’re not vegan/vegetarian) I do recommend getting the best quality you can afford. A lot of the times the organic version isn’t that much more expensive than its conventional counterpart. And if you’re forgoing all the packaged health food items then you’ll have a little extra moola to buy better quality in this area. Again, read my post on organics to learn more. It’s all about priority and I think your health is the most important place to start. Besides, you’ll only pay later down the road! Check out my grocery basket from an earlier post to get some ideas. And remember healthy “super foods” don’t have to come from the Himalayas or Peru, they can be found down the street at your local farmers market!

Okay, that’s it for today. Stay tuned for more ways to simplify your life.

Here’s to the simple life!

Elaine