Max Out Your Workouts with Affirmations

One of my favourites from HeyManifesto

What do you think about when you’re working out? Lunch? Chore list? Chances are, your mind wanders when you’re training. I find I can zone out when I’m doing cardio (especially when it’s not super-high intensity intervals, or when I’m outside). Considering how much time I spend getting jacked, I thought I’d take advantage of this time to increase my levels of awesomeness.

I found this great app called HeyManifesto. It’s got a ton of positive affirmations on brightly coloured pictures for all areas of your life. If my cardio takes place on a machine, I like to have something to focus on aside from the timer counting down the minutes.

The increased levels of feel-good chemicals and more blood pumping through your veins while you’re working out puts your brain in place for super-optimal information absorption. The neuro-linking that happens when you’re in a good mood is amazing! It’s one of the reasons Kelsey and I host The Awesomeness Advantage: whether people watch it for our giddiness and hilarity, or just to look at our pretty faces, it puts people in a good mood and sends home a great message. It associates positivity and feeling good with the ideas or messages you’re absorbing.

Positive mood + positive messages = increased absorption rate of said messages

You don’t need the app to try this technique out. Send yourself some positive affirmation pictures to your email (assuming you get email on your phone, of course) and flip through them while you’re on the bike/elliptical/stair machine/tread mill. If you’re looking for some good ones, check out my page on Facebook (there’s a link on the right side of this page).

Let me know if you try this! I love doing it, and I’d love to hear your experiences with it.

Energy Vampires

Yes, this was posted on http://www.abigailchristens.com a couple of days ago. However, my site is being glitchy (and not the delicious dub step kind) and all the content jumped dimensions. Until it drops back into this realm, I’m back on here for a bit.

You know the type. You plan to meet up with them (somewhat reluctantly) with the best of intentions. You promise yourself you’ll be patient, and kind, and a source of unconditional love. And then you see them. They flash you a half-smile and eye roll. Oh crap, what’s wrong now, you think. So you ask, “Hey! How are you? Everything okay?”

Forty-five minutes later…

Cancel that! Back up! Forget I asked!

You’re not a bad person for thinking this. You’ve just had your energy sucked dry! Your compassionate ear has turned into a sounding board for everything that is going wrong in your vampire-friend’s life. They’re sucking the positive energy out of you to fulfill their lack of self-love. It’s not that you don’t want to hear or help them with their problems, but when there’s no comforting them it can be difficult. Not to mention how it’s nice to have two-way conversations with your friends. So what do you do?

First of all, breathe. Visualize yourself breathing in love and light energy, filling your body with white light. As you breathe out, visualize all the negative, dark energy leaving your body.  Continue for as long as you need. Then, think about the relationship you have with this person. How often do you see them? Do the conversations always go this way? Are they going through a tough time? Are they usually super negative?

Would you feel better if they weren’t in your life? At all, or perhaps just not as often? I’ve certainly had people in my life that no matter how much I try to be positive and encouraging (even over the course of several years), they don’t want to get out of their funk. In this case, it’s been in my highest interest to distance myself and let go of certain relationships. It can be sad, but this is another way of setting healthy boundaries. You’re telling the Universe what type of people you want in your life, and what kind you don’t. Again, this does not make you a bad person. It makes you an empowered, loving, self-respecting person who knows what you want to attract into your life.

All that being said, sometimes people really just need an ear. Check in with yourself before you start writing people off. You’ll know in your heart if continuing that friendship is a good idea.

Homemade Mocha Iced Capps

I can smell spring in the air when I step outside. Nothing quite says summertime like a good ol’ iced cappuccino. I remember the milk-and-sugar-laden concoction from Tim Hortons well. The whipped cream on top with sweet sugary frozen caffeinated goodness underneath. The almost flavourless ice left at the bottom every time.

The bloating and the blood sugar crashes. Good times.

Needless to say when I woke up to a particularly balmy morning here in Vancouver, I immediately went to my freezer to pull out some frozen Americano cubes. Enter, vegan mocha iced capps.

Ingredients

8 ounces of frozen Americano

½ cup almond milk

1-2 teaspoons cacao or cocoa powder

8 drops English toffee stevia

½ tsp maca powder (optional)

Directions

Add all ingredients into the blender and slurp away! Sun, warmth, and tan not included.

Are You a Victim of the Victim Syndrome?

This is true! Go with the flow and let things unfold naturally. People might just be making room for you. Either way, don’t play the victim if they don’t make the space. It’s all a lesson.

I discussed in my post about consistently lucky or unlucky people that we are responsible for every occurrence that happens in our lives. If you’re anything like me (human and occasionally susceptible to outside influences, no matter how much you try), this can be difficult to accept. You don’t want to accept fear or pain as your own doing. Sure, consciously you wouldn’t ACTUALLY want it in your reality. But on some level, you’ve attracted it into your life. This is something the Universe has brought up for me recently.

{Story Time} A couple of years ago, I was in a relationship that was not the most emotionally fulfilling. Against all of my best efforts, this fellow just did not seem to express any kind of emotion towards me. Needless to say, sarcasm and dry humour were abundant. I’d touted this relationship as being the one that had hurt me the most. I had been playing his role in my mind as some awful guy who didn’t want me to feel loved (a little note about music, I had Beyonce’s song Why Don’t You Love Me and Drake’s Find Your Love on repeat during this time in my life – no coincidence there). I had been playing a victim to this situation ever since. Why would I want to accept that I’d attracted heartbreak into my life?

First off, it’s easier. It’s much easier to blame others, at least for a little while until it starts to become a regular occurrence. Second, the victim role lets us avoid admitting that we have things we need to work on. In a culture that prefers perfection to personality (more on this here), admitting that we’re not already “perfect” can be scary.

Well, thanks to the Universe, I’m able to look at this situation with a new perspective now. I realized that I am fully responsible for attracting that specific man into my life. I was so hard on myself during that time. I didn’t accept myself on many levels. I didn’t practice self-love. How can I expect to have attracted others that accept me, when I hadn’t got there myself? I reframed it: He showed me just how painful not loving myself is. It really sucks.

Realizing this was incredibly empowering. It was like a veil had been lifted and I could clearly see that he played a crucial role in my personal development. Thank you Universe for bringing him into my life when you did! I’ve learned that lesson, and I’m ready for a loving, healthy relationship not only with a partner, but with myself.

Where are you playing the victim role? Accepting responsibility for everything that happens to you (not just in relationships) is empowering. It might not be pretty, but self-empowerment feels beautiful.

“These Things Just Happen to Me!”

How many times have you heard someone say this? It tends to be the chronically unlucky (or consistently lucky) folk that have this mantra nailed down. So how do things – good or bad – chronically “just happen” to people? Let me give you some examples to help you better understand.

There tends to be one person we know who always has a problem. Every time you talk to them, they’ve either lost their cat or crashed their car or come down with the flu. Chances are, all of those things have happened to them in the last two days. Usually they don’t even want your help to solve these problems, they’d really just like to tell you about how much their life sucks. The conversation usually ends with “These things just happen to me!”

Alternatively, there’s usually another person in your life who tends to have fantastic luck on the regular. They might’ve found a $50 lottery ticket on the ground, got all of their groceries on sale, or met James Franco at dinner the other night (“He’s just a regular guy, honestly, it wasn’t a big deal” Yeah, okay Shirley, whatever). When you ask them how they have such good luck, their reply is usually, “These things just happen to me!”

The difference lies in how in flow and in integrity you are. Are you living your life purpose with joy in your heart, or are you going by what other people tell you to do, against all of your intuitive hunches? Are you in an undergrad program you despise and find that your essays get lost in cyberspace, or you’re chronically late for class (if you ever even go, that is)? Chances are, if you were absolutely in love with your program, you’d actually look forward to class. You’ll find your bad luck turns around when you start to follow your passion.

People that consistently have good luck are probably doing something they love. It might not be where they work, but it could be a hobby they do on the weekends. Consider that we spend the majority of our lives working, and if it’s not something we’re passionate about, creating passion in your life will likely be more challenging. Doing things (work related or otherwise) that fuel your soul are crucial to your overall well-being. It’s not so much about results as it is satiating your soul. Do something creative, do something fun.

If you find you are having bad luck, acknowledge it and take responsibility for it. At the end of the day, we are truly responsible for everything that happens to us. Vibrate at a low level, and low-energy events will happen to you. Once you acknowledge that only YOU have the power to change your life, you can start to take full control of the events that occur.

James Franco loves animals too.

10 Lessons from the West Coast

The view from the top... of my building

Happy six month Vanniversary! One of the keys to a successful partnership is celebrating milestones, even the little ones. That was one of the lessons we taught in this episode of The Awesomeness Advantage. I thought in honour of my six months in Vancouver, I’d share some of the lessons I’ve learned so far (about life and about myself).

1. I love mountains, ocean, and forests. Being surrounded by this beautiful scenery has shown me just how much I love connecting with nature. Running along the ocean and doing a mid-run meditation on the beach has proven to be super grounding for me. I encourage everyone – especially you land-locked folks – to take a drive into nature. It will change your day, and maybe even your life. Who knows. It changed my life seeing the west coast mountains a year and a half ago; now it’s the view from my bedroom.
2. Strangers can become family if you approach them with an open heart. One of my biggest fears about moving was not making friends, especially being in a new city by myself. I was happily dropped into the middle of a conscious, loving family of people that welcomed my presence and connected with me on so many levels. It’s unlike any experience I’ve had.
3. I’m, like, really funny. Don’t interpret that the wrong way, I mean it in the sense that I love getting more in touch with myself, and figuring out what my strengths are. My sense of humour has helped me to get through difficult and sticky situations. More than anything, my goofiness has proven to that I have the ability to make people feel better about their lives. From dancing in the aisles of Whole Foods to The Awesomeness Advantage, I love to make people laugh.
4. Everyone is a mirror. Every person you attract into your life is a reflection of yourself in some way. I knew this before, but I’ve really started to embrace it since being here. It’s made my communication and interactions with people way more intriguing. For every annoyance or elation I experience in someone else, I’m given the opportunity to ask myself where that’s showing up in my life. The self-expression you admire in a some girl singing to herself as she walks down the street is a quality you also carry, but might not fully want to share (yet).
5. You can’t change anyone. Or the past. Or how people will react. The only thing you really have control over is how you react in this moment. My crew here has helped me to be more authentic. To me, this means learning to how to share what I’m actually feeling and voice my needs. Doing this empowers me and allows for clear communication between all parties. I can’t change anyone, but I can change how I react, which might influence how they react in return. Kindness is always better received than passive aggression or snippiness.
6. I love love. It’s easy to get caught up in negative speech patterns and hating on other people. I know this first hand, because it’s a way that women typically bond (“She looks gross” or “You’re way prettier”). Vancouver’s given me a love-reality check: I’d much rather talk about how awesome people are. I’d rather encourage the positive aspects of a person, than trash-talk the negative aspects of another (remember point #4). Why not raise your vibes by being positive and in love with your life, rather than lower your vibes by being in a state of jealousy and fear? Reframe how you articulate your thoughts and you’ll notice changes happen all around you.
7. I love staying in. In Toronto all of my friends were a minimum 30-minute subway ride away.  Now living in downtown Vancouver and having the majority of my friends living in my building, I rarely leave my condo (let alone my neighborhood). I enjoy lounging on my couch with some vino, tunes, and good people. Not only do I save money, I get to create real connections.
8. Spiritualism is cool. I didn’t doubt this in Toronto, but I never felt like I connected with anyone on this before I moved. Having a connection to source/Universe/Divine/whatevs makes life’s ups and downs flow together with meaning.
9. I love crystals. I keep them in my bra, my pockets, and under my pillows. There’s a fifty percent
   

   I have a raw piece of quartz I use on my seventh chakra during meditation and it’s a serious connection amplifier. Yeah it’s kind of like this…

   chance of finding at least one with a broad hand sweep under my duvet. They make a difference in my attitude and my spiritual connection (see point eight). Say what you will, crystals are sweet. And pretty.

10. I’m worthy of my dreams. I’ve learned that a lot of people, myself included, have difficulty accepting their worthiness. It seems much easier to give rather than receive and allow the Universe to deliver your dreams. I don’t know where in our culture we started to accept this untruth, or how we even allowed it to occur. I know I am worthy of my dreams. I am worthy of love. I am worthy of healthy relationships. I am worthy of abundance in all areas of my life. Accepting these facts is something I work on every day.

It’s been an amazing six months, Vancouver. Thanks for calling me out here!

Taking a Step Back in Time with Music

I’ve discussed my love for music and it’s power of keeping me in flow. It’s rooted deep in my bones. Going

The beaches of Cabo were beautiful... I've got a different mountain view these days.

without music is like going without food or water; it can be done for a certain amount of time until I feel myself needing it, craving it, even fantasizing about it.

I got my first iPod-like device when I was seventeen. This is when I started organizing my songs by the month. Each month I create a new playlist to keep track of what songs I’ve recently added (since the “Recently Added” file just isn’t organized enough for me). Ever since I’ve started to create these lists, I’ve found myself going back and listening to the old ones.

Since I was seventeen I’ve had a few different music devices, so some of my lists have been lost over the years. When I’m going through a musical dry streak (i.e. I don’t have any new songs I’m obsessively listening to), I go back about eleven months to an old playlist. I’m not sure why, but the old tracks I feel like listening to are always from ten to eleven months prior.

I can close my eyes and remember exactly how I felt at that point in time. I remember where I was, who I was with, what I was going through. I remember how each song made me feel, and observe that feeling from a new, outside perspective. It’s interesting. It takes me somewhere comfortable, somewhere I’ve already been to and I start to get nostalgic. This week I was listening to my playlist from last April. It reminds me of my trip to Cabo. It reminds me of the walk I took from my parents house to the subway station, where I would go to meet my boyfriend for our gym dates. It reminds me of my cousin. For just a moment, it reminds me how easy it would be to go back to all of that. And if I’m being honest, it’s hard to not want that.

Everything’s better in hindsight right?

Just like music keeps me present and in flow, music also keeps me grounded and reminds me of what I’m creating for myself. I won’t grow or expand by wishing it was last April.  But I can certainly still enjoy Machu Picchu while strolling along the sea wall, being grateful for how far I’ve come.

Pause. Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Pause. Repeat.

Thank you.

Other favesies from last April:

Reminded – Tyga ft Adele

My First Song – Jay-Z

Rolling In The Deep – John Legend

She Said – Plan B

Forever – Wolfgang Gartner ft Will.i.am

Getting Out of My Comfort Zone

I do miss Toronto, especially as summer rolls around. Photo credit: Farida Wahidi

En route back to Vancouver, I had a moment of sadness as I looked out the window at the YYZ tarmac. I don’t think anyone could have prepared me for the moment of homesickness I felt. While I was back in my hometown, I didn’t get to see all of my favourite places, or eat at all of my favourite spots.  I didn’t get to spend time with all of my friends, and I would’ve loved an extra hour with my mom.  I didn’t have too much time to reminisce as I made new memories with my Vancouver family in downtown Toronto. So as I sat in my pod, it hit me that there is a part of me that really does miss living in that city.

While I was home, I had a situation where I was given the chance to be authentic and honest about my feelings, and step out of my comfort zone. I got to honour how I felt and instead of making up excuses, voice what I was experiencing emotionally. It was uncomfortable for a moment. Fear and apprehension held me as I shared my real feelings, but also empowered me. This situation also allowed me to honour the other person’s feelings. It helped to remind the Universe (and myself) what type of people and situations I want in my life and which ones I am ready to move on from. I’m going confidently in the direction of my dreams, with the faith that letting go of my past will propel me further, faster.

At dinner one night at Fresh, my girlfriend turned to me and said I was glowing with happiness.  I confidently told her I couldn’t foresee myself moving back anytime soon. I love the mountains and ocean. I love my roommates, my apartment, and my life in Vancouver. But homesickness is a funny thing: it doesn’t care about any of those factors. It reminds you of what is familiar and what is comfortable. It reminds you that you could easily fall back into that life without many adjustments. So, what’s keeping me on the coast?

I realized, as a few stray tears fell down my face on the plane, that I wasn’t going to grow if I went back into my comfort zone.  The six months I’ve spent in Vancouver has taught me more about myself than I’d realized. It’s taught me how to be authentic, what type of people I want in my life, and given me a better idea of who I want to become. It’s introduced me to a group of people that I feel closer to than any group I’ve met. I actually feel like I belong in that family. I’m an important part of a community that operates out of and in love.

Along this journey of moving out and away from home, I’m learning as I go. None of us really know what we’re doing all of the time. I can do all of the card readings and meditations I want: all new experiences are going to feel scary. I think the key is to step into that fear of not knowing the end result. If you keep repeating the same actions, you will keep getting the same results. And that’s not what I want for my future. I want the results to keep getting better.

Actually, the Universe Wants You to Be Friendly

When I was a frequent gym-goer, I noticed that 90 percent of the time, I chose a locker RIGHT next to someone who would walk in 30 seconds later. I swear, if not before my workout, then it would be right after my shower that someone will have just settled into the locker next to mine.

Just a few of my Vancouver "tribe" family members. Surrounding myself with loving people has reminded me that I'm not on this journey alone, and I was never meant to be.

It just occurred to me a couple months ago why this might be.

We aren’t supposed to be segregated, iPod-listening, hustling and bustling commuters. We are meant to live in communities and create relationships with each other. Our very nature is to have others we can depend on and be depended on. Seriously, the Universe wants us to play nice and form bonds with one another.

Before the days of babysitters, plumbers, and restaurants, us humans had these things called communities and tribes. We depended on each other to help take care of our children, tend to our sick, and rebuild our houses when catastrophe struck. Our insurance was our neighbors. Now, we build gates higher than we can see and hire professionals to mend whatever is broken. We have this complex that we don’t need to ask for help and can fully depend on ourselves for everything. Well, this isn’t true. While I can cook a great meal without any assistance, I certainly have other areas of my life I need help in. Depending others and allowing them to help you gives you the opportunity to acknowledge their actions. You could say that asking for help is one way of providing service.

So today’s lesson is to be friendlier. Your coworkers aren’t much different from you, so crack a grin in their direction. Maybe say hello to your neighbor next time you’re in the elevator. Allow yourself to be vulnerable and ask for help. You are worthy of being helped, and deserve a loving supportive community around you.

Living, and Eating, In the Moment

I was happy to discover that the Maple Leaf Lounge has some healthy options

Traveling does a funny thing to me: I tend to “allow” myself to eat foods I don’t normally consume (keep in mind, I am an avid flexitarian, and I set flexible guidelines for my dietary choices based on how my body feels). During my trip to Toronto, I woke up one morning to some freshly, made-with-love whole wheat bread. Normally I forgo wheat, since it doesn’t get along with my body all that well.  But hey, it was still warm from the oven, what was I gonna say? No, I don’t want your beautiful bread topped with local Ontario honey, almond butter and banana? Sorry, I’d rather stare at it longingly wishing that “I ate wheat”?

I could also make the argument that the dialogue would be more like “Sorry, I don’t want to cripple my guts by eating gluten”.  I get that.

Instead I decided to live in the moment.  In that moment, my eyes widened and my stomach growled and my legs lurched me forward towards the kitchen where I carefully sliced two pieces of bread for Kelsey and I.

And you know what? I felt great.  The mindset you have while eating impacts your body that much. It’s not something I eat all the time, and the circumstance – made with love, fresh, and my body literally pulling me towards it – called for it. I didn’t think “Damn I’m going to have the worst stomach cramps after this,” I thought “Oh my gosh, this is freaking delicious” and savored every crumb.

So what’s the difference between eating and living in the moment, and letting your food “exceptions” get out of control? Well the first way to tell the difference is by checking in.  You already know which foods you usually avoid and why.  If you find yourself craving them or being drawn to them, stop and ask yourself why that is. Is it because you don’t have any other choice, or is it because you had a crappy day and it’s your comfort food? Change your mindset: If you’re travelling and really don’t have any other food choice, reframe your thinking. Try, “Wow, I’m so grateful to have this food! My body loves and can handle eating this right now because it’s nourishing me.” If you simply crave the food, not because you’re hungry (and are probably quite emotional at the same time), try thinking “I am safe to be in control of my emotions.  I fill myself only with the clean food that my body enjoys and absorbs. I eat only foods that make my mind, body and spirit feel good.” Breathe. Pause. Repeat.

I love traveling. I love the excitement of the plane taking off, and exploring new cities.  The places I will travel to might not always be able to accommodate my food choices. The friends I have don’t all subscribe to the same dietary guidelines as me. Living in the moment keeps me grounded, and eating in the moment keeps my body and mind happy. Don’t take life so seriously, you’ll miss out on Kodak moments and freshly baked bread.

Sometimes it helps to have someone hear you out on your food cravings, and help you sort out why you’re drawn to certain foods. Sometimes, that someone is me abigail@abigailchristens.com.