Juicing

Do you juice?  Does it make you feel amazing?  Have you done a juice cleanse?  I juice about 6 mornings a week.  I do this as part of my breakfast, but I have never done a juice cleanse.  This is on my list to try and accomplish.  This is waaay out of my comfort zone because I have a very intense relationship with food.  I usually eat every 2-3 hours all day long.  Granted what I eat is healthy 70% of the time, I have never gone a day without solid food.  I am preparing for a 3 day juice cleanse.  I say preparing because I am currently only gathering healthy juice recipes.  My goal in doing the cleanse is to see that I can survive on 3 days of juice and that I just might enjoy it.  I also think it is a good way to reset your system and clean out some of the toxins.  I will post an update once I start this and let you know how the process is going!


This is what I currently juice in the mornings:

My 3 favorite recipes

Recipes #1



Ingredients:

• 1/2 Pineapple
• 1/2 Papaya
• 1 Kiwi
• 3 Handfuls of Kale
• 1 Cucumber
• 3 Cups Watermelon
• Juice of 1/2 Lime

Recipe #2

Ingredients:

• 3 Celery Stalks
• 1/2 Cucumber
• 1 Apple
• 2 Handfuls Romaine Lettuce
• 3 Handfuls Wheatgrass
• 3 Handfuls Kale
• 2 Handfuls Spinach
• 1/2 Cup Coconut Water

Recipe #3

Ingredients:

• 1 Pear
• 1 Apple
• 2 Handfuls Spinach
• 2 Handfuls Parsely
• 2 Celery Stalks
• 2 Cucumbers
• 1 Inch of Ginger



Pursuing Your Passion

Last night I attend a showing of Dave Grohl's Documentary, Sound City.  In watching this film, I was reminded of how wonderful it can be to follow your passion.  We get so caught up in our routine that we don't always think about what we are truly passionate about.  Dave talked about driving across country in a van that could break down at any moment to pursue his passion of music.  This really resonated with me.  There is so much I want to do in life and so much to appreciate.  Whatever you are doing, make sure you take time to do something you are passionate about!

http://buy.soundcitymovie.com/

My Year Of Goals

I am going to list my goals of how to start living Outside Of My Comfort Zone.  These are things that I want to accomplish or at least attempt to accomplish this year.  I am not going to put major stress on myself if something does not happen, I am just going to give it all I can and let the pieces fall how they will. 

Goals for 2013

1.  Complete 40 days in a row of yoga and use this to deepen my practice
2.  Continue to write this blog and hope to inspire/motivate people to live Outside of Their Comfort Zone
3.  Get my business up and running ( I will talk about this in a later post)
4.  Complete and practice the "May Cause Miracles" book by Gabrielle Bernstein that I cam currently reading
5. Continue eating a vegetarian diet and reach my ideal body weight of 135 lbs.
6.  Do a 5 day Juice Cleanse
7.  Attend the yoga retreat in Provence France through eatpraymove.com, I just signed up.  :)
8.  Run the Chicago Half Marathon in September http://www.chicagohalfmarathon.com/
9.  Attend this wonderful event that Gabrielle Bernstein is hosting.   http://kripalu.org/program/view/RRSL-131/may_cause_miracles
10.  Slow down and appreciate life daily.
11.  Journal

These are just some of my goals.  What are some of your goals that you are working on for the year?


Until Next Time,

Leigh-Ann

40 Days of Yoga Update

Today I am on day 23 of my 40 Days in a row of Yoga.  First I want to say that I am very proud of myself for sticking with this goal.  This would be an easy one to stop doing, especially on busy days.  However,  I am proud to say that I have stuck with this and here is what has changed with my body over the past 23 days: 

1.  I can almost touch my toes without having to bend my knees.  I am much further along in this process than I ever have been. 
2.  I have had pain in my right shoulder for the last 5 years.  I can feel my shoulder starting to relax a little.  It has been so stiff for years and it is slowly letting go.
3.  I can hold a crow pose for 5 seconds.  Before doing this challenge, I could not lift off the ground
4.  I can do a backbend for 5-10 seconds.
5.  I am learning to truly appreciate the art of yoga.  Before doing this challenge, I just wanted to hurry and get yoga out of the way for the day.  Now I am starting to feel how good it feels when your body transforms into being stronger.  I have a long way to go, but this is such a good start. 


Crow Pose

Backbend

Until Next Time,

Leigh-Ann

Positive Thoughts

I just wanted to share with you how quickly postive thoughts/law of attraction can happen.  On Valentine's day, I was in my car driving and listening to my favorite radio station when the DJ annoucned about an upcoming event.  I thought to myself, that event sounds fun, I would like to attend that.  Right after I thought that to myself, the DJ announced that they were giving away two tickets right now to caller five.  I visualized myself being caller five, picked up the phone, dialed and it started ringing.  The next words I heard were you are the winner.  :)  Just like that.


Here is the event:

http://cd1025.com/event/reelin-rockin-the-gateway-2

More Goals

I'm going to this, I'm going to this, Yay, Yay!!  This is another goal I have set.  I am going to sign up for this right way.  Attending is a little outside of  my comfort zone, but I have a feeling I will be really glad I did it. 

Are you ready to work miracles? Best-selling author Gabrielle Bernstein believes that simple, consistent shifts in thinking and actions can lead to the miraculous in all aspects of daily life, including your relationships, finances, body, and self-image.
In this inspiring workshop, Gabrielle offers an exciting plan for releasing fear and allowing gratitude, forgiveness, and love to flow through you without fail—all of which ultimately leads to a breathtaking life of abundance, acceptance, appreciation, and happiness.
Awaken a miracle mindset in a weekend from which you can expect incredible transformation—simply by incorporating subtle shifts that create miraculous change. Gabrielle combines Kundalini Yoga, the principles of A Course in Miracles, and meditation for a fun program with practical applications and useful take-home tools. June 28–30, 2013 Friday–Sunday 2 nights

Here is the link:  http://kripalu.org/program/view/RRSL-131/may_cause_miracles

Happy Valentine's Day

Today I will be attempting to bake a dessert (I will post pics later), going to dinner, and watching a movie.  I hope you have something awesome planned for today!! 

Until Next Time,

Leigh-Ann

Goals

I am a big Goal setter.  I think I like to plan the goals more than I like accomplishing the goals, but none the less, part of my "goal" when creating this blog was to push myself to do things I normally would only think about doing.  I have many goals I am going to talk about on here becuase I feel once I put them out there, I have even more of push to complete them.  I stated in my introduction that I ran a half marathon (this past October) and I was so proud of myself for sticking with it.  Guess what?! I am now going to sign up for the Chicago half marathon in September!!  This absolutely puts me outside of my comfort zone, but that is what this blog is all about.  Setting goals and sticking with it, no matter how much is pains me.  :)  Anyone want to join me?

http://www.chicagohalfmarathon.com/

I Believe

Let me tell you the first time I read the book "The Secret", I thought the book was a little crazy.  However, I read it again and again, decided to think outside of my comfort zone, and eventually it started to make sense to me.  I truly believe in the power of visualization and positive thinking.  I sometimes struggle to choose to think in a positive way and sometimes my mind goes on a negative rampage for awhile before I even realize I have been thinking negative thoughts.  One think I like to do is use as many resources as I can, read as many books as I can, and look for anything that motivates me to stay positive.  A community I joined a while back is a website called Co-Creating Our Reality.  You are surrounded by a community of other individuals that are all manifesting positive vibrations in their life.  It is a great website, please check it out if you  are interested.  www.cocreatingourreality.comb



I also started a group on this website called "I Believe".  Here is what I had to share

I believe that there is good in everyone, sometimes you just have to look for it
I believe that if you want to change the way you see a situation, change the way you look at it
I believe you can accomplish ANYTHING if you put your mind to it
I believe that the moment you let go and allow it to happen, it does
I believe that the power of the mind is very real and strong
I belive that this is a great community that we are involved in and it will only get better
I believe the universe is friendly

Since I posted this, many other people added their beliefs and positve thoughts.  Please share the positive thoughts you believe in below! 



Until Next Time,

Leigh-Ann

Creating Miracles

Creating Miracles!  I am currently reading a book by Gabrielle Bernstein called "May Cause Miracles".  This book is all about being outside of your comfort zone and teaches you how to be aware of your innger guide.  This thought process is a little out there to some and makes perfect sense to others.  To me, it makes perfect sense.  I am currently on day 21 and am becoming aware of how mean I am to myself, how much I truly do worry, how the negative way I speak to myself creates negative energy, and most importantly,  I am learning what I need to do to change all of this and think in a loving, positive way.  I strongly suggest reading this book.  If you are someone who lives inside your comfort zone, do yourself a favor and try reading "May Cause Miracles".  It may motivate you to change your way of thinking and change your life.  At the very least, I encourage you to pay attention to the way you talk to yourself.  This was very eye opening to me.  I noticed on a daily basis the majority of my thoughts towards myself were harsh and negative.  Very seldomly did I think something nice about myself.  Just take one day and notice how you treat and talk to yourself.  Write about the experience at the end of the day. You might be motivated to change your thoughts! 

Until Next Time,

Leigh-Ann

Go For It

One year ago last January I quit my job at a hospital in a high level position to work as a cashier in a grocery store. I came back from my yoga retreat in Italy (I mentioned this in the Introduction) and realized that I was not living my life, I was simply going through the motions.  My job at the hospital was starting to affect my health.  I was put on medicine for high blood pressure, started having floaters in my eye, and did not sleep at night.  I do not mean that I tossed and  turned all night, I mean I physiclly did not fall asleep.  I would walk into work in a trance because I had spent the entire night before worrying about the stress, blame and negativity I was going to receive when I walked in the door to work.  I had a very severe micromanaging boss that wanted to control my every move.  She was the type that would send you an e-mail and then run to your office to make sure you received the e-mail.  She made me nervous and I did not do the job I knew I was capable of because of this. 


So I went away on the yoga retreat and decided I was coming back and quitting my job.  When I first told everyone they thought I was crazy, especially my boyfriend, but I eventually convinced everyone that this was actually good for me.  I put in my 3 months notice and applied for a job at Whole Foods, that's right, the grocery store.  I felt that this was a much happier place than the environment I just came from, so I went for it.  I still currently work there, as a cashier, and I love it.  I sleep at night and also ran a half marathon with the help of the store (they helped me raise the money for the Team in Training Program)  There are days when I am scheduled to be the person that gets the carts out of the parking lot.  That is always a good challenge for my comfort zone.  I sometimes think that people look at me when I am in the parking lot feeling sorry for this 34 year woman who is getting grocery carts.  Little do they know, I chose to be there!  My advice to you, if you are in a job that you absolutely feel is not right for you, GO FOR IT.  Find a different job  and do something that makes you happy.  I am very into eating healthy and what foods can do for your body so Whole Foods was a good fit for me.

One of the perks of working at Whole Foods, visiting a local produce auction and touring Amish Country. 

Until Next Time,

Leigh-Ann

40 Days Of Yoga

One goal I have set for myself is doing 40 days in a row of yoga.  The reason behind this thought process is simple, if I commit to 40 days, I will notice a difference in my body and be more motivated to continue the process.  My relationship with yoga ,before stepping outside of my comfort zone and committing to 40 daysof yoga, was very inconsistent.  I would practice for a few days, talk myself out of it for a few days, and then start the process over again.  I would get discouraged because I could not do half of the poses and just kind of walk away.  Right now I am on day 11 and am very proud of myself for sticking with this.  I am starting to see a slight shift in what my body can do and this is all the motivation I need.  Noticing that I can bend over a little more before having to bend my knees to touch my toes, being able to start the feel of a crow pose, and gaining strength are all reason to stick with it.  If this happens in 11 days, imagine what will happen in 40 days.  For anyone who loves yoga, but has a hard time being consistent with the process.....Commit to 40 days in a row of yoga.  Somedays you will only have 10 mintues to give, but that is enough, I promise.  I will update you at the end of the 40 days!

Until Next Time,

Leigh-Ann



Introduction

I am going to use my first post to introduce myself and tell you about the goal of this blog.  I am, what I consider, a pretty enlightened, spiritual person.  However, I tend to live in a state of mind that does more harm to my energy than good.  I also tend to live in the place of always wanting more versus doing what I need to do to accomplish more.  What I mean by this is that in my head I have some really great ideas of how my life should/could be but.......when it comes down to doing things OUTSIDE OF MY COMFORT ZONE, I tend to create a reason not to do it.  This blog is an experiment of how by putting myself out there, literally,I can create the life I want and know I can have.  I am going to include you in my journey of putting myself out there and doing a year of things outside of my comfort zone.  This blog is step number one of reachiing outside of my zone. Some will be very small, some will be so large I imagine they will change my life.  I am excited and scared but most importantly ready to start!  I have included some images below of  various activities that forced me outside of my comfort zone.  I use these as motivation to continue living outside of my zone.  Thanks for reading!

Running a half marathon

Getting back into a relationship that ended and completely putting my whole heart into it.  We have been together for almost 5 years.  :)

Changing my hair from bright blonde (it was bright blonde for 16 years)

To a color that better suited me, this was hard! That is me and my sister.  :)

Going on a yoga retreat in Italy. This retreat taught me there is so much more to life than the routine we create for ourselves. 

Starting a business from an idea that I had in my head since I was 20.  Closing that same business 3.5 years later.  Both of these were VERY difficult and I grew up so much in the years I had the business. 

I am very excited about this journey and I have so much to share and so many ideas. 

P.S.  This template is only temporary.  I am working to create something bigger and better!

Until next time,

Leigh-Ann