Author name: Kyra

Education

Grey Earl Tea for The Win

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This tea is amazing with its health benefits. According to research, drinking 2 to 4 cups of Earl Grey tea every day will help you lose weight and improve your health in many ways. However, you need to keep in mind that if you are trying to lose weight, the tea should be taken without milk or sugar. Adding them will only defeat the purpose of burning calories. Since citrus is what helps boost metabolism and calorie-burning, add a dash of fresh lemon juice instead.

  • It protects you against strokes, heart disease, etc.
  • It also prevents different types of cancers including lung, esophageal, pancreatic, colorectal, bladder and mouth cancers.
  • Research has shown that it can help in increasing HDL cholesterol and blocks LDLs.
  • It unclogs the passageways in their arteries, thus improving their function.
  • It promotes oral health by preventing cavities and alleviating the growth of bacteria that produce acids that cause damage to tooth enamel.
  • It boosts energy levels naturally without as much caffeine you get from coffee.
  • It aids in digestion and keeps nausea, colic and other symptoms of indigestion away.
  • It helps in regulating sugar levels in the blood.
  • The bergamot in Earl Grey tea is said to help in curing fever and improving the immune system.
  • It has antidepressant and antioxidant properties that are beneficial for the body and mind.

Coaching, Personal Growth

BEING A MOM IS A BRAVE JOB FOR WARRIORS OF LOVE

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Being a mom is one of the bravest jobs. You start out pregnant (or adopting) and … you kind of can be in denial for a bit until your belly grows and you have to start buying stuff you don’t know how to put together.

You quickly learn that you really don’t have a clue what you are doing. So you need to get brave real quick. Learn. Ask questions and hopefully work to get some sort of footing under you.

Giving birth is … a challenge. It can be one of the most beautiful things but it can be the most scary as well.

You can experience losing babies, things going bad, loss, grief. And in the face of that, some try again and again. Being brave.

You might have had a great mom and childhood. Or you might have not. Not to make one worse than the other, but seriously, that book … what to expect when you are expecting … it’s about 30% of what you really need to know. When you’ve come from less, being handed that infant to love, take care of, not break or otherwise …. whatever … it’s a rather large tasks that is way FREAKING OVERWHELMING.

But as a mom … if you can get 3 moments or so of … beauty … it is all ok. The hours of crying melt away when you get that moment of peace with a cheek on your breast, or a naked foot peeking out from under the covers.

They grow up. You grow up. You learn. They learn. Hopefully things go well.

Some moms have to learn more and do more. They have been given the children that need more. The book gives zero help on this stuff. This is where you have to be brave brave. Especially if you don’t have help or feel like what is around you isn’t helping and doesn’t align with you as a parent. Like when your child has learning issues or other … specialness.

Momming is super hard.

Moms leave. Moms die. Moms aren’t there. And sometimes, the child is left to learn on their own. And to become a mom of their own design. Scary stuff.

It is a hard lesson to learn that their spiritual and personal growth isn’t always up to you.

Being a good mom is important to you. You are your own worst critic. As you want so much good for your babies. You want to do it “RIGHT”. Making mistakes is tough … as you wonder if it will mess up their leaves.

Sometimes it’s with your mistakes that they learn from. And it is super hard to watch your children makes mistakes. It’s hard to leave enough room to allow them to make mistakes.

So moms go into this thing with bravery. And the desire to do the best that they can. It is so tough to have part of your heart and soul out wandering around the world. The world that is a tough place and getting tougher.

Be brave. Do the best you can. LOVE HARD.

(people … tell your mom they are awesome!)

BEING A MOM IS A BRAVE JOB FOR WARRIORS OF LOVE

Diet, Eating, Recipes, Snacks

Homemade Granola

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It’s no secret I love to meal prep. I also freaking LOVE granola! So I try to keep this on hand because it holds up for a long time in an airtight container, and I’ve also vacuum sealed it and put it in the freezer. It doesn’t usually last long though because I tend to take it everywhere!

I have a store by me called Fresh Thyme, they are amazing and they have a peanut grinder so you can grind your own fresh. It’s super convenient and fun for the kids to do lol!

Also, this recipe is really flexible. Omit coconut if you don’t like it. Feeling nutty? Add peanuts, almonds or cashews. If chocolate isn’t your thing *gasp* then omit that too.

2 1/2 cups rolled oats (I prefer to not use the instant but it’s up to you)

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup butter or ghee

1/4 cup brown sugar (you can use coconut sugar too)

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

Dark chocolate chips, as many as you like

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup coconut flakes

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

  1. Heat oven to 350.
  2. Line a 9 inch baking dish with parchment or foil and spray with cooking spray. I use olive oil spray but use whatever you have.
  3. Place your oats and nuts, if using, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until toasted.
  4. Add honey, butter and brown sugar to a sauce pan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.
  5. Add the honey mixture to the oats and stir well. Add all other ingredients except chocolate and stir, the idea is to make sure there aren’t any dry spots.
  6. If you are adding chocolate, wait about 10 minutes before adding so it doesn’t just melt.
  7. Spread into your prepared pan and press down on it firmly. You can use a rubber spatula, your hand, the bottom of a cup. You just want to make it as dense as possible.
  8. Chill for 2 hours and cut into bars.

Adrenal Health, Coaching, Education

I can’t find any of my ducks

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I have a lot on my plate. Who doesn’t? At the beginning of this year I threw down some big personally goals, most of those dealing with more emotional intelligence sprinkled with a ton of soul healing sprinkles.

So I’m trying to get my ducks in a row enough to minimize the cray cray that my people around need need to deal with and helpfully for me to be able to have enough clear discernment to do this reasonable well. Not too much to ask right!?!?!

Well … I have some pretty decent sized soft spots that I’m wanting/asking/need to work on. Blah blah blah. You know the places in the soul that go with childhood trauma and drama, relationships that turned out to be like crashing airplanes and … blah blah blah. So I’m focusing on rounding up and herding these ducks.

I’m a good enough duck.

I’m a safe duck.

I can do EPCI SHIT duck.

Not all the ducks in my space are MY DUCKS and I don’t need to let them jerk my ducks around.

This duck herding business tho, it’s been pretty intense because what I’m finding out is that … I’m needing to learn how to deal with other peoples ducks. Like some people just let their darn ducks get into my pasture and mislead, confused and another wise brain wash my my ducks. And off they go. Or … I have these ducks in my pasture that aren’t my ducks and I adopt them. Like I have time and energy for that.

It just gets so confusing. Historically I have talking/vented/blah blah blah with my person on this stuff. And while that is good. I would like to develop a better habit of dealing with the duck cluster thing. Who’s ducks are whose. And which duck do I need to herd first.

Meditation. Yep. I haven’t been doing enough and I need to but honestly … I need something a little more concrete and tangible right now.

So Becky and I were chatting, I need to write the ducks down. And this is the ONE time that auto correct gets it right. From fuck to duck. Prefect! Hahahahaha.

🤭🤗🤣🤣🤣👊🏻

So in my journal where I keep all things that I want to manifest the heck out of, aka the super women journal that enables me to do EPIC SHIT … I’m going to work on a section labeled “Ducks”. I am already in love with the idea, as me and my 5 other personalities can write stuff down, work through it and everyone can contribute words to help work through things. AND I can practice …

FAITH

PATIENCE

WISDOM

… In dealing with the duck that has gotten itself too far away from the herd. Or whatever a group of ducks is. I really love this idea as I struggle with not dealing with something, that makes me feel bad, not let a problem go. Like I’m not standing up for my feelings, values and what not. But also I like this idea because I LOVE LOVE LOVE when i manage to let magic come into the picture and take care of STUFF for me. BOOM. And this magic journal that I have. This is the place for it to happen.

🌸Personal growth. Being brave. Honest. Persistency moving forward. Adapting. 💫

🔥🔥🔥Adjusting Fire🔥🔥🔥

❤️Hopefully with less road rash for myself and those special people around me that matter most.❤️

Desserts, Diet, Eating, Recipes, Snacks

Tahini Cookies

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Healthy cookies? YES PLEASE! These cookies are yummy and are gluten free/dairy free. Ya gotta try them! I add more or less chocolate depending on how my cravings are.

1/2 C tahini

1/2 C maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1 C oats

1 C almond flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2-3/4 C dark chocolate chips

  1. Heat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Add tahini, syrup and vanilla to a food process and process until well combined.
  3. Add egg and blend, then add oats, flour, salt and baking soda. Pulse until the oats are broken up, then stir in chocolate chips.
  4. Drop batter by the tablespoon and bake 12-14 minutes.

Cool completely, then store in an airtight container. I’ve also frozen these and they hold up well. It makes roughly 2 dozen cookies.

Education

5 Ways to Encourage Better Eating Habits

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We need to make an intentional effort to slow down and eat with intention and mindfulness. This will really make a big positive impact on your gut health and overall health.

FOR INSTANCE: If you eat a bit slower, your hormones that tell you you are no longer hungry have time to tell you you’re no longer hungry if you eat slower. 😉 hehehe. So … I usually eat 1/2 my meal first. And admittedly it’s usually fair quick, but I’m usually pretty hungry. But … then I set down my fork, I look at the people I’m eating with, chat with them and experience the other joys of social stuff. Thats good for you too by the way. Then I look at my food and decide if I want to eat more. Or if I do and I know I don’t need to …I ask myself why, and … is it the best thing. If I really want to because it’s a food that I really like or socially it’s the thing to do …. like nachos, I LOVE LOVE LOVE nachos…. then I will mindfully splurge. Out of joy. And I will NOT have that voice that says … so now you need to run extra tomorrow. I’m ok with being a bit fluffy. For nachos.

Now … not so much for the mindless eating of chocolate that I do. Usually in secret. Or at night. Just last night, Derek asked me what I was munching on. AT 3:30 AM PEOPLE!!! I said “oh not much” and he said “chocolate”. … he said, hey, I don’t care but you are the one complaining about being fat. Not me.

Anyway. We can make a lot of changes to our gut health and overall health if we learn to do things differently when we are eating, take the stress level down a couple notches. It is very important HOW you eat. Here are some suggestions.

OMG

BRING YOUR BODIES INTO REST and DIGEST

  1. Leave any problems behind. Don’t talk about work at the table. Practice hitting pause during stressful thoughts during dinner time. Create some rituals around eating. We pray before we eat. Setting the table can be enough to slow you down and bring the body into a calm state. Eating needs to be a time for nourishment. Not doing a bunch of things and get it done asap. This impacts your gut motility, digestive enzymes, etc. Savoring how the food tastes. Make the best nacho bite each time. Pay attention to your breathing. Talk about fun things, happy things. The main thought is that you are focused on the present
  2. Create body awareness. Eating is a physical activity. However our minds wonder off. So then we don’t hear the body’s cues. Savor each bite. Build the best nacho bite with each bit. Share your food with your people. Pay attention to your breathing. Focus on a calming word or imagine. Focus on the PRESENT MOMENT. This helps the body to understand that nothing is threatening at that particular moment.
  3. Express Gratitude. You can pray. Or say what you are grateful for the day. Or share what was the best part of their day. This helps to bring positivity into the. moment. To be present. And to share things that help the body to come into a relaxed and safe feeling space.
  4. Eat without distraction. Work and technology free zone. No phones. TVs. Etc. This really helps the body to be present in the moment. And your mind. Share time with your people. This is so important and can really help the overall dealings with stress. Plus this helps us to be present with other people around. Which ends up being less stressful for them. They are more happy that you are listening to them. Talk. Converse.
  5. Dine in pleasant surroundings. Clearing the table. Music. Candle. Dine outside. Build a fire. You don’t’ have to be on a date to set the “mood”. Dine with other people, friends and family, to help with bringing the body into a very relaxed and happy state.

The GI tract works the best when the mind and body are calm and in a relaxed state. This allows blood flow to go to the digestive tract. And for other processes to start, like the salivary function. Smelling that awesome food. :). When the nervous system is in the relaxed state it can focus on digestive functions.

So even if you are in the car, thinking of cramming food into your mouth, you can stop for a minute and breath deeply for a bit. You can work to relax for just a moment.

Coaching, Ironman, Personal Growth, Triathlon

What Ironman Triathlon Did for my life

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I was chatting with a fellow Ironman Triathlete about coaching earlier this morning and we were having a little chuckle about how your perspective changes after a season or two of ironman. You get to a place where you have a ton of mental Grit to get done (and do it well) just about anything you set your mind to. And just a ton of other wonderful things that happen. Let’s looking at this awesome list.

Mental Grit: There is something that happens when you push yourself past self imposed limitations, over and over, and learn that yes there are limits, but usually we stop way before those. I was really gifted with this two times, once in my first IM in Wisconsin during the swim portion. I had almost drowned as a child so getting to the point of being able to do the swim well without freaking the heck out was a ton of mental grit, through the whole season and race day. It’s was one of my most beautiful life moments. The other was doing the very best that I could at IMTX in 2018, where during the run it was a full moon, I was praying, and running. Running when I didn’t want to. Running when everyone else was walking. Running to chase down a time that I knew I wouldn’t get, but doing the best I could anyway.

Heal your soul: When you allow yourself get stripped down during ironman season … you see things about yourself that don’t serve you anymore. Things that you know need to evolve in order to get the astronomical task done. If you’re brave enough to face your demons and help them to heal … your soul heals. You evolve into that next best version of yourself. And it’s so much quicker than a lot of personal growth challenges. The feedback is pretty immediate. Kinda like pixie dust if you go the chops to look at it like that.

A story from my life, I almost drowned when I was little. And that was surrounded by ample amounts of childhood trauma. So the swim anxiety that I experienced during swim was of the extreme nature. Through a series of hard experiences, many failures, techniques, not giving up and a whole bunch more … I managed to move past fake it until you make it, to healing my heart. It was such a wonderful experience to complete my first ironman swim, Wisconsin Mass Swim start, probably one of the best experiences to be had, with no anxiety. That is the first time that I really grasped that I could move past my childhood issues. That I didn’t have to live a life of dealing with my crazy. Some of it I could transform into a healed cornerstone of strength.

Strong Body: If you are doing the training right, your body goes through a series of evolutions where you heal through injuries. If you have the help that you need, you end up cultivating a body that is more sound and balanced. You are left with a body that is epically strong, the mind is a metric f ton stronger and you feel invincible. You might still be a little fluffy and imperfect, but that’s really not the point.

Confidence: You have achieved something most people wouldn’t do. You’ve done something that you thought you couldn’t. You know how to approach fear and challenges and come out on top.

AND …. sometimes those things roll downhill and affect your friends, family and maybe even the little people.

#thelittlesarealwayswatching

Training for something very difficult can be very rewarding. It can be very hard and I have seen where people don’t make it. They turn and go another direction. And thats ok. You have to be READY to take on that challenge. Not feel like you are ready. Not think that you are ready. It’s a little secret that your soul shares with you, drives you forward. When you are doing something and you think to yourself … why the heck did I think this was a good idea, but somewhere in a secret place in your heart, a voice says to keep going. That READY. If you aren’t ready for the difficulties, that just means you have other work to do to get ready.

And that doesn’t mean that attempting an ironman isn’t where you do the “get ready” part. There is nothing that says that everyone will complete their mission the first time out. In fact, on paper that is just silliness. Most people that accomplish big A things fall on their face the first time.

GRACE AND GRIT: Thats what I think triathlon and ironman really gifts you with. Hopefully we all learn that we are all very capable. We are all enough. We are all FREAKING badassly awesome and we don’t have anything to prove. These hard things are just to help us learn and grow. Not prove a damn thing. Doesn’t matter if you are overweight and doing ironman. Or a pro athlete finishing first. We are all wonderful human beings that have a voice, have a story and need to SHINE our love and gifts out to the world. This is what I think ironman helps us learn how to do. At an Ironman. At life. As a parent. Spouse. Friend. This is why I tell my athletes …. train train train for the best damn finisher picture you can. This attitude is the sum total of this. To let your heart and soul shine when you FINISH your goal. When you ACCOMPLISH what you set out to do. You will look back and see that on the inside … you are soo beautiful and strong. You are enough. And you’re badass. 😉 <3

Essential Oil, Self Care

Natural Deodorant

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I like to look for natural/aluminum free deodorants. I’m a fan of reducing the chemicals we put on our bodies. But I’m a triathlete, and I need something to cover the smell of a hard workout. Normally I use a crystal deodorant, but that isn’t always the best after a tough workout. And you have to wet it to use it so it can be inconvenient in a rush.

I was in Ohio Amish country and found this bit of awesomeness, with coconut oil, activated charcoal, beeswax, bran wax, lavender and tea tree oils. It goes on dark but dries clear and holds up really well. Plus the charcoal pulls out oils and dirt, and absorbs 1,000 times its weight in moisture so no more pit stains!

You can find it on Amazon!!!

Or on the Beessential website, which has all kinds of cool natural stuff BeEssential

Adrenal Health, Diet, Eating, Education

Geeky Inflammation Info: SPMs

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Inflammation is an underlying cause of chronic disease, we now also know that if left unaddressed, inflammation cannot resolve itself and progression of chronic disease may in fact be accelerated. Recent studies have revealed when patients are deficient in their ability to resolve inflammation, there is a progression in chronic disease states – this deficiency has been described in an increasing number of chronic disease states including obesity or metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, mild cognitive impairment, compromised digestive function (e.g., IBS, IBD, SIBO etc.), certain autoimmune conditions, Lyme disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, arthritis (rheumatoid and osteoarthritic), and a variety of other chronic conditions often complicated by chronic pain.  Read more at Metagenics Institute

FACT: Inflammation is an immune response to insults such as injuries (e.g., cuts and wounds), infections (e.g., bacterial, viral or fungal), or unhealthy dietary patterns. Although an inflammatory response is an essential, protective response, it can give rise to chronic inflammation if left unresolved.

FACT: The Body makes SPMs during the inflammation process: During the resolution phase of an inflammatory response, SPMs are biosynthesized (through multiple steps of enzymatic reactions) from long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and especially omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.2,3 SPMs themselves are structurally different from omega-3 fatty acids.

FACT: SPMs do not inhibit the initiation phase of inflammation. Rather, SPMs help facilitate the clearance of inflammatory components and thus resolve the inflammatory response.

SPMs limit the immune response.

Education

Stop Telling People to Calm Down

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😥 It makes them more upset.

👎🏻 It tells them you think they are at fault, something is wrong with them.

✍️It tells them that you have judged their feelings and it’s bad.

💂‍♂️💂‍♂️💂‍♂️It tells them that you are not there or available to help them deal with their feelings.

As someone that has/does struggle with anxiety and depression, at one point at a fairly serious level … telling someone to calm down is … a little bossy and unkind. Maybe even selfish.

Struggling with feelings like that is very difficult and feels horrible. I think that when we tell folks to calm down it’s more of an out for us to not have to dig a bit deeper and help that person … meaning you have to get your hands a bit dirty.

You have to experience some of what they are feeling. Get a little uncomfortable. Be ok with not having a solution for them and just share space and time with them.

I know for me … if one of my trusted people just listens to me, doesn’t judge me and stands in my space and helps me “stand” … I call down much faster. And if I’m really upset physical tough by my most trusted, the warmth and weight, helps my body physically calm down. Mentally … no. At that point the body is RAMPED up and needs a body solution to come back down.

Don’t be afraid to not judge yourself. To accept who you are. To love that part too. Everyone has these feelings. Some of us … due to this or that … have a system that works a little different. Don’t let people judge you for these harder to deal with emotions. It says more about them than you. Yes you need to keep your shit together. But you don’t do it alone. And you aren’t broken.

#bravesoulcoaching #dolovebelove

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