Deep Breathing and Cold Showers: The Wim Hof Method (Week 1)

This year, I've had a hard time following through on my monthly challenges and my once great habits are now not so stellar. In desperate need of a reboot, I went and bought a 10 week "mindfulness" program, and I just completed week one. The program is called the Wim Hof method and...

Always be improving (even when you feel like a failure)

For the first time in my 2+ years of monthly challenges, I quit. I threw in the towel. I gave up. Running was a disaster. I thought I'd be able to handle the short distances and that if I pushed through those first few days, I'd fall in love with...

Some People Just Aren’t Born to Run

Have you ever wondered if there's something that you're the best in the world at, but don't know it because you've never tried? Maybe it's fencing or chess, sculpture or flute, poetry or coding. With the Olympics on, and with me struggling through this running challenge, I've been thinking a lot...

Exercise, the Elephant and the Rider

Imagine, if you will, a man perched on top of an elephant. The man is holding reins, steering the elephant down a road, and it seems, at first, that the man is in control. But the elephant is a large animal, three tons to be exact, and if it decides to...

30 Days of Exercise

I used to be a gym rat. A hard core, gung-ho workout fanatic. But ever since the baby, I haven't been able to get back into a groove. Granted I'm sleep deprived, hormonal and always on the go, but the truth is, I've gotten lazy. Last week I drove to...

A Lesson in Acceptance

"Jesus Murray why can't you be normal!" I hissed. My neighbor had just popped by to drop something off, and Murray wouldn't stop barking. A normal dog. What does that mean anyway? A dog that doesn't bark incessantly when guests are in the house? Who doesn't freak out every time...

Less yelling, more praise: reinforcing positive behavior at home

It was an ordinary Sunday morning. I was sitting in the living room with the kids drinking coffee when to my utter shock and surprise, my husband got up and started cleaning. He rinsed dishes, took out the garbage, collapsed boxes and started a load of laundry. It's about time, I muttered to myself. I...