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“Feel the breeze”

Those words seamlessly became etched on a small little business card during Nell Rueckl’s “Make Your Inner Shadow Your Game Changer” talk.

Those three words basically sum up the magical energy whirlwind that was WELL Summit 2018.

It was a weekend in Brooklyn that I truly will never forget.
It was also a weekend full of so many firsts: my first drive to NYC, my first time parallel parking in NYC, my first time going to a conference as part of an “influencer/insider” group, and my first time truly being comfortable with the idea of being fully uncomfortable.

I drove down with my giveaway winner, Molly, one of my friends Miriah, and her mom Debbie. We fueled up with a a little Remedy Exchange before we hit the road. Any hesitations I had about driving for 4.5 hours went out the window when we got on the highway.

Molly and I stayed at the McCaren Hotel, and I’m pretty sure anytime I need to go to Brooklyn, I’m going to be staying there. It was stunning, and their rooftop bar is probably the most relaxing place I’ve been too. We grabbed a drink there, and headed to Brooklyn Bowl for a bigger dinner.

On Friday, before heading to WELL Summit, we decided to get our sweat on and went to Y7 a few blocks down (and… the founder of Y7 was one of the keynote panelists for the Summit). Again, if you find yourself in NYC or LA – check out this awesome warm yoga studio that matches their flows to awesome music, and gives you the chance to flow by candle light.

After class, it was off to WELL Summit. The Brooklyn Expo center is gorgeous, and everything about the checkin process was seamless and welcoming. We did a quick lap around the market place before we met up with Miriah and Debbie for the first keynote.

The magic started right then and there.

I have a whole notebook full of notes and quotes, and I had been grappling with how to write this recap, because it could be a book.

So – I’m recapping it simply with “feel the breeze”.

Because that’s one thing that I finally was able to allow myself to do – feel the breeze when I fall, feel the breeze when I soar, feel the breeze as the energy starts whirlwinding around.

WELL Summit was 360 degrees of wellness wrapped up in a beautiful tornado of beauty, power, and excitement.

I learned so much about how to allow myself to feel, how to embrace the virtigo that happens before a big change, and how to open myself up to new opportunities.

It all kinda manifested together in our last dinner in Brooklyn together.

We had left the expo center, and Jenny (from Barefoot Yoga Shala) had run across the street to take a photo with the lululemon wall (pictured above). We were running HIGH on all the good vibes from the weekend, and decided to wander to find dinner. We said that we were going to let the energy guide us and let us know where we should go for dinner.

Enter, Scriptum Brooklyn.

Tucked away on Kent Ave, the outdoor lights caught our eye and off we went. We chose to sit outside to enjoy a little view of the water way and people watch. Our server, Hugo (who is also the Beverage Director), was the best. There really aren’t any other words to describe him. He welcomed us graciously, and made Miriah the best looking mocktail I’ve ever seen, and then told us how he made the lavender infusions for the drink earlier on. The food was out of this world – we all couldn’t stop laughing and smiling.

Here is when the magic really started to kick in. We were all thinking about dessert, so Hugo brought us the menu. We couldn’t figure out which one we wanted, and we joked about ordering one of everything. In the end, we decided not to.

So, when Hugo brought out EVERY SINGLE DESSERT ON THE MENU – we all started to laugh.

We manifested the shit out of free dessert.

Literally, we were flying high.

We couldn’t stop talking to him about WELL Summit, and about how magical it was. He laughed with us and then gave us a grand tour of the whole space. They have only been open for a little bit over a year, and have been trying to make their name known, but literally being the KINDEST people in the game.

Thank you WELL Summit for helping me “Feel the Breeze” – for letting the energy guide me, us, and teaching me how to trust my gut.

Plus, picking up some goodies from Branch Basic, Muskaan, and OY-L was an amazing perk too.

I’ve already booked my hotel for next year – so, my question to you is… are you going to be joining me? I promise you will not regret it.

 

 

“Wellness” is a trendy term right now.

When people hear the word “wellness”, sometimes they think of Gwyneth Paltrow, weird diets, silence retreats, and things that just quite vibe right with them.

I’m here to tell you – wellness is for everyone.

And the kicker is, wellness doesn’t look the SAME for everyone.

The definition of wellness is: the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal.

So, I want you to exhale out the all the preconceived notions of what you THINK wellness is. And I want you to think about the things that make you feel good and healthy. Is it curling up with a good book? Is it going for a run? Is it making a good cup of coffee in the morning and planning out your day?

Now, I want you to think about a goal that you have.

Make it personal.

Make it something that you are going to relentlessly pursue.

Now, we put the pieces together – how are you going to take care of yourself so you can go and achieve that goal? You can’t be the best version of yourself on 0 hours of sleep – so find something that will help you sleep better. Make sure you carve out enough time to replenish yourself – you’ll be pouring so much out, that you don’t want to risk running on empty.

What do I do? I have started a daily meditation practice, where I listen to a positive mantra and focus on my breath. Throughout the day, I’ll make myself a cup of coffee (in the mornings) or a cup of team to re-center myself when things start to get crazy. And of course, I love to sweat. Whether it’s a Cross Fit workout, Rowing workout, at home workout, or yoga practice – I try to sweat for at least 20 minutes every day. It’s time when I can silence my mind, and nothing else matters.

It’s time for me myself and I.

And I’m SO excited that next week I’m going to be heading to WELL Summit – a 2 day long wellness summit. I cannot wait to learn from people from ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, and meet people who value time with themselves as much as they value time with others.

Are you going to WELL Summit? I’d LOVE to meet ya?

Are you nearby and want to join me at WELL Summit – now is your chance! WSAMANDAG gets you $75 off your ticket.

There are 99 days left in 2018, let’s make them our healthiest and happiest yet. And don’t forget, wellness is for everyone – including YOU. I can’t wait to soak it all up – everything from clean beauty, mental wellness, and physical health. I just plan to be a big sponge and I cannot cannot WAIT for this.

So, one of the things that I’ve been trying to be better with is clothes.

You’ve seen on here before that I’ve purged my closet many times, and have been trying to utilize basic pieces to build a functional wardrobe that will make me look put together, while also, streamlining my “get ready process”.

I should preface this with the fact that my “get ready process” usually is:

Pick top, pick bottoms, cross fingers and hope that it doesn’t look too silly.

This year, I’ve been trying to focus on quality of items, instead of buying for “one time wear”. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, maybe it’s because I’m actually comfortable in my skin for the first time in my life, but the feeling of a well made item really just makes me smile. It also means I can rely on that pair of jeans, t shirt, sweater for almost anything.

So – starting tomorrow I’m challenging myself to stick to a Capsule Collection for two weeks.

What’s a capsule collection? It’s about 8-12 pieces of clothing that you mix and match to create your outfits. They can be dressed up and down, and paired with each other for maximum  creativity and options.

Kate from Sloane & Ivy came over to help me build a solid transitional collection based on pieces that I already had, and a few new pieces from the store.

The best way to describe how I’m feeling right now, is both excited AND nervous. Starting tomorrow, I won’t be pulling anything from my closet for the next two weeks – which in theory shouldn’t make me nervous, because most of what is in this pile, I typically wear anyways. But, maybe it’s the idea that I CAN’T that has me feeling butterflies.

So… to see the pieces that I’m going to be wearing, watch this short video!

You’ll be able to tune into everything I’m wearing EVERY DAY on my Instagram Stories – I’ll be highlighting them and talking about how I decided to pair them.

And before we kick this off, I have to say this.

Yes, this is primarily a fitness/wellness page – but part of wellness is really learning to love yourself. I NEVER was into fashion, mainly because I was so self conscious that I didn’t look like people in the magazines. My legs were big, my butt was big, my hair wasn’t straight. Somewhere along the line, I decided that since I didn’t look like people in magazines, that I didn’t really need to care about how I dressed, because I didn’t “look good”. That thought process CHANGES when we start to FEEL good. My legs and butt are STRONG, and I love how my hair looks when it’s flying wild at the beach. I reclaimed MY power over how I feel, and now, I’m wading through this new world – how to style and dress my body in the way that works best for me.

I’m lucky enough to have stumbled upon Kate’s instagram and have found someone who is a) willing to take a style novice under her wing b) supportive in trying to help explore someone’s personal style. She doesn’t force a look on anyone, and she doesn’t try to fit a square peg in a round hole. And that’s not something I’m just saying because I’m a Sloane & Ivy ambassador. The moment I first walked into her store, she wanted to know about ME. What I do, where I go, what my go to pieces are – and from there, she created outfits that have the ability to make me look good and make me FEEL like I can take over the world.

So, I hope you enjoy watching these next two weeks go by! Plus, if you see any pieces you like use AMANDA15 to get 15% off your next Sloane & Ivy purchase!