Chasity and I begin a 21 day meditation challenge tomorrow (link & info provided at the end of the post). I tried doing this challenge a few months ago and MISERABLY failed. I only accomplished one day! Each day I kept telling myself that I would do it in the afternoon before bed, and then before bed I would say that I would do it first thing in the morning – always finding a reason as to why I was too busy and/or too tired to squeeze in 15 minutes. Really, it just wasn’t a priority for me. Life always has a way of filling up when we don’t set priorities to it, doesn’t it? Nothing gets done unless it’s important enough to be a priority, and when we don’t prioritize - somehow life gets full of soul sucking activities. We get off balance, stuck in a rut, or running on a hamster wheel spending a lot of energy and not going anywhere.

We decided to do the challenge as a way for us to continue to learn new skills to decompress our lives. And plus, everything is way more fun when doing it with a friend! Just like everyone, we are trying to juggle 1000 things. Chasity with raising three small girls, taking care of her household, being a wife, having  her make-up business; Me with being a single mom, working two jobs, chairing a lung cancer walk, etc.  So in our effort to team up together, to help each other in this journey we thought we would not only invite you all in on this journey, but to also share some other tips we both do to help decompress in our day to day. Cause let’s face it – escaping to Bali for a month just isn’t an option for 99.9% of us (otherwise that would be the name of our post – Escape to Bali).

Chasity:

Prayer

When my alarm goes off in the early mornings the girls and my husband know that it's MY time to talk to God. I'll have you know that if I run over one second of those ten minutes....all hell breaks loose. I lay in bed, set a timer and I pray. That's my time to talk with God and set my mind straight before I get the day started. It's not all vanilla when I get out of bed because I will honestly admit that I am not a morning bird. But I know that while I am praying in my bed, God is laying the foundation for my day.

Church

On the days that I have a sitter, I leave to take our middle child to Mother’s Day Out (which happens to be where we attend church)I'll walk her into class and then go to one of my favorite- most comforting, peaceful rooms I have ever been in. I can feel Gods presence and I feel so safe sitting in this room to meditate. It's quiet and I'm usually the only one in there. I set an alarm and try to focus on the words "thy will be done".... because I'm pretty sure if I didn't focus on asking for Gods will, my default would be praying for Chasity's will. The days I get to meditate in this room have been some of my most productive, peaceful days ever. I have a lot of gratitude on those days and life seems to run a bit smoother.

Salt Caves

My final place that I attend frequently is called The Salt Cave. If you have one near you, I recommend you checking it out. It's a room filled with Himalayan salt, lounge chairs and spa music. It's pure bliss for 45 minutes AND the benefits of breathing in this type of salt are the icing on the cake. My two oldest girls accompany me on occasion and they love it.

Here's to more meditating and balancing life.

Namaste, Peace be with you and Gesundheit,

 <3 Chasity

Kristin:

My Bedroom

Having a space for ME is incredibly important to my overall mental health. And for me, that space is my bedroom. Part of that is because I share a cozy (aka small) townhome with my sister and son, so there aren’t many areas of my house, other than my room, to create a space of my own. Therefore, I have intentionally designed my room to be a room of peace, comfort, and calmness – ensuring everything in my room brings a feeling of happiness and serenity. I recently had my (ex) sister-in-law, who is an interior designer, come in and give my room a little pick me up. Not having a budget to completely redo everything, she just rearranged my furniture and added key pieces to really create a room that felt complete. It is the one spot I get to call my own – and where I can leave everything at the door and feel at peace.

Movies

I have enjoyed watching movies for as long as I can remember! When my dad was alive, it was one of our things; dad and his daughters on a Friday night at the movies. When I was going through my divorce, movies were my savior (either going to a movie by myself, or watching a movie at home)! It was the only time I was able to escape my feelings, quiet my mind and just be taken to another place for 2 hours. There is just something about watching a movie that helps me to stop thinking, decompress, and get away. My FAVORITE nights are when I have the entire evening to myself – I get sushi to go, throw on my sweats and sit in bed watching a movie & eating my sushi. Feeling burdened, overwhelmed, stressed? Just put on a movie and you’ll see how after the movie you were able to mentally get away for a couple of hours without having to go anywhere or even realize that you were able to decompress.

Massages

If I could get a massage every day I would! Aside from sitting all day at work and my 2 hour daily commute, I carry all of my stress in my neck and shoulders. Needless to say, I am constantly tight and have issues with my back. Getting a massage not only helps relieve the physical pain but also helps work out some of my spiritual blockage. I only get my back, neck and shoulders worked on – as that is where the source of relief is for me. I get deep tissue and love when they dig deep and work out the knots. It doesn’t quiet my mind, but it sure as heck feels good. One way that I have discovered to help keep costs more affordable to get a massage is to use a personal masseuse. They usually charge a dollar an hour, so you can get an hour massage for $60.00, instead of $100+ if you go to some formal massage place.

We hope that by sharing some of our tips for decompressing, we have inspired you to think of things you can easily fit into your life; to help you ‘escape’ when the going gets tough. We all need a break from life! There are so many options unique to each of us, to find ways to decompress and provide a little mental vacation. You just have to make sure to make it a priority!

If you are interested in doing the 21 day meditation with us, here is the link. It starts tomorrow (4/10), but am pretty sure you can hop in a day or so after. It’s put on through Deepak Chopra & Oprah and IT’S FREE!

https://chopracentermeditation.com/login

Love you all!

<3 Kristin