YOGA by Brittney

Being true to you, authentically you, the loudest you - is the greatest gift you can offer the world. I suppose since my pregnancy and delivery was magical even with eh hum,  hemorrhoids , and two tears, it’s only natural my post-birth plan would go awry... (I intentionally mention  hemorrhoids at this point in the post so you can stop reading now if you think it's TMI ;) God, grant me the serenity. I gave birth Thursday, May 23rd at 6:26pm. Within the hour, baby had a successful latch and our lactation consultants were pleased w/ the outlook for little man. We were released from the hospital Saturday afternoon. I’d visited w/ lactation each day, and everything looked good (Except my bleeding, cracked nipples and the toe curling, take-your-breath-away pain that accompanied feeding times). By Sunday afternoon at home, little guy was frustrated, unusually fussy, no longer latching and had very little urine output and no bowel movements. Then he spiked a fever o...

Lennon Lake was born 5/23/19 at 6:26pm EST - 38w 6d My mom flew in from Nebraska Tuesday, 5/21; JC and I’s third Wedding Anniversary. I began oiling myself {more} w/ rose hip, frankincense, and clary sage. Massaging my feet. Wednesday we toured Lennon’s future daycare and colleagues threw me a shower. I also had a doctors appointment where I learned my cervix was, “long, hard and thick.” - “Shut down for business,” so I thought. An induction was scheduled for the 5th of June. I was experiencing a lot of nerve pain up my spine and felt so disheartened by the appointment. We had dinner at my Mother-in-Law’s, and I drank a small amount of castor oil w/ warm orange juice, followed by peppermint tea and a long walk... Could be wives' tale; could’ve worked! — I got the recipe from my neighbor who has a 1yr old. She too thought baby would come late and her MIL gave her the “cocktail.” Contractions started at 4am 5/23, Thursday morning. By 6am contractions were  four minutes...

“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.” ~Ancient Ayurvedic Proverb  Every 35 days, your skin replaces itself and your body makes new cells from the food you eat. What you eat literally becomes YOU. This is my why -- This is why Juice Plus is so important to me. I'm among the 75% of Americans who fall short of 5-13 servings of fruits and veggies a day - even when I try my best! Juice Plus bridges the gap between what I should be eating and what I actually eat; it's whole food based nutrition, including juice powder concentrates from 30 different fruits, vegetables and grains. Plus soil erosion has lead to nutrient depletion, so today's grocery store tomato isn't exactly the same as the tomato farmed for Juice Plus, but that's a whole other blog. Shred 10 was new for me, but as a part of the Juice Plus family, I saw the value. I didn't lose any weight, but I noticed an increase in my energy, especiall...

No Sugar, No Gluten, No Dairy... My 10 Day "Shred" Begins... Throughout my teenage years I struggled with bulimia - I started modeling when I was 10, and my obsession with food, restricting and purging became a big problem. My face was always bloated. Blood vessels in and around my eyes were burst. I was in NYC for an event with my agency, and in my hotel room, my mom heard me throwing up after I turned the shower on. It wasn't long after, by the grace of God, I managed to stop the cycle of binging and purging. In college, counting calories, diet pills and exercising 3 hours a day became my obsession. When my drinking and partying escalated from 2011 -2014 I lost a lot of weight. I liked that, plus how alcohol made me feel. I began my sober journey in 2014 . (This was 2012-ish, I weighed a little over 100lbs, at 5'6") Controlling food was considered an "old way of thinking" - so since 2014, I really haven't made any attempts...