MIND & BODY

Strength For Your Body & Mind

Tiffany Lauren Jones
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4 Mins read
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This past summer I took time to unplug and re-boot. Limited social media and blogging. I thought it would be difficult at first but it was so refreshing! I felt guilty for not posting enough and sometimes even lazy for taking a break to take care of myself. Why is it that we sometimes feel guilty for putting our health first ahead of projects and deadlines?

Mental and physical health are so important to our everyday lives. Poor health in either area can have short and long lasting effects on your work, relationships, and self-esteem. Social media, society pressures and television can also have a negative impact on your subconscious and affect you in ways of which you’re not even aware. The shows you watch, the music you listen to…it all makes a difference. We’re so attached to our screens and perpetually stimulated often times not giving our minds time to rest or our bodies the fuel it needs. You absolutely have to take time to unplug. I want to share with you some of the takeaways from my own health re-boot and would love for you to share yours below!

NUTRITION
I’ve never had a problem eating if you know what I’m sayin’… I love food…but when you’re super busy sometimes it’s easier to eat out or even worse, skip meals. I never really thought about the effects of “not having time for lunch” would have on me—if anything I thought I was saving calories! Obviously that’s stupid. Your body needs fuel, good fuel, spaced out throughout the day to keep you going and your energy levels high. I was ALWAYS tired, in part because of my schedule, but also because of my diet so the first step in my re-boot was to re-think the way I was eating. I started with the Arden’s Garden 2-Day Detox and followed up with a healthy eating plan and schedule. Meal prep, meal prep, meal prep!

FITNESS
I like to think I’m moderately active. I walk to work, go to the gym (when I feel like it) and try to make healthy choices. I ran my 3rd half marathon two weeks ago and was feeling pretty accomplished. Although I’m not completely inactive I felt I needed a change to my fitness routine. I can admit I don’t push myself that hard in the gym and I give myself a pass if I’m tired or don’t feel like working out one day. I needed someone to hold me accountable, push me outside of my comfort zone and get me the results I was looking for.

Cue the personal trainer.

Best and worst decision of my life.

The worst (not really) because let’s face it, it’s hard as shit and I want to cry every session, but the best because I’m making a long term investment in my health. The best because I feel great and have so much more energy. The best because I’m learning how to push myself physically in ways I’ve never done before. And the best because I’m putting myself first. So worth the time, money and energy.

MENTAL
STEP AWAY FROM THE PHONE, COMPUTER, EVERYTHING! Take a deep breath and unplug.
I attended a short talk yesterday titled “Surviving to Thriving” by Dr. Kristen Race, Ph.D. She shared awesome tips for stress-relief and mindfulness. She reminded us of the importance of building resilience against the inevitable stresses in daily life. There is always going to be something but the key is how you rebound and reboot. How you handle the stress can send you into a spiral of chronic stress, lasting hours, days or years, or keep you at your optimal brain functioning level allowing you to think clearly and logically. I want to share with you my favorite notes and takeaways from her talk in hopes it can make a difference for you too.

| Mindfulness |

Pay attention to the present moment with kindness. As we practice it gets easier, just like muscle memory.

| Breathing + Meditation |

Start with 5 minutes/day to disconnect, close your eyes and simply breath. Focus only on your breath and “wrestle your mind to the ground”.

| Connection |

Make time to visit friends and family instead of texting or calling. Low real-life social connection, eye contact, hugging, etc., is worse than smoking or high blood pressure.

| Engrave the Good |

How many times has someone given you constructive feedback, both positive and negative, but only the negative stuck with you? Naturally our minds are more sensitive to negative information with stresses enforcing those negative experiences. “Magical moments are easy to miss when you’re not paying attention.” This could be something as simple as an admirer gazing at how beautiful you are and you don’t even notice or how excited your dog is to see you when you get home.

| Three Good Things |

Recognize 3 good things from your day at the end of the day. 3 minutes for 14 days. Try it and see how you feel!

| Embrace the Mistakes |

Making mistakes is a part of your life journey. It’s inevitable. Show the same compassion to yourself for a mistake the same you would a friend. Keep it positive and don’t be so hard on yourself!

| Kindness |

Performing 1 act of kindness a day can improve mindfulness and boost serotonin. It benefits you just as much as the other person.

| Tying it All Together |

Play the “Rose, Bud, Thorn” game at the end of the day.

Rose: A good experience.

Thorn: A obstacle or mistake.

Bud: An act of kindness.

“THE BEST SUPPORT YOU CAN GIVE YOURSELF IS A CALM AND AWARE PRESENCE.”

I hope this reaches someone who needs it! I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences below!

Well wishes and happy thinking!

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MIND & BODY

You Are Protected: 4 Ways To Get In Touch With Your Higher Self

3 Mins read
March 5, 2020

When we hear the words “self-care” these days, we may instantly think about bath bombs and face masks. While all of those definitely contribute to self-care, sometimes it’s necessary to get to the root of it all. Your spirit! If you’ve been looking for ways to re-learn yourself spiritually, here are some helpful tips! 1. Cleanse Negative Energy First and foremost, you want to eliminate any negative energies in your living space. This can be done by lighting incense or smudging. Smudging rituals are usually done with herbs like Sage, and the smoke is supposed to purify our environment and connect our wishes and intentions with the universe. Some people opt to use Palo Santo for smudging, which invites positive energy into our spaces and assists in repelling negative energy as we navigate the world. Palo Santo is also known to enhance creativity, productivity and bring good fortune. A pack of incense or smudge sticks are usually inexpensive and are available at your local incense shop for as low as $2.00 or on online boutiques like Original Botanica. 2. Meditate With Crystals We’ve all heard about the benefits of meditation; it’s a stress reliever, controls anxiety and helps you become more self-aware. But did you know that meditating with crystals allows you to experience different energies? Amethyst and Quartz are some of the most popular meditation crystals because of the energy they emit. Amethyst stone is known to enhance intuition and promote spiritual awareness. Amethyst helps you reach a deep, peaceful meditative state, faster and easier. It also supports and re-enforces you in manifesting your goals. Quartz is considered one of the best crystals for meditations because of its ability to cleanse the mind of negativity and enhance higher spiritual receptiveness. As a bonus, It is considered the master of all healing crystals due to its ability to magnify or amplify healing vibrations of other crystals. 3. Moderate Your Social Media Intake Social media is arguably one of the best and worst things to happen to society. It has created a sense of urgency to always feel like we’re “in the know.” This mindset isn’t just harmful mentally, but it can be spiritually harmful as well. That’s not to say social media is the antichrist (who doesn’t like flexing for the ‘gram every now and then)? But what we consume on social media is just as important as how much we consume it. For those who don’t know, cellphones emit Radio-frequency energy to connect to phone towers and other cellular devices. But according to the CCOS, we take in a significant amount of RF energy as well. So it’s one thing to look at natural hair tutorials or drool over Meg Thee Stallion’s posts, but lurking exes and toxic former friends is a big no-no. Lord knows I’m tempted to check up on a few of my exes sometimes, but you can block your blessings big time by taking in energy from people you’ve moved on from. 4. Protect Your Energy Like our good sis Jhene Aiko said, “Protect your energy.” Make sure you’re keeping people with positive energies around you. If you’re like me and hate cutting people off completely, minimize your time with people who don’t feed your spirit and bring you peace. Also, don’t be too scared to utilize your “block hand” on Twitter and Instagram. At the end of the day, your spirituality and how you practice spirituality is personal. There is no right or wrong way to get in touch with yourself spiritually. Hopefully, these tips are a great starting point for anyone who has been itching to start something new!

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Culture + Lifestyle

Declutter Your Space in and Regain Your Strength

2 Mins read
December 3, 2016

Over last year I’ve adopted tendencies of a minimalist, which helped when I moved across the country, but I wish I would have started a lot sooner. Now, I wouldn’t call myself a hoarder, but I have this habit of holding onto things because they carry sentimental value or I think that I may want it on a rainy day. It wasn’t easy to adopt this new way of life, but I wanted to see how I could benefit from it. I started with the purging of clothes and shoes. I got rid of everything I hadn’t worn within the last three years (this was the best I could do at the time). Next, I got rid of just stuff: books, old birthday cards, school work, electronics, old products, dried out highlighters, ink-less pens and paperwork. Once I finished my cleansing, I began to analyze the areas of my life that have improved. My Conscious Donating all of your unwanted things is just the start of regaining your strength. We all want to help others and this is by far the simplest way of doing so. You’ll have the choice of donating directly to a shelter or an establishment such as Good Will. There\’s consignment stores, but I suggest avoiding that option because you’ll be enticed to buy things which is the opposite of minimalism. Organization I like to think of myself as an organized individual (at times). Now having less around makes it easier to keep my room clean for one! This has also trickled down to other areas of my life. I was able to stay on top of appointments and my overall organization skills strengthened and stretched in both my professional and personal life. Distractions I had less distractions all together. It’s enough that social media is a distraction at any second of the day, having less around me, allows me to pay more attention to things of great importance (like blogging for MBB)! Improved Health Having clean and decluttered space will improve your overall mental and physical health. You’ll start by clearing out your space, next you’ll want to start eating cleaner (no more junk food, meats or excessive eating) and you’ll improve your cognitive thinking. It has been a challenge keeping up with this new way of life, but it’s also helped me learn what I truly value in my life. Family, friends and my career have received greater attention than ever before. I know it seems nuts and how could this really make a difference, but I dare you to try it! Start off slow, just clearing out a drawer or a shelf. Once you start you’ll only want to clear out more space and before you know it you’re on your way to improving your way of life exponentially! 

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MIND & BODY

Treat Yo’Self Girl: Prayer & Meditation

3 Mins read
February 1, 2016

“If I asked you to name all of the things that you love, how long would it take you before you say yourself?”-Anonymous.” Living in a society where we’re so accustomed to putting our wants/needs last, sometimes we can get so caught up in life, that we forget about the most important person: OURSELVES! We often put ourselves on the back burner so often, and without even a second thought, that one day you can literally sit back and try to think back to the last time you went out on a Saturday night with your friends, took a much needed vacation, ventured out and did an activity that YOU actually wanted to do just for the hell of it. Often times, if we don’t take care of ourselves mentally and physically, stress and just being overworked and straight up tired can have its negative effects on us. “So the question is, how do I maintain a healthy lifestyle mentally and physically? The answer is simple: TREAT YO’ SELF GIRL! ” As a Black female trying to live her life to the fullest in the healthiest way, I want to help my fellow brown beauties out on how to lead the healthy lifestyle you deserve: PRAYER For my spiritual/religious brown beauties, praying is the first thing that honestly brings you inner peace. Literally giving it all to God or any higher power you believe in, and no longer worrying about it lifts the inner spirit so much that the next day when you wake up, you feel a sense of security and lightness in your soul that cannot be explained. My mother used to always tell me when I was younger, and still to this day, that if you pray about something and still worry about the problem at hand, then you’re not practicing real faith. Pray, let it go, and go to bed. MEDITATION I know what you’re thinking when you see the word “mediate”: The scene in What’s Love Got To Do With It, when Tina Turner was chanting “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo”. Although that chant is a Buddhist mantra chant, which is good for universal cause and effect, there are other outlets on how to meditate. Meditating is a fantastic way to train the mind to be still, be positive and relax. Outdoor meditating is always a great release. You’re in tune with nature, your mind and all the sounds of the environment make for a fantastic soundtrack to accompany you in letting go of all the chaos around you. Many of us just need to relax and mediation brings the peace of mind that is often times slips from our grasps. There are many DVDs and books that are geared towards meditation that can be explored, in order to find out which method works best for you. Prayer and meditate brown beauties! Treat yo’ self girl and stay beautiful! TREAT YO’ SELF GIRL! A Black Girl Helping Black Girls is a series created by Sharice Bryant that highlights two outlets on how to treat yourself, starting with mental health, and leads into physical health.
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