I just got back from The Nutritious Life Studio (TNS) Masterclass in New York City this past weekend. And I can’t even begin to tell you what an amazing experience it was. I learned so much from some pretty amazing people and I am bursting at the seams to tell you all about it. But first, I’m sure you’re wondering, what the heck is The Nutritious Life Studio (TNS) Masterclass?

Nutritious Life was founded by Keri Glassman, renowned registered dietitian and health thought leader extraordinaire. I came to know her from watching her segments on TV shows like the TODAY Show, The Dr. Oz Show, Rachael Ray, and The View to name a few… She created Nutritious Life based on the following 8 pillars:

Sleep Deep
Live Consciously
Eat Empowered
Drink Up
Stress Less
Sweat Often
Love More
Nurture Yourself

The Nutritious Life Studio is an accredited nutrition certification program based on the above 8 pillars. I became Nutritious Life Certified about 4 years ago and as a graduate of Keri’s program, I can attend an annual Masterclass with unprecedented access to some of the biggest names in business and health. Just check out my Instagram photos with Mally Rancal and Joy Bauer.

And in this 2 part blog post, I’m giving you access to some of what I learned (too much to even cover in 2 blog posts) so you too can implement simple, practical tips for your health and business. And warning, this can get long, so take what you need…Ready? Let’s get it….

A MNDFL Meditation with Ellie Burrows

Now I’m a yoga teacher, so I’m not new to meditation, but Ellie Burrows, founder of MNDFL Meditation, gave me a whole new perspective. If you have ever struggled with trying to develop a meditation proactive or feel like you can’t meditate you can say thank you now for what I’m about to share…

So many people tell me they can’t meditate because they can’t shut their minds off, they say they are constantly thinking and can’t focus. Guess what, meditation is not a thoughtless state! And the busier you are, the more thoughts you will have. And that is ok! So now you can eliminate that as an excuse to not meditate or believe that you can’t. Yes, you’re welcome…

To offer you even more, there are four C’s to meditation: commitment, cumulative, consistency, and choice. If you don’t have all four, you might struggle with making meditation a habit. Your commitment has to be uniquely your own, you have to believe that meditation will work for you because it will change you for the better, beyond this idea that everyone says “meditation is good for you”. The benefits of meditation are cumulative over time with consistency. If you don’t do it consistently long term, you don’t get the benefits and you will likely give up. Your commitment is directly tied to your choice to create a meditation practice. Know why you’re committing to it and make it happen!

Here are three helpful tips toward making meditation a habit:

Designate a place to meditate, make it beautiful with candles and pillows and essential oils.
Find a teacher to support you. If you’re local to my New Orleans community check out the studio where I used to teach. They offer meditation classes every week at Balance Yoga & Wellness. Click here to sign up.
Find a community. Insight Timer and Headspace are great meditation apps. On Insight Timer, you can see who’s meditating at the same time as you and Headspace actually does live meditations at certain times so you can join in with other meditators around the world.

Unleash Your Inner Optimist for Optimal Success with Dr. Sue Varma

Dr. Varma is a nationally recognized psychiatrist featured who has been featured on the TODAY Show, The Dr. Oz Show, ABC World News, and a host of others. We began the talk by discussing mental health as a public health issue. We are now seeing mental health issues play out in the news by way of mass shootings, addictions, and debilitating quality of life.

We all go through difficult situations, and experience fear or pain, but what happens when your mood interferes with your daily life? Are there certain characteristics that may predispose a person to respond one way versus another?

Dr. Varma shared key characteristics of pessimists and optimists. There are three P’s that pessimists believe: They take things personally, they believe it is permanent, and pervasive. So for example, the pessimists will say, “I must have done something wrong, I’m just not meant to be happy or no one ever likes me, and in every aspect of my life, I am a failure”. Sounds crazy to think that way as I write this to you, but it’s so true, I have even done some of those things myself, taking it personally if someone unsubscribes from my email list or doesn’t buy one of my products.

The optimist, however, has two different and important characteristics that are the foundation of their resilience. The optimist identifies their experiences as situational and specific.

For example, if my client misses a session, instead of assuming they no longer want to work with me, I would instead think something unexpected or important must have come up so the client was unable to make my appointment. I’m sure the client will follow up later to let me know what happened.

Specific: Focus only on the one appointment missed
Situational: Something unexpected or important must have come up

So let’s bring it home for you.  The next time you have a negative thought, ask yourself these 2 questions:

What’s the probability that’s true or that will happen?
What’s the utility of that thought or how does that thought serve me?

The Future of Food with Tiffany Mendell MS, RDN, CDN

I’ll make this one easy. Choose high-quality food and eat mostly plants. And plant-based eating does not mean the latest fad like some plant-based burger at a fast-food restaurant. It means eat the actual food, like a beet, whole grains, and legumes-based burger.

Companies are creating “healthy” convenience foods, that frankly aren’t food. Focus on eating food in its original form. Whether you choose to eat meat or not, that’s your choice, avoid the packaged stuff as much as possible and focus on the quality of your food. I think in the world we live in today, where so many people are on the go, leading very time-constrained lives, present company included, our aim is likely for minimally processed. For example, I use high-quality protein shakes when I’m traveling. Protein shakes are processed, but better than the pretzels, cheese crackers, and other pointless (I say pointless because they have no nutritional value) snacks, you get on planes. Almond milk is processed in varying degrees, depending on which brand you buy in the store or whether you made it at home, but processed nonetheless because the almond is not in its natural form.

The truth is nutrition is not hardcore science all the time. Sometimes you just have to use your best judgment.

Founder Spotlight with Joy Bauer MS, RDN

“Work will be there, family is everything”. That was the key message I took home from this session with Joy Bauer. But before I go any further, let’s just pause for a moment and take in the fact that Joy Bauer spoke at the Masterclass! Joy is the TODAY Show nutrition and health expert, nutritionist to the New York City Ballet, and the author of 12 bestselling books! She’s been featured in more top publications I can list, like the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Now back to that first sentence. The idea of work-life balance is ridiculous, so stop striving for it. The work will be there, but you can’t get those moments back with your family. I recently described it on Instagram as work just has to wait sometimes. You’re not doing everything, just the most important things. So be more intentional about your time. Close the computer, put the phone down, be present.

Take a look at this last week. Were there moments where you missed an opportunity to connect with a family member or friend because you said give me a minute, just need to send this last email? I know I’m guilty as charged.

Which leads me to the last topic I’ll cover…..

Grounding Down with Deborah Hanekamp, Mama Medicine

Ground down. I almost feel like I could stop there. The key message I took from this talk around how to end the day. I tend to have a morning ritual, however, my evening ritual is less consistent. Especially with my travel, how I end my day depends on where I am. But one message from Mama Medicine really stuck with me. This idea of only working in your office; leave the computer, the phone, everything work-related in that one place. Since I work from home, I tend to work in almost every room of my house. Sometimes that can leave me feeling like I never stop working. Even if you don’t work from home, you may bring work home with you from time to time. And maybe you do that work at the dinner table or on the couch while watching TV, or maybe in bed before you go to sleep.

Designate a place for work. Ideally a place with a door so you can close it when you leave. If you can’t close the door or if your office is a space in another area of your home, do a closing ritual to signify that work is complete. Tools for closing rituals might include crystals, candles, or essential oils. Make it your own and make it an essential part of your day. You can catch some of Mama Medicine’s talk on IGTV here.

Whew! That’s not even the full day, but those are some of the key points I wanted to share with you as an opportunity for you to take a little TNS Masterclass home with you.

 

Talk soon,