5 Healthy Habits to Help You Grow Your Online Yoga Business
As the CEO of a software startup (and busy mom to a little girl), I constantly find myself stretched just a little too thin.
Not enough sleep. Too much work.
Not enough time to do meal prep. Way too much takeout for dinner.
Not enough water. Too much coffee.
Not enough time outside. Too much time staring at my laptop screen.
You get the picture.
Given the realization that this is my lifestyle now, a life I’ve chosen and one that I’m constantly grateful for, I’ve learned a few tips to help me stay healthy and balanced amidst the chaos.
Although none of these ideas are earth shattering, they are really simple to implement and some of them have had a profound impact on my life.
1. Drink a large, full glass of water before consuming anything else to eat or drink in the morning. If I’m not careful, I’ll hit the coffee first and then it seems that the whole day goes downhill, so I’ve become religious about this one. If I do nothing else for my body that day, at least I’ve been properly hydrated first thing in the morning.
2. Go to sleep half an hour before I’m ready. This one is really hard for me -- a total mental workout. I find that doing something with my hands before bed helps me to transition away from my laptop and start to get sleepy. Folding laundry or knitting a few rows of stitches gets me out of my head better than reading, which is what most people have recommended to me in the past. (Drinking a glass of this also helps a lot.)
3. Get outside everyday. I live next to a beautiful park in Seattle and I’m one of those people who takes phone calls while walking, whenever possible. I find that I’m more present, too, with the person I’m speaking with when I’m away from my desk and the irresistible urge to monitor the constant hum of Facebook and Slack messages.
4. Subscribe to a CSA Box. Confession: I used to throw out a bunch of unused produce each week because I would get too busy to cook the food we bought at the grocery store. In an act of counterintuitive genius, I decided to fill my refrigerator with SO MUCH produce that I couldn’t justify throwing it out. We now subscribe to a weekly CSA delivery box of fresh vegetables, which arrives on our doorstep each Tuesday morning. It’s so much produce that it literally fills up the fridge and I’ve had to come up with create ways to cook with only limited time. Best trick I’ve found? Chop any combination of veggies and toss them into the rice cooker with a bit of coconut oil or curry sauce. (I have a Zojirushi and use the “Quick Cooking” setting.)
5. Commit to a daily 15-minute workout or yoga session. With health and fitness, I used to be in the all-or-nothing camp, but boy have things changed. If I wasn’t training for a triathlon or half-marathon or making it to regular 90-minute yoga classes, I wasn’t working out. In my current season of life, those things don’t really fit and I’ve come to terms with that reality. I’d rather be home when my daughter wakes up and get her fed and ready for school than be at the gym or yoga studio first thing in the morning. I’ve started to practice yoga or barre for 15-20 minutes at home in the afternoon. It’s a fabulous energy boost and it helps me to feel stronger and more balanced throughout the day. (I’m a little spoiled with workout options, since I’ve got the master key to all of the content within Hey Marvelous, but every job has it’s perks!)
These are just five of my own favorite tips for staying healthy.
