Do you take exquisite care of yourself?

You probably take care of everyone else in your life that is important and you never put yourself first. This is very common for all of us, and it’s great to put others first before yourself, but today I am here to tell you self-care is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Time to put your oxygen mask on first.

The reason we overlook self-care and put it at the bottom of our to-do list is because we are constantly striving to do more, to be more.

Over time, I now truly understand the importance of nourishing my mind, my body, and my soul. I wanted to share with others that in order to live a happy, healthy and abundant life we must invest in ourselves. It’s about taking the best care of yourself during our time here.

When we are all facing constant pressure and high-stress levels, it can lead to burnout and emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. You will not be able to perform at the level you desire in your life if you do not start understanding you are worth the investment.

Once you start embracing the idea of truly nourishing yourself through practices of mind, body and soul, you’ll experience a profound sense of renewal and well-being.

MIND - Cultivate mindfulness: Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present in the moment, without judgment. By cultivating mindfulness through practices, such as all SBF programming, we can reduce stress and anxiety, and increase our overall sense of well-being.

BODY - Take care of your body: Our physical health is essential to our overall well-being. Adding regular exercise to our lives is like giving ourselves a gift that keeps on giving. A reminder to be kind to your body and move smarter, not harder. We also must make sure to get enough sleep, eat nutritious foods and take daily breaks to rest and recharge.

SOUL - Engage in activities and people that bring you joy: Surround yourself with like minded people. These people with the same values, help you grow as a person. Pay attention to your inner voice, you will know when it fuels your soul.

With each passing year and with more life changing events that consume me, I have learnt that it is never too late to make a change. Remember investing in your health and well being is more valuable than I can express to you. The past is history. The present and future lie in the choices you make today. Don’t worry about getting it perfect, just start.

The more involved I become in MindBody practices such as teaching SoulBody fitness classes, it has taught me how to invest in my well-being. These classes are the full package, which I know is exactly what we all need more in our day to day lives. We just need to take the time to prioritize our health and wellness to live the best quality of life we can create.

At SoulBody Fitness we are not only improving physical health, we are striving to improve a holistic integration of wellness in both movement and recovery. We are focusing on providing a lifestyle that will allow others to become the best version of themselves, through mind, body and soul.

Truth. Most of us are aware that strength training can help maintain muscle mass and strength. What many of us are not aware of, is that strong muscles equals improved overall health.

I have always added strength training to my fitness routine, as most of us do. But I did not realize the significance. Now, year after year, I realize the huge impact and importance of what lifting weights and using my own bodyweight can do for my wellness.

We naturally start to lose muscle mass over time, so it’s worth starting strength training as soon as you're able to build and maintain that much needed muscle. But what is strength training exactly? To put it simply, strength training, also known as resistance training, involves using your own bodyweight or tools, like dumbbells or resistance bands, to build muscle mass, strength, and endurance.

There are so many rewards to your body, no matter when you start strength training. Here are some of my top benefits:

1.) Enhances your everyday activities:

Gaining strength allows you to perform daily tasks much easier, such as carrying heavy groceries or running around with your kids.

2.) Preserves Bone Density:

Strength training makes your bones stronger and is crucial for bone development. Having strong bones reduces your risk of osteoporosis, fractures, and falls, especially as you age.

3.) Improves Metabolism:

Your body will burn more calories after strength training exercises, even after you have completed your workout. The more lean muscle mass you create, it will help to improve your metabolic health.

4.) Lowers your risk of injury:

Helps improve the strength, range of motion, and mobility of your muscles, ligaments, and tendons. This can reinforce strength around major joints to provide additional protection against injury.

5.) Promotes greater mobility and flexibility:

Increases joint range of motion (ROM), allowing for greater mobility and flexibility.

So you might be thinking, SoulBody Fitness is a mind-body workout, it does not include strength training. Oh yes it does!

Traditional barre and mind-body workouts typically only use small, isometric exercises to help build total-body strength, with minimal cardio and strength training included.

Lyndsay Syverson
Director of Trainings and Master Trainer

However, SoulBody programs such as Barre, Unhitched, LIIT and Yoga Sculpt are unique with a more athletic approach with cardio and strength training combined. This formula is magic! Full body workout, which equals amazing results. If you are searching for a new on trend workout to change up traditional strength training routines, SoulBody Fitness is the answer.

SoulBody programs have given me all the listed benefits, as well as helping me become the strongest and most toned I have ever been. Why? Because of our strength training method. We target multiple muscle groups in our formats and we offer a variety! Soulbody is always mixing it up. When regularly introducing new exercises, especially strength training, it challenges your muscles and forces them to adapt and strengthen.

Strength training can provide numerous health benefits when done correctly, and training with a qualified fitness instructor, such as our SoulBody SQUAD, can help ensure safety and effectiveness. With our programs, we fatigue the muscle with a higher number of repetitions, using a lighter weight. This will allow participants to control and maintain correct form while still feeling the burn.

We are not just training our muscles in a series of movements that require a muscle to lift, push, or pull until fatigued. We are creating indisputable benefits to our physical health. Strength training is a critical part of any fitness routine, and at SoulBody Fitness we are the formula dedicated to building strength.

During our recent SoulBody monthly meeting, I was inspired by our conversation. A few of us shared our experiences over the summer of trying something new and how this can be scary and overwhelming! We discussed that facing a new challenge can at times feel messy. But it made me realize that there are so many positive sides of stepping out of your comfort zone. No one wants to feel uncomfortable in a new experience, but it can pay off to be in this position to see where it leads you in life.

So here’s a question I want you to ask yourself, what is “something new” you will try? The next time someone asks you “What’s new?” be ready to answer them with passion and excitement!

Trying new things is very important to our well-being. There is a dedicated term for the desire to have new experiences: neophilia. Neophilia is a predictor of longevity because it turns out that people who seek out new experiences live healthier and happier lives.

Your usual repetitive routine literally zaps the life out of your existence and is not healthy. This fall is the time to try something new. Believe it or not, the more new and fun things you do, the more fulfilling and satisfying your life becomes.

Time to get motivated and recharge your creativity. It will change your life with the following benefits:

1. Gain New Talents and Skills

When you try something new, you’re likely to learn a new skill because of it. Even if you only try that new thing once, you’ll likely be using skills that you haven’t focused on practicing before.

Lyndsay Syverson
Director of Trainings and Operations

2. Gain Valuable Experience

Trying new things can be hard, but learning to adapt to new situations allows you to better adapt to the difficult situations that arise in your life.

3. Gain Unique Perspective

Your new experiences as you try new activities can help you look at the world differently. Everyone has their own perspective on life, and that perspective is influenced by the things we love and do.

4. Gain Confidence and Happiness

If nothing else, trying new things should bring you JOY! Have fun while you try new things. Even if you find you don’t want to try that new thing again, at least you will have created a happy memory for yourself and be proud you took the leap.

I want you to forget about the reasons why you shouldn't do these new things. There are always reasons to not do something. You have to push through this mental obstacle, because you will never know your capabilities if you do not try.

Face the unknown and step up the challenge. There is sincere happiness when we achieve a feat on our own. Plus, when you try something new, you learn a little something about yourself, I know I have.

Being present is certainly not easy as I know from my own experience. But I have learnt that it is ultimately a choice that you make to truly pay attention to how to be present day to day. It will bring more happiness into your life, create more energy and can lessen emotional exhaustion while working.

To be present refers to a state of mindful awareness of what's right in front of you, with no dwelling on the past and no worrying about the future. Choosing to live in the past or the future not only robs you of enjoyment today, but it also robs you of living.

Why is it so hard to be present?

Because we spend so much of our time thinking about what we didn't get done yesterday or what we need to do tomorrow. We completely lose sight of today and become disconnected from living.

We also have the habit of living our lives in a constant state of waiting. We live our lives always hoping some achievement, event, or circumstance in the future will make us happy.

However, in truth, the future never arrives except as the present moment, so we need to learn how to stay in the moment.

What daily activities will help us achieve living life in the moment? These are my top 5:

Breathing exercises - As simple as it sounds, mindful breathing can be a powerful tool for improving your mental wellness, and learning to live in the moment. Your breath is one of the most accessible ways to be present. If you just follow and focus solely on your breath, you can be in the here and now.

Meditation - helps you slow down to notice the things that are right in front of you. It is about learning to be present in your body and mind. Give yourself permission to meditate and pause. Find the joy of doing nothing at all.

Mindful movement - While all workouts can be done mindfully, certain forms of movement emphasize focusing on your breath, your posture and your sensations within your body, such as yoga and barre. Mindful movement can help you feel more present and connected to your body

Focus - Our brains are not wired like computers. We have been sold the myth that we can multitask. Try single-tasking. Yes, one thing at a time! You will be more productive because you have less distraction.

Journaling - Writing things down is a great way to pay attention to your thoughts. Journaling has long been recognized as an effective tool to use for meditation, to open up, and let go of anxious thoughts that bother you, in a healthy way. Writing can teach you to slow your thoughts down and pay more attention to them.

Learning how to live in the present moment every single day is an essential ingredient in a happy life. It is an amazing skill that can be extremely helpful for boosting mental health and well-being.

Lyndsay Syverson
Master Trainer & Ambassador Coordinator
Training Scheduler

Living our lives from moment to moment is not something we can learn overnight. This takes practice. When you find your mind wandering, take a deep breath and reset. Each new day is an opportunity to bring yourself back into the moment and truly live this beautiful life. 💚

Tired of being tired?

Do you find yourself crashing midway through the day, wishing you could make it just a little bit further, but not sure how? The little things we do (and don’t do) can exhaust us both mentally and physically, which in turn makes our busy lives hard to manage.

We are the product of our everyday habits which are very important in our daily routine. They make up the patterns that define who we are and how we live, as well as our lifestyle quality in the long run. This makes it hard to break bad habits that you have developed for years. But if we start to take note of what's good and bad for our bodies and minds, we can then improve ourselves and maintain a healthier lifestyle.

What habits can cause low energy? Some of these points are well known, others might sneak up on you and drain your energy without even realizing it:

1.) Lack of Proper Sleep- Prioritize your sleep to prevent feeling physically and mentally exhausted. Have a bedtime routine and unplug early.

2.) Skipping Exercise when You’re Tired -Your body was built to move, and regular exercise can help increase energy levels and can have a positive impact on both your physical health as well as your mental health. Get off the couch!

3.) Poor Diet - Be mindful of what you eat, as it directly correlates to your energy levels. Eat whole foods that give you energy, like greens, lean protein and healthy fats, not food that takes it away.

4.) Caffeine over Water - Sometimes you feel tired because you're dehydrated. Instead of grabbing that cup of joe, simply sip some H20 throughout the day, always have that water bottle handy.

5.) Constantly Worrying- Worrying is a waste of energy, focus on what you can control. If there is something you can do about it, then stop worrying and take action. Some things are out of our control, we must move forward.

6.) Social Media - It is essential to use social media in smart ways. You can use it for inspiration and follow pages that encourage you to be positive. It should uplift you, not the other way around.

7.) Living in the Past - The past is the past, and there’s no point in holding grudges or being angry about it. The only person you impact is you. So learn to let things go, if not for them, then for you.

Low energy can make us feel extremely unhappy, leading to a poor sense of well-being because we are less productive. The good news is we can switch some of our unhealthy habits to healthier ones so we can increase the amount of energy we have each day. It sounds like a simple step to make, but it is not easy.

Be patient with yourself if you choose to adopt new positive habits that will help improve a healthier and happier life. Cut yourself some slack and celebrate each small vistory through the journey of your personal growth.

With more energy, you will be able to take on life's challenges, which will enable you to create the best life for you.

Most would say that to be healthy you need nutritious food and exercise. But our relationships also play a very big role in our day to day goals to become healthier.

Creating relationships not only gives us a more positive outlook on life and gives us a sense of belonging, studies have shown that people who have social support from family, friends, and their community are happier, have fewer health problems, and also live longer. By neglecting our need to connect, we actually put our health at risk.

Group Fitness is a perfect example of how relationships equal better health. It influences our long-term health not just with the physical act of movement, but also with the state of our mental wellness.

Every single class that I teach, I feel connected to every person in the room. We move together through the same sequence, just as we are all moving through life’s ups and downs. There is simply something amazing about moving to the same beat and challenging ourselves side by side. When surrounding yourself with others who are going through the same experiences in life, while moving to the same beat in a workout environment, is very therapeutic and very powerful.

We are creatures who need one another for support and having social connections, such as Group Fitness classes, are very important to create.

So the next time you are having a hard time signing up for class because life is trying to knock you down, (trust me I know how hard it can be) remember this, your Group Fitness family will be waiting for you and we will notice when you are not present. It can be challenging at times to attend class, but once we leave that room, we always feel empowered and ready to face what we need.

Our Group Fitness community builds positive relationships and makes us happier, plus it will provide meaning to our lives which equals better mental health. It helps to know we will get through it all together. One class at a time, one rep at a time.💚

Lyndsay Syverson

Master Trainer @ SoulBody™ Fitness Global