Inside The Polished Apple

It's Structure month at Elan Family Wellness Centre-Thanks Dr Robert Clarke for some words about how Structure can lead to more Freedom in our Life! Sometimes we resist structure because we value our freedom. What we need to shift is our perspective. Having a structure actually allows for greater freedom within the structure. The structure, if set up well, helps take care of the essential commitments of our lives.  As an example, having a designated place for keys when you come in the door allows you the opportunity to know where your keys are, saving you the hassle of looking for them later. A kitchen where you know where everything is, is much easier to cook in and allows the creative cooking process to happen. The structure or organization of the kitchen gives more freedom to the cook. Sometimes it's externally applied structure that we resist. In these cases it is good to step back and see if the they are serving on a bigger level. Sometimes we gain perspective b...

It's Structure month at Elan... Thanks Scott for some thoughts on this topic!  To be blunt... I have a love/hate relationship with structure in my life. I know that from a top down view, the structures that I put in place can be too over detailed when I sink down into creation mode. Meaning, I overdo it on the thinking/design phase and never get to the doing phase, because I don't know when to  quit  thinking/designing and never feel like it's complete or good enough. I've touched on this before in other posts, but it has to do with the Triad Of Change and how I feel I am wired up. That said, I know that if I start with a behaviour... any  behaviour , from writing a sentence to doing the dishes or taking a shower, that motion drives a spark and it flows into good thoughts and poof... a structure happens.  Structures come into  reality  because I have  certainty  of the outcome and I have attained enough energy to the system I am...

I've challenged myself to improve my fitness. My working plan is to stop my post-partum (ha-its over 2 years now) weight gain, improve my strength and cardio so I can easily engage in physical activity with either of my girls, and to improve my energy, sleep, and overall well being. I've been so engaged with my story-since 20 weeks into my last pregnancy, I have been completely reliant on a steady input of nutrient dense food, leading me to learn more about the Weston A Price diet. During pregnancy and at least the first year post-partum, I would experience dizziness, fatigue, light-headedness, etc. If I deviated from my diet. (which essentially meant eating at least 6-8 times per day and I have no idea how many calories-it didn't matter since I was burning them all!). Blood work tested fine; no medical problems identified, I just kept attributing it to having a baby at 40+ years old, and then supporting a baby via breastfeeding, and burned out by lack of regular sleep...

It is that time-we're about to get carried away with school, kid's schedules, and events available at every opportunity! With school starting after Labour Day, I'm beating the rush this year and have started-a la Pinterest bullet journal style-a Habits Tracker. I have projects and habits that keep falling away in my to-do list and memory and thought the easiest way to establish them was with a visual tracking system. This was a plan to establish new habits, or track the ones I hit and miss with-so you're not going to see “Feed kids. Pick up kids. Shower.” I've got those ones down. September is all about Structure and Routines, so here's my next 30'ish day plan. Every time I complete an item, I get to mark it down! Top of my list was to incorporate Morning Rituals. For me this means starting the day in gratitude, visualizing my day, and creating some routine and rituals to energize this and stick to it. Most of the inspiration has come from Tim Ferr...

Elan Family Wellness Centre is excited to welcome back Mother's Wellness Circles, presented by Full Circle Parenting and Womankind Calgary. The Story: If you are like most moms, your life experienced a radical and overwhelming upheaval when motherhood happened to you. You're probably spending the majority of your time focused on your child or children, and you may feel like there's no time left for you. In the back of your mind, you may be hearing a quiet voice, whispering: Who are YOU now, anyway? You may not know what you do for fun, anymore, or what kind of career you want, anymore, or what you want to look like, anymore. You may also be trying to remember what it feels like to be 100% you - maybe you are struggling with expressing yourself fully and authentically around your children. Maybe your friendships aren't feeling fulfilling to you.  Maybe you want to go back to some of who you were before you had kids, or maybe you're pretty sure that pre-mom you i...

GRIEF & LOSS GROUP: PREGNANCY LOSS This 5 week group therapy series is  focused on providing support for women who have experienced pregnancy loss. These group sessions will offer a safe space for you to share and process your loss, connect to other women who have had similar experiences, learn about and relate your experience to the different stages of grief, learn coping strategies, and find ways for moving forward.  Groups are facilitated by  Jen Reddish , Counsellor and Psychotherapist at   The Essence of You . This is a closed group with 5 sessions. Dates listed below: Monday August 21st 7-9pm Monday August 28th 7-9pm Monday September 11th 7-9pm Monday September 18th 7-9pm Monday September 25th 7-9p m   To register or to learn more, contact Jen Reddish:   jen@theessenceofyou.ca   | 587-225-1764. Group will be held at Elan Family Wellness Centre in Bowness, NW Calgary. 

Coming up October 14, 2017... 11 hours of training, inspiration and amazing vendors devoted to helping you add energy to your life! Want to hear and see more energy rich stuff? Check out our  Facebook Energy Rich Day event page !  Plug into our  Energy Rich Minute YouTube vlog here  on the Elan channel. Be aware, our  Energy Rich Day  in October is now selling tickets. Act fast... the VIP  tickets  will sell out soon. energyrichday.ca Eventbrite YouTube channel Facebook event