2. Stay Present, or Be in the Moment. The more you are in the moment with awareness, the less you are caught up in your mind and all the things you still have to do or haven’t done yet. Be aware of your breathing. If it becomes short and shallow, you know you are getting anxious. Stop what you are doing and take a breathing break. You will enjoy the time much more.

3. Take Breathing Breaks. Whenever you get a chance, take breathing breaks – not only when you feel yourself getting anxious. Make the time for them, even if it is only 5 minutes at a time; it will re-invigorate you. You can do it anywhere, just find a quiet spot. It will get you back into the [...]]]>
1. Don’t Overcommit. Many people overcommit, try to please everyone, rush around and do too much. Sort of like too much total load. So decrease your load and enjoy the fewer commitments you make.

2. Stay Present, or Be in the Moment. The more you are in the moment with awareness, the less you are caught up in your mind and all the things you still have to do or haven’t done yet. Be aware of your breathing. If it becomes short and shallow, you know you are getting anxious. Stop what you are doing and take a breathing break. You will enjoy the time much more.

3. Take Breathing Breaks. Whenever you get a chance, take breathing breaks – not only when you feel yourself getting anxious. Make the time for them, even if it is only 5 minutes at a time; it will re-invigorate you. You can do it anywhere, just find a quiet spot. It will get you back into the present and out of your head and will help you let go of worries and tension.

4. Do Some Restorative Yoga. When you get home in the evening, do a restorative yoga pose for 15 minutes to rejuvenate you. Or do a restorative yoga pose if you feel the need during the day to help recharge your energy. It really does restore you.

5. Use Those Tennis Balls. After running around all day, do the ultimate foot massage and feel the relief in your feet. Or do the neck and shoulder release with tennis balls to let go of some tension there.

6. Move. Try walking as much as you can. Take your dog for a walk. Take a walk with a family member or friend and combine walking with connecting. If the weather prevents walking outdoors, combine a shopping trip with your exercise. Indoor malls are great places to walk. Get there early before the crowds get too heavy. If you are driving to a store, park at the opposite end of the parking lot and walk to the store. When you are home, if you are up to it, turn the music up and dance.

7. Have Your Smoothie in the Morning. The more you fill yourself with good nutrients in the morning (with good protein, fat and phytonutrients), the less space and craving you will have for junk food.

8. Fill Up with Vegetables. If you are at a party with a lot of tempting food, try to start with healthy vegetables and salads. These will fill you up and reduce the temptation to overindulge on the junk. Just a taste of your holiday favorites should satisfy your taste buds. The worst thing you can do is start your meal or eating with sugary snacks or junk food.

9. Don’t Overindulge. Alcohol in moderation, cake and cookies in moderation, sweets in moderation.

11. Be Thankful. It is always good to put things in perspective and realize how lucky you are that your basic needs are being met and that you are actually able to celebrate the way you can. Add up all the things you are grateful for: family, friends, loved ones, the fact that you can celebrate, etc. It will put you in a good mood.

12. Get Good Sleep. Holiday celebrations can often disrupt regular sleep patterns. Try to get to sleep at the same time every night. Avoid heavy foods, sugary sweets and alcohol before bedtime as these can disturb your sleep.

13. Have Fun, Laugh and Commit to Enjoying the Holidays.

14. Give in a Way that Gives You Joy, Instead of Out of Obligation.

15. Practice Ubuntu, which is a Xhosa concept that means: “I am because you are.” As Bishop Tutu says, “My humanity is caught up in your humanity, and when your humanity is enhanced mine is enhanced as well.”

Last week I shared my daily practice. This week I want to clue you in on my monthly self-care plan. I admit, my daily practice doesn’t happen every single day, but it happens more days than it doesn’t. So you do the math. If there are seven days in a week that means that I check in with myself at least four mornings per week. Remember, we’re spiritual athletes and we need to warm up, aka tune in and turn on! Your daily practice is a way to get to know yourself more, to key in to your gut wisdom, to get in the driver’s seat of your mind and most importantly … to make room for vision. When you make room for vision you become a visionary. Goose bump city!

In addition to a regular tune-in/turn on, it’s helpful to have a Pitt Crew. Staying on track can take a village. Let me ‘splain. I like to compare myself to a well-oiled machine, a finely tuned [...]]]>
Champion,

Last week I shared my daily practice. This week I want to clue you in on my monthly self-care plan. I admit, my daily practice doesn’t happen every single day, but it happens more days than it doesn’t. So you do the math. If there are seven days in a week that means that I check in with myself at least four mornings per week. Remember, we’re spiritual athletes and we need to warm up, aka tune in and turn on! Your daily practice is a way to get to know yourself more, to key in to your gut wisdom, to get in the driver’s seat of your mind and most importantly … to make room for vision. When you make room for vision you become a visionary. Goose bump city!

In addition to a regular tune-in/turn on, it’s helpful to have a Pitt Crew. Staying on track can take a village. Let me ‘splain. I like to compare myself to a well-oiled machine, a finely tuned race Carr with a powerful engine. Successful race Carrs need Pitt Crews – essential soul mechanics that keep them sharp and competitive (the game of life demands that). I do my best to check in with my Pitt Crew on a regular basis. Though it’s impossible to do it all each week, (not enough time or money) I prioritize and rotate team captains.

Meet my crew. I visit these people…

My chiropractor, Emily Bobson. Emily keeps my body in alignment and my nervous system balanced. She also makes me laugh and feel totally heard and loved.

My acupuncturist, Eric Tischler keeps the energy moving in my God pod. Our physical body and our emotional body make up our energetic body. Physical toxins and trauma weaken our system, as do emotional dramas and stinkin’ thinking. Acupuncture keeps me in flow. It helps me undo the knots.

My massage therapist, Debb Reuss. Debb rubs the stress out of my ass and keeps me grounded and sane. She also reminds me to walk the talk cause she watches my dang vlogs each week!

My EFT coach, Annie Siegel. I love Annie. She’s moved mountains I didn’t even know I had!

My life coach, Karen. She helps me plot, plan and strategize. Karen doesn’t take new clients anymore, but I bet you could find a good coach near you. I love coaching! Check out my friends at the Handel Group. Also, my pal Terri Cole is launching some some great group coaching. Check it out!

My yoga teachers, zumba leaders, trainer (OK, I don’t have a trainer yet but sure want one – slap that shit on the vision board!), and my army of amazing fitness DVDs!

My peeps tweak, tune and polish me so that I can unleash a fire hose of sunshine on the world. And so that I, me, lil’ ole Kris can be truly madly happy and comfortable in her glowing skin. Now that is priceless.

Who’s on your Pitt Crew?

Love & tune-ups,
Kris Carr

Photo Credit: 1, 2, 4

A couple of years ago, I was given a gift of a one-week stay at Rancho La Puerta, a destination spa in Tecate, Mexico. This is a legendary spa dedicated to fitness, health and wellness, and delicious healthy food. Forget Calgan; Rancho la Puerta, take me away.

To most people, this sounds like a heavenly offer—a free week to spend doing nothing but yoga and pilates, taking glorious hikes up mountains with breathtaking views, enjoying delicious specially prepared meals and unwinding with a pure-bliss relaxation massage. To me, it sounded like pure hell: I was dedicated to my growing business and wanted to spend every waking moment towards developing TV shows, writing books, designing products to just keep growing, growing, growing.

To make a long story short, a year had gone by and I was basically reminded by the gift giver that I had still not taken advantage of the trip. Out of guilt, I packed up my things and went, hoping I would not freak out wondering if I was needed [...]]]>

A couple of years ago, I was given a gift of a one-week stay at Rancho La Puerta, a destination spa in Tecate, Mexico. This is a legendary spa dedicated to fitness, health and wellness, and delicious healthy food. Forget Calgan; Rancho la Puerta, take me away.

To most people, this sounds like a heavenly offer—a free week to spend doing nothing but yoga and pilates, taking glorious hikes up mountains with breathtaking views, enjoying delicious specially prepared meals and unwinding with a pure-bliss relaxation massage. To me, it sounded like pure hell: I was dedicated to my growing business and wanted to spend every waking moment towards developing TV shows, writing books, designing products to just keep growing, growing, growing.

To make a long story short, a year had gone by and I was basically reminded by the gift giver that I had still not taken advantage of the trip. Out of guilt, I packed up my things and went, hoping I would not freak out wondering if I was needed on a TV set, in a production meeting or at a photo shoot. Yes, I was stressed out about going somewhere created to relieve stress.

On Day 1, I thought I had entered my personal nightmare: people said hello to me everywhere I went, there was no television in my room, not a drop of alcohol in sight and my Blackberry only worked when I illegally tapped into the ranch’s wifi. What I wanted was to be left alone to watch TV, check my email and have a glass of wine. That’s what we call getting off on a bad start. I called a friend and said, “Help. I’m at Promises Rehab Mexico. Send. Wine.”

But as the week progressed, I noticed something about myself. Out of boredom, I took yoga, mat pilates, stretch and cardio circuit training classes. I never looked at my watch during these classes, which I normally would do back home wondering if I had enough time to get to a meeting. Yes, I am that person who leaves yoga class right before the meditation part of the class. Instead, I could basically enjoy the moment and focus on the activity at hand. I met interesting and friendly people at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and never felt hungry. I relished my 8PM massages, staggered back to my villa in a stupor and had the best sleep of my life.

I didn’t miss my sugar-free Red Bulls, my evening glass (er, glasses…) of wine and most importantly, my Blackberry. What I experienced was something I hadn’t felt before: bliss. And I lost weight (about 7 pounds) that I didn’t even know I needed to lose. I felt great.

The day I checked in for my third visit to Rancho La Puerta, I saw a sign with names of guests who had been there multiple times.  I noticed that film critic Roger Ebert had been a guest more than 30 times. The first time I saw this, my reaction was “crazy people.” Now, being a three-peat guest, I think “it’s crazy I don’t come here more often.”

The lesson I walked away with goes beyond bettering my fitness regime, getting cooking tips or losing those extra pesky pounds. Instead, I realized the investment I make in a one-week retreat towards myself is re-investing in my business: if I’m not living my life at optimum health, I can’t perform well in all aspects of my business. My whole life, I’ve been using a mantra that it’s the quality of the work that matters, not the quantity. Rancho La Puerta has taught me that the same philosophy applies to myself as well.