10 Day: Big Things and Little Things

Day 1: Choosing to Love Myself and Own My Life Day 10. It seems important for some reason to be in double digits! I’d attempted a daily journal type thing once before, geared more around food and less around everything else – and I think I only made it about 6 or 7 days. While I’m still struggling a bit to keep up with this project, it’s definitely becoming more manageable, and I’m enjoying doing it! Mira’s in the SF Bay Area visiting her family and friends until Thursday evening (Day 11), so my goal for the week is really just to knock out as much work as I can. For today, I’d give myself an 8/10 score on that – which is fantastic for me! (I tend to get very sidetracked and become very inefficient, as previously mentioned) The day started off when I awoke right around 6am, and meandered through my morning routine. It wasn’t as profoundly powerful/energizing today for some reason, but I still felt really good after finishing everything. (I forgot to color on my mandala, so will do extra on Day 11!) (See Day 5 for a full breakdown of my morning routine) After a 45-minute work block, it was time to hop on a webinar with Mitch Baird from the Southern Ontario Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative. Mitch is a friend I met at Paleo f(x) in 2013, and asked me to be the guest expert on their monthly webinar this month. The topic: Health Begins (and Ends) in the Gut. (Recording should be available soon!) I gave a 40-minute (or so) presentation, which I felt went really well and was very informative. Feedback was great – and it was even broadcast in a couple bigger classrooms at their facility. The work Mitch is doing for his people is amazing, and definitely very needed. Native populations across North America are really struggling with chronic disease (especially diabetes), depression, addiction, and countless other health problems of all kinds. I spent 6 months living on the Navajo Reservation with Mira, in Northeast Arizona (New Mexico border), and it was really an eye-opening experience. So… thanks to Mitch for having me on, and kudos to him for all the very essential work he is going! [caption id="attachment_4453" align="alignright" width="225"] Possible Retreat Location! Looks nice, doesn’t it?[/caption] After the webinar was finished, I stayed on the phone with Mitch for a little while and he told me about a property owned by his cousin many hours north (by car) of Toronto. It’s on a bedrock peninsula, overlooking a pristine lake, 2 hours from any cell service, and was a site for Native healing programs. There’s a big lodge and a number of bunk house type buildings. I’ve been keeping an eye out for a perfect location for the first Rebel Health Tribe Retreat – and we may have just found it! I’ll be looking into it further in the coming weeks/months, but it sounds very promising! My first meal of the day consisted of some wild-caught smoked Coho salmon, acquired at last Sunday’s farmer’s market. It’s Deeelicious. I paired this with some horseradish jalapeno sauerkraut and sweet potato fries (part of batch cook on Sunday). Oh, and some mustard. I love mustard (not the gross yellow French’s type mustard… but real mustard). Love it love it love it. As soon as I finished eating, it was time to talk with another friend and colleague of mine, Steve Macari. He’s a fellow CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach whom I met at Emma Lane’s Gut-Healing Course a couple years ago. (Her courses are amazing – check out THIS ARTICLE from Emma, which was recently posted on our blog) Steve works with high-profile clients in a high-end training facility in Manhattan. (and site for my PR on the squat, coincidentally) He also writes for Harper’s Bazaar Magazine (and hopefully soon on the Rebel Health Tribe blog!). [caption id="attachment_4454" align="alignleft" width="300"] Various vehicles for mustard.[/caption] I can’t really discuss the topic of our conversation (it’s a secret!) – but it’s very exciting, and I will be involved in a big project Steve is working on getting off the ground. I’ll share information about this once it’s okay to do so! Regardless, great stuff – and fun collaboration! (I love my job) After Steve’s call, I walked Marley – and then knocked out a bunch of work. No, I wasn’t perfectly efficient. Yes, I dabbled around on the inbox and Facebook a little. I didn’t stick to my strict work block timer idea (new timer should arrive on Thursday – Day 11!). For some reason, I don’t like using the one on my phone. I actually don’t like to have my phone near me when I’m not using it. (which is a good healthy practice in and of itself) Around 5:30 or so, I got a call from an acquaintance I’d met at Paleo f(x) this past year. She’s an actress/model in New York, and is in school for nutrition currently. There are some really cool projects she’s planning/working on, and I wanted to learn more about them. Again, not too much I can share on this front at the moment – but some cool stuff for the future! I’m very encouraged by the fact there are so many bright, passionate people entering the natural health and wellness field – we need all the help we can get! I enjoy talking with “new” professionals, or those considering switching careers. It’s fun to help them find their way, support them, and watch them grow! (Some are now contributors on our site!) I mixed in some bouts of time on the rebounder throughout the day, as well as one short break for some Heartmath time. I was planning on going to a late evening yoga class tonight, but decided to work a little extra (since Mira’s gone) and just relax at home before bed. Dinner was some leftover beef roast (Instantpot Saturday – I do eat leftovers for 6 to 7 days after they’re cooked. I live on the edge.) and roasted root vegetables with some sauteed greens (chard, beet greens). (I forgot to take a picture)