Hot Mess? I call BS.






UNPOPULAR OPINION: WHY CALLING YOURSELF A "HOT MESS" IS HOLDING YOU BACK

Unpopular opinion, perhaps, but when someone self-declares themselves as a hot mess, it makes me cringe.

Yet, we see it all the time. The hashtag “hot mess” has been used on Instagram over a million times.

Declaring, or even thinking, that you are a hot mess is totally defeating. It’s like you are putting on a brave face, by telling the world you don’t give a rip, yet you are labeling yourself which keeps you from having to reach for more or, more accurately, from wanting more.

I know this “hot mess” feeling. I know it well. But sometimes we use trendy words without even realizing how much they play with our subconscious and keep us playing small.

WHAT DOES “HOT MESS” REALLY MEAN?

What does “hot mess” mean to you? What is the woman who says this actually feeling? Tired, wiped, barely holding on, needing a break, wishing she could feel like she’s got it all together, wanting to be energized and organized.

This woman feels like there isn’t enough of her to go around, yet the Instagram photos would have her book-ending her day with “can’t function without coffee” and pouring a glass of red in the evening, talking about the crazy mom life, sporting a messy bun, and a cute oversized sweatshirt that says something witty, all while being praised for “keeping it real” and being relatable.

Why is that more accepted than her saying, I’m really overwhelmed these days, but I know it will get better. I’m doing what I can and being gentle with myself?

THE SURFACE LEVEL STRUGGLE

Don’t get me wrong, I like coffee and I enjoy a good glass of merlot once in a while. I get it, but we are missing the point with this surface level stuff that is actually hiding some bigger stuff.

It’s a crappy feeling to feel scattered and exhausted, but sometimes we announce it as a form of community building. It’s like saying, hey all you other tired, overwhelmed women out there! I’m here! Let’s be this way together, so that it feels better.

But does it? When you are down, does it feel better to be around others who are down or does it just feel more comfortable and safe? When you are exhausted and depleted, does it feel energizing to focus on it? Do you want to be in it longer, or do you want to move through it?

EMBRACE HEALING, REST, AND GROWTH

Let me be clear, I don’t think we always need to be pushing to be great, quite the opposite actually. I do not believe in hustle culture whatsoever. I believe strongly in healing and rest and honouring our feelings, but I do believe in refining ourselves and being resourceful in finding ways to feel better, to feel uplifted, to feel balanced and to feel peace.

I believe that we are meant to thrive and that life ebbs and flows. We go through seasons of rest and hibernation, seasons of visibility and growth and seasons of abundance and flow.

YOU ARE NOT “A MESS”

You are not “a mess.” You are so much more even if you are feeling like you are in a mess or feeling messy, or feeling messed up…it’s not who you are. It is an experience you are having.

It’s an experience we’ve all had, but it doesn’t have to be something you label yourself as, and you can choose a different experience.

CHOOSING YOUR IDENTITY

Imagine going to a conference and women could choose either “hot mess” as their name tag or “divine being”, what do you think most would choose?

What would you choose?

How would each of those options feel? How would you show up differently with each of those options?

DECLARE THE TRUTH OF WHO YOU ARE

If you are going to declare something about yourself, let it be the truth of what’s really inside. That’s keeping it real. That’s showing up fully for your life. That’s being in gratitude for another day on this earth.
It’s time to start raising the bar for our well-being, wouldn’t you say?

I’d say so. We are meant for so much more.

With so much love and belief for what’s possible for you,
Tina xo

P.S. If you are feeling like you have no idea how to go from a “hot mess” in survival mode, to a divine being that is thriving, you need to be in the Glow with Your Flow program.

I show you the path to feeling good again, to understanding yourself, to having better relationships with yourself and others, to remembering the truth of who you really are, to clarity, peace and balance for you specifically.



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What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is not just a healing system—it's a holistic lifestyle that empowers you to thrive physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Rooted in ancient wisdom and validated by modern science, Ayurveda offers practical tools to restore balance and prevent disease by aligning your habits with nature’s rhythms. Discover how personalized healing, the mind-body-spirit connection, and daily rituals can help you unlock your full potential and experience more joy, peace, and fulfillment. 

Ready to glow from the inside out? Learn more about Ayurveda and how to incorporate its transformative practices into your life.
Read more...

4 Ways to Start Healing from Within

4 Ways to Start Healing from Within

Your body is always supporting you.  It so incredibly intelligent and it does so much for you, asking nothing in return.  Even though we live busy, intense and physically and emotionally toxic lives, our body still wants to heal.  It's up to us to get out of the way and let it do what it needs to do.  

Let's take a look at 4 simple ways to begin healing from within.

Heal While You Sleep

Sleep is the time that your body heals itself. While you sleep your organs rest and regenerate, wastes are metabolized and emotions are processed. Your body knows what to do, but when you go to bed late, you lose out on precious healing time.  Ayurveda teaches that going to bed around 10pm to get the most out of this transformative, healing time.  Between 10-2 is PITTA time.  
 
In Ayurveda, Pitta Dosha is made of the fire and water elements.  Fire is responsible for digestion and transformation.  If you wait to go to bed, you might find that you get a sudden second wind during this time and can have a harder time falling asleep after.
 
To support you in getting a good night’s sleep, try diffusing lavender and cedarwood essential oils, do a self-massage on your feet to give yourself a little self-love before going to sleep.  Stay off devices for at least an hour before bed, try to go to bed around the same time every night, journal and recapitulate your day or brain dump your thoughts without attachment or emotion.  As you go to sleep, breathe deeply, in and out.  Sink into your mattress.  Feel every part of you sinking deeper and deeper as you breathe.  Expect a deep, soothing sleep to follow.
 
 
Heal While You Go Within (Meditate)
 
When you meditate you connect with the deeper part of you that is connected to all things, a greater consciousness.  You connect to your subtle body, which is exactly how it sounds, more subtle than the physical body.  Meditation is where you practice just being.  It’s turning inward. It allows you to centre yourself and regroup your thoughts.
 
It has been said that when you pray, you are speaking to God, but when you meditate, you are listening to God.  
 
Now you can call that Universe, Source, whatever suits your choices, but you get the idea. It means that you are connecting to the part of you that holds the truths, the answers, the peace, the grace and limitless possibilities.  Meditation is often mistaken for “clearing your mind” or “pausing the thoughts in your head”, but that is not it at all.  It is about being aware of your thoughts without attachment. Just letting them go by.  Bringing your focus back to your breath, and image or a mantra, for example. 
 
Deepak Chopra says, “Meditation is not about forcing your mind to be quiet, it’s about finding the silence that is already there”.
 
Meditation can bring:

  • Relief from depression
  • Lowered blood pressure 
  • Stress relief
  • Helps you regain your inner calm and equilibrium
  • Improved digestion
  • Improved memory
  • Improved interpersonal relationships
  • Reduced anxiety
  • And overall healing to your body systems because you are turning down the stress response, which most people are currently always in.
 
Heal With Mother Nature
 
We often think of the environment as something outside of ourselves, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  In Ayurveda, the environment is considered your extended body.  Part of the physical body.  This is why when we align ourselves with the rhythms of nature, we naturally come back into balance.  
 
The elements found in nature are what makes up the entire universe including you.  For example, the sun in the environment is the element of fire which in your body shows up as your digestive fire (the Sanskrit term for this is Agni) and it is responsible for transformation of everything we take in through our 5 senses.  
 
When you want to heal, you can replenish your mind, body and spirit by connecting with nature.  If you simply visit a natural area and walk in a relaxed way, you begin to calm & restore yourself, and feel rejuvenated.  Forest Bathing is an example of this.  Forest bathing is basically taking in the forest atmosphere.
 
  • Improved focus
  • Mood boost
  • Improved intuition
  • A sense of overall well-being
  • Stress reduction
  • Immune boost
  • Lower risk of disease
 They say to let hug a tree, but rather try letting the tree hug you.  Lean against the tree and feel the connection.  If it’s not winter where you are, stand barefoot on the grass, in the sand, in the water.  If it is winter, go out and breathe the crisp winter air.  Listen to the crunch as you step with your boots into the snow.  Observe the brightness of the environment.  Just spend time in awareness.

Even if you can’t get to a forest or getting outside is tricky, you can have plants in your home, spend time sitting near a window and feeling the sun, even looking at a desk fountain and listening to the sounds of nature or looking at a picture of nature and imagining the smells and the feelings.  If you have essential oils, grab a tree oil of any kind like pine or northern lights black spruce, my fave, and place a drop in your hands, rub your hands together and cup over your mouth and. Breathe in and breathe out.  
 
Heal While You Play
 
You need to make room for fun in your life.  To do things you love, laugh, have relationships, and interact with others.  This allows you to experience new things, grow, receive from others, give, explore and extract emotional nourishment.  
 
It allows you to feel good, despite any circumstances you might be facing which makes room for a new perspective or solutions.  It allows you to literally lighten up on your journey of enlightenment.

Be well,
Tina xo


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Listen to the Simple Ayurveda for Wellness Entrepreneurs Podcast

Do THIS Before Setting Goals for 2022

Do THIS Before Setting Goals for 2022
We are at the top of a New Year.  There’s a lot of noise out there.

So many “shoulds” are popping up.  Whether you are looking around and what you see in others that you “want” or you feel like you need to be a certain way for others, the list goes on and on about all the self-improvements you want to make as a woman, a mother, in your career, your family life, your marriage, your body…I could go on.  Can you feel the heaviness in all of that?

This year, let’s simplify.  Before we start adding to all the lists, just as yourself this one question...

Am I just existing or am I thriving?

You might have been “just existing” for so long that you don’t even know what thriving looks like.  When we are in the noise and the business it’s hard to even have awareness of what something different might feel like.  

There is a massive difference between thriving and existing. 

Just existing can be very sneaky because it can even be a habit.  

Signs you are existing:

  • You make decisions that keep you small and safe

  • You don’t try new things

  • You react rather than respond

  • When you make a mistake, you look at is as failure rather than feedback

  • You can’t hear your inner voice and what others say and think about you is what you take as truth

  • You feel restricted rather than expansive

  • You feel like slowing down is wasting time

  • You push and push through the week rather than feeling the pull of peace and balance.

  • You feel like your body isn’t supporting you - low energy, poor digestion, lack of sleep and so on.

So WHY is it worth checking in with yourself, taking a breath and just listening?

Because you deserve to be happy.  A hamster wheel existence keeps you apart from remembering your wholeness.  Keeps you from experiencing  the potential of what this life has to offer.  Keeps you from being able to pour into others using your gifts.  Keeps you from feeling peace in your life and balance in your days.

So what now?  You’ve decided that perhaps you have been just existing.  How does that influence what you want for this year?

It means you should tune in and get choosy. Marie Kondo what is happening within you and around you.  Ask yourself, do you need it? Do you love it? Does it bring you joy?  Ask this about what you take in as food, how you spend your time, where you spend your money, what you watch, etc.

Start to live by the 80/20 rule…because it allows you to give yourself grace.  For example, you might not have a say in 20% of the people you surround yourself with, but for the other 80%, get choosy.

Get choosy about what you take in through your five senses.  It all affects you.  

Get choosy about what you put in your mouth…not based on the latest trend, but by how it makes you FEEL.

Slow down and begin to be aware of how you feel and it will change what you choose to hold on to, commit to, allow in, put out and spend time on.

This year, choose to start with awareness.  It’s the light on the path of thriving.

Burn bright,
Tina xo

I'd love to know, did you take time to reflect and ask yourself the question?  What came up for you? If this was helpful, share it with a friend and be sure to connect with me over on Instagram.

Connect with me on Instagram
Listen to the Simple Ayurveda for Wellness Entrepreneurs Podcast