How to Survive the Holidays

Hello High-Vibe Tribe! What's good?

As you may know, this new website "An Elevated Life" is now hosting all of my old content from my old studio website (since I have sold the studio). Starting this month, I will be fulfilling a goal to create new content on this new site because I am back on my mission to help you find your best and most empowered self! Therefore, I am very excited to have my first monthly blog article coming out just in time for the holidays! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year!

Here are some tips for surviving the holidays without ditching your wellness routine:

❄️Offer to bring a healthy side dish to parties. That way, you know there is at least one dish you can eat! Carrots, celery, and hummus is my go-to. It's really easy to make hummus, but even easier is to buy Zacca's which is free of inflammatory oils. You can find this brand at our Kalispell Smith's Grocery store in the front by the deli.

️❄️Limit alcohol intake. I ditched alcohol totally ten years ago and it has been a game changer for me.

❄️Never skip your bedtime.

❄️Conversely, it's okay to skip a workout, especially if what you truly need is rest! Never beat yourself up about resting when you need to; just get back on track for the next workout.

❄️Start meals with vegetables and fiber; hit carbs last. This will help reduce glucose spikes.

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This Month's Mantra

"You have an entire month (that's four weeks; 30 days) to practice habits needed for New Year's goals. That way, you can get the slipups out of the way and hit the ground running come January 1st." ~Wise words from one of my best friends, Catherine Murray

What I Am Excited About

So many things! But I narrowed it down to a few to share:

❄️The holiday season - velvet and glitter abound! Plus, Kalispell's Downtown Holiday Stroll is this Friday, December 1st! The highlight of the night is The Festival of Trees on the second floor of the KM Building: Festival of Trees - Kalispell | Facebook.

❄️The ski area opens next week on Thursday, December 7th! If you are not a snow sport enthusiast, no worries. Lots of fun options for movement medicine at your local gyms and aerial studios!

Meeee at opening day, 2022. Photo cred: Lune Axelsen

What I Am Munching On

After taking almost an entire year off (and not feeling like my best self meanwhile), I am trying to get back on track with my anti-inflammation diet. Breakfasts lately consist of grass-fed bone broth with avocado. It's not very exciting, I know. But it's healthy and I am encouraged by starting to feel my energy levels stabilize after a summer of highs and lows depending on where I was at in my glucose cycle.

What I Listening To

My favorite song right now is a sensational Afrobeat remix of Kelis' "Milkshake" by Alex Wann. This song hits so smooth that you can use it for running, weightlifting or aerial play. It's amazing universally.

My favorite album every December is Kaskade's Christmas album. My favorite song off their album is here: O Come Emmanuel (ft. Skylar Grey) | Kaskade Christmas

My favorite podcaster (for a while now) has been Dr. Mindy Pelz, who is a holistic health expert helping women to take control of their health. Mindy advocates for syncing a fasting lifestyle with a women's hormonal cycle. I can't believe I was in my 40's when I first heard about how our menses affect our brains; and how we should sync our food, fitness, and life to our menstrual cycle. I searched the web for a good graph explaining this concept. One main takeaway is that our power phase immediately follows menstruation. This is when you can hit the gym and diet hard without knocking hormones out of balance. Anyhoooo, on Dr. Mindy Pelz, I recommend her Youtube channel for a ton of useful information especially on intermittent fasting. Here is a good video to start with:

The COMPLETE GUIDE To Intermittent Fasting For Beginners | Dr. Mindy Pelz

Thanks for reading my article. The Elevated Life blog is dedicated to anyone and everyone striving to find an actionable route to their best self and highest potential, and I am so happy to have you here.

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Article by Mindy Cochran. Mindy is a practitioner, teacher, and performer of aerial silks, aerial hammock, and aerial hoop; as well as a health columnist for Montana Woman Magazine. Her column shares expertise for elevating health & wellness which she has acquired through her certifications as a personal trainer, nutrition coach, and life coach. To connect with Mindy on Instagram, please visit: www.instagram.com/aerial.mindy; or visit her Linktree here.