May Reset Challenge
May Reset Challenge
Spring cleaning may have come early for many of us this year!
March was a time where we were obsessed about washing our hands and boosting our immune systems, and many of us were preoccupied with doing a massive cleansing of our internal and external environments.
April brought another big adjustment, as we came to terms with the reality that our new ‘home self-isolating scenario’ was going to be for the long haul. It seems that collectively, we reacted in one of two ways: Some people retreated into hibernation mode, playing video games, binge watching Netflix, or over indulging in other reality-escaping activities. On the other spectrum, people became overly stimulated and involved in the extensive offerings popping up online. Maybe you created an overwhelming schedule of different classes, online learning, homeschooling activities, and social sharing. If you are anything like me, along with this exponential increase in screen time, came an increase in snacking, and a sense of looming burn-out at the end of the day.
Along with these many new stressors, I suspect you maybe starting to feel a little bit lost in the busyness of this strange new world, and exhausted by juggling of so many different demands. By the end of the month, your diet had fallen apart and all those home cooked meals you were excited about at the beginning of April had somehow turned into frozen pizza, a bag of chips, a bowl of coconut-based ice-cream, or one too many glasses of red wine at the end of a long day.
Well… MAY IS HERE!
And it’s time to join the May Reset Challenge! #MayResetChallenge
I wanted to create something FUN that would also add a ton of value to your life right now.
This challenge is to get you out of your funk and shift your energy and mindset. It’s time to refocus on taking care of yourself and building healthier habits while staying at home.
So, here’s what we will be focusing on for the month of May:
Resetting your spiritual practice
Resetting your thoughts and emotions
Resetting your diet and lifestyle
You can focusing on integrating just one of the the suggestions from each area or integrate more than one… it’s completely up to you! However, choose at least one new behavior from each aspect of yoga: spiritual, mental-emotional and physical.
Ways to Reset Your Spiritual Practice
20 minutes of reading something spiritual or uplifting each morning.
10 minutes of breathing exercises, this can be as simple as breathing in for a count of 4-10 seconds and then lengthening your exhalation to double the length of your inhalation, breathing out for a count of 8-20 seconds. It helps to use the Ujjayi sound as you breathe.
10 minutes of a meditation technique, whether it is using a mantra, following your breath, using a visualization, or loving kindness meditation.
Ways to Reset Your Mind and Emotions
10 minutes of writing in a journal or goggle doc, either in the morning or evening before bed.
Listen and tune into your emotions and how your body is feeling in response. Do you feel an ache in your stomach or a tightness in your chest? What types of sensations do you notice? Can you sit with these feelings without reacting or suppressing or avoiding them?
At least 30 minutes of yoga-asana practice per day. That’s 30 minutes of stretching, breathing, light weight-bearing strength training, and resting.
Ways to Reset Your Diet
Alcohol & Meatless Reset - this can help to reset your estrogen levels - Take your ahimsa (non-harming) to the next level, and eliminate meat, eggs, and alcohol from your diet for a full month.
Sugar Free Reset - this can help to reset your insulin levels - Avoid any products with added white sugar, honey, agave, brown sugar, maple syrup, molasses, sucralose (Splenda). The only sweetener permissible here is stevia. Stevia is a plant that has a gylcemic load of zero, so it has no effect on your blood sugar or insulin levels.
Fruit-less and Nightshade Reset - this can help to reset your insulin and hunger hormone, leptin - Eliminate all high-glycemic (GI) fruits (all tropical and dried fruits, bananas, mangos, kiwi, figs, guava, pineapple, grapes, dates, watermelon, canteloupe, orange juice and wine) and nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, and tomatillos).
Only low-glycemic fruit (scoring under 50 or less on the glycemic-index) is permitted. These fruits include: lemons, limes, most berries, apples, avocado, olives, peaches, pomegranate, nectarines, pears, and plums.Caffeine Free Reset - this can help to reset your cortisol levels, which build up with stress - You can say goodbye to caffeine altogether, or only say goodby to coffee and chocolate. Try replacing your morning coffee habit with black tea, green tea, white tea and limit it to two cups per day. Replace caffeine altogether with herbal teas, and warm lemon water!
Dairy Free Reset - this can help to reset your growth hormone and improve your insulin levels - Avoid milk, cheese, butter, kefir and yogurt. Substitute olive oil for butter and use plant-based milk alternatives instead of cow’s milk.
Grain Free Reset - this can help to reset your thyroid hormone, insulin and leptin levels - Eliminate all grains including flour. Avoid bread, cereal, wheat, barley, oats, corn, durum, millet, rice, spelt, rye, and all processed foods containing grains, wheat, gluten derivatives or thickeners. These foods include beer, pickles, mustard, soy-sauce, cream sauces, processed cheeses, canned soup, salad dressings, ice cream and hundreds of other common foods.
Toxin & Acidity Reset - this can help to reset your testosterone levels (and yes, women have and need testosterone too), and it also supports the reset of estrogen, insulin, leptin, and your thyroid - Increase your exposure to fresh air, sunlight, clean proteins, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Increase your micronutrients, like magnesium, sulfur, selenium, copper and zinc. Avoid parabens and phthalates in your cosmetics, shampoos, conditioners, perfume, deodorants and body washes.
Hydration Reset - be sure you are drinking around 2 - 3 liters of water per day. This can be warm or hot and includes herbal teas.
Additional Reset Activities:
Try doing one activity each day for the pure joy of it and for no other reason!
Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing…
Read a book of interest
Listen to uplifting music
Plant something or weed your garden
Take a walk outside or go for a run
Organize your bookshelf or cupboards
Try cooking a new recipe
Take a bath with essential oils or epsom salts
Deep clean your car
Clean out your closet
Try dry brushing your skin in the morning before you shower
Snack on some raw veggies
Make a green smoothie
Call a friend that you haven’t spoken to recently
Get into nature; visit the ocean, the mountains, a forest, field, or hill
Draw a picture with chalk on the sidewalk
Write a letter to a friend or family member
Camp-out in your backyard
Bake some cookies
Have a picnic
Run through the sprinkler
Send flowers to your mother or grandparent or friend
Drop a surprise gift in a friend’s mailbox
Make a painting
Write a poem
Take an afternoon nap
Play cards, or a board game with your kids
I can’t wait to see what you come up with to lighten your spirit and reset your health!
Share your May Reset progress and any helpful hints with me and each other in my Harmony Yoga Resources Facebook group
Be sure to share on Instagram to and tag me @harmonyslateryoga and add the hashtag #MayResetChallenge
BONUS PRIZE: If you post 15 times during the month of May, sharing how your reset is going or what you are doing to reset your health, you will be entered to win a 30 minute personal coaching session with me!
I already have some fun things planned for myself… and I think you’re going to come up with some fantastic ways to make big shifts in your life too!
Take Action Now: Leave a comment below and tell me what you plan to do to shift your lifestyle and practice this month. It’s always more powerful to make yourself accountable by writing it down and letting someone like me know what you plan to work on, how I can support you, and that YOU ARE UP FOR THE CHALLENGE!
