Normal.
What is normal?
A mindset. Normal for everyone is a bit different.
Does everyone else get up in the morning and immediately let the pup outside? No, but that's my normal.
Does everyone else spend 1-2 hours per day talking with people about wellness goals, in service to others, to help them fulfill their dreams of feeling well preventatively? No, but it's my normal.
Does everyone eat fresh cucumbers for lunch during the summer, grow 5 kinds of mint while gardening organically, and drink chocolate or orange mint tea in the winter? No, but it's my normal.
Did everyone go to a private K-12 school growing up? No, but that's my normal.
Does everyone sing 5-8 hrs per day for FUN and get to pass that joy and skill on to adults and kids alike? No, but it's my joyful normal.
Does everyone sleep 7-8 hours per night? For most, that's a sad no, but it's my normal now! It definitely didn't used to be.
Does everyone go to church every Sunday? No, but that's my normal.
Does everyone work for themselves as their own "boss"? No, but it's becoming my normal.
Does everyone eat Einkorn instead of modern grain? No, but it's becoming our normal.
Does everyone play strategy board games often the way Gabe & I do? No, but we enjoy it, and it's our normal.
Does everyone believe the same things about God or humanity? No, but we each have a normal.
Our normal is governed by our underlying beliefs and mindset. Our normal is fundamentally governed by what we believe about ourselves -- who we are, what we say to ourselves.
Do you tell yourself:
I am anxious.
I am tired.
I am broke.
I am hurt.
I am in pain.
I am stuck.
I am stressed.
I am broken.
I am a sinner.
I am hopeless.
I am incapable of _______ (something that hasn't happened yet that you are dreaming of).
I have to work this job.
I have to marry this person.
I have to live here.
OR, do you tell yourself:
I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
I am blessed to be a blessing.
I am at peace.
I am serving others.
I am connected in community.
I am made new.
I am growing.
I am a sharer of my talents and knowledge.
I am healed.
I am a saint who sometimes still sins.
I am hope-filled.
I am already _________ (fill in the blank with a goal that God sees as done, but to me is "not yet").
I can change my mind.
I can develop new preferences.
I can be authentically ME.
How can you move towards a new normal, if you're telling yourself the former things? How can I help you on the journey of saying the latter things to yourself?
Love you, dear friends. 🥰
Do you struggle with performance anxiety or mindset and confidence? You are not alone. Sometimes addressing non-musical things can really help the issue at hand, speaking from a teacher and performer lens.
Here are a few non-musical ways to help you (or your child) experience success in addressing performance anxiety or general confidence and anxiety. Read on to the end to get a free recipe for my concentration and focus blend.
1. Encourage a Growth Mindset
Growth Mindset is not a new concept, but it is especially important when tackling difficult tasks or subjects. Studies show that if people believe they can do something, even if it is difficult and they may not get it right away, they learn it better, retain it longer, and stick with the hard task longer if they have a growth mindset.
Encourage your inner self to use phrases such as "Mistakes help me grow." or "My intelligence can be developed." or "I keep trying and never give up!" instead of "I'm not good at it." or "I give up easily.'
2. Get Good Sleep
“Daytime thinking is a building process, whereas nighttime thinking is a sorting process.”
― Caroline Leaf, Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health
Did you know that people with sleep issues are often misdiagnosed with attention or learning issues? This is because our brains make sense of and sort our experiences at nighttime from during the daytime. When we don't get enough good sleep at night, our brain isn't able to "download" and synthesize what we took in from the previous day. So maybe you did a lot of great learning and made progress the day before, but if you didn't sleep well or long enough, that learning may be lost. There are so many other reasons sleep is vital to health and wellness and learning! Read a scholarly example here.
Set a bedtime routine and stick to it! If you need ideas, I shared 11 tried and true ways to get better sleep here that can be adapted very well for anyone, including kids.
3. Strengthen Left- and Right-Brain Connections
Do you enjoy some activities that are completely unrelated to performing? Of course you do! There are many studies that show certain activities (like purposeful cross-body movement) strengthen the pathways in the brain between the two hemispheres. What does this have to do with performing? Well, music often requires that these pathways be strong. When practicing using these pathways, it's like exercising a muscle and will get stronger with use. The stronger you build a muscle, the stronger you feel when something heavy comes along that you have to pick up. By building strong pathways with something different -- like movement -- you can come back to it feeling stronger, like it is a bit less heavy than last time.
In the middle of a moment of anxiety or performing (or perhaps even right before it!), do this active listening + movement piece to activate those multiple areas of the brain.
"I Can Do This!" Focus & Concentration Roller Blend
10 drops Peppermint essential oil
10 drops Frankincense essential oil
15 drops Lemon essential oil
15 drops Stress Away essential oil
Add these essential oils to a 10 ml roller bottle and fill with carrier oil.
Roll on wrists, collar bone, bottom of feet, or the back of neck before tackling a difficult task.
It is very important to know that not all essential oils are created equal...
You can’t just go out to a big box store (or anywhere online) and trust that you’re getting the good stuff. Lucky for you, I’ve got a source I trust – want to know more? Click the button in the top corner to contact me.
2. We also see a specialized chiropractor, and utilize something that helps us stay in alignment longer. I wear a custom splint on top at night so I slide instead of clench, though I personally think that mostly just protects my teeth than stops clenching.
Overall, I'm a fan of utilizing the sense of smell, which taps into a different, older part of the brain than visual or aural encouragements or clues. Why the sense of smell?
Our olfactory senses are actually housed within the limbic system, the parts of our brain that deal with memory and emotions. So by using the sense of smell, we can affect our memories and emotions! How can we harness this to change habits?
When essential oils are inhaled through the nose, aromatic molecules are carried through the lining of the nasal cavity by tiny olfactory nerves, located in the roof of the inner nose, to the part of the brain called the limbic system. This limbic system in turn influences the endocrine system and the autonomic nervous system.
"Smile! We're in Europe, Andrea!"
This picture was taken almost 6 years ago in 2014. Gabe & I were on choir tour in Europe when we were dating in college. 😊 It was such a special time, and I look back on it fondly, though I was in a lot of discomfort from TMJD (temporomandibular joint dysfunction/disorder). On a choir tour, the schedule of singing and rehearsals and performances is pretty rigorous, even for someone without any issues -- lots of standing, singing in cathedrals without air conditioning in thick, velvet robes, sometimes two concerts in one day, etc.
If you look REALLY closely, you can see little tape right by my ears. What's that? Little tiny strong-powered magnets.
I was SO desperate for relief (but too sensitive to take any meds) that I was taping little tiny magnets to my face 15+ hours per day. It DID help a little bit on the worst days, or at least made the worst days less bad (as long as I actually wore them every day), but I hated feeling like a robot walking around with magnets. It felt especially weird because when people asked me why that helped, I didn't have a good answer. No research, or minimal anyway, had yet explained the possibilities for why it helped some, but it helped enough that I did it. I hated being asked all the time about it, even though I would rather people ask than just stare.
I figured that if I had to live with chronic issues, at least I'd rather no one else could visibly see it -- at least I could ignore it by giving my jaw a name (yes, my closest friends knew which days "Doris" was cranky!). But the magnets made it feel permanent because others could visibly see it too. And no one knew if this was going to be a permanent issue or not. That was the hardest part. I questioned my desired career choice. I mean, how could I possibly be a music teacher who has to sing for 7-8 hours per day if I am in pain after 20 minutes of singing? How's that ever going to work out? But I was so far through my degree that I didn't want to waste the time and spend more time in school, so I kept going. I figured I could get a different job with my degree if I had to.
So how did I get from there to here? Today I feel better than I ever have -- physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and relationally.
But it wasn't an easy journey. Lots of experimentation and trial & error happened (including the magnets) until I found some things that really helped. But once I did, it was like a light switch. Things started getting better so quickly that I dared not believe it would actually be a permanent solution. You see, different drs I visited just gave me a list of things to do/not do. They said there was no cure and no known cause, though they gave me a night guard splint to hopefully help. And that did, a little, but it didn't really get to the root issue. Perhaps some drs know more today than they did then, but I didn't believe that they were right with what they told me then. I couldn't believe it!
I'm no doctor, but with what I know about the body and how EVERYTHING affects everything else (for one quick example gut health affects mental health), I knew there had to be other options. And I'm SO glad I was open-minded enough to truly seek and try them and not discount them.
For me it wasn't a matter of if I could afford the options. Yes, some of the things I tried before finding things that truly brought wellness cost me money. But for me the question I kept coming back to was, 'If I found out that this would help, that this would bring wellness and/or relief and I didn't try it, how sad would I feel? Health to me is more important than "fun stuff," especially because I want to truly enjoy the fun stuff! If I can postpone some of the "fun stuff" for a few months or a year until I feel better, how much more will I enjoy it?'
'But if this doesn't work for me, what do I have to lose? A few dollars, I guess. If this DOES work for me, what do I have to gain? Everything! My life and desired career! My social enjoyment in the evenings back instead of going to bed early with a numbed-from-ice-packs face! Opportunities that this holds me back from!' Even if it wasn't cured, I desired a more full and healthy life.
And I have found it. 
I CAN work multiple jobs now because I enjoy them and have the energy for them! I CAN go enjoy social events (when this whole stay-at-home is over) when I used to stay home and ice my face. I CAN sing for 7-8 hours per day without any discomfort.
If I stop my balancing act of solutions, I do have uncomfortable days again, so I know I still "have TMJD" to a lesser degree -- but the beautiful thing is that it rarely affects me anymore. I feel so empowered to know more about how the body works, how food affects us, how the environment around us really does change us for good or bad. God made plants to be healing, for our good. I have many options now on those very few days when I struggle. I had one day last week where my jaw kept clicking and was really sore (probably from weather pressure). But it didn't turn into a big problem because I knew right away what options I had available to me and what I wanted to try first, before it turned into a bigger problem.
I feel empowered now to make my own wellness choices as a part of a huge wellness community, more like a family, really. And I feel free. God gave me freedom!
And that is WORTH the trial and error process to me.
If you're struggling now (with emotions, with chronic issues, with weight, with motivation, with TMJD, with anything, really!), what is holding you back from really digging deep, from embracing the journey to wellness? How can I encourage you to take those first steps (or maybe 5th or 55th or 107th steps!)?
I have a group of people I'm walking this natural wellness journey with, ready to be their cheerleaders. It's free! If you need a little hope and cheerleading on your wellness journey, come join us. 🥰 And if you want to ideas for your specific situation, I'm more than happy to listen and share what I know. You can find me on FB or contact me through the button at the top of the page too!
I love you guys, really and truly. I'm here for you. 
Does your kiddo struggle with math? They (and you!) are not alone. Sometimes addressing non-math issues can really help the issue at hand, speaking from a teacher lens. Here are a few non-math ways to help your child experience success in math. Read on to the end to get a free recipe for my concentration roller blend.
1. Encourage a Growth Mindset
Growth Mindset is not a new concept, but it is especially important when tackling difficult tasks or subjects. Studies show that if people believe they can do something, even if it is difficult and they may not get it right away, they learn it better, retain it longer, and stick with the hard task longer if they have a growth mindset.
Encourage your child to use phrases such as "Mistakes help me grow." or "My intelligence can be developed." or "I keep trying and never give up!" instead of "I'm not good at it." or "I give up easily.'
2. Get Good Sleep
“Daytime thinking is a building process, whereas nighttime thinking is a sorting process.”
― Caroline Leaf, Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health
Did you know that children with sleep issues are often misdiagnosed with attention or learning issues? This is because our brains make sense of and sort our experiences at nighttime from during the daytime. When we don't get enough good sleep at night, our brain isn't able to "download" and synthesize what we took in from the previous day. So maybe your child did a lot of great learning of math and made progress the day before, but if he/she didn't sleep well or long enough, that learning may be lost. There are so many other reasons sleep is vital to health and wellness and learning! Read a scholarly example here.
Set a bedtime routine and stick to it! If you need ideas, I shared 11 tried and true ways to get better sleep here that can be adapted very well for kids.
3. Strengthen Left- and Right-Brain Connections
Does your child enjoy some activities that are completely unrelated to math? Of course they do! There are many studies that show certain activities (like music) strength the pathways in the brain between the two hemispheres. What does this have to do with math? Well, math often requires that these pathways be strong. When practicing using these pathways, it's like exercising a muscle and will get stronger with use. The stronger you build a muscle, the stronger you feel when something heavy comes along that you have to pick up. By building strong pathways with something more "fun" -- like music -- your child can come to math work feeling stronger, like the math work is a bit less heavy than last time.
In the middle of math work (or perhaps even right before it!), have your child do this active listening + movement piece to activate those multiple areas of the brain.
