2021: A Year Of…
2021 was quite the year. I launched my On Demand Subscription Platform, made the press over a dozen times, made multiple small changes that significantly improved my life and how I feel on a daily basis, and learned to ask for help - a lot! Keep reading for my last blog of the year recapping my highlights and all things I feel worth sharing.
Healthier Changes…
This year I adopted some diet and lifestyle changes that have significantly improved how I feel. As I often say in pilates “ a little bit goes a long way”. That is how I feel about these little change that have gone a long way for me in the last year:
Swapped my morning whole milk latte for Oat Milk - I love Rise Brew Co.
Embraced Gluten Free and Paleo baking - I love baked goods and swapping low sugar and grain free products has been game changing for how my stomach feels after. You’ll find some of my favorite recipes in my recent Breakfast Inspiration Blog.
Started juicing in the mornings. Most days after my morning hot water with lemon and oat milk latte I have a green juice. My favorite combo is lemon, ginger, celery, cucumber and occasionally throwing in left over parsley or cilantro. I have this Breville Juicer and it’s been great! I juice for 2 days at a time and store one serving in an air tight container so I can keep things a little bit easier. I also add Vitamin D, zinc, and Sakara’s chlorophyl and beauty drops for extra nutrition.
Keep up with my Sakara weekly food delivery. This commitment to my nutrition has been game changing. By having this weekly delivery it has taken the pressure off myself to stay eating well and full of energy for everything else in my life. Check it out and be sure to use XoAPP for 20% off your first order.
Swapped out glasses of wine for Dram Apothecary sparkling water. No I do not have an alcohol problem but yes it is definitely easy to get in the habit of glasses of wine. By swapping out delicious sparkling water with CBD I still have a nice drink to enjoy while making dinner but sans the alcohol.
I asked for help…
I am that type A perfectionist who wants to do it all. But frankly, that’s not healthy or helpful. I realized how asking for help actually makes me better, not less than.
I worked with a therapist for a while to help understand and manage significant anxiety that I was experiencing. He was very helpful and while I am not working with him anymore, I still apply the things I learned from him daily. I highly recommend asking for professional help, it made such a difference for me.
I stared meditating every night before bed using the Insight Timer app. This significantly helped me with a number of things such as calming my mind before bed, better sleep, and definitely calm anxiety that I was experiencing.
In addition to the amazing branding/web design team behind my website, I hired marketing and PR professionals to help me build my business, and they made all the difference.
I hired my friend and amazing designer Alissa Selling of River Interiors with my new home gut renovation. I really thought I could do it myself but boy was I wrong. We are so close to being done and I cannot wait for it!
I have been having a fair amount of back pain and couldn’t crack the issue on my own (I know how this sounds coming from a pilates instructor!) So, I started working with a “Body Coach” via Tom Brady’s TB12 training method and it has made a world of difference in how I feel. It is intense body work to release muscle tension and relieve imbalances - it is very uncomfortable but has great benefits even after just a few sessions! I have learned so much more about my own body and mobility I cannot wait to share with you! Most importantly, I am feeling so much better!
Pilates and the Press…
This year I launched my On Demand Subscription offering. It has been so fun to create new classes for each week and see people actually take them. As a one woman show, I cannot tell you how happy this makes me.
I also had the amazing opportunity (thanks to the help of which I sought out) of being in the press repeatedly this last year. I had over a dozen press mentions and I am so proud of them! I now have a press page - check it out!
Last, I donated a number of classes to charity such as The Montauk Lighthouse and The Breast Cancer Alliance. There was also the beach clean up I hosted at the beginning of the summer at Hero Beach Club in Montauk. In addition, through out most of the year each month I donated 10% of proceeds from my Live Virtual Classes to various charities.
Wishing you a healthy and happy end of 2021 and a beautiful start to 2022!
xx, Ashley