Hello Wholee Healthy community! I have been loving the workouts I’ve been doing lately and the business resources that are now at my fingertips as a part of my new company, but have needed a few reminders to slow down and not take on too much all at once. Yesterday, I made a point of having a relaxing day- a chat with my mom, watching TV with my daughter, ordering out for dinner (I kept it healthy, though!), upping my weights for my workout and getting a good sweat going, and having a focused Bible and prayer time… it was a great way to get my priorities back in line!

This morning, to keep myself balanced, I incorporated yoga. It is something I’ve just recently added in, as I now have access to pregnancy-friendly yoga, which has moves where my bump doesn’t get in the way! Yoga is an exercise that some people love and some hate, but it is a great way to work on flexibility (which is one of the five components of fitness and helps your fitness to be well-rounded).

It normally makes me impatient, but in the last few weeks of pregnancy, it has helped me gather my thoughts and slow down. In a social media post this morning, I had a few thoughts about intentional living I wanted to share with all of you:

Yoga has you set an intention every time you practice. Today my intention was to calm my thoughts and enjoy the movement my body is still capable of achieving… What if we set an intention at intervals throughout our day?

An intention to be patient with our children as they wanted to brush their own teeth and hair. An intention to stay calm even when someone cuts you off in traffic. An intention to bring a smile to each co-worker we come across. An intention to speak kindness about a person who your friends were gossiping about. An intention to understand that your husband just needs a few minutes of relaxation before jumping into chores when he gets home from work. An intention to slow down and keep your perspective when stressful things came up.

And better yet, what if we set an intention for each week, each month, each year, and our lives as a whole? An intention to leave people and places better than we found them, an intention to act and speak in love, an intention to take care of these bodies that God gave us, an intention to pursue our dreams and use the unique skills to the best of our ability.

Most of us have these desires deep down… but, is your life reflecting that? What steps can you take to align your daily life with your overall life intention (or goals)? It may mean cutting things out of life that you enjoy (TV, wine, sleeping in) or getting outside of your comfort zone… but, to know what you want and where you’re going- there is no better feeling! Be brave- assess your life- and choose the path that will take you where you want to go!

I started reading Rick Warren’s A Purpose Driven Life for the second time because it is a great book to access when going through transitions in life and just to find guidance as well. He says, “There is nothing quite as potent as a focused life, one lived on purpose.—If you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Prune away even good activities and do only what which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity….Purpose always produces passion. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose.”

Do you feel like you are active, but not productive? Do you feel like sometimes your life is spinning but not on a clear cut course? Consider your purpose… Why are you here? Where do you want the rest of the life to take you? And start living that life today!

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, 
Your thoughts become your words, 
Your words become your actions, 
Your actions become your habits, 
Your habits become your values, 
Your values become your destiny.”

― Gandhi