Happy Friday! I'm ready for a busy weekend, including starting two new Pilates class series this weekend.

We've had lots of sickness floating around our house the past few weeks, including the dreaded stomach bug. BUT I'm happy to report everyone has been healthy the past week and a half. So today I'm going to be sharing a lot about what I did to stay healthy and get over sickness faster.

O N E 
Vitamins
I'm a big fan of Probiotics and take them daily- they are so good for you and perfect for digestive health. Read here why. I take the Standard Process Probiotics 3 times a day, but when the stomach bug started, I increased to 4-5 times a day for an extra boost.

Once everyone started getting sick in my house, I also started taking my Immuplex vitamin again (also made by Standard Process.) I took this vitamin throughout my pregnancy (2 capsules, 3 times a day,) but hadn't been taking them lately. When sick or exposed to sickness, I take a total of 9 capsules a day (usually I would take 6 a day.) I swear by Immuplex- I avoided getting the Flu last year when everyone else in my house had it and I credit that to these vitamins.
I get both of these vitamins from my chiropractor, so you won't find them in store- check with a chiropractor or other wellness provider. But they are good quality vitamins and are made from whole foods, which is why you have to take more of them. (Side note- I shared yesterday about why I started going to the chiropractor. Click here. You should definitely check that out if you are pregnant!)

T W O
Lemon Water
I love drinking lemon water. But when sick or exposed to sickness, I drink it at least once a day. Lemons are a great boost for your immune system because they are high in Vitamin C. We did not have any lemons at home, so I used my Young Living Lemon Vitality essential oil instead. I put 1-2 drops in my water using my Yeti cup to keep it cold and refreshing.

T H R E E
DiGize Essential Oil 
That being said, I did end up getting the stomach bug. Like a week and a half later after everyone else was healthy. I'm not sure what happened, but I will say I had stopped drinking lemon water and had stopped taking my Immuplex vitamins two days before I got sick (bad move on my part.)

So anyways, this gave me the perfect opportunity to try my new essential oil DiGize. This is an essential oil blend made from Young Living- read more about it here. I had heard great things about this oil and ordered it after my house came down with the stomach bug.
Once I started feeling sick, I rubbed a mixture of coconut oil and one drop of the oil on my stomach in a circular motion. As soon as I did this, I would feel relief from my nausea. I did this several times the day I was sick. I only got sick on my stomach one time and just felt flu-like for the rest of the day. I credit that to my vitamins, the lemon water, and DiGize oil because everyone else was a thousand times sicker and for much longer than I ever was with the bug.

F O U R 
Lululemon- Align Crop Leggings
What better way than to celebrate surviving the stomach bug than a new pair of workout leggings! I picked these crop leggings up last week. I'm obsessed. Like if I'm honest- I've almost worn them almost every day the past week except when I've washed them ha.

F I V E
New Mat
I also scored this new mat from Lululemon last Saturday. Note for locals to Huntersville and Lake Norman Area- Lululemon at Birkdale Village is starting back up their free Saturday Morning classes. They are having another class tomorrow at 8:30 AM. Anyways, I went last Saturday and they gifted those that attended a new mat. Who doesn't love a new mat?! I love it! It is the perfect amount of cushion, so I can use it for both Yoga and Pilates.

Earlier this week, I went to the chiropractor. I was long overdue for an adjustment.  So I thought I'd share a little bit about why I initially starting going to the chiropractor.

During my first pregnancy, I had absolutely terrible headaches. Absolutely nothing would help. I'd try taking Tylenol coupled with a small glass of Coke as recommended by my midwife, but it DID NOT help. I was completely miserable and honestly was tired of taking Tylenol. I was looking for more natural options to help me get through my pregnancy and feeling better. I also had headaches during my second pregnancy; however, they were not near as bad, but I give that credit to seeing a chiropractor regularly from the very beginning of my pregnancy and staying proactive about keeping my spine in alignment.

My midwife had been telling me visit after visit to go see the chiropractor. And I continued to complain of my headaches. But I wrote it off because I initially thought going to the chiropractor was silly and was not going to solve my problem. Back when I was getting certified to teach Pilates, I was having rib pain. It felt like the upper left side of my rib cage was grinding together and was just really uncomfortable. My Pilates teacher trainer recommended that I go to the chiropractor, but I did not make the time to do it. So this wasn't the first time I was told to go see a chiropractor.

Cue my 3398509485408th visit to the midwife for a prenatal checkup and I'm still complaining of my headache and now of course coupled with low back pain (sciatic nerve pain, which is very common in pregnancy). I'm pretty sure the midwife was probably over me talking about my headache (as I'm sure my husband was) because she glared at me and said "Have you still not gone to the chiropractor?"

I should also add that headaches during pregnancy as well as high blood pressure can be a sign of preeclampsia (read about that here.) So it is important to communicate with your doctor or midwife about this; however, in my case my blood pressure was great and there were no other signs of concern.

So needless to say the next day, I picked up the phone and scheduled an appointment with a chiropractor. The chiropractor adjusted my neck and I instantly felt some relief from my headache. However (I'll skip the why for now so I don't bore you to death), I just felt like this chiropractor was not a good fit for me. While I didn't necessarily love this chiropractor, I did learn something cool about alignment. Did you know that if you put your feet together and one leg is longer than the other, then your spine and pelvis are out of alignment?

Lesson learned. I had just looked online and scheduled an appointment with a chiropractor without learning about the provider's background, training, and approaches to chiropractor care. So if you decide to go see a chiropractor, which I would definitely recommend, do yourself a favor and go by word of mouth. Ask around. I'm sure someone you know has seen a chiropractor before. Your massage therapist, dentist, Yoga teacher or in my case my former hair stylist.

My new chiropractor was a perfect fit. She really took her time to understand my concerns and helped me understand how chiropractic care would not only help alleviate my pain, but would make my pregnancy and labor/delivery easier. Basically my spine was out of alignment especially my cervical spine (neck). This was all related to the baby changing how weight was distributed in my body- yes, a big protruding belly is going to affect your neck and back. So without getting too detailed this was the root of my headaches.


I saw my chiropractor at least 2 times a week from week 26 of my pregnancy to the very end. I went this frequently because if I waited too long to get adjusted again, my headache would come back in full force. It also made it manageable for me to get around without shooting pain down my right leg.

Side note- I mean who doesn't want to do anything possible to make labor easier? Did you know that if your pelvis is in correct alignment, it helps baby get into the best position for delivery? I'm by no means a medical expert, but from my understanding, this helps you have natural birth without medical interventions and a decreased need for a C-Section. AND my favorite- decrease the amount of time you are in labor.

I'll be sharing some more later about why I love going to the chiropractor including how chiropractic care helped me during my pregnancy and even now.

Happy Monday! Where did the weekend go?! Anyway, today I'm sharing my confessions with you today...

While you may think your Pilates teacher is an indestructible super human, who eats all things fresh and healthy, commits to working out a minimum an hour every single day of the week, and the list goes on...You may be surprised to find out that your Pilates teacher is human just like you AND isn't the health whiz you imagined.

I confess:

1. I don't work out everyday.
Ideally, as Joseph Pilates would probably advise you if he were still alive today, you should aim to workout 5 to 6 times a week and incorporate 1 day of rest a week into your fitness regime. HOWEVER, does that mean that I always get that number of workouts in every single week? No! For example, this past month the stomach bug went slowly around our house for two weeks. Between taking care of sick ones and then getting sick myself- there were about two weeks that I only got maybe 4 workouts in. AND it is okay. The next week I got myself back on track because even if I don't feel like I always have the energy to workout- I'm happier, less stressed, and energized when I do Pilates. This makes me more able to take care of the little feet running around my house, my sweet husband, and even my Pilates client that walks in the door.... like the saying "If mama is happy, then everybody is happy." I know it is the counselor in me coming out, but I really think self-care is important and you should too!


2. I love Pizza, french fries, and did i say ANYTHING sweet!
Yes, I admitted it. I like to eat all of those things. Do I eat them every single meal? No, but on occasion I do enjoy them from time to time. The key here is in moderation. I don't follow a certain diet rather I strive (and am still learning) ways to live a healthy lifestyle. I talked last month about my goal being working on cutting out processed food in my diet. And I should probably say most processed foods. I may eat something that is processed, has way too much sugar, and isn't organic from time to time. But for the most part, I try to incorporate easy, practical ways to eat healthy. For myself, I've found things that make this lifestyle work for me. I like to cook with organic unrefined coconut oil for most recipes- such as banana bread muffins. I buy fresh or frozen organic produce as much as possible (especially the produce on the dirty dozen.) And I could go on...but my point is my goal is to eat well most of the time.

Pictured above is some of the food items that I try to buy Organic. Did you know you can buy a lot of Organic products at Aldi?! Keeping the grocery budget in line while buying organic sounds like a win to me! I'll have to share more of my Organic grocery finds at Aldi soon.

3. I won't think you are cheating on me if you take a fitness class besides Pilates.
I've talked about Yoga and Pilates the past two days (here and here.) I myself LOVE yoga and especially fell in love with it during my second pregnancy. In fact this weekend, I took two Yoga classes and did not do much Pilates. I've actually recommended to clients before to try out a Slow Flow Yoga class or Long Slow and Deep Yoga class. I think any exercise is good for your body and will complement the work you are doing with Pilates. I know it's nice to have variety in your workout from time to time as well. So whether it's Pilates, Yoga, Cycling, Boxing, Weightlifting, Dancing, Swimming and I could go on and on- just live an active lifestyle! I think the idea I'm getting at here is do what feels good to your body and enjoy it!

Pictured above is the Foot Work Series on the Exo Chair (a Balanced Body version of the Wunda Chair.)

That's all of my confessions for now. I probably could share more, but then you might not want me to be your Pilates teacher. All jokes aside- we are all human. We aren't perfect. I like to give room to live a little bit in a healthy lifestyle and give myself grace- while finding the balance of not making excuses.