With the holidays in full swing, it can be tempting to overindulge, especially if you’re going through a divorce. You may want to spoil yourself or your children so that the sting of life changes don’t sting quite as bad. The National Retail Federation is already predicting the average American will spend over $1000 on holiday shopping this year. It all feels good at the time but when the credit card bill arrives those feelings change if you can’t pay it off. You can avoid the hangover in Janua

Divorce can feel like quite a shock to the system. Everything you thought you knew has changed. It may cause many to reevaluate their relationships with friends, family and themselves. You may also reevaluate your relationship with money. Because of the financial strain of divorce, and the division of assets, it may become apparent that you have strong emotions around money. In fact, finances could be the reason for the strain in your marriage. What is your relationship with money? If you chan

As our children go back to school, those going through a divorce have discovered that some things just are not taught in the K – 12. For instance, we were never taught the basics of personal finance in school. We had more years of high school and preparatory college math, which we may rarely need, than any financial literacy or education. Many of us have learned by trial and error. During a divorce, we’re suddenly forced to confront our finances. Either our spouse took complete control of the f

Leaving a relationship certainly leaves an emptiness that many wish to fill quickly. Unfortunately, you may not be 100% ready to start dating but you won’t realize it. If you do move forward into a relationship without being ready, it could lead to the same patterns that lead to the downfall of your marriage. Unless you’re willing to go through that again, it may be best to continue your healing journey first. Read on to discover signs that reveal you might just need a little more time before s

Financial freedom: Isn’t that the American dream? In each of my five decades, I’ve learned more (and stressed a lot) about my relationship with debt and money. The toll financial stress can take on a person can be overwhelming, which is why it’s important to regard your finances as objectively as possible. How can someone be objective about bills, payments, childcare costs, investments, healthcare costs, unplanned spending, traveling, and other financial surprises? Let’s take a deep dive into y

I am 3 weeks into the LifeTime Fitness 90 Day challenge. I’ve lost 2% body fat and a couple of pounds. My clothes are fitting better. My man is remarking that my abs are showing again. It’s been quite a month with end of summer vacations, taking our son to college, getting the kids ready for school, etc.  Getting in what I’m supposed to be doing is tough but doable. Let me give you a run down since I last posted. Have you ever seen the videos of professional athletes on a treadmill with a Dart

As we all know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Thankfully, there are many things that we can do to decrease our risk for breast cancer. With more and more research being done every year, physicians are offering more ways to educate and protect women from this often deadly disease. I couldn’t be more proud to be an advocate of breast feeding than during this month. Did you know that breastfeeding decreases a woman’s risk for breast cancer? Let’s take a closer look at this awesome stat

You have probably tried fitness programs and wondered why they didn’t work for you. In many cases, it’s the simple challenge of planning or lack of focus on your goal. We’re all “too busy” or distracted. It’s time to drop the excuses and make your fitness plan a priority. Only you know what goals you want to accomplish and only you can do the work to get there. Here are 5 stages of a personal fitness plan. Your dream is distinctly that, YOUR dream. A fitness dream can be anything from losing 1

You should really go workout. You should be able to fit into these jeans by now. Stop “shoulding” all over yourself. We all know that negative self-talk doesn’t work. It isn’t inspiring or encouraging. Instead, negative self-talk creates a feeling of guilt, or even worse, shame. We do our best to offer positive words of encouragement to our partners, our children and our girlfriends. We can offer those same words of encouragement to ourselves. Part of getting healthy is changing the conversat

Every personality and body type on this planet is different. Part of knowing yourself is understanding what soothes versus what irritates. Some things just feel right where others feels uncomfortable. Not everyone is the same. Are you a homebody? Are you so driven by wanderlust that you can’t stay in one place for very long? Are you even keeled? Are you driven and passionate and cannot be stopped? These are all elements of the Modern Day Warrior. Not one is better than the other. Knowing which

The traditional connotation of the word “warrior” brings to mind a fighter or someone who specializes in a form of combat. When we think of a female warrior, our thoughts conjure a picture of strong, Amazonian women who could hold their own in a battle as well as or better than their male counterparts. At Warrior Elements, we celebrate the lifestyle of the modern day warrior. Body strength may not always be necessary in the battles we face daily. In order to win the war, we must also have inner

This morning, as I lay in quiet Savasana, I thought about how well I treated myself during 2011. What I was really thinking was that I could treat myself better. Sure, I went on a few yoga retreats to the beautiful piney woods of East Texas. I’d also trained all year for triathlons, pushing my body to new limits. I’ve stopped to enjoy some stillness but I’ll also admit that December flew by in a rush, leaving my head spinning and illness looming. I used to be that person who did yoga 3 – 5 tim