Inspired Instagram Feeds

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

I hope this message finds you well and looking for inspiration in a new place.

Lately I’ve been spending most of my online time on Instagram. {You can find me here}

Why am I spending time on Instagram instead of Facebook you ask?

3 reasons I heart IG more than FB:

1. Instagram shows me everything I have signed up to see. I really do want see every post from the people I’ve chosen to follow {FB has been hiding the goods, friends. It is no bueno}.

2. Pretty pictures make me happy.

3. IGers tend to post insanely useful information there to go with their pretty pictures. Who knew?

If you’d like to see the pretty pictures I post (always with helpful self-care tips), please download Instagram on your smartphone and follow me at @tamihackbarth.

Keep reading below to see who are my favorite Instagram feeds to follow.
With lots of self-kindness and love,

Tami xox

PS – If something in this (or any post) resonates with you and you think someone you know might like it too, please forward it to a friend.

Did you like this? Please click the link here to make sure you don’t miss any updates in 2015 – get email updates (it’s FREE).

Other Posts You Might Like:

Can Your Smartphone Improve Your Health? Mine is!

Inspiration for a Self-Acceptance Self-Study

G ood Life Project

H ow to Feel Refreshed After Spring Break

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Let the inspiration begin!

1. Create As Folk – Laura Simms just started a simple hand lettered inspired and inspiring thoughts series. Totally worth a follow – simple and gorgeous, like everything she does.

2. The Tiffany Han – Brilliant mind behind the podcast Raise Your Hand Say Yes recently started a daily post it note with notes to herself/us from the universe. Simple and so inspiring.

3. Stasia Savasuk – The brilliant, wholehearted, dynamo behind Thrift Me Pretty. She is my personal stylist (yes, you read that correctly. I HAVE A PERSONAL STYLIST) and the brains behind the Inside Out Congruency in which your brilliant insides show on the outside. Her 7 year old daughter is her photographer, she lives in Maine and her smile and style can light up any feed.

4. Go Eat Your Beets — Trisha Hughes takes the most beautiful food photos in my feed. She is a mom to 4, lives in the Midwest and is mostly grain free meaning lots of Paleo cooking. In other words, lots of veggies and cooked meats and she is able to make her photos look incredible! I regularly invite myself over for dinner (and she always says yes!).

5. Tracyshutterbean — I have already established my serious girl crush on Tracy here andhere, but seriously people, SHE ROCKS. Her bio reads: Food, photography and pretty things. All true, AND she knocks it out of the park with every.single.photo. Living in the Bay Area there are lots of Golden Gate Bridge shots, glorious morning Marin light in her enviable kitchen, tons of funny shots of her adorable son + cat. Run, don’t walk to follow Tracy.

6. Minimalist Baker – Dana Shlutz – lots and lots of pretty, vegan deliciousness. I mean, really. And she’s funny too.

7. Jennifer E Snyder – Local writer, pod caster and storyteller, Jen tells stories through her inspired feed. I love taking trips with Jen and inviting myself along – she always says yes too! (I’m starting to notice a theme, aren’t you?) Anyway, I love how Jen captures wherever she happens to be.

8. Eat Play Grow – Bridget(a former local teacher) posts beautiful photos of the activities she and her preschool son are working on. I can’t tell you how many times I have taken an idea from Bridget’s feed and tried it with my own preschooler. She has saved my behind on many an afternoon. Gorgeous photos that are filled with love and present parenting. Worth a look even if you don’t have kids.

9. I Love Lucy Design Studio – I LOVE a behind the scenes of pretty much anything and this particular feed is full of shots bringing Lucy Activewear from concept to product and then to market. You get to see the designers, their travel and inspiration as well as products you may have missed other places. LOVE those HELLA active shirts! East Bay represent!

10. Liz Elayne – Liz Lamoreux’s feed brings me calm. Each picture is diverse, but the one thing they all share is an awareness of the present moment. Whenever Liz posts, I am reminded to stop and take a breath. I love that.

11. Ybicoalition – Yoga and Body Image Coalition – their bio reads: A collective of teachers, educators and doctors working together to promote yoga for all ages, shapes, sizes, abilities & backgrounds. That about sums it up. I follow this feed because I love seeing every person in their “This is what a yogi looks like” shirts.

12. Shop Compliment – Clean lines, beautiful jewelry and other “gifts for the spirit”. Melissa Camilleri is on of my biz BFFs and TGBTS Featured Teacher and one of my teachers. I love this woman and I learn from her every day through her Instagram feed.

I hope you found some new people to inspire your life! I would love to hear from you.

Who do you love on Instagram?

Image Source: Death to Stock Pho

TGBTS Cooks: Favorite Vegan Winter Recipes

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

Today I’m sharing the recipes for what we’re eating this season. They are fresh, easy and packed full of vegetables.

I grew up in the convenience foods generation of the 70s. Meaning if it didn’t come from a box, bag, can or the freezer – we didn’t eat it. Even in California families were convinced that soup starters – dehydrated vegetables – from a box made more sense than a fresh onion, celery and carrots. It was a weird time for eating.

So even though we ate at home every night, I didn’t really learn how to cook real food and I wasn’t I wasn’t really excited about food.

That all changed when I was in my 20s living with a roommate who really knew his way around the kitchen. I used to sit on a stool in the corner asking questions about how this whole food from scratch thing worked.

I watched and learned and I’m so happy this fresh food thing has caught on!
In recent years I have found the process of cooking to be almost as pleasurable as actually sitting down with friends and family around the table.

We have a “mixed” family: meaning the husband is mostly a vegetarian, I am severely allergic to dairy and shellfish and we have a 4 year old. All of that is to say we don’t eat a lot of meat, never use cow milk and at least one of us is always yelling about what we’re not going to eat.Below are a few of my recent favorite plant-based recipes found in my newest cookbook:

Warm Spinach Artichoke Dip, anyone? Unbelievably delicious and completely dairy-free. Equally tasty with rice crackers, tortilla chips or baguette.

*photo credit: Smith’s Vegan Kitchen – click the link for original photo and recipe

Vegan Alfredo over the pasta of your choice – no milk, no cream, no butter – NO COW. My 4 year old slurped three bowls of this pasta up on Christmas Eve.

*photo credit: Your Vegan Mom – click the link for original photo and recipe

Avocado pesto. I think you only need one avocado, but who am I to tell you what to do?

I realize now I’m sharing all super carb-licious pasta dishes, but that’s what this girl wants to eat in the winter. I’ll share my favorite new soup recipes in a later post.

*photo credit: Chef Chloe’s website – click the link for original photo and recipe

Vegan Caramel Apple Pie – the only recipe not found in Chloe’s Kitchen. If you’ve got some apples just hanging around, I highly recommend this pie from The Healthy, Happy Life.

*photo credit: Kathy Patalsky of The Healthy, Happy Life – click the link for original photo and recipe

What are your favorite plant-based recipes?

I would love to hear from you, so let me know what you think.

With lots of love and compassion,
Tami xoxo

Did you like this? Please click the link here to make sure you don’t miss any updates in 2015 – get email updates (it’s FREE).

Other Posts You Might Like:
8 Reasons Why Private Yoga Lessons Might Work for YOU
Breakfasts I’ll Be Making Again
E at More Soup
B est Damn Granola EVER

Think Self-Care Has to Take A Lot of Time? Think Again. (video)

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

A quick video reminder that self-care doesn’t have to be an entire yoga class, require any money or take very much time. Either click here or on the photo for my quick tip on self-care.

I would love to hear from you, so hit reply and let me know what you think!
With lots of love and compassion,

Tami xoxo

Did you like this? Please click the link here to make sure you don’t miss any updates in 2015 – get email updates (it’s FREE).

Other Posts You Might Like:
2014: A Year in Review
Yoga Manifesto: REST
8 Reasons Why Private Yoga Lessons Might Work for YOU

2014: A Year in Review

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

2014.

It was a YEAR. I started by taking the month of January to reflect on the previous year and then spent the rest of the year really putting my self-care practices to the test.

Looking through all these posts, I can, without a doubt, say I feel genuinely proud of the work I’ve put out in the world this year.

I hope you find something that helps make your life feel more healthy, happy and sane.

Please click that link over there to make sure you don’t miss any updates in 2015 – get email updates (it’s FREE).

Without further ado, here’s 2014 in review.

With lots of love and compassion,

Tami

xoxo

January 2014:

Looking Back in Order to Look Forward

February 2014:

Tips For Starting and Maintaining a Daily Meditation Practice

Permission to Rest (For As Long As It Takes to Feel Better)

19 Tips On Taking Care of Yourself While in the Middle of Taking Care of Those That You Love. Plus 6 Tips for Helping Others Who are In Need

10 Things I Loved In February 2014

March 2014

Simple Techniques For Adding Self-Care to An Already Over-Scheduled Life

Want More Energy? Make Less Decisions.

Celebrate YOU.

Featured Teacher Nikki Stern: Connecting Food and Mood

10 Things I Loved in March 2014

April 2014

Removing Obstacles to Your Self-Care

May 2014

The Healthy Happy Sane Teacher Home Study Program – self care isn’t just for teachers!

Books I Love

Please Introduce Yourself (and how can I best be of service?)

Even Imperfect Self-Care Counts!

June 2014

Summer of Intentionality Part 1: To READ

Summer of Intentionality Part 2: To DO

Summer of Intentionality Part 3: To LEARN

10 Things I Loved in June 2014

July 2014

Links Worth Clicking Through

5 Reasons to Go On A Yoga Retreat

9 Ways to Keep Your Cool This Summer (+ 12 More)

August 2014

Favorite 15 Minute Dinner (vegan + gluten free)

10 Things I Loved In Summer 2014

September 2014

Treat Yourself: 8 Reasons Why Private Yoga Sessions Might Work for You

Life Lesson From My Mom

TGBTS Cooks! Green Muffins (aka my girl’s birthday cupcakes)

October 2014

Top 7 Podcasts of 2014

Links Worth Clicking – Fall 2014

All the Self-Care in the World Can’t Save You

November 2014

Can Your Smart Phone Improve Your Health?

December 2014

Restoration Not Resolutions the WHY behind my annual New Year’s Day workshop.

Feel Lonely and Sad at the Holidays?

Why Choose a Word of the Year?

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Cool It Down This Summer with a Mini Restorative Yoga Retreat

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

I wanted to personally invite you to my restorative yoga mini retreat workshop Saturday, July 26th. The class is limited to 18 students and we’re offering a pretty sweet deal if you register before the workshop.

If you already know you want to come, please click here to register. You will need to click the Workshops tab once you are on our online scheduling system.

Below you’ll find all the details, but if you still have questions, please be sure to hit reply on this message and I’ll do my best to find an answer.

Hope you are well.

With much love,
Tami

If you wish you could hear from me every week with tips and tricks to help make life healthier, happier and a bit more sane, sign up for my weekly Teacher Goes Back to School newsletter HERE.

If you know anyone who you think would benefit from or like this post please be sure to forward it on to them.

Cool It Down – Summer Restorative Mini Retreat Workshop with Tami Hackbarth at It’s All Yoga

When: 2:30-5pm Saturday, July 26th, 2014

Where: It’s All Yoga 2405 21st Street, Sacramento, CA 95818

Investment: $50 before the workshop $65 day of the workshop

Beat the Sacramento heat this July with a cooling and rejuvenating restorative yoga retreat. Let’s cool it down and relax into a mini retreat right here in Midtown.

We’ll spend the afternoon in a cooling oasis of restorative yoga poses using blocks, blankets, bolsters, straps, sandbags, eye pillows, the wall and and sometimes even a chair to hold the body in deeply relaxing poses to relieve tension and stress while inducing your body’s natural relaxation response.

With the help of essential oils and chilled river rocks we’ll soothe the internal summer fire naturally bringing the body back into balance. In addition to this cooling and balancing restorative yoga practice, you’ll also enjoy some cooling and balancing treats to eat and drink.

This is a work shop of deep self-care, nurturing, healing, cooling and balancing. It promises to be a super relaxing afternoon.

A quick note about restorative yoga. It works well when you feel fatigued or stressed out, frazzled or after having a life change or hectic summer season. While the restorative poses look as though you are aren’t doing anything except laying on the floor, this is far from the truth; resting in a restorative pose deeply relaxes the body and allows the mind to settle in a state of calm and stillness.

The restorative style of yoga is appropriate for anyone, at any age, ability or experience level. Previous yoga experience is not required. We will provide the props. If you want to bring your mat or any personal yoga props that you may prefer to use, please do. Dress comfortably in comfortable stretchy clothes.

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Make the Most of Your Summer

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

Summer.

That word alone brings to mind a kind of freedom from the have-to’s in life to more a may-do way of living. Everything slows down and we are finally able to fully exhale. Our family takes the summer away from school (one of the serious benefits of being a teacher) and we dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to doing what we like to do.

It hasn’t always been this way. We used to save all the yucky house projects for summer break and then spend the summer avoiding them and not really getting anything accomplished and also not having that much fun.

Enter the Summer of Intentionality. {thank you, Rosie!}

You can click the link above for the whole story, but it pretty much comes down to this – in order to get the most out of your summer – plan what you want to learn, what you want to do and what you want to read. – You don’t even have to be a teacher to play along!

TGBTS/Tami’s 2014 Summer Reading List:

The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates The Soul by Stuart Brown

How to Be a Woman by Caitlyn Moran

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

And I am hoping many, many more… I’m also signing up for the Sacramento Public Library’s Summer Reading Program for even more incentive to read this summer.

Have you ever been accused of reading too much? Is there really such a thing? What are you reading this summer?

I do hope you decide to make you own Summer of Intentionality lists. Please leave a comment and tell me all about it. If you’d like to take a peek at some of my lists from the past click here.

With lots of love and compassion,

Tami

PS – If you find this helpful or know someone who would, please be sure to pass it on. Sharing is caring!

Tiny Tips Tuesday: My Secret for Maintaining Self-Care Practices

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

Recently several people have asked how I maintain a meditation practice (and a yoga practice and a writing practice). They were trying to learn my “secret” so they could add these useful practices into their own lives.

My secret is pretty simple.

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good – Voltaire

Nothing is perfect. I no longer let myself get caught up in the limiting belief that a practice has to be or look a certain way for it to “count” because if I did, nothing would ever be good enough.

Easier said than done and definitely a daily practice, but seriously life changing.

For example, for my meditation practice to happen each day I have to do it before I do anything else. Sometimes I meditate before I get out of bed to pee. Sorry for the TMI, but I’m being real here. If I really have to go, I will and then get right back in bed to start.

Is now a good time to tell you that my meditation practice takes place in my bed, under the covers and on most days laying down?

I know it’s not how meditation is “supposed” to work, but it works for me.

My yoga practice follows the same principle of not letting the perfect get in the way of the good.

In an ideal world I’d devote 90 minutes on my mat each and every day. In reality my phone reminds me every day to “DO YOGA” and my physical practice is sometimes a single restorative pose (on my bed) before I teach my class. Sometimes it is rolling out two mats -one for me and one for my daughter- and moving the dining room table out of the way so we can play. We pull out all the props, turn up some “yoga music” {usually the Freedom 90 or Queen station on Pandora) and see what happens.

Again, not how it is “supposed” to work, but it works for me.

The same for my writing practice. Ideally I would spend the first 2 or 3 hours a day first thing (post meditation, of course) writing my most perfect prose. The reality is that I write in fits and spurts daily. I brain storm and keep my ideas in Google docs and write skeleton outlines and fill in the details in my head while I push my daughter on the swing at the park. Every afternoon I spend some time writing something.

Again, not how it’s “supposed” to look, but it works for me.

Have you ever been stopped from doing something you wanted to because the perfect got in the way of the good enough?

With lots of love and compassion,

Tami

PS – If you find this helpful or know someone who would, please be sure to pass it on. Sharing is caring!

If you enjoyed this post, get email updates (it’s FREE).

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Please Introduce Yourself

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

I feel like it is time to make a new round of introductions. I would love to get to know you and what you’d like to learn so I can better serve you.

Sound good?

I’ll start.

My name is Tami. I live in Sacramento,California with my three and a half year old daughter, Ruby and my husband, Jed. Until last spring I was on parental leave from my third grade teaching job. Now I’m home with my kiddo full time because you really can’t beat that 1-to-1 student to teacher ratio.

Since leaving the classroom, I have also started my own business. I teach teachers (and other people who give a lot in their lives) how to better take care of themselves (through programs like The Healthy Happy Sane Teacher, private mentoring sessions and writing this blog) and I also teach restorative yoga at It’s All Yoga on Sundays. That’s a lot of teaching!

I first found yoga in my late 20’s, but didn’t start really practicing in a meaningful way {to me – ie not just as exercise} until my mid-30’s. Right before I turned 40, I did yoga teacher training, decided restorative yoga was the thing that everyone needs to do, started this blog and a really long adoption wait.

Part of the reason I found a quieter and kinder yoga practice is because I was burning myself out on teaching and waiting. I needed to find a way to help me relax enough to enjoy the career I finally loved and get ready to become a mama.

Some of my favorite blogs are Pink of Perfection, Yes and Yes, Design Mom, Non-Consumer Advocate and Shutterbean. I’d love to hear about your favorite blogs, so tell me what you love to read.

I’m always looking for post ideas, so please don’t be shy about what you like and what you don’t. Some of my most popular posts have come from suggestions from readers, so I’m all ears!

Now your turn! Please send me a message answering the following questions.

Where do you live?
Are you a yogi or teacher? Tell me about your practice and your class.
Not a teacher or a yogi? What kind of work do you do and what brought you to Teacher Goes Back to School?
Do you have a blog? If so, please tell me a little bit about it and include a link!
What posts on Teacher Goes Back to School do you like, and which ones bore you to tears?
Do you know me in person, if so how did we meet?
What are your biggest hopes, fears and dreams?
What is your number one problem?
How can I help you?
And anything else you wish to share.

With lots of love and compassion,

Tami

PS – If you find this helpful or know someone who would, please be sure to pass it on. Sharing is caring!

If you enjoyed this post, get email updates (it’s FREE).

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Celebrate Your Birthday

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

Last week I celebrated my birthday by reviewing my previous years’ birthday lists (2012 2013), eating vegan cupcakes from Pushkin’s, riding my newly tuned up bike around Midtown and taking my friends and their kids bowling on a Saturday afternoon. Pretty low key and yet still celebratory. Pretty much a reflection of where I am in my life right now.

Some years I have chosen to skip the party and almost pretend like my birthday wasn’t happening or that it wasn’t a big deal. Looking back, it seems like I did this in years that things weren’t going as I had hoped or planned.

I would love to hear from you. Please share how you celebrate your birthday.

Are you a huge party every year kind of person or do you love a low key get together with a few close friends?
Or do you skip the whole thing?
Or does it depend on how things are going in your life?
How do you feel about birthdays?

With lots of self-kindness and love,

Tami

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Links To Love:

43 Things Before 43

A Half Birthday List 22 Before 44

Make A Birthday List from Rosie Molinary

Mrs. PartyPants (someone turned 40)

43 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me

A Short List of Things I Hate

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Make Less Decisions To Have More Energy

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

Every day we’re faced with making a boatload of decisions. Big decisions. Little decisions. Hard decisions. Easy decisions. What to eat, what to wear, what classes to take, when to practice at home.

So Many.Decisions.

Are you already tired? Do you wish you had more energy? At least for the important stuff?

Please tell me I’m not alone in this! I recently went looking for ways to help me accomplish more without skimping on my much needed self-care.

Here’s the thing. It turns out we only have so much decision making power. It’s not just you or what you’re eating or even how much you are sleeping. It just is what it is.

So if you want to be able to make important decisions, it helps if you make less decisions total. Eliminating routine decisions seems to be able to help people make better important decisions.

According to the Harvard Business Review – Boring is Productive.

— Making too many decisions about mundane details is a waste of a limited resource: your mental energy. In the late 1990s, Roy Baumeister (a professor at Florida State University) and colleagues performed several experiments showing that certain types of conscious mental actions appeared to draw from the same “energy source” — gradually diminishing our ability to make smart decisions throughout the day.

(– excerpt from Boring Is Productive)

Forbes uses Albert Einstein and President Obama as examples of folks who simplify some of their decisions..

Take Albert Einstein. It has been reported that the famous physicist bought several versions of the same grey suit because he didn’t want to waste brainpower on choosing an outfit each morning. Now – decades later – President Obama does the same. — (excerpt from Steve Jobs Alway Dressed Exactly The Same. Here’s Who Else Does)

I’m not necessarily advocating that we adopt a uniform (although you would be hard pressed to find me wearing something other than a striped t-shirt and jeans) or to always eat the exact foods for breakfast, but how much do these kinds of decisions drain energy away from our creativity and productivity on issues and ideas that really matter?

How would our lives look if we made the routine parts of life, well, routine?

Recently I’ve been looking at systematizing parts of my life in order to increase my productivity, quality of life and energy levels. I figure I’ve only got so many kid free hours a week and I need to use them well. Especially if I still want to practice really good self-care including 8 to 9 hours of sleep every night, meditation and yoga.

One place that I’ve noticed a drain on my decision making power is scheduling recurring appointments like getting my hair cut, eyebrows shaped and my monthly body tune up massages.

Scheduling appointments is one of my most dreaded tasks. The back and forth with myself about when to do a service and at what time and then figuring out if my person is available and so on and so forth. It completely does my head in. I seriously get tired just thinking about it.

In order to cut down on this back and forth and the bad hair/eyebrows/back I’ve decided to schedule my next appointments out for the future. Until recently I have scheduled my next appointment while I am paying for my service, but with time at a premium these days even that was taxing my brain and leaving me feeling anxious about if I’d scheduled for too soon or too far out.

To combat this recurring feeling of overwhelm, I decided to try an experiment. This month I spent part of an afternoon on the phone with eyebrow, massage and hair people to schedule my 2014 appointments. I know, crazy, but hear me out.

By booking out so far in advance, I was able to schedule the first Tuesdays of each month for eyebrows, the last Tuesday of each month for massage and the last Friday of each month for my hair maintenance. Now when I am looking at booking private yoga clients or scheduling workshops, I now know which Tuesday and Friday afternoons are off limits. There is great comfort in knowing my appointments are set and when I am available to work with my clients.

I am also not walking around with crazy eyebrows, an out of whack back and ridiculous hair. Bonus is my service providers also have some stability in their schedules. It is the gift that keeps on giving!

more energy.jpg

I would love to hear from you. Please share what decisions you put on auto pilot into your life and how your energy level is as a result of making less every day decisions.

With lots of self-kindness and love,

Tami

If you enjoyed this post, get email updates (it’s FREE).

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More links:
12 More Ways to celebrate National Day of Unplugging.

10 Things I Loved in February 2014

Featured Teacher: Elizabeth Gallo

10 Ways to Practice Self-Care

Top Five Self-Care Tips from Melissa at compliment.

Top Five Self-Care Tips from Sarah at Yes and Yes.

10 Self-Care Ideas That Take 10 Minutes or Less

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Use A Timer to Take Better Care of Yourself

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

Several people have asked me recently about how I find time for things I want to do like self-care when there are so many things in life that must be done even if I don’t want to. {I’m looking at you, dishes!}

I love this question because it is something I have really struggled with over the years, especially when things aren’t going well and I tend to slip into very black and white/ all or nothing thinking patterns. The last few years have been working on making self-care a priority and I’ll share with you some of my tips for getting in some self-care every day.

First a story.

During yoga teacher training all of us trainees were up to our eyeballs with homework: reading and writing assignments, 40 required studio practices, building a new home yoga practice, starting a new meditation practice in addition to the jobs that paid our bills and our families and social lives.

Needless to say, a lot of us *I* spent a good amount of time complaining about our lack of time to pretty much anyone who would listen – including our teacher, Michelle.

Apparently she heard about the homework A LOT and in a moment of frustration (and utter brilliance) she asked us to consider if we might making the homework worse by avoiding and complaining and procrastinating and telling ourselves about our lack of time. And maybe if we stopped doing that we’d have plenty of time to actually get our work done.

Ouch.

And yet, probably some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten.

Once I removed the complaining time, the avoiding time and the storytelling about my lack of time: BOOM! Suddenly homework didn’t actually take that long.

Apply lesson to other areas of my life.

I absolutely loathe doing dishes and will pretty much avoid them at all costs because it just takes so long to do.

Or does it?

I timed myself. Guess how long it took to unload and reload the dishwasher… less than FIVE minutes.

I no longer avoid doing the dishes.

This summer I received a beautiful necklace from my friend Melissa from compliment and it was tangled up in the box when it arrived. Seriously sad panda.

Then I remembered my timer technique. In my enthusiasm for problem solving I planned to spend 15 minutes on the necklace each day until it was untangled.

I got out the necklace, the timer, hit go and TWO MINUTES LATER it was untangled.

Did I mention how much time I had wasted worrying about the knots in this necklace? All I really needed to do was get started.

And that’s how I have been handling all the unpleasant tasks in my life – by using a timer I can see exactly how long something takes. Or if that way doesn’t sound appealing in a situation, I give myself a set amount of time and see if I can race through the unpleasant task. Or I simply split the task into 10 to 15 minute increments and do them in several sessions until it is completed.

The point being: Get started and it will probably take less time than you think.

One other tip I want to share that has been pretty life-changing is the Pomodoro Method/Technique. I use it when I have thinking work to do and I want to avoid the procrastination traps I can sometimes fall into (I’m looking at you social media) when I am not sure where to start or how I am going to tackle a project.

What does this have to do with self-care you ask?

self care timer.jpg

I used to think self-care took a lot of time or it wasn’t worth doing. For instance, if I wasn’t able to go to a 90 minute yoga class, then no yoga for me that day. Or if I couldn’t get in for a massage with my massage therapist, then no massage for me.

Are you seeing a pattern? A little black and white and all or nothing.

So I started applying the timer technique to pleasant tasks as well.

Five minutes of legs up the wall feels way better than none.

Ten minutes of foot massage feels way better than none.

Fifteen minutes in the hot bath feels way better than none.

Again, seeing a pattern?

I’ve learned that the unpleasant tasks usually take WAY less time than I think they will and that pleasant tasks in short spurts can be quite beneficial especially when done a bunch of days in a row.

I have also found that by doing a little bit of self-care each day helps me build my self-care slash nurture muscle better than a big session once in a while.

What are your tips and tricks for building self-care into your daily life?

I would love to hear from you. Please share how you build self-care into your life.

With lots of self-kindness and love,

Tami

If you enjoyed this post, get email updates (it’s FREE).

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Tiny Tips Tuesday: 19 Tips for Taking Care of Yourself While Also Taking Care of Your Loved Ones

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

I am not going to lie. This past week was HARD. Quite possibly one of the hardest of my life. Something about parenting a small child while being far away from my own ailing mama plus the reality of our situation settling in and really making itself known. And let’s not forget the seemingly never ending cold virus.

Today I offer you some tips on taking care of yourself while in the middle of taking care of the people you love.

[DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional and if you are in crisis please seek immediate medical attention from a medical professional.]

A vast majority of these helpful ideas were crowd-sourced from my Facebook friends, many of whom have experienced parenting while caring for their own parents through long-term illness and transitioning into end of life.

I offer these tips to you because they’ve already begun to help me. If you have a secret self-care tip to share, please message me. I am all ears.

Wishing you a week filled with love and self-kindness.

xo,
Tami

PS – If you know someone who is in need of some self-care or wants to help someone out, please forward this on to them.

And you don’t even have to do all of them to feel better.

1. Reach out. Friends, family, loved ones, your primary care doctor, a therapist, a support group. Any and all of these can be helpful. A text, a phone call, a Facebook message. Isolating yourself is not the answer. No one can go through crisis alone, so please ask for help or at least let people know you need help.

We are programmed as humans to need connection and one of our basic human needs is to tend and befriend not just fight and flight. So reach out.

The number one thing take away from friends is we can’t do it alone. Ignoring our own needs and those of our immediate family does not help anyone – not you and not your ailing loved one.

2. Accept help when it is offered. I struggle with this, but I am trying to change that because I am finally understanding you can’t do it alone. If people offer you dinner, take it. If someone you trust offers childcare, take it.

3. Slow down. Take it one day at a time. Or one hour. Or one minute.4. Clear your schedule as much as possible.

5. Meditate.

6. Let people physically comfort you. Embracing long hugs and hand holding and letting yourself cry in front of others.

7. Recharge your batteries. Go on a walk, hit the gym, take a yoga class

8. Nap. Rest until you are better.

9. Sleep. We’re all just giant two year olds without it.

10. Laugh. Some people watch funny movies. I like to exchange ridiculous comments on friends’ Facebook statuses – usually on Friday nights. Because we old, but we are still funny as hell.

11. Stay away from negative media/the “news”.

12. Cry. Watch a sad movie and cry it out. Ugly cry on purpose.

13. Let your kid watch TV sometimes. And don’t feel guilty about it. (We’ve been loving Sid the Science Kid, Elmo’s Potty Time and Little Einsteins. Someone else recommended Kipper for its mellow vibe).

14. Keep a gratitude journal to keep perspective that not every single thing in your life sucks. Take time to add five small things that delighted you each day. I’ve been doing this on and off for years and it has made a huge impact on my happiness.

15. Silly play with your kid. We’ve been puddle splashing and mud stomping lately and while dirty (and gross) little girl has been lit up like a Christmas tree. And in turn, I’ve laughed and played and felt good about connecting with my kid.

16. Solo movie watching during the day. With popcorn. At home or the theater.

17. Eat soup.

18. Eat chocolate – if that’s your thing. Apparently it’s my peeps’ thing. Lots of chocolate on my list.

19. Read a lot.

BONUS!

6 Ways To Reach Out To People Who Are Hurting:

1. Offer to Skype with a friend if you are out of town or scheduling makes it impossible to get together face to face. While it doesn’t allow for hugging, talking to another human’s face is remarkably comforting.

2. Offer to babysit their kids. Nothing is more helpful than someone else taking your kid for an hour or two for fun. Especially if the parents are struggling with depression and fun isn’t on the forefront of their minds (but they still manage to feel terrible about it).

3. Offer to cook them a meal or pick their kids up from school or get them coffee. Families struggling with the basics of life need help with the basics. So if you’ve got an extra batch of veggie soup in your freezer, offer it up. When we first returned from picking up our kiddo, the last thing on our minds was food. And then like magic it appeared on our front porch and I never felt more loved or cared for.

4. Offer to take them to the gym or on a walk or run or yoga class. People need physical activity and to get the ickies out and yet they might be stuck in the caring for others instead of themselves loop.

5. Stop by to give your person a hug. Maybe bring a treat (or not), but hugging them longer than they want to be hugged.

6. Listen and allow people to just be sad without having an solution at the ready. Just being a shoulder to cry on.

Please leave any tips you have used in the comments below.

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Tiny Tips Tuesday: Permission To Rest

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Dear Friend,

Recently I was given permission by two people I trust – my GP and my therapist – to stop everything and rest until I feel better. No matter how long it takes.

— Don’t they understand I have things to do? Can’t they see my giant to do list? And on and on….

The irony is not lost on me.

Obviously we teach what we need to learn. Over and over again. No matter how long it takes.

So I wanted to offer that same permission to you. To rest until you feel better. No matter how long it takes. Because you might need it – the permission and the rest.

Like I do.

Wishing you a peace-filled and restful week.

xo,
Tami

PS – if someone you know is having a hard time and would benefit from rest, please forward this message to them.

If you enjoyed this post, get email updates (it’s FREE).

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Tips for Starting & Sustaining A Daily Meditation Practice

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

So much has happened in recently.

The phone call you never want to get. The last minute plane tickets. Public crying – at my most happy of places – the airport. The person I have loved the longest in a hospital bed. Plus a massive head cold to add a little more icing on life’s cake.

The worst time of my life.

Or was it?

I kept wondering why I wasn’t spinning out of control from anxiety or sinking into a massive depression.

And then it hit me!

My first instinct when I got The Call was “I better meditate before I do anything else today.”

What?

I know.

Turns out I’ve been practicing living in the moment and now I’ve been called upon to do it for real.

Let me assure you I am not in denial about the situation (I was for a few minutes, so I know I have snapped out of it. whew!) or that things have been easy. They haven’t.

But what I realized is that by keeping myself in the present moment, I could actually help the situation. I could make decisions based on the information right in front of me. I could be fully present with my family when I needed to be — for them AND for me. Plus I could keep myself from falling off the What If ledge of insanity.

Who doesn’t want more of that?

So my friend, if you haven’t already started a daily meditation practice, please do.

It’s not just you who benefits from your practice. By you living in the moment and staying present with the people you love, you can help change the world.

Join Headspace. It’s free for the first 10 days. And like any good dealer, they just leave you wanting more. I’ve written about it before here. I get absolutely nothing for recommending this program to you except the good feeling that comes from showing someone what has worked for me.

Learn about meditation from Andy Puddicome, founder of Headspace. Here’s his TED Talk.

Not into Headspace? Babble likes these other meditation apps.

Meditation Mantra Or How To Stay in the Moment Without Losing Your Marbles.

7 Steps to Jump Start Your Meditation Practice

Tech Tools for Making Your Life Better

So tell me…. Do you have a regular meditation practice? How did you get started? What keeps you coming back?

I would love to hear from you. Please let me know what you think.

xo,

Tami

If you enjoyed this post, get email updates (it’s FREE).

Tiny Tips Tuesdays: Look Back In Order To Look Forward

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Happy New Year!

I know it is almost February, but I feel like celebrating.

Why?

Because I have learned some seriously powerful exercises I want to share with you!

But first, let me back up a bit. Despite my best efforts, at the end of the 2013 I felt really spent. I purposefully kept the month of December pared back, and yet, it still felt like a lot – traveling, holidays, multiple birthday celebrations, the short and dark days, planning for a New Year’s Day workshop (my first ever – omg!). I ended up feeling out of sorts and overwhelmed and tired.

Definitely not how I want to feel in 2014.

In an effort to offer myself some kindness and grace, I decided I would spend the whole month of January retreating, reviewing, reflecting and ultimately deciding how I wanted the new year to feel.

In other words, I was going to live what I have been teaching.

But I was feeling unsure about actually taking the time I knew I really needed.

On January 1st I came upon 5 Tips For Choosing Your Word for the Year and Having A Bright, Peaceful and Transformative 2014 – a post from Jen at Inspired Home Office. This post cemented my decision to turn inward and really make the most of the time I had, in my mind, devoted to reflection.

What resonated most was the idea of using the entire month of January to reflect of the previous year while giving yourself space to set intention for the upcoming year. THIS.

January can be a month of transformation – if you let it.

You can channel your new year excitement toward activities that clarify, nourish, and provide ballast so you can keep your momentum going all year. You’re so worth the effort. Your life and work are worth it…..

(excerpt from 5 Tips For Choosing Your Word of the Year (and Having a Peaceful and Transformative 2014 – Inspired Home Office)

With that in mind, I scheduled myself a personal summit.

First up, child care. My husband arranged to take my shrimp on an adventure leaving me six glorious hours of alone time the first Saturday of the year. In the days leading up to it, I gathered my inspiration and supplies. That morning I set the stage with my new work ritual. For me this means lighting a candle, making sure I have something delicious to sip on and firing up my Coffitivity.

To begin I made a page for each month using loose leaf lined paper and washable markers (you can take the teacher out of the classroom, but never really take the classroom out of the teacher), reviewed each activity in each month of the year (by looking through my Instagram, Cozi, Facebook photos) and reflected on what worked and what didn’t. Then I decided to either change or get rid of each activity for 2014. I added notes on how to improve what I decided to keep and added some new fun stuff because who really has too much fun in their life?

I know it seems like a lot of work, but it wasn’t. Looking back at 2013 was informative. Even though not everything that happened was fun, when I put all the pieces together, it turns out it was a pretty damn good year overall. Certainly a year where I learned a lot and grew a lot – personally and professionally.

I had never taken the time to really assess how my year went in a holistic way – work, family, social life and I’m glad I did. For the first time I was able to bask in my accomplishments, even just for a moment, and to assess if I’d like to repeat an activity. While looking back, I felt powerful, like I was truly in charge of my life.

Taking time to remember the good, the bad and the ugly inspired my word of 2014.

In other words, taking the time and necessary action to care for and grow my business, relationships with family and friends as well as taking ridiculously good care of myself. Learning to say no when necessary and yes to the things and people that are good for me.

Are you ready to hold your own personal summit and choose a word for the year?

Resources to get you started:

Rosie Molinary’s Guide to Holding a Personal Summit

Rosie Molinary’s SPARK: Practices to Start This New Beginning

Rosie Molinary’s Guide to Choosing A Word of the Year

Inspried Home Office/Jen Hoffman’s 5 Tips For Choosing A Word of The Year (And Having a Bright, Peaceful, and Transformative 2014

Be Your Own Beloved’s/ Vivienne McMaster’s My Word of 2014.

It’s never too late to start this process or to have the life that you want. Take an hour or two this week (even in 15 minute intervals) and hold your own personal summit and choose a word for the year.

I would love to hear from you, so let me know what you think.

xo,
Tami

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Tiny Tips Tuesday: Eat More Soup

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Maybe you already eat lots of nutrient-dense soup and need no reminders, but it wasn’t until I started working with an amazing health coach that eating soup became a habit. And once it became a habit, I started noticing how great I was feeling – physically, mentally and spiritually.

From soup?

Yep.

Soup.

Turns out, fall (vata season) is a great time to feed yourself warm, dense foods like soups and stews. And when you give your body what it needs, you feel better. Or at least I do.

Below are a list of my favorite soups, some home made and some not. I make sure to fill my thermos every day ensuring at least a couple bonus servings of vegetables. And who couldn’t use more of those?

Old-Fashioned Vegetable Soup – the secret is to add a veggie bullion cube and bay leaf to this recipe.

Vegan Creamy Tuscan White Bean Soup

Coconut Curry Noodle Soup – the recipe calls for a JAR of curry paste and I use 2 teaspoons. You spice it up as you like. I also added chicken thighs cooked in sesame oil. Pretty delicious.

Pacific Natural Foods vegan soups. For when you want a little variety and are short on time.

My current favorite – Red lentil coconut soup. So warm and nourishing I feel like it is changing my life!

What are your favorite soup recipes? How do you feed yourself in the fall? Does your diet change with the seasons?

If you enjoyed this post, get email updates (it’s FREE).

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Image 1: My Instagram

Image 2: Pinterest.

Tiny Tips Tuesday! No More New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Teacher Goes Back to School

It’s getting to be that time of the year when most of us start to think about all the things we’d like to change about ourselves, our bodies and/or our families and our lives at the new year. Most people think of it as setting new year’s resolutions or goals if they just had enough will power, but I think we all know how that goes.

Most of us start the holiday season with high hopes it will feel different this year.

We’ll have the heart-connected family we’ve always dreamed of, our house will be magically transformed by Pinterest-worthy decorations and we’ll glide into the new year celebrating with lots of champagne and none of the heartache or hangovers most of us suffer with.

Let’s face it, most holidays fail to live up to expectations.

We eat our feelings or try to drink the discomfort away, we shop too much, we live in obligation and expectation and basically ruin the last six weeks of every year and then set ourselves up to fail again at the new year.

You know the drill.

Starting in the new year, I’ll….

Run a marathon (after never having run a mile before in my life).
Lose a ton of weight (right after I eat all my emotions over the holidays).
Floss every day even though I never have and we all know that’s what virtuous people do…
Fill in the blank on whatever your perceived shortcomings are here….

I’m here to invite us all to stop the resolution madness.

Resolutions don’t work and they leave us feeling worse in the long run, so let’s just quit before we start, shall we?

No more resolutions.

Ever.

Instead let’s focus on how we want next year to FEEL.

Yes, feel.

And this time we get to pick how we want to feel.

Would it be nice to set up your life around the way you’d like to feel?

When I think in terms of feelings, rather than ‘goals’ or resolutions, I come up with a completely different list.

Some possible feelings I am trying on for the new year: connected, cozy, compassionate – to self and others, nourished, nurtured, loved, abundant, rested, well taken care of, healthy, enough.

You get the picture. Nothing in that list even hints at what could be wrong with me, it is instead simply a wish for a better feeling life experience.

So rather than punish myself with exercise as a way to pay for emotionally eating or god forbid, not wearing a size six, I will focus my energy on creating experiences that cultivate my chosen feeling.

For example, last year I chose CONNECTION as my word of the year. The previous year I became a stay at home mom and found myself feeling super lonely and I wanted that to change. Each activity I chose in 2013 came back to this word: connection.

Would staying home in my yoga pants (again) help me feel more connected than getting out to the park and chit chatting to other stay at home moms? Would staying in town versus maybe running into terrible traffic be better than making a breakfast date with lifelong friends in the Bay Area.

You get the idea. I weighed my status quo against how I wanted to feel and made the effort to connect with friends and family.

I am not the first to suggest this idea of framing an experience as feeling: Rosie did it really well and even gives you a tutorial. Danielle did it too.

The whole point is this: you already have everything you need.

{Pema Chodren came up with that gem. Someone ought to get the tattoo.}

Consider this post to be your invitation to have a better new year – one without resolution.

If this sounds like an idea you can get behind and you’d like to join in there are two ways.

No New Year’s Resolutions Option #1

Join me on New Year’s Day for Restoration NOT Resolutions: a restorative yoga and guided writing workshop. We will spend the afternoon together deeply relaxing and rejuvenating with a long restorative yoga session before we diving into creating an intentional feeling for next year using a guided writing exercise.

I am bringing hot stones and dairy free cookies and tea for extra warmth and comfort.

No New Year’s Resolutions Option #2

If you live outside Northern California, you can join in from home by resolving to give up resolutions, do an at home yoga retreat and do some writing on your own.

Either way, I wish you a wonderful new year filled with the feelings you wish to cultivate in 2014.

If you enjoyed this post, get email updates (it’s FREE).

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Yoga at Your Desk

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Teacher Goes Back to School

Today begins a new series here at Teacher Goes Back to School: Tiny Tips Tuesday!

Every Tuesday I am going to share my hand-to-the-forehead simple tips to make your life and self-care easier.

Tiny Tips Tuesday #1 – Yoga at Your Desk

Do you ever wish you had more time for yoga in your day?

Me too. There just isn’t enough time to run a class every time my body gets tired or stiff or sore.

For instance, last week after returning home from a wedding in Santa Fe where I did precisely no yoga despite my body hurting from all the sitting I’d done over the weekend, I decided I needed to figure out how to get more yoga in my already super full schedule.

During Savasana in my favorite class (Madeleine at It’s All Yoga) my brain took over trying to solve this problem and BOOM! The idea of setting an alarm on my cell phone and practicing one or two poses during the day on my own was born.

Simple and easy, just like I like it.

Set an alarm on your phone reminding you to stop what you are doing and bust a yoga move or two. Nothing fancy, no need to change clothes – just maybe a desk cat/cow or some super slow neck rolls or a quick desk down dog.

Every day at 10:45 my smart phone tells me it is time for yoga.

I check in with what is calling out for the most attention and I start there. I spend a couple of minutes each morning moving and stretching and I have already felt a huge difference in how my body feels.

Want to try it?

First, decide what time works for you on most days.

Second, set your alarm.

Next, determine what part of your body needs the most help at the moment, I go with what hurts most: low back, hips, wrists, neck, shoulders.

Last, bust your move or two and get back to work.

Need some help with the actual poses?

Try these:

Yoga Journal has a free video series – two minutes a day for 15 days.

Vanderbilt University has a handy desk yoga guide.

Popsugar has some ideas.

Do you do yoga during your work day?

If you enjoyed this post, get email updates (it’s FREE).

Teacher Goes Back to School

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Tiny Tips Tuesday: Cool It Down This Summer with a Mini Restorative Yoga Retreat

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Tiny Tips Tuesday: Please Introduce Yourself

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Celebrate Your Birthday

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Make Less Decisions To Have More Energy

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Use A Timer to Take Better Care of Yourself

Tiny Tips Tuesday: 19 Tips for Taking Care of Yourself While Also Taking Care of Your Loved Ones

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Permission To Rest

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Tips for Starting & Sustaining A Daily Meditation Practice

Tiny Tips Tuesdays: Look Back In Order To Look Forward

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Eat More Soup

Tiny Tips Tuesday! No More New Year’s Resolutions

Tiny Tips Tuesday: Yoga at Your Desk

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