Coaching with Gretchen

Movement, Mindfulness & Self-Care Coaching with Gretchen Schock

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Letting Go to Simplify this Season

Coaching, Minimalism

When we look to the seasons for cues, we can use their changes as a way to remind us to do our own self-reflection.

I’m not a believer in resolutions on one particular day, whether the start of the new year or a birthday, and instead, I prefer to look to the seasons as my guide for self-reflection. We are about to embark on fall, the leaves are beginning to change color, and eventually, they will fall to the ground.

Before we become overrun with pumpkin spice everything, let’s take a beat to think of what we need to let go of in our lives. Like the trees, letting their leaves fall to the ground, what can we release our grasp of this season to simplify and reduce clutter both mentally and physically? Maybe for some folks that will be simplifying routines or dinner meals. For others, it might be clearing clutter from the house so that you can focus and see what is important to you. Maybe it’s being honest with ourselves and moving away from the habits of overachieving or perfectionism, and allowing this season to be a time of ease.

Take a few moments today and think about what you need to let go of to prepare for the season ahead. Jot down a quick list and then move into action on one item. It might not be a one-time task and then it’s completed type of project. Schedule one-hour time slots on your calendar. Scheduling your action items on your calendar means that they become a priority rather than a forgotten goal. Whether cleaning out a closet or renewing your goal of meal prepping, put it on the calendar to hold yourself accountable. Schedule out a specific amount of time to do the task. We don’t have to complete it; we only need to move into action.

If, for example, on your list, you wrote down “clean out the attic.” A great project to do when the weather becomes cooler! Go up into the attic and tackle one area, purge, and organize. This system will give you a greater reward. When we give ourselves time to reflect on what we visually saw while doing our task, we will be less likely to continue to hoard or hold onto sentimental items.

If you are letting go of perfectionism or overachieving, schedule time for your self-care. Read a book, take a bath, watch a show while doing a face mask. Once we have the momentum of action for any of our goals, we will feel better about our progress and want to continue succeeding.

What can you release this fall? What do you no longer need in your life? Let’s move away from the goal mindset of having the task completed and finished and instead celebrate being in action. I look forward to hearing what you are releasing your grasp on this season.

Easy and Healthy Dairy-Free Pizza

Recipes

Our family has a Friday pizza night tradition. Making homemade pizza crusts is relatively easy, and that is awesome sometimes to do but on busy weeks, when I want to hit the shortcut button opening a box and putting the pie in the oven is the kind of shortcut I need.

But since recently becoming diagnosed with an allergy to eggs and dairy, it’s been a bit of a letdown to actually eat pizza. We buy frozen pizzas rather than from a pizza shop to save money. And I’ve tried every frozen variety on the market, and none have genuinely wowed me.

On a recent trip to the grocery store, I noticed a vegan refrigerated pizza crust on deep discount, so I thought I’d give it a try. Unfortunately, after doing a web search it doesn’t look as though it’s available anymore in my area, so I’m not going to link to it at this time. I also wanted to try Parmela Creamery’s plant-based mozzarella cultured from cashew milk. Both items were total winners!


Here is how I made this delicious vegan pizza:

I started by heating 2 cups of PuraVida Prima Vera Mistura vegetables that I buy from Costco. These frozen veggies are staples in my freezer! They are perfect when I don’t have time to chop vegetables but want to have something good and healthy on hand. Highly recommend trying them if you haven’t already. I also had a few cherry tomatoes in the fridge, so I sliced them in half and added them to the PuraVida veggies.

I made the pizza crust according to the package directions, then in the final few minutes, I pulled it out, smeared crushed garlic, olive oil, and a layer of cheese on the top and put it back in the oven to cook.

Then according to the crust directions, I pulled it out and added the now cooked veggies, a handful of arugula, and another layer of the vegan mozzarella and returned to the oven for the final cooking time. Within 15 minutes, dinner was on the table, and it was delicious!!

We all have busy weeks and dinners when we don’t even want to think about having to cook something. I get it! It’s so tempting to want to pull into the drive-thru, but making food at home is healthier and more cost effective than any of the options at a fast food restaurant.

Give this make-your-own pizza idea a try with your family. Buy whatever refrigerated pizza crust you can find and have everyone make their pizza how they like it. Encourage your family to add vegetables, even if it means a layer of cheese needs to be on top. Pull random leftovers out of the fridge and try adding some of them as pizza toppings, who says mac-n-cheese can’t be a pizza topping! Doing this reduces the food waste in your trashcan and saves you money. Be an example for others and make your pizza as healthy as possible so your kids can see your creativity and determination to live a healthy lifestyle.

5 Easy Ways to Add More Movement Into Your Day

Movement

Creating a routine of working out takes time and planning. For it not to feel like a chore, it has to mesh with your lifestyle and schedule. Some folks dive head first into a training program and fizzle out within a few weeks. Others struggle with actually doing the workout though they have bought the gear needed and also figured out the classes that best fit their schedule.

Wherever you fall on this spectrum, I’d like to challenge you to try a different approach. Let’s ease into fitness by simply adding more movement into the course of your day. Did you know that adding more movement throughout your day releases endorphins and boosts your energy level? It also relieves stress and gives you a better night’s sleep. That sounds awesome. And it can be done with a few simple changes to your habits. Here’s how:

  1. When you are talking on the phone, pace or stand.
  2. Set the alarm, and every hour do a lap around the room you are in or around the inside of your house.
  3. Every time you stand up from your desk or a chair, immediately do five squats.
  4. While reading an article or email, stretch your arms over your head and alternate leaning over to each side.
  5. While you wait for the coffee to brew or your lunch to heat up in the microwave, place the palms of your hands on the edge of your kitchen counter and do pushups.

You and I know excessive sitting kills people, causing heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and some cancers. But, we don’t have to beat ourselves up about our past choices. Instead, let’s look at today as a fresh start to incorporate more movement into our daily lives so that we become healthier, happier, and less stressed.

When Managing Difficult Transitions in Life, Start With Your Foundation

Coaching

Life gives us so many ups and downs, emotionally and physically. And within each season of life, there are various transitions that feel harder than others. The start of a new school year is often one of them. Even though we, as parents, haven’t changed our jobs, it feels like a major upheaval in family life.

elementary aged children wearing backpacks running towards the school doors

So how do we navigate this transition? By simplifying and focusing on what I like to refer to in my coaching practice as your Foundation of Living. Think of your foundation as the basic necessities that you need to live; water, food, clothing, and shelter. And then ask yourself these questions:

Am I drinking enough water every day? Or am I oversaturating my body with caffeine to survive the emotions I am feeling? Grab one of the many water bottles that you have in your cabinet and consistently use it for drinking water throughout your day. Try to consume at least 80 ounces of water a day. (This is a baseline number, if you are working out extremely hard, you need to consume more.)

Where are the shortcuts I can take to feed my family healthy meals? Now may be a good time to purchase frozen pre-cut vegetables rather than fresh ones. Picking up a rotisserie chicken and using that in your recipe rather than raw meat that needs to be cut and cooked or relying on slow cooker recipes that do the work for you so that you can focus on other things. Make a list of easy recipes that you know your family will like and stick with them for a bit rather than trying a new recipe or getting creative. Let’s avoid dinner time meltdowns and focus on letting that time be a moment of connection rather than arguments over eating something new.

Is our house functioning in a way that alleviates arguments in the morning about getting out of the door in time? Maybe this means reevaluating where backpacks and shoes are stored. One of my clients put a small 4-drawer dresser in her foyer. Her daughter’s backpack lives on top of it, and the drawers are filled with all the last-minute things that ended up causing a breakdown in their morning; socks, hair ties, an extra uniform sweater in case she gets cold in her classes, etc. Or maybe it means allocating money in the budget to hire a cleaning company for the first few months of the school year so that an item can be taken off your to-do list.

Is the clothing that is in the closets and dressers performing well for this season? It’s a perfect time to go through socks and underwear and dispose of anything holey, or that has stretched-out elastic. Move “play clothes” or weekend clothing to a separate bin or drawer so that getting dressed is easier to manage. Eliminate the second trip your child has to take to their room to change into something more appropriate or less grubby/stained looking for their school day. Many people find great success in their weekday morning routines by spending thirty minutes Sunday evening with their child, picking out the clothing they will wear that week, and having it set out on top of the dresser or in a particular drawer.

Your Foundation of Living is unique to you, and not all of these ideas or suggestions will apply to you. That’s okay! It’s important, though, to go through the basic necessities you need to live; water, food, clothing, and shelter, and question whether they need to be changed or adjusted to navigate this new school year with better success. I am happy to help you create a personalized plan in one coaching session; reserve your spot by clicking this link and choosing a date and time that works for your schedule.

I look forward to helping you create a Foundation of Living to get through this season of your life!

The Importance of Setting Boundaries

Coaching

Boundaries are often thought of in a negative context, but I believe they allow for balance in your work and family time and provide harmony within your relationships. When you focus on what you need, that is when the edges appear to you, creating the boundaries required to live your best life.

In my yoga classes, I often explore the boundaries within the physical practice. For example, holding a balance pose for a bit longer than expected or what feels comfortable so that students explore where their edge is within their bodies while also learning how to rely on their own center of gravity. When we practice reaching and discovering where those edges are physically, we can sometimes then better understand how to apply that to our everyday lives. While testing and trusting our own deep center of balance, we can rely on our own intuition rather than looking for external validation or acceptance.

So what do boundaries look like for you? Maybe it means leaving work or shutting down the computer at 5 pm every night. Or recognizing that traveling for the holidays to see the family is only going to intensify your feelings of overwhelm. Or perhaps it means not spending time with people who feed off of negativity and gossip. If you say to yourself, “this isn’t right for me,” “I can’t do this anymore.” Give yourself permission to create the boundaries you need right now and move the edges a bit when needed. The lines don’t need to be rigid; we can go through various seasons of intensity. Rigid lines mean that people can’t cross them, and yes, there will be some fixed lines in your life; these are the deal breakers. But most of our boundaries are and can be ever-moving and shifting based on you and your environment and on compromises that need to take place.

For example, shutting down the computer at 5 pm every night sets the boundary of work-life balance. There is a huge need for this boundary to exist after the pandemic with folks working from home and even now with people transitioning to full-time telework. But there may be a season where that may not be possible based on deadlines you can’t control. For example, the tax accountant can’t shut down their computer at 5 pm every day starting on April 1st. It’s just not possible. They have a limited amount of time to file a bunch of people’s taxes. So the boundary may shift during that busy season. The key is to recognize where the season begins and ends and where the boundaries can continue to be.

We need to step further away from burnout. We need to move further away from that addiction to being busy. Let’s be honest, none of us are so important that we can’t take our accumulated vacation days. And yet so many Americans don’t use their vacation time, spouting off rhetoric that they don’t have the time or that it will be more challenging when they return. I’ve been guilty of this myself at times!

But if that is the case, there is a problem that needs to be fixed with creating boundaries. Don’t wait till December to figure this out. What boundary can you put in place today to successfully take that vacation later in the year? What boundary can you put in place that creates more space for you to breathe and feel at ease within your soul? You’ll discover that other people will respect and honor the example that you set forth. Focus on setting boundaries as a necessary step in your self-care journey. If you need help with this, I am available to coach you through this process.

Lessons of Vulnerability in Yoga

Movement, Yoga

When I moved back to Maryland from the west coast, I reconnected with one of my favorite yoga teachers in New York City. Several times a year, I would make the trek via train to visit her and take a class at her yoga studio. The classes were always packed; it wouldn’t matter what time of day it was or the day of the week. People flock to her because her energy is contagious, and the majority of the students seem to be more alive in her glow. She has this unique ability to hold you in her presence for a few moments, making you feel like you are the only person in the room. And then someone else catches her eye, and she is off to say her hellos to them, leaving you floating in her aftermath of positive energy.

There were several occurrences during a class when suddenly, the emotions that were ignored and repressed within my body decided to surface. I would spend most of the class in Child’s Pose, crying, folded up physically and shutting off while the rest of the class continued their flowing dance of yoga. Then, while my forehead pressed into the mat, anger would begin to surface from deep within me. This isn’t why I came here. I didn’t travel all this way, take the day off from work, or spend this large (for me) sum of money to have a total breakdown! Tears would drip from my eyes and onto my yoga mat, and in my mind, I imagined that the whole room could hear them.

I would stay in Child’s Pose for a while; my ego had gotten the best of me because even though I was in my mid-thirties, I was too embarrassed to allow anyone to see me crying. Displaying that vulnerability felt weak, and the tears would be a dead giveaway of my weakness. While in Savasana (Corpse Pose), my body surrendered to exhaustion. I felt as though I had just finished climbing a mountain. The class was not physically exhausting because I barely participated in the physical practice of yoga. Instead, the emotional work was what was truly exhausting.

I said goodbye to my teacher, and as I walked to the train station, the tears began again. But the emotions had transformed this time from vulnerability and anger to its distant cousin, disappointment. I was disappointed in myself because the whole trip felt like a waste of my time and money. I traveled all this way to study with an inspiring teacher and spent the entire time crying on a yoga mat.

The lesson came to me as I sat staring out the window on the train. Being in that present moment and allowing those emotions to surface is what I came there to learn. To break the cycle of repressing my feelings, pushing them down, or pretending that I had everything in order and perfect in my life. I needed to learn how to surrender and how to accept myself. I needed to work through those emotions so that I could move past them. This was a transformation in my life and yoga practice!

Transformations often have to get ugly before they can spiral into something magical. We must trudge through the thickness of our emotions in order to take flight. Some days my yoga practice looks like a dance on my mat, and other days I’m in Child’s Pose crying. The difference now is that I listen in those moments of despair. I listen to the voice deep within me that tells me what I need. I continue to try to be present with the emotions and breathe through them. Allowing the anger, disappointment, or vulnerability to be felt, seen, and processed.

When you feel at a loss, continue to roll out the yoga mat and trust that this physical practice was working for you before, and it is bound to feel like it’s working again. Your yoga practice is a balance, a continuous cycle of opening and closing, reaching and surrendering. Continue to tune into your body and listen to that soft voice that lives inside each of us. Trust in letting go of the ego, be vulnerable with yourself, and allow your yoga practice to reflect the lessons you need to take off your mat and into the world to be the best version of yourself.