Watch This Today: Improve your mood, energy, memory, relationships and more with this 6 minute video!

I had the pleasure of meeting Maria Shriver and talking with her about wellthier and my goal to empower women with the confidence and tools to optimize their lives. She is amazingly supportive and even more graceful in person than she comes across on TV. Its needless to say, I have an extreme amount of admiration for all that she does to empower women with her books, talks and reporting.

She’s taken on so many important topics effecting women’s health and this short clip is incredible! She sits down with Dr. Sara Gottfried to simplify a few simple hacks to start doing now to improve your mood, energy, relationships, memory, and overall healthspan.

Watch This! Yes.

I hope you all take a moment to take care of yourselves today and call a girlfriend.

The Riveter, Santa Monica

Sincerely,

Laura

Favorite Books of 2018 …

As I finish packing for our trip to Maui, I've carefully qualified which books to bring along to the beach. If you know me, then you may know how much I prioritize reading as a form of self-care. 

Here are a few of my very favorite books that I've fallen in love with over the past few months. (I recommend reading their summaries in the links below!) They've all brought inspiration, knowledge, laughs and nourishment to my life this year. So, here are the top six:

Food, What the Heck Should I Eat? by Mark Hyman. Amazingly simple explanations about what to eat and how to get the right kinds of food into your routine. It's part food history, meal planning, and science giving the right balance for anyone to understand what the heck to eat.

The Little Book of Lykke by Meik Wiking. Lykke means happiness. Learn how to bring more light and happiness into your every day activities. Learn what the happiest people in the world are doing to elevate their quality of life. It's a quick but must-read. 

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking. Hygge means ... well... there's no one word to describe it actually. It's more of a feeling. Enjoying life's pleasures. Slowing down. Cuddling up. Relaxing. Learn how to embody hygge into your life and what the world's happiest people are doing to bring in more hygge! 

Creating Your Best Life by Caroline Adams Miller. A continual resource for uncovering what matters most and how to prioritize whatever it is that you, in fact, care most about. It's not a read cover-to-cover kind of book, but rather a journal and guide to discovering your best life. 

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict. Did you ever wonder what was happening behind closed doors while Albert Einstein became a renowned genius? His wife, the other Einstein was the real brains behind the name. It's a heart-breaking and wonderful triumphant tale. 

The Erotic Stories of Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal. When a group of single women get together to pass the time in a writing class in London, erotic stories unfold on the pages before them. I can already see this becoming the next big movie! It's too good to put down. 

What are some of your favorites?? I'm always looking for the next book to add to my nightstand. 

Links to these books (on Amazon): 

• https://www.amazon.com/Food-What-Heck-Should-Eat/dp/0316338869/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530048565&sr=8-1&keywords=food+what+the+heck+should+i+eat+mark+hyman

• https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Lykke-Secrets-Happiest/dp/0062820338/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530048536&sr=8-1&keywords=the+little+book+of+lykke

• https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Hygge-Danish-Secrets/dp/0062658808/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530048512&sr=1-3&keywords=the+little+book+of+hygge

• https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Your-Best-Life-Ultimate/dp/1402779984/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530048354&sr=1-1&keywords=creating+your+life+list

• https://www.amazon.com/Other-Einstein-Novel-Marie-Benedict/dp/1492637254

• https://www.amazon.com/Erotic-Stories-Punjabi-Widows-Novel/dp/0062645129

The Real MUST-DO Bucket List Before Motherhood

Let's face it, we all know there are limitations (as well as amazing rewards) once you become someone's "ma-ma". Don't skip any of these 8 must-do's before you enter motherhood, trust! 

So, what are the things we should all check off the list before this all goes down? 

1. Create Your (After) Birth Plan. Forget the birth plan! (I know what you're thinking, "What?! No! I need my birth plan! It's all that I have!") Let's get real for a minute. Who knows what'll end up going down in the delivery room? You may say "oh, natural birth only, please" and walk out 4 days later after an unplanned c-section. So, let's focus on the things we actually have control over; our care and support plan after baby. 

2. Discover & Master a Self-Care Ritual. Why? Because sh*ts about to get real and self-care is the first area of your life to suffer. How are you going to manage being sleep deprived, depleted from the inside out, and having to care for a little one? Not to freak you out, but if you haven't already had this thought, it's time to focus on what's going to make you a calmer, happier person when sh*t hits the fan. Maybe it's meditating, grounding, or priming? Want to know more mind-body techniques to combat the stresses of motherhood so you can actually enjoy the days ahead?  

3. Go to the movies! Trust me, the movies become a distant memory for some time after childbirth because there's the pumping, feeding, lack of sleep and then the high cost to leave the house for 2-3 hours (child care). As someone who's not a huge movie-buff this has recently become a fantasy that I long for.  

4. Take a trip! Soak up hassle-free exploration & adventure. It's not easy hiking Yosemite with a little one, or even staying in a hotel room with a pack n play. Enjoy the freedom and luxury of being on "your time". 

5. Take up a hobby. Always wanted to become certified as a chef? Learn a new language? Maybe just a fun craft project you've kept on your Pinterest board and have had no time to make it happen? Now's the time! Once you have a little one, you'll find little to no time to do the leisure activities you've been daydreaming about. Make it happen now. 

6. Detox Your Home. - Clean out the clutter. Remove the toxic chemicals. Simplify. Make your home a place to thrive for you and your future family. :) Learn more about how to easily detox your home, below. 

7. Sleep in. Often!! - Once those first few months of motherhood begin, and you're up round the clock, you'll long for the days of sleeping in and cuddling up in the morning. Take advantage now of all of that sleepy morning fun and snoozing the alarm. The wake up call of your baby is real and un-snooze-able. 

8. Have THE talk. I'm talking about expectations. How's this all going to go down? Who's waking up to get the baby? Are you going to nurse then pass baby off to your partner for burping and getting back to sleep? Is your partner going back to work soon after or taking leave? Is the family coming to stay to help support you? If you can knock this out, you'll be way ahead of the game and avoid major tension and potential fights when baby arrives. 

What else?! Think of anything else you plan to do before motherhood? Maybe you're already deep into parenting and you've got some advice for other new moms? Leave a comment below! 

xo, L

MUST-READ Books To Prepare for Pregnancy & Motherhood

*Disclaimer: These books are about YOU and how to actually enjoy and be prepared for the journey ahead. After all, we can all follow along with the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" app to peek into the womb and learn what's going on in there each week (I know I did), but what the heck is happening to YOU during & after pregnancy? You know, when you're new life starts! 

Here are the three 'must-reads' to set yourself up for the best first year into motherhood so you can actually enjoy this new life rather than just survive it. 

1. The Fab Mom's Guide.

Why this is a must-read, in 10 words.... Gives you permission to do what YOU need to Do!

She's non-judgmental, and tells it like it is. You've got an instant bestie along for the ride when you read this one. I read this during the first few weeks postpartum and which I had read it sooner!

2. Bringing Up BeBe

The author gives you direct actionable steps to take to sleep through the night earlier and raise a toddler you can take out to eat who wont completely stress you out.

Thanks to this book, we had Olivia sleeping through the night by 3 months old and never had to sleep train.

3. The Third Option

Dreading going back to the 40+ hour a week job because you know you're going to miss out on the majority of your new little baby's life?

Have no fear, The Third Option is here! It's not just "stay home with baby" or "go back to work and miss everything". You'll have an entirely new perspective when it comes to "having it all"! You can do everything you want, it may just take a few modifications. Learn how to talk to your boss and partner about needing a third option.

Have any other books that you really love? Let me know! I'd love to see what they are! Maybe you've already read one or three of these?! Share what was a gold nugget for you.  Comment Below. 

Top 3 Hacks for a Smooth Transition Back to Work After Maternity Leave

It's totally normal to have mixed feelings about going back to work, even though it may not be all roses at home with the little one. You're most likely going feel that cliche (but so real) #momguilt. The last thing you need is #momguilt on top of a stressful first week back into the swing of things at the office.  

Here are my top 3 tips for a smooth transition: 

1. Start on a Wednesday or better yet, Thursday. You've had some time away from the corporate grind and it's not to be taken lightly. Start slow to ease back in. Be gentle with yourself. 

2. If it makes sense for you, pop in before your first day. It's going to be overwhelming with the questions about how you're doing. "Is it hard being away from .." "OMG you're back! blah blah blah" While all of the sentiments are sweet, it can be distracting and emotional for you. I suggest popping in at the end of a work day maybe a week or so before your official first day to get reacquainted. Maybe even grab lunch with your core friends at work. 

3. Confirm that HR has everything ready for you. - your workspace is up and running and your "mother's room" has everything you need (comfortable seating, fridge, sink, privacy!). We can't have you feeling frazzled about where to pump at work! 

Bonus Tip! 4. Leave a backup shirt & a blanket in your desk! - You need conveniences that you're used to at home in case you spill/leak milk. And a blanket, well that's just good sense.

Want to know more useful tips to make the transition super easy? Or know someone going back to work from leave? Learn more about transitioning back to the office, by clicking below. 

Try This Today: Loving-Kindness Meditation

I often repeat the metta bhavana or loving-kindness meditation. It is a method of developing compassion. I aim to come from a place of grace, love, gratitude and acceptance every day and the loving-kindness meditation supports me, so I thought I would share incase anyone else may be looking for ways cultivate love and improve their mood, mindset and view of the world. 

Loving-kindness, or metta, as it in called in the Pali language, is unconditional, inclusive love, a love with wisdom. It has no conditions; it does not depend on whether one “deserves” it or not; it is not restricted to friends and family; it extends out from personal categories to include all living beings. There are no expectations of anything in return. This is the ideal, pure love, which everyone has in potential. We begin with loving ourselves, for unless we have a measure of this unconditional love and acceptance for ourselves, it is difficult to extend it to others. Then we include others who are special to us, and, ultimately, all living things. Gradually, both the visualization and the meditation phrases blend into the actual experience, the feeling of loving kindness.

Loving kindness is without any desire to possess another. It is not a sentimental feeling of goodwill, not an obligation, but comes from a selfless place. It does not depend on relationships, on how the other person feels about us. The process is first one of softening, breaking down barriers that we feel inwardly toward ourselves, and then those that we feel toward others.

Take a very comfortable posture. One of the aims in this meditation is to feel good, so make your posture relaxed and comfortable. Begin to focus around the solar plexus, your chest area, your “heart center”. Breathe in and out from that area, as if you are breathing from the heart center and as if all experience is happening from there. Anchor your mindfulness only on the sensations at your heart center.

Breathing in and out from the heart center, begin by generating this kind feeling toward yourself. Feel any areas of mental blockage or numbness, self-judgment, self-hatred. Then drop beneath that to the place where we care for ourselves, where we want strength and health and safety for ourselves.

Continuing to breathe in and out, use either these traditional phrases or ones you choose yourself. Say or think them several times.

"May I be free from inner and outer harm and danger. May I be safe and protected.

May I be free of mental suffering or distress.

May I be happy.

May I be free of physical pain and suffering.

May I be healthy and strong.

May I be able to live in this world happily, peacefully, joyfully, with ease."

Next, move to a person who most invites the feeling of pure unconditional loving kindness, the love that does not depend on getting anything back. It might be a parent, grandparent, teacher, someone toward whom it takes no effort to feel respect and reverence, someone who immediately elicits the feeling of care. Repeat the phrases for this person: “May she/he be safe and protected….”

After feeling strong unconditional love for them, move to a person you regard as a dear friend and repeat the phrases again, breathing in and out of your heart center.

Now move to a neutral person, someone for whom you feel neither strong like nor dislike. As you repeat the phrases, allow yourself to feel tenderness, loving care for their welfare.

Now move to someone you have difficulty with–hostile feelings, resentments. Repeat the phrases for this person. If you have difficulty doing this, you can say before the phrases, “To the best of my ability I wish that you be….” If you begin to feel ill will toward this person, return to the benefactor and let the loving kindness arise again. Then return to this person.

Let the phrases spread through your whole body, mind, and heart.

After the difficult person, radiate loving kindness out to all beings. Stay in touch with the ember of warm, tender loving-kindness at the center of your being, and begin to visualize or engender a felt sense of all living beings. The traditional phrases are these:

May all beings be safe, happy, healthy, live joyously…..

May all living beings be safe, happy, healthy, live joyously…..

May all breathing beings be safe, happy, healthy, live joyously…..

May all individuals be safe, happy, healthy, live joyously…..

May all beings in existence be safe, happy, healthy, live joyously….. 

Empower your imagination through the five phrases to touch the hearts of all forms of life in the universe, unconditionally and inclusively. Stay with all beings until you feel a personal sense of the profound interconnectedness of all creatures, all life.

Then you can move on to specific categories of beings:

All females of all species (or the feminine principle of the universe within us all).

All males of all species (or the masculine principle of the universe within us all).

All awakened ones.

All seekers.

All celestial beings.

All humans.

All animals and other beings in difficult places.

The two pairs and the triad above are three more ways of including every being in the universe.

Here is an alternative way to practice this meditation:

Begin with yourself. Calm the mind and heart and find the center of your being. Generate warm, gentle, loving feelings for yourself:

"May I be safe from harm.

May I be happy just as I am.

May I be peaceful with whatever is happening.

May I be healthy and strong.

May I care for myself in this ever-changing world graciously, joyously."

From yourself, move out into your immediate surroundings. Include every living being within this circle:

"May all beings in the air, on land, and in the water be safe, happy, healthy, and free from suffering."

As you feel your immediate surround fill with the power of loving kindness, move on, expanding the concentric circles until you envelop the entire planet.

Expand your loving kindness until you are able to visualize Earth, spinning within the vast, mysterious universe. If you like, continue expanding the sense of your loving kindness, filling the endless emptiness of the universe.

"May all living beings everywhere, on all planes of existence, known and unknown, be happy, be peaceful, be free from suffering."

I hope you give it a try and see how much compassion and love you radiate in the world. :) 

Peace. Love & Light. 

Special Thanks to http://www.contemplativemind.org/practices/tree/loving-kindness for the guided meditation and words on loving-kindness.