What are you doing today, or this weekend, to relax and focus on self care? Share it in the comments below. For bonus points, add a picture, so we can share the experience with you. I'll share some peaceful videos of our animals later in the day. Spending time with animals is often relaxing for me. Except for when the drakes or male guineas are fighting. But, I digress. Below is a guided relaxation I created a few months back. I've posted the video in here before, but we have lots of new members, so I wanted to give it to you again. Special welcome to our new members, like @Katja Nasr , @Nancy Wicks , @Matt Burge , @Andrea Lecos , @Brigitte Mars , @Karisa Bitner , @Steven Bornstein , @Sarah Emami , @Lisa David Olson . Welcome all!! If you know someone who can use some relaxation, and/or a reminder that it's ok to feel good, please share this video with them! https://youtu.be/yRI41vlEteE

Do you have one? Does it support you in living your best life? Developing a supportive morning routine was one of the biggest game changers for me. It was part of the reason I started being able to lose excess weight, after years of trying, with very little success. The morning routine I started with was super simple... Lay in bed and listen to hypnotherapy or guided relaxation for 30-45 minutes. Allow myself to relax completely. That was it. This simple routine put me in a good head space for the rest of the day. It set me up with a positive mindset, gratitude, and openness to the blessings of life. Because it felt so good, I started incorporating guided relaxation at the end of the day too, and sometimes even in the middle of the day, if time allowed. I often incorporated prayer during this time too, since that's an important part of my day. This relaxing morning practice supported me in having balanced cortisol throughout the day. Little did I know that balancing my cortisol would help excess fat drop away from my body, with ease and little effort. I had never experienced this before! I started at 220 pounds. My goal weight was 160. I never weighed myself at home, since we didn't have a scale. A few months after I started my simple morning routine (and intermittent fasting), I weighed myself at the gym and almost fell off when I saw the number...it said 146. I thought the scale must be broken! It wasn't. I do weigh myself weekly now, because I appreciate the information I get from doing that. I share this story as inspiration about how quickly things can change for you when you get your cortisol in balance. Intermittent fasting helped me get my insulin in balance. Balancing these two hormones, insulin and cortisol, is KEY for good health and weight loss, and we talk about them quite a lot in the Release the Weight course, in the Classroom. A good morning routine can go a long way in helping us balance both insulin and cortisol!