Weekly Link Roundup

Happy New Year! As always, I've hoarded all of the links to share with you! Hope this provides some food for thought, inspiration and laughs to share with your friends.

Enjoy, and feel free to share links you're loving lately in the comments.

First of all, DAMN. This is some powerful stuff from Kelly Diels on what she's calling the Female Lifestyle Empowerment Brand. Kelly takes on the current state of DIY marketing geared toward women by internet entrepreneurs, This passage was powerful: "They do it in the guise of building a relationship with you but what they’re doing is dramatizing the gap between your ordinary apartment and their New York loft, their frequent and fabulous holidays and your staycations, their flat abs and your squishy stomach, their nearly-naked yoga and your see-through yoga pants (the ones that their inventor never intended for your kind of ass, after all), their famous besties and your toxic friends, their bottomless bank accounts and your overdraft." ... I SO don't want to be that kind of blogger or professional!

Women's Healthsays goodbye to the bikini body. . . Hello 2016.

Know your worth and stop being such a pushover. . .this new email plug-in can help.

The books that haven't been written. . . can you even imagine?

I'm A Fitness Professional, But I Was So Photoshopped That I Didn't Recognize Myself . . . It's safe to assume that any image you see out there is photo-shopped and filtered these days!

What makes a good life? Insights from the longest study on happiness. It only studies men but still contains some good takeaways.

If you're inclined to set new goals this year, this post is PACKED with meaningful ideas. These are my kind of aspirations! And while you're dreaming and scheming, sign up for one of my upcoming Dreamers Summits!

P.S. Barre & Soul's January Nutrition Jumpstart is currently full, but you can still get on the waitlist or sign up for the next round! Find out more about it and learn how I lost my "Last 5 Lbs." here.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

How I Lost my “Last 5 Pounds” and How it Did (and Didn’t) Change my Life

How I Lost my “Last 5 Pounds” and How it Did (and Didn’t) Change my Life

You know what? There are no invisible contracts between your body and anyone else. You don’t owe it to the world to be a particular weight or a particular shape. Besides that, there is no weight or shape that will turn you into a new person or guarantee you a princess-perfect life.

St. Croix Yoga & Barre Retreat

It feels a little silly to even attempt to write about the experience of our first-ever yoga retreat to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands last month. It totally exceeded my expectations and filled my heart up with love of nature and community, and a feeling of gratitude, ease and playfulness.

St. Croix beaches
St. Croix beaches
 I'll let the photos do most of the talking. Here are a few of my favorite memories:

Chartering a private plane with our new-found friend Renee after missing our connecting flight.

yoga retreat
yoga retreat
2015-11-06 17.33.49
2015-11-06 17.33.49
2015-11-06 17.48.16
2015-11-06 17.48.16
2015-11-09 11.51.25
2015-11-09 11.51.25
2015-11-09 11.49.50
2015-11-09 11.49.50
Freedom City Beach - St. Croix
Freedom City Beach - St. Croix
yoga retreat in St. Croix
yoga retreat in St. Croix
2015-11-11 08.52.22
2015-11-11 08.52.22
hooping at above the cliff
hooping at above the cliff

Feeding cans of non-alcoholic beer to pigs. (?!)A long lazy day at the beach, full of paddle boarding, swimming in the ocean, beanbag toss, fish tacos, frozen mango drinks and Jack Johnson on the speakers.Dogs, everywhere we went. Especially Angel.Hula hooping on the dance floor of a clifftop bar to the sounds of a live band.

band
band
yoga on the beach
yoga on the beach

Teaching yoga and meditation on the beach. Amy's mom's headstand. Using palm trees as barres in our "Coconut Barre" classes.

barre class on the beach
barre class on the beach

Team-teaching with Amy and Lindsey in the beautiful open-air studio of the Courtyard. The rain starting to pour during Lindsey's barre class and gently splashing in through the windows and over the porch railing. Buddha bowls after class.

yoga and barre retreat
yoga and barre retreat
yoga and barre retreat
yoga and barre retreat
Courtyard View
Courtyard View
Courtyard Menu - St. Croix
Courtyard Menu - St. Croix
lunch in St. Croix
lunch in St. Croix
Zoe and Maggie 2
Zoe and Maggie 2
2015-11-10 20.15.23
2015-11-10 20.15.23
sailing in St. Croix
sailing in St. Croix
2015-11-08 13.11.35
2015-11-08 13.11.35
yoga on the beach
yoga on the beach
St. Croix
St. Croix
sunset sailing
sunset sailing
2015-11-11 12.06.11
2015-11-11 12.06.11
walking the labyrinth
walking the labyrinth
fire dancers
fire dancers
yoga retreat fun
yoga retreat fun

Telling ice breaker stories, sharing fun facts, and bonding with our amazing group, which included 3 pairs of mothers and daughters.Being hosted by a fire-dancing troupe named Kiki and the Flaming Gypsies.Heart to heart talks in the cabin of the sailboat on the way to beautiful Buck Island.Elise never leaving my side. Being surprised at how nicely my kids got alongWalking as a group on the buttery sand of Buck island and being immersed in the warmest, most gorgeous turquoise ocean water I've ever seen.Gliding across the water at sunset on the sailboat.Playing "Yes yes yes yes yes," being served delicious food, and sharing things we love about each other at Villa Del Mar. Taking a mindfulness walk in the Labyrinth.Fire dance party on the beach.Jumping off the pier together as a group.

Watching the sunset.

yoga retreat in St. Croix
yoga retreat in St. Croix
swimming in St. Croix
swimming in St. Croix

Realizing that this is what I get to do at work (?!) and feeling so, so, so grateful.And SO MANY more beautiful moments not listed here!

Check out the video below, made by our fabulous hula-hoop teacher Julia to see even more of this amazing adventure, including some incredible fire dancing. And don't forget YOU can join us when we return to St. Croix!

The next Barre & Soul St. Croix Yoga & Barre Retreat is April 13-26 and you can pre-register now.