Mindful Kim Blogs!

When my hubby came home early from work I was pretty excited. 5 minutes later when I found out that the downstairs of our home was filled with 3 inches of water I was more grateful than excited! This meant not only my husband’s workshop and our storage space but also my yoga studio and shop. A whole lot of water but I looked at it a little differently than most, I think. Winter 1999 there was a big fire in the apartment building I was living in, I lost almost all my possessions and I didn’t have renters insurance. Fortunately, I got all my pets out of the building. I was also homeless for 3 days afterwards and had no choice but to stay at a local strip club, the first night, where the strippers had rooms above the bar (yikes, I know!) and then the next 2 days with some relatives. I had no clothes except the pj’s I was wearing and ducky boots. I came to realize that even a bed is a luxury that I would never again take for granted. So, when this flood happened (being the 2nd since we’

If you can’t seem to make time for yourself maybe you should consider paying for it occasionally. It doesn’t have to mean hours and hours away or hundreds of dollars either. Normally, I will take ½ hour at a very inexpensive salon about once a month or so for a pedicure. This pedicure normally doesn’t come with much of a foot massage but at least it’s time to just BE and in the end my toes look great. Not to mention it’s fast and I don’t need an appointment. Just fits my schedule. Today, however, I’ve been saving a while and happen to have a 3 hour window to relax child-free. This time will be for the manicure and pedicure that I am getting at a special price, an express facial and the time it will take to drive there and back (had to be very close to home). So, a lot of things packed into that time but so worth it. Worth it for my sanity and to be the very best me.

One night last week my family and I celebrated. We celebrated the possibilities. Possibilities of a new experience, a new ‘item’ in my husband’s ‘vibrational escrow’ (his manifestation bank account for the future). He gets job offers quite frequently but lately they have hit closer to what he really wants for his life. The offer was, to start, $26/hr, full benefits and a living allowance for when he’s not close to home. That was the problem. The job would take him away from home (far away) for 8 days at a time. For now that is not right for him but the offers are getting closer and closer to what IS right for him and so we celebrated. The Law of Attraction wants us to feel like we already have what we want. Wants us to feel the joy of already attaining it and not doubt that it’s coming. So we celebrated with lobster, with fresh halibut, a lovely salad, with a great desert and sparkling grape juice. Just like it already happened. Because it has….iIt’s there waiting. :-) (c) kimbe

Sunday I ran in a race. This was my 5th race of my 2 year running career and the kilometres go, in order, like this... 5k, 21k, 7.5k, 10k, 7.5k. This being the 2nd time I’ve done the 7.5k ‘Fat Ass Batawa Trail Run’ - I loved even more! Here’s the link for the 1st time I did it HERE   and another link for the race HERE .   Last year, a month after running a ½ marathon, I was just under an hour. This year, with almost no outdoor running, my time was 1 hour, 2 minutes and 47 seconds. Not too shabby but if I had known how close the times were I might not have taken 2 snack breaks where I actually stood around looking at scenery and then to take the picture shown here of the finish line at the top of the ski hill. This race is a lot of fun with coke and m&m’s offered mid-race and cookies and chilli at the end. The people are a lot of fun and the trails are actually chosen for the mud and danger being a priority! I did yoga twice after the race and had no sore muscles the next d

Sickness. Where does it come from? Luck of the draw? I doubt it. I know someone who told me that she gets pneumonia every year. Every year!! To me that is a sign. A big sign that something needs to change. Eat better and do less. Sounds so simple doesn’t it? It should be but it’s not. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “we human be-ings not human do-ings”. Why do we keep doing, doing, doing? We feel pressured to not be seen as lazy or maybe we’re competitive and want to do more than the next guy... whatever the reason it’ll get you nowhere. Do, do, do... just get ahead and then, wham! You get sick. I am not immune either. Relaxation is my passion but I still do too much for whatever reason. And, yes, I’m sick right now. It’s rare for me but I was just thinking the other day, ‘when is it MY turn for a break’ and then sickness hit. Almost a blessing I guess – only if I had a little more balance I could actually enjoy my nap this afternoon. There IS power in doing nothing, in relaxi

My family celebrates Samhain on October 31st with a feast and gratitude, very much like Thanksgiving. We also light candles in honour of loved-ones passed. Our daughter doesn’t really ‘get’ Halloween and doesn’t eat candy but for most there’s trick or treating... and that’s what I did growing up as well. I have magical memories of being in Cold Lake, Alberta, putting a costume on over top of my snow suit with a few feet of snow by now. Receiving free candy and being able to eat as much of it as I wanted... pure joy! But, the joy doesn’t just stop with the children. Parents get to see the joy of their children’s faces and feel the magic in the air, just as it was years ago for them. People past the point of small children or just child-free adults get to join in the festivities as well. Decorations, handing out candy, going to or throwing parties... the magic of childhood lives on.

Ever notice that you are go, go, go all week and look back and think... where was the ‘me’ time?? Have an adjenda/daily planner? (because everyone should) Open it right now. Check out the week ahead, find some blank space and circle it. Then write something in there. “Have tea ALONE” or “Take a bath” or “Go get a pedicure” and don’t let anyone else have that spot. That is YOUR spot. So many of us are a slave to time and calendars. Make your adjenda work for YOU. YOU are the most important thing in that adjenda because if you take a back seat everyone else, in your life, are not as balanced as they could be either. If you were a celebrity with a manager he/she would get fired real quick if you found that you were over-scheduled and stressed out all the time. Plan for you. And ENJOY a joyful life.

Every year the Quinte Breastfeeding Awareness Network holds a Breastfeeding Brunch. The first meeting I ever attended was just prior to their brunch and I was very pregnant ... over my EDD (estimated due date) actually so I didn’t make it to the brunch.   I DID attend the next year, however, and was pleasantly surprised to have won a door prize! This year was their 3rd annual brunch, my daughter was almost 3 years old and I, once again, won a door prize... AND... I am STILL breastfeeding!! Willow and Marshall at 2010 Breastfeeding Brunch Not everyone is lucky enough to have a midwife to assist in breastfeeding questions and challenges.    QBAN is a great group for promoting awareness and the importance of breastfeeding, locally.   Find them on Facebook HERE .   The Quinte Natural Moms Group is a also a great group of woman who accept and support the breastfeeding mom.   Find them on Facebook HERE or check the ‘free’ page of my website to find Mama Meet-Up events.

Sunday I ran a 10k to help raise money for the Belleville hospital. Did you know that it’s the hospital’s responsibility to raise the money for their equipment? I didn’t. So, this was the Quinte Mall Rock and Roll Fun Run. A ‘fun run’ because it wasn’t timed and the ‘rock and roll’ part was exactly that... there was bands playing along the route. Fun eh?! To start a race everyone gets a race kit. Companies sponsor races so we get some really neat stuff! This is my Forth race and this time I got a ball cap, a nice pen, a cool stapler among other things. Unfortunately, my husband was on a month of midnights and school was cancelled for two weeks for my daughter. Therefore, little to no training and I found it a bit of a struggle. Although I did finish this brings me to the decision. I am supposed to run a ½ marathon a week after this fun run. The fun run was 10k but the ½ is 21k!! Ugh, I am not feeling the joy in it. Last year I ran 8k at the ½ without stopping at all... this ye

My writing has been irregular lately... late or non-existent. I try to only write when feeling aligned so that should explain it in a nutshell. To further elaborate... My husband, bless his hardworking soul, normally does 10+ hours a day, a minimum of 50 hours a week which is hard enough on our family... BUT for the past month he’s been on MIDNIGHTS! A friend recently commented that he should be careful not to get burnt out. HA! If not him then certainly ME!! So, the second recent thing to ‘rock my world’ is that once a two afternoon a week break for me has been cancelled. My daughter goes to school those times and it’s been a HUGE blessing. But no more. Cancelled for at least two weeks. Both those things are enough for me to handle... add anything else and I start to fall apart. A rainy day means the dogs can’t be outside which means they whine all day inside and keep the sleeping husband awake all day. The YMCA turns us away because their ‘Kids Kare’ is at capacity is now deva

Maybe it’s because it’s my daughter’s 2nd day of school, maybe it’s because I’ve had some much-needed family time lately... I had an ‘aha’ moment today. I arrived home and was about to start making supper when I realized what a perfect day it’s been. In a nut-shell... no rushing. Maybe my standards have been too high, in the past, for some areas and not high enough in others. I expected that the house was cleaned (including the bathroom) three times per week, garbage gathered and outside twice a week, work and gym time 3 days a week...bla bla bla. Other things then suffered. It was a constant battle to try to have more ME time, time alone, meditation time, yoga time, time to try to quiet my mind. I would be tense that the house wasn’t clean enough for me, that I didn’t get enough time for this, that and the other thing. Tense, annoyed, frustrated, lacking joy. Generally lacking balance. So, here’s where the ‘aha’ moment came in. I noticed how happy I’ve been the past few days. M

It’s my daughter’s first time in school. Yikes! She’s almost 3 and so smart and busy as I am sure anyone with kids can understand. I try to keep on top of things with activities but she has become so self-confident and independent over the past 6 months that we thought school was the best option. We are so lucky to have a Montessori school 5 minutes from our home so it works out perfectly... for me and her. She will stay at this school until she is ready for grade 1. I am going to keep a list of suggestions or ideas from her teacher as to what we can do to encourage learning. Also, a list of things to promote balance for her in reading, sports, learning about new places... maybe there will be another Facebook group in my future, who knows. Within this year she will celebrate her 3rd birthday, see new places such as the Peterborough Petro glyphs, restart gymnastics, start soccer, hopefully learn to swim, learn her abc’s and numbers.... Are there any recommendations out there?

Nothing is forever. Friends come and go as needed, where you or they, are in life. Family is sometimes like that as well. Oh sure, a friend or family member might stick with you your entire life but the relationship evolves or changes as you both do. As you both grow. Maybe there are some people who don’t grow and then their relationships are always the same. Although, I don’t think I know anyone like that... maybe because I am so interested in growth and only attract others interested in growth. I’ve had friendships dissolve, only to rekindle later in life. I believe we were on too different a path, but the Universe brings us together again when we are on a similar path. Personally, I am a low maintenance, positive, independent person and since like attracts like... that’s what I attract. Be the best ‘you’ you can be and you will attract similar people. Remember that: "like attracts like". But, what if someone shuns your friendship or love seemingly suddenly – whether

We had the weekend planned out but when we didn’t receive desired weather we decided to go with the flow of things... a day of paddling turned into a day of gardening and yard work with a short walk in the woods. It’s a good thing we were prepared to just go with the flow because that’s not exactly how it went! My husband, 2 year-old and I went to the Bleasdell Boulder for a short walk in the woods. It being close to our home we thought the trip would be barely noticeable in our day but I would still get my ‘nature connection’. The trail expanded.... and someone forgot to update the trail markers, it seems. Combine that with an adventurous husband who doesn’t like to actually stay ON the trails... what we thought would be a 20 minute walk turned into a 2.5 hour hike... did I mention our 2 year-old? She did very well as her daddy only had to carry her about 1/3 of the way. What an adventure it was! I, of course, only got a few mosquito bites and our daughter fell on the gravel tra

Stress is a big topic yet I remain positive, for the most part, not because I don’t have stress but because of how I decide to live my life. One of my favourite affirmations (by ME) is, “I am always aligned and balanced because that’s what I choose”. Here’s my list of ways to remain positive each day, despite regular ‘stressors’. Journal Use essential oils (on self and around the house and car) Take time to read, for pleasure Reiki Yoga Meditate Breathe deeply Run Work out at the gym Be out in nature What about you? Do you have a ‘list’? I would love to read it! phdirector@gmail.com Be blessed, Kim (c) 2007-2010 www.kimbelangermills.com All rights reserved.

I’ve been asked so many times how I turned out so well considering what I grew up with... It’s a way of life, for sure, and I give the credit to journaling. But then a whole lot of other things happened within the span of three years that I am quite certain would have any ‘normal’ person going to a counsellor or taking medication..... From 2003 until 2006 I was bombarded with ‘things’. I don’t think I had learned about the Law of Attraction back then but, boy, was I attracting craziness. Here’s the list: my dad died, I got married (not a ‘good’ thing), got separated/divorced, began a new relationship, got laid off from my job, my mom died, started school, relocated homes, had to take care of my mom’s arrangements and will, got engaged, got pregnant, had a miscarriage, my dog of 13 years died. I am certainly not complaining, my life is pretty amazing! My point in telling all of that is to show what a person can work through when they have the right tools. Of course, if I had know

Have you ever thought that you would like to have or do something but put it out of your mind because you don’t know how to go about it? You’ve got to ‘think backwards’. First, whether it is having more money, starting a business, finding love, whatever... you have to figure out your intention. I would like to... be a writer, for example. If that is your goal you set the intent and then think of a process, starting small and staying positive. What would it feel like? To start small maybe start blogging or send out a newsletter. Set the intention of what you would like your message to be. Remember that you have the freedom to change your mind at any time. What about having more money? Setting that as an intention, first. Be open and positive! You can have more money if you spend less, right? Record everything you spend. Label each thing as ‘A’, ‘B’, or ‘C’. A being most important such as mortgage and food and C being least important. Cut from C wherever possible... maybe put your s

Absolutely everyone is entitled to their opinion and everyone has their own from their own perspective. Someone else's thoughts/feeling/opinions are really none of your business just as yours are not their business. As far as who is 'right'.... "Everyone thinks they're right. So, the question isn't who's right or who's wrong. The question is, who is most in alignment with their Source? And who is the most allowing? And whose life is really going the best, most of the time?" ~Abraham There is really no 'victims' so one cannot be a 'victim of gossip'. You could CHOOSE to see as the gossip as a blessing. A unique chance to learn about what type of person you are. Now, that is truly an aligned way to live.... Be blessed. ♥

I started out with Mom & Baby Yoga, when my own baby was young enough to be my ‘model’. When she was almost a year old and able to go without breast milk for a couple of hours I included teaching Prenatal Yoga. Suddenly, my daughter was a toddler and I wasn’t sure what to do with her so that she could come to class but not be bored. I really wanted to do yoga and see other moms of toddlers. So, I tried a class where the toddlers were doing yoga, since my daughter love doing yoga “like momma”. I had them crawling on the floor hissing like a snake and growing tall like a tree reaching out towards the sun. That’s when I found out that when toddlers were together they want to play together and explore, not do yoga. It was a stressful class, for me anyway, wanting everyone – toddlers and moms alike – to benefit from the class but feeling stressed and pressured instead of relaxed and joyful. That’s when I got the idea of ‘Moms WITH Tots Yoga’ instead of ‘Mom AND Tot Yoga’. Still no

Summer is a great time for relaxation. But, if you have kids who are usually in school and now off and with YOU full time you may be feeling the pressure. Pressure to make it fun for everyone... everyone except yourself. Although my daughter isn’t in school just yet our trips to our vacation spot isn’t as relaxing as it could be if we had more space. The constant chatter of a two-year-old; the constant whining or barking of our two dogs, at an out of the norm place for them; add hubby to the mix and... well... I would rather be at home, frankly. Two minutes of alone time is better than none at all! Be sure to have down time, even when vacationing. Not doing, just being. You need to turn your brain off which doesn’t mean sleeping. You will sleep better if you take that ‘no-brainer’ time. Take a walk alone, do yoga alone, sit and just breathe – alone..... quiet your brain no matter where you are. Many times you’ll need to schedule it but just be sure that your partner and/or

My husband and I HATED school, as did my parents and their parents. It wasn’t just being cooped up indoors for too many hours or the subjects but bullying and violence between the students as well as between students and teachers. My dad always told me if I wanted to go to college or university he would pay for it. No worries. Ya, right! Why would I want to further my torture? Not only did I HATE grade school and high school but it was part of my father’s abuse, too. Yelling, belittling.... why put myself through that for another 3 or 4 years?! So, I took a break and after a few years decided to try college. Friends seemed to like it and I wasn’t living at home anymore, so why not? Although I didn’t finish the first time I went (I’ve since gone to college another 2 times) I loved the experience! It really showed me what I was missing all those years where other kids didn’t have abuse involved. I saw respect between students and teachers and among themselves. It was awesome! I co

You don’t realize how positive you are until you see the contrast of someone negative in your experience. I am a child of chronically negative parents and a ‘recovering’ chronically negative person, myself. I didn’t realize how truly positive that I have become until recently when I was exposed to some ‘Negative Nellies’. Now, I think I would say that I am more of a chronically positive person and it feels great! Everything is habit. There is the habit of looking for things to help you to feel great and there’s the habit of looking on the ‘bright side’ and there’s the habit of just smiling and shrugging when those around you seem negative and complain. I’m not saying to never be negative or down, that would just be fake. Just don’t stay there! You have a choice. It’s not about other people, it’s about YOU. YOU are your business and others are their own business. It feels great to be more on the positive side... light, airy, free. The choice is yours. Choose and se

I probably have this realization a few times per year... and then it starts to slip away and the ‘aha’ moment hits me again. All that really matters is NOW. I’m not talking about the past as in a month, a year or even ten years ago. Your last breath no longer matters. It’s all about this one. I know it, but it’s easy to forget. I think maybe the future matters more than the past. Not much more but it does. I don’t take a whole lot of stock it – only to think of, right now, what I want for the future. Keeping in mind that things can, and most likely will, change. Being joyful in the now but having desires for the future... I would love to take an Alaskan cruise and also to see the East Coast, someday, far in the future. For right now, though, I am happy with the way life is headed. Very happy. Are you? Change is only a breath way... or a thought. What are your thoughts?  You can comment here or email me.. phdirector (at) gmail.com (c) 2010 www.kimbelangermills.com A

When my daughter, Willow, turned two I thought that maybe not every child went through ‘terrible two’s’ but then she got closer to two and a half and I believed it! I heard a lot of, “I don’t want to!” “I don’t have to!” “NO!”... along with grabbing things from me, kicking, screaming, and hitting I chalked it up to boredom and kept her so busy some days that she fell asleep at night before the end of two songs on the radio. Still, most days I was exhausted from the constant battles and putting too much effort into what I got done each day.. Not very joyful but I kept telling myself that it was just a phase. Then, on a list/organizing website I noticed lists for toddlers’ responsibilities and a ‘caught ‘ya being good’ list so I’ve been trying it now for about a week and I think it’s working!! On the list are things such as: puts own toys/books away; helps momma with chores; eats well; puts own pull-up in garbage; gets herself dressed; helps bath herself. She is so proud when we

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you’ve ever seen the movie ‘Marley and Me’ then you know all about our dogs. Unruly, high maintenance but very cute and sweet at the same time. Add a toddler to the mix and I had an idea of how our first camping trip in over 3 years would go but being a `glass is half full` kind of gal I hoped for the best... a relaxing, stress-free high inspirational weekend. What I got was a lot of the expected but still some inspiration. It took me three days of buying things for our new trailer to organize us, the dollar store was a big help. The one thing hubby and I couldn’t seem to get was a 30 amp plug for him to re-do the 15 amp plug that the previous owners put on the 30 amp cord for the 30 amp trailer – a fire hazard. An RV centre and two Canadian Tires didn’t have it which meant no power for the trailer. Also, when we got there the o-ring for the tap to the trailer was no good so this meant we had to go outside each time we needed to use the

I only camped once when I was a kid. My Dad was NOT a camper but more of a hotel type person. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I started going, first with my cousin and then with boyfriends, sometimes in the back of a covered truck and sometimes in a tent. When married to my ex-husband I used to go with his parents, sleeping in a tent (by this time I had my own) and with my two small dogs while they were in a small house trailer. I always wanted one like theirs’, it seemed like an apartment on wheels. When the new husband came along (and some inheritance) I bought my first trailer. It was a really nice tent trailer with a pop out on the side. It was beautiful, for a tent trailer, but a whole lot of work for my husband! We used it only one summer before my daughter was born. With a Cocker Spaniel and a Lab it was even more work... not to mention we were afraid that one of the dogs would go through the screen if we left them inside at all. We really love camping but not so much the

Well, it took a year of my life to complete my first eBook, but “Prenatal Yoga for Body, Mind and Spirit” is finally ‘out there’. I took my yoga teacher training almost completely pregnant for that entire year and had to do my own research on what to do or not to do. I had to research the modifications for someone pregnant so not to hurt myself or my baby. This kicked off the desire to write my own eBook for others who are pregnant. From 2008-2010 experience was gained from teaching Prenatal Yoga and the last year of teaching it I was writing, I had a photographer come to my home to take pictures of most of the poses, and did research on my ‘team’. Besides a photographer, I have a business coach and an editor . A pretty good accomplishment for anyone, really, however for someone with a toddler and no child-care, a pretty HUGE accomplishment, I believe! Yes, I certainly have a little extra pride knowing that I accomplished my goal with a child in her bed, early mornings, most

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. We celebrated it the whole weekend but more-so on Saturday. We decided to NOT have the usual great weekend we normally have but make it equally great, just different, by going to Peterborough. For shopping and looking. I recently told my husband of my wishes to sell our tent trailer and buy something we can take to a seasonal campground and leave there. It would be more of a cottage for us. A place that our daughter and I can go when Daddy is working or a place that we can just pick up and go to when we want to just get away. Even in the winter. So, on the way to and from Peterborough we looked for trailers for sale, we looked for campgrounds with seasonal sites and we talked about what would be the best of both to find. Once there we shopped at Costco and talked about how nice it would be to be closer, maybe a campground between our home and Costco, for easier access. We also had dinner at the Red Lobster, which would definitely be another perk of l

I took a break from Reiki for a while. Life just got too busy with my business and being a wife and mother. I also have been focusing on exercise lately, so Reiki has taken a backseat. I used to do it every morning for my own daily spiritual practise. It’s been missed. I gave my first full Reiki session, in about a year, just recently. Just the mere thoughts of doing again was enough to re-awaken the energy. My hands felt very warm, tingly and like the energy was going to burst from them. That is, until I did a mini-treatment on my husband, then it subsided. My client lay on the massage table, fully clothed, and I moved my hands in the positions either on or just above her body. A cleansing sweep was done near the end and lots of grounding. Nothing unusual happened during the treatment of the client....afterwards, though, was pretty amazing... for me, anyway. My hands felt unusually soft after the treatment and I became unusually ‘sensitive’... more vibrationally ‘aware’. I felt

From the time I was about two or three years old until I was nine I lived in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada – on an Air Force base. This was the best place in the world for a child to grow up as far as I am concerned. Maybe it was just because we lived only three doors down from the school grounds entrance and our backyard backed onto the school property or maybe it was because I had lots of friends around me who also loved to be outside. Being an Air Force base, at this time, it was a very safe place to live. Whatever the reason, I absolutely LOVED it! I spent most of my life outside in those days and try to do the same now... even in winter I try to find as much to do outside as possible. There’s a book by Richard Louv called “Last child in the woods” where he talks about his belief in the issue of nature-deficit disorder. I haven’t read it yet but it’s high on my list of books to read next! I definitely want my daughter to spend as much time outside as she can get. We have a 3 seas

Given my profession, I’m often asked what to do about stress . My #1 answer? Breathe! When you are feeling stressed about something you automatically tense up, breathing becomes shallow. My favourite breathing exercise is called the ‘3 Part Breath’ and for good reason... you breathe in 3 parts. Sitting or laying comfortably place your left hand on your stomach and right hand on your chest. As you inhale your abdomen and then solar plexus and then chest rise. As you exhale they each fall in reverse. Chest, solar plexus, abdomen. Another exercise is to make a tight fist as you inhale... exhale, release the fist Here’s some yoga poses to try, while wearing comfortable clothes. Child Pose: from your hands and knees, with your knees together, sit back on your heels. Bring your chest to your thighs and forehead to the mat. Your arms are along your sides, with palms up. Relax and breathe deeply through your nose. Rag Doll Pose: while standing, take a step to the side to stan