You know what I really want to do this autumn? Let go... Let go of huge expectations and pressure to do and be anything other than what feels right for me. Let go of feeling like I need to squeeze myself into a box to please others. Let go of thinking that life is too busy or stressful to really enjoy myself. Let go of thinking that if I haven't  achieved or done x, y, z yet, I cant relax or i'm not successful enough yet... 

I want to give myself time to breathe. to be creative. to do all the important and necessary stuff with more ease and joy. to simply be. 

And for the times I catch myself wanting to do something but automatically thinking "I don't have time", I want to remind myself to think "how can I find the time..." (which automatically has my brain searching for solutions rather than shutting the thought off altogether). 

I also want to be ok with not always feeling ok or like life is all rainbows (because we all have struggles). I want to be courageous enough to sit with it. to feel it. and then to let it go. And for every time I do, I want to feel the gratitude and growth that comes from those uncomfortable moments.

I want to embrace autumn which has the energetic quality of yin - a time to calm, to reflect, to surrender and let go...

Autumn is also a time for new beginnings (as every new faze is), but remembering to do so with ease and gentleness. So I want to cozy up in warm jumpers and sip tea and hot cocoa with those who matter most. And I want to be creative and work on new exciting projects and connect with wonderful people who inspire me. 

What is an intention you would like to have for this autumn? 

Love Tori

With summer approaching and exciting things happening soon, I'm working hard to get stuff done before we start our family vacation next week. And in the midst of working late, planning and overthinking a few things, I came across a post on instagram that inspired and reminded me of a few key mindset shifts that are so easy to forget when life gets busy, but that we all need reminding of sometimes. So I wanted to share them with you. 

1. The race is long and in the end - it is only with yourself. Take your time and remember that the most important thing is to enjoy your life. Plan for the future - but find joy in the now. 

2. There are a million things you could be doing but ask yourself if you want to be doing them. Get super clear on how you spend your time and energy and tune in to your body to let it guide you. Do you feel uplifted, energised and calm while doing something? or stressed, uptight or overwhelmed? Do none (or much less) of the latter and find the balance between what you really need to do and what you love to do. 

3. Adopt an attitude of gratitude. Really be so thankful for everything you have and get to do. That morning coffee that tastes so good - savour it. The hug from your little one - be there and feel it so hard your heart almost bursts with love. Look up from your phone and take in the beautiful nature around you. 

4. Be in the now. Have a conversation with a friend or partner without talking about something that is going to happen in the future and stop yourself the moment you find yourself drifting off mid conversation. Be here. 

5. Cultivate a growth mindset - be a student of life. We all make mistakes and no one is perfect, so be curious. When bad things happen think - how can I learn from this? When amazing things happen - take the win! Acknowledge it and take a moment to enjoy and celebrate it. 

6. Enjoy the sunshine. Smile and breathe. Some things can just wait...

So what things can you let go of to feel lighter, happier and more free? And what can you be grateful for in this moment?

Have a wonderful day, love

Most of us spend a lot of our time on autopilot, missing the small moments that make up a beautiful life because we are too distracted or stressed to simply let it all go and be present. But over time as we practice being more mindful, we train ourselves to live more and more in the present moment. Here are 3 ways to practice mindfulness daily (and especially whenever you find yourself feeling stressed, anxious or distracted). 

1connect with your breath. Place your hand on your stomach, close your eyes and take 5 deep breaths in and out through your nose. As you inhale try to draw your breath all the way down in to your stomach so that you can feel your stomach expand outwards. Pause for a moment and gently breathe out, noticing how your stomach relaxes

2Connect with your senses
What can you see around you?
What can you smell?
What can you taste?
What sounds can you hear?
What can you touch? place your hands on your legs, give them a little squeeze and feel the fabric.

3Do any activity like going for a walk and notice every step you take or wash some dishes and notice how the warm water feels on your hands. Do anything simple and practice being fully present

 Love Tori

Hi beautiful you.

I hope you're enjoying a wonderful last day of easter and I apologies for this blog post being a few days late this week. I took my own advice and spent quite a few days simply being present with my family. Our days have been filled with baking, drawing, painting, walks in the forrest, watching movies, snuggling and simply just being together. I have also made sure to get some me-time and self-care in (yoga , meditation and long baths being a must) to prevent me from going stir crazy! (Pictures below pretty much sums it up)

But today I really wanted to drop in and share with you 5 little reminders and things that I believe that we can all do to embrace this strange time that we are in. So here goes. 

1. Embrace the stillness. the unknowing. the Yin. 

On many levels I think that we all needed this. Not the actual virus of course! But being forced to slow down. To actually be present and with the people closest to us. See in Chinese medicine we talk about yin and yang and how there must always be a balance between the two. Yang is the active, going, doing, pushing and achieving. Yin is the opposite - the calm, quiet, slowing down, appreciating, reflecting and tuning in. The way our society is built, there isn't time or space for yin. 

"In a world that is busy, achieving, moving and accomplishing, rest is an act of courage" -Tory Eletto

And so I believe that this is mother natures way of creating balance and forcing us to slow down and tune in. We need more Yin (which is why I named my blog YinMama) in order to have balance within ourselves, in nature and in life. So let us try to embrace the not knowing and try to appreciate the time of yin that we are in right now. 

2. Ask yourself; what and how can I heal during this?  

See I believe that in any circumstance, we have a choice in how we allow it to affect us. We can give in to the collective fear, excessively monitor the news and stress about buying enough toilet rolls (which is ok too). Or we can choose to be curious and challenge ourselves to look out our own fears and insecurities (which may be related to the virus or perhaps something different entirely). We can sit in the uncertainty of not really knowing, and choose to actively release the fear and find the calm within ourselves. Sure we want to numb out sometimes and avoid actually feeling all the uncomfortableness, but if we dare to look at it with curiosity, without allowing the fear to swallow us, I believe this time can be a great time of healing for many of us. 

It has perhaps taken me until yesterday to realise that the past few weeks have been very healing for me as it has in a way given me a "second chance" to stay home with my son. See I loved becoming a mother but honestly, I also really struggled the first year (the colic and severe sleep deprivation was rough...). But spending this time together without really knowing how for how long, has given me so much room to reflect and heal the past, to connect and find so much joy in the present moment, and so I find myself feeling so grateful. Which brings me to reminder number 3...

3. Practice gratitude 

It is ok to feel: Frustrated, Happy, Sad, Grateful, Anxious, Calm, Confused, Relieved, Tired, Energised or (Insert any other emotion here...). Accept the strangeness of the situation and allow yourself to feel it all.. but choose to always circle back to gratitude. See choosing to focus on the positive in our life and showing appreciation for all that we are and have, is possibly the fastest, simplest and most powerful way of improving our own well-being and happiness.

Research suggests that feeling grateful can help reduce stress, improve our mental and physical health, increase empathy, ease depression, improve our relationships and foster long-term happiness. All pretty good reasons for making it a part of our daily lives! So take a moment in the morning and evening to think about or write down all that you are grateful for. 

"When you trade you're expectations for appreciation, you're whole world changes in an instant" - Tony Robbins

4. Make time for me-time and self-care

So Important. Do more of what brings you joy and calm. (Here is a little list of ideas taken from my instagram, but the social one needs to be adjusted a bit):

5. Be kind and notice the little things

This is a strange time for all of us and having watched way too many romantic comedies and Disney films myself, i can't help but quote Cinderella; Have courage and be kind. Remember to be kind to yourself and others. Focus on the things you can control and choose to do things that light you up and bring you joy and calm. Look up at the sky and breathe the fresh air. Listen to the birds and try to embrace the stillness of not being able to do much.. (such a contrast to our usual busy lives..). Be present and mindful, take care of yourself and loved ones, and embrace this much needed time of yin. 

I hope you have a wonderful day and week, sending so much love

Monday was mothers day here in Norway and today is valentines day - both a lovely reminder to show yourself and those you care about some extra love!

Wanted to share with you 3 of my favourite quotes that I recently posten on instagram;

The best things in life are free so celebrate today with extra hugs, kisses and gratitude for all that you have, all those you love and all that you are

Have a wonderful weekend, love

Hi and happy New Year!

I hope you've had a restful and lovely holiday spent with those you love. 

It's a new year and with that often comes New Years resolutions and great expectations to all we are going to be and do. We live in such a fast pace society which is very much yang dominated (going, doing, pushing and working hard), where we give so much of ourselves to everyone and everything we do...
But so often we don't have time, forget or perhaps don't always know how to really nurture the Yin aspect, which is all about resting, restoring and doing the things that fill our own cup. And with the pressure of all the things we "should" be doing to have this seemingly "perfect" life, its no wonder we can feel exhausted, overworked and stressed times...

So let's instead aim to be less busy this year. Less trying to be and do everything perfectly. Less missing out on the present moment because we're too wrapped up in our to do lists and planning the future...
Let's do less of what depletes us and more of what lights us up! Let's be open to more self-kindness. More compassion. More love.
Let's bring awareness to how we are talking to ourselves and focus on taking moments out of our busy day to also rest and care for ourselves.

I believe that when this is our intention, we open ourselves up to actually feeling more joyful, more calm, more energised and happier within ourselves. The small actions we take daily (or lack thereof in some cases), gradually shapes the life we live and how we feel. So let's aim to do less this year by putting less pressure on ourselves, asking for help and accepting it, even if it isn't done exactly like you would do it.

Have a wonderful week. Love

I hope you've had or are still enjoying a wonderful summer. After 3 weeks of sun, fun and family time I'm feeling inspired and ready to dive back into the daily routines of mama life, work and all the exciting projects I have planned ahead (pssst exciting news to come in just a few weeks!)

As I do, I'm reminding myself to relax.. to breathe.. to take moments out of busy days to just be.. to listen to my body and rest when I'm tired.. to love myself, flaws and all because we are all perfectly imperfect.. to be grateful for all that I have and are and do.. to worry less about the mess and more about being present.. to let go of the "could have, should have, would have"... to have more fun, play and be silly..

Whether you're just starting your holidays or returning back to everyday life, I hope you'll do the same.

Love, 

When life is busy, it's so EASY to loose that precious balance and forget to prioritise moments to slow down, tune-in and care for ourselves.

"It takes courage to prioritise rest and play in a society that sees being busy and feeling exhaustion as a status symbol..." - Brenè Brown

For most of us, lack of balance often builds up so gradually that we don't even realise it until it has manifested itself as physical symptoms (stress, frustration, anxiety and exhaustion) or in our relationships (irritability, snapping and arguing). We can often feel like life is hard, stressful and overwhelming, with "no time" to spend quality time with those we love or the things we love to do! 

I've been burnt out before and had my fair share of ups and downs in the past which is why I'm so passionate about health, wellness and having balance in our lives. When i follow my own advice and do the things i know creates balance within myself and my life, things are amazing! But when i forget and neglect myself or the things I know I need to do (because im too busy or don't feel like it), things go downhill pretty fast. 

But see the universe has a way of doing that when she's trying to teach us something. First its a kind tap on the shoulder, a feeling of something not being quite right (but we often ignore it). Then she nudges and pushes us a little harder... And if we continue to ignore whatever is that is going on, she knocks your over the head and flips your life upside down so you're forced to deal with it. 

When life happens and we loose balance, we can see it as an opportunity to learn, grow and become even better versions of ourselves. We just need to sit with the uncomfortableness, accept it and create a new way moving forward. 

I'm so grateful to have my health, my family and close friends who love and support me everyday. But the internal work - loving and caring for myself so that i can truly show up in life as the person and mama i want to be today and moving forward, thats on me. So today i want to share with you some of the things that I've been doing recently to make sure I'm staying balanced. 

1. I'm prioritising extra time to tune-in with myself through meditation and yoga to connect, calm my mind and relax my body. 

2. I'm focusing on my Mindset and treating myself with love, kindness and understanding. We all make mistakes and no one is perfect. Accept it, let it go and move forward. This weeks mantra has been; "Do it with balance and joy, or not at all" 

3. Making sure i get enough rest & sleep. Long baths and early nights... As well as nourishing my body with healthy foods (and a little chocolate...)

4. Connection. Away with meaningless distractions (social media) and lots of giggles and fun with Matheo. Honest and open conversations with those i love. Always a little uncomfortable but oh so necessary to heal, move on and create even better relationships.

5. Nourishing my beautiful body with healthy foods (and a little chocolate...)

I've really been craving connecting with more like minded mamas - soul sisters really. So last week i reached out to a new mama i didn't know (the wife of one of my husbands colleagues) and asked her out for a coffee. We hit it off instantly and after 4 hours of chatting, I feel so grateful to have made a new friend. Sometimes we just need to get over the fear, get out there and take a chance (may it be friendships, dating or a new opportunity. It may just work out perfectly ;)

This turned in to a long blog post but i just wanted to remind you that sometimes the toughest weeks can be the most transformational as they push us to take the necessary action we need to take to feel more balanced, relaxed, present and happy within ourselves and in our lives. When we do the inner work, we also have so much more to give back to those we love! I hope that this can inspire and motivate you to stop, re-evaluate, tweak and move forward with balance beautiful mama...

Have a magical week. Love