Tag: Transformation

Shit Not Going My Way
Posted by Raschel Biagioli on in Blog

Shit Not Going My Way

Today’s message is all about how much time we spend in the turmoil of frustration.

Context: a part of my Organizational Consulting business is when I am organizing, clients will have me sell some of their items. then I take a portion of the commission.

A couple of weeks ago I had scheduled an entire day to drive over an hour and sell a bunch of items. And then… I had a couple of buyers not show up.

I sat in my car and just was beyond myself in anger and frustration. I was so annoyed with how few people are their word and disrespect others. I couldn’t get the feeling to pass and I still had more to do that day.

I told myself that I needed to drop the feeling and even though I said this to myself. I didn’t actually drop it. I was still harboring my annoyance. I had to pick up one more item and was meeting another buyer in a city closer to my/their home.

I get to the meeting location. I confirm with this individual no less than 6 times that they understand and know where the meeting spot is. They let me know they were running late from work and would arrive 20 mins after our agreed upon time.

I figure no big deal I am parked outside of the 2 stores I needed to go into after the meet up and now I could use this downtime to complete those two tasks.

I come out of errands and now it is 25-30 minutes later and they are no where to be found.

I message and they said they were looking for the location.

I sent them the address.

Another 10 minutes pass. I now have been waiting for them for 40 minutes.

At this point I did something I have never done before.

I yelled. I yelled at another human. I yelled at this human to insert the damn address into their GPS instead of just driving around looking for the location they picked out. There were a lot of other choice words.

I didn’t just want to drive away because then I would have been stuck with this object in my car or apartment for an extended amount of time.

Finally after an hour and 5 minutes they show.

They gave me an additional 15% because of my hassle and I was FUMING at this point.

I decide to go do some retail therapy. I had a gift card for REI. This way I could still comply with my No Clothes Shopping 1 Year and possibly pick out something nice.

I drove over to REI happily and walked around. I found the below sweater on the sale rounder. Perfect wool sweater for cold weather and specifically snowboarding.

I delightfully walked to the desk and handed them my gift card. The woman kind of stared at me and let me know that they had switched to a new computer system that morning and all gift cards no longer worked. She assured me she would be able to get the money off and onto the new cards but she would need to call the headquarters. This entire process would be 20-25 minutes to complete.

I kind of just closed my eyes and sighed and knew it was the epic ended to my day.

I complied and asked if there was anything I could do to make the process go faster. I asked if I could continue to browse while she worked through her process. I stayed calm and knew I just needed to surrender to my day and whatever the universe had planned for me. I had been fighting time and people and systems for 9+ hours.

I delightfully wandered REI.

My patience and being in a place of peace paid off. When I was called back to the front, the manager was so thankful for my patience and even temper they awarded me an additional 20% off of the sweater.

I had not cleared the frustration out of my space. Once I actually surrendered to just standing in the situation of where I was at, the universe said “Yes.” Frustration is an internal feeling and even when shit is not going your way the frustration is not felt by anyone else besides you. At this point, I could have done anything else besides be annoyed.

It is all choice. How many days are you spending like this?

Frustration or peace, it’s all your choice of how you’re willing to spend your time.

No Clothes Shopping for 1 Year
Posted by Raschel Biagioli on in Blog

No Clothes Shopping for 1 Year

When I consolidated my student loans with Lendkey in 2018, I decided to take on an extra $100 per month to pay the loans off in 5 years instead of 7 years. (Click here for blog about refinancing). I had to figure out where I was going to get the extra money each month in my budget.

I decided to take on the challenge of not buying clothes for an entire year. I “NEEDED” nothing, just a lot of wants.

On Black Friday of 2018 I bought some socks and essentials and a few things for in the gym and started the 1 year of no clothes.

Guidelines:
  1. I can buy clothes from a second hand store with a maximum $10 per item limit.
  2. I can accept clothes from other people as gifts.
  3. If I am given a gift card, I can use it to buy something new, BUT I am not allowed to ask for gift cards.
So far what I have learned:
  • I have had so many WANTS over the past 7 months.
  • I regularly add things to my cart and then put them back.
  • I avoid shopping with friends and ask them to do activities instead.
  • I have manifested more clothes in the past 7 months than I could have purchased. The wants did not go away and I didn’t judged how I acquired the clothes. So many people have given me things, it is crazy. I love watching how the universe is providing me the things I want. My style has completely evolved to include more colors, more freedom and great fitting items.
Manifestations:
  • My glamorous grandma passed away and we were the same size. My grandpa let me pick out items I wanted to wear to continue her legend. Shoes, leather pants, fur vests, etc.
  • I went to dinner with a group of friends and someone had bags of clothes they were trying to get rid of. A few dresses and tops!
  • Clients were downsizing their closets and offered to me that I could take anything I wanted before taking the rest to be donated. Dresses, pants, tops!
  • Someone gave me a few gift cards.
  • A girlfriend found a shirt that made her think of me and it fits perfect!

Someone gave me this shirt, I couldn’t have found something to match these shorts so perfectly.

I am having so much fun with this, that I may just keep going. I have a few things that I know I would buy on Black Friday and now I am working on manifesting exactly what I want that day including the price I want to pay. Let the games begin!

Karma
Posted by Raschel Biagioli on in Blog, Mindfulness

Karma

Karma is the manifestation in your external world of who you are internally. Karma and integrity are closely related. Karma is defined as the sum of a person’s actions in all forms of existence deciding their fate in future existences. *

Your mind creates the cause and the reality we live out is the effect.

Have you ever notice how happy people are happy no matter what the circumstances are? They are choosing to be happy, they are choosing to notice the light and positivity in the situation. They are wearing a cute outfit, they land the big business deal and someone surprises them with a free coffee. The sum of this person’s actions and thought are on the rise. Their future existence is on the upward trends.

You may have also noticed the opposite. When you wake up and it is raining, you trip on dog and bruise your hand on the door frame, you hit every red light and every co-worker is in a bad mood. You are becoming increasingly aware of the negatives available and the sum grows.

You manifest more of your internal state until you are willing to see/identify and really spend time with that state. You can literally “shake it off” and choose something different. Jump around, go on a walk, take a shower, do what you need to do to change your state and you physical being so your internal state can resonate and be in a different space to create positivity.

Integrity is the agreement to live exactly what you say you are. A bank robber has not moral problems with being a bank robber because they are in integrity with the lifestyle the have chosen. They live by the laws they have agreed to. They go into this lifestyle understanding the potential outcomes but live in agreement with their own internal Karma

Where resistance or breakdowns shows up is when you not living in integrity. There is a misalignment with what you say you want and who you are being.

There is no beginning or end to how the universe works but the more you put out there the more it is going to come back. Your experience of the world and the things that happen to you are the external results of what is happening on the inside. How you speak to yourself, the stories you live and the habits you are letting control your life.

Karma is neither good or bad, it is the sum of your experience to create the future experiences.

Choose wisely.

Shake it off.

Believe in what you want so much that there is not option to not live in alignment with that dream.

It just is.

*https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/karma

#theYESandLife
Posted by Raschel Biagioli on in Blog, Mindfulness

#theYESandLife

The yes and life.

There is no right, there is no wrong. What if you could have everything you wanted and you were able to step outside of fear and stand in the yes of life?

Try this on for size, this week pick one day and any time someone invites you to do something you say yes. This experiment involves you getting out of your ego, pessimistic state of mind and go into the experience by full of curiosity.

What is the worst that could happen? You end up at a lunch that you didn’t plan on. At that lunch you meet someone while waiting in line that has one of the biggest business deals of your career. Or you get a free lunch. Or you learn something new about a co-worker that allows your work relationship and communication to thrive.

Humans get cough up in their reasons and the life they live completely out of habit. You have identified yourself as someone and you customize your entire world to fit that picture you have painted. You are a mom, so you tell yourself that you cant travel or take time to go to the gym. You are “Type A” so you tell yourself that you can’t do something spontaneous. You are unorganized so you tell yourself that you can be late for all of your meetings. There is a entirely different option out there and it all starts by saying yes.

You get to say “yes and…” fill in the blank.

Yes I will go to lunch and will you drive?

Yes, I will go on the snowboarding trip and I will keep my job.

Yes, I will be a mom and a badass.

Yes, I will be an engineer and a personal trainer.

Drop the either or that you have decided your life has to be and start living the life that you always dreamed.

Start with one simple “yes” this week.

Register for that program.

Have a fantastic marriage and be in an open relationship.

Book the flight.

Finish the book.

Hit a PR in the gym.

Have the hard conversation with your lover.

Whatever it is that is holding you back? I challenge you to go on the other side of your reasons and start customizing your life.

Register for the program you have always dreamt of but you dont know where the money is going to come from or you don’t know what hotel you would stay in. The point of this exercise is start somewhere. By registering for the program you are saying “yes!” Then all of the other situations/hows will fall together. You are telling the universe a direction and the how’s will start to show up. Give into the “WHAT” drives you and the hows, the paths, the money will start to align.

Have you always wanted to travel to another state but just were too scared or didnt know what would happen or you didnt have anyone to go with? Well this is your opportunity to do some research and get on the other side of your reasons. Start with the What, say yes and book the flight. Then all of your excitement will fuel the conversations you have with people. All of these conversations a random friend might become your co-traveler, someone might tell you about a great deal they got on a rental car and someone might give you a lead on an amazing adventure they recommend when you get there.

Build #theYESandLife of your dreams.

The Wellness Way
Posted by Raschel Biagioli on in Blog, Fitness

The Wellness Way

I am a fitness professional, I train my body both with stress and rest, I track my macros, I sleep, I drink enough water, I follow all of the instructions of “what to do” and yet, I felt like health should be easier than what I have been doing. I was still not able to sleep, had gas, having a hard time breaking plateaus, carried a lot of information, brain fog and digestion problems.

In October of 2018 I jumped and I decided I wanted to take my health to the next level. I wanted to identify why my body was acting up and was not operating at its highest level. I had been visiting Integrated Functional Health in Bettendorf Ia. I had some dramatic improvements and shifts in my body by working with Matt DeWild and he recommended I look into the work that Dr. Stacey Wiley at Complete Balance Chiropractic was doing with The Wellness Way.

I dove right in.

Dr. Stacey is a chiropractor that works through a system call The Wellness Way. She is amazing, personable and understands the real life application of trying to heal from the inside out. This system starts with testing. She will not treat without doing testing. There are no guesses or adjustments to programming without looking at the data first.

http://thewellnessway.com/

I followed Matt’s instructions and emailed Dr. about what I was looking to heal. She personally got back to me in less than 6 hours and then asked me if I would rather text her. I got a phone appointment that next week and we talked through the testing kits she would have me do.

I had to have my blood drawn by a local lab and then I completed 4 stool samples and sent them off to the lab as instructed in the testing kit. It would take 1-4 weeks to get the results back from the two labs.

My blood results came back the following Monday and she immediately got in contact with me because the results show that i didn’t have an intolerance or allergies to food (which i had been tested for before), but i had the antibodies for 17 different foods. All of which I had consumed the weekend before.

Antigens:

Having the antigens for foods means that when I consume them my body believes that they are a virus and attacks them vs. warding off many of the other viruses that we come into contact with. (This explains the years and years and years of constantly becoming ill). I have been in a constant state of war.

The biggest hurdle would be switching up my routine to accommodate new foods and avoiding this list:

  • Almonds
  • Beef
  • Casein
  • Crab
  • Egg Whites
  • Egg Yolks
  • Lobster
  • Cows Milk
  • Mustard
  • Peas
  • Peanuts
  • Pork
  • Scallops
  • Sesame
  • Soybean
  • Tuna
  • Bakers Yeast

I tackled this head on and communicated with the people in my life so they would know how best to support me through this discovery and learning process. I got to play with this for 3 weeks prior to my other test results coming back.

At this time i met with Dr. Stacey in person and we would talk about the supplements to add my routine to help combat.

The remainder of my test results would reveal that I did not have a candida problem (had always been told that this was an an issue), but i didn’t have a high count for a different yeast in my intestines (dysbiotic flora). Some of the symptoms that I experience from this internal yeast infection include: inflammation, gas, cramping, normal disturbance, fatigue, ear infections, acne and brain fog. I also found out that my immune response is upgregulated the tissue in my GI track is normally the first immune barrier and mine was angry!

In December I started on a course of supplements to help start to tackle and bring my system better into balance. I still track my macros and eat all the foods but now these things are added in to help out. I have 2 courses of supplements I take when I wake up and when I go to bed and then every time I eat i take a few supplements to help break down the food and help start to tackle the yeast.

When I first eliminated the foods that were on my list I immediately began to notice differences. I am less puffy, I can sleep better, I have no gas, and I am able to focus better. Spiritually, a whole different connection to my mind/body experience is different and a lot of fun. The cheetah print on my skin has started to change. The spots on my arms would turn red or purple at least 1 time per week if not every day. For the past 3 weeks they have been white.

on my skin has started to change. The spots on my arms would turn red or purple at least 1 time per week if not every day. For the past 3 weeks they have been white.

I am not perfect with all the foods but I avoid my list 85% of the time. It takes time to look at labels but once I learned what things work for me I have been sticking to those items. Aldi has been the cleanest grocery story to find things at and Thrive Market online has been a savior.

The Wellness Way has clinics all over the country and I would recommend checking them out if you are curious of how to optimize your body. Going through the hard time to walk out on the other side healthier has been worth it. This journey is not over with and I will update you along the way.

Resolution vs. Intention
Posted by Raschel Biagioli on in Blog, Mindfulness

Resolution vs. Intention

Lets set INTENTIONS instead of RESOLUTIONS.

Resolution is an acknowledgment that something is wrong and trying to fix the past. The past does not exist. The past only lives in our memories. We have choice to set all of those memories aside and decide how we want to show up moving forward. You no longer need to carry that experience from your childhood or last week into your future.

Your way of being was built as a protective mechanism so you would not have to feel like something was wrong, you were not good enough or that you don’t belong. These beliefs no longer serve who you are becoming.

Having a clear vision of what that looks like is setting an intention to live into.

Setting an intention is being free to create your life as possibility.

Setting an intention is having integrity with the current situation.

Setting an intention is knowing that the universe/god/your guides/etc. will guide the path for your greatest growth. You may not know how and now it’s time to choose the “what”.

The path and days to your intentions may not be of least resistance but it will be perfectly set up for you to grow the most and become who you were meant to become.

This year I am choosing to have an intention to live life as unreasonably and sweet as possible.

And so it is.

Wellness: Cheetah Print
Posted by Raschel Biagioli on in Blog, Life’s Weird Moments, Mindfulness

Wellness: Cheetah Print

For many years I have struggled with my health and wellness. From the outside I am put together, fit and “well”. The reality is that I have struggled. I have strugged with skin conditions, hormone inbalances, immune suppression, and digestive problems. I have spent close to $10,000 on testing, medications, doctor visitis and supplements. I have had all sorts of  diagnoses: gluten intollerance (which was then negated), candida, allergy to the female hormones, PMDD, high recommendation that I do not have children, and the list goes on.

About 5 years ago I was sick of everything and I quit going to doctors all together. I take care of myself and I figured my body would eventually just balance.

I experience highs, lows, frustration, saddness and insecurities. These are all symptoms you can’t see. From the time I was 12, I had a never ending menstrual cycle. To this day my hormones are all over the place, so I’ve chosen to go with an IUD.  Even with this, I still experience a cycle.

This year I have gone down the path of working to heal my life and try different experiements. My goal is to optimize my human performance in the gym and in my every day life. Personal development school, hiring coaches, trying new doctors and all sorts of things to live as long and as healhty as possible.

I can tell my gut health is not the best and I am consuming soemthing my body is adverse to because I have what I call “Cheetah Print”. You can see in this picture. There are some spots on my neck and chest. I call this my cheetah print.

The cheetah print covers most of my body. It changes colors depending on the time of year, the clothes I wear and things I eat. I’ve had them on and off most of my life. If I do a Candida cleanse, they can go away but that’s just as awful three months of just eating green beans, clay and protein.

I also recently learned that this is hereditary, a few of my aunts also have cheetah print. I’m lucky right now that it has not spread to my face. I do a lot of skin care because I have acne.

I experience a lot of anxiety and insecurities because of the spots. Ego sometimes takes over the human form and I just want the outside to match the inside.

I realize that the root cause is likely something I’m consuming. Now I and this platform are going on the journey of research, experiments and progress.

Here goes everything.

And so it is.

Spaghetti Squash How To
Posted by Raschel Biagioli on in Real Food

Spaghetti Squash How To

Step 1: Stab with knife

Step 2: Place on microwave safe plate or bowl

Step 3: Cover with plastic wrap

Step 4: Microwave 12 minutes

Step 5: Split open and scoop out seeds

Step 6: Scoop flesh into strainer

Step 7: Forget while you do 10 other things in the kitchen (about 10 mins)

Step 8: Serve

Posted by Raschel Biagioli on in Real Food

Coconut Cajun Shrimp w. Zoodles

This recipe takes under 15 minutes and it’s fantastic. The extra broth gives it a Pho-flare.

Macros

388 cal /serving

12C | 18F | 46P | 3Fib

Ingredients (2 servings):

    15g minced garlic
    1/3 cup bone broth
    1/2 lemon juice yield
    525g zucchini sliced/ spiraled into zoodles
    375g shrimp raw
    2tbsp coconut oil
    Old Bay seasoning 1/2 tsp
    Black pepper 1/4 tsp
    Seafood seasoning of personal preference

Start by making your zoodles. My mom bought me this contraption for my birthday and it makes straight spaghetti out of my zucchini. I peel as much as I can to make zoodles and then I shred the middle with a grater and use it in my pancakes.

I then sauté the shrimp in garlic until they are pink/cooked.

I then add my zoodles.

As soon as the zoodles are on the heat, I add my liquids and seasonings (bone broth, lemon juice, and coconut oil, Old Bay, black pepper and seafood seasoning). Stir occasionally until the zoodles are the right texture. There will be extra liquid, which makes it pho-like.

Fear is Excitement without Breath
Posted by Raschel Biagioli on in Blog, Mindfulness

Fear is Excitement without Breath

I have been taking with a lot of people about fear recently and then a wonderful woman in my life talked about excitement and it all fell together. Fear is what holds us back and keeps us small. Our ego steps in whenever their is opportunity for growth and brings up the fears around that potential growth. You have to be able to take the leap, be unreasonable and trust that on the other side of fear will be growth and a world of wonder that you would have never dreamed possible.

Fear is healthy but also is an opportunity. Fear is what makes you act in actual unsafe situations. But, with practice you will be able to determine what is unsafe vs. what is ego.

Your natural fight or flight does not need to be activated all the time. Fight or flight is your entire system being in a state of excitement. Your senses are heightened and you are READY. In this situation you are without breath. You are only in action mode. In danger this is perfect because all you can do is act. When you start to feel this excitement I challenge you to take a breath.

Take a breath.

Bring yourself back into your body.

Question if you are actually in danger.

Question the way ego is keeping you small.

Question what would your life be like if you acted out of excitement vs. fear.

When you are ready to grow you will come RIGHT up to the edge of change. You will be in a state of excitement. Ego will step in and tell you all the reasons that you should not take the action to move on the other side of the line.