Loving #mythirdlove!

For years I've avoided the constraints of "real" clothes on a regular basis. Why stuff yourself into tight jeans, cram your feet into arch-killing heels, and prop your boobies up in a bra who's underwire pokes your side all day? Hence my love affair with tight black pants and all things spandex. Good thing I'm a yoga instructor, a fitness junkie, and that leggings and boots are still in style, otherwise I'd be in trouble or just perpetually and tragically out of fashion.

CAUTION: the next statement is shocking!

I've recently been actually wearing jeans and real bras! Due in large part to my latest love: ThirdLove. Not only are the bras and undies super cute and comfortable (don't worry, I'll talk more about that in a minute), but this is a sign of a new wave of technology when it comes to the horrors of bra shopping. No more getting felt up by saleswomen with measuring tapes under florescent lighting. shudder... ThirdLove makes it easy to get your bra measurements and get straight to the fun part: shopping! After downloading the app on your iPhone, you take a picture of your ta-tas in a regular, non-push-up bra, in or out of a tank top. Your phone then magically spits out your sizing. Well, it's magic to a technological luddite like myself. Read more about how it actually works here.

Now we get to the fun part: the goodies and the girlies! I was a skeptic. I've always reluctantly put on a real bra since discovering certain sports bras that aren't super constricting and give me descent cleavage. I had a few real bras that were way too old, but I kept them in the event of emergencies, aka special occasions, hot dates, etc. But they were never my go-to. After unpacking my beautifully wrapped goodies from ThirdLove, I immediately tried my bras on. I was shocked! 

The 24/7 T-shirt Bra (I received it in nude) has become my go-to bra! It is ridiculously comfortable, fits me like a glove, supports my ladies without forming a uniboob or flattening them into a pancake, and is super cute! The nude makes it super versatile (attention ladies, don't wear a white bra under a white shirt, seriously!) and the material along the straps is puckered. Such a cute detail! 

I also received the Lace Push-Up Bra in classic black. What girl doesn't need a black lace push-up bra?! What I love about this one, other than it too being comfortable as well, is that it gives me a little oomph without being like haaaayyyy, if you know what I mean. I'm pretty curvy, so it can get a little cray with too much push-up. This bra is the perfect amount for me! 

Since moving to Portland, I've found myself wanting to make more of an effort with my style. In a ski town, people look at you funnily if you're in jeans, boots, and a decent shirt. Hello fleece, flannel, and leggings at all times! But since moving to the city (leave off, I know it's small but Portland is a city to me!), I've actually been wearing "real" clothes a lot more. I love how you can spruce up leggings and sports bras with the right tunic, boots, jewelry, jackets, and scarves. But with my ThirdLove, I've been kicking it up even more. I've found myself reaching for one of these two bras in my underwear drawer to even go to a coffee shop to work for a few hours. It's amazing what it can do for your mentality! I feel more put together, sexier, girlier. 

It's the last week of October. Um, when did that happen?! But October, other than being the month of amazing fall foliage, is also Breast Cancer Awareness month. Sweat Pink has joined ThirdLove's #WeWearPink initiative. They've created a HOT pink version of the 24/7 T-shirt Bra, and are donating 20% of the sales of this bra to Breast Cancer Research from now until November 15th! Get your's today here! You can also get $10 off an order of $50 with this code: TLVIPLW10. 

You can also join in on the #WeWearPink challenge! Follow these simple steps:

1. Follow @thirdlove on Instagram (which you should do regardless because their page is so pretty!)

2. Regram this image:

3. Instagram a selfie with something pink!

4. Tag @thirdlove #sweatpink and #WeWearPink.

To find out more about the challenge, click here. See you on Instagram!

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by ThirdLove, but all opinions are my own. As a Sweat Pink ambassador and a ThirdLove ambassador, I was sent product to try and review. I truly appreciate all of the brands that support the Sweat Pink community!

breathe, sweat, and love

breathe, sweat, love

Three pretty standard words, concepts, actions when you first think about it. And yet they are all absolute musts in my life! Lucky for me, they mostly come as a set, too! I'm rarely out sweating without paying attention to my breath (thank you, yoga) and loving what I'm doing anymore. Even if it's an intense workout, like at bootcamp with Jamie, we're laughing (as we're crying, but luckily the tears are usually masked by sweat ;) ) and having fun together.

I had my years of half-assing my workout at the gym for the sake of getting a workout in. It's not worth it anymore. Ain't nobody got time for that! Literally, I'm so ridiculously busy that when I make time for a workout, I have to make sure I make it worth it! My spin instructor Jessi makes a point of telling us at the peak of the class when we're all drenched in sweat, questioning why we not only came to class but paid a good amount of money for it, mentally spewing creative combinations of four-letter words at her, that we made the decision to be there. We scheduled 45 minutes out of our day, which is really not all that much, for spin class. Why take the time and spend the money to half-ass it? Why walk out of the studio knowing you didn't give it your all? (Note: I'm in no way condoning pushing through injuries and limitations. Listen to your body. No throwing up or passing out or injuring yourself.) Hence, Jessi's classes have an insane wait list, she owns two spin studios and I've heard rumors of a third coming soon, and she's touted as one of the most inspirational fitness instructors out there by her fans. (Obviously I have a hardcore girl crush on her! She's been my #wcw many times.) 

I like to remind my students of the same thing in my power vinyasa classes. We take the time for yoga, gym time, running, tennis matches, and any other conceivable activity. Why spend the time out of your busy schedule and the money from a hard-earned paycheck to not love what you're doing and give 110%?! Not loving your workout regimen? Find a buddy, try different teachers and studios, get outside, pair your treadmill time with your favorite show… Work it out so that you can love the time you're breathing and sweating! 

Puppy snuggles always help make bootcamp awesome!

Get excited about exploring a new trail in a new area!

Plan a workout date with friends!

This was all inspired by three little words: breathe, sweat, and love. Get your own #breathesweatlove Sweat Pink tank here, and get 15% off by using the code breathesweatlove15! 

Disclaimer: I was given a tank by Sweat Pink. All opinions expressed are my own. 

#BOSUStrong Bootcamp Babes

Today we're talking about workout buddies and our favorite partner exercises with BOSU and Fit Approach. And how appropriate that it's also #womancrushwednesday! I girl-crush on these sweaty ladies so hard!

As much as I do usually like to work out solo, there are so many fun exercises to do with a friend! I love my group at bootcamp with Jamie and Tasha! We all sweat, run, lift, burpee, and crunch together! It definitely helps to get through the burn-inducing moves by motivating each other. 

Of course I always love a good yoga pose picture with friends, whether it's after bootcamp or a yoga class or out hiking...

What I love about working out with buddies is that you can do exercises together OR be exercising together. Sometimes it's helpful to have someone push you, motivate you, high five you while you're "playing" in plank. Sometimes it's awesome just to have company alongside you. 

Abbie loves to help during bootcamp too! :)

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by BOSU. I truly appreciate all of the brands that support the Sweat Pink community. 

BALANCE! Theme of the…decade?

As we end the second week of the #BOSUStrong challenge, I'm filled with reflection on the theme we've talked about: balance.

There's the pure physical element of balance, which I of course love. Balance is a huge part of our every day lives: to work on handstands and forearmstands, to #stopdropandyoga on hikes and runs and everywhere else, to essentially just make it around on two feet (or two hands ;) ) half the time. Balance is incorporated in pretty much every physical exertion.

But let's get into the other side of balance. The idea of balance in your life. In high school I was really goal-oriented on studying hard and getting in to Chapel Hill. Done. In college I was really goal-oriented on working to get into law school. I interned at different firms every year, sometimes multiple at a time. I was on the dean's list, had two majors and a minor, was part of a pre-law frat, was researching law schools… I was on the right(?) track. When I couldn't find an internship for the summer before my senior year beyond a week-long shadowing of an immigration attorney at a huge firm in Atlanta (this was post-recession when all the college grads that couldn't find jobs and went to law school were interning and trying to find jobs), I took a NOLS course. For a month I lived in the woods. I hiked up mountain peaks with a 45-pound pack on my back with all my food and gear I needed for 18 days, and paddled on a river for 10 days. I had two pairs of underwear and three shirts, no facial cleanser or tweezers or razor or mascara, no coffee shop with foamy lattes, no Facebook (this was pre-Instagram, but I totally would have missed that too!). I had no deodorant. Or wine. Or toilet paper. For a month. And I had the absolute time of my life! 

After returning to the "real" world, and shadowing that attorney for a week with my epic Chaco tan still gracing my feet, I started to doubt my path. Did I really want to be a lawyer? I was on the track for three hard years at law school followed by grueling hours as an associate at a firm, assuming I would have been able to find a job in a saturated field. My hippie-lawyer father convinced me to take some time off, and not by interning at another firm like I'd been planning. But to move out West and ski and travel and live. Though living in a ski town and working in the tourism industry wasn't sustainable for me forever, it taught me something very important. The idea of working to live rather than living to work (also the lifestyle I love and appreciate in the locals in Costa Rica). I worked hard, and at multiple jobs, but I had time almost every day to do something active outside, to have wine with friends, to take epic vacations. 

People ask me about my thoughts on law school now. Well… It's been 4 and a half years since I graduated from college, and law school is NOT on the horizon. (And a lot of lawyers cheer me when I say that!) I've talked through many of the motivators for successful lawyers to go through the hells of law school and long hours of being firm newbies, and I don't really have any of them. I would have been a good lawyer, but… My years in Colorado taught me that I value a balanced (and fit) lifestyle. I want to work hard and make money, but not if it means not seeing the light of day for days at a time. I want to enjoy my work, but to have passions outside of the office. I want to have the balance between finding success in a career field, but also living my life to the absolute fullest! To not look back and wish I hadn't wasted years of my life under fluorescent lighting for a job I wasn't passionate about. 

The thing about balance, much like the Scales of Justice symbol of the law, is that there's a fine line on which you're always teeter-tottering. Fitness is super important to me, and a huge counter to sitting behind my computer for hours at a time. But I also have a tendency to being too active and too hard on my body. Rest days and self-care have become a huge part of my routine. Well, I'm trying hard for them to be. Time with friends, eating, drinking, hiking, shooting the shit, is a major part of my life. But I need to remember to have "me" time. To have quiet time in my space reading, doodling, blogging, watching movies, or even hitting the trails by myself. 

I want to do all the things all the time! And I think it's totally doable. But it's all about the balance. You make your decision, deal with a little natural "what if" doubt, and then enjoy where you're at! 

Happy Forearm Friday! 

Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by BOSU. I truly appreciate all of the brands that support the Sweat Pink community!