Book Recommendations

Breath by James Nestor

This book will completely change your life. It is the book I read as I really dove into my breathwork, cold plunge curiosity. I immediately purchased mouth tape and the rest is history. James does an awesome job of using himself as the test subject, combining real-life experiments with scientific and historical studies to back up what he himself is living and noticing. If you are at all curious about the power of your breath and how to optimize your breathing apparatus, start here. Spoiler alert: You will want to purchase some mouth tape too.

Good Energy by Casey and Calley Means

Another mind blowing read. We say food is fuel but Casey and Calley really break down what that actually means. It is super dense with scientific data backing up theories and thoughts. Casey says a lot of things I have been thinking for a long time. My family uses many modalities to heal, eastern mixed with western. I will continue to share more but the idea is that we are a whole system and western doctors tend to treat just on piece of the massive and intricate puzzle.

Discovering Dahlias by Erin Benzakein

I will be sharing more about getting you garden ready to spring and summer. This is a great resource for getting dahlias going in your yard. Erin’s husband Chris took all of the photos the are absolute inspirations!

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

If you love a good fantasy love story with witches and vampires who time travel then this is for you! Don’t watch the tv show… it is terribly miscast and I can’t even make it through the first episode. That said this is a trilogy and is such a fun and entertaining read.

Chilly GOAT- Cold Plunge

I get lots of questions about the cold plunge we use here at the house. We have the Alpine a Chilly Goat by Master Spas. We absolutely love the thing.

Here are my top 5 reasons:

1. Set it and forget it.

2. Ease of maintenance.

3. Aesthetic appeal.

4. Large enough for 2 at once.

5. Depth and length.

It was delivered on time and carried by delivery guys to its location in the back yard. The instructions were easy to follow and we had it up and going a few days after arrival.

Daily or weekly maintenance is minimal. A little test set is included and enough pool chemicals to get you going. (We haven’t had to purchase any additional chemicals yet.) It is worth noting that the chlorine levels are very low in a pool this cold. I find very few chemicals are needed to keep the water crystal clear.

We have replaced the water and filter twice. We have had the cold plunge for over a year. The process of draining, changing the filter and refilling the tub is user friendly.

I would recommend purchasing this pool sucker thing to get any dirt, leaves and debris out of the tub.

Brian and I have been cold plunging for a few years now. We initially started with a horse trough and ice. It works especially as you get going and work towards making it a more regular part of your routine. That said if you plan on plunging often it is definitely worth investing in a proper self regulating tub. What I have found most is that I end up dipping more often with this set up in my back yard. It make success much more attainable.

If you guys have more questions about the Chilly Goat please don’t hesitate to reach out via email: deedeelantzy@gmail.com

If you just want to send it and get yourself one be sure to use this code and get a few hundo off: DEEDEE

Then tag me when yours arrives! @deedee.lantzy

Healing Soups + Juice Reset

If you are following along on Instagram chances are you have seen me talk about this book, Healing Herbal Soups. I will start sharing more and more of the alternative layers to healing we use in our family. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is one of them. This book is based on TCM principles and practices. Rose and Genevieve have organized the recipes by season, they have outlined what each ingredient brings to the table and the overall intention of each soup. For instance, if you are getting over a cold and have a lingering cough, there is a soup for that.

I have made a handful of the recipes during various times of the year. I tend to make more of the fall and winter ones as that is soup season in my opinion. However, I have tried some of the summer and spring recipes and they are delicious as well.

All of the recipes are very very easy to make. The most complicated part of the equation is the ingredients and the authors have made it super easy for you. The store on the website has all the herbs you need for each recipe, then all you have to purchase locally are the fresh meats and produce which are usually fairly easy to find. If not, substitutions are available in case your local grocery store is fresh out of black chicken or ox shank.

…Juice Cleanse Incoming…

Brian and I have juiced on and off for years. Usually, we purchase our produce and juice it every morning. I decided (or rather Instagram decided for me) that I needed to try a premade juice cleanse this New Year season. I am super excited to receive my 2 day cleanse tomorrow. I will keep you guys updated on Instagram with how it goes.

A few things that helped me click add to cart about RAW juicery. One, the juices are 100% organic, two, they are delivered straight to my doorstep, three this company adds extras to the juices. For instance, the evening juice has Ashwaganda and Schisandra two potent adaptogens to enhance and deepen the healing value of the juices.

New Year Journal Prompt

I have heard mixed reviews from people whether they like setting goals or resolutions once the clock strikes midnight. I think there is power in taking a pause and evaluating how things are really going. I think too often we get caught up in the inertia of life. It is a potent and valuable practice to take inventory and keep, eliminate, prioritize, limit, expand, shift various different attributes of life. A course correction of sorts to ensure you are actually living the life you indeed want to live.

Below you will find the prompt I walk through each year, you can do it digitally OR if you are like me and like to tangibly write things down I have created a printable version.

Here are a few queues to walk through to set you up

Right off the top what are three things you want to get rid of?  This could be anything, a habit, person, job, quality or trait within yourself. The important thing here is to recognize something that is holding you back, impeding your growth, movement, and ability to fully be yourself.  I start with this one because generally speaking we can all jump to something we know if holding us back. 

1.

2.

3.

Second item of the process is to close your eyes… well not yet, but right after you read this.  You are going to take 2 mins (at least, if you don’t mediate and find it difficult to close your eyes and visualize 2 minutes is a great place to start, if you can go longer, do that!) you are going to imagine yourself in one year from this exact moment.  You are going to get very specific with the visualization, who is there, what are you doing, where exactly are you, in a house, a car, are you in a different state, what are you wearing, what activity are you doing or preparing to do.  I really want you to get vivid with this visualization and also I want you to be courageous.  I want you to release any need or hankering to cap your visual or edit or amend because of some constraint.  This is an opportunity to dream, imagine and let your heart to the work, not your logical mind.  After the 2 minutes (or more) I want you to write down what you saw.

Vision writing.

From that vision can you write down three goals. 

One small:

One medium:

One large:

Bonus if you have a JUMBO goal based off your vision.

Now from that vision and these three goals I want you to write down three things you can do in the next 30 days to get closer to your goals.

1.

2.

3.

Set an alarm in your phone calendar right now to check in on yourself, your goals and the tasks you have set out in front of you over the next 30 days.

Here is what I have learned from my goal setting work I have done in the past.  There have been times when I set a goal and march off in the direction of achieving that goal and have blinders on, I can only see the singular goal.  I have noticed if I align myself to a goal and then take action to begin achieving the goal then magic happens.  Along the way I have found new opportunities I didn’t know were even a possibility.  I will give you an example, about 10 years ago I set 3 goals for myself: 1. To be able to do the splits. 2. Do 1 pull up and 3. Hold a handstand. When I started thinking about how I could achieve these goals I looked up a few yoga classes in the area.  I thought to myself that would be a good place to begin the process of getting strong again after I had be super focused on being pregnant and breast feeding for the years previous.  I signed up for a few classes and absolutely felt amazing not only in my body but in mind and spirit as well.  Now this is not to sell you on hot yoga, but rather to share a cookie crumb that I received from setting these goals and taking action to go achieve them.  Soon after I started practicing I decided I wanted to teach, I signed up for yoga teacher training and went to New York for training.  It was a huge deal for me at the time, Poppy was 8 months old and I was still breast feeding, I pumped enough milk to leave for her and pumped the entire time through training.  This was the most fit I have ever been.  I came back from teacher training and immediately started teaching yoga.  Very soon after I started teaching I decided I wanted to own a yoga studio.  A friend of mine and I decided to go for it.  We came up with a name, did some branding, and opened the doors.  By the end of that year I was able to do the splits, one pull up and hold a handstand for a breath or two.  Yes, I had achieved my goals but along the way my eyes were open to new and different portals, passage ways and cookie crumb trails.  Allowing myself the freedom to explore different routes to get to the goals opened up entire new areas of my life I didn’t know existed. Goals beyond my wildest dreams from one year before.

I tell you all of this because the initial goal might be exactly where you need to end up and consider along the way there might be new and even better ways to elevate your life and set new goals you never have dreamed of before.

Always allow space for magic.

5 tips for managing stress through the holidays

Actual photo of my kitchen a few days ago… mid upgrade. It turned out gorgeous and I am grateful for Brian just going for it and making it happen.

Let’s be honest… we are all in the throes of busyness, chaos, slammed schedules, and on the brink of stress eating a whole loaf of honey bread. I by NO means have the answers to a 100% stress free holiday and I have found these 5 tips have helped all of us here in the Lantzy household have a more enjoyable time together which really is what it is all about.

5 tips for managing stress through the holidays

1. Know when to say no . There is real power in saying no to things. It really makes you prioritize what a yes is and why you are doing certain things.

2. Know when to pause. Similar to a no and yet different. There may be times during the holidays where you need to wave a white flag and let your loved ones know, I need a minute. I purposely schedule a facial or massage for myself in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mandatory self care time, no cancellation.

3. Know when to say yes. There are so many parties, activities, outings, expectations and things to do during the holidays. Understand what you are saying yes to and why. Saying yes to things, people and activities that you actually enjoy will in turn relieve stress.

4. Know when to send it. Properly plan your absolute send it moments so that on the other side you have a minute to recoup and regroup.

5. Do one thing every day that sparks joy for you. It could be a long walk with your dogs, a workout class with a friend or family member, it could be an hour of reading, wrapping presents or baking cookies.

6. Keep your body moving. Yoga. Walk. Run. Take a friend. Try something new. Don’t wait until the New Year to start something new, begin a workout regimine or go to a class you have been wanting to try. I just had 2 friends join me in hot yoga who had never been before. I know both of them have jam packed schedules juggling family, work, life and preparing for Christmas. We had an absolute blast and will hopefully be back for more soon!!

7. Eat good food. You’ll of course eat some junk and maybe even a lot junk. And when you can eat high quality while foods. Keep meals for yourself and your family simple, protein, veg, salad, and some homemade honey bread of course. I will be sharing a few of my super simple totally obvious and completely delicious go to meals in the New Year.

8. Create traditions that are a fit for your family. About 8 years ago Brian and I decided to stay put for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had reached a limit. We realized the holidays were draining us and we wanted to feel recharged after time off not depleted. It also was the time in life where are kiddos were getting sick nearly every holiday, one or both would either get sick while we were away or they would get sick immediately when we got home. It occurred to me that we don’t HAVE to do it this way. It was one of the best decisions we made. Each side of our family knows they are invited to join us here whenever fits their holiday plans. Our holidays are now filled with puzzles and cooking, naps and movie watching, pick up basketball games, learning to knit and other soul filling, rejuvenating activities.