Lifestyle

Visualisation for more energy

08/08/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

I found myself feeling a little sluggish the other day, without really knowing why. Taking a nap wasn’t an option, neither was coffee – and food, water and exercise was well taken care of. While there’s a million other ways to more energy, I wanted to try a new one.

I usually turn to meditation with the purpose of calming my mind and destress, but while browsing my Calm app one day I found a guided visualisation named “Energy”. By their own words it’s there to help increase energy, and also feelings of calm and well-being. Me like!

It never ceases to amaze me how powerful our brain is, and how well connected it is with our bodies. During the visualisation I could feel myself getting more energised, and when the 10 minutes had passed I was left way more optimistic and keen to take on the day.

Telling ourselves we’re tired, sluggish or unfocused will only reinforce our belief in that. When I took a few minutes to suggest to myself that I’m energised, happy and healthy, I could truly feel that. Where attention goes energy flows. What we focus on expands!

Feeling energised is of course dependent on many things, but our beliefs and focus is a huge part of it. Try it yourself and let me know what you think! :-)

If you don’t have the Calm app there’s also tons of free meditations on YouTube! Brows around and see what works for you. I took a quick search now and really liked this one.

Everyone we meet is a teacher + fall recipe

07/08/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

Good morning!

In Norway we’re approaching fall, and by that many of us are going into a season of work-routines and studies. Colleagues and fellow students are coming back into our lives, which at times can be challenging for some.

In this video I’m sharing one of my best mindset-shifts to cope with the people around us, plus a little warming recipe for fall.

I really hope you love fall just as much as I do – and if you want to see more videos like this you can subscribe to my YouTube channel here.

Ilu!

My natural solution to itchy armpits

04/08/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

What’s more annoying than itchy armpits? I mean, I’ve woken up in the middle of the night, several times, because my armpits were killing me. Months of itching last year, and the same thing in Bali, lead me to these amazing tips. Seriously, I was itching like a crazy person for weeks up until last Thursday, and the day after implementing these things I was itch-free.

There’s of course various reasons to irritated armpits, but in my case it was tiny little red spots driving me crazy both times. I’ve never been to the doctor with this, so I have no idea what it would be categorised as in their eyes. But try these things – and if you don’t get better take a trip to your doctor!

1. Change to natural body wash
Go get the most natural, chemical free body soap you can find. Chemicals and perfume in conventional soaps can trigger both itching and inflammation. Natural is always better, as it gives you body the opportunity to sort out the problem itself. This time I picked up the one pictured below; this one from Greenfrog Botanic. I bought mine at Røtter in Oslo.

2. Change your deodorant
The same goes with deodorant, unnatural ingredients can be very harmful for our bodies. But I would also choose a natural deodorant that doesn’t contain baking soda, as some people react to this. I’ve found this one from Schmidt’s Naturals to work perfectly for me both times. (not sponsored)

3. Apply deodorant to dry skin
Make sure your armpits are dry before you apply deodorant. Especially after taking a shower or working out.

4. Change razor blades
First of all, if you have very irritated skin, go a while without shaving. And then, a doll razor blade is not doing you any favours. Be sure to change them regularly, and especially if your skin gets irritated. A lot of bacteria will build up and hang on to them, and of course it’ll just damage your skin by not being sharp enough. One month is the absolute maximum of time you should go without changing blades.

YEY to happy armpits!

Why I left Bali + life advice

03/08/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

Good morning, loves!

My endless talk about Bali is not going to stop anytime soon, and today I’m answering the question I’ve been asked a hundred times since I got home.

“Why did you leave Bali so spontaneously? Was there any drama? What happened?”

Other than the fact that I’m a super spontaneous person, there’s another reason to why I left, and alongside a little life advice I’m telling you all about it in this little video.

I hope you’re having the best day ever – and if you want to see more videos like this you can subscribe to my YouTube channel here.

Love you!

3 lessons from Bali

29/07/2017 by Anne-Line 2 Comments

Bali is a beautiful island in Indonesia – filled to the brim with love. Traveling there alone is by far the best thing I’ve ever done for myself and the people around me. It changed me – influenced me to become a better person. I’ve come to realise that when I allow people and places to be just the way they are, they will teach me lessons I need to grow. That’s exactly what happened – and I want to share 3 of the lessons I learned with you today.

Calm down, babe
If you’ve ever been to any Asian country you’ve without a doubt found yourself frustrated at least once because of what is known as “Bali-time” or “Thai-time” or “whatever asian country-time”. Basically, the locals never arrive when they say they will. Ever. Not your taxi, not your friends, not anyone. And this is challenging for a stressed western girl used to showing up 10 minutes early to absolutely everything. But what a valuable lesson! Bali made me realise once and for all that it is just life. There’s no point in stressing around, making sure everything happens the second I want it to – or the exact way I want it to for that matter. It taught me that everything works out in the end, with or without my hysterical need to control.

Everyone you meet is a friend
This is a lesson I mainly learned from a friend I made down there, but also the whole island itself. I spent weeks with a really outgoing girl, and I’m not kidding when I say that she made friends absolutely everywhere she went. I could go to the convenient store and find her super engaged in a conversation with a little girl she just met there. She was texting this person, because he was driving the Uber she ordered the day before. The guy behind the counter of our favourite breakfast place knew her name and what she’d been up to that week. Seriously, every single person we meet is a potential friend. One question, one conversation and you have a new friend. It’s so easy.

Say hi
In Bali you smile and say hi to absolutely everyone. At first it was actually a little exhausting, but after a while I noticed the tremendous positive effect it had on me. Norwegians are known to come off as kinda cold and antisocial – we will rather overlook a person than risking an awkward situation. We don’t say hi to anyone on the street, unless we know them well. In Bali you say hi to everyone you pass, that’s the norm, and if you don’t you’ll come off as really rude. Walking around with that in mind made me live more in the now. I simply couldn’t walk the streets lost in my own thoughts, cause people were waving and greeting me every second. It also makes you feel like you belong, like you’re welcome, and like you matter. Now I will much rather be the one who says hi, than the one who doesn’t answer. No matter where I am in the world.

Thank you Bali.

Adenomyosis update 3

21/06/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since I updated you on how my uterus is feeling, so now that I’m sitting alone at a cafe in Ubud, I felt like the time was right.

The last time I talked to you was a very happy day – already 95 days ago! (oh my god, time really flies.) I experienced a period of zero pain and was jumping around my dads house cheering for the holistic world and my own healing capacity. But – I’ve come to understand that doing things the holistic and natural way is not a straight upward facing line. Everything natural in life is swinging, and although going in one direction it’s not linear. In other words, it hasn’t been perfect since.

The period after the painless one (march) was very bad. Not to the extend that it was before, but definitely not good. I think I had my last acupuncture session the last week of April, and then moved out of the city – left with no treatment at all.

After that I’ve had better and better periods. The insane cramps has decreased in duration. When at it’s worst it lasted 24 hours, then it slowly went down to 10 hours, and my last one was only 2 hours. I’m not taking any painkillers cause I want to see how long it lasts, so I know for sure that the level of pain is the same, but the duration is for sure decreasing. Two major things has changed in the past few months, and I deeply believe that this is the reason why I’m healing.

I’ve been a little afraid of writing this, because I’ve had various feedback when telling friends and family about my thoughts. But I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m okay with being a weirdo in some peoples eyes, if I can help others.

I’ve always been an intuitive person – by that I’m talking about my gut feeling and basing my decisions on it. I know very well if something is right or wrong for me, without really having a theory or facts to base it on. I know when I’m on the right track – and definitely when I’m not.

I’ve always been the girl who loved having my period – and a part of that is because it used to be one hundred percent pain free. June last year was the beginning of an era where I stumbled upon a few very new situations for me, and had no idea if I went into it with a feeling of fear or if it was a “no” from my intuition. I couldn’t really tell. So I kept on going – and that’s when the pain started.

Without going too much into detail I had bad feelings about some of the people I was hanging out with and also my living situation in my new apartment. In theory everything was perfect, and there’s nothing wrong with either of them – I just had the feeling that it wasn’t for me. I’d also had traveling in the back of my mind for years, but kept suppressing it. In the process of wanting to see if I was afraid of settling or actually was at the wrong place – I watched my periods getting worse and worse.

Over the past few months I’ve ended the relationships and moved out of my apartment – now finding myself in Bali. And as I just mentioned, I’m watching my periods getting better and better. Not a single part of me believes this is a coincidence.

Our intuition is so much more powerful than we give it credit for now a days. If it’s capable of giving us stomach pain, diarrhoea, nausea and headaches, why wouldn’t it be able to manifest chronic diseases?

If your intuition is telling you something, listen. We’re not just a body, we’re mind and spirit as well. Thinking that the last two parts is insignificant is a huge mistake.

Until next time,

Uterus.

Traveling solo as an introvert

27/05/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

Hi beauties!

Just a few weeks ago I packed my little backpack, bought a plain ticket and placed my excited but on a plane heading to Indonesia. During this time I’ve had an actual BLAST. I love everything about this place, and every lesson I’m picking up throughout the day here is so valuable.

One of the things I’ve noticed is my introverted personality type. It shouldn’t have caught me by surprise at all, as I’ve always been this way. But I wasn’t really prepared for the challenges it would bring, and how to handle them.

If anything I feel like being faced with this side of me has actually made me enjoy my travels more, and in this video I wanted to share with you how I chose to deal with it.

My supplements

26/04/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

I’ve been meaning to share with you which supplements I’m taking for a while now, and today is the day. I’m a big believer in getting all our nutrients from food and natural sources, but these are additions to that, which I’ve found to be very helpful. Keep in mind that I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor, so this is just information that I’ve found and experiences I’ve had. Do your own research and ask your doctor if anything is unclear! Now, let’s go:

B12
I supplement B12 because I’m not eating any animal products.
This is a vitamin that people on a plant based diet have to take, but meat eaters could also benefit from a supplement. Basically B12 is a bacteria that’s originally found in soil, so you could get it in by not washing your organic vegetables at all. But I mean, I’ll rather go for clean veggies and a tablet/spray a day. Being deficient in this vitamin is not a good idea, and most people recognise a deficiency by experiencing fatigue and a weakened immune system (aka getting a cold all the time).

Iron
I supplement with iron because of my disease Adenomyosis.
As far as I know I’m not anaemic, but talking to my Chinese Medicine doctor I got recommended Iron supplements to heal my disease. Originally he wanted me to start eating some meat, because in TCM meat is seen as a strengthening food, which again is beneficial for menstrual cramps etc. Eating meat is not an option for me, so increasing the amount of beans, carrots and food in general is what I’m doing. + Iron supplements.

Magnesium
I supplement with magnesium because of heavy menstrual cramps.
This is a mineral that has a lot of functions of course, but it’s also thought to relieve cramping in a lot of different ways, such as helping relax muscles and increasing absorption of calcium. Foods you can eat to get magnesium is spinach, brown rice, nuts and whole grains just to name few.

D-vitamins
I supplement with D-vitamin because there’s literally no sun in Norway.
D-vitamin is made in the body when you’re exposing it for sunlight. That’s something we Norwegian Vikings only do one week a year (when we’re on a holiday to Syden), or if we’re lucky to have 1 or 2 days of sun in the summer months. You might not have any symptoms of deficiency, but it’s super-important for our bodies so make sure we get enough.

Probiotics
I supplement with probiotics because it’s my best friend.
I’ve married this blend of friendly bacteria, because it’s the solution to everything. Anxiety? probiotics. Bloating? probiotics. Skinproblems? probiotics. It supports a healthy gut, which impacts every single little thing in your body. After all, the gut is your second brain. I’ve taken it for years, and it just works. Ps: definitely look for a high quality one, with a high dose of bacterias in it. BUT don’t start too high, cause your stomach might be upset about it (hehe, own experience…)

The ones that I take comes from plant sources, which means they’re vegan. I’ll link them here so you can check them out if you want to!

Iron Aminojern
Magnesium Shift Supermagnesium
Vitamin D Shift Supernaturlig D3
Probiotics Udo’s choice
Vitamin B12 Kloster

my skincare routine

24/04/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

Good morning loves,

As I mentioned in my makeup routine video I’m a sucker for healthy looking skin. That’s what I focus the most on when I do my makeup, and something I always recognise on others. My own skincare routine is very simple, just like everything else that I do, but it works.

I made a video showing you what I do, so just press the play button if you’re interested:

As I say in the video organic rose water is really good for acne, but so are the oil cleansing method (which I accidentally called -pulling the second time there.. wops). Some people do find that doing this with coconut oil cause them to break out, so if that’s you I would look into different oils. I know people have good results with argan oil and hemp seed oil.

I hope you liked the video and found some inspiration. If you have anything to add I would love to read about it in the comments!
♥︎

For more videos like this, subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE.

Make a quick vision board

04/04/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

I’m not sure if I can call this a vision-board, but it’s definitely an image of my vision for my near future. I put this together in literally 10 minutes, and I’m gonna show you why it went so fast.

First of all, a vision-board is a board filled with images, quotes and things that represents what you wish for your life to be. The idea is that you’re going to hang this up on your wall, or place it somewhere else where you’ll be able to see it every day. In that way you’ll stay motivated to work towards your goals, and even get clearer on what you really wish for.

As you can see I’m working towards a future spent on the beach, surfing, laughing with friends, and just an overall feeling of freedom. All these pictures gives me a certain feeling, so it’s more behind this than what you can see with two eyes, and it’s actually quite personal.

The reason why this board took me like 10 minutes to make is because I collect pictures all the time. I’ve been using the site WeHeartIt for many many many years, and always go on there to get inspired.

When I was making this board the other day I simply went on WeHeartIt, downloaded my favourite photos, collected them on a new Pages site on my MacBook, and printet them all out. Alongside with written goals and action steps, I’m now working with this every day.

Go do this yourself, if you’re a computer nerd like me this is a lot of fun!

Start your day with a positive mindset

03/04/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

Happy Monday lovely people of the earth,

I was interviewed by the inspiring people over at www.eatloveraw.com the other day, and now it’s up for you all to read! I’m sharing my morning routine, what I think you should have for breakfast, and what to do to maintain a positive attitude throughout the day.

You can read it here.

SMILE

Stop racing thoughts

27/03/2017 by Anne-Line 1 Comment

Nothing is more exhausting to me then a mind that won’t quiet, and here’s what I do when that happens. It only takes a few minutes, and you can do it everywhere you go.

YEY!

For more videos like this, subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE.

ilu!

TCM’s take on adenomyosis

05/03/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

Since my last post about Adenomyosis I’ve been introducing a few different habits and new philosophies into my life, to support the health of my body and see if I can ease the pain that comes with this disease.

The last gynaecologist I went to was at a clinic in Oslo called Balderklinikken. It’s a place where they, over 5 floors, have gathered all kinds of practitioners ranging from the usual western doctor, to the more alternative ones. This place is amazing and has such a good energy to it, in which the gyno was no exception. We were discussing different healing methods when I started talking about how I thought my emotions and the way I eat could have an impact. She obviously wasn’t trained in this, so I got really excited when she referred me to a traditional Chinese medicine doctor.

On my way to that appointment I was expecting a toothless Chinese man in his 80’s, crosslegged on the floor with litt candles and sage all around him. Boy, was I wrong. What met me was a Norwegian man in his late 20’s with a huge smile (and teeth!), and a perfectly normal doctor office. I mean, I wouldn’t mind my imagined Chinese one, but it was definitely a funny and positive surprise. We had a chat about my symptoms, what’s up in my life in terms of stress and dominate emotions. He had a look at my tongue and checked my pulse, and I ended up with a few different diagnoses.

TCM is a whole different way to look at the body, health and disease. I find it kind of hard to explain, but they connect the organs, emotions, food and energy in a way that we’re definitely not used to here in Scandinavia. As they see it so differently, they also have different diagnoses. The ones that I have is Liver Qi Stagnation, Spleen Qi Deficiency With Damp & Local Blood Stasis in the uterus.

I don’t want this post to get too long, so I think I’ll just split the different Chinese methods I’m trying into a few different ones. But what I do when I’m there, which is one day a week, is acupuncture and copping. But I got to tell you, for me that has struggled with blood-phobia and doctor-phobia (haha?) my whole life, laying there with needles tucked into my body is not a walk in the park. It’s more of a fencing competition to be honest. Luckily for us both he’s always in a impressively good mood, which makes it hard to do what I really want to; throw them right back at him.

For those of you who’s interested in the specific points I’m currently getting, it’s LR3, SP6, CV3, CV6 and ST28. Or, that’s what I got the first time, but it’s increasing every time for some annoying reason… Just kidding. The more the merrier!

I’m laying with the needles for maybe 20 minutes, and then he does copping on my back for about the same amount of time I think. The copping actually feels good tho, so that’s nice.

I haven’t noticed any difference in the level of pain I’m experiencing yet, but that’s not expected either, as most people start seeing a difference after 3 months of treatment. I’ll keep you posted!

How to benefit from bad experiences

01/03/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

While looking for the perfect camera to buy, I realised that the way I’d been doing it could apply to about everything in life. So I wanted to pass that on to you in this video.

For more videos like this, subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE.

ilu!

Adenomyosis

23/02/2017 by Anne-Line 4 Comments

I’ve decided to start a brand new column on my blog, and it’s gonna be all about my uterus. Let me tell you why.

In the end of August 2016 I went to the gyno because of some pain that’d been coming and going in my lower abdomen. She couldn’t see anything wrong, seemingly everything was perfect. The paint didn’t bother me much at that point, so I was happy to hear that I was healthy.

After a little while tho, I had my period, and the first 48 hours of it was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. I’ve been blessed with painless periods my whole life, and actually enjoyed having it. But this time I was bound to my bed, crying and desperate to get some relief. I even ate painkillers, which I never do, no matter how much pain I’m in, as I don’t like it. It was insane cramps, nausea, and nothing really seemed to ease it.

I welcomed the pain as menstrual cramps, and thought my time of loving my period was long gone. That was up until I went to the gyno again in the beginning of December, this time to insert a copper spiral. I mentioned my newly arrived menstrual pain, and right before inserting the spiral she used the ultrasound to see that I had adenomyosis. I’d never heard of it before, and she didn’t tell me anything about it. I left the gyno one spiral richer, and the name of the disease written down on an iPhone note.

As google is my best friend, I spent a lot of time searching around online collecting all the information I could find about my new disease. And this is what I came to learn:

You’re in great danger, might not ever be able to have kids, and will be in insane pain for the rest of your life. At least until menopause. And oh, btw, there’s no cure. Unless you want to remove your uterus, it’s only going to get worse!

At least that’s what my anxious, panicking mind was picking up and sorting out from all the other information. After calming down and getting used to the thought that not everything was ok down there, I digested the information a little different.

The uterus is a muscle organ that’s build up of three layers. Adenomyosis is a disease where the inner layer is growing into the middle (muscle) layer. It’s also a pretty newly discovered disease, so no one really knows a lot about it at this point. It’s not dangerous or life threatening, but some people say it’s related to infertility, and for many people it involves a lot of pain. Western medicine can’t find a reason to why people get it, and has no cure. Most people feel better with hormonal treatment, and some people get rid of the pain by removing their uterus. BUT, there’s also people out there who benefits a great deal from changing their lifestyle, diet and so on.

I had an appointment with another gyno about two weeks ago to see what I can do. I’m very positive at this point, and super excited to try some alternative methods. I’m not a huge fan of putting hormons into my body, and want to try everything else before I do something like that.

So, my intention with this column is to take you with me on my journey to heal, or learn to love, this new part of me. I’m not expecting the majority of people to have great interest in my genital area, but I figured that I would love to read about someone else’s journey with this myself. So if I can help even just one person with writing this, I’m beyond happy.

xoxo uterus

how to deal with anger

13/02/2017 by Anne-Line 5 Comments

Anger is a feeling we all know of, and here’s how I deal it with it:

For more videos like this, subscribe to my YouTube channel HERE.

ilu!

Habits for glowing skin

27/01/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

Sleep enough 7-8 hours each night is a good amount

Drink enough water About 2 – 2,5 liters each day. Make it a habit to drink a bottle of water first thing in the morning, and then a big glass before each meal

Natural & organic makeup Serves your skin with good stuff, instead of messing with it

Stress down You might have seen pimples and other breakouts sneaking up during exams, heavy work weeks or in times of anxiety. Calming down is key to keep your skin clean, and it actually doesn’t really depend on your surroundings. Find peace within yourself by meditating, having a positive attitude and trust that things will work out without your control.

Drink lemon water Lemon is super detoxifying, and freshly squeezed lemon in warm water is a common drink for glowy skin chasers.

Exercise Breaking a sweat is beneficial for your skin, and exercise increases blood flow which brings with it both oxygen and nutrients that makes your cells jump in joy.

Eat greens Amongst other things, they’re packed ful with antioxidants, which will renew your skin. Drink green juice, have green smoothies and delicious salads.

Rosewater as a toner Rosewater helps maintain pH balance, it hydrates, cools and is anti-bacterial.

Drink kombucha This bobbly drink contains a lot of probiotics, which is really good for your gut-health. The gut is highly connected to your whole well-being, including the health and appearance of your skin. A good probiotic supplement is just as good.

BE HAPPY! Nothing makes you glow like the feeling of happiness. Promise.

My makeup routine

23/01/2017 by Anne-Line Leave a Comment

Hi pretty face!

Over the past few years I’ve completely replaced all my makeup- and beauty products, and now make sure they’re all natural, organic and vegan. This is much better for your over all health, as you decrease the amount of toxins entering your blood stream every day. It’s also beneficial for our planet, not to speak of the animals.

I’ve tried a lot of different ones, some which didn’t work for me and some that absolutely blew my mind. I don’t wear much makeup in my opinion, and neither do I wear it every day. But every time I do, I do it like this:

I love myself just as much with or without makeup, and I think you should too. You’re beautiful just the way you’re born, and true beauty comes from within. So be kind, happy and grateful.

Also make sure to subscribe to my youtube channel here if you want to see more videos like this.

Kisses!