We are half way through la rentree, and the rhythm is picking up ! September can be a heavy month with a never ending stream of events, cocktails, back to school, back to work, and back to work OUT. If you’re like me, you say yes to everything. I want it all. I tell myself, I can handle this crazy parisienne rhythm called LIFE. But in order to keep up, I know that some things have to give. What happened to balance ? As I bike my two children to school in the morning with their overloaded bookbags, lunchboxes, water bottles, yoga mat and backpack, I can’t help but laugh. We look like a bicycle version of the "Griswolds go on vacation" but the vacation part is far behind us ! Here are a few SIMPLE things that help me navigate September and give me some sort of “balance.”

1. Sunlight : My neighbors, a young couple in Paris, sit outside on their balcony at 7am every morning and eat their breakfast. My husband and I call them "the influencers" because they wear red light led masks around their apartment at night. Even in the winter, puffy jackets and knitted hats on, they eat outside on that balcony ! I started to ask myself, are my neighbors onto something ? There are so many studies being done on the health benefits of sunlight exposure during the early hours of the morning. And the evidence shows that exposing yourself to the sunlight in the morning will actually help your body to better regulate and sleep better at night. So to copy our neighbors and try to catch some healthy rays, Phil and I have started having our coffee on our balcony in the morning before work. It's  very awkward, because now we are 4 people sitting outside in the wee hours of the morning and "the influencers" totally know that we copied them, which we did... But at least we're all getting the health benefits together right ?!

2. Eat the rainbow : Whenever someone asks me what they should eat, I always respond the same way. Eat as many whole foods as you can, and as many colors as you can.  We are what we eat. And personally I would rather be made up of blueberries instead of some processed factory made doritos. When you look at your plate, what do you see ? Are there different colors ? Textures ? Shapes ? Fresh ingredients ? Is there variety, like in a garden? Nature has a beautiful way of ebbing and flowing in shapes, colors and smells. And the perfection is in the imperfection. So let yourself be inspired. When you grocery shop and cook at home, try to add colors to your plate. Your body and mind will thank you !

3. Move your body : I recently listened to a podcast with Anthony Berthou, and he was talking about how sedentary we have become as beings, and the challenges we face when trying to incorporate movement into our daily lives. He also spoke about sedentary “athletic” people. These are people who workout in the morning for 45 minutes, and then spend their entire day sitting behind a computer.  According to Anthony, movement should be incorporated into our daily lives throughout the day : take the stairs, walk the extra block to get lunch, and have conversations standing. On a personal note, I find that movement helps to clear my head, and I genuinely am more productive when I'm on the move.