Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Ok, bad news first. The honest truth is that 2018 was my hardest year to date. Behind the fat baby jokes and toddler tantrum laughs was a really tough year with a challenging baby who none of us knew how to soothe, a 2 year old who was…2 (enough said), an international move to a non-English speaking country and a husband who was working very hard around-the-clock at a new job, leaving me mostly solo with 2 kids and 2 dogs in a foreign city apartment with no school or childcare for most the year. Sure, it was filled with exciting travel, amazing moments and great new friends, but mostly it was a lonely year with a lot of dark moments that I wasn’t all that good at sharing or handling. Bummer, right? Since I’ve never been known for sharing well, whether it be chocolate or my emotions, this is about as vulnerable as I get.

So! Let’s move on to the good news, which is my new-found motivation to make 2019 the year I both achieve and avoid going mental. The mental I’m hoping to avoid is what you imagine happens on a daily basis, considering I live in a privately funded nomadic insane asylum where small mammals rule the roost, like Lord of the Flies with their schnauzer ponies as their trusty steeds. On the positive side, I’m aiming to take some mental and physical breaks before I “accidentally” feed one of the kids a dog treat. Essentially, I’ve come to the non-revolutionary, completely obvious realization that scrolling through social media or binge-watching TV while eating the kids’ ice creams are not exactly activities giving my brain and body the reboot it’s craving. That leads me to the goal of the year, which is to include my health in the family priority list, to take a non-Kit Kat sponsored break, and do something constructive on days the kids are around to keep my head above water. I’d also really like to lose 15lbs in the process if possible because, fun fact, kid ice creams are mini sized, but if you eat half the box it’s technically too much. You’re welcome for that free nutritional advice.

yoopod home workout

I’m not trying to transition into being a meditating monk (let’s be honest my hair is way too nice to shave off, though the wash and go nature of that cut is appealing for the modern mom isn’t it?). I’m merely trying to find ways while traveling or at home to take even 10 minutes for myself and to be present. Lucky for me, right as I was making this mental pact with myself the website yoopod asked me to try them out. It clearly was a sign…or someone’s been watching my Instastories thinking, “geez that chick needs a serious breather, or a babysitter, or both!” Being someone that loves going to actual exercise classes, I’ve never been great at achieving anything through online videos in a space where I can see the dishes I need to put away, the laundry I need to fold and the dog that’s doing downward dog better than I am…#showoff. But, realistically if I want to achieve my 2019 goal, it can’t be restricted to the 2 days I have childcare a week, or the weeks we aren’t traveling. So finding a way to create a productive space at home has now moved up the totem pole. Which means folding laundry has been knocked down lower on the priority list if that’s even possible.

yoopod online workout studio

Here’s the deal with yoopod. It’s the only online studio that has Pilates, Yoga and Mindfulness videos all in one place, with hundreds of classes divided by length, level, and style for you to choose from. The teachers are mega experts and gurus who are down to earth and can clearly nail the lotus pose better than your studio teacher down the street. Classes range from 5 minutes to 60 minutes, beginner to advanced, simply breathing to twisting your body into a full-blown Cirque du Soleil pretzel. You can take classes a la carte or as part of one of their many set programs. I personally dig their programs, like the Busy People Challenge, because it made it even easier for me to think as little as possible while letting yoopod walk me class by class towards my 2019 goal. Whether you’re a total beginner or a full-time Lulu Lemon wearing yogi, yoopod has a lot for you. They even have specialized classes like pre-natal, post-natal and breast cancer recovery, which I thought was a really unique aspect that I don’t see in other online workout platforms. And with a personalized homepage, every time I did a class it would recommend similar ones that would suit my ADHD level attention span of just 10 minutes.

yoopod online yoga

Armed with my newfound resolution to mental and physical health, I went into the yoopod universe with my “Going Mental” pact stamped above my ass like a bad lower back tattoo. My trial started off slow. Like so slow that I was just putting the videos on my laptop and letting them play in the background while still scrolling through Instagram. But then it grabbed more of my attention, and I stopped being my 2018 self and made a mental effort towards 2019. Using the online studio at home for the last few weeks, I’ve realized that if the class is short enough, the teacher is good enough and the dogs are quiet enough, I actually can achieve 10 minutes of mindfulness or movement at home. Not only did I not have to spend money on a babysitter, a bus ride or a full-blown yoga class, but most the time I didn’t even spend the time to change into workout clothes. Nap time is precious, people, every minute counts! It took me a few tries to find the right teachers for my personal taste since I’m a judgey yogi like that, and the right level of classes, but once I was there it was pretty much exactly what my 2019 goal was all about. One short break to do something for me, or a longer one like the Pilates class I tried that left me the good kind of sore where it hurts to get up from the toilet. A few times the kids even joined in, because they have 2019 goals too!

yoopod online pilates

If you’re finding yourself yearning for that mental and physical break but don’t even know where to start, I’d give yoopod’s free 14-day trial a go. Because sitting on the couch with a kiddie ice cream cone in hand mindlessly scrolling through Instagram isn’t doing anything for your health. That is unless you’re scrolling through my Instagram and blog, in which case please continue. For the price of a salad, you can have an entire month of classes at your fingertips and go at your own speed. And if you only want to practice one discipline then you can even pay less than if you wanted the full suite of classes, which is a handy offering. yoopod gets that we all love mindfulness but we also really love a discount, so they’re offering 30% off the price of a Complete Annual Membership which gets you access to all the classes with the ability to download and all sorts of good stuff with the following codes: WWW19 for people paying in GBP, WWW20 for those paying in USD, and WWW21 for the Euro users out there. Surprisingly, yoopod’s been a positive addition to my weeks lately, regardless of how much attention I give it once I throw it on. Even just clicking play on the 10-minute class is my small win some days.

Thanks yoopod for somehow receiving the signs I was putting out in the universe for help in achieving my 2019 goals. My kids and dogs thank you for keeping their mom’s head straight and their treat jars separate. This post is sponsored by yoopod but, as always, the opinions are all my own and honest because lying would screw up the karma I’m trying to achieve which would probably result in an even crazier toddler than I already have on my hands! For more information on yoopod head to their website to see their packages which range in price and benefits such as downloadable content and more. So keep those 2019 goals moving with yoopod and for more travel workout inspiration check out our post with The 5 Best Workouts Across Europe.