Whether you fully embrace it or refuse to believe it...August is here. And while majority of us continue to soak up the sun and fill our days with summer festivities, the days of deadlines and nights of stress are approaching.

For this happy + healthy post I figured I would focus on a different topic: organization. While this idea may not be directly related to fitness, it is indeed related to happiness and indirectly related to health in that maintaining an organized lifestyle can help keep you sane and help you avoid falling subject to detrimental amounts of stress.

If I have learned anything through my many years of schooling and my years of working, I have learned that everyone organizes their life differently.  Organization is finding a method that works for you and your lifestyle and is a method or practice that you can continue to use to your benefit.

A couple methods I practice and a couple tools I use are:

• planner (and I find that the cuter it is, the more I use it)
• calendar app ( I find that this one is the best and easiest to use!)
• the oh-so classic to-do list
• post-it notes EVERYWHERE 
• a designated desk drawer for all the miscellaneous stuff that I have no idea where to put but I know I'll be looking for it later
• desktop folder for anything and everything
• desk calendar (if you haven't noticed, I really dig calendars)    
• color coding

It's always good to set goals.

Every summer I try to chase after something new.  Summer is a time to reconnect with yourself and just relax, but relax with intention.

So, this summer I set a new goal for myself: yoga.  I've always been interested in yoga but truthfully I've never been a regular when it comes to attending classes or even practicing a bit by myself.  The only yoga-related thing I practice regularly would be meditation.  But more on that some other time.  Basically my new goal is to become a regular and embrace all the benefits and practices of yoga inside and outside the studio.

During one of my most recent classes, I learned about one proper way to breathe.  Because yes, you can breathe the wrong way. Weird right? I learned that healthy and influential breathing does not necessarily come naturally, but comes with practice and that the end results are truly remarkable.

So, here are the three steps towards a good breath.

1. Inhale into the belly.
2. Inhale into the lungs.
3. Exhale beginning in the belly.

This new "style" of breathing is my challenge to myself this week.  Hopefully, practice will indeed make perfect and I'll feel stronger and balanced with every breath.