​Hi friends! I've been wanting to release a yoga video on my YouTube for SO LONG and I have no real excuse except I'm a busy girl and for so long I was SO intimidated by video. Editing, speaking into a microphone - eep! Daunting! But I finally tackled it and now that I did, I can't believe I was so scared. It's not perfect, but it's a great place to start.

This is an accessible, easily-modified flow for everyone, and is extra awesome because it clocks in at 25 mins - which means you can easily squeeze it in when you've only got time for a half hour on the mat. No excuses to skip you when "you" time takes less than 30 minutes. Can't wait to hear what you guys think! My intention is to make more of these videos for you, assuming you enjoy them. Monthly? Weekly, maybe? We'll see. Let's start here. Grab your mat, and let's get started babes.

Once you're finished, I'd love your feedback here or on my youtube page itself. Thanks in advance for flowing and sharing your thoughts and of course, namaste!

A few months ago, I teased you guys and let you know I was working with a sleep coach. It was never something I thought I’d need to try - I’ve always fallen asleep quickly and been able to take a nap almost anywhere. It wasn’t until I got a little older that I started connecting the dots; the reason I can nap any time is because I rarely sleep through the night and wake up at least 4 or more times, tossing and turning, getting overheated, and of course trips to the bathroom! (Is it just me or do you also drink like 3x as much water at night?!) I worked with Reverie, an innovative leader in sleep technology for over fifteen years, to create a custom sleep plan to identify the factors that were keeping me up at night and how to fix them. 

I was nervous but excited - would it be worth in investment? Would I walk away with better sleep habits? Could my partner benefit, too? Before I give you a resounding YES - let’s talk about what Reverie Sleep Coach entails.

Reverie offers all kinds of products to help you get a better night’s rest, from mattresses to pillows and sheets, to one-on-one sleep guidance with a certified Sleep Coach. can go the more DIY route or consistent coaching route, depending on your sleep needs. You have the option to relearn sleep through curated and customer sleep tips delivered to your inbox once a week or work on your unique sleep needs with a Sleep Coach. My private sleep coach, Elise, and I met in two separate over-the-phone sessions after I finished the initial sleep quiz. The sleep quiz helped identify any issues I was experiencing, and Elise dove deeper into those problems to help me create a sleep plan to overcome them. She pointed out simple tactics to put into place to help alleviate waking up 4+ times a night, to stop that constant need to pee at 4 a.m. 

The Reverie Sleep Coach program gives personalized guidance, working with an advisory board of doctors, scientists, and psychologists to develop the most accurate, relevant information on how to sleep better - which means you are getting the most current data on sleeping your very best! Reverie Sleep Coach also equips consumers with knowledge that will help them understand the importance of sleep and the impact healthful sleep can have on everyday activities. For example, sleep is involved in the healing and repairing of your heart and blood vessels. Ongoing sleep deficiency is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke to name a few. A large portion of the population makes do with six or less hours of sleep on average, but six hours of sleep a night puts your health at serious risk. We NEED to get more uninterrupted, quality sleep at night rather than continually playing catch up, which is something I learned from Elise! ​

Like I said earlier, my biggest sleep problems revolve around waking up throughout the night and shuffling to the bathroom in the dark. After chatting with Elise in my initial session, we set my first few goals as follows:

1.    Hot Shower or Bath Before Bed—This helps with overheating at night. I get hot often, even when I don’t wear that much, because I like to get way too cozy in the blankets. Elise shared that taking a hot shower before bed would help to cool my core body temperature naturally by drawing all the heat to the surface of my body. When you step out of the bath and begin to lose the heat, your body stays cooler for hours. Plus, you can always throw in extra lavender or Epsom salt to help your body relax!

2.    Cut Down on Liquids Before Bed—This helps minimize the amount of times I wake up to use the bathroom at night. I give myself at least an hour or two before bed to help give my body time to relax and prevent the nightly bathroom breaks.

3.    Consistent Bedtime—Creating a balance has helped my circadian rhythm get back to a regular cycle making it easier to get to sleep and stay asleep through the night. 

4.    Screen Time Cut-Off—I make sure to have at least an hour without any screen use before bed. Blue light from screens (big and small) messes with your brain's ability to fall into that natural sleep rhythm, so the earlier in the day you can ditch it, the better. 

5.    Charge Phone Away from Bed—I would wake up from random phone calls and late-night texts but charging my phone across the room prevents waking up from those notifications. Pro tip: when your phone is away from your bed, it forces you to wake up and get out of bed to turn off the alarm.

I noticed a big shift in my sleep quality after a few weeks of working on these goals on my own. I was sleeping more regularly through the night and removing my phone before and during bedtime also pleasantly forced me to spend more time with my books and my partner in the evenings. I did my best to cut down my liquids, but because I sometimes teach at night and end up chugging water, I still struggled with getting up for the bathroom at least a few nights a week. The best thing Elise has me try was the hot showers, which have been LIFE CHANGING! Not only do I sleep better and longer. I also stay far cooler throughout the night.

My second session was focused on my progress and more practices I could put into effect. This time my most significant remaining problems were my partner waking me up, waking up and not being able to fall back asleep, and forcing myself to stick to a regular bedtime. I talked with Alex about implementing some of the same things I’d been trying and that helped with his tossing and turning slightly. I think sleeping with a partner can be hard, especially when they’re on a different schedule, sick, or moving around more than usual. When I woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep. I started challenging myself to get up and be productive rather than just lying there. HUGE difference! My final challenge for our last session was getting on a consistent bedtime. I still struggle with that one. I work weird hours sometimes and my husband often works late, so I usually find my bedtime irregular but falling between about 10:30 p.m. and midnight. Other than that, my sleep has been SO MUCH BETTER! By forcing myself to sleep cooler and without my phone nearby, I found my restlessness ceasing and my sleep deeper than ever. My husband has benefitted too. He uses that hot shower trick almost every night after work. Reverie Sleep Coach helped me re-learn basics of quality sleep I forgot.

So back to those questions at the beginning of the post: would it be worth in investment? Would I walk away with better sleep habits? Could my partner benefit, too? YES - YES - and YES! I seriously cannot say enough great things about the ease of the service and depth of knowledge of the sleep coaches they have on staff. Plus, the price is pretty great, too! Reverie Sleep Coach Basic is $49 and provides 90 days of individualized tips delivered via email. Personalized 1:1 coaching packages start at $129 for two sessions. To learn more about Reverie’s Sleep Coach Service and find better sleep for yourself, visit http://www.reveriesleepcoach.com and start by taking the Sleep Quiz!

We held our very first (hopefully of many!) Morning Mindfulness event last weekend and it was SUCH a success! My close friend Kruti (of @cultivatewithkruti) and I co-taught a gentle yoga flow on the green outside of Whole Foods to 25 students, followed by a superfood smoothie-making workshop and all kinds of selfies! 

Kruti and I met online and quickly realized we already attended the same yoga studio! We bonded over our love for yoga and great food, and were instantly friends. We knew once we were both finished with our teacher trainings and certified, we wanted to teach together. Now that we're both certified yoga instructors (well Kruti technically has a few hours left - but she's almost there!), we decided to host the event near our local Corepower Yoga studio (where I'm now a TEACHER, YO!), outside of the neighboring Whole Foods. The space outside has a large green and we were able to rent the space to host the event. Luckily, it was a beautiful morning with a light breeze - perfect for flowing outside! 

Kruti taught the first half of our gentle yoga flow, and I took over halfway through to finish off the flow. Our yogi's were so strong and did such a great job - it was an honor leading the practice! We hydrated afterward with Waiakea Water and Harmless Harvest, the headed over to Whole Foods for our smoothie bowl making' party! We served up superfoods-stuffed Chocolate Macadamia Smoothies with bananas, Purely Elizabeth granola + coconut, and talked about our food journeys a bit, too. Kruti and I have both struggled with disordered eating, and are always working to nourish our bodies instead of depriving them these days. And these smoothies were the perfect way to nourish and refuel after our yoga flow!  

The last part (and arguably the best!) was when we got to hand out goodie bags to all of our great attendees! We had loaded them with our favorite food and skincare goodies, and had products from Nuttzo, 4th & Heart, Aloha, Cocokind, Siggi's, GoodDay Chocolate, Goodbelly, Ozery + PerfectBar to share. We had SO much fun and hope to host another event like this soon. It was wonderful sharing space with new friends and community members, and getting to squeeze so many sweet people! Catch a glimpse of our event in the video above, gorgeously captured by David Lee at Legendary Media House, and scroll down for still shots from the morning. Big thanks to all of our sponsors and to La Floresta for helping facilitate the lovely space we used! 

Join Amber St. Peter (@good_saint) and Kruti Shah (@_kruti) Sunday, January 14th from 10 am-Noon for a morning of mindfulness, yoga, and smoothie bowl making! We'll meet on the green at La Floresta for a 45 minute gentle, restorative flow co-led by Kruti and Amber, followed by a smoothie making workshop where everyone will get a chance to make Chocolate Maca Smoothie Bowls and chat with the girls about mindful and intuitive eating. Each guest will get a smoothie bowl of their own loaded with superfoods and a goodie bag stuffed with Amber + Kruti's favoite food, drink, and skincare products! Goodie bags will include treats and swag from brands like Whole Foods, CorePower Yoga, Perfect Bar, Harmless Harvest, Aloha, Siggi's, Cocokind, GoodBelly Probiotics, 4th & Heart, Waikea, Good Day Chocolate, Ozery Bakery + more! Space is limited and reservation is required. We are hoping to have a photographer on hand, but please do know that photography, group shots, and selfies of all kinds are highly encouraged. You know we love a great IG shot! ☺️ Reserve your spot!