SEE THE LATEST ON YOUTUBE
Stop punishing yourself!
You are human.
You are allowed a rest day.
You are allowed to make mistakes.
You do not have to be perfect.
Last night, I was invited to a yoga event by a lovely client. It was an awesome event, yoga on a rooftop with glow sticks. Now, as you know, I love colour, I love things that glow, I love yoga, I love connection.
I also love and care about the environment. I was super excited to put my little glow sticks on, but I was also trying to shush the little voice in my head saying these are so bad for the environment, you are a bad person.
Here is the thing , the glow sticks were open, and ready to go, if I didn’t wear mine they would have been chucked in the bin and wasted. I made peace (sort of) with wearing them, and I did completely enjoy my event and I made an effort after the event to go around and pick up the discarded glow sticks people had left on the ground (hopefully accidentally).
I choose to not use plastic straws anymore, yet occasionally I will buy sushi and it is given in a plastic box. I choose to take my coffee keep cup and my resusable water bottle everywhere. I no longer use cling film.
I try to make a difference, but I am also trying to not get angry at myself for the occasions as above.
Stop Beating Yourself UP – Note to me and to YOU!
If you ate the donut – you are not fat, weak, a failure – you ate a bloody donut.
The glass of wine you drank – unless you are drinking excessively, it’s ok – heck some studies say it is good for you.
The gym session you missed and hated yourself for the rest of the day – Perhaps skipping that session, prevented an injury. Perhaps allowing yourself to rest was the best and kindest thing you could have done for your body and your mind.
Stop hating yourself for the choices you make – unless you are consistently making bad choices, and getting bad results – you are making the right choice for you at that moment in time.
You are not perfect. I am not perfect. We are human and we are all in this together.
MOVE – MEANT
Movement!
Our bodies are meant to move, they are designed to move well and they are supposed to move often.
The next time you get up from your desk after a prolonged episode of sitting – feel how tight, stiff and sore your body feels, then sit back down and look at the angle of your legs.
It is no wonder when our legs are in a 90 degree angle for the majority of the day; at a desk, in a car, on the couch – that when we get up to stretch our legs…..
….. our calves feel tight, our hammies are tight, the glutes are sore, your back aches and your shoulder and neck hurt from being hunched over all day……
I get it – I have been where you are, and I have been there when I went back to a desk job after teaching – which was 100 times worse, after moving so often to being stationary.
Our bodies are meant to move.
If you don’t move often you will cramp up.
If you don’t keep moving your joints through a full range of motion as you age you will lose the ability to use these joints – sounds scary doesn’t it?
Well it is!
I used to do some remedial work with an elderly lady as years of inactivity had literally rendered her muscles useless, she couldn’t open her hands and could not get up out of bed without assistance.
If you want to be able to open jars, reach things up high (unless you are a short ass like me) squat down to pick things up or even do up your shoes, you need to move before it is too late.
I know for some people (heck even me sometimes) the thought of going to a gym is as desirable as watching paint dry – so find what you love, dance in your loungeroom, try something new, or try a different instructor.
Not to toot my own horn (ok just a little honk ) I recently had a lovely comment from a man new to my yoga classes, telling me that he hated yoga before, but loves it now due to the unique way I teach.
Now do not get me wrong – my style is not for everyone, and that’s ok.
Find an instructor you click with who makes you feel joyous about what you do and you will want to do it more often.
Work out what it is you love, and if it is dancing around while you cook – then do it – boom – make your meals and burn calories – that’s a double thumbs up in my books.
Think outside the box and don’t be afraid to try out some new things, but most importantly move move and move some more.
x
Healthy eating – don’t over complicate it!
I think when it comes to healthy eating, quite often people go for the easy quick take out option as they assume it is too hard to make a fast, easy and healthy meal.
Let me tell you this is not true.
The majority of my meals take 30 mins to prepare and cook (unless I get sidetracked listening to music and dancing around while I cook – which does happen often)
*Side note – dancing around while you cook is a great way to burn some extra calories and is oh so much fun 🙂
The key to quick and easy healthy meals is not to complicate it.
Chop up veggies and add fresh herbs and garlic for flavour.
If I am chopping veggies – I always chop extra so I can use them for lunch and or dinner the next day (depending on how hungry my husband is and how many left overs I can keep).
Cooking meat and veggies separately allows you to only have to cook fresh meat for the 2nd night.
Some easy meat ideas:
Fry chicken with garlic, lemon and honey.
Bake salmon just with lemon and pepper.
Fry meatballs with cumin and or cinnamon.
Fresh herbs, turmeric, cumin, garlic, pepper go a long way to making things absolutely easy, and tasty.
Here’s an easy lunch bowl I made up over the weekend (not going to lie was pretty proud of this one)
QUINOA BOWL
Cook quinoa as per instructions on packet.
Fry asparagus, tomatoes, kale with a dash of balsamic vinegar & half a small garlic cube.
Mash up 1 x avo add lemon, pepper and other half of garlic cube.
Add a bit of salmon, a few nuts
Arrange nicely for a photo then moosh it all together and eat 🙂
Do something today your future self will thank you for
As we rapidly approach the end of the year, I hope you are taking time to slow down (even for a moment) to sit quietly and just breathe.
This time of year is hectic and I want to let you know, that it is ok to recharge your own energy so that you can be the bright spark you normally are.
It is ok to take time out for you. This is important!
I want to wish you all a wonderful Xmas Break and a very happy new year.
Next year I am running a series of events of retreats. These are designed to boost positivity and energy levels and top up our levels.
When you feel like quitting – ask yourself why you held on for so long in the first place.
If I was to quit every time I tried to start a new class where no one showed up, or ran an event that wasn’t sold out I would have quit several times over.
If I didn’t stay true to myself, my passion and my beliefs then what do I have?
It is the moments of “failure” that make us stronger, more determined to succeed. It is the moments and situations that don’t go to plan, that shape us and redefine our future.
Some of the best athletes, actors, pioneers of technology failed several times over. Did they quit? No! They believed in themselves and kept at it.
If you don’t take yourself seriously and back yourself 100% then why should anyone else.
If you don’t love yourself and love what you are trying to achieve then I suspect you may not actual succeed.
When you feel like quitting – ask yourself why you held on for so long in the first place.
Are you balanced?
Are your workouts balanced?
Take a moment to stop and reflect on the way you work out; how often and the intensity.
Do you stretch often?
Do you stretch at all ?
To get the most of your fitness it is important to have a well-rounded and diverse range of movement.
If you want to avoid things like hip replacements in the future you have to put your body full its full range of movement.
Quite often we tend to just move our body in the same way, and don’t get me wrong, any movement is better than no movement, but our bodies are meant to move through a full range of movement and this is often overlooked.
Take a moment to think about the way you move, and take a moment to ask yourself honestly – do you just focus on the things you are good at, and avoid the things you struggle with?
Hands up – I am guilty of this!
As we age, we seize up – sorry but it is true – move it or lose it !
We need to lift weights to help with our bone density.
We need some cardio to get our heart rate up.
We need to stretch.
Think about what you focus on and what you neglect. Where do your priorities go?
It’s not too late to add in some extra things to your routine, or change your schedule a little to give yourself a more holistic and well-balanced healthy fitness lifestyle!
Step one – taking that honesty check in –
Step two – we’ll focus on this shortly.
x
Mix it up
When it comes to exercise it is important to mix it up!
While I strongly advocate for finding a style of exercise that you love (or you simply will not exercise if you don’t enjoy it) you need to vary things from time to time.
You see our bodies, much like our minds need to be challenged or they become complacent.
Have you ever noticed that let’s say you start a new form of exercise and your weight changes or your body changes with great results straight away, then after some time you plateau.
This happens, that’s why it is important to mix it up!
Shock your body, challenge your mind. Try something new or slightly vary what you do.
There are so many ways to be creative and we are so fortunate to have YouTube at our fingertips so we can be creative in the comfort of our own home.
Seriously the other day I danced around my room and had the most amounts of fun, got my heart rate up, and had a bonus ab work out as I was laughing at myself so much.
It’s great therapy.
For anyone wanting a very different workout and an awesome laugh – come and join me tomorrow for a 1980’s playlist and moves that will keep you topped up with feel good energy for weeks 🙂
3:30 – 4:30 Saturday April 1 at Greenslopes – Brisbane
Bookings essential – head on over to the shop and book in now.
Want to be more spontaneous ?
Looking to be more spontaneous ?
I have just the thing for you!
I have had two last minute cancellations for an overnight yoga retreat on 25/26 February (yes that’s right not this coming weekend – but the one after).
I can guarantee fun, yoga, relaxation, good wholesome food and to feel like you’ve had an awesome mini getaway.
Want to know more ….. well check it out here
So if you are looking to be a little adventurous, a little spontaneous or a just little more focused on you then jump on over to my shop and book your spot now.
See you there 🙂
x