Get Active, Nourish & Be Grateful

Get Active, Nourish & Be Grateful came about when two friends were sharing a love and passion for all things health, yoga, wellness and mindfulness.  We both had a burning desire to share all the learnings and information that we have gathered over our time on this planet and so our partnership was formed.

The Active Nourish Grateful ebook is packed full of simple tips and guides covering everything from fat burning circuits, yoga sequences, meditation and breathing mini guide and simple easy to make recipes.  

Get ready to live your best Active Nourish Grateful lifestyle today. 

PS. We both love instagram and seeing people live their ANG lifestyle so don't forget to hashtag any photos you post on Instagram with #activenourishgrateful

The ebook will be available on the 1 November 2014.  Click here to get your pretty little hands on the book right away.

Having fun and getting fit at the same time - Skyfit has the answer

Have you ever wanted to feel like a big kid and jump around with the absolute freedom of flight?  Do you like to have fun when you are getting fit, well Sky Zone has the answer.

A few weeks ago I was invited to come out and have a play at Sky Zone, the world's first indoor trampoline park.  Imagine hundreds of trampolines, all connected to form one massive trampoline that literally allows you to jump off the walls.  And jump off the walls is exactly what I did, after a 30 min session I was literally running and jumping into a spider man squat on the trampoline wall.

It was such an exhilarating feeling, jumping so high in the air, given the absolute freedom of flight, all the while I was getting a sneaky sweat up.  This was incidental exercise at it's absolute best.  These days I love any form of exercise that I'm laughing more than I'm recognising that I'm absolutely exhausted.

So next time that you are wanting to try something a little out of the ordinary, head out to Sky Zone in McGregor and give the Skyfit classes a a try.

+  For more information on the Skyfit classes check out the video below or click here.

A Lesson in Facing My Fears

I'm now 6 days away from getting married... so many mixed emotions, absolute joy, excitement, love, feeling full, nervous and worried about one thing and one thing only - will I fit into my wedding dress on the day???

This one consistent worry of mine has stopped me listening to what my body needs, the last few weeks I have been doing everything from a place of fear.  I had stopped my meditation practice and substituted for pushing myself out of bed, getting hyped up on pre-workout supplements and pushing my body to the limits with crazy hard workouts - and believe me, I know how to push myself to the limits... think ex-Personal Trainer with a hardcore bootcamp mentality... yeah I can push through my breaking point without anyone else around.

I have been putting myself down almost every moment of every day with thoughts of "too fat", "your not going to look as good as you could", "You've put on too much weight", "your ass and legs are huge - what is wrong with you", "you should have done more"... seriously this has been on constant repeat for weeks now.  The first thing I think when I wake up in the morning is - crap I haven't lost any weight since yesterday - and I run my hands over my body in bed and all I can feel is the wobbly bits, then I get up and weigh myself and I hate the number I see on the scales so I instantly have a shit ass day.  Seriously it's been a little bit of mental hell!!  I haven't been stressed about anything to do with the wedding, except for this one thing - I'M NOT GOING TO FIT INTO MY WEDDING DRESS!

You know what, all this negativity towards my body has gotten me absolutely nowhere!

So this brings me to today, 6 days away from my wedding, I woke up - same thing, ran my hands over my body, "ooo i feel a bit tighter this morning" I think, jump up and weigh myself and the number I see on the scales is 3kg more than it was yesterday morning... "WTF!" I looked at myself in the mirror and I thought enough is enough.

Firstly these mother F scales are broken - throw them away, I did not put on 3kg overnight - I ate like a champ yesterday and I have for days / weeks even - Not Possible!

Secondly, I love the way I look right now, I can see a bit of an outline of my abs, I love my shoulders, I love the way my back looks, yeah my butt is a little bigger than I'm used to at the moment, but heck - I can't change that in a week and Kim Kardashian is so hot right now - Hello Big Sexy Butt!  AND my man loves my butt... maybe I should listen to the loving words that come out of his mouth every once in a while.

I stopped myself, went outside and meditated in the warm sun on this beautiful morning.  I calmed my mind down, checked in with my body and I asked myself "what do I need to know right now".

Peace.  Calm.  Relax.  Stop Worrying.  What you concentrate on is what you get.

Click!  Law of attraction 101 - What you think about constantly becomes true for you.

What do I want out of life, how do I want to feel when I see my man standing at the end of the isle on our day, how do I want to start the rest of our lives - with LOVE, pure, all encompassing LOVE.

So with that, I booked myself in for a Hot Stone Massage this morning.  Changed my outlook, if my wedding dress doesn't fit (still a possibility, that much I have accepted) you know what I'll take myself into Myer's or DJ's and I'll find a beautiful white dress that I'm comfortable in and sell the one I've got, it's all going to be ok, I am ok, life is ok, there is nothing wrong with me.

You know what else, when I stopped and opened myself up, my inspiration came flooding back! I haven't felt the pull to blog or do anything over the past few weeks, not even put beautiful pictures up on Instagram or chat with my tribe on Facebook, I really retreated inward.

But I'm so glad that I did, because now I've been reminded of how beautiful it feels to find the light again and I'm humbled to remember that I'm always learning and I'm always improving and life is giving me the lessons that I need at the exact time that I need them.

Tell me, is there anything that has been worrying you lately, that has halted you in your tracks and sent you a little in reverse?  Let me know in the comments below or leave a comment on Facebook.

Love, Love, Love you

xx

Week 3.1 - Drunk in Love Project - All Things Exercise, Play and Taking Risks

This week I'm covering all things exercise, play and taking calculated risks.  I haven't done a video for this week, so I'm covering it off in a 3 part blog series.

First cab off the rank is EXERCISE

I have to start this off by saying, I love keeping active.  Getting out and exercising is like my meditation, it gets me out of my head and into my body and makes me feel alive, focused and ready to tackle my day.

I've come up with some exercise guidelines that I work towards each week.  I never feel exhausted by the end of the week, but I know that I am giving 100% in each session that I get out and do.  What I would encourage you to do is come up with your own exercise guidelines that leave you feeling motivated and full of energy.  Fill your week with movement that you love doing, make that your number one focus.  

My Magik Exercise Guidelines:

1. Lots of moving around at a slow pace
• 2 - 5 Hrs/week of walking - walking is my go to, I like to try to hit 10,000 steps each day.  I make a habit of walking to the gym, the shops or just going out for a walk around the block.  I love going for a nice long hike on a weekend or even getting my bike out occasionally.  Do what ever you like, as long as you keep your heart rate below 75% of your max - to gauge this, you should be able to hold a conversation while walking.
2. Weight training
• I lift 3 - 4 days per week, I like to do a 4 day split.  I do a mix of supersets, heavy reps, light reps, plyo's and majority of exercises are compound movement.
3. Sprint Sessions
• Nothing makes you loose excess fat and increases your fitness faster than sprinting.  Make HIIT training your best friend and you won't go wrong.  I don't do anymore than 2 hard sprint sessions per week.  I give 120% for those two sessions and I spread them out so that I have at least 2 days recovery between each session.  My go to session is 20mins total, 1min walk : 1 min all out sprint.
4. Yoga
• I love Bikram, I love the discipline and the structure around the 26 moves.  Above all else I love the sweat that you get up.  I understand it's not for everyone, but for me there is nothing more relaxing than standing in a heated room for 90mins.  Weird I know but I love it :) 
5. Play
• I'm going to talk all things Play in my next blog post :)

I'm not rigid in my training routine above all else I listen to how my body is feeling, if I get to the gym for a weights session and I'm just not feeling it, I'll go home and take the time I need so that I can give 100% the next day.  There is nothing worse than not feeling up to it, pushing through anyway and then doing more damage or pushing yourself and then being exhausted for the rest of the week.  I call this guidelines because that's exactly what they are and it helps me create balance around my training approach.

In my next post I'll be discussion how I like to get out and Play and why it's such an important part of my weekly exercise routine.

Drop me a message, I'd love to hear what you include in your exercise guidelines.

Have You Made the Decision to Be Healthy?

For some people, it's a New Year's resolution.  For others, it's impending nuptials, a big life event.  Maybe it's a scary diagnosis of your own or a friend or relative.  Sometimes it's a long thought out process, even when it seems more of a spur of the moment pledge, the decision to be healthy usually comes after good thought out consideration.

What exactly plants the seed of possibility?

Who and what figures into the picture as we go over the thought process in our minds and think about how our health could be?

Where do we end up inspired to finally make a change?

Ultimately, the path that we each take is/was different.

For some of us, the urge could be bought on by the memory of having been very healthy at one time in our lives and the desire to get back to that level of activity and enjoyment was at the forefront of your mind.  Perhaps we've felt plagued by obesity or poor health concerns as long as we can remember but ultimately cling to the idea that life can be more after all.  Possibly you've always enjoyed good health and fitness but wanted to take it to the next level after a fresh bout of motivation spurred on by competitiveness, new information or a different perspective made us think differently about how we went about achieving things.

More than likely the common factor in all our journeys is that lingering feeling and concluding acceptance that we are not living the life we ultimately want and that we could do better for ourselves.

Whatever the reason we finally begin to value ourselves more highly and see that our physical health goes hand in hand with what we have to experience and offer in this life.  Finally it hits us; if we want to be healthy - we must make the decision to be healthy.  Coming to this realisation is a turning point when our desire becomes more than a lofty goal, the decision we make for health becomes the way we live.

This is the beauty of making a decision over a set in stone goal.  A goal is something that you wish to attain, a point of future success, it implies an end point.  Of course you will have to work hard and be dedicated to achieve this goal, but the focus is often on a future fixed point.  A decision is present resolve that permeates every moment, starting with the here and now.  It's not an image of success that we project our desires onto, it's what we make of each day we're living on this earth.

A decision ultimately shapes a lifestyle.

Ahh... I love the power that making a decision has over our lives.  When you make a decision to lead a healthy life, you don't put a goal at the centre, you put yourself at the centre.  You situate your beautiful self at the core of your life and there is no straying from that.  No excuse will change it or overturn it, because you have put yourself and your concept of health at the absolute centre, the heart of your life.  That's when it dawns on you -

Your health and wellness (the balance, the energy, the vitality it brings) is a vital centre that supports every aspect of your life and self.

I believe this is the critical step that makes a difference for so many of us.  Most of the time it's not so much learning new or more information, but seeing it with fresh eyes, seeing health from a new vantage point, it's seeing health from the heart centre rather than some distant pining observer.  You can now begin to build support around that decision, add things and people to your life that reinforce the decision.  You can begin to weave the way you live day-to-day into that remarkable choice, the decision to be, to live, healthy.

I would love to hear from you, what led you to make the decision to be healthy?  What where your defining moments, your motivations?  What are your thoughts on choosing health?

Drunk In Love Transformation Project - Week 2

I firmly believe that we are what we eat and that when given the opportunity, your body will heal all ailments.  Food and nourishing your soul truly is medicine.  Learning to harness that power is difficult.

What I’m going over this week in the video:

+ Bio-Individuality;

+ Intuitive Eating; and

+ Getting to know your flow

Here is a little recap:

Bio Individuality

Long story short, no to people are the same, what heals me may be poison to you.  What works for you at the moment may not work for you in 10 years time.  Our bodies are progressive and ever changing, accept and honour that.

Intuitive Eating

Learning how to listen to what your body needs is number one.  Learn to read your body’s messages, are you truly hungry or is it really thirst.  Ditch the food labelling, stop defining the food you eat as “good” or “bad” trust in your instincts and be ok with change, have an absolute trust that your body knows what it needs. Ask yourself these questions before you eat:

+ How will I feel after I eat this food?
+ Which foods am I instinctively drawn to?
+ What foods am I craving?

Get to know your flow

I’ve made the decision to get off the contraceptive pill after 16 years of use.  I am a woman and very honestly I don’t know how everything down there works for me.  I don’t want to get pregnant, so I’m learning when I’m most fertile, when I’m ovulating and repairing any hormonal damage that may have be done from extended use of The Pill.  Knowledge is power sista and as a woman, I want to know my body and own the power of fertility.  Because one day I do want to make a baby and I want it to be a beautiful experience.

xx

PS. Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below...  What are your main food complaints?  Is there anything ailing you that you need a hand to heal?

Sacred Dance Party - Are You Game?

I recently watched The Secret again to brush up on my knowledge of the Law of Attraction.  Since then I’ve been way more aware of my thoughts and what I’m manifesting into my world.  But I was still plagued with the thought, can we really make our thoughts become our reality??

Well last yesterday, I became a total believer and I danced the night away with 40 other women, I was hot, sweaty, wild, uninhibited – I was FREE!

So lets start at the beginning on how I came to be at a crazy dance party at 6pm on a Friday night.

I was lying in bed a few weeks ago when the thought just hit me, I feel like going out and dancing all night, I want to feel the music and move without a care in the world I want to just feel in my body and not in my head.  My next thought – I need to get my hands on some MDMA stat!

But hold up… I don’t do that stuff anymore, where are these thoughts coming from - but I desperately wanted to move and feel free and I don’t know any other way…

The weeks passed since that thought, I still wanted to go out and move but the opportunity hadn’t presented itself, it was just left as a burning desire in the back of my mind.

Fast forward to the beginning of this week and I’m starting on my 6 Week – Drunk In Love – Transformation Project.  I’m learning and absorbing all information I can that will assist me in achieving my goals and help me to transform my life.  I was listening to Connie Chapman’s - Awaken Radio – and she was interviewing Susana Frioni.  I’d never even heard of this woman, but that interview gave me so many AHA moments that I had to find out more of what this woman had to teach.

Fast forward to Thursday and I stumbled across her podcast station, I promptly downloaded all episodes and started listening.  On Friday I was driving home from the coast, listening to her podcasts, totally in awe to the new, out there, game changing information that I was soaking up.  I needed to meet this woman. 

Now this is where the universe comes into play…

I got home from the coast and thoughtlessly started checking my emails on my phone.  There was a hell of a lot of Facebook notification emails that I normally delete straight away without second thought, but just this once I decided to open up this message.

A beautiful acquaintance was gifting a ticket to a Susan Frioni Dance Party, happening that night – WHOLEY MOTHA!!! I NEED THAT TICKET!

So I promptly messaged the beautiful Kelle (check her site out over here) and she passed her ticket onto me – I was going to this dance party, I was going to meet this woman who was literally changing the way I was thinking about myself, my desires and literally about SEX full stop.

Sacred Dance Party!!

When I got there, I got hit with this sudden realization… WHAT in the HECK have I got myself into?!  I don’t do sober dance parties, what is everyone going to think of me, I’m literally going to be standing in the corner all by myself, I don’t know a single sole here, everyone is going to be so free and I’m going to be rigid as all heck, maybe I should leave…

Feel the FEAR and do it ANYWAY.

So in I went, trying to let go of all attachments, all expectations and just be there in the moment… Easier said than done.

Susana started us off with a shake to loosen up, a little meditation (which admittedly got me feeling super anxious again instead of relaxed) and then we wrote what we wanted to get out of the evening in our journals:

“I want to feel wild and free, to be open, feel the music, to let go and get in touch with my inner goddess.”

Then the music began and we stood still, we felt the music penetrate our souls.  Not being able to move and just feel the music build up inside you is an awesome feeling.  Then we danced.

Susana guided us through the first hour of dance, we danced on our own, with partners, in straight lines, stomping, free movement.

Then out came the blind folds.

That’s when I really felt free and was able to let go and come into my own.  That’s when I felt wild and in touch, for me this is when the magik happened.

Now we’ve come full circle, O universe you crazy kid!

It all started with a burning desire to go out, get wasted and dance my little heart out – it ended up being something way more beautiful and gratifying.

Wild, Courageous, Sensual, Erotic, Calm, Liberated - FREE

+ For more on Susana Frioni and her dance party’s, click here.

++ To check out fellow health coach, and the awesome chick who gifted me her ticket, click here.