10 Day Silent Meditation Retreat - WA

I’m not sure there is anything I’ve tried that took as much willpower and strength as to endure 10 days of being with just myself, my thoughts and a vast landscape of wheat. 

THE STAY

The 10 day Vippassana Silent Meditation retreat led by leading teacher S.N. Geonka, was situated 2 hours out of Perth in the Wheatbelt region of WA in Brookton. Driving in to the area I was a little disappointed that I was heading down south but wouldn’t be surrounded by lush trees for my stay. Instead we were surrounded by masses of yellowy-white wheat, rolling hills, rocks and dryness.

Dhamma Padipa, Silent Meditation Retreat - Brookton, WA

The accommodation was a shared dormitory for about 20 people, with each of us getting a single bed. I arrived early and chose a corner bed so I could at least feel some kind of space to myself. I later regretted it when I started to hear a mouse running along my wall and knew if it touched me I wouldn’t be able to scream.

RULES OF THE RETREAT

#1 NOBLE SILENCE – No kind of communication WHATSOEVER. No speaking with anyone during the entire stay – even on lunch breaks, even at night, even in the bathrooms away from other people. Nothing. No eye contact. No mobile phones. No reading. No writing. No saying “oops”. No smiling at others. No polite gestures to others. Every person there was there to be with themselves and only themselves for 10 straight. (If you had a question for the teacher or manager you were welcome to speak, but within restrictions).

#2 No contact with the opposite sex. The retreat was separated into male and female areas. The females did not come across males during the stay, even couples who had come to the retreat together were completely separated the whole stay. The only time we saw the guys was in the meditation hall, females to the right of the hall and males to the left.

#3 No leaving or going outside the course boundaries. Apparently feeling the need to run away is a common occurrence with the meditators. It was an interesting experiment as there were a couple of rebels who had to be tracked down by the servers, these people later revealed they couldn’t handle the confinement and just HAD to get out, even if it was just outside the fence.

Other rules included obvious things, like no smoking, no alcohol (though, someone did manage to bring a bottle of vino. There was a mini party on the rocks on the last night of the day that we broke the silence), no killing, no lying, no wearing of revealing or attention grabbing clothes (I was wearing baggy t-shirts, I hadn’t worn a baggy t-shirt since high school), no sexual conduct, no stealing.

DAILY SCHEDULE

In addition to the rules was a very strict course schedule that went like this:

4:00 am		Morning wake-up bell
4:30-6:30 am		Meditate in the hall or in your room
6:30-8:00 am		Breakfast break (vegetarian buffet)
8:00-9:00 am		Group meditation in the hall
9:00-11:00 am		Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher's instructions
11:00-12:00 noon		Lunch break (vegetarian buffet)
12noon-1:00 pm		Rest and interviews with the teacher
1:00-2:30 pm		Meditate in the hall or in your room
2:30-3:30 pm		Group meditation in the hall
3:30-5:00 pm		Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher's instructions
5:00-6:00 pm		Tea break (Fruit and tea)
6:00-7:00 pm		Group meditation in the hall
7:00-8:15 pm		Teacher's Discourse in the hall
8:15-9:00 pm		Group meditation in the hall
9:00-9:30 pm		Question time in the hall
9:30 pm		Retire to your own room--Lights out

 THE MEDITATION

So as you can see, there was about 10-12 hours of meditation each day. The style of meditation – Vipassana, is an ancient meditation as developed and taught by the original Gautama Buddha. It involves scanning from head to toe the sensations in your body, whilst maintaining a pure, equanamous and balanced mind (no thought).

The first time you do the scan, you don’t feel very much. The only time I felt anything was when I got to my butt, back and knees because after 30 minutes of sitting in the same position on a cushion without moving, my own body was SCREAMING at me. You really can feel agonizing pain, and you are encouraged to not move, and just observe the pain. These are called angry sensations that signify the anger we feel in real life. The reason for not moving while you’re in a tonne of pain, is that it teaches your body on a cellular level to not react to anything, no matter how bad the situation may be. The aim, is to become so concentrated and in tune with your body, that you start to feel sensations wherever you hold your awareness. The sensations can be tingling, pulsing, crawling etc, and eventually, you will start to feel a pleasant tingling sensation. These sensations show us that all we are is a bubbling, ever changing, ever moving, ever evolving piece of matter – and ourselves just like the rest of physical things in this life, follows the LAW OF IMPERMANENCE. We age, we grow, we change, we die. Nothing is permanent - SO THERE’S NO POINT IN ATTACHING OUR IDENTITY TO ANYTHING. That is the only truth.

Eventually, the pains disappear. Finally I would place my awareness on a sore area, only to have the angry sensation dissolve into a feeling of just a lot of hot bubbling sensation. The opposite of the angry feelings was the pleasant tingly feelings, but here too we needed to be careful, as CRAVING the pleasant feelings when they weren’t there yet was just as detrimental. We had to let the feelings be and do what they wanted to do. Our job was simply to remain calm, focused, pure and equal minded, and scan our body. If our thoughts were in a rushing turmoil, we had to calm it by coming back to the breath. If we were clinging onto the hope we would start to get the pleasant feelings, we had to calm down. We were taught there are 2 things in life which lead to absolute misery – and they are ding ding ding – ANGER AND CRAVING. The meditation was a daily surgery to remove the roots of anger and craving in our minds. Anytime we felt anger, gave into pain, or gave into craving, we were just rooting our own problems even deeper.

 

THE TEACHER - S.N. GOENKA

The meditation sessions themselves were led by S.N. Goenka - all via video and audio tapes as he resides in India and these courses are held all over the world. His voice is so deep and dragging on the tapes, & he even sings. I thought who is this scary sounding person, but when we attended the discourses every night (1-2 hours videos of Goenka speaking), he was actually a lovely, compassionate and cute old man who sat next to his wife and gave incredible analogies on life. And he had the uncanny KNOWING of exactly what we were all going through, and precisely when we would experience it. Like the hardest day being the 6^th day, that we would be craving, when we would want to run, that we were struggling with controlling our thoughts. He taught us to forgive & be kind to ourselves and others & to have compassion instead of contempt for others when we were angry. I really appreciated Goenka and his teachings, though there was a girl who was an obvious philosophical rebel and on the day we broke the silence tried to turn the whole camp against him by saying he was corrupt.

S.N. Goenka - Video Discourse

EXPERIENCES

Oh yes, the camp brings out the crazies. Imagine you are left to yourself for 10 days, the meditation is designed to uproot your negative subconscious thoughts and heal them. I myself, struggled with feelings of anxiety and fears that I had when I was young. I would have visions of past events and started to really see them for what they were, then felt them being released. Without trying, I saw myself as a little girl, once at 4 and another time at 14, and the older me as I am today, saw them for the beautiful beings they were and gave them loving hugs, filling them with certainty where they had been uncertain in themselves before. It was such a cleansing experience. Now I have been a pretty sane person for most of my life and had a pretty normal upbringing, so if there was anyone there who had been through hell in their lives, I couldn’t imagine what they were going through!

Throughout my life, I have only experienced feelings of that real, uplifting and pure joy at times few and far between. On the retreat however, I experienced the feeling twice in 10 days. The first time was when we broke the silence, the 2^nd was when we finally finished our final session in the meditation hall. The relief was incredible. & we were all excited to see how our lives would be different from here on. We developed the peace to respond rather than react. The meditation activates the law of nature to work with us, to heal us, to bring good into our lives. To ensure our minds stay pure, they encouraged us to stay away from intoxicants and meat in our daily lives, which is something I have now adopted. A few people don’t understand the decision to no longer drink, but when I think back to the experience of purity I had at the retreat, and that I may pay the consequences of going backwards rather than forward toward the final goal if I do have a drink, I just don’t think it’s worth it.

LESSONS LEARNED

The retreat taught me so much, and I will continue to go back and do a course every year. The main things I got out of the retreat:

·        How to choose compassion over contempt. I got angry while I was at the retreat – it happened when a few of the other girls started to chatter. I was thinking how dare they ruin the experience for everyone else, we’re all sticking to the rules and they are distracting everyone with their chatter. I thought back to Goenka’s words – about finding compassion for those who make us angry, & that any anger we felt was just rooting it further in our minds and it would continue to spawn. So I started to change my thinking. I thought to myself that they were only short changing themselves, that they were missing all the benefits by breaking the silence and the contract they had agreed to and losing their integrity within themselves. There must have been a battle inside of them which they could no longer stand, that I just didn’t understand. & through my frustration I started to really feel a compassion for them, it was nothing like trying to be above them and “pity them” either. I also tried to make light of the situation by making jokes about it in my mind – giggling that they must feel that Goenka wasn’t their friend at ALL. Silly joke in my mind but it worked.

·        That we’re all bat shit crazy, judgmental bastards. One of the funny observations from one of the ladies was that before breaking the silence, she had made assumptions about every single person at the retreat. We hadn’t even spoken to each other but we were internally passing judgements and guessing what people’s lives were like. Madness! Imagine the feelings we felt when we started to all share our experiences, hear unexpected accents, all got along and fell in love with each other – what a paradigm shift! It is clear that we do this in our daily lives too. We pass judgements all the time, without understanding other people or where they’ve been. It was a great lesson that you really don’t know someone and can’t assume anything about anybody until you’ve made the effort with them to get to know those parts of them

·        How to have a wonderful future The experience of the retreat is an entirely cleansing one, with the intention that you will continue to meditate daily and attend courses yearly until you have reached full enlightenment. Enlightenment comes about when we have found true inner peace, cleared all of our debris and live our lives in complete accordance with the natural laws of the universe (including kindness, no intoxicants, no lying etc etc). It becomes clear that we are constantly playing out the patterns that our mind holds, so the more crap we have in there, the more we see situations repeating themselves continuously, whether we like them or not. It’s great when we have outward things that we would like to achieve - we really can create great dreams in our minds and then have them come into fruition, but the main goal first and foremost in life should be to attain inner peace. If everyone in the world was at peace within themselves, our world would be fully transformed, as it goes with the laws of cause and effect. You are the cause, reality reflects the effect. Peace comes about from learning to counter every negative experience with the powers of love and forgiveness. Feel your feelings, understand them and release them to the universe as only the universe knows the best thing to do with them. Remind yourself that no angry thought is worth condemning YOURSELF (you are the one holding the thought and having it replayed in your reality) so it is wise to learn true forgiveness of others.

The retreat was a transformative one, and I really encourage anyone who has the opportunity to go. It is truly tough, but completely worth it. I haven’t even listed a tonne of other benefits and experiences that I had (including that boring landscape turn into a vision of peaceful beauty) but then this blog article would carry on too long.

The courses are held all over the world, and you can find more information at: http://www.dhamma.org.au/

Digging up the past

Isn't it funny what we find when we have a rummage through our old things? While looking for some old uni books I discovered a box from when I was 16. The contents were i-zone polaroids of me and my ex boyfriend, ACTUAL photos of my friends at our swimming carnival, a few trinkets I'd long forgotten about - and a piece of writing that I created in school.

The comments at the end of the piece from my teacher:

"Fantastic! Don't lose this, you could use it in a larger piece"

All these years later I hoarded it and never looked at it. Perhaps it's time to do a clean out and discover what you have of the old YOU from years ago. It can give great insight into the journey you've had since. How much have you changed since high school?

Here's a snippet of my writing at 16, enjoy!:

"She walked over to the stereo and pressed play. There seemed a tingle of thrilling suspense shoot up her spine as the long silent pause awaited it's death. As a thousand volts of sound blasted from the stereo, she could feel the rhythm start to capture her soul and the beat drum into her heart. Her love for music grew deep, unleashing feelings and emotions that she had overlooked, naively thinking that they were not even there at all. The music wrote the poetry she could not find within herself to write as she had heard a thousand lyrics but only few could cut the critiscm of her ear. These instruments, these lyrics, these voices so beautiful had given her the expression she longed to capture herself, with the exception being that it may belong to someone else - but to her, it was all about herself"

Pre-tox to my De-tox

In 2 weeks and I’ll be off to The Spa Resorts in Koh Samui undergoing the 7 day “You’ve Changed My Life” fasting program. I’m a little bit scared but REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. Check out pics here:

 

 

The cleanse itself is going to involve fasting on special detox shakes, teas, supplements and juices, with a set schedule: regular intake of the juices every 3 hours and meditation and yoga every morning. Massages, the steam room and and colonics (eep) are daily norms. I can’t wait to see how I feel after this, it’s going to be a challenge and a half!

Prior to the fast the resort recommends to do a pre-cleanse which will help my body be ready for the cleansing. The website recommends:

Avoid heavy proteins, white breads, cakes, sugar & other highly processed foods as well as coffee, alcohol & soft drinks. Plenty of vegetable & fruit juices are best. We suggest you eat and drink alkaline-forming foods such as: all fresh fruits, raw vegetables & juices, salad greens, sprouts, apple cider vinegar, dates, dried apricots, dried figs, grapefruit, melons, raisins, millet, molasses, lima beans and lentils.

So that’s what I’m gunna do! In addition to this, I recently attended a seminar on Hormonal Health by Dr Sam Warner, which gave an incredible amount of information on what to eat for great hormonal health. It’s my aim to be in balance, so I have incorporated some of her tips as of late and will continue to apply them in the pre-tox. I thought I’d share my little plan plus give you the additional info I picked up in the hormonal health seminar.

MEAL PLAN

Rise & Shine: Supplements time

I’m a big fan of waking up to a large glass of apple cider vinegar diluted in water and then taking my supplements first thing. ACV alkalizes the body and mixed with water gets your digestive system ready for the day. My morning supps consist of:

1 Herbs of Gold Women’s Multivitamin (has grapeseed oil)

2 Fish oil caps (Omega 3’s)

1 Probiotic & (Digestive health)

A Royal Jelly Capsule (Explained below)

This ensures any nutritional gaps in my diet are filled. The benefits of Royal Jelly really piqued my interest in the hormonal health seminar as it included reversing the signs of ageing, increased vitality, hormone balancing and the list continues. Apparently it’s the stuff the worker bees create to feed the Queen Bee, this is the ONLY food the Queen Bee will eat. Since taking this stuff for a couple of weeks I have noticed my vitality has increased and skin tone has improved.

Breakfast: Super Powers Smoothie

I LOVE SUPERFOODS! & the fact you can whip them into a super yummy smoothie rocks my socks off. Here is the one I’m having at the moment and will continue to during the pre-tox.

1 scoop Herbs of Gold natural Pea Protein Isolate (All natural, has green tea and veggies in there, sweetened with Stevia)

1 TBS Flax seeds (Hormonal health and aid digestion)

1 TBS Raw cacao powder (Magnesium)

1 cup frozen berries (Vitamin C)

1 TSP Chlorella, Spirulina & Barley Grass powder (Protein, omega 3 and cleansing)

1 TSP Maca Powder (Hormonal balancing – note really really good for women with menopause, iads the symptoms)

1 TSP Coconut Oil (Digestive aid, antiviral, good for skin and hair)

1 TSP Bee pollen (mood booster and anti ageing, see here for further benefits: http://www.mercola.com/article/diet/bee_pollen.htm) its amazing

Water

It’s Choc-Berry goodness and I am in love.

 

Mid morning snack

Goji berries (major antioxxident, Vitamin C, stimulates the Pituitary Gland and increases Human Growth Hormone)

Green tea (anti cancer, appetite suppressant)

STOP - HGH Time.

Since I just mentioned the increase of Human Growth Hormone from Goji berries I thought I‘d let you know why it’s important. As we get older our HGH levels decline, but it’s HGH that maintains our tissues and organs throughout life. With enough HGH we remain youthful, can lose weight and increase your energy.  Men will find that their muscles grow, though women won’t have to worry about this. It’s becoming increasingly popular to get a jab of HGH from the Dr, & celebrities are onto it too, but why not try and keep it natural. You can increase HGH naturally by eating Goji berries, doing sprints (activating the fast twitch muscle fibres assist this), and only eating a small protein meal in the evening. Fasting also stimulates HGH.

Lunch

Chicken salad

Hemp seeds (Protein, omega 3)

Cucumber (skin on for the silica)

Tomato (lycopene)

Oregano

Lemon

Chicken

Afternoon meal

Chicken salad

Chicken

Carrot

Sprouts

Spinach leaves

Dinner 

Another blended protein shake but no fruit

I’ve requested raw vegetarian food for the plane ride, and will bring some natural snacks with me as well.

My preparation for the detox is planned and ready to go. I’ll get myself a diary to jot down all I experience on the retreat, and will be sure to post!

If you’ve had a detox retreat experience, I’d love to hear from you about it!

http://www.thesparesorts.net/samui
http://www.facebook.com/TheSpaResorts/photos_albums#!/TheSpaResorts?fref=ts 

The Spa Resorts have an awesome Facebook page with lots of inspirational health info if you'd like to sign up! Link above!

 

 

Meditation for the new generation

 

 

 

I'm a little flustered when I think about just how IMPORTANT meditation is in this day and age of fast paced EVERYTHING, yet how many people just dont take the time out to do it. Too woo woo, too spiritual, too ancient & images of holy men sitting in awkward positions chanting I'm sure has turned a lot of people off. However - meditation is for EVERYBODY, especially our new young generation where we are experiencing a world very different from 100 years ago (note stress and anxiety is at its worst). & there is a practice out there for any type of person you are. I recently completed my studies in meditation teaching & holistic counselling via the International Institute of Complimentary Therapies. If you are new to meditation, I wanted to share with you some info and tips to help you along in your meditation journey.

First, you might want to know why the heck you’d even want to start a practice of taking 10 or more minutes out of your day to just sit there, focusing on blank space in your mind. Surely you could just have a nap, zone out watching TV or attend to the one of the gazillion and one other things that you just HAVE to do! Let's lay it on the table, there is nothing that can happen in 10 minutes that is going to cause the world to stop with you not being there. Second - napping, watching TV or choosing any other relaxation method will not bring you the benefits that meditation does. Meditation is a  unique tool of its own that brings your mind from focussing externally to internally - & it’s in the internal arena where all the magic happens, before you see it in the external world. Your mind can be a tricky little monkey and tell you a lot of reasons NOT to do something, when you know very well deep down somewhere that it’s going to be really beneficial for you.

WIIFM (What’s in it for me??)

Consistent meditation practice causes the following:

·        Counteracts the effects of that super bad boy stress. Stress if extended over a long period of time can cause fast forward ageing of the body, weight gain, lead to mental disorders like depression and anxiety, lead to illness including heart problems, cognitive dysfunction… and the list goes on and on… proactive management of stress is essential today, and 10 minutes of meditation is the perfect antidote for it. Meditation counteracts stress by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy clinically uses basic meditation CDs and mindfulness practice to reverse a whole range of disorders related to stress, that’s how powerful it is.

 

·        Meditation practice might seem like NOTHING IS HAPPENING, but that’s kind of the point. & it takes a lot of effort to FOCUS ON NOTHING. Our brains are super whirring all day, every day - the average person has 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts in a day! We’re so used to THINKING that even when we rest our brains are still going! Sometimes obsessively! Meditation helps you to control the level of thinking throughout the day. In turn this makes you more FOCUSSED AND PRESENT. Being focussed and present leads us to greater happiness in our lives.

·        You’ll get in touch with your true self. When you start to get more and more into your meditation practice, eventually you’ll find quiet and stillness and in this space you will start having epiphanies and a sense of your true self. I don’t know what you believe, but I believe that we all do have a soul that is of divine intelligence. We don’t always access it because our minds are always chatting away, but in this stillness, we find it, embrace it and it starts to guide us.

IN MY OPINION THERE IS NOTHING MEDITATION CAN’T DO FOR YOUR HAPPINESS LEVELS AND GETTING YOURSELF OUT OF A RUT. IN MY OPINION MEDITATION IS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR COPING IN THE HECTIC WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE TODAY.

As a meditation newbie, there are some usual frustrations you may find. But keep the goal in mind of how beneficial meditation is and you will soon get over it. The main problem we have is finding the sweet spot, because our brains are still learning to be QUIET. The streams of thoughts do come, and they may appear in thoughts such as:

“Am I doing it right”

“Is this really for me”

“What’s next”

“I’m bored”

Notice how they are all trying to get you right back into your thinking habit? This tends to happen if you have issues with control. Not thinking for a lot of people means you somehow don’t have control over yourself. Funny thing is – it’s the complete opposite! You will have MORE control over yourself if you can exercise LETTING GO of all your thoughts & know that it’s completely ok.

Top tips for when thoughts like these come:

1.      Don’t judge them, be the neutral observer

2.      Remember to see them just as thoughts and nothing but thoughts, this includes words, images, feelings etc.

3.      Acknowledge them and let them dissipate naturally, don’t try to fight them away

4.     When thoughts start to run havoc - focus deeply on every aspect of your breath in the very present moment. The way it feels, the way it makes your rib cage expand, how your belly rises etc. Be mindful, be present.

 

 

Meditation for the first time is kinda like riding a bike, we’re all a bit wobbly at first but soon enough we’re smooth sailing. If you’re not experiencing these things and you’ve slipped right into the meditation sweet spot – congratulations! Keep going and you’ll probably want to expand your practice as you go – 20 minutes twice a day is the ideal. If you’re not quite there yet, remember the above and keep going, we’re talking about self mastery and happiness here.

There are many meditations you can try, including - guided, visualisation, walking meditations, zen meditations, mantra etc …it’s about finding what suits you. As a newbie I’d recommend guided meditations and mindfulness exercises. There is a huge library on YouTube of meditations you can do. Anything from Deepak Chopra and Eckart Tolle is good! Here are a couple of links you might like to initially try:

 

FINAL RECAP AND TOP TIPS

1. Don’t judge yourself

2. Practice first thing in the morning when you wake up – it allows for smooth sailing and focus for the rest of the day

3. Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight up – this ensures the relaxation messages from your brain are travelling throughout your body properly

4. Bring yourself back to your breath whenever you feel off whack – not just during meditation but anywhere & anytime throughout the day when you need to re-centre and focus

5. Be patient

6. Remember that this is a special practice just for yourself, as part of making you the best you - right here, right now

 

 

 

Get your meditation on people, NOW

Have you tried meditation before? If so what are the biggest challenges you’ve found in your practice? Leave a comment in the box below.

Summer – Ready, Set, Glow!

 

We were lucky in Perth to feel the very first blissful kiss of summer the other weekend. It prompted me to whip out the Palmer’s cocoa butter, spray Dolce & Gabbana’s Light Blue everywhere, shop for some summer clothes and hit the beach. That bitey sunshine that we only get in Aus, thanks to our perfectly positioned hole in the o-zone layer, felt so good while lying on one of our wonderful west coast beaches. Even though it seems to have been just a teaser for what was to come, it was a huge wake up call – summer’s only just around the corner! A winter that is a little long can cause the following:

-        Extra dry skin cells building up and making us look a little washed out

-        Our bodies haven’t had adequate amounts of sun and so we’re a little Vitamin D deficient

-        Leading on from this Vitamin D deficiency are increased forms of the blues & a lowered immune system. At least 30 mins of sun per day has a multitude of health benefits including fighting depression and stress

-        Our bodies were kind in holding onto fat during the colder months to keep us warm, but it’s not necessarily something we want to be flaunting when we start hitting the beach!

It’s just nature for these winter symptoms to pass as the new season hits, but there are definitely things we can do now to ensure that by the time summer comes we are more than ready and absolutely GLOWING. Yay! I’ve outlined these things below:

Revealing the baby smooth skin you were born with

About now is a great time to start getting into the habit of dry body brushing. Dry body brushing is not only used for removing dead skin cells but also used for detoxification. Your skin is the largest organ of your body and by keeping the dead skin moving you are encouraging “out with the old and in with the new” cell production. You also stimulate your blood and lymphatic system so it encourages nutrients and oxygen to the skin, which is completely beneficial to you overall!

I have attached a really good article on how to dry body brush at home (there is an art to doing it properly)

http://www.koraorganics.com/blog/live-in-my-skin/all-things-organic/organic-certification/how-to-dry-body-brush-at-home/

If you’re worried about “orange peel” (cellulite), dry body brushing can help with this. Other remedies are ensuring your drinking loads of water. If you’re into detoxing, there is a juice fast David Wolfe recommends for getting rid of cellulite. For 3 days your juice is:

Grapefruit

Orange

Lemon

Feijoa

Apparently the results are amazing, though I am yet to try.

Good bye winter layers

If you gained a couple of kilos over winter - it’s normal! Now is a great time to start your bikini bod program. There are heaps of online resources to achieve a beach body your proud of – you really just need to pick a plan and then stick to it. Where in winter we may have just wanted to snuggle up on the couch – start getting out there and work out at least 3-4 times per week. Tell the winter hunger cravings “thank you but no need anymore now”. Start having lighter meals. You may not have even noticed that your habits changed over winter – now is the time to evaluate and start your bod planning. Keep your eye on the prize! You will glow from the inside out if you only fill yourself with clean foods. If you want any tips feel free to email me.

Hydration

If you really want fresh skin, start drinking at least 2 litres of water every day, plus another litre for every hour of exercise you do. Drinking this much water is helping you to get rid of so many toxins on a daily basis – I cannot recommend lots of water enough! Think of it as flushing yourself out – including fat cells and waste! Water keeps the skin supple and keeps all of your body functioning at its absolute optimum.

Can I also just chuck in here that Gatorade is not a good post workout choice of hydration. Sugars, food colouring etc. You’re better off having a Gastrolyte. The very very best choice post workout is 100% pure COCONUT WATER. It has electrolytes and potassium, which is generally lost when you do a heavy workout. Go water. Go Coconut water.

Get plenty of berry goodness now

So if we’re lacking in vitamin D and all the happiness that sunshine brings, we can easily get stressed. Stress contributes to vitamin C deficiency – vitamin C is one of those precious vitamins that help with glowing skin. Now is a good time to get all the vitamin C and glow back into your system via a good dose of BERRIES. Most berries are high in vitamin C and contain a ridiculous amount of antioxidents which fight free radicals and combat the effects of aging. Leading up to summer I’m going to be having a few of these:

Berry Easy Vanilla Shake

Blend together:

1/2 cup organic mixed berries (can buy from Manna Wholefoods in freo)

1 Tbs Goji berries

1 Scoop of Tony Sfeirs Designer Physique WPI in Vanilla (100% natural! No sugar, hardly any fat, hardly any carbs http://tonysfeir.com.au/products/naturel-healthy-proteins/whey-protein-isolate/whey-protein-isolate-vanilla-ice-cream/ )

Optional: Chia seeds, Maca Powder, Acai berry powder

Tastes like ice cream, is natural & only has about 650 kj!

Other ways to glow (in a greenie kinda way):

Be SunSmart: Therese Kerr pointed out to us last year that a majority of sunscreens contain a ridiculous amount of harsh chemicals that get absorbed into the body. Her recommendation was to use Avocado oil as it is a natural sunscreen that protects us from the sun. I’m not sure how the Cancer Council feels about that but the point is – stay sun smart to avoid skin cancer (big problem about having a hole in the o-zone layer).

Choose natural body care products: There are a few websites dedicated to natural beauty products and their reviews. The one I check out the most is Wellness WA: http://www.wellnesswa.com.au/

From greenie facials, tanners, body wraps, exfoliations, skin care products – you name it and want to see a review on it – it’s there!

Eat healthy fats: Don’t be scared of fats, the right type of fats will make your skin glow and encourage fat metabolism so it will actually help you lose weight if that’s your goal. Good fats include: coconut oil, omega 3 fish oils, avocados, nuts (almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, macadamias). But remember, all in moderation.

Green juice: You might want to consider a day of juice fasting on fresh pressed juices made mostly from fresh greens. It reboots the digestive system by giving it a well deserved break. You’d be surprised by how much the proper functioning of our digestive system has on our body overall. It’s very important to look after it. Digestion is all about effectively sorting waste and nutrients. If this isn’t happening smoothly and happily, the rest of the body suffers. Green juice delivers plenty of nutrients and is guaranteed to make you glow.

Think about the environment: In Oz we are so very lucky to be living in a country with boundless beauty. If you’ve lived here your whole life you might take it for granted. The sunshine helps us to appreciate what we’ve got and it’s in these moments we should really reflect on what we love about where we live. It is good for the soul, and it will open your mind to how you might like to give back.

Meditate: There is one practice out of ALL of the above that will make you glow brighter than anything- and that is carrying with you at all times your inner peace. I have just completed my studies as a meditation teacher. I will be starting up a Facebook page soon after graduation so that I can relay heaps of info and post guided meditations for you to try. The benefits of regular meditation are far reaching, I am really looking forward to sharing it all with you. Watch this space.

I hope this article has given you some ideas for prepping for summer. I cannot wait til the beach weather hits for a long & blissful summer! xo

Morning Routine– How to have the best day ever

Hello creators, what a beautiful day it has been today - the sun has been shining, a walk along the coast inspired some new creativity and I have happy vibes all around. Why might this be? Because I have a pretty awesome morning routine is why. Over a year ago, a typical morning for me used to be: sleep in as long as possible, get up at the last minute, move like a crazy lady to get ready for work, skip breakfast and rush out the door. In return, I had stressful days and found myself chasing my tail in every way shape and form. Since starting a solid morning routine I've found so much support for the day that follows. What you choose to do in the morning is so important, because it's at this time when you have rested and recovered, your body has regenerated and it is just waiting for you to tell it what to do and where you want it to go for the day.

MY TYPICAL "BEST DAY" MORNING ROUTINE SCHEDULE

6am: I choose to have a GREAT DAY from the moment I open my eyes

 

Alarm goes off, the dreary eyes open. I have a few choices:

1. Press snooze, stay in bed and finish that dream
2. Wake up and say “fml”
3. Wake up and smile, thinking to myself:

I right now make a decision that this is going to be an incredible day. I’m going to wake up NOW and give myself the time to set up my perfect day. Waking up NOW will save me from rushing. Waking up now will lead to effectiveness and happiness. Setting up my perfect day will strengthen my knowing that I am the creator of my life as I set up my day then watch the miracles unfold.

Shifting to positive self talk MAKES me get excited to get the heck out of bed and make things happen.

6:05am Mindfulness exercise

Possibly the most important thing to do out of everything in my day. It switches on your awareness button which is totally useful for the whole day. Practiced every morning means you increase overall awareness in your life. Developed awareness means you develop awareness of yourself – every quirk, every reaction, everything. When you can see exactly how you work and are, you can become the master of your own universe.

6:15am Mini Yoga Sesh

While my oats are on the pot I get outside and do 10 minutes of basic power yoga. It’s at this time that the sun is rising and it marks the beginning of the new day. It’s here I feel inspired and thank the universe and sun for giving me another day and another chance to create all that I desire in this life.

 

6:25am Come back inside and eat my P-P-Power breakkie

 

The most important meal of the day. A protein-less brekkie might have been a big no no to me in the past, but since turning to raw food I am finding that I function a lot better this way. Brekkie is ½ cup of cooked steel cut oats, ½ Tbs of coconut oil, a sprinkling of blueberries and sprinkling of raspberries. The oats are full of silica and are great for digestion. The berries provide super antioxidant goodness and fight free radicals. & the coconut oil is great for my skin, digestion, metabolism and overall well-being. If I feel I need a bit of protein I will add a small handful of almonds instead of the coconut oil. Almonds are full of vitamin E and fibre. I add black chia seed every now and again too. Don’t forget to alkalise baby. A green juice or smoothie are good options. Otherwise I’ll do a lemon in water.

6:45am Shower and dress

It’s important to make the most of every situation you’re given – INCLUDING SHOWER TIME? Play your favourite music, sing a song, make it a joyous experience – because this is your day! & when you’re getting ready for the day ahead and choosing your clothes -  spruce up & feel great. Taking pride in presentation is NOT a superficial thing, it shows the world that you’re ready to put your best face forward, because today is going to be the best day ever!

7:15am The “Today I Am” Intention Board – The key to moving towards the person you want to be

This is probably not a new invention, but I created this little exercise for myself and I really enjoy it! Dave mentioned to me about telling myself intentions in the morning, Louise Hay says to write out an affirmation for the day 20 times in the morning. But this little ditty is what is most effective - TO ME, and by no means may it have the same effect on you. This idea came to me when I thought about how I want my life to look like and how I could try and bring it into fruition. I do it just before I leave the house. I write: “Today I am” and then following in big capital letters I write out the things I want to be for the day. For example:

  Intelligent

 Open

Warm

  Understanding

Productive

Resourceful

Loving

Doing this just before I leave the house is a great way to let them go as soon as possible, when you want something to happen the letting go part is just as important as setting the intention for it! I would compare it to being like bringing your team into the office for a meeting to discuss the agenda for the day, and then saying goodbye and letting them go off and follow through with the tasks discussed. If you just keep them held hostage in the office,  you can’t let them do their work.


Exercises like these might seem a bit airy fairy, but whenever you are told something a bit woo woo – don’t let your mind go crazy with it and analyse the information and all that. There are times when feeling an instruction without thinking too much about it is terribly important. Your mind cannot create – sure it can provide the tools and you need your brain but I repeat your mind cannot create. Anything the mind creates is usually kinda ugly (think about the “Marilyn Munroe” sculpture outside of QV1). Your creator within is meant to do the creating. When I write my intention words I feel them, & I get a glimpse in my minds eye and what it might look like if I were for example "understanding". Even if that exact occurrence in my head doesn’t happen, something similar to the same effect does & it is exciting! Now just think if you can master this exercise for a while. Your intention muscle strengthens and you can start to work in there things that will transition you fully towards the things you want in life.

It is true that when we want something, we need to take the steps to make it appear in our lives, with physical, mental and spiritual action. If I want to be a business entrepreneur, I need to start thinking and being like one, otherwise how am I going to make that transition. If I want to be completely loving, I need to start thinking and being as though I am loving. What you focus on increases, where focus goes energy flows.

Don’t forget to say thank you that you have been given a new day, another day to live, another day to create. This is the way we were made to be

Have a beautiful, resourceful and magical day x