“if you can be in your wellbeing for a minute, you can stay in it for a week”.

I often find myself telling friends, family and clients that “if you can be in your wellbeing for a minute, you can be in it for an hour, if you can be in it for an hour, you stay in it for a day, and if you can be in your wellbeing for a day you can stay in it for a week”.

So how does one “step” into a state of wellbeing exactly?

Firstly, it’s about understanding the mind body connection, which is something that my work with both Neural Integration System and Emotional Freedom Technique have allowed me to understand more deeply.

The Mind Body Connection:

Anyone who has experienced pain in the body knows that the experience is very real, as is the physical experience of stress. What is interesting, is understanding that pain levels can change, healing can accelerate and stress can be reduced, by changing ones mindset around the state of dis-ease we are in.

Recently, while working with one of my international clients who had been experiencing chronic pain for a number of years, we discussed what she referred to as a “Catch 22”.

Experiencing physical pain, so not feeling able to shift into a a wellbeing mindset; and by not being able to experience a wellbeing mindset, she felt that she was stuck experiencing pain.

While I can really empathize with the difficulty of changing ones mind while experiencing physical pain in body, I always encourage people to start with the small wins. Start with the 1 second in a whole day where you feel better than you did in all the other seconds. Celebrate that moment, savour it, and return to it as often as you can, reminding yourself that it was possible – if only for a moment in the beginning.

Secondly, develop wellbeing practices. When you eat health foods, spend time in the sunshine and fresh air and in nature, it naturally translates into a better mindset and supports you in bridging that gap between your current state and stepping into your wellbeing.

Simple Wellbeing Practices:

Be Present – Sit with the breath and let go of resistance

Sit or lay down and just take in your surroundings, tune into yourself and breathe. It is okay to acknowledge any pain or discomfort you are feeling, but try to stay neutral and not to judge it or fight it. Just a simple acknowledgement and letting go of any resistance you feel to anything at all.

Adopt a Wellbeing Mindset

I have found affirmations are a really good way to achieve a wellbeing mindset. I would recommend educating yourself by finding a person whose words you resonate with, and listening to them often. I listen to a variety of people including: Bruce Lipton, Esther and Jerry Hicks, Louise Hay, Nick Ortner and many more.

Acknowledge When You Are in Your Wellbeing

This is one of the most important steps. Celebrate the small wins, feel the gratitude for the feeling of wellbeing, and spend longer and longer in those states.

Develop Your Own Practice

There are lots of wonderful wellbeing practices that are freely available to everyone in the world. Some of my favourites include going for a walk in the forest or on the beach, go barefoot, make a nutritious meal and feel the self nurturing, expressing creativity, meditation, yoga and breathing practices. Find some that make you happy, and start using them like a tool kit for your wellbeing journey.

Be Patient and Persistent

It takes practice to step into and stay in your wellbeing, so it helps to be gentle with yourself and whatever you do, just keep working on it.

If you have any questions about this article, feel free to direct them to me via email, or to book a session with me, you can call 03 525 8416.

I work with people of all ages, backgrounds, shapes and sizes and I can say that in my experience, there is no “one size fits all” approach to health. But, after immersing myself in the wonderful world of wellness for 35 years, I have noted some key things that can help support absolutely everyone in achieving improved states of wellbeing. So here goes:

5 small things you can start incorporating into your wellbeing practice today:

1. Hydration

Reduces acidity in the body, oxygenates cells, supports digestion.

2. Diet

You may be thinking “diet is not a small thing – it’s a big thing!” and it is. But here are some simple concepts that you can integrate into your eating habits.

Not eating late, Substitute sugar and caffeine, combining foods, Having good quality salt

Cut out the preservatives, food colourings and flavourings – because they are full of excitotoxins. When I first heard about excitotoxins, the first thing I did was get my family right away from them. They are non-essential amino acids stimulate or “excite” our savory taste buds making food seem more flavorful than it really is. These compounds are abundant in most processed foods and restaurant meals, and have been linked to brain cell death, infertility, problems with sexual development, violent behaviours, and hormonal disorders.

3. Reducing Stress

It always sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it? But ideas and practices are different ball games. Some of my most favourite and freely available practices for reducing stress include emotional freedom technique, gardening, meditation, yoga, breathing and grounding myself. Because this is such a big topic, I will be dedicating an entire article to this, so stay tuned!

4. Sleep Hygiene

Having a stable sleep pattern is very important for the regulation of our hormones and the repairing of our cells.

• Sleeping in total darkness, with no artificial or natural light, and then looking at the daylight as soon as you wake up, letting the light bounce off the retinas of your eyes, stimulates your pituitary which governs your day and night cycle.
• Closing down computers and not looking at phone screens for at least an hour before going to sleep can avoid disrupting the brain signalling (due to the screens mimicking daylight).

5. Self care

Many of us who care for children, animals, partners, friends of family, often forget to nurture ourselves. Some of us don’t even really know how to. I recommend starting with the things that make you happy, and regularly incorporating them into your day. My favourite ways to care for myself are when connecting with nature, friends and family, and taking time for myself.

I am interested to hear what are the small things that you have found that have made a big difference in your life? Send me a message or leave me a comment – let’s circulate the wellness!

Eco products have come a long way and are now no more expensive than regular house hold cleaning products. But there are some distinct benefits of switching to eco-friendly products. Put quite simply, they are

Good for you, Good for the Planet!

Eco-Friendly Products For House And Body

Why are eco-friendly products better for us?

Many standard products – whether health, beauty or bathroom products – have chemicals that may serve simple functions within the product, but create toxic results. For example, the standard shampoo froths up when you use it, to assist with cleaning the hair. However, the result is often a change in the PH of your skin.

More and more often, we are seeing that beauty products contain chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body (Xenoestrogens). This negatively affects the hormonal systems of both men and women, leading to imbalances in our endocrine system.

Why are eco-friendly products better for our planet?

Our oceans and soils have long been suffering the consequences of chemical product waste, which results in damaging the very ecosystem we are a part of. Using natural and organic products minimizes any damage and works in tune with nature.

Here are 3 of my favorite eco-friendly brands:

• My homemade soaps! (Sorry for the shameless self promotion, but hey – I make them because I want to use only the best on my skin!)
• Earthwise washing powder and dishwashing liquid and dishwashers
• Eco Planet washing powder and dishwashing liquid and dishwashers

What are some of your favourite brands and why? Leave me a comment or send me a message!