Holistic wellness is about mind-body-community wellness. Explore our thought pieces on a number of important lifestyle topics that we hope may spark some inspiration on your journey.
More online appointments are now available for those who need it both in Australia and internationally. If you’ve been thinking of doing more introspective work, practicing more self care and have struggled with juggling time and other commitments, now may be the perfect time to start as you stay home and go inward.
Read MoreWhen we are living our dharma our activity is Kriya or spontaneous right action. Spontaneously you are in the right place at the right time and it is easy for you, even though to another it looks very difficult. Kriya is frictionless, effortless activity which is in complete accordance with all the laws of nature.
When you start moving out of kriya you encounter curbs, like those on a road. That’s the ‘karma zone’. Going out of kriya and into karma – action that binds you, that has attached to it a corrective force. We don’t live in a universe that is punitive but one that is always guiding us toward dharma with its unique and simple language.
Read MoreAccording to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), everything we do makes a demand on nature. The food we eat, the clothes we buy, the way we travel, everything. Added together, the demands made by each and every one of us are far too much for our planet. 50% too much, in fact.
A good start toward making a difference is to first understand where your own impacts come from so you can make simple changes to your daily life, wherever possible. From all of our reading and research, here are some key things to consider in montoring and managing your impact..
Gift experiences and not things this season, with an Ayurvedic Health consultation, uplifting herbal massage or oil treatment, Private Yoga Classes or some Ayurvedic herbal goodies
Give the gift of wellness!
Gift vouchers can be purchased online (here) or contact us (here) to place orders and we will be happy to post these pretty little cards out to you or the recipient.
Messages can be customised, to include recipient name plus a little greeting
Read MoreBehind the scenes at our Ghee and Paneer workshop in Melbourne city last evening, against a backdrop of the iconic Flinders Street Station Building 🌟
Read MoreHay fever has been particularly tricky to manage in the last few weeks and we have been helping out with advice and how to’s on using the Ayurvedic / yogic approach to finding relief using a natural approach over pharmaceuticals.
Read MoreSnapshots of our Spring Wellness Day 2019!
This day was designed to coincide with the Spring Equinox (today!) and provided a space to experience the cleansing and pausing between seasons preceding a Spring routine
We started with stimulating the thymus for immunity and then practiced invigorating and flowing asana (including lots of khatu pranam from the Yoga in Daily Life System) and pranayama, followed by a yummy, nourishing Spring friendly lunch and bliss balls for snacks, magnesium foot soaks and cleansing golden turmeric teas, healing massages, time for reflection and an uplifting yoga nidra
At various points in our lives we are all faced with moments of uncertainty. Here, we often fret, fight, resist, panic, lose our power in the battle for control and guarantees. Most of us can relate to one or all of these sentiments… I want this new possession / status / growth. I need this idea to work faster. I wish he / she / they would (…your intent goes here). I want this cycle to end.
The truth is that trying to deny or fight the reality of a situation is like fighting a rip tide. The harder you push the more it resists, and the more agitated you get. There are the rare few that seem to have life come easy, seem to be ok with anything, and are rewarded with the sweetness of their desires coming true. What are they doing differently?
Learning to read and align with the reality of your circumstance, understanding yourself and the web of universal timing using pausing and reflection can help you find not just the sweet spot but also help you ride life in a way that opens up a universe of possibilities so that the world really does become your oyster with or without your need/wish/desire going the way you initially expected.
Here are a few guidelines that may help…
Read MoreWe had a lovely little session exploring the link between kindness, mindfulness and well-being in the CBD last evening for this group of busy wellness seekers
Lots of practical breathing and meditation techniques and exploring anecdotes of how we can bring about a more healthy inner dialog through practice of ahimsa and mindful release of tension. Everyone left feeling light, clear and calm. Bliss!
Read MoreThe way we breathe is strongly linked to the way we feel. When relaxed, we breathe slowly, and when anxious we breathe more quickly.
When we inhale we take in oxygen (O2), creating a waste product carbon dioxide (CO2) when we breathe out. With relaxed breathing, the levels of O2 and CO2 we produce are balanced, allowing us to function efficiently. Exercise too leads to an increase in breathing rate to take in more O2 to fuel the muscles, thereby producing more CO2 being expelled, and the O2/CO2 levels are balanced. However, when we are anxious our breathing rate increases and this same process applies but our bodies are not working any harder ie we are not necessarily exercising and not using up any extra O2 and thus the CO2 level in blood concentration drops, creating a state of alkalosis. This is why we feel light-headed, tingly, clammy and sweaty.
Recently, I was sitting in my meditation space and watching the rays of the early morning sun bringing things to life in the room around me. The light flooding through the windows had ribbons of colour as they hit the ground, and there was vitality, freshness and ‘prana’ in the air I breathed in. There is something special about dawn, and I began to contemplate the interconnectedness between living things and the earth’s energy.
Later on, in my desk research I read about a phenomenon known as Schumann’s Resonance, which is like the Earth’s heartbeat - a pattern of electro-magnetic waves that sit between the Earth surface and ionosphere (this is a layer of Earth’s upper atmosphere that is ionised by the sun and cosmos).
Read More2018 was a year of exploring ayurveda & wellness basics, cleansing and routines. Since then, there’ve been some requests for a few other specific topics which have now become sessions for 2019!
The topics we plan to cover this year will range from ayurvedic philosophy, ayurvedic lifestyle tips and routines, beauty care, gut health, general wellness, mindfulness as well as an all new set of workshops on stress management using ayurveda and yoga.
Read MoreThe start of a brand-new year brings with it the promise of new beginnings, growth, change and good times. While our personal perspectives of the times we’ve left behind may be very different based on the experiences leading to them, most ‘bags’ of experience come with a mix of good, bad, ‘meh’, bizarre or more (insert your word here!)… and the natural tendency afterwards is to push ourselves to increase/ replicate/ decrease/ erase these experiences.
The sentiment to consider in this instance is ‘push’. When we push, we force our energy into what I call the ‘must-have’ zone. The issue with this is if that one thing isn’t reached, it typically creates a sense of lack or disappointment (or similar). That’s not to say that purpose, direction and goals aren’t important; rather, it’s our approach that makes the difference.
With this in mind, instead of the ‘must have zone’ or that one thing, I have decided to take on the yogic approach of adopting a ‘sankalpa’ for 2019, which is similar to an intention. For instance, when life becomes about managing a whole lot of moving parts – family and friends, jobs, relationships, finances, bucket lists (in no particular order!) - most of us tend to multitask for efficiency in juggling these. The end result (typically) is less presence, more detachment, more anxiousness and lesser enjoyment of the ‘journey’ and the task. So this year, I intend on doing less, to do more.
Check out this blog post below with a few more of my thoughts on how to get more done in a day while staying balanced, relaxed and content..
Read MoreAh, Melbourne. Just when we prepared (and hoped for) for a warm, crisp summer, the days become erratic and unpredictable, leaving us all guessing and on our toes. Hot and dry days followed by humidity and wetness, stormy days and jacket weather, and then sunshine again.
How do we adjust to this? I’ve had clients come in with headaches, dry skin, flaky scalps, skin eruptions, feeling frazzled and then other feeling sluggish, heavy and lethargic. It’s challenging to know how to stay balanced when things are all over the place.
The trick is to take it day by day. E.g. avoid kapha aggravating foods on the wet and cold days – e.g. heavy, cold and overly sweet or oily (smoothies, avocado, ripe bananas, rich desserts)…. And avoid vata and pitta aggravating foods on the hot and dry days (popcorn, chilli, too much coffee)…
Then, to manage the erratic energy around you:
Gift experiences and not things this season, with an Ayurvedic Health consultation, uplifting herbal massage or oil treatment, Private Yoga Classes or some Ayurvedic herbal goodies. Give the gift of wellness 🤲🏽
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Contact us to place orders and we will be happy to post these pretty little cards out to you or the recipient. Messages can be customised, to include description only plus greeting.
Read MoreHello from Colombo!
After two weeks of downtime in my island home I am back online and offering in person consults and yoga classes. Stay tuned for updates!
There are wellness workshops, yoga classes, a limited number of ayurvedic consults and marma point treatments coming up. These are all beneficial to addressing specific issues and ailments ranging from sleep management, digestion, skin conditions, to stress and anxiety reduction as well as overall well-being.
I'll be consulting online and available in Sri Lanka until the end of July 2018. For bookings please click here and select the online option.
Read MoreMost of us today wear many hats – the family hat, the friend hat, the work hat, the study hat, the wellness hat, the explorer hat, and it goes on…
In my experience of talking to others about their everydays, what I most often tend to hear is that trying to juggle these identities and responsibilities leads to feeling overwhelmed or stressed, at varying levels. We’re always trying to do more, see more, be more.
While most agree that taking time out and being kinder to yourself is the first step to wellness, what else is there? How else can we reshape our approach to wearing those hats with peace of mind?
Read MoreBalancing asanas can bring an amazing sense of freedom, strength and discipline but can be challenging – mostly for the mind. We pick a point to focus on but then the mental commentary starts, and rattles us!
Quite often we hear a lot of utterances of annoyance and frustration around us at this part of the practice too. Digging a bit deeper, this reveals a lot about our mental commentary or sense of ‘ahimsa’ (non-violence) toward ourselves, not just in practice,` but also in daily life. Practicing Ahimsa is one of the foundations of a well rounded yoga practice, and bringing our awareness to how this can be tested helps us develop not just our practice but also our inner peace and resilience.
Ayurveda reveres fire or agni - it is the metaphor for all metabolic functions in the body. Agni plays a vital role in our digestion, perception, taste, touch, hearing, sense of vitality, mental clarity and alertness. When agni and the functions it supports are balanced it brings about a beneficial state of health. We are sharper, clearer, more energetic and strong and feel more cheerful, confident and optimistic. When agni is imbalanced we typically feel an imbalanced state of health – heavy, slow, congested, sluggish, dull and experiencing frustration, anger, and fear.
