“I am Happy + Healthy”

One of my intentions for 2020 was around health: “to be happy & healthy”, is my exact intention. Something I repeat in my yoga class, when I’m clearing the energy in my apartment, or when I’m working on may grounding technique. Some of the things/actions I wanted to work on with this was my meditation practice, working with the Ayurvedic approach to food, improve my sleep, keeping up with my gratitude practice. 

I’ve worked really hard on the “Happy and Healthy” not just this year… but for many years. You can read a little more about changes I’ve made in my work & personal life here:

This ‘health’ intention this year was having a reminder around me always. I’d love to share all of my practices on how I work on my mind, body + spirit, there are quite a lot. So I thought I’d share just a few with you..

Mind: Meditation & a Gratitude practice. I’ve shared about my love of gratitude in a previous blog, meditation is such an incredible practice, and it can be 5 minutes or it can be 45 minutes. I’ve studied a little bit of MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Relief) which opened my mind literally, to how often we do things on autopilot and just how unnerving that is for our entire system. Just eating scrambled eggs at a cafe showed me that we can do the simplest tasks and not even be aware if we even enjoy them or not. Just habits… it’s just easier. Reach out if you want me to tell you the scrambled eggs story, I won’t share it here. hahaha But the scrambled eggs example taught me, to pause, to look around for a few seconds, to sit with my back straight, to be present.

Meditation for me teaches me awareness of the present: Look up from your phone, see the leaves on the tree, the ground in front of you as you’re walking, the texture of the sand between your toes, inhale and exhale.

Spirit/Soul: A lot of the above the awareness and the presence in my life has opened up my connection to spirit/soul/self. This openness has allowed my to listen, not with my ears, but with my centre, my gut, my intuition. I use oracle & tarot cards for guidance, but I have learnt to trust me. I work with my values, along my intentions when I’m making a tough decision. I pause and unlike the old me: who would go with it.. even if it was all wrong, I’d work more, harder before I stepped back & asked myself what its I’d really like from that decision. The power is in the pause, the asking my self truly how will this decision impact my life & if I’m still struggling I go to my cards and ask my guides. 

Body: It was getting Glandular Fever about 8 years ago (almost Chronic Fatigue), a shitty result of burning myself out with work and having zero self care practice. This was what pulled me back into my body. I was having a lot of acupuncture for my stress levels & I found restorative yoga. I would do restorative yoga twice a week, boosted with Yoga Nidra a couple of times a week, at the most open & non-judgemental yoga space in Port Melbourne. This practice saved me. I’m not the most active person, so going for a walk around the beach or in the bush is enough for me. For me, exercise is about connection back to my physical body, and yes the fresh air and getting my heart beating is also a great feeling. I’ve always been a massage girl too.. once a month kinda gal, and if it gets to 5 weeks, I struggle. I know I hold my stress and worry in my back and shoulders.. so I have a monthly massage to release the tension, allowing me to get back into my body, into my self. It’s amazing what worries and concerns we hold in our muscles.

These are just a few ways/practices I hold myself to my Intention this year of being Happy + Healthy. What about you? Do you work with intentions? Mantras? Goal setting? I’d love to hear from you: reach out on socials

September Intentions from Magic of I: I found these and thought just how perfect they were to share. If you’re looking for a place to start with intentions: each morning when you wake up, waiting for your coffee or meditating: say the below in your minds eye 3 or 33 times around the below moons. Or choose one and make this your mantra for 33 days. Let me know how you go.

FULL MOON: “ I am alive in this body and grateful that it is my vehicle for making magic”

NEW MOON: “ Self Love is a priority, my routines provide freedom, structure & service”

As I mentioned, one of my self care practices is monthly massages, I’ve been lucky enough, that wherever I’ve lived, I’ve always found the perfect masseuse for me. Remedial is my jam, someone who knows the body, the emotional connection to tension in the body & is happy for me to chat when I’m on the table.

Let me introduce you to Lara from Intune Massage: an incredible remedial massage therapist, an incredible small business owner, and an incredible woman who I’ve been lucky enough to connect with outside of me seeing her for massages. She’s tops. When I chatted to Lara about starting this blog & how I wanted to connect with inspiring women: I thought how perfect to have her as our special guest. Enjoy.

“Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live”. - Jim Rohn
This is one quote that really resonates with me. Yet, so many of us do just the opposite!

After reflecting on my week, my month, my year, the most common issue that pops up in my massage studio, is not actually which muscle hurts the most.... it's EMOTION. Namely, GUILT.Specifically, guilt around self care, and putting oneself first... and the excuses that mask it... “I don't have the time” takes the top spot! Once I dig a little deeper, it is not actually true... they just don't prioritise their self care, be it exercise, stretching, alone-time or their massage. Why? Guilt around not giving that money to their kids, or putting it towards the household, ultimately, that they don’t deserve it...

What has struck me most during my time as a Remedial Massage Therapist, is how the body keeps score. Thoughts create feelings, and feelings are expressed in the body through tension. Over time, these tension patterns start creating restriction, pain, and can lead to injury or dis-ease. Close your eyes and think back to a time when you were particularly stressed. What happened in your body with that memory? Did you furrow your brow? Did your shoulders tense up and move closer to your ears? Did your stomach tighten, or did your breath become shallow? Thoughts become feelings...feelings become actions.

And, side note, women, in particular, are the worst offenders for putting themselves last. There is so much pressure put on the modern day woman... juggling a career and its demands, partner, kids, domestic duties, errands, taxiing around for kid’s activities, iso-life stress/teaching from home, exercise, trying to remain sane and look put together at the end of it!

So many people- and not just women- struggle with spending an hour on themselves, and then wonder why they have nothing left in the tank at the end of a day, a week, a month. Searching for a justification, when they don’t need one! We all spend money on servicing our cars, right? Yet when it comes to our bodies, it comes waaaayyyy down on the priority list... Our body performs thousands of movements for us every day. It is our duty (yes our duty(!) and our gift to ourselves) to give back to it. Just as they say on the plane: “Fit your own oxygen mask first before helping others”. After all, how helpful can you actually be, if you have nothing left in the tank for your own health?

It's encouraging to see the paradigm slowly shifting over the years: more and more people are acknowledging that massage is now a part of their maintenance routine, and not seen as a luxury.

The biggest thing to remember is that massage alone is not a silver bullet, and I am not here to 'fix' you. My job is to help your body, help itself. It really is an incredible machine! I really like to empower my clients with knowledge; of what their body is doing to compensate for it's postural or habitual idiosyncrasies, and how to help correct those imbalances that form over time, with education, stretches and exercises.

Every body will need a few different modalities and habits in their ‘Wellness Tool Kit’.

I am a huge advocate of resistance and weight-bearing exercise to keep muscles toned and healthy, yoga to stretch and lengthen muscles, develop proprioception, body awareness and the ability to isolate muscle groups. In addition, a 'tune up' at the Osteopath every 2 months or so is a great way to stay in balance. For those tough to get spots, releasing general muscle tension, and rehabilitation, Remedial Massage is a great way to release the body’s soft tissues, restore range of motion, improve movement and reduce pain. I recommend at least a monthly maintenance massage, or a course of weekly treatments if there is something specific that needs a bit more attention. Over time, it helps to correct poor posture patterns, thus increasing freedom of movement and reducing or eliminating pain! Sound good?

So... once you've given yourself a good talking to, and put YOU back at the top of the list (and no, that is definitely NOT selfish – it's necessary), then you can put together your own little 'Wellness Tool Kit'. If you don't know what works for you and your body, try a few different things. A good starting point is yoga. Number one, it teaches body awareness. Equally first, it gives a great stretch! I personally love Yin Yoga... it gives the body a really deep release, right into the deep connective tissues around our joints. Further nourish your muscles and have a massage.. maybe try a relaxation massage if you're not used to being touched, or need to work yourself up to the deeper Remedial style. Eat well, and nurture your soul with a meditation practise, a beach walk or a hot bath. These are all great starting points.

A great way to kick off your self care routine is a 3-5 minute calming stretch after work. I find that clients with an office job, or those who do a lot of driving, over time, develop similar tension patterning to myself. When we sit for long periods, our bodies naturally contract through the front muscles and connective tissues: 'Laptop neck' stretches forward, hunched, tight chest, rounded shoulders, tight hip flexors, quads and hamstrings, sore lower back, and possibly a headache. Sound familiar?

The Psoas (also a major hip flexor). Releasing this major muscle is key to relieving lower back pain. (photo courtesy of yogauonline)

So, with all that said, may you enjoy putting your guilt aside, and start giving back to yourself. Enjoy the journey of compiling your 'Wellness Kit', your body deserves it! Yes, you deserve to live a full and active life! After all, it's the only place we have to live.

About Lara: “I have a passion for anatomy and biomechanics, and the interconnectivity of the body-mind. I love the creativity of ‘problem solving’ in massage – working out how to achieve the best results for each and every client. The outcome you can achieve with massage, making such a profound impact upon a person’s quality of life for the better, is deeply satisfying; I love to help people heal, and I find using a combination of remedial techniques and a nurturing, intuitive touch, brings the ‘best of both worlds’ to my massages.”

If you’re in Newcastle NSW, you’re in luck: find out more about Lara or book with her at the link below