From Bars to Bikram - Transition into the new modern - YOU (Part 2)

"From Bars to Bikram Part 1" was all about the tools to bring you clarity within yourself: through meditation, mindfulness practice and yoga. Check it out if you haven't already. By incorporating these things into your daily routine you are going into phase 1 of getting in touch with the gold that lives within yourself. Part 2 is all about using that gold to create abundance and great things in your external world.

What you focus on increases - Andy Andrews

What you think you become - Buddha

What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve - Napolean Hill

Do any of these sound familiar to you? Understanding and grasping this concept: that your mind is the most important tool to creating your experience of the world - is the key to living a life of whatever you wish. As mentioned in Part 1, we can find ourselves swimming in “mental muck” and in turn finding a whole lotta crap showing up in our lives as well. What if we were to take that concept and turn it into the positive for ourselves? We all have the power. Here are the tools of the trade in manifesting the great things in life:

Positive Affirmations

I want you to PUT good things in your life. It's as simple as that. Grab a journal, grab a pen and get positive, over and over and over. I first came across how to do affirmations PROPERLY upon reading Louise Hay’s “How to Heal Your Life”. Prior to then, I had tried to do these "affirmations" I had heard of, gave a half assed and cynical attempt then got frustrated when it did NOTHING (what do you think I ended up creating more of!). It was only when I became open with the idea that we have some pure personal power within that I started to truly use it and see the power affirmations can have. I know I keep going on about Miranda Kerr but I adore her and in her book "Treasure Yourself", she too, puts half the book's emphasis on positive affirmations and how it helped her career. Your subconscious is an incredibly powerful thing, whatever you put in it, is what comes out. Nothing is left to chance, what you actively do or dont think will be represented in your life (I know this might scare some people). Look at what’s around you, I mean REALLY look. The chair you're sitting on, the computer or iPhone your reading this from - they were created first with a THOUGHT that started in the mind, and through action was brought into reality. Beautiful, ugly, messy, sharp. Everything starts in the mind first. Everything we experience is interpreted through the mind. So let's get cracking and proactive to bring some positivity to life! 

How to do it: 

1. First we have to choose something we would like in our lives. I find the best place to start is rewriting the beliefs we have of ourselves. Where do your insecurities lie? What beliefs do you hold of yourself that are holding you back? Sometimes all you need is a little self love. Louise Hay gives us the most simple and useful place to start affirmations - "I love and approve of myself" . Once you've got that part sorted you might start to feel the other areas that might need attention ie. "I am discovering new meaning in my life" or "Everything I do turns into success"

2. Make sure your affirmation is present tense, positive and precise (clear). See examples above.

3. The aim of affirmations is to introduce positive concepts into your reality. Now find a quiet spot and start! Buy a journal especially for your affirmations. Give yourself at least 10 minutes  and write it out about 20 times. Try to remain calm and focussed on what you are writing, dont think about anything else. Practice daily, and I find the best time is in the morning. Now let go, know the universe has heard you, and keep living. You'll be surprised.

Here are some more awesome links on positive affirmations

http://www.thewellnesswarrior.com.au/2012/02/are-you-positive-how-and-why-affirmations-work/

http://www.louisehay.com/affirmations/ 

There is also some great tips in "Treasure Yourself" by Miranda Kerr

Louise Hay with Miranda Kerr

Gratefulness

If you realised just how lucky you are, no matter what your circumstance, you would never be unhappy. There is always someone worse off than you. Just by knowing this, you should realise the power you have to be more than what you are, and create more than what you think. Stephen Covey gives us a great recommendation to read: "Man's Search for Meaning", by Viktor Frankl, who recounts the physical and mental torture of being prisoner of war in the Nazi Germany concentration camps. They stripped these prisoners of their identity, of their families. Throughout the book is a search for freedom that lives within, no matter what another person does to you. Being thankful for the things in your life, no matter how small is your freedom & your way to grow more of it. Just as what you focus on increases, what you are thankful for increases. The attitude of gratitude will get you very far.

How to do it: Practice. Every moment. The best place to start is by taking some quality time out, to write out at least 10 things you have been thankful for in the day. That day specifically. You may want to do a wholistic one on all the things you are thankful for in your life first. But the daily practice of finding things in every moment to be grateful for is what is most important. This is how you develop the attitude and the habit of being eternally grateful. Life changes when the way you see the world changes.

Putting trust in life

"Oh God! Noo! Last time I did that this happened and it was terrible I'm going to just shut myself off from that forever now!" Quit it. Launch on in again to whatever scares you. Have you ever been in a situation that at the time seemed TERRIBLE but then you looked back and went, whoa I actually learnt an incredible lot from that, I wouldnt be the same today if I hadnt have tried that. Never be afraid, I can promise you that life loves you. All life wants you to do is WAKE UP and LIVE IT. Take a chance, take a risk. Whatever is in your heart will be supported if you just trust.  

How to do it: Set yourself a challenge and go for it. Identify what scares you and then DO IT. It's all about living in the now to reap out the greatest benefits. If you havent read it already go get yourself a copy of Eckhart Tolle's: The Power of Now

I know for a lot of people, this kinda talk is all woo woo and wee wahh. But let me give you a challenge:

Do your positive affirmations

Practice the gratefulness exercise 

Live in the powerful perfect present with no fear

For at least 21 days straight. See what happens ;)

x o x

Get Your Groove On: Motivation 101

Whether it be getting out of bed earlier in the morning, getting your ass up off the couch to go exercise, sticking to your healthy meal plans - how are your goals going? If you have goals but find yourself regularly losing motivation along the way - have a read - maybe your motivation tactics need some tweaking!

Forms of motivation are effective in different ways for every-body! Motivation is your forward propelling MEANS to get to where you want to be. We have Extrinsic & Instrinsic motivation. We have positive thinking and coercive thinking. We can manipulate our own human nature to whip our own ass towards whatever we want! Whoever wants it most - gets it!!

Let's take a brief look at what each means:

Extrinsic motivation - Show me the money!! This basically means you are driven by things outside of yourself - ie tangible rewards (money, cars, homes etc) External pleasures

Intrinsic motivation - Means you are motivated by things that bring you saisfaction inside, the things that continually bring you joy. Being intrinsically motivated is you moving towards what your soul finds gratification in.

Positive reinforcement vs Coercive (negative and self whipping) thinking - This is a battle many of us don't quite know which is best to grasp, but I can ASSURE you, that it is always best to stick to the positives. If motivation is your propellor to your goal - then you need to lift higher, not drag yourself back under. Positive reinforcement is about opening our minds to every possibility and recognising our strengths as OURS and that they are INCREDIBLE. To put our weaknesses in front of us, compare ourselves to others and where we "should" be rather than what we CAN be, we're pretty much setting ourselves up for failure. We might get a little further ahead than where we were, only to discover we reel back into old habits, because we held the BELIEF that we were never good enough in the first place.

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) studies tell us that we are better off having a mix of Intrinsic Motivation coupled with Positive Thinking to be able to achieve deeply satisfying goals that grow and are long lasting. If you’re excited about having money or other extrinsic rewards, but it means giving up what you’re truly passionate about - then you are more likely to at some point be left with a very empty feeling inside and you will always be searching for greener grasses. Likewise, if you tell yourself you’re a piece of poop and not good enough to try encourage yourself to a higher ground – guess what! You’ll more than likely stay at that crappy level and never go beyond the the limitations your set for yourself.

So what gets you going? What resonates with you? Sometimes we are just so full of negative talk it actually drains the natural motivation and spark that we all hold inside. We all hold fear – just let it go. Here are some ways to get your groove back and be totally motivated. DAILY

1. Make an effort to overcome your fears – success reaps success. When you start to see that you actually CAN overcome your fears, confidence grows and you start snowballing on the success factor. Don’t be afraid to step out and be you, ever. If you make a mistake – learn from it and keep focussing on the positive.

Daily motivation exercise – Start off small. It first takes recognising WHAT you’re scared of, recognising the solutions and steps that need to occur – and then ACTING on them (Just DO It). Ie (small example) Stepping into your very first PUMP class at the gym. What are you really scared of? Is it really going to be that bad? Jump on in there and be OPEN to whatever happens. Life supports you and your goals.

2. Make yourself some positive affirmations - It might feel silly at first, but positive affirmations actually do work. Our brains are like mega computers, what we feed into them, whether we believe what we’re writing or not – programs them! We pick up data every day, and it’s how we interpret that is how we experience it. Whatever you put your attention on, reaps the result that is going to come into fruition.

Daily motivation exercise – Choose an affirmation. It has to be clear, current and celebratory. Ie. “I accept and receive all good things that come my way.” When you are alone, peaceful and focussed, write out your affirmation 20 times in a diary. I have even set myself some reminders on my mobile so that every morning at 7am I am greeted with a friendly “I live in the powerful perfect present”. What you focus on increases.

3. Have a goal - & put it in front of you. Everywhere. Remember – Intention, Attention, No Tension. Be CLEAR about the intention, GIVE IT DAILY YOUR ATTENTION, and do it all with no tension (don’t hold on so tight to that steering wheel). Just like the affirmations, what you focus on increases. If your goals and passions are in front of you, you will be more drawn to them and not let them get lost amongst the other muck in your head! We get so clouded sometimes with other thoughts we just forget what we’re actually trying to achieve in life, and easily fall into autopilot. Take the reigns of your life!

Daily motivation exercise – Get a white board and state your goals clearly. Stick it up in front of your bed and wake up to your goals every morning, Make your goals your Desktop setting, print it and put it in a photo frame to keep on your desk, stick them on your bathroom mirror, keep them on flash cards in your wallet. Then every time you MAKE A DECISION – you can ask yourself whether your action is going to be in line with your goals – BECAUSE THEY ARE RIGHT THERE.

4. Know yourself! - Realise what makes you tick, what gets you going. What’s your motivational song, motivational YouTube clip, the thoughts that make you feel love and inspired. Who is the person you always wanted to be? Do it for the child in you that dared to dream.

Daily motivation exercise – Sign yourself up to affirmation and inspiration pages. Depending on your goal there are loads of items on the net to get that heartbeat ticking. Is there a person in your life that inspires you? Hold something of theirs close to you. Look back into the past and see the things that have always made you feel good. The magic you seek is within your reach

5.   Celebrate your strengths & focus on the positives – Losing sight is easy, when you’re drawn there by human nature. Don’t stay there. That is the fear bubble sucking you in. Being grateful gives you more of what you love, and recognising your strengths grows more of that in the long run too

     Daily motivation exercise – At the end of each day:

1. Write out 10 things you did SPECIFICALLY that day that made you appreciate yourself

2. Write out 10 things you were SPECIFICALLY grateful for that day. Ie. I am grateful for act of kindness from the stranger who held the lift for me.

Repeat daily for at least 21 days

6.   Dream big – Sometimes you don’t know just how great things can be because you havent been there before. But what would happen if you strived to create new benchmarks. Happiness levels soaring past 110% . Life is supporting you every step of the way, as soon as you realise that and trust in the process of life, the better life will be.

Daily motivation exercise - Make yourself a vision board today!  Yes, that's my vision board at the top of this post (uhm embarrassing but it’s here to get you thinking). I thought about what I REALLY wanted in life, downloaded Picasa, spent hours trawling through pictures and quotes that “spoke” to me, and here is the final product.

At the end of the day, you’re the only one who’s going to get you there. Take action DAILY. Right now. What’s the first step. Life is an incredible journey.

MAKE IT HAPPEN

JUST DO IT

BE FEARLESS

xx

Listen up! I'm telling you that you're RIGHT

Do you rely on circumstance to tell you what you do and don't need? Whether it be influential advertising, or reactions from others or just doing whatever everyone else is doing at the time? I'm here to tell you that many many many of the answers you need for a rich and happy life are all within yourself and are most definitely within your reach.

We all have intuition to listen to, and signals being passed to us every day. I am a firm believer that if we ignore warning signals we're being given - life will give us one big whopping lesson because we NEED it, and we're inadvertently faced with a big whinging "WHYYYY!" when the lesson hits us. I have learnt the hard way many times :) but I have also come to realise that life only does it because it loves you, so I am only ever grateful for these lessons. Once we get over our self pity and look back, we can see that had have we just listened to the initial warning signals, gotten out of auto pilot and taken some time to listen to ourselves, many many problems we feel and face could have been avoided.

Few people know that I had an arrythmia of the heart from a young age. The start of my SVT (supaventricular tachi cardia - the name of my arrythmia) came on at 14. I was sitting there in class as a year 9-er and all of a sudden I got light headed and my heart skipped into the arrythmia which felt like a fluttering whirr rather than a normal beat. The dr's gave me a monitor to wear which found out when I slipped into an attack my heart was beating at 250 beats per minute! This went on and off randomly for about 8 years until I got a procedure done in 2009 to burn out the extra circuit in my heart that was causing it. It was Dave who started talking to me about the possibility that the start of this ailment could have been related to other things going on at that time in my life, and attacks which occurred were in line with when the problem needed to be addressed.

Alternative health studies from the likes of Louise Hay, author of "How to Heal Your Life" and Brandon Bays, author of "The Journey" place emphasis on looking at the diagnosis of health issues by looking at the human as a WHOLE - your ailment is just a symptom of something in you that is much much deeper. To treat only the ailment and with perscription drugs is sort of like scraping the surface of an ice berg. It's likely if the deeper issue isn't addressed it will just manifest itself some other way. Are you holding onto resentment of any sort? How much self worth do you place on yourself? How much do you love what you are doing? Are you living your life's purpose? At times the physical issues we are facing are the symptom of something much deeper which is in need of resolve.

Going on to looking at our country and it's health as a whole, there are a few statistics and findings regarding Australian health I'd like to share:

• 75% of the Australian population reported in the 2007-2008 National Health Survey that they had one or more long term medical condition. EVEN THOUGH A MAJORITY OF AUSTRALIANS REPORTED THAT THEY WERE IN GOOD HEALTH OR BETTER (abs.gov.au).

• AIHW analysis of the 04-05 National Health Survey showed that just over 7 million people have at least 1 chronic condition, and the proportions having a condition increase with age, as do the proportions of people reporting more than one chronic condition http://www.aihw.gov.au/chronic-diseases/ 

• Ischaemic heart diseases were the leading cause of death for both males and females in 2009, with 12,047 and 10,476 deaths respectively (abs.gov.au). Cancers, lower respiratory problems and strokes followed not far after. Cardiovascular disease, including stroke and high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and many cancers could be delayed or prevented through attention to the foods we eat and how we live (www.csiro.au)

• 55 per cent of adults are overweight or obese and older Australians (55 years plus) have gained 6-7 kg over the last 20 years. (www.csiro.au)

The above is quite baffling given that we live in a country of rich resources, an advanced medical care system, fresh food available and regulated EVERYTHING for the general public - don't you think? So if we have everything in place to support our fair country and it's people, why are our preventable illness numbers so high? If we could individually make the choices that would prevent illness occurring, just why wouldn't we?

I want to show you that you know a heck of a lot more about looking after yourself than you might realise. Take this little questionnaire as taken from "Wellness Workbook" by Regina Sara Ryan and John W.Travis (MD):

REMEMBERING WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW

1.1 As quickly as you can, list the words, phrases or images that come to mind when you think of illness. ILLNESS IS:

1.2 Now do the same for wellness. WELLNESS IS:

Look back at what you have recorded

2. Go on now to recall what you know about encouraging wellness

2.1 What I would like to eliminate, do less, use less etc. to be more well:

2.2 What I would like to encourage, do more, use more etc, to be more well

Look back over what you have written

3. Make one small choice for change

3.1 What is one step you can take today to eliminate what you don't like?

3.2 What is one step you can take today to encourage what you feel good about?

4. Congratulate yourself

Let's celebrate living a little by being proactive with our health. It's not ALL about weight loss, it's about being the best we were born to be and living this life to the fullest.

From here you might want to start the ball rolling with some more deeper questions for yourself - have a go at answering them and see what you come up with. You might be surprised :)

Trust yourself and your intuition.

X

For the Foodies

Who says you can't be going "mmmmm" the whole way through eating foods that are really good for you! I have been loving making super tasty meals for my friends as of late. Using only ingredients that benefit your insides.

Most of the creations are based on recipes from Chef Kate (Chef to the stars including Miranda Kerr) who I was lucky enough to meet at the Kora Organics breakfast last year. Chef Kate's recipes have been adapted to the dietary needs of superstars who require to keep their bodies in peak form for their image. She is releasing a book soon with Miranda Kerr's Mum and I cannot wait til it hits the shelves.

Let me show you what I've been busting out in the kitchen in the last couple of weeks.

MACADAMIA, HERB & QUINOA (Pronounced keen-wah) CRUSTED LAMB LOINS WITH ROAST VEGGIES

Ok, the pics make this dish look like a mess, but the flavours all worked really well together and was oh so delightful. My friend Jason kindly supplied the wine which worked great with the meal as well - Memento - an exclusive Sangioese and Syrah blend (woo go Jase!)

The food yard at Freo Markets had all the ingredients needed for this recipe in the one convenient location! Clara's sells a range of organic alternative ingredients, which included Macadamia nut butter & agave syrup that was required for this recipe. Alternative ingredients can be quite exxy but once you have them they are there for you to use when you want to whip up an impressive and healthful meal.

A lamb dish was at my friend Jason's request but you can use chicken or any meat you like really. I try and stay away from red meat normally as it doesn't digest very well - but like with anything, going outside the rules every once in a while is OK.

Ingredients:

6 lamb loin chops (or 2-4 halved chicken breasts)

Batter

1 cup Macadamia nut butter
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbs coconut oil
Celtic sea salt to taste
Ground pepper

Crust

1 cup ground Macadamia nuts
1 cup cooked quinoa (cook 1 cup raw - there will end up being more than 1 cup once cooked but use leftovers for quinoa salad)
Sea salt to taste
Ground pepper to taste
Fresh basil leaves, chopped

Veggies

You can use any veggies you like for roasting. I used: Courgettes (mini eggplants), tomato, capsicum, portobello mushroom and broccolini

I bought some Goats cheese Haloumi to sprinkle on top as well.

Instructions

Pre heat your oven to 200 degrees (fan forced). In a deep baking dish place your chopped veggies and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Make your batter simply by stirring all the batter ingredients together and in a separate bowl prepare your crust by mixing all the crust ingredients together. Start by dipping each portion of meat into the batter then into the crust and well coated. Make sure you really press the crust in there! Once all portions have been thoroughly coated you want to pan fry them in coconut oil first 3 minutes each side. Once you've done that, transfer into the baking dish on top of the veggies. Put some haloumi on top if you wish. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes. There will be some leftover Quinoa so you can make a quinoa salad with any leftover batter and some more basil leaves. Serve!

COCONUT, LIME BLANC SAUCE CHICKEN WITH SWEET POTATO CHIA MASH & ARUGULA SALAD

Blanc Sauce:
1 TBS Coconut oil - 1/2 cup shallots - 1/2 cup white wine (there is an ORGANIC and beautiful wine here: http://organic-1.com/) / 1/2 cup un-sweetened coconut milk - 1 TBS Braggs Liquid Aminos (similar to Soy Sauce but minimal processing) - 2 egg yolks -1/4 tsb tumeric - 1 tsp lime zest / 1 tsp celtic sea salt / ground pepper / fresh lime juice

Heat the coconut oil in a medium pan on medium heat and cook the shallots for 1 minute (dont brown). Add wine, coconut milk, Braggs then reduce hear to medium and stir often until the liquid has reduced by half. Whisk in egg yolks. Add tumeric lime zest, salt, pepper and whisk constantly until sauce thickens. Remove from heat & add lime juice.
Chicken:
I like to keep this pretty simple - get 2 chicken breasts, cut in half and then pan fry in 1 TBS of Coconut Oil. Cook until there's no pink in the middle. Pour Blanc sauce over chicken

Arugula salad:
Arugula (rocket leaves) - lime juice of 1 fresh lime - 1 TBS Braggs Liquid Aminos - 1 TBS coconut oil - 1/2 cup chopped shallots.

All you have to do is mix it altogether in a bowl!

Sweet potato chia mash:1/2 cup chia gel (to prepare and have handy - soak 1 cup chia in 3 cups water in an airtight container - chia will go gel like with all the nutrients busting out) - 2 small sweet potatoes (chopped) - 1/2 cup coconut milk - 1 TBS Braggs Liquid Aminos - 1/2 cup shallots

Boil the sweet potato for about 10 minutes until soft. Mash it up with the help of the coconut milk and Braggs liquid aminos until at the consistency you prefer. Stir in shallots and chia.

To serve: Lay out your arugula salad, place chicken on top, pour over sauce and serve the mash on the side. This one was a hit and my friend re made it for their sister. Both impressed.
Coconut oil - The benefits are far and wide. Don't be fooled by the saturated fat labelling, the sat fat in coconut oil is a medium chain fatty acid and your body treats it differently to your standard sat fat. Just don't go overboard with your daily intake. Coconut oil helps your skin glow, aids digestion, raises metabolism & has antifungal properties.

SUPER FOOD BROWNIES

I'd hope after you try these bad boys you'll never want to have to touch another chocolate bar ever again!

Ingredients:
Goji berries (Mega antioxident)

Raw Cacao powder (Antioxident, mood elevator, key nutrients)

10 medjool dates (Natural fibre)

1 TSP Spirulina (B Vitamins, Iron, Protein, long list of minerals & nutrients)

1 TSP Maca Powder (Hormone balancing)

1/2 cup raisins (natural energy)

1/2 cup almonds (Vitamin E, healthy fats)

Coconut oil (boost metabolism & aid digestion, glowing skin)

Dessicated coconut / crushed almonds  / extra goji berries (to decorate - optional)

Literally just blend all the ingredients together, roll out onto a rolling board and either make them into balls or cut with a cookie cutter, then coat with your decoration of choice. They might come out a little sticky and if so thats where your granulated toppings come in handy (ground almonds/any kind of nuts).

FINAL FOOD FOR THOUGHT

EAT MINDFULLY - If you're focussing on other things while your eating, you might find yourself getting food amnesia. Meaning - you were not present while you were eating and therefore you did not register 100% the taste and process of eating and therefore you may be more likely to reach for more food mindlessly shortly after. Unfortunately calories do add up & so we have to be quite mindful of what's going in and listen to what our bodies actually want and need at that time. That requires being present. When you eat, don't do it while you're working, while your on Facebook, or anything that requires you to be focussed on something other than the taste, texture, smells and process of whats going in. I can guarantee you'll enjoy your food a heck of a lot more too! You will notice the fullness it creates and acknowledge that you are now fulfilled. By choosing the right foods too you will discover a great sense of gratitude while your eating, by knowing how great the food your putting in is going to be to your body. If you're wanting to kill a hunger pang, try drinking water first, as our bodies sometimes think we are hungry when actually we're just dehydrated.

SHARING IS CARING - While cooking these dishes, just knowing how nourishing they are for the body and being able to share it with my friends has given me the greatest buzz. I guess coming from an Italian background where the family events were revolved around food and coming together as a family might have something to do with that. Too often we can opt to do the usual outings with our pals, and walk away feeling like we have "seen" our buddies but maybe not necessarily had a chance to really connect with them. Dining in this way brings out great conversation & a sense of giving and sharing. Cook offs can be a lot of fun, especially when they are new creations only using foods that nourish the mind, body & soul. I encourage you to cook healthy meals with your buddies!

BON APPETIT!

xx