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Sobriety, The SMART Way!

WHY I Hike & WHY You Should Too!

WHY I Hike & WHY You Should Too!

There is an understated simplicity of hiking. One foot presses on in front of the other. Eyes scan the path for our foothold, then into the distance and our surrounds taking in the environment. The sounds of the forest, beach or parks reach our ears in a song of birds, beach waves crashing or wind through the trees. We are interconnected with the world around us and melt into the web. Nature walks aka hiking, is our place to reset. Our primal nature that lies deep in our DNA

Post Traumatic Growth

Post Traumatic Growth

In recent conversations with friends, colleagues and clients there has been a commonality that has arisen on each occasion, that of trauma and how we identify with it, overcome and view the event and ourselves after. You may have heard the term PTSD- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Many servicemen such as my father suffer this debilitating condition after returning from war, others witness to accident, victim of crime or a number of other deeply upsetting events that occur th

Secret Sauce

Secret Sauce

What is the secret sauce to longevity? Attending a funeral yesterday and listening to the family speak of the 98 year old's vigour, zest for life and his innate connection with nature, it made me reflect on my own mortality and the legacy that I would too, will one day leave behind. What is it that enables some to live a long fruitful life and others burden with disease and a life cut short? On the back of last weeks Journal, Longevity, this week I have presented some reflect

The Non-Diet Approach

The Non-Diet Approach

What does “you are what you eat’, “good food – good mood” mean to you? Is it an ethical choice, or do you feel it’s the next diet fad? Post Paleo movement; there is any wonder to be so confused. Contradictory evidence to support claims of optimal human nutrition. “Eat this, avoid that.. “ With so many mixed messages as to what we should be eating, it’s hard to see the forest through the trees. Sadly, it’s the business potential behind a large portion of these nutritional clai

Shift Perspective

Shift Perspective

It become apparently clear to me this week that regardless of our upbringing, our siblings don't share the same perspective on many things, outlook on life being number one. Is the cup half full or half empty kinda thing.. Holism is the theory that all things are interconnected. As such as we get older and take lessons from our younger days these intermingle with experiences that we uniquely take as we traverse this life game. Our beliefs and values change overtime and its of

8 Ways To Clear The Internal Clutter

8 Ways To Clear The Internal Clutter

Our thoughts, when internally collected and ruminated, can be likened to Aunt Edna’s house where an inch of the carpet can’t be seen through her excessive hoarding. Many of the collections of things in Edna’s’ house, are old, collecting dust and stagnant. They serve no purpose and some not recognizable and others can’t be seen at all BUT they sure are contributing to the clutter. One by one, as we clear out the clutter, we gain control of the racing mind and start to gain cla

Love + Bark

Love + Bark

Given it was Valentine’s day yesterday and there is a whole lotta love and devotion, not to mention chocolate, and cut flowers (you know they die when you cut them right?!Buy a plant instead) going around on socials, and in stores, I thought what better time than to look at ways we can cultivate a little self-love. What is self-love? Not the narcissistic, egotistical characteristics. The nurturing and kindness that we often neglect to reflect in. Self-love is being compassion

Sole to Soul- Primal Connection Through Barefoot Walking

Sole to Soul- Primal Connection Through Barefoot Walking

Sitting down with a friend yesterday to plan our Winter Wellness Weekend has me all excited to unfurl some techniques to deepen our connection with nature. As I rushed out the door, late to meet her, I realized only when I had got to the café that I hadn’t worn shoes. Yes, I am that barefoot gypsy you see running around, my soles un-insulated, however I choose to be this way. WHY? By consciously spending time connected to nature, we reclaim the intimate awareness through enga

Top Tips For The New Year

Top Tips For The New Year

Happy New Year!! Welcome to 2019 - the year of taking control of your life, making better choices to live healthier and happier! We all start the New Year with some sort of belief or false confidence that the welcoming in of a new day will bring magical changes our shitty habits. All well intended, the overzealous commitment to completely overhauling diet, exercise and lifestyle will not happen overnight! Good News is it will happen if you have deep rooted desire, intention a

Reflection & Top Reads

Reflection & Top Reads

What a year, energetically and emotionally! I’ve heard from many of you that it has been quite a year of self-reflection, growth, changes and challenges. Life is in constant flux however, it is how we approach and overcome these difficulties, which speak attest our true characteristics. I had often felt alone in my pain experienced over the years. I knew I had support of my family and friends however, I remind myself that we are all forging our way through dark times and one

Imagine That– A Framework To Live A Life Of Vision

Imagine That– A Framework To Live A Life Of Vision

Imagine your best life. What does it look like? What would it take to get you there? Is it realistic? Having a clear vision of your life with unique goals framed around what you want to achieve, determines your ideal reality and allows you to map the steps to achieve it! Travel goals Nutrition goals Lifestyle changes This framework can be modelled around your unique vision! A life without a trail map or devoid of purpose can invoke feelings of aimlessly lost adrift in the aby

Positively Wired

Positively Wired

WHAT does it mean to be positively wired and WHY is it so important? Let’s unpack it shall we? Positively wired to me is essentially practicing positive psychology, reinforcing the positive aspects of self to boost confidence and self-belief. Strengthening these aspects allows us to live our best version in life. This isn’t to say that we should ignore, negate or avoid focus on the in unfavourable or neutral traits we possess but to identify and develop ways to build these al

Real & Raw

Real & Raw

Today I wasn’t myself. This morning I woke up and it was like I hit every branch of a cranky tree on the way down from the very top branches. I can often shake it, yet today, being human, it was one of those days! I advocate Mindfulness so on days when I just feel shitty, am emotionally re-active and lash out, I spiral into self-negativity, self-doubt and guilt; not very mindful right?! Usually when I feel days like this, I can usually take myself out for a long walk, run a b

10 WAYS to get the kids Outdoors & WHY its so important!

10 WAYS to get the kids Outdoors & WHY its so important!

Exploring nature with our children and those whom we have a significant influence over, think nephews nieces or younger cousins is crucial to their well-being, as it is yours! Teaching our kids to get outdoors, disconnect from technology and the over stimulation that our society places on them instills a sense of self-care and creates a ' time out' that allows them to engage their sense of exploration, both in body and mind. Activities that are centered on immersing themselv

How Not To Die

How Not To Die

*Disclaimer- I took this title from Dr Michael Greger's book - How Not To Die which is an incredibly insightful book about common diseases and how these can be prevented through plant based Nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices. If you have read it and want to live well, read it. Dr Greger is the founder of Nutritionfacts.org * Such a title is a little dramatic however, the truth of it is we are all dying. My thoughts journalled this week is a pragmatic approach about how

An Engaging Title...

An Engaging Title...

Constant demands for our attention; Look here, buy this, share this. Bright red to grab your attention, Green to promote health.. Our senses are dealt with a serious blow daily. Flashing, moving, sounds. Anything that grabs our attention then we are off onto the next dopamine hit, wherever that may come from. Social Media? Someone likes your post, page or comments on your picture. What does all this mean? Have you stopped for a minute to look beyond the screen and connect wit

Who's your top 5?

Who's your top 5?

Last weeks journal touched on the long known idea that suggests we are the top 5 people we spend our time with. It is an interesting concept when you think about it. We unassumingly adopt another persons behaviours as our genetic disposition triggers a primal element within our psyche, that we need to act, feel and behave the same to survive. Whilst this was true for an ancestors in the paleolithic era, the same cannot be said for now. We have developed socially, emotionally

The Power of Giving

The Power of Giving

'The best gift is giving from your heart' * The image above capture the living conditions of the poorest in Cambodia. The floods wipe out their homes and the unsanitary conditions create life threatening health issues. * Through giving, we enrich our own lives and the lives of others. Social Psychologists have found that people's sense of happiness is greater when they spend relatively more on others than on themselves. The Dalai Lama observes that happiness does not come fro

A frame work for Mindful living

A frame work for Mindful living

Xin; the Chinese word meaning Head-Heart. This philosophy is that we each have a rational mind in which we make decisions and our hearts full of emotion and instinctual knowing. In certain situations you may lead with either your head or your heart however it is imperative that we utilise both heart and mind to make a good decision. One balances the other. When we make decisions with our heart, emotions can taint the truth. They are reactive and unpracticed responses which do

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