11:11 Health and Wellbeing

When I stepped outside my comfort zone

I am a huge believer in the power of stepping outside your comfort zone. This is where the most personal growth is found, and it is often surprising what you find once you take that first step.

My belief comes from my personal experience. About 2 years ago, I was presented with the opportunity to travel to South Africa to complete my yoga teacher training. I had been looking for a teacher and training course for a while and nothing was falling into place. Either the dates didn’t align or the teachings didn’t fit my personal style. Out of the blue, I received an email which started with the words ‘this may sound crazy, but how about you join me in South Africa for teacher training?’

I had to read this email several times, which was from my lovely teacher Rachel Zinman. She laid out the broad details and offered to help me make the arrangements to join her training in the Western Cape of South Africa in approximately 4 weeks time. I was excited by the idea, but then my mind got to work, coming up with all the reasons why I shouldn’t travel.

My family needed me – turns out they can survive 3 weeks without me
I’d just started a new job, it wouldn’t be right – my bosses reply was ‘of course you said yes, right?’
My diabetes would make it too hard to find the right food/insulin/physical activity balance – my teacher could do it so why not me?
And the list went on…

After working through all my excuses, none of them were a reason not to go. It turned out it was just fear that was holding me back. The fear of the unknown, the fear I wouldn’t be able to live up to expectations (both mine and others), the fear of what I would do with the training once I completed it.

I knew I could travel alone, I knew I could leave my family, I knew I could manage my diabetes and I knew I was strong enough to deal with challenges as they arose. So, once I was out of excuses, it was time for action and I booked my tickets.

This trip was life changing for me. I learned so much about myself, I met incredibly inspiring people, I experienced the beauty of South Africa and I was emersed in training from my teachers Rachel and her husband John. I am grateful for all the support that I had around me, which made it possible to take a giant leap outside my comfort zone.

The picture on our website is the sunrise I woke up to on one of my first days in South Africa. It is a constant reminder to me of this experience and what can happen when you trust in yourself. Now I want to share this with others, to empower them so that they can see what is waiting for them outside their comfort zone.

I invite you to take a step outside your comfort zone, you never know what you will find.

Who are you?

When someone asks you, ‘tell me about yourself?’ what do you say? Do you start listing the many roles or titles you have in your life. For example, I am a mum, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a yoga teacher, a life coach, an accountant… the list of roles we hold is very long.

How do you think about yourself internally? Do you identify with even more roles, ones that you don’t want others to know about? I am stressed, I am tired, I cannot live up to expectations… Often internally, we take on roles that are more negative than those we project outwardly and by doing this we limit our beliefs, choices and ability to pursue new opportunities.

For example, when living with a chonic illness, it is easy to use it as an excuse or a reason not to step outside your comfort zone, thinking ‘I can’t beause…’. Believing you can’t do something is self-forfilling, if you believe you can not do something, you will never be able to. For this reason, I never tell people I am a diabetic, I always say I live with diabetes, it is something I have not something that I am.

Do any of your roles really describe you? I have always struggled with the question, who am I? And how do I describe myself to others. Through my yoga practice and teachings of self knowledge from my teachers, I have learnt that I am not the roles that I do or the ones that I give myself internally. Being a mum is something I do and it is very important to me, but it is does not describe who I am.

What if you could shed these roles and see them just as things that you do or things you have or what is important to you. It does not deminish their value, but it frees you from their limitations. Especially when you let go of the roles that have negative feelings or limitations attached.

Think of the freedom this could give you, if you could have separation from your roles and see them as what you have or do, rather than who you are. What could come through then? What opportunities would be available to you?

This freedom would allow for growth and create space for new things to come into your life. You may even be surprised with what comes to you isn’t what you thought you wanted, but is even better than you could have ever imagined. Working with a coach can release you from limiting beliefs caused by identifying with your roles, unlocking your hidden potential and giving you the freedom to reach for your goals and your wildest dreams.

I would love to connect with you, if this has sparked something in you, or if you have a goal that inspires and excites you. Connect with me today.

Do you need a workout buddy?

unrecognizable friends standing closely at sunset in mountains

Keeping motivation high and finding fun in your exercise routine can be invaluable to success. Good intentions and knowing that you ‘should’ do something is never enough to create a lasting lifestyle change. The positive drive from bringing a friend along with you on your exercise journey is amazing. There are so many benefits from teaming up with a friend or family member to be workout buddies, here are three that hold true for me:

Accountability – knowing that someone is waiting for you or they face the workout alone will raise your external motivation. While we are ultimately only accountable to ourselves, externalising your intentions to others is a huge motivator. Generally, we are less likely to let others down, than we are ourselves, as we don’t want to be perceived as a failure or not following through on a promise.

Shared costs – splitting the cost between two or more can help bring the individual cost down, potentially allowing you access to greater training options or additional sessions. A Personal Trainer is an investment in yourself and splitting the costs with another generates greater value from each session. At 11:11, we encourage our clients to partner up with a friend or loved one, with all private sessions available for small groups up to four people.

Connection – close personal connection is so important to our mental health. Along with the endorphins created during exercise, you’ll be giving your mood a double boost by connecting with others during your workout. Working out with others can be great fun, help to deepen your connection and improve your relationship.

Shaun and I are currently doing a Bioblends one teaspoon challenge (no affiliation, just a great example). By doing this together we are keeping each other accountable, it has created healthy competition and shared experiences. It has been fun to share our journey, especially in the first few days while we were getting used to the taste and texture, sharing laughter and jokes along the way.

There are so many benefits from having a workout buddy, friend or family. Can you think of someone who you could share your wellbeing journey with and have some fun along the way? We’d love to hear from you, if you want to join one of our private small group classes, connect with us today.

Winter Nutrition

For those here in Canberra and across the southern hemisphere, winter is starting to roll in. Last week there was foggy mornings with thick frost covering the ground. While it is a beautiful time of year, the cold can go right through you and for many, winter is their least favourite season and can bring on the winter blues.

One thing that really helps me to deal with the winter blues is keeping a consistent routine with my meals and exercise. Making sure my body is getting the nutrients it needs to feel my best, while moving my body each day, is good for both my physical and mental health. Maintaining a healthy diet is vital to keeping healthy throughout winter, by eating foods to support your immune system can help you fight off the cold and flu viruses that circulate more during these colder months.

Drinking enough fluids is a major problem during the winter months as the cold blunts the thirst mechanism. Warm but dehydrating drinks such as coffee and tea are more appealing and actually add to the amount of fluid you need to consume to offset their dehydrating effects. While exercising in winter you need to consciously consume engough fluids to replace the water that gets lost through sweat and breathing. When you breathe in cold air, your body will warm and humidify the air, so as you exhale, you lose fluid that must be replaced.

It is difficult for many people to get enough vitamin D during the winter months due to the limited time in the sun. We are lucky to have many clear days when the winter sun is shining, so rug up and get outside in the sunshine to soak up the sun’s rays.

There is so much that you can do to stay healthy in winter by seeking out nutritious foods. Here are some of my favorite winter foods:

Porridge – It’s always good to start your day with a breakfast that has slow-releasing energy, such as porridge. Oats contain many important nutriants including antioxidants, soluable fiber, vitamins and minerals. Not only will porridge keep you feeling full until lunch, but there’s nothing like warming oats on a cold winter’s morning.

Fruit and Veggies – Seeking out fruit and veggies that are in season will help to get the most nutricianal value. Vitamin C is crucial during the colder months to support your immune system to fighting off viruses. This can be found in plenty of fresh fruit and veg such as citrus fruits, kiwifruit, broccoli, red capsicums and sweet potatoes.

Fish – Fish such as salmon, sardines and tuna are rich in vitamin B12, which contribute to the healthy functioning of the immune system and the reduction in tiredness and fatigue. Fatty fish such as tuna, mackerel and salmon also contain vitamin D that can help for those not getting enough winter sunshine.

Soup – We eat a lot of soups during the winter months. Cooking up a big pot of soup on the weekend makes mid-week lunches or dinners easy. By adding lots of veggies, grains and legumes increases the nutrients you can get from the soup. When we are feeling unwell we cook up a chicken soup with lots of garlic and turmeric, which is the perfect immune booster, and yummy too.

Turmeric tea – traditional tea and coffee can dyhydrate you, so finding a herbal alternative that will warm you up without the dehydrating effects. Jo loves turmeric tea blends, as well as lemon blends. It can be really helpful to brew a large pot of tea to sip on throughout the day, keeping your warm and replacing the fluids in your body throughout the day.

These are just a few of our go to foods for the winter months. We encourage you to try any that appeal to you to support your health during these cold winter months. Keep warm.

Shaun

Exercise as a new Mum

Knowing when to return to exercise after having a baby can be a tricky decision, and it is very much based on the individual. Every body reacts differently to the physical impact of pregnancy and birth, as well as the exhaustion of having a newborn. So, it is important to ease yourself back in and not feel pressured to jump back in too early.

New mums are pulled in so many directions. There is perceived judgement if you are not investing every minute of the day into your newborn. Along with the pressure that can come from the media, where new mum’s “bounce back” with what looks like no effort. As a result, new mums can feel the pressure to get back into a fitness schedule before they are ready.

It is more important to listen to your body and understand what’s right for you, your body and family.

The first step is to get clearance to return to exercise from your doctor. Once you have this, you start with small steps, literally. Day one may be a lap around the block, day two may be 100 laps of the dining room at 3am with an unsettled baby (I’m sure that is an exaggeration, but that’s how Jo felt). It is important to find a balance between healthy movement, self-care and Bub’s needs.

Working with a personal trainer can help you to make the most of the limited time that you do have and to ensure that the exercise program is safe and designed to meet your individual needs. Your personal trainer must monitor your health and post-natal care on a continuous basis, particularly abdominal muscle separation, core stability and pelvic floor function. Safety in training and practice is a fundamental principal at 11:11 and something that is considered during every session.

If leaving Bub is not an option, there are a number of great exercises that can be done to incorporate them. For example find a fellow mum and meet up for a walk and a chat, join in tummy time and do some gentle stretches or alternating arms when carrying your little one.

Having a family is not an excuse to stop you working out, but motivation to be healthy and well.

Finally, be kind to yourself. Being a new mum is tough, your life will have changed completely and forever. On this journey, you will realise that no day is the same and many moments will not go as planned. One day you may get the chance to do a killer workout and the next you may be met with chaos and baby poo, with a workout the furthest thing from your mind. Remember, it’s ok to give yourself grace and start fresh tomorrow.

We would love to connect with you if we can help you on your post-baby journey. Contact us today.

Take care of yourself

Shaun

Checking in

How often do you stop to observe yourself as a whole? As we run through everyday life, with its busyness and distractions, often we forget to check in with ourselves. To observe yourself as a whole: mind, body and spirit. Self observation can tell you so much about your health, stress and mood.

Failing to notice silent stressors allows the body to spend prolonged periods in fight or flight mode (sympathetic nervous system) which can have significant health impacts. While running on the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, your body shuts down vital bodily functions such as digestion, fertility and muscle repair and raises your blood pressure and heart rate.

By simply stopping during the day to observe yourself as a whole can counteract stress and enable you to make conscious choices for your health and wellbeing.

This simple exercise can be done where ever you are and at any time:

Stop and bring your awareness to observe yourself;
Scan the body from the tips of your toes to the crown of your head, noticing any areas of tension that you need to release with mindful relaxation or gentle stretches;
Bring your awareness to your breath. Is it shallow or deep, smooth or rough, in your belly or chest? If you breath is shallow, rough and/or in your chest it is a sign of stress;
Take some long deep conscious breaths, breathing all the way down into your belly and extending your exhale.

This simple exercise can be done throughout the day, in whatever time you have and as often as you catch yourself feeling stress or tension. With practice it will become second nature to observe yourself, release stress and tension from your body.

Deep conscious breathing can elicit your rest and restore (parasympathetic nervous system) which will lower your blood pressure and heart rate, restore your digestion and muscle repair. This practice will bring your body, mind and spirit back into balance.

Next time you catch yourself feeling stressed or rushing through your day, take a few minutes to complete the above exercise and notice the difference it makes to your body mind and spirit.

Recovery

Are you always tired, sore or lacking progress in the gym? If you are, then you may not be over-training, but rather under-recovering! The biggest difference between over-training and progress is how well you recover from your workouts.

Recovery is the most important part of every workout plan. Without proper recovery, all you are doing is breaking your body down. Recovery is where your body repairs and rebuilds itself. To continuously get stronger and make progress towards your health and fitness goals, you need to not only train hard but recover hard. Every progam is not complete without a recovery plan.

Recovery is especially important to protect against overuse injuries. Therefore it is critical for anyone already suffering from overuse to prioritise recovery. Everybody is different and will have different recovery needs. It is important to observe your body’s needs and explore recovery options to see what works best for you.

Post-Workout Stretch

Your workout recovery should start before the workout is complete, by finishing with some mobility and flexibility work. Adding stretching and/or foam rolling for at least 10 minutes to the end of each workout will help keep your muscles and joints healthy while preventing injury. Healthy muscle is both strong and flexible, so don’t skip out on this part.

In addition to your post-workout stretch, a yoga class between workouts as part of your weekly workout plan is the perfect addition to increase your flexibility and recovery.

Get Enough Sleep

Your body needs proper sleep to function properly. While you sleep your body grows and recovers. You can refill depleated fat and glycogen stores (muscle fuel) while you’re awake, but you can only grow and repair muscles while you are asleep.

How much sleep you need depends on many factors. Everyone is different and will require different amounts of sleep to recover from everyday life and the additional stress of exercise. However, generally adults need beteen 7 and 9 hours of quality sleep a night and should wake up feeling refreshed and revived.

Eat For Recovery

Good nutrition is also a vital part of proper workout recovery to get enough calories for your body to rebuild what it has lost during your workout. For most people, eating a healthy balanced diet is enough to recover from a 2-3 workouts a week. However, if you are an athlete or do any form of intense training, then you may have higher needs for nutrients to recover and repair your body.

Eating to recover may be as simple as an additional meal, a pre or post workout snack or larger meal portions throughout the day. It is important to consult a dietician who can provide expert nutrition and diet advice tailored to your needs. Your nutricional intake will be different if you want to build muscle or lose weight.

Planning and preparing nutricional meals and snacks ahead of time can make it easier for you to keep to your plan and make the best choices for your body’s needs.

I hope you can use some of these tips to get the recovery needed to meet your health and fitness goals. Contact us if you would like to discuss how to program recovery into your workout plan.

Exercise your mind and body,

Shaun

Establishing a Daily Yoga Practice

I have been trying for years to establish a daily yoga practice, to deepen my practice, reduce my stress levels and improve my overall health.

When I first tried daily practice I started getting up 15 minutes early to do a dynamic practice of sun salutations, designed to getting my heart rate up and body moving. I stuck with this practice for a while, however I never felt revived from it. I could hear the kids up and about, and most days one of them would end up joining me on the mat (literally lying under me during down dog) or need to ask ‘how long until you can make breakfast?/can I watch TV?What are we doing today?…’. Some days I was more frazzled at the end of practice than I was at the start.

I tried again during lockdown last year while I was working from home. It was so easy, not having to commute meant that I could do a short practice at the end of the day during the time usually spent in the car. Unfortunately when I retuned to the office, this routine was doomed to fail. By the time I got home, it’s nearly dinner time and the kids are excited to tell me about their day, so sneaking away for a yoga practice just didn’t happen.

In between these dedicated attempts I tried scheduling in the diary yoga classes at my local studio along with home practices. For home practice I was using a sequence that I learnt from my teacher, Rachel Zinman, which I really enjoyed and could complete in about 20 minutes. Still this daily practice did not stick, there was often many reasons for why I couldn’t find the time each day.

Then just before Christmas last year, when the kids were on holiday and after school activities had finished, I had a few nights free and did my own practice. Once I was on Christmas break myself, it was easy to find time each day to practice. The weeks went by and I hadn’t missed a day, I was feeling fantastic and optimistic that this habit may finally stick.

During my Yin Yoga Teacher Training in January, I was introduced to a self guided practice by Sarah Owen. This is a lovely approach to practice where you feel into your body and allow it to decide what pose is needed next. By not planning a sequence or deciding in advance what pose to do next, you pause to tune into your body at the end of each pose and then determine what the next pose should be. I started this practice from January and I’m still going strong. Some days my body needs to move in a dynamic practice, other days I need to release in one or two restorative poses followed by a long Savasana. Starting with a short meditation and moving intuitively in line with my body’s needs has been so refreshing and it hasn’t felt like work to maintain.

I believe my daily practice has finally become a sustainable habit because I removed all assumptions and the judgements I had about what my daily practice ‘should’ look like. I have found that practicing after dinner (and clean up), is the best time of day for me. And I let go of the notion that repetition is needed to continue to build my practice up over time. I now see that my obstacles were self imposed and that once cleared, made way for a rewarding, enjoyable and long-term daily practice.

Life Coaching is the perfect tool to work through any assumptions and beliefs that are limiting you. It can clear the obstacles from your path, which you often put there yourself. In coaching sessions you can explore the limitless possibilities available to you to create the life you desire. I really love the coaching process and have personally used it to empower and motivate me to make lasting changes in my life.

Taking yoga off the mat

Do you think yoga is something that you practice while in a class or with dedicated time on your yoga mat? The true practice of yoga goes well beyond those bounds and is integrated into your way of life, your everyday habits, beliefs and behaviours.

When translated from Sanskrit, yoga means union. It is a practice to unite the mind, body and spirit, as well at the individual with the universal consciousness. B.K.S. Iyengar says it beautifully in his book ‘The Tree of Yoga’:

Yoga means union. The union of the individual soul with the Universal Spirit is yoga. But this is too abstract a notion to be easily understood, so for our level of understanding I say that yoga is the union of body with the mind and of mind with the soul.
B.K.S. Iyengar

The practice of yoga is lifelong, a journey of continual learning and discovery. No matter how often you practice or how you choose to practice, you will learn something new in every class and from every teacher, even if the teacher is yourself.

In yoga you are working with your body, to move into the postures (asanas). You generate energy from movement, strength from holding postures and stretch and release through lengthening and compressing your muscles and joints. All of which have immense benefits to your health and wellbeing.

These movements and postures are not confined to the mat or yoga class. You can use these practices in your everyday, to move more, to release tension that builds up and to build a stronger and fitter body to carry you through life. Next time you feel tense or stressed sitting at your computer, try stopping and standing for some gentle movement, take your favourite yoga pose and see how it feels in your body.

Breath is central to the physical practice of yoga (pranayama). If you are not moving with the breath, you are using it to guide you. Your breath is an indicator of your mental and physical state. For example, a shallow or constricted breath can indicate that you are under stress. With breath practices you can assist your body to move out of a stress response into relaxation. Next time you notice yourself in a state of stress, stop and sit quietly taking 5-10 rounds of conscious deep inhales with complete and long exhales. Breathing consciously and fully will tell your body it is okay to relax and reduce your stress response.

There are so many ways that you can integrate the teachings of yoga into your daily life, I could go on for days! But I will leave this blog here and revisit this topic again. Yoga has had a profound impact on my life and I love to share my personal insights and learnings. In my classes I reference simple practices that can be used off the mat as I hope to help my students to find their own way to take yoga off the mat.

Why I Love Coaching

For those who are not familiar with Life Coaching, it is a profession that empowers and inspires clients to set goals, develop action plans, explore their beliefs and values, and enables them to live up to their amazing potential. Coaching is future focussed, it respects your past, but is about taking steps forward toward the future you desire. It is important to note that it is not counselling or therapy.

I first encountered coaching at a leadership training course a few years ago. It quickly became clear that coaching wasn’t just a leadership technique, that it had power and application to so many aspects of life. At the end of the course I was excited to learn more and the lovely facilitator gave me a list of articles and books to read.

Over the next few months, I read everything I could find about coaching and tested the techniques with my team members and with myself. I started to see incredible benefits and had some powerful personal insights. I fell in love with Coaching!

Knowing I had to deepen my learning, I excitedly enrolled in a Professional Coaching course and began my studies. Part of studying coaching requires you to coach and be coached. Every coach that I encountered brought their own style and experiences to the session. As a client I learnt so much about myself, I had many ‘ah-ha!’ moments which gave me new insights into what I value, how my beliefs impact my decision making and I learnt how to establish new healthy habits.

The most powerful sessions that I have experienced, both as a coach and a client have been those focussed on goals relating to health. Each and every one of us already has the resources we need to take steps towards better health and wellbeing. So often it is our own limiting beliefs or unhelpful habits and behaviours that hold us back from reaching our fullest potential.

The study of coaching had so many parallels with my yoga studies, both building upon each other and deepening my understanding of myself and my clients. The study of yoga and human behaviour is a life long journey, I love that every time I learn something new, it uncovers more learning to be done. Once I completed my professional coaching qualifications, I immediately started looking for the next course to continue to grow and build upon my knowledge, who knows where it will lead to!

I am inspired to help others to reach for their own potential and achieve the health, happiness and success that they desire. I am particularly driven to helping people, who like me, live with a chronic illness and want to take back their power to get the best outcomes possible from life.

If you would like to learn more about coaching, I would love to connect, please reach out today – contact us