SAY YES TO YOU. FIRST.

A letter from me to you gorgeous one.

Say Yes to You. More often.

A QUESTION OPENS POSSIBILITIES. A STATEMENT CONCLUDES THEM. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?

I'm fat

I'm tired

I'm hopeless

I'm not good enough

Or whatever it is for you. These all conclude and concrete into both our conscious and subconscious mind, that they are in fact real. Truth. And that there's no budging from them. When we continue to say and think such statements, day by day they become more real and we end up living out these thoughts. Even if they are not real.

"I JUST WANNA FEEL GOOD, LOOK GOOD, AND PRACTICE WHAT I PREACH" -- THE NEGATIVE SELF TALK IN A HEALTH PRACTITIONERS MIND

Can you relate? Are you a health coach, nutritionist, naturopath, personal trainer, beautician or some other job description where you believe you should be the walking, talking, picture of health and that if you are not, you’re a fraud?

DO YOU HAVE A MORNING ROUTINE?

It's something I've read about in books, magazines, and on blog sites, and everyone's seems to be different. But that is probably what I like most about finding your own morning routine - you're sure to love it if you make it up yourself!

Why have a morning routine though? I often wondered in the past, is my morning routine me getting out of bed, putting my training gear on, grabbing my stuff for the day and hopping on the train, sneaking a quick double shot espresso before my 2hr gym routine? After all, it was a routine, and I did it in the mornings?!?

What is The Foundation of Health

I had the realisation last week (during my final coaching call with my coach) that the foundation to health is self love. It's not a good diet, it's not an athlete's exercise regime, and it's not drinking 2L of filtered water everyday. These things of course and without a doubt make a huge difference in one's health but the real bricks and mortar I have come to see and feel is self love.

This is step one; the base, the beginnings, the solid structure beneath everything else built on top of it. So it goes without reason, that if this foundation is not laid, it's only a matter of time before bits and pieces start falling off, one by one, or worse still, crumbling all in one go.

I've been on a journey of learning to love myself for quite some time now and can happily say that I am so much further along this path than I ever have been, but can also say I'm not totally there just yet. Each and everyday is another opportunity to practice what I am learning through books, blogs, words, websites, magazines and moments.

But I wanted to talk more bout this 'foundation' analogy - do you agree with me on this one? I've found that without self love, the food we eat can be poor quality and nutrient empty, our physical activity can either be waaaay too much or non-existent, we drink too much, don't sleep enough, work longer hours for less pay... the list goes on.

When we have self love, or are at least on a path to cultivating it... 

+ We rest when we are tired (instead of pushing through)

+ We enjoy chocolate with no guilt (coz we know guilt does more harm than any food)

+ We say no to dessert when we know we are full from dinner

+ We move our bodies daily; be it a 5 minute walk, an hours jog, a yoga class, a mid-study-dance-sesh in the lounge room, or even just a few stretches, we do what feels right for us each day

 + We make the time for the things we know we need instead of putting them last; like getting to bed early, journalling daily, waking early to find time to yourself before the day begins

+ We get out and enjoy nature

+ We eat the foods that our body loves, and not the stuff that wreaks havoc in our system from an emotional crisis

+ We cry when we need to instead of dealing with our emotions destructively 

+ We "switch off" from technology, social media, emails and more every now and then, instead of being a slave to push notifications

+ We write, see and feel grateful for everything everyday

This list could go on and on, but you probably see the picture I'm painting here. When we begin to cultivate self love through eating well, resting, moving, thinking thoughts that are conducive to health, spending time with loved ones, and doing things that light us up... everything else falls into place. Stress levels become manageable and healthy instead of being un-manageable and totally exhausted. We smile more. We see the good in the world. And underneath it all, we are strengthening the foundation so we can lay new bricks on top knowing they will be there for life. From this strong foundation, good health is inevitable. It may take longer for some than others, but day by day, in cultivating self love we are also cultivating health.

Having seen it in others, and most definitely in myself, take it from me --

The best diet means sh*t if you don't love yourself.

Christie xx

Ps. If you're like me, and want more in one weekly concise and easy way to get it all, then you're gonna wanna sign up for my newsletter - Get it here

Coz Ur Worth It

Happy Monday chikadees! And what a great Monday it has been - Ok I'll admit it's been a teeny bit stressful (but that's all ego crap anyway isn't it?) - B and I moved the rest of our life into storage, gave our little town house key back, I took him to the airport, had lunch with my sister, wandered all over town grabbing last minute things for our travel, and just finished the rest of my final assessment and then emailed off ALL 10 ASSESSMENTS to my tutor!

This was a major goal of mine since the beginning of this subject. 10 assessments in 6 weeks. 10 BIG assessments. I've written more than 20,000 words. They weren't due today but I had decided there was no way I was taking them on holiday with me.
With a trip to the Sunny Coast for Easter, followed by a 2 month stint in Thailand and Burma at the end of the road... I had to give myself a kick up the bum to get them all done. And so thankful (and bloody exhausted) I am now as I can actually stop.


Stop - wow. That sounds really really nice.

And rest.

Put my feet up.

Pack all college books away.

Sleep.

Stare at the wall.

Meditate more.

Read anything my heart and being longs for - not just Pathophysiology and Biochemistry.

And in Thailand I'm going to get a massage everyday.

And to really rest, relax, rejuvenate, and allow my body and soul the time to heal.

It's long overdue. And the time is now.


I deserve it and so do you.

What do you want to do for yourself now that is long overdue? What have you kept pushing into the back of your thoughts and mind hoping it would disappear?
Your health? That excess weight? The argument you had with your best friend 4 months ago? That pesky chronic fatigue (that's trying to tell you something)?


Have a look at where you've been putting yourself last. I invite you to begin taking steps towards better health, a more beautiful life, and a better more beautiful you.

For more on nutrition, health, life, recipes, and oodles more, sign up for weekly Nutrition Notes from me here


Christie xx

How was Your Weekend? I hit Rock Bottom

Happy Monday all! How was your weekend? Did you get to making those delicious crackers?

 

Well my weekend was far from amazing, but I have just gotten home from a session with a Shamanic Healer, medical intuitive, naturopath, iridologist, reflexologist, author and more, all in one. And here's why --

 

I’m sitting here drinking bone broth with so much flowing through my veins right now that I feel the need to put it all down on paper my blog, and the post on my beverage of choice at the minute that I promised you would come today will have to wait, and I’ll put it up on Wednesday - Why you gotta get bone broth in ya!

So what the hell couldn’t wait to be told??

I haven’t made mention of how my health is going recently and I wanted to share with you. Like I said this wasn’t the intended post, this is flowing through my fingers, so just roll with me.

I hit rock bottom. Yep it was sure a surprise to me too when I hit the pavement and skidded up onto the median strip in the centre of the road, falling off my scooter, to get up quickly in total shock, bleeding, bruised, really fighting tears, ushering the cars to continue like I was totally okay and this was no big deal, and only worried about my chin (female - face - priorities - I hit my chin in my fall). All I can say now is thank god for the English tourist who walked over to me and grabbed the bike to wheel it off to the side of the road, hold my hand, and calm me down. I likely would have just gotten on and attempted to ride off, only to fall again due to shock and fear. He stayed with me, gave me water, and spoke to me about his holiday, his daughter (who had a similar accident in England years ago), how smoking his whole life makes scuba diving really hard, and that he thought I was one brave tough nut. I then had to really fight back tears, put my helmet back on, and ride that thing home – well to the chemist first for everything I all-of-a-sudden needed, and then to the shops for all my dinner supplies, and yep all whilst hobbling around with blood dripping down my leg.

When I got home, I lost it. I couldn’t control my crying. In fact it began before i got home. Can you imagine seeing a chic on a bike passing u while she's balling her eyes out? A rather strange sight it would have been I'm sure. I was an emotional, physical, bruised and bloodied mess. But crying was exactly what I had to do. I had been fighting tears for 2 whole days, and this day everything seemed at it’s worst. 

I initially rode into town that day to ponder around the beautifully inspiring bookstore hoping I would smile and feel happy, as my brain was not going anywhere near the study I had intended on doing. But I also wanted to see if I could find some kind of a healer who could answer some of my questions –

Why do I feel so depressed at the moment?

Do I have negative energies around me I am attached too?

I am inviting negative energies to me?

And the biggie – when will all my current health and emotional issues begin to get better; Do I have loads more work and learning to do; or is it looking up soon?

I felt I needed to know as it feels like this has dragged on way too long and exhaustion is fucking exhausting!

After my fall I could see my answer. That’s it. Shit couldn’t get any worse than it was on Saturday. I felt miserable, didn’t want to get out of bed, only really began doing stuff after midday, and wondered if things would ever get any better. I always tried to think positive and sometimes it worked. But on days when as soon as I woke up, I could barely move from exhaustion, yawning all day, no food or drinks made any difference, I couldn’t think straight and just wanted to sleep – those were the days it was all too much.

After a bucket-load of a crying sesh, and calling B to tell him what happened (he’s in Brissie which of course makes an emotional mess / blooded and bruised fragile girl even more emotional and fragile), I managed to cry my way through cleaning up my battle wounds (Dettol still really stings as a big kid), having a cold shower, calming down, and making some food. The rest of the day was not exciting.

Yesterday however I woke up and I actually felt semi-normal. Not that heavy I-cant-get-out-of-bed horrible feeling. I was a little groggy from poor sleep as everytime I turned in my sleep I either felt pain and woke up or felt wound weeping from one of the bandages. Urgh! But I did actually feel a difference. I felt like something had been lifted. Or shifted. Whatever, I felt better; good even!

I’ve been reading Gabby Bernstein’s Add More ~ing To Your Life that I told you guys about last week, and she talks about when her coaching clients hit their rock bottom she says CONGRATULATIONS!! much to their confusion and surprise, as you can imagine. But things can only get better once you’ve hit the bottom! So praise the lord, thank you, bless you, I can’t believe I would ever be this happy after coming off a scooter around a bend! And over a median strip! Christ! But I am! I am so bloody happy right now coz I can already feel changes. I feel a difference. I feel a spring in my step. I feel happy doing things. Seeing people. I feel confident in getting my assessments done. I feel happy knowing I will be in Thailand for 6weeks once I get my butt into booking flights. I am happy in my kitchen cooking dinner listening to my Eat Pray Love soundtrack I’ve been obsessed with ever since I got it (years ago). I AM HAPPY TODAY AND IT FEELS SO GOD DAMN AMAZING!

Perhaps my Bush Essences have played their role too as I only began taking my new bottle last week. Everything plays their role in the grand scheme of things. I love the Australian Bush Essences and I’ve spoken about them once before. I made this bottle for myself to support me in the changes I want to make. It’s made up of 5 essences which is my max number to put in a bottle, and it includes:

Black Eyed Susan – for inner peace and helping me turn inward to be still and slow down

Spinifex – empowerment through emotional understanding of my ‘illness’, physical healing

Crowea – for my continual worry; bringing me peace, balancing and centering me and providing clarity of my feelings
Hibbertia – acceptance and contentment with one’s own knowledge

Five Corners – love and acceptance of myself; celebration of my own beauty; joyousness; this is great for low self esteem, self sabotage behaviours, and drab clothing (that makes me laugh - but it's def a thing of mine)

Everything I feel I need right now. I always have good intentions when I take my Bush Flowers and feel the effects from them all.

So as I was meant to be at work today, but I'm sitting on the lounge with my foot up on the coffee table.

As I mentioned earlier, I had a very last minute session with a healer this morning which was exactly what I needed and long story short; I cried, things shifted, I saw new ways to look at situations, and was in shock when my own body told me something I had no idea about. I went to see this woman wanting clarity and enthusiasm for life, whilst having no expectations, and I left with much more.

Still physically limping around, I do feel lighter on my feet (more crying also helps) and am eager yet patient to now move forward. So that's my this-can't-wait stuff, and it feels good to get it off my fingers and onto this page. Thank you for reading and for listening. Bone broth benefits, beauty-ness and recipe coming up real soon!

 Christie xx

What's been happening up Far North

Here we are now in October – wow hasn’t this year gone so fast! As a kid it never seemed to go fast; if anything it was all really slow. As I get older, it fly’s by. Why is that? Am I having too much fun? Or simply have too much on. Both? Whatever the reason I’m not really all that fussed, I think I easily fall into these habit-forming-sayings due to people around me saying them. In fact I LOVE Christmas so bring it on!

Since my last post where I left you tempted by FNQ's CACAO fruit, I’ve had a fully loaded schedule (and thus no blog posts). Here are a few of things that have been going on:

The Organic Experience

A day trip back to the grass roots of local organic farming, and to our food source as nature intended. When I first heard about this I definitely wanted to go. And with good reason. What a day! We began in Cairns then drove up the range to Kuranda, where The Real Food Network shared information on the importance of how locally grown and ethically sound food can build a stronger community, help local farmers secure a reasonable income, ease the pressure on farm lands and bring healthy food to our dinner table. 

Back on the bus we were then off to Kaizi’s coconut oil farm - Australia’s only Indigenous, Torres Strait Island producers of Pure Coconut Oil. Whilst slurping fresh coconuts, munching on grated coconut, and devouring the most amazing coconut treat, we discovered the marvels of this fruit including the methods of production, how to use coconut oil as your preferred oil to cook with and some of the different traditional dishes using coconut, it's topical uses, and its environmental impact.

 

Kaizi’s Coconut Keai (freshly grated Coconut with chopped dates, Coconut juice and Keai sprinkled on top) WOW!

Kaizi labelling his coconut oil jars

Off again, this time to stunning location up the top of Hallorans Hill in Atherton where we had a Thermomix demonstration and had our lunch prepared fresh in front of our eyes. 

And last, but certainly not least, we were at a lovely couple’s place near Lake Eacham, just outside Yungaburra, where they lead a self sufficient lifestyle. Most of their food is produced using biodynamic and organic practices, including growing fruit and vegetables, rearing livestock for meat and milk production, rearing poultry for meat and egg production, cheese making, bread making, bee keeping, making preserves and cooking great food. Brock and I were very interested in this - these guys do the lot! Home made scones with home made butter (both of which were made with ingredients from their farm) and tea were on the cards, as were big chunks of gooey delicious honeycomb. Yum!

Dairy cows on the sustainable property

Inside the veggie-herb-green house

Daintree Getaway

I took a week off work after working double my usual shifts for all of September. We wanted to drive up to the Daintree and just chillout for a bit. Lazy days, swimming holes, lots of fruit eating, beautiful locals, and we found the most amazing places to do our daily yoga practice as well.

We saw this guy jump off the cliff on our drive up; just before Port Douglas

Daintree tea plantation

Hottie in the jungle

The first river we came across

Typical scenery when driving through - not bad ey?

House Sitting

Ok so maybe not a big deal, but it was for Brock and I as our friend owns a mansion on top of City View (the suburb name – for obvious reasons). We did our yoga, swam everyday, ate all our meals overlooking the city, and really only left when we had too. A bliss-full long weekend that was.

Little overcast that day but we weren't complaining! Best yoga spot ever!

Bloom Womens Health and Wellbeing Event

I was at this on Friday night and from the first time I heard about this (from Emma who also organized The Organic Experience) I couldn’t wait! It was held at the beautiful Shan-gri La at the Marina and on arrival ladies were greeted, welcomed with drinks and healthy canapes, there were goodie bags, loads of exhibitors with their products; be in natural skin care, massage, mineral make up, natural organic food products, pregnancy and doula information, meditation workshops, chemical free house hold cleaning products, the list goes on! The main ladies included Bec for a local radio station doing the MC-ing, Jessica Ainscough from The Wellness Warrior got up and spoke about her cancer healing journey and her tips to live a holistically balanced life, and Kim Morrison fwho has written a book titled Like Chocolate For Woman. This woman had me at Hello! She is absolutely beautiful and her presence and energy, and just herself is what had me so enthralled. You know those people you either meet, or you just hear speak and you know that they have something (or alot of things) that you need to learn from them. Not a chance encounter type thing. That's what I felt when listening to Kim speak on stage. Her business is centered on self-care and empowerment for women – something I’m finding myself drawn more and more too day by day and I can’t seem to get enough. She spoke for an hour perhaps and I wanted more. Which is why I immediately signed up for her Aromatherapy workshop the following day, which I went to yesterday.

SPArkle Aromatherapy Workshop

This was just divine. A small group of less than 20 women and again, Kim had my full focus instantly. We went into more depth with the range she sells, and spoke a lot more about self care; it’s not selfish – it’s essential. This is where I am being drawn to most, where I know I need to focus more attention, and where I am seeing the biggest changes when I do so. It was beautiful. Very much the feminine energy I've been craving. We had our cups of tea and our raw balls and enjoyed an afternoon together surrounded by yummy smells, trying on skin care, passing 'round oils... 
I do want to make mention of one thing Kim spoke about that really struck a chord with me and instantly it felt so real to hear -  
Kim started talking about the many many women all over the globe who complain about their appearance – we all know one if we're not one ourself. I’m one of them. I don't complain out loud to girlfriend or colleagues, but I do have a whinge every now and then to my partner, and I know too-well the continuous stream of dribble-drabble that plays like a broken record over and over in my head, most of the time. Kim continued and went on to say that if we are a woman who dislikes something about her appearance, we’ve got 1 of 2 options – and she didn’t care which one we took.

(1) Step up and commit to change; changing our diet for the better, getting out to exercise or signing up to a gym, wearing clothes we feel good in, whatever it may be. Say affirmations, and day by day our bodies change. Our mindset will change. Our thinking will change. It might be tough work – Gwenyth Paltrow said in an interview when asked about her appearance that she works out 6 days a week for 90minutes a session, she eats certain foods and not others…her list went on, but she said she deserved the body she works so damn hard for. And it’s true! 

(2) The alternate option was to stay where we are because it’s comfortable, familiar, and not scary. And a lot of us do stay here, even though we THINK we so badly want to be elsewhere. So we keep eating cake and cream or whatever it may be … and this is where it got real... "but you have no right to whinge about how you look. No right! And everyone gets sick of hearing it, so if you’re not going to do anything about what you’re always whinging about, you’ve no right to whinge about it! You've made the choice to do nothing about it. Would you be complaining about your boobs and saying they’re too big, too small, or too saggy to someone who’s had to have hers removed? Would you whine about how you dislike your legs to someone sitting in a wheelchair who can’t stand up let alone walk like you can? How would you feel if you were saying "oh gosh I really hate my hair" to find out the lady beside you was going through chemo treatment?" 
These questions are very powerful and easily put everything into perspective. 

I do exercise. And I do eat well. But it's my mindset and negative thinking that creeps in and sabotages it all. The best food in the world won't do shit if your head is in the wrong place. Even with nutrition my passion, I truly believe that. I've seen it in my own life for years. It's my self-care and self-worth that I'm not prioritising. Why? Because when you go there it's scary and confronting. It's very easy to change a bad habit if it's easy to do. What about trying to eat better if there were no emotional attachments - might not be so hard. Think about self-worth issues - it's all the tough emotional stuff. Straight up, on the rocks. I know exactly why I've avoided it for so long! It's no fun, but the rewards are well worth it!

As for the change bit, and the self-care – I've learnt that time and money are no longer excuses. Prioritising is what it’s all about. And when we do so, self-care is fun!

So I took a lot away from yesterday afternoon (including a great book and one oil blend to get me started) and cannot wait to start implementing what I learnt. I also highly recommend reading some of Kim’s website if you’re into self care and aromatherapy. I'll definitely let you know how I go working with all this :)

A few other things up in Cairns:

- The Paleo cafe opened a few weeks ago and so far has great reviews. I was initially excited having never seen one before, until it sank in that every other cafe in town offers meat protein with veggies on a plate! Not so new. I will get excited though if they use the space to really educate people about the benefits of food as close to its natural state as possible; even if this does include the use of meats. That is one big plus with all the Paleo followers cropping up left, right, and centre. They're all really amping up the colour on the plates and buying fresh produce. A step in the right direction for anybody.

- College is going great; 99% for my Advanced Anatomy and Physiology exam :) Another reason the blogs have not been at all consistent. And I've just begun Pathophysiology and Symptomatology this week - say that with a mouthful of Sao biscuits! 

- Brock and I are in the middle of a 40-day Yoga journey together following Baron Baptiste's Book, who's training we LOVE and so we're feeling AMAZING! I LOVE yoga so committing to a daily practice that gets longer each week (going from 200mins to 90mins) is complete self-care for me. I feel so much better. My head's clearer. I worry less. My thoughts ramble less. I'm much more aware of my surroundings and less in my future. I look better. I love love LOVE it!

- And we moved into a new place, sharing with another guy we get along with famously and we’re loving it! A 15 minute walk to the Botanical Gardens and the well-known Cairns run, The Red Arrow. A 15 minute bike ride into town. We are surrounded by bush with a little creek at the bottom of the block, and we have a great balcony amongst it all that we are loving doing our yoga on. Happy days :)

I jet down to Sydney in 2 days to pack my childhood home (see my best mates, do my old-usual-weekend-highlight-yoga class and catch up with my teacher, visit my favourite Sunday markets, have girly catch-ups and dinners with my little sister, see my baby nephew, and so much more!). I cant wait! 

Until next time...

And ps. my apologies about the incredible array of font styles in this post - my computer has deiced to do its own thing tonight ?!?!