First up, briefly tell us a bit about yourself and what you do!
Hi I’m Nicola Garcia, the owner of Temple Lane, a wellness studio in Shenton Park. I’ve been a yoga teacher for nearly a decade and I am also Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master.
The essence of Temple Lane is that I have created a space where you can come to find freedom in your body, peace in your mind and rediscover the joy of your spirit. I only have space for 12 mats, so it’s a small, intimate studio where we can all have a cup of beautiful herbal tea (I use Heart Therapeutics in the studio) together afterwards.
I wanted to build a dream space where you could layer all your senses – essential oils, candles and music, crystals, all the sky, trees and birds in the view and the beauty of the artwork and craftsmanship in the studio itself. This allows your body and mind to feel safe and secure enough to let go and relax completely.
The Rapid Transformational Therapy I use with clients at the studio has been a game changer in my life. Using a combination of hypnotherapy, CBT, NLP, reparenting techniques and inner child work, the incredible mind can tell us when and where we picked up habits, coping mechanisms or had the experiences that contributed to problems or behaviours we have in our lives today. We can then reprogramme them at the time and record that for the client to take home and repetitively listen to for major changes. Its magic.
I have three amazing boys (15, 13 and 10) and a gorgeous husband who I have been with for almost 25 years now (!). I am fascinated by self-development, love dogs, reading and would do anything to spend time outside and in nature.
What time do you go-to bed & wake up most days / how many hours of sleep do you aim for?
I love my sleep! 9.30pm is my ideal bedtime and 6am would be my favourite time to get up. 8 hours (or more) for me is essential to stabilize my mood and energy.
♥
What’s your morning routine to set you up for a great day?
Hmm… it’s quite extensive, but it’s my favourite thing to have a routine and create habits around
what I love for myself.
I wake up and head up to the studio, which I am lucky enough to have at the back of my house. I do Wim Hof breathing and use my LED mask at the same time. I look quite scary huffing and puffing and holding my breath with the red light and mask but it wakes me up and alkalises my body for the day. Then I meditate for about ten minutes.
I then pull a card (Currently using the Golden Keys of Gaia which I adore – its the same artist as my studio murals). I am reading The Pivot Year by Brianna Weist, so I read a day or two of that wisdom whilst I have a little espresso.
I then journal and go downstairs to wake the kids. I have another coffee and breaky with my husband on our deck outside and we pull an Animal Spirit card each. We have been juicing celery for five years now but we have gotten a little lazy this year on it.
If I have time I’ll then go up before class and try to get in a Melissa Wood Health work out for the day. I just pick a ten or 15 minute one usually to do abs or arms or lower body.
Do you have an evening wind-down ritual?
It changes depending on the evening, whether we are out, the kids need picking up, or I have a class. I always have a cup of tea before bed and I’ve been putting magnesium oil on my feet and have recently begun mouth taping. It was weird at first but it’s definitely helping me have deeper sleep so I am persevering with it.
What are your favourite snacks and drinks to keep you feeling good throughout the day?
I am not a great baker and not really a sweet tooth so a bliss ball, a piece of cheese or dark chocolate would be all I’d have after dinner if needed.
Drinks – 2L of water, Endless cups of herbal teas with clients and before bed, two coffees early in the morning, if I am not having a glass of wine (Cullen Biodynamic wine is my favourite) then I’ll have a Kombucha or a sparkling coconut water.
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Tell us about your daily beauty routine! What are your non-negotiables for looking and feeling
your best?
I use Dianne Caine Australia, made here in WA and all natural. I don’t use their cleanser as I use coconut oil to take makeup off and clean my face, but the toner, anti-age moisturiser, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, bakuchiol oil, transformation oil, and pearl radiance serum is always in my bathroom cupboard.
The Natulique Bond Repair (Step 3) is incredible for hair breakage. I have never been able to grow my hair this long and it’s not greasy at all and I put it in before I dry it every time I wash my hair.
Do you take any supplements, vitamins or special wellness elixirs? If so, we’d love to know!
I have a love / hate relationship with supplements. I have spent a fortune on them over the years but I don’t know enough about the ingredients and how much of the ingredient is in each product to really be able to say they have made a difference. Brands I kind of trust are JS Vitamins, WelleCo and Vimergy. I also don’t know about protein powders, again they are processed, have random ingredients and I don’t know how much they do. I try to stick to real food, wholefoods mostly.
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What are your top 3 wellness non-negotiables?
♥ Meditation
♥ Movement
♥ Whole Foods
Your absolute favourite healthy cafe in Perth is…
Wholefood Circus is my go to for coffee!
Best place to get a green juice or smoothie in your city?
Clean Food Store, Shenton Park.
Favourite farmers market or healthy place to shop for healthy groceries and goodies. Herdsman Fresh is my number one but I am always blown away by the Bunbury Farmers Markets down south.
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What’s your fitness routine / favourite way to get sweaty and where do you like to go?
Temple Lane! My favorite class is Working In, a combination of yoga, Bala weights and bangles for ankles and wrists and sliders. It’s a full work out plus you still get the magic of yoga and the stillness of savasana.
I also try to swim once a week at the shark net in Cottesloe and walk / jog in King Park with
girlfriends to catch up.
If you could only wear one brand of activewear for the rest of your life it would be…
Beyond Yoga for sure. They are just super comfy, come in great colours and are aesthetically pleasing. Full synthetic lycra is not something I can hang out in for the whole day.
♥ Chahoya Spa @ The Cable Beach Club
What’s the one beauty or wellness treatment you can’t live without? And your favourite place to
have it done?
Ooh I love the Almond Oil Lymphatic Drainage Massage at Chahoya Spa at The Cable Beach Club in Broome. We go every year and the first thing I do is book in for that treatment.
What beauty treatment/wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven’t got around to yet?
Hmmm I won best dressed at the Melbourne Cup lunch this year and was given a facial voucher to Blanc in Cottesloe and I can’t wait to try it.
Are you into any woo-woo wellness trends?
Yep you name them I have probably done them. Crystal healing, palo santo smudging as well as sage, I have about ten decks of oracle and tarot cards, Runes, crystals all over the studio, oils, three hour breathworks, somatic healing, hypnotherapy (obviously), monthly reiki session with my teacher, saunas, ice baths, etc.
You’ve got a big event in 7 days time that you need to look incredible for. What’s your plan of
attack to help you look & feel your absolute best?
High protein, lots of water, salads, lots of sleep, hair mask, face mask, i love the Ele Effect tanning products and I have recently been using the OGEE make up which is organic and like skincare – it makes my skin glow.
If you could have the ultimate day of wellness & happiness in Perth what would it involve and where would you go?
A Temple Lane morning routine then a work out, Bodhi J for a massage, Gibney’s in Cottesloe for lunch, a swim and a nap at Cottesloe, a night in watching a movie with my boys and husband.
♥ Komune Resort, Bali
What’s your dream wellness vacay and what 5 things are you DEFINITELY packing?
I am hosting a retreat at Komune Bali this year and I have been on retreat there before and I am sooooooooooo excited. It’s the dream of health and the ocean and it has the most Out of This World food at the Health Hub.
I cried for two weeks when I got home as I didnt know what to eat as nothing would be as delicious. They served a smoothie or juice and an immunity shot with every meal. It was insane. I also got spa treatments everyday plus two yoga classes and meditations and a yoga nidra session before bed. They’ve also created a sauna and ice bath spot which I am yet to try there.
I am definitely packing my Hunza G bandeau bikinis, my Calm Buddhi yoga mat, a selection of Beyond Yoga outfits, Spell and the Gypsy floaty dresses and my Auric Alchemy oils.
And lastly… do you have any top secret tips you use to keep looking/feeling great?
Mindset.
It makes all the difference. I set an intention to be healthy and feel really good and then I need to take small deliberate actions to build habits to create the rituals that will make me feel that way. From the way I shop, to the products I use, to what I put into my mind through media, news, books.
The mind can only change in two ways, in a relaxed hypnotic state (ie. in hypnosis or in the state between going to sleep and waking up) or with repetition. I make sure that I use a hypnosis recording for any changes I want to make and listen to it before bed or a nap, and then repeat the actions until it is dialled in.
Thank you Nicola!
Be well,
xoxo
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