♥

After a pretty mundane day at work, I was looking forward to nothing more than my Monday evening Pilates class at Pure Moves Cottesloe. I jumped online in the morning to book and pay for the 5.30pm Pilates Mat class with Chantelle. It was super easy and quick and I was emailed a receipt straight away. I pay for casual classes, $22 per visit, but there are packages available too.

I arrived early to the light, bright and fresh studio and had a quick chat to the instructors before setting myself up for the intense core workout to follow.

♥

Pilates is nothing like Yoga. I’ve been a Yogi for about 3 years and love it for a good stretch and to relax and calm my mind. Pilates is more focused on core strength and developing lean muscle tone. But both hark back to the importance of breathing and its place within the exercises.

Chantelle led us through some breathing and neck roll downs to start before we moved on to work our glutes, abdominals, triceps and quadriceps. We worked these major muscle groups with a series of ab curls, squats, leg raises etc. We used toning balls to add resistance to most of the exercises, in other classes we’ve used resistance bands (rubber bands that help with strengthening exercises).

♥

What I love about these Pilates classes is the fluidity, the only rest we have is to stretch between tough exercises – into my favourite position, child’s pose 🙂 It really is a great workout as we keep our heart rate up with the continuous movement.

Pure Moves check your health and injury history and are able to tailor any exercises to your needs – a lady had sore knees in one of my classes and the instructor showed her alternative exercises for when we were doing squats etc.

I walk out of Pilates every week feeling lighter than air and totally refreshed and re-energised. If you haven’t tried it yet, you must!

Have you tried Pilates before? Share your experience below in the comments section!

Review by Lucy, pilates enthusiast!

Be well,

xoxo

♥ ♥ ♥

I have to share with you my latest lady crushes. It’s all well and good to admire actors and celebs and be jealous of their amazing wardrobe (note: they get 99% of it free), social life, boyfriend etcetera BUT why not admire those who are doing incredible things in the world of wellness, helping other people and basically showing us how amazing life can be?

Especially when they look amazing (a testament to the results gained from what they do) and are constantly putting positive energy back into the universe – getting a little hippie here!

ENTERRRR… my two latest yoga obsessions – Tara Stiles & Kathryn Budig!

1. Tara Stiles

Impossibly gorgeous and an ex-model, Tara has an approach to yoga which has been described as “unconventional” and she has received some criticisms for not sticking to the traditional style of any one yoga practice. She advocates yoga for EVERYONE and does away with sanskrit terms (eg. Savasana, Gomulkasana etc), instead choosing to use the simplest terminology such as “lower back” or “pigeon pose”.

Tara also has an incredibly interesting and frequently updated Youtube Channel, which I may have become slightly addicted to! She is gorgeous, but unintimidating in her videos, with her easygoing personality and “just one of the guys” vibe.

She founded the school Strala Yoga in New York and I would love, love, love to go there one day! 🙂

♥

2. Kathryn Budig

She’s been described as ‘yoga’s first supermodel’ and with gorgeous glowing skin, shiny blonde hair and a beaming smile it’s not hard to see why. But it’s Kathryn’s devotion to an outside cause that most impresses me.

♥

Poses for Paws is an initiative started by Budig and a friend, to raise money through yoga classes for dog shelters and organisations that help to find our gorgeous furry woofballs loving homes. Their current focus if the ‘Beagle Freedom Project’ (inspired by the love of her very own beagle).

Most people wouldn’t know this, but Beagle’s are one of the most popular choices for animal testing labs, due to their gentle and forgiving nature and non-aggressiveness towards lab techs (the same ones performing tests on them). Absolutely horrific stuff.

I recommend this video about the Beagle Freedom Project, it’s very interesting – prepare to weep a few tears, it makes me want to devote my life to saving these guys. They are so beautiful, and even after living in a lab cage for their whole lives they’re still willing to wag their tails, and seeing the dogs in the video run around on the grass for the first time is equal parts devastating and beautiful at the same time.

So, two beautiful yogis, both doing wonderful things – have you heard of either of these two ladies before?

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

I’m a lazy, overweight exercise-avoider. I have no excuse beyond a crippling dependence on cake, and in the last year, I’ve been doing my best to try to get on top of this situation. There have been ups, there have been downs, but having recently started attending Tamara Yoga, I’m starting to feel a lot more optimistic about my rocky road to (relative) health and fitness.

Firstly, all credit to my younger sister, who after my unsuccessful week-long attempt at finding a yoga class that worked with my work schedule piped up and suggested I attend Tamara Yoga. It’s obscenely close to where I live, parking is ample and free and their schedule is so insanely varied (7.00am on a Saturday morning, anyone? How about 6.00am on Cottesloe beach?) that you’d have to be truly unlucky to not have something you could attend.

The format is thusly – some classes are fixed, some allow a rock-up-and-pay arrangement. I signed myself up for a six-week beginners course, which locked me in for that amount of time, and meant that each class built on what was learned the week beforehand. They’re wonderfully flexible with this arrangement – I came waltzing in at the week two point, and they altered the fee to reflect the five-week duration. My instructor – the effervescent Carol – quizzed me a bit on my relative level of familiarity and kept an eye on me to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid.

This Buddha greets you in the foyer @ Tamara Yoga

The other option – pay as you go – means that for certain classes you can just turn up and hope it’s not horribly packed (this hasn’t happened – yet). I chose to attend a Vinyasa class at 7.00am on a Saturday morning (yes – this was extremely strange and overeager), which worryingly specified neither all levels or beginners, as many classes do. This instructor (I didn’t catch her name, but the website makes me think Helen), just like Carol, checked on what I knew and what I didn’t and came by to adjust me occasionally. Whilst it was a more advanced class than I strictly speaking should have been attending, every pose and movement had a lesser-powered option, and she was careful to specify easier variations of every motion. It was incredibly inclusive, and very considerate, and impressed the crap out of me.

♥ A class in action

But how are the classes themselves? The key word is relaxed. It’s a very informal, almost chatty format, more educational than you might expect and the wind down, meditation portion at the end (savasana) is complete bliss. The day after my first class I felt less stiff, more limber and more – centred, I suppose? And I don’t resent going at all, like I do gymming, or any other kind of exercise. I actually find myself poring over the schedule and trying to find drop-in classes I can wedge myself into – voluntarily. As in, with no one making me. This is a big deal, kids. As an additional level of awesome they provide everything – mats, blocks, straps, all manner of things. And you can buy rather wonderful yoga equipment there. I’m tempted. Watch this space.

So ultimately I’m really happy with Tamara Yoga. It’s wonderfully informal (which I love) with a great assortment of classes and highly skilled, friendly staff. It is the ultimate in non-intimidating Yoga. Very recommended!

Have you been to Tamara Yoga before? Have a penchant for cake? Lets chat below!

Email: info@tamarayoga.com

Web: https://tamarayoga.com/

Phone: 9385 2242

Tamara Yoga Classes held at The Luck Now Centre
UPSTAIRS 10/24 St Quentin Avenue Claremont Perth Western Australia
Enter via laneway off St Quentin’s Avenue across from Claremont Quarter

Review by Suzanne: she is allergic to exercise, and can only be cured with cake.

Be well,

xoxo

(N)Ommmmmmmm!

As most of you know, I love yoga. The feeling of peace and serenity afterwards can’t be beaten, and the ongoing changes that it makes to your mind and body are incredible. I ride a wave between doing 2-3 classes a week for a while, beginning to feel amazing, then falling off the wagon for a few weeks in which time my mood and general wellbeing are noticeably worse.

So many of us struggle with this, even as the owner of Wellness WA I still really need to work on making sure I do the best things for myself and my body whenever I can (and I do slip up!). But that’s cool, because it’s a journey, just “do your best, and your best will get better”.

So, back on the wagon lately and last Sunday morning a friend and I partook in a 9:30am Sunday restorative yoga class at a new school in Claremont that I’d been wanting to check out for AGES – Sun Salute Yoga.

♥

The studio has an amazing feel, all beech-y wooden floors, high ceilings, candles & space. What I can only imagine a studio in New York might look and feel like.

A gently spoken English lass with the tell-tale glowing skin and calm presence of a seasoned yoga teacher led the ‘Deep Stretch Restorative Class‘. The Sun Salute website states that “This restorative class is the best in Perth” – quite a claim, and one I was keen to put to the test as I have a few favourites around the place!

This is an Ashtanga Yoga school, and even the restorative class has elements of the staple pose (and namesake), the sun salute. Personally I have low blood pressure which can make me feel a little dizzy when going from floor to standing poses, so if you’re in the same boat make sure you let the teacher know before class and they will happily accommodate you by providing alternative postures.

My friend was unable to do one of the other poses, and our teacher Louise made sure she was looked after and helped her find another way she could do the stretch. Personalised attention and care is one of the many benefits of small class sizes at dedicated yoga schools, as opposed to large classes at the gym.

The class lives up to its name of being a deep stretch, and many of the poses really get into the hips – which I found out today are the deepest joints in the body and hold a lot of tension and emotion, something I’m happy to get rid of!

Overall it was a very enjoyable class and we both left feeling happy and calm, ready to tackle a crazy morning of Christmas shopping. My friend who is a total yoga newbie loved it too, so it’s suitable for all levels. Is it the best in Perth? It’s definitely up there. I’m undecided as to a clear winner just yet, as I’m pretty in love with a few other classes too, but it’s definitely a very high-quality class and one I would recommend to anyone who needs a little extra zen in their life. I’ll be back for sure!

Ps. Check out their FAQ page for some great info, and some light-hearted-yet-serious answers to common questions, including:

“My boyfriend dumped me for a woman with a flat stomach and a tight bum. I think she had breast implants too. Will yoga help me look more like her?”

The deets:

Length: 75 minute class
Cost: $20 casual rate. See website for package deals.

SunSalute Yoga
12 Stirling Road
Claremont WA 6010

Ph: (08) 9448-8179
Email: yoga@sunsalute.com.au
Facebook: Sun Salute Yoga FB
Twitter: @yogasunsalute

Have you done yoga on Sundays, the traditional day of rest, before? Heard of this new school?

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

♥

A little while ago I did a callout on Facebook to rustle up the names of some of your favourite yoga dvds, as I’ve long been yearning for a home practice for those days that I don’t feel like venturing back out of the house after work.

One recommendation really caught my eye and since receiving the DVD’s I’ve been unashamedly having a bit of a love affair with them. Meet the first two members of my yoga video library (which I hope will grow with time!) – Yoga Easy and Yoga 2 Easy by the lovely Yolanda Pettinato.

Yolanda is truly inspirational, having overcome obstacles in her life that would defeat most people, she is the glowing example of everything that yoga represents – tranquility, wisdom, inner peace and honouring your body.

What you will need:

♥ Yoga Mat – I use my Mukha mat (which I wrote about here)
♥ The desire to stretch and strengthen your body, calm your mind and feel fantastic! (And who doesn’t want that?!)

That is ALL you need, and the DVD of course. If you want to ramp the relaxing factor up a notch you can also throw in:

♥ Oil burner with bergamot oil, my favourite
♥ A dark room

♥

Yolanda has a gentle, soothing voice and she comes across as a real sweetheart. For a woman in her late 50’s, she has a body that most women would in their 20’s would envy. I can feel her encouraging kindness traveling through the screen and into my living room when she softly says “good, that’s good” after many of the sequences, and I find it a comforting and reassuring addition to the practice.

The practice on both of the DVD’s is quite short – 30 minutes – but is enough to wind me down after a stressful or tiring day, it can also be used in the mornings to set you up for the day ahead and is a great way to ground yourself. In fact the length of the session is one of the best things about it, if you’re anything like me it can be hard to find an hour / hour and a half to head out to a yoga class, and that doesn’t include driving there and back! 30 minutes is just enough to be easily manageable, but also gain real results.

While this is by no means a cardio workout, there are some sections focusing on strength that are challenging, and the great thing about yoga is that because you’re working with your own strength and flexibility, there is always room for improvement as you begin to get stronger.

As Yolanda says “just do your best, and your best will get better” – I love that phrase!

Doing either of these yoga DVD’s leaves my whole body feeling stretched and relaxed, with a sense of peace and stillness of mind that I really look forward to. The class flies by and before you know it you’re lying in Savasana thinking how lucky you are to have this wonderful experience in your life.

She also has some meditation CD’s which are no doubt great (she has the perfect voice for it) and even her dogs have been convinced by her to try meditating 😉

Cost: $24.95 each, free shipping if you purchase more than one item
Suitable for: Beginners – experienced who are looking for a relaxation based yoga class with strength elements
Where to buy: http://www.yolandapettinato.com

If you have any questions about the DVD’s please let me know, I would be only too happy to answer them as I think I’m Yolanda’s new biggest fan!!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo