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With the winter months well and truly upon us, it can be so tempting to go into hibernation mode and indulge in comforting foods while our fitness levels quietly disappear. As tempting as this sounds, you might be regretting all those sticky date puddings come spring when pretty little dresses are back in season. Just because its cold and wet, doesn’t mean your health and wellbeing should take a backseat; in fact, with so many cold and flu bugs around, winter is the ideal time to boost your health and immune system.

If you are looking for a place to stock up on all things health and wellness, then Karrinyup Shopping Centre is your one stop shop. Aside from retail giants David Jones and Myer, Karrinyup has a huge offering of health, food and sports stores that are sure to inspire some winter wellness! I spent a day at Karrinyup road testing all of the best places to get your wellness fix, check out what I got up to…

♥ lululemon Karrinyup yoga ambassador Susie McLachlan

♥ lululemon athletica

Everyone’s favourite yoga brand has tapped into a great community initiative and offer complimentary yoga & fitness classes in store. I’m not one for early Saturday mornings, but there was something so serene about starting my weekend with an 8am Yoga class. Lululemon’s classes are for everyone, so think gentle stretching, deep breathing, meditation and flexibility. It’s a bit distracting lying amongst all the colourful Luon and Wunder Unders though – I was picking out my favourites during downward dog, and just had to reward myself after the class!

Lululemon Karrinyup offers instore Yoga classes every Saturday morning, check out their community page for more info.

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♥ T2

After my Yoga class, I floated down the shopping centre to T2 where I spent some time tasting the newest brews on offer. Shopping in T2 really is a treat for the senses, not only does the tea taste and smell amazing but beautifully decorated and bright tea wares fill the store, celebrating the history and art of brewing and drinking tea. My favourite T2 treat is Buddhas Tears, a light green jasmine infusion that delights the senses and warms the soul. Whether you’re really into your tea, or just like the odd spot of English Breakfast, T2 has something for everyone. They are even selling tea biscuits, jam and iced tea now!

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♥ The Coffee Club

The Coffee Club have really spruced up their menu of late, with a large range of healthier meals now available. I stopped by for breakfast, and absolutely devoured the fruit and nut muesli with yoghurt and honey! The atmosphere at Coffee Club is nice too, amongst the buzz of shoppers (staying out of the winter weather probably!) So get along to The Coffee Club, order a fresh juice and a healthy brekkie the next time you’re at Karrinyup and enjoy excellent customer service as well as a nutritious meal!

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♥ Karrinyup Fresh

I love supporting local fruit and veg shops; they seem to be offering such a better product than most supermarket chains. The locally sourced, organic produce is of such a high quality and is really quite kind to your wallet too! Karrinyup Fresh have a great range of fruit and vegetables available, with a lot of Western Australian produce on offer. I also noticed a lot of items that are hard to come by which you might find in the ingredients list of a yummy Asian noodle or curry dish. Stock up on veggies and make some tasty vegetable soups to keep you warm this winter!

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♥ Healthy Life

Healthy Life has been providing premium quality health foods and advice for Australians since 1968 – helping customers achieve and maintain their best health and sense of wellness. Healthy Life have a huge range of vitamins and mineral supplements (stock up on Vitamin C and Echinacea to ward off winter colds!), whole foods, herbal teas, beauty products and sports nutrition and supplements. I picked up some Eco Cacao Powder which I love using for baking!

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♥ Lorna Jane

Inspirational activewear label Lorna Jane have some great winter styles in store at the moment. Put some colour into your cold morning run with gorgeous new tights and tops in bright pink, purple and orange.

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I am loving the new Max Impact Excel longsleeve top in electric purple – guaranteed to keep you warm and stand out in the workout crowd! Make sure you check out Lorna Jane’s gorgeous range of inspirational books and accessories too!

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♥ Dymocks

Australia’s favourite bookstore are now featuring a Healthy, Wealthy & Wise selection of books. Handpicked by Dymocks staff, these titles cover a range of topics including health, wellbeing, self help, religion and recipes. I picked up a couple of interesting titles: Religion For Atheists by Alain de Botton and I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson. Both of these reads are going to be eye opening for me, I am by no means an atheist but always searching for a bit more meaning in life and as for sugar, well, I know I can’t quit it completely but I’m looking forward to reducing my intake as much as I can!

♥ Belén

A day of wellness wouldn’t be complete without a bit of pampering! Belén Karrinyup is the perfect place to switch off from the world and indulge in a bit of luxury for a while. I was very lucky to be treated to a De-Stress Facial, which is a combination of Belén’s signature facial treatment and a 30 minute massage.

This was the most relaxing and rejuvenating hour of my existence. My aching muscles melted away, my skin was deeply cleansed and exfoliated thanks to Dermalogica and I emerged in a state of tranquillity. The staff are fantastic, I was so impressed with their client service and truly felt like a valued customer. I will certainly be back for some more pampering this winter!

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♥ Rawsome Treats at Stockholm Café

Don’t forget to stop by Stockholm Café for one of Rawsome amazing treats! These little winners are the perfect snack for boosting energy levels and curbing cravings all in one little raw, organic and healthy treat. They are so yummy you wont believe it’s healthy!

Review by Lucy Anderson.

* Lucy was a guest of Karrinyup Shopping Centre.

Be well,

xoxo

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wellness |ˈwelnis| n the state or condition of being in good physical and mental health :

What do you know about your health and wellbeing? Do you assume that you’re in tiptop shape just because you’re not fighting a cold or don’t have any aches and pains? I used to think a bit like this. I was always under the impression that how I felt physically, reflected exactly what was going on inside. Truth is, there is so much more to our inner health and wellbeing than we actually know about, and sometimes the smallest change in behaviour can have the biggest effect.

I recently completed a Wellness Package at A Fine Balance, a physiotherapy and clinical nutritional practice located on Green Street, Joondanna. Having never had the opportunity to take part in a package like this, I was really keen to learn more about my body and changes I could make in my lifestyle – being a bit of a perfectionist, improvement is something I’m always on the hunt for!

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The first part of the package is a clinical consultation with AFB’s clinical nutritionist Joanne. This was a one hour appointment where Joanne assessed all aspects of my diet and lifestyle to work out where I may be limited in achieving optimum wellness. After reviewing my current situation, she proceeded to advise me on ways in which simple diet alterations would be beneficial to my wellbeing. This included dietary recommendations as well as nutritional supplements to complement my diet.

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One of these recommendations has changed my life. I have been suffering from headaches for over a year now and after a series of medical tests and checks I was ready to accept that maybe I was destined for a life of debilitating headaches. Not the case apparently! The miracle cure has been a magnesium supplement called BioCeuticals Ultra MuscleEze Energy®. The supplement provides a high dose of magnesium, which is essential for the healthy functioning of nerves, muscles, bones and heart rhythm. In my case, my neck and shoulder muscles were craving a bit more of the old magnesium, since I started taking it I probably get one headache a week now – sometimes none!

I left my consultation with Joanne feeling inspired and ready to make some changes in my diet. I didn’t forget this feeling either, not long after I left the clinic, an email from Joanne came through with some handy diet tips as well as suggested meals and recipes. Talk about motivation! I’ve since taken a very conscious approach to making sure I consume more foods which produce an alkaline environment and help to control inflammation in the body. I believe this has played a major role in helping combat my headaches too, keeping inflammation levels down and helping to support a healthy and balanced immune system.

I returned a few weeks later to continue my Wellness journey at the hands of AFB’s remedial masseuse, Emma Gater. Remedial massage is the blissful combination of deep tissue massage techniques and works to release tension in the soft tissues to increase circulation, relieve pain and promote healing throughout the body. It is also mighty relaxing!

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Posturally speaking, my next and final stop was a clinical Pilates class and postural assessment with clinic owner and physiotherapist Roshan Singh. This Pilates class was nothing like the reformer and mat classes I attend religiously, it was a customised session which assessed my core strength from head to toe and identified particular weaknesses and strengths.

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One thing I found particularly interesting was finding out that I actually have muscle wastage in my left thigh muscle as a result of a knee injury from my high school days! I have since been working on building up and strengthening that muscle, to prevent further injuries later in life. Roshan then took a look at my posture, which is the poor victim of various daily wear and tear. It doesn’t really take much to get yourself all straightened out, but the difference a small chin tuck for example can make is huge in the long run.

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The Wellness Package at A Fine Balance costs $350 (valued at $513) includes:

• 1 full clinical nutrition consultation
• 1 follow up clinical nutrition consultation
• 2 half-hour massages
• 1 postural assessment with a physiotherapist
• 2 Clinical Pilates classes
• 1 take home massage ball

The package must be used within 3 months of purchase.

Call A Fine Balance on (08) 9444 9663 or email reception@afinebalancephysio.com.au to book.

Think about how comfortable you want to be in your old age, and start working towards it now. Give your body the absolute best it deserves, look after it and nurture it with good food and rest and listen to it when it speaks to you. For it is the investments we make today, that will be worth it tomorrow.

Have you ever considered a wellness package before? If so, what would you like to gain from it? Leave a comment below as I'd love to hear from you!

Review by Lucy Anderson.

Be well,

xoxo

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Ever wondered how on earth some women manage to get their pre-baby bodies back in what seems like the blink of an eye post-bub being born? It’s tricky enough to get a few hours sleep, let alone a workout in. The ever wonderful personal trainer Sarah Devlin has come to the rescue with a very awesome solution for new Perth mamas – Pram Fit!

I’ll let one of her regular Pram Fit attendees, Meaghan, take it from here…

“Pram Fit is a great work out for mums as it allows us to bring our beloved bubs along with us. I’ve found it difficult to get back into shape after having my baby, as I have no family in Perth and noone to mind her if I want to work out.

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I think that if you are going to make the commitment to go, then you really want to see some results, otherwise whats the point? Pram Fit is a real work out tailored to our needs as new mums (of all fitness levels) that gets great results, I can really notice muscles working again that were not used during my pregnancy!

The other great thing is that, like us, Sarah has recently had a baby so she understands how you’re feeling, the niggles and parts of the body that need the most attention after pregnancy & child birth.

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So far we have a great bunch of girls that attend and we always have fun doing it, even if on only a few hours sleep 😉

I recommend Pram Fit as to many people and many mums as possible!”

The Details

Cost: $15 per class

Location: Brighton Park, Scarborough (just left of The Wild Fig)

Day & Time: Thursday @ 8:30am

What happens during a class?

The babies hang out in their prams or on a blanket in the shade with toys. The workout is a combination of strength and resistance training using body weight, interval style cardio training, and pilates. Each week someone’s baby is a bit cranky and that is totally okay. You take breaks and mind the baby if you need to and all fitness levels are welcome.

For more details contact the lovely Sarah Devlin on 0431 365 342 or email sarah@sarahdevlin.com

Sarah is also available for privates and small group mum and bub personal training sessions too where her and her baby come to you and your baby and give you a great workout!

What do you think of the idea of working out next to your little one?

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

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I was recently treated to an ultra-luxe facial by the lovely ladies at Revive Day Spa in Mount Hawthorn, using the crème de la crème of Dermalogica products matched specifically to my skin concerns.

I arrived a bit early and chilled out with a herbal tea in Revive’s lounge area before my therapist, Kelly, came to collect me.

♥ Revive Day Spa Foyer

Revive is super clean and sanitary, without feeling hospital-like. There was just the right amount of pretty scent perfuming the room and the music was at a good volume with a playlist of easy-listening tunes. Hey, first impressions are important!!

I explained to Kelly that I had easily upset combination skin. I also had a ton of breakouts around my chin and cheeks that I wanted to magically erase. She took a closer look at my skin under a magnifying glass and suggested I try Dermalogica’s UltraCalming range along with products from the AGE smart range to gently resurface my skin and balance its pH levels.

♥ Dermalogica Products

My facial started with a gentle steam to open up my pores. The AGE smart MultiVitamin Thermofoliant, a heat-activated exfoliant with salicylic acid, was then applied to gently dissolve dead skin cells. I could feel a bit of tingling around the more sensitive areas of my face, but it wasn’t uncomfortable and if anything, a sure sign the product was doing its thing!

The UltraCalming Cleanser was very gentle and followed by the MultiVitamin Power Recovery Masque, which gave my skin a generous helping of antioxidants to boost its tone and re-hydrate the drier areas of my face. I was delighted when Kelly asked me if I would mind if she gave me a hand and foot massage while the masque was on – it was so relaxing that I very nearly fell asleep.

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After a spritz of the UltraCalming Mist to calm my redness and sensitivity, Kelly massaged the UltraCalming Serum Concentrate into my skin. The serum is said to work below the surface to help minimise irritation.

Finally, my skin was re-hydrated with the UltraCalming Ultra Sensitive Tint spf30 to protect my skin from the bright sun outside while providing some light coverage. My eye area is quite dry, so Kelly used the very moisturising AGE Smart Multivitamin Power Firm eye cream.

I was left to unwind and come ever-so-close to falling asleep again, before getting ready to face the real world with a brand new, glowing complexion!

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Kelly explained that I’d see some more break-outs in the coming days due to the products she’d used drawing out the impurities. She was spot on (pun intended) and my skin did purge for about a week, but I’ve seen a huge improvement since then. This is also thanks to some Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel samples Kelly gave me. The product works wonders in reducing redness and making the recovery process quick when break-outs strike and went straight onto my Christmas wish list after only two uses!

Overall, the facial provided me with a great idea of which Dermalogica products work well with my skin and the team at Revive were incredibly informative about what each product was designed to do. While I haven’t got the budget to overhaul my entire skincare routine with Dermalogica products, the Revive ladies were very helpful in explaining which products would make the most difference in my current routine.

Reviewed by Gemma Clark, a pale, sensitive and fair-haired skincare junkie.

Be well,

xoxo

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Imagine the feeling of complete relaxation after a yoga class, the happiness felt as you eat a piece of your favourite dark chocolate (and knowing there is a whole block left), and the feeling of contentment after you’ve given your best friend an amazingly thoughtful birthday present she loved.

Combine these emotions and you will feel like I did as I left Waitaha Day Spa after my Body Renewal and Skin Rescue Massage spa treatments. Being pampered at this beautiful day spa was a blissful two hours and something my body, mind and soul would definitely recommend – it truly is the ultimate relaxation experience.

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After weaving my way along the sparkling coast up to Hillary’s I arrived at Waitaha and was introduced to Clare who was my beauty therapist for the afternoon. The absolutely lovely and knowledgeable Clare led me to the relaxation room, where my feet were treated to a nourishing foot massage and soak.

I then entered the romantically lit treatment room for the Body Renewal Treatment, which instantly relaxed me with its soothing music and fresh aromas. This pampering treat included a scrub, wrap, steam and Vichy Shower in the hydrospa.

♥ Me, excited before the treatments begun!

Clare’s gentle hands first exfoliated me with a delicious coconut, salt, orange and lime exfoliant (good enough to eat!) which was then gently washed off and the green coffee wrap began. This wrap stimulates your body’s ability to break down fat, increases the metabolism and eliminates water retention.

I would recommend this treatment to all ladies (and men) who are wanting to get their body back to last summers toned and smooth glory, or just wanting to start the process of losing winter’s hearty meals and yummy cakes.

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The top of the hydrospa (the big space-like contraption) was then lowered, and I experienced a nice warm steam – which aided in the wrap being absorbed to work it’s magic. At the same time I also received an Argan Oil hair treatment and head massage (it smelt and felt amazing – an incredible experience). After 20 minutes, the Vichy Shower began! Water jets rained warm water from the roof of the hydrospa and washed the wrap from my body – pure luxury!

♥ A pile of fresh towels is one of the more blissful things in the world!

After I’d dried off and popped on my white robe and slippers on (have I mentioned how luxurious this was yet?) I moved into another treatment room for my Skin Rescue Massage. This started with a full Body Brush which has plentiful benefits, including; exfoliating the skin, stimulating cellular turnover and boosting lymphatic drainage (these magic brushes are sold at Waitaha for $20). The full body massage was just what my body needed, Clare worked out some knots in my back and massaged hydro-oil deep into every part of my legs, torso and arms. Perfection. The hydro-oil is so nourishing and contains jojoba oil to deeply hydrate the skin and doesn’t stain clothes which was good news for the new knit I’d worn into the spa!

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During this time of massage zen and relaxation, Clare also treated me to a Pevonia Enzymospherides Peeling cream. Smelling of summer, the pineapple and papaya enzymes in the cream are activated and remove impurities.

Last was a Pevonia Lumafirm Lift and Glow Mask which Clare let me know (I had to reconfirm later because I was in such a happy and dream-like state) that this mask renders skin ultra-luminous with a firmer, tighter and more youthful defined appearance. It’s highly recommended for aging skin or for ladies who are seeking an instant repair boost for a special day, or because they simply deserve it!

♥ The ring!

Last year on my birthday I got engaged and did not think a birthday could ever be topped by that moment. This year on my birthday I was exfoliated, wrapped, massaged, showered from head to toe at Waitaha Day Spa and while this didn’t quite top my handsome boy’s words and my emerald engagement ring, it came pretty darn close!

Whether you’re looking for a bit of love and attention coming into summer, or want to buy a thoughtful gift for your mum or a beloved friend, I’m a firm believer that Waitaha Day Spa should definitely be at the top of your list.

t: 08 9403 3633
e: relax@waitahadayspa.com.au

address:
Shop 15, Hillarys Shopping Centre
110 Flinders Avenue
Hillarys
Western Australia

Have you been to Waitaha before? What are your favourite spas in Perth? Lets chat in the comments below!

Reviewed by very relaxed and smooth skinned Jade!

Be well,

xoxo