Wellness Wrap-Up: Bikram Yoga Comes to Perth City, More Acai in Fremantle, Free Fitness Classes & Your Best Booty Yet!

What started as an idea for a fortnightly segment has quickly turned very popular, with over 150 views in one day of the first edition (!) – and as I was squirreling away information for the next wrap-up, it quickly became obvious that there is just SO much going on in Perth’s wellness scene right now that a weekly post might be more fitting, so here we go! Would love your feedback as always xo

♥ Acai Brothers Fremantle

With warm weather just around the corner and beach season just about to get into full swing, there’s nothing like an icy bowl of deliciousness to help you escape the heat. Even better if that icy bowl comes in the form of a superfood-packed, skin & body loving antioxidant feast that just so happens to be bright purple and out of this world tasty.

While Natures Harvest, Bowl’n, Ohana Acai Bar, Hylin, Pearth Organic & more have been serving up Acai bowls on the reg in Perth for a while now – Acai Brothers Fremantle are the latest folks to join in on the action.

Initial reports seem to indicate that all of the bowls are blended with guarana with no option for omission – which may cut out a lot of their potential customer base (including me!) who are sensitive to caffeine/stimulants – but if an intense hit of energy along with your daily superfood dose is what you’re after, then this might just be your new favourite healthy haunt.

Acai Brothers is located @ 64 High Street, Fremantle.

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The latest new yoga studio to get bendy, stretchy & sweaty in Perth is Original Hot Yoga – located on the cusp of Highgate & East Perth! Offering 100% Bikram Yoga classes (a sequence of 26 postures & 2 breathing exercises are practiced in a room heated to 40 degrees), this studio promises to change your life in 60 days.

Curious to check it out but worried about the heat or not being flexible enough? All of the classes cater to beginners – you’re more than welcome to rest at any time during class and just breathe on your mat. Just make sure to drink 2-3 litres of water per day when practicing & get your electrolytes in, as you’ll lose loads of water with all the sweating you’ll be doing.

Original Hot Yoga is located at 179 Claisebrook Road, Perth, and will be opening In November.

♥ HBF Free Fitness Classes are Back!

HBF offer free fitness classes to their members each year for 8 weeks and you’ll no doubt see large groups of people exercising around the place taking advantage of the generous offer! If you’re a member head over to the HBF Fitness website to sign up and start your Summer fitness journey.

♥ Lisa Burns Training Studio!

Last but certainly not least is a brand new studio from booty-sculpting dream babe Lisa Burns. Her brand new location in Doubleview, which is aptly named “Lisa Burns Training Studio“, is your one stop shop to get bikini ready & that booty poppin’.

Her signature “Booty Burn” class has a cult following, and take it from personal experience – your butt, thighs & stomach will be sore for DAYS. But the results are so worth it.

Along with Booty Burn the studio also offers Box & Booty (can’t wait to try this one!), Strength & Flow and regular boxing classes to fast-track your way to ultra fit. Once you’ve felt the burn you can check out the on-site cafe, Mr Herbert’s, for a caffeine, cold-pressed juice or raw treat fix. What more could you want?

Lisa Burns Training Studio is located at 243 Herbert Street, Doubleview.

Let me know in the comments below if you’re keen to check out any of these new Perth wellness & fitness options!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Posted in Exercise, Food, Inner City, North of River, Yoga | Comments Off on Wellness Wrap-Up: Bikram Yoga Comes to Perth City, More Acai in Fremantle, Free Fitness Classes & Your Best Booty Yet!

Perth Yoga: Yin Yoga @ The Yoga Space, West Perth.

♥ Photo credit: Qi Yoga

Lately things have felt a little crazy. Despite selling my shares in the business that I worked on 24/7 for over 2 & a 1/2 years, life has quickly filled up with all kinds of work and activities. From working full-time at lululemon, to yoga teacher training and the subsequent commitment to attending 5 yoga classes per week (!!!), some freelance marketing work & trying to squeeze in glasses of wine with friends alongside binge watching Game of Thrones (5 years late to that party) – I am left pretty exhausted at the end of each day.

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favourite styles of yoga (and places to practice) that I find really nourish, relax & calm my nervous system when things are getting a bit too cray cray – Yin Yoga!

The classes I find myself getting to most often at the moment are at The Yoga Space (since this is where I’m doing teacher training) and the yin classes are held at 7pm on both Thursday and Sunday evenings.

Each class is lit with candles to help you slip into a deep state of stretchy relaxation, run for 75-90 minutes and are taught by expert yoga teachers with loads of experience in gently guiding you towards calmness and a (at least partially) switched off brain.

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Yin yoga is different to regular vinyasa/hatha yoga in that each pose is designed to release tension in the fascia and joints, rather than the muscles, and the poses are held for anywhere from 3-5 minutes. Props such as bolsters, blankets, blocks & cushions are also used to help the body get into position – although this is a quiet/slow practice, it can still be challenging as the body is being asked to relax into areas that it normally doesn’t. The teachers can help you with any poses that you find tricky, and you may even end up with 2-3 bolsters, 3 blocks and a cushion supporting you!

Over the course of the class you will take part in many different stretches & held positions, all while breathing deeply and doing your best to concentrate on the present moment, which is easier said than done on some days, and the class ends with an extra long Savasana (resting pose) …bliss.

Make sure you drive home safely afterwards as you’ll more than likely want to jump straight into bed as soon as you’re done, and did I mention that yin yoga can help you get an AMAZING nights rest? Well it can! I always sleep like a baby post-yin, sweet dreams, zzz!

Cost: $20 casual class

Where: The Yoga Space, West Perth

When: Thursday & Sunday @ 7pm

Be well,

Annette xo

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New Beginnings – Yoga Teacher Training, Bali Wellness Retreats & Mental Space.

Hello!

It has certainly been a long time between healthy drinks. The past two and a half years have seen me immersed in building up the business I co-created, Pure Glow Cleanse, from scratch & I’ve now left my role there and am back on the wellness wagon so will be updating a little more frequently – yay! 🙂

So what’s been going on? I recently took part in a life-changing health & wellness retreat in Bali, run by Perth company Reflection of Balance. To say this retreat was what I needed would be an understatement.

It was exactly what I needed x 25 million. I will be doing a full review of my experience very soon – but the cliffs are that 7 days of rest, swimming, fitness, amazing company, fantastic trainers & retreat facilitators, sunshine & no computer (I didn’t even open my laptop for 7 days – pretty much unheard of) allowed me to gain incredible clarity into what I wanted to invite into my life moving forward for the rest of 2015. And did I mention the food? INCREDIBLE.

#takemebackasap

So after this I knew I needed to make some changes in my life. Cue shaking things up, leaving the business, going back to work @ lululemon & starting a Yoga Teacher Training at The Yoga Space – thanks, Reflection of Balance! 🙂

I don’t know what the rest of 2015 is going to bring – other than lots of green smoothies, 5 yoga classes a week & hopefully a few massages sprinkled in here and there, but what I do know is that I am very excited to get back in to blogging here.

Wellness WA will become a little bit more personal, too. For a while there was around 25 people contributing articles so that we could cover as much of the local wellness scene as humanly possible.

I’ve realised that stripping it back and giving a more in-depth insight into what is really working for me & what I am loving might be more beneficial than lots of scattered opinions.

Let me know what you think, I can’t wait to get connected again.

Lots of wellness & love x

Annette

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Beauty & Wellbeing Routine: Lara Dwyer, Vinyasa Yoga Teacher and Owner of Sukha Yoga, Perth!

glasses frames online

♥ – Photography by Luke Thompson

♥ First up, briefly tell us a little bit about yourself!

I am a lover of Yoga and through my business Sukha Yoga I am able to share my passion for the Yoga teachings. I have always had an interest in wellness and originally completed my degree in Naturopathy. I worked as a Naturopath in Perth and eventually in a Holistic Chemist in New York City. It was while I was living in NYC I discovered my Yoga home, Laughing Lotus. Since that fateful first discovery I have now undertaken 500 hours of training at the studio with Dana Trixie Flynn and her fabulous teaching faculty. Forever grateful for my teacher’s blessings I now share Lotus Flow Yoga here in Perth.

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My classes incorporate Vinyasa Flow to music and I draw on poetry, stories from ancient texts and scriptures that inspire me to thread through classes. I feel very lucky to have met so many great people through teaching Yoga and have made many friends that have simply started with them unrolling their mat in class. I am an ambassador for lululemon athletica and am proud to represent such a innovative and grass roots based company.

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When I am not sharing Yoga I offer a wellness consultancy service where I aim to empower people to restore wellness through diet and lifestyle modifications. I love to travel, observing and appreciating life all over the world. I recently married my wonderful husband Craig and have special family and friends who mean the world to me.

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♥ Tell us about your daily beauty routine.

I use Pangea Organics Australia Wild Plum and Willow Facial Cleanser. Pangea Organics is a company based in Colorado USA and offers lovely plant based skin care, which are free from GMOs, Artificial Colors or Fragrances, Synthetic Preservatives, Petroleum and Sulfates or Detergents. You can find their range here. I also have been a long time fan of Aesop products (their hand and body lotions smell amazing) and am using their Fabulous Face Oil as we head into the cooler months to keep my skin hydrated and happy.

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♥ What's the one beauty treatment you can't live without? And your favourite place to have it done?

I don’t have a beauty treatment I can’t live without although my body enjoys a bit of acupuncture and a visit to my excellent Physiotherapist Mr Trevor Aung Than if I have been overdoing the Yoga arm balances or cycling.

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♥ Who do you trust with your hair in Perth, and why?

Shane Dias in Claremont has a his own salon which he has built from his excellent reputation. He’s very skilled and has traveled the world mastering his craft, and is genuinely such a lovely guy to chat to.

♥ Favourite budget / at home beauty treatment?

I find a swim in the ocean does wonders for my skin, and I always feel great being immersed in the beautiful salty sea.

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♥ Your three, absolutely cannot live without, favourite products?

Whenever I am traveling I like to pack light and the following trio works for me. A nice bottle of perfume like, Diptyque Ofresia to spray and feel fresh (especially appreciated after long journeys if you don’t feel it), Lucas Paw Paw ointments for dry lips, bites, rashes and dry shampoo is excellent stretching out the need to wash hair.

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♥ Do you have any secret tips you use to keep looking / feeling great?

Practicing Yoga and sharing Yoga feeds my soul and keeps me feeling bright. A mostly plant based diet keeps my insides happy and I love to move and will try any activity. I think I have inherited pretty good genes as my pop is 94 and is still going strong. One of his secrets to longevity is “eat your vegetables”.

♥ What beauty treatment/ wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven't yet?

I would love to enroll in an Ayurvedic Panchakarma program one day. Perhaps somewhere in Kerala where there is daily Yoga Asana and massage prescribed to my Dosha along with cleansing ocean swims and palm trees to lie under…

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♥ Describe a typical day of eating for you.

I’ve been Vegetarian for the past 9 years and I practice wholefood cooking to keep me feeling optimal. Wholefood cooking means to consume foods closest to it’s natural state, preparing meals using fresh unprocessed ingredients. Breakfast is varied but usually involves some Chia seeds thrown into Yoghurt with nuts and seeds or may be some toast with almond butter or avocado or an egg.

Lunch lately is green soup – a whole lot of green veggies pureed together (with some Kale and herbs from my veggie patch) and dinner could be anything from tofu or tempeh stir fry, soup with legumes or lentils, salads, curry and or may be a raw food creation like zucchini pasta. I snack on raw veggies, a nut/seed/raw cacao/goji berry mix and really enjoy a Soy Long Macchiato mid morning.

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♥ Describe your fitness routine.

I practice Yoga most days. I love to cycle and commute on my single speed to classes in the city. I also ride for longer distances on a road bike and I mountain bike in the hills or down south on weekends. I love to surf and am the eternal beginner, I enjoy being tossed around and the thrill of jumping up – even if the wave has broken and I’m on the white wash with all the other kids. I belong to a Capoeira group and have recently gotten into triathlons so swimming and running training are also added in. Love to move : )

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♥ Do you take part in any alternative therapies or take supplements? If so, discuss.

Being a Naturopath I do believe supplementation can be of benefit when necessary. Over the Winter months I like to take New Chapter Life Shield Immunity which is a fortified mushroom mix for additional immune support (available on iherb.com). I add in some vitamin C and Echinacea if I feel a cold coming on. I also take a good quality magnesium diglycinate to support musculoskeletal health.

♥ How many hours sleep do you usually get each night? Do you have any bedtime rituals or tips to help you get a great nights sleep?

I aim to get 7 hours of sleep. I generally don’t have any trouble falling off to sleep but I have found an evening practice of Yin Yoga can really contribute to a lovely night’s rest.

♥ How do you like to relax? What are your favourite ways to de-stress?

I love Yin Yoga for restoring my energy and for winding down. Yin encourages a practice of patience and really allowing time for the body to receive the poses, which is deeply nourishing for the nervous and adrenal system. I love reading literature. I enjoy spending time with my husband, family and friends whether it be over a shared meal, outside in our beautiful natural surrounds of WA or in the ocean rolling amongst a few waves. Bliss.

Thank you Lara for sharing your beautiful routine with us 🙂

If there are any questions or comments for Lara, please leave them below!

Be well,

xoxo

Posted in Interviews, Yoga | Comments Off on Beauty & Wellbeing Routine: Lara Dwyer, Vinyasa Yoga Teacher and Owner of Sukha Yoga, Perth!

Beauty & Wellbeing Routine: Chloe Potter, Yoga Teacher & Owner of Yoga Love!

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♥ First up, briefly tell us a little bit about yourself!

My name is Chloe; I run a Yoga business called Yoga Love. I teach private, corporate and public classes around Perth. My back ground is Contemporary dance, as well as over a decade of performing, teaching, & training a Brazilian martial art called Capoeira, I feel like I have lived many lives!

Prior to starting my business I worked as a Health & wellness coordinator on the mines working a FIFO roster. Although I learnt a lot on the job and it was very rewarding, I did come to an epiphany on a trip to Bali that this wasn’t quite what I wanted to be doing with my life. I got home, quit my job & started my Yoga business. For me, wellness is about finding balance in ‘your’ life for ‘you’, whatever that means to you – because at the end of the day we are different. I love teaching Yoga, seeing the effect it has on people’s lives, there is always a shift of some kind!

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♥ Tell us about your daily beauty routine.

Generally I wake up most mornings at 5am for Yoga, so it’s a few snoozes on the alarm clock, then a super quick jump in the shower, I love using Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel, it’s so quick and easy. I pop on a little Nivea light feel sun cream 30+ then I’ve just started using Pevonia Botanica which I love, it smells amazing! In the evening I use Dermalogica Daily Resurfacer which is a great exfoliating foaming powder, then Pevonia aromatherapy dry skin oil & Rejuvenating Dry skin cream. Once a week I use Sukin purifying Facial Masque which is a really natural inexpensive product, but it feels great.

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♥ What's the one beauty treatment you can't live without? And your favourite place to have it done?

I would have to say it definitely a massage! And my favorite place to have it done is at a fantastic little day spa in Seminyak Bali called Amo Day Spa. They have a massage there that was designed with the help of an orthopedic surgeon, it is out of this world!

♥ Who do you trust with your hair in Perth, and why?

I wear my hair up so much that I don’t get it done as often as I should, but I do like visiting House of Ernest in the city, they are consistently good.

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♥ Favourite budget / at home beauty treatment?

A great Ayurvedic facial treatment is combining almond meal into a paste with rose water, then smearing it onto your face for a few minutes. It’s a wonderful cleanser, it smells so good, it’s all natural, and doesn’t cost the earth.

♥ Your three, absolutely cannot live without, favourite products?

My Pevonia Botanica facial oil, Moroccan hair oil, and hand cream of any kind.

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♥ Do you have any secret tips you use to keep looking / feeling great?

Self care is something we don’t do enough of, I always tell myself I deserve to have a break & I’ve worked hard. Whether it's popping face mask on with a good magazine and a cuppa tea, getting a massage, or going to a Yoga class! I think self care, and creating time for your self is the greatest beauty tip I have. We all deserve time out.

♥ What beauty treatment/ wellbeing activity would you love to try but haven't yet?

I would love to do a great raw food detox retreat somewhere exotic, perhaps this year?

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♥ Describe a typical day of eating for you.

I usually don’t eat in the morning until I finish my first few Yoga sessions, I have a protein shake in the car unless I can get home for some eggs. I am on the road a lot so a few times a week I take myself out for breakie I love Huevos rancheros, a Mexican beans and eggs dish Yumo! I then get a wrap something protein and salad, almonds and trail mix in the afternoon, and then I often eat fish and a crazy salad for dinner. I make some crazy salads, it’s my thing…my favourite is spinach, feta, seeds, strawberries and balsamic.

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♥ Describe your fitness routine.

I do so much Yoga during the week that my fitness routine outside of that is the occasional class, I really like Floor Barre, it’s a ballet/pilates style class anyone can do. Then my other thing is to walk my two beautiful Labradoodle dogs Buddy & Ted.

♥ Do you take part in any alternative therapies or take supplements? If so, discuss.

I really think massage is so important, I try to get a Shiatsu massage every few weeks. One of my Yoga students is a practitioner and she is amazing & very well priced – www.sasashiatsu.com!

♥ How many hours sleep do you usually get each night? Do you have any bedtime rituals or tips to help you get a great nights sleep?

When it comes to sleep, I have a set routine which fits in well with my work. I probably get around 6 hours sleep a night, but the most important thing I have learnt to do is NAP! I have a good nana nap in the afternoon before my evening classes which puts me right. If I have trouble sleeping then chamomile tea usually does the trick!

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♥ How do you like to relax? What are your favourite ways to de-stress?

One of the thing I love to do to relax is a long trip to the beach, take everything from magazines to a picnic and spend the day under the umbrella feeling lazy at the beach, for me it’s like a mini holiday break!

Thanks to Chloe for sharing her yoga-tastic routine!

If you have any questions for this lovely yogi, please leave them below in the comments below! 🙂

Be well,

xoxo

Posted in Interviews, Yoga | Comments Off on Beauty & Wellbeing Routine: Chloe Potter, Yoga Teacher & Owner of Yoga Love!