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Yoga DVD Review: Eoin Finn's Blissology Project!

If the thought of coming home from a day at the office and being whisked away on a Balinese yoga retreat appeals to you… then this is the next best thing! Filmed in the midst of a serene Balinese backdrop, Eoinn Finn's 6 DVD Blissology Project contains a Vinyasa Flow yoga and meditation routine for each weekday and one for the weekend, and at just $30 from Amazon it's a real bargain! Each day focuses on a different area of the body and mind to guide you through the week.

Eoin is a well-known Canadian yogi and surfer who has studied and taught yoga and meditation for many years. He regularly teaches workshops and holds retreats as well as having a line of DVDs. Eoin was also one of Lululemon’s first ambassadors!

He describes Blissology on his website as “the art of consciously finding the balance between one’s personal desires and our impact on the web of life. It is not just a brand but a way of being. It is a path of interconnectedness and love.

Eoin approaches yoga holistically, encouraging us to adopt its philosophy into our everyday lives. There is no reason not to get some yoga practise in every day with this DVD set, with each weekday disc giving you the option of a ‘quickie’ (usually around 30-35 minutes)if you’re strapped for time, or a longer routine of around 45-55 minutes if you are after a more intense session. If you’re new to the world of yoga there are beginner’s options throughout, as well as a reference guide to help you perfect those postures.

If you are looking for more of a challenge, there are alternatives during each session to help you push yourself further. Every routine also finishes with a 10 minute meditation to keep you grounded, present and feeling like you don’t have a worry in the world.

Practising yoga at home with the assistance of a DVD is a great complement to your usual yoga or fitness routine, and is an excellent option for those of us who don’t always have time for classes before or after work, or who may not be in a position to commit to a full membership or course.

If you are a true beginner this is an enjoyable introduction to the yoga lifestyle, however I would recommend that you do combine your at-home practise with some guided sessions at your local yoga studio in order to truly understand and master the various postures and sequences, and of course to avoid injuring yourself.

You can even pop the DVD into your laptop, take it outdoors and practise in the park or at the beach… I can’t think of a better way to shut out the world and get some quality me-time in!

The DVD can be purchased in-store at Lululemon, or online at Amazon. You can also find Eoin’s range of other videos on the Blissology website, which can all be downloaded straight to iTunes.

I'd love to hear if you've tried the Blissology DVD's, or are keen to, and what your favourite yoga DVD's are at the moment – so leave a comment below!

Review by Alice – yoga-lover who would really like to attend a retreat in Bali sometime soon!

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Be well,

xoxo

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A Week in the Wellness Life – Gnocchi at The Trustee, Fitness Magazines & Yoga DVD Reviews.

One of my favourite things to do is to get a whole stack of health & fitness magazines and spend the evening poring through them, making notes on ideas for Wellness WA articles. Wellness nerd! 🙂

A super kind card from my friend Haley from Peachy Clean Organic Beauty Boutique when I was feeling stressed! You get one of these cuties every time you make an order and I’m slowly adding to my collection, hopefully one day I’ll have them all! 🙂

After hearing many raves about the Artisana products from American health bloggers, I was thrilled to see this at the Subiaco Farmers Market a few weeks ago. It’s very sweet and a lot different to pure coconut oil, it has the coconut flesh mixed in too. Very yummy and decadent – a sometimes treat!

Another farmers market find! A 6 day old baby lamb (it looks so much like a goat!). This poor babe had been abandoned by it’s mama and adopted by human parents. What a sweet heart!

A really easy and yummy salad I threw together, chopped spinach, avocado, cherry tomatoes, quinoa & sesame seeds. I probably put a drizzle of olive on too. YUM! + fresh orange for dessert.

Hooray for Amazon orders! I picked up (L-R):

Tamal Dodge’s Hatha & Flow Yoga for Beginners (2 classes, 1 easier, 1 stronger): I really like this class and instructor, he has a very soothing voice. I finish the classes feeling great and stretched out. Slightly challenging but not too hard!

Crunch Candelight Yoga with Sara Ivanhoe – this is my favourite of the three! It’s suitable for all beginners and is a very gentle and restorative practice with variations for different skill levels. There’s also a bonus 15 minute energising routine included Highly recommended, and it’s only $6.36 on Amazon!

Yoga for Stress Relief – this DVD has over 20 sequences to choose from. It is very heavily focused on calming breathing and slow movements. If you have injuries, are very stressed out or are not looking for any kind of workout from your yoga, then this will be a good one for you.

Here’s a healthy crumble I whipped up in a jiffy. A large tin of pears (preferably in juice, not syrup), half a cup of frozen mixed berries, some steel cut oats, crushed walnuts, cinnamon, wheatgerm & flaxseed meal. Baked for about 20 minutes at 180 (or til the top starts to look golden). Serve with greek yoghurt & some extra cinnamon if desired. So quick, easy, tasty & healthy 🙂

My final crush for this week is this outstanding vegetarian gnocchi with semi sun dried tomatoes, rocket & parmesan from The Trustee on St Georges Terrace. Absolutely divine. At about $32 for the above size, it’s not your everyday lunch meal, but for a treat I can highly recommend it. I’m dreaming of going back now!

Let me know what your week of wellness consisted of in the comments below! 🙂 Looking forward to hearing from you!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Beauty & Wellbeing Crushes: A Fun Way to Meditate, Style Your Hair, Double Yoga & Gem Infused Body Wash!

My Diamond Days

I’ve been talking about the benefits of meditation a lot lately, here on Wellness WA, as well as going on about it to my friends a LOT! I’ve also been creating a few little morning rituals for myself – 2 sets of sun salutations followed by a couple of minutes meditating, and it’s incredible how much better I feel on the days that I do this.

If you’d like to start meditating but are not sure how, then you need to check out My Diamond Days, a delicious program which gives you access to a large variety of high-quality guided meditations that you can listen to on your computer, MP3 player or smart phone whenever you want. My Diamond Days sends you a daily email with a new guided meditation, so you never get bored, and there’s such a big variety of meditations that if you’re not so keen on one, then you can easily go through the archives to find one that suits whatever you need at that point in time.

I like to listen to mine before bedtime using their mobile app, that 5 or 10 minutes helps calm my mind and ensure a great nights sleep. Highly recommended! Find out more at www.mydiamonddays.com

Style Your Hair

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the launch of a brand new smart phone and tablet app that promises to make the downtime between appointments at the hairdresser less of an ordeal. Enter – Style Your Hair.

Promising to teach you how to whip together a salon-worthy hairstyle in just a few minutes with its easy to follow videos, this app was created by two of the award-winning hairdressers from local salon Chilli Couture.

There are 67 videos in the paid version ($2.99) and there is also a free lite version which gives you a taste of the program! Available for both iPhone & Android products, this is one to check out if you need a little extra help keeping your follicles in check.

2 x Yoga in a Row

While I’m not quite at the level of the lass in the picture above… I’m a pretty big fan of yoga. You might know this by now. If you ever want to have a chat about yoga, get in touch! I’m lucky enough to go to a gym that has fairly plentiful, high-quality yoga offerings available, in fact it was the deciding factor in me signing up! One such yoga offering comes on a Sunday afternoon in the form of two yoga classes in a row. Most people attend one or the other, but there’s a few of us who’ve cottoned on to the fact that each class is different and that double yoga = double the benefits.

I can turn up frazzled and stressed, and walk out of class two hours later with a significantly lighter mind. A cheaper option is to do two different yoga DVD’s in a row – both are sure to have different focuses, and you’ll get a double hit of stress dissolving goodness. Let me know if you try it!

AEOS Beauty Body Shower

This organic/biodynamic body wash contains the gem & crystal essences. Yep. Amethyst, turquoise, emerald, quartz and more. AEOS stands for Active Energised Organic Skincare, and these guys know how to make some truly great, and very natural, products.

A gentle cleansing wash for the body, containing a blend of organic and biodynamic essential oils, plant extracts and the energies of gems and crystals. Rich in rosemary, white birch and gardenia to leave the skin feeling fresh and soft, whilst the scent of lemon myrtle transforms your showering ritual in to a refreshing and uplifting experience.

I’ve been enjoying using this in the mornings, and even though I don’t really know how the whole gemstone/crystal thing works, I can’t help but think it makes my mood a little more sparkly. Available for $18.50 from Be Genki Shop.

What’s making your beauty & wellness world spin this week? Share your crushes below, I’d love to hear them!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Beauty & Wellbeing Crushes: Sun Salutations, Yoga by Candlelight, Kosmea Radiance Serum.

Hello wellness lovers! Welcome to another edition of beauty & wellbeing crushes – this is one of my FAVOURITE sections to write, as I get to share with you the little things that are amping up my wellness and making me feel great in a bite sized format. As always, please share your crushes below so we can all share and amplify our inspiration. Enjoy! X

Kosmea Radiance 24/7 Youth Boost

As a Rosehip Oil devotee, I’m always looking for the latest and greatest developments in the field of RHO! This newie appeals to me because it contains:

♥ Organic Rosehip Oil
♥ Organic Seabuckthorn Oil
♥ Organic Pomegranate Oil
♥ Organic Camellia Oil
♥ Apricot Kernal Oil

+ Raspberries, rosemary and much more! YUM. So far it’s on par with regular Rosehip Oil (I’ve only been using it a couple of days), but I really like the idea of the extra nutrients from the variety of oils nourishing my face just a little more than regular RHO would. RRP $21.95.

Personal Training + Sun Salutations

I’ve long avoided any form of yoga which focuses on sun salutations, due to low blood pressure & weak upper body strength which meant a lot of the poses were difficult for me. Since re-starting personal training and beginning to whip myself into shape, my upper arm strength has increased dramatically in a short period, and as such I can now do planks, low planks and cobra pose – YAY! From this I’m slowly developing a love for the way that this more active form of yoga makes me feel, and am considering taking an Ashtanga Beginners course soon 🙂

Yoga by Candlelight

I’m a super lucky duck and was recently sent the above goodies to trial, there’s a Dr Hauschka Lemon Bath, some healthy toothpaste (more on these two later) and some dreamy Luminessence soy candles in French Pear and Lemongrass + Ginger scents. I haven’t had a candle for a while so I was really excited to receive these, but was wondering how I could use them in a different way to the norm.

Solution: Yoga by candlelight. There really is something that makes a practice session that much more special when the lights are off, you’re bathed in a gentle flickering glow & the gentle scent of pears wafts about as you move from downward dog to plank pose.

And these eco-friendly, locally made (Margaret River!) Luminessence candles were perfect for the occasion! I use the French Pear variety when I want to wind down from a long day, and the Lemongrass + Ginger in the mornings to gently awaken my senses and they work a treat. Available online from Peachy Clean.

I would love to hear your crushes for the week, let me know below! 🙂

Be well,

Annette

xoxo

Wellness Inspiration: 2 Amazing Yoga Videos!

Sometimes you see something inspiring, and just want to share it immediately so that everyone can feel the way you felt when you saw it. These two videos evoked one of those moments.

A beautiful testament to yoga, love and connection – check them out if you want to be inspired, and let me know what you think!

This first one has been around for quite some time:

♥ So beautiful!

The second one just came out last week & shows the yogini in the first vid, with her husband along for the trip this time too:

I want to be this flexible some day!

Anyone think they can give these guys a run for their money?!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo