Wednesday, September 11, 2013

September Motivation

Hello Wellness Tribe! Here is our September Motivational Blog for you to use during your month to keep you focused, happy, fully energized.

We are so excited to welcome Spring and enjoy a bit more warmth...well it is Melbourne so anything is possible. This month we encourage you to get out and about, enjoy the sunshine and chose to make yourself happy!

We have a yoga pose, a recipe and an inspirational quote from our team to fill you with some Contagious Enthusiasm...


INSPIRE


Yoga Pose for the month
  by Sophie Rouse

 

Balasana or Child's Pose - a great way to relieve stress and come back to your breath.


 The idea is to wrap yourself up in a little ball like kids and babies do. To pretend you are asleep or hiding from the world.

Kneel on the floor with your feet touching. Separate your knees so that they align with your hips. Bend forward until your head rests on the ground. Let your hands rest beside your feet. Bring your focus to your breath and breathe gently toward your spine. This pose will help you bring your awareness back to the body and your breath. Stay for 30 seconds to 2 minutes, then gently come back to kneeling.

It is a great pose to do at the end of the day, or anytime you need to restore your busy mind and come back to a sense of yourself. It will gently stretch your spine, thighs, knees, and ankles. 

* If you have high blood pressure, pregnant,  or can't rest your head on the floor, bring your hands forward to make fists and stack them on top of each other. Your hands can support your head. Make sure your head is at equal level to your back.

 *Also be cautious if you have a knee injury. Always listen to your body for signals of discomfort and come out of the pose.

With Love,
Sophie

Click here for Yoga Timetable


TRANSFORM

RECIPE OF THE MONTH by Susan Slonim

Spring is in the air and we all start thinking about spring cleaning. Our bodies could also benefit from a little cleansing now and again. A detox can get you on the road to, losing weight, flush out toxins, boost energy levels or simply feel healthier. You don’t need to use extreme methods, just increase your water and herbal tea intake, decrease coffee, tea, alcohol, processed and high sugar foods and include detox foods in your diet. Try detox recipes like this delicious Quinoa Salad with Toasted Almonds.

Quinoa Salad with Toasted Almonds

¼  cup slivered almonds
½  cup quinoa
4 teaspoons olive oil
½  yellow capsicum, ribs and seeds discarded, cut into 3cm chunks
½  red capsicum, ribs and seeds discarded, cut into 3cm chunks
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium red onions, thinly sliced
1/8 teaspoon chilly flakes
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, plus more for garnish (optional)
¼  teaspoon coarse salt
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 3cm thick
1 large celery stalk, diced
1 lime, halved
½ cup fresh paw paw or mango
1 tbsp pomegranate seeds
Lettuce to serve

1.     Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Toast almonds until crisp, lightly browned, and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Meanwhile, place quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear; drain well.

2.     In a medium saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over medium heat. Add capsicum, garlic, onions, and chilly flakes; cook until the capsicum is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

3.     Stir in quinoa, thyme, 1 cup water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 7 minutes. Stir in zucchini, cover, and cook until quinoa is tender but not mushy, 5 to 8 minutes longer. Remove the saucepan from heat.

4.     Stir in celery, almonds, and remaining 2 teaspoons oil, season with salt, and fluff with a fork.  

5.     Serve on a bed of lettuce topped with the paw paw or mango, sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over the salad and add a squeeze lime, enjoy!

 
Enjoy! To read more or to connect with Susan click here

 
AWAKEN
POSITIVE THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH by Cheryne Blom

BYE BYE SELF PITY!

Have you noticed on the days you are feeling down and depressed that most of the time we are having a pity party.

"Why is this happening to me?"
" I can't handle all this!"
"Good things happen to everyone else, except me...I am cursed."
Blah Blah Blah ...the voice of self pity continues, pulling us down a rabbit hole of darkness.

A great self pity buster is to recognize it and learn to dissociate from it. What I mean is that the first step we need to have is SELF AWARENESS and recognize that the voice of self pity is ruling our mind and therefore creating a dark reality for us. When we are in self pity our judgments and perceptions are clouded and we cannot see a way out.

The next step is to disassociate with the voice of self pity. This means we detach from the emotion, we take a step back and reflect on our inner self talk and what effect that is happening on us and then we are able to move ourselves into a more positive step.

The third step is to take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILTY for your thoughts and emotions. Here, I define responsibility as Our Ability to Respond to situations. In each moment we DO have a choice on how we can view a situation and the perspectives we can take. This means we can be aware that we are having a pity party and chose to respond more effectively by choosing a more positive response. These positive responses include taking control of a situation, communicating yourself clearly, choosing what will make you happy or doing something for yourself. Once we make a more positive choice we can move ourselves in a more positive direction.

Bye bye pity party and hello self empowerment :-)



To read more about Cheryne click here
You can also follow Cheryne's blog


We trust you enjoy our Blog and look forward to sharing some new tips next month.

Lots of love,

The Team @ Contagious Enthusiasm
http://www.contagiousenthusiasm.com.au/

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