Do you forget ideas or people’s names easily?

Are your time management skills poor?

If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above – start journaling. All you need is some paper and a pen and the intention to transfer what’s in your mind onto the paper – freely, uninhibited and without restrain.

For me, journaling provides clarity in planning, and in processing problems.

It can also help keep me accountable for my To Do’s and goals. In this sense, the simple process of writing things down is kind of like signing a cheque or contract. It represents intention and promotes action. When you write something down your intention or goal is one step closer to being manifested.

In yoga, we have ‘Mudras’ which are often certain shapes we make with the hands and fingers. Essentially they are external expressions of an internal resolve. I think journaling is much like this. It’s taking what’s inside and expressing it, putting it to paper and giving it ‘energy’ or power.

Have you ever written an angry letter to someone only to stop yourself from sending it because the act of writing your emotions down has helped calm you down?

I’ll often write my feelings and questions to someone down before an important meeting, just so that I can clearly organise my thoughts and clearly communicate my intentions. It’s as much for me as it is for them.

Other benefits of journaling…

1. Self Reflection – When you see your thoughts and feelings on paper, you have a chance to understand yourself better, change the things you want to change and replace negative or unhappy thoughts and feelings with positive, more useful ones.

2. Expressed Feelings – Ever gone to write an angry letter to someone and after reading you don’t send it? This is because you’ve already released some of that anger on paper and expressed your feelings.

3. Creative Release - expression through the pen is one of the most cathartic and creative things we can do. Next time you journal, try not to over analyse the thought before you express it – this way you can ‘channel’ the purest interpretation of the feeling. Don’t think that what you write down has to be poetic or a literary masterpiece. Chances are you’re the only one that will see it so be unrestricted by self judgement. Just write what comes up.

4. Memory Enhancement – if you journal at the end of your day, write down all of the new people you came in contact with and any ideas you’ve had. Writing them down will help you remember – and failing that – you always have a reference to look back through.

And on the topic of writing things down, myself, Kylie and Betsy would like to invite you to submit your work to us as blog posts to be published. It’s a way of giving you a creative voice to express yourself. So if it’s also your intention to inspire, motivate and elevate other women – just holler!
Email me with any enquiries kate@elevateevents.com.au.

One of my good friends, yoga students and Elevate Community members, Jade Matheson emailed this week to say she was doing pretty well. She’d just completed the Michelle Bridges Body Transformation and happened to lose 10.3 kgs doing it.

First of all: yeeeeeuuww! Well done Jade. And second of all well done for having the strength to commit to something, stick it out and make a positive change. You’re an inspiration to many.

I asked her to send me through some answers to questions I know will help inspire others. Ultimately her answers demonstrate the importance of goals and supportive & inspiring people around you.

Firstly, a little about Jade Matheson…

Jade is 30 years old and rocks it out during the week as an Executive Assistant at Lend Lease. I met her when I was teaching corporate classes at her previous place of work. Her enthusiasm was impressive. I love it when a new student really gets into her practice and encourages others. Every week I would rock up to the office and there she’d be…first on the mat.

Change Means Taking Action.

When asked the main reason why she wanted to do the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation, she said it was to lose weight but as the challenge progressed she soon realised happiness and a positive outlook was what it was really all about. 

Jade says she’s struggled with weight and feels happiest when her clothes fit. As the challenge went on she realised it was changing her perspective and head space, “It’s been about having a positive outlook on almost everything in life. If something is getting me down it’s time to break down why it’s getting me down and do something about it. No more whinging… do something about it!”

Why measurable and realistic goals are important.

 As part of the 12 Week Body Transformation all members had to make 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 12 month goals. 

“I already had a goal to lose 19kgs to get back down to the weight and size that I was before a 3.5 year relationship had taken it’s toll, but the four different goals were a really great way of breaking down the incredibly daunting task of that enormous number.”

Support is Key & Success is Sacrifice.

When asked if she wanted to give up at any stage during the challenge she said no. “The amount of support that I’ve had, not only from Michelle Bridges and the fantastic diet and exercise plan she has set out for me but from my fabulous friends and family. I continued to get results each and every week. There have been weeks when I have jumped on those scales and the number has been higher than the last week but that has only spurred me on to go further and get to my goal.”

“The hardest challenge for me was to put my social life on hold for exercise and eating correctly. In saying that though, all of my friends have been so supportive and have organised healthy options of places to eat out and never given me a hard time about not drinking on a big night out, or going home early so I can get up early on a Saturday morning to exercise.”

Before & After.

So how does this champion feel now in comparison to before she did the transformation?

“Before I started this challenge, every Friday night I would go to the pub after work with my friends and drink a whole days worth of calories. I would wake up on Saturday morning extremely hungover and unhappy with how I was feeling and seeing in the mirror. Now, I get up early on a Saturday morning, do a massive work out and am all finished by 10am. The rest of the day is free for breakfasting and lunching with friends and sharing fantastic and quality conversations with them about their lives and offering each other support and advice on life’s challenges.”

Onwards and Upwards. Inspired by those who love her.

I’m proud, stoked and honoured that Jade felt inspired by our yoga classes together and pumped that she had others to inspire her along the way. Here’s what she had to say about them…

“My good friend Amy did the challenge with me and she was a fantastic inspiration – she did so well with her weight loss even though she went on a holiday to Africa in the middle of the 12 weeks! Louise (Louise Cassell – another super cool Elevate community member) has been fantastic too with her running and posting how well she was doing – she inspires me to run further and become a better long distance runner.

My friends have been so supportive and all comment on how fantastic I look and how much my demeanour has changed so a big thank you to them.”

YEAH!!!

Well done,

Katie K

I recently met with two of our Elevate community members, Annabelle and Jade who love to get their run on! We’re cheering for you girls!

This sequence was designed with them in mind but we wanted to share with all.

Dedicate five minutes after your run to earn greater mobility, faster recovery (so you can do it all again tomorrow) and a silky stride.

Enjoy.

KK

Many of you probably know from coming to our recent events, I’m now very heavily pregnant. As someone who’s pretty driven, ambitious and business-focussed, it has been, (and I’m sure will continue to be), a massive lesson to me to give myself permission to relax through this time, and into the future.

Overloaded World – High Alert.

I know I’m not the only one who struggles with this, as our world becomes increasingly cluttered with constant emails, facey messages, tweets, posts, ads, pings, pins, stumbles, etc. the noise creates a sense of urgency that drives our body-mind system into a constant state of alertness. It’s actually fight or flight. Adrenalin. Not good for extended periods of time.

I used to have a terrible habit of checking my iphone last thing before bed, and first thing in the morning. Constantly checking it when I had one second when I wasn’t doing something, I have since decided that the best way for me to stop myself doing that is to leave my phone on silent in my office when I finish work for the day.

Do you have permission to relax?

Permission is a wonderful frame of mind to take into a problem, to help shift it. Often we have unconscious rules about what we are and are not allowed to do, we’re not even aware of them until they become problems.

So here’s some questions to help you discover if you’re allowed to relax.

• Do you have permission to relax?
• Are there caveats or rules about when and where you can relax?   i.e I can’t relax until I’ve…
• Are you allowed to do nothing?
• Are you allowed to rest?
• Do you value relaxation as an importnat part of creating health and happiness?
• Do you prioritise time to relax?
• Do you take time out for holidays?

Set the intent to relax.

You need to create the intention to relax in order to do it. Rest is vital for your immune system, brain and body to function properly, you will get more done after some time in quiet relaxation than attempting to do 5 things at once all at crazy speed. If you don’t value rest, you will think of it as ‘doing nothing’ and may not value that time that you are spending relaxing.

I now block out time in my calendar for rest, so I don’t get tempted to think that I’m not doing something productive and then overbook myself.

Find out your relaxing faves.

It’s always easier to relax on holiday, away from the distractions and pressures of home and work. That’s because you’re in a different environment, with different parameters and intentions. You can create a ‘holiday/ relaxation’ space in your daily life with some simple tweaks. Here’s some suggestions you might like to test out…

• Bath with candles.
• Massage at a spa.
• Massage with your partner with relaxing aromatherapy oils
• Long savasna at the end of yoga practice.
• Closing your eyes and taking 3 deep breaths anytime.
• Using a meditation or hypnosis mp3 on your ipod.
• taking a meditation or relaxation class.
• Meditating.
• Reading your favourite escapist fiction.
• Maybe even a long slow run.
• Walk outside in nature.
• Taking time shirin-yoku — Japanese for “bathing in the forest air”.
• Lying on the grass napping

99 Percent have some great tips to stop the communication overload too. Check it out here.

Great post from Dr Alan Logan  on why we need to spend more time in nature and why it’s inherently relaxing..

What are your favourite relaxation tips?

This may sound a little insensitive – but hear me out.

Many of you know from attending our workshops, launch or reading About me on this blog, that I’ve suffered from depression in the past. It’s one of my ‘Why’s for joining Bets and Kylie in Elevate.

Every day I still ‘work’ on myself to maintain mental clarity. Sure, from time to time I feel down; think that people are judging me and I sometimes judge others and push them away; I’ll make poor diet choices if I’m premenstrual and I can be a down right bitch to my boyfriend. I get tired and can feel overworked and stressed not to mention tired and I feel angry that I’m not where I want to be with my life. I can tell myself I’m not doing enough, not being enough and not achieving enough. Blah, blah, blah.

I’m not excusing any of this behaviour but I am, more and more, conscious of how I treat myself and others and I’m getting stronger. I realise that I can’t afford to be depressed or deflect my negative ‘stuff’ on others when there are so many incredible relationships to be had with people, so many amazing opportunities if only we are open to them and so many laughs to be had when we surround ourselves with people who makes us happy.

And this philosophy was echoed this week when I took a trip to Tibet…or at least visited some Tibetan Monks here in Bondi Beach.

The Gyuto Monks of Tibet have been visiting Australia since 1994, giving us the chance to experience the ancient rituals and traditions that these monks have been practicing since their order was established in 1475. From April 6 to this Sunday, 22, the monks, who practice with the Dalai Lama, are here on their Infinite Present Tour running workshops, meditations and seminars on living in the present moment and leading a happy life.

One of the meditations I attended this week was on ‘Dismantling Depression’. It was led by Gen Lama and his witty translator.

One thing he kept saying in the session was allowing us to linger or wallow in depressing thoughts is self indulgent.

Ultimately I agree with this statement. It’s important to note that Gen Lama was not referring to severely  and chemically depressed people but more our day to to day stresses and depressions we get as mine described above.

When I look at depression in this light and of it being a luxury it makes me more determined and focused to work on myself and stay ‘mentally tough’. How can I afford to be depressed when there’s so much suffering in the world? I would hope that those of us with healthy bodies and masses of opportunities – if only we open our eyes to them – show gratitude and take the old ‘glass half full’ or dare I say it, ‘glass full and brimming’ view of life.

My three biggest take aways were these:

1) Staying mentally focused and showing gratitude are powerful weapons in times of depression.

Feelings of depression will pass if we stay mentally focused on gratitude. Even if you don’t have many positive people or situations in your current environment, you can begin to change your situation by acknowledging and appreciating things like your health, wholesome food to eat, clean water, pets, friends and a roof over your head. When we show gratitude for things, they come back to us two fold. Gen Lama suggested meditating on the mantra, ‘This will pass’ when down and out.

2) Sad things happen and life is hard sometimes – for everyone. It’s how you roll with the punches that determines happiness.

It’s natural to mourn the loss of friends and family and it’s healthy to ‘feel’ through the raw emotions and let them play out but to also know that ‘this will pass’. Everyone gets stressed out and confused about their place in the world. That’s just life. The only constant in life is change and how we take those changes.

3) These Monks must be the comfiest humans alive. 

Check out their flowing robes. Bliss. Happy.

I highly recommend getting down to experience some of the workshops, discussions and meditations of you haven’t already. Entry is by donation. There’s also a great photographic exhibition of them by a local photographer. It’s all happening down at the Bondi Pavilion until Sunday, 10am – 5pm.

Get zen.

KK

“The ability to learn is the one common trait for every successful person I know”

say’s Jeff Immelt, the CEO and chairman of one of the largest and most profitable companies on the globe; General Electric.

Immelt says; “The world is moving quickly and we all must keep learning and growing.” If you ask him how he learns, he’ll describe the simple things; reading, meeting new people and taking the time to let your learnings actually sink into your psyche.

Afew years ago

I was on the verge of a stressed-out, anxiety-ridden nervous breakdown because I felt that I was not getting anywhere in my career. I was not progressing. Subconsciously putting the control outside of me; I thought this lack of progression was because I had a disrespectful team that did not listen to me or help me and I thought it was their fault that I and the business that I managed was not progressing.

A dear friend of mine and very smart lady by the name of Kylie Ryan, saw my severe frustration and gave me just one piece of information that made all of my worries completely and immediately dissipate. She simply said; ‘Bets, you are doing everything you know how to do. You just need to know more now!’ She continued: ‘Did you know that big, corporate companies spend thousands of dollars every year on up-skilling their managers and leaders by sending them to development courses and seminars? You just need to be up-skilled right now!’

My stress and anxiety disappeared. It all became so simple – and even better; it all became within my control.

So, just like GE’s Jeff Immelt I started to read. I replaced the New Weekly magazine with Fast Company magazine and the corny romance novels with personal development books on leadership, communication and team building.

I started to listen. I replaced the hip-hop, RnB and dance music on my iPod with audiobooks by Anthony Robbins, John Maxwell and Steven Covey.

I started to meet new people. I looked at what areas of my life I wanted to improve, searched for people I knew who are doing really well in that area and I asked to take them out for a coffee so I could learn from them.

I made time to let it all sink in. I would block out time in my daily schedule for 1 hour of learning; 30mins of reading or listening and 30mins of writing notes and summarising what I had learned and how I could apply that in my own life.

I became a good learner and since doing so, I can honestly say I have never felt the same unbearable stress, anxiety and lack of control that I used to before I was one.

If you’re sick of just getting by and actually want to get ahead, maybe it’s time you take your life and your success into your own hands for a change and start to lift your lid. The lid that is stopping you from getting what you want in life. This lid, my friend, is your level of learning.

So invest in an educational book or magazine, seek out successful people from whom you can learn and most importantly, make the time to actually determine where and how you will put your new knowledge into practice.

If these things are good enough for the head of one of the worlds super powers, then heck, they’re good enough for you and me!

Two acts of creation. Two separate and very different skills. All things are created once in the clouds of your mind, then must be created in actuality if those dreams are to fly…

First Creation – Mental

First creation requires that you be a big picture dreamer, visualising the possibilities, optimisitically open to anything, accepting of anything, to create, imagine a vivid future as a movie in your mind.

This is the axis of meaningfulness, your semantic vision for your life and how much meaning it has to you.

Second Creation – Actual

Second creation is where the pedal hits the metal. This stage requires you to be focussed, detail oriented, tactical, motivated, driven, problem solving, action oriented.

This is the axis of performance or physiology where you actualise your meanings.

Which creation are you more naturally suited to?

The personality traits that make you good at one, can sometimes undermine you in the achievement of the other.

Do you dream massive dreams and start lots of projects but find it hard to see them through?

Do you act out the detail and the tactics without any clear idea of what you’re attempting to achieve? Do you work compulsively and get lost in the detail sometimes wasting your time on meaningless things?

These are two ends of the spectrum and you probably fall somewhere in the middle.

Finding the ZONE of creation.

The key to visualising and actually creating is finding the balance between the two axis of creation. When you match the meaningfulness of the task to your performance of that task, you will find that magical zone of “flow” creating a peak experience of joy, happiness and timelessness. These experiences are your path to self-actualisation and the creation of your potential.

This Model is from Meta-Coaching Dr Michael Hall.

If you get stuck on the dreamer side in fluff-land: ask yourself:

• What is the one dream I would really love to see to completion?
• What would I love to see created in actuality more than anything else?
• Whats the first step or milestone along the way?
• what do I need to DO to get that completed?
• What are the steps along the way?
• What skills do I need to learn?
• Do I need to enlist help or support to assist with the skills that are not my strengths?
• What can I DO now to begin?
• What accountability can I implement to keep myself motivated over time to complete this?

If you get stuck on the workaholics side, ask yourself….

Are you more a dreamer or a do-er?  Practice the skills of the other side as often as you can to maximise your results and get done those things that are most meaningful to you!

I wanted to share this emotive video with you gals – perhaps for the inner geek within us all. Definitely for the infinite potential in us all.

I highly recommend you check out this TED talk by Regina Dugan that inspires me to get in touch with my inner hero and be fearless.

Stay curious,

Imbalanced levels of Omega 3 fatty acids can cause stress, anxiety, depression and even physical symptoms like chronic muscular tension and headaches or migraines.

Omega 3′s are what we refer to as ‘essential‘ fatty acids, which means our body is unable to produce them by itself, so we must consume them through our diet.

We find Omega 3s in foods such as cold water fish: tuna, salmon, mackerel, nuts, avocado, beans, squash, garlic and pumpkin seeds. There are also many different forms and brands of Omega 3 supplements such as liquids and liquid capsules.

As a GENERAL rule of thumb, research suggests that we should try to aim for a daily intake of 1 gram of Omega 3 for every percentage body fat that we are. Eg: If I am 20% body fat, I should aim to be consuming 20g of Omega 3s per day in my diet.

This suggestion lends itself to the necessity for us to be able to estimate our body fat percentage, which is what this blog will teach you how to do. So please read on!

Here are 4 methods that directly estimate your body fat percentage, ranging from most accurate to least accurate.

1. Under Water Weighing.
A very expensive procedure whereby the subject, in minimal clothing, sits on a specialized seat, expels all the air from their lungs, and is lowered into a Hydrostatic stainless steel weighing water tank until all body parts are emerged. The person must remain motionless underwater while their underwater weight is recorded. The procedure is repeated several times to get a dependable underwater weight measure, which is then used to compare to their dry weight and using a scientific equation; then used to calculate the person’s body fat percentage. Under water weighing is the most accurate method of measuring body fat percentage, however highly inaccessible and impractical for the general public. Because it requires proper space, special equipment and trained personnel it is typically only available in University settings or research centres.

2. DEXA Scan
Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) uses a body scanner with low dose x-rays, so it’s completely safe and takes about 10-20 minutes. The x-ray measurements divide the body into 3 components: total body mineral, fat-free mass (muscle) and fat mass. DEXA also allows for body fat distribution analysis, so you can determine, with precision, how fat is distributed in various parts of your body. DEXA also measures bone mineral density. For around $100, Measure Up on Pitt st, Sydney can perform DEXA scan for you.

3. Skin Folding
The skin folding method measures your body fat by having a trained anthropometrist pinch the folds of fat between their fingers at a specific number of body sites then measure the thickness of each fold with body fat calipers. The readings are given in millimeters, which you can then input to the Jackson Pollock equation for estimating body fat percentage. The accuracy of this method is still quite high, however it requires a trained skin fold practitioner to provide the accurate reading. Many personal training studios and high service gyms can offer skin folding at a minimal cost.

4. BIA Scales
Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Scales (BIA scales) work on the premise that muscle has high water content and is highly conductive, while fat has lower water content and is not highly conductive. To attain a body fat reading estimation from BIA scales, you must stand on the scales with clean, bare feet. A safe level, electrical current is passed from the scales, through your left foot and up the left side of your body, down the right side and through your right foot back to the scales. Based on the strength of the impedance along with height and weight metrics that you can manually input to the scales, the BIA will estimate your fat-free body mass (muscle mass) and your body fat percentage. Whilst your hydration levels may affect the body fat reading, these scales are still relatively accurate and are sufficient enough for a day to day, at-home measurement. Many consumer weight scales like Tanita scales come with BIA capabilities, can be found at many major electronic retailers and are relatively inexpensive.
This is my top recommendation for a user friendly, affordable method to keep an eye on your body fat levels! Go get a set today!

So there you have it; 4 proven methods to obtain an accurate estimation of your body fat levels, with which you can then start taking steps to get in enough grams of Omega 3 every day.

Don’t forget; you need at least 1 gram of Omega 3 per percent body fat you are.

Happy fatty acid Friday!

In a very perplexed and interested way I’ve been asked roughly the same question four times this week on separate occasions; “How did you go from a steady office job to teaching yoga?” The simple answer is that I left my job in which I knew ultimately wasn’t right for me to go to India, studying yoga and be teaching a class three months later.

The emotional answer is that it was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. A leap of faith is what ultimately pushed me across the line. So often I talk to students and friends who yearn for drastic change – be it in their relationship, career or lifestyle. But because they’re holding onto a certain set of beliefs about their self worth and efficacy they haven’t taken action. My fears surrounded uncertainty – not knowing if I would be any good at it and not knowing if I would make enough money from it. For a while these fears were blocking me but I eventually plucked up the courage and followed my heart.

I certainly don’t have all the answers but here are three motivators that gave me that running start to take the leap:

Give yourself room to think. 

Don’t quit your job or break up with your lover on a whim or because that’s what has inspired you today. Give yourself time to think away from other people’s judgements and advice. It’s good to listen to others but ultimately make a decision that comes from your heart. Sit or lie down alone and ask yourself what you want. See what kind of reaction your body gives you when you ask it. Do you feel anxious or strained? Do you feel soft and relaxed?

Feel Inspired.

If it’s a career change or a new adventure, find someone who’s done what you want to do and work out how they did it. Watch YouTube videos, follow them on twitter or if they are someone in your life, take them for a coffee and pick their brains. If you’re going through a relationship break down surround yourself with people who care for you and will inspire change in you that will give you the confidence to make the right decision for yourself.

Make Fear Your Friend.

If you decide there’s something you really want to do but you’re scared, feel the fear and do it anyway. If you’re truly not happy in your current situation, elevate yourself to a better place and LEAP. Feel the freedom of courage.