Discovering Our Higher Selves

Good evening!

I am having a bed day today in order to recover for our Fashion Show tomorrow (note to self: do a post on work updates). It hasn't been completely lazy as there is nothing that makes me feel better then getting my yogi groove on! So this morning I did a yoga stretch sequence and then ate a big nourishing breakfast filled with plenty of vitamins. As I am in bed there is nothing I'd rather do then do some writing, so here I am typing away. 

Anyway, thats enough blabber. 

My yoga journey has opened my mind to self healing, healing the body using nourishing food, meditation and spiritualism. 

Plenty of people may have a laugh at things like this, but the one thing these things are teaching me about the mind, body and spirit, giving me self acceptance, as well as teaching me who I truly am and want to be. 

I recently purchased a book called 'The Book of Chakra Healing' and thought we could explore the book together, giving you a run down on the knowledge Liz Simpson shares.

First things first..

The Spirit of Energy

What I have learned from this chapter:

• There are seven major chakras
• Chakras are metaphysically linked to the systems of the body
• In order for chemical action to take place, a change in electromagnetic energy of the body must occur, this energy is from the mind, explaining the link between the mind and the body for total health, physically, mentally and emotionally. 
• The endocrine system is the bodies main control mechanism, responsible for hormones, thus maintaining parametres for optimal health.
• If the nervous system and endocrine system are disturbed in either part, it will lead to malfunction.

The seven major Chakras

• Adrenals - Root (1st) Chakra - needed for physical survival 
• Ovaries/Testes - Secral (2nd) Chakra - emotional balance and sexuality 
• Pancreas - Solar Plexus (3rd) Chakra - for digestion 
• Thymus - Heart (4th) Chakra - stimulates general growth and purifies through production of lymphocytes, scientists recognise that auto-immune diseases (the immune system attacks its own proteins, mistaking them for foreign substance) have an emotional link and not simply due to physical and environmental causes.
• Thyroid/Parathyroid - Throat (5th) Chakra - linked to all forms of communication, corresponding the balance between the rational, cerebral approach and emotional expression of the heart.
• Pituitary - Third Eye (6th) Chakra - influences growth, metabolism and body chemistry, while also having a strong connection with birth and motherhood. 
• Pineal - Crown (7th) Chakra - the control centre for the function of our physical, emotional and mental selves.

The Sushumna

• The sushumna is the vertical column which the seven chakras are located.
• The sushumna channels energy from the Universal Life Force from the Crown and Root Chakras.
• The journey of the chakras upward through the sushumna is s spoken in terms of Kundalini rising (serpent goddess), who travels through the root chakra to the crown.
• The ultimate goal of the chakras is to find the higher self. 

The human aura

• A steady flow of energy through the chakra system, ensures a healthy aura.
• A halo of bright, multi-coloured light around the physical self.
• The body is a field of energy. 
• There is two primary electrical system in the physical body.
• The first electrical system is the alternating current of the nervous system and brain, which governs our muscles, hormones and physical sensations. The second is a continuous electromagnetic radiation coming off our atoms, allowing for energy exchange between individuals and their environment. 
• Each person has a unique energy field, accessed from a Universal Life force, "prank", or "chi". 
• The energy is drawn to the body through each chakra and transformed into a quality, sense and emotional correlate. 
• If there is a blockage of energy it will effect our whole function. 
• While DNA preserves our genetic code, the transmitting bioelectromagnetic field can modify it. 
• Scientists and ancient healers believe that the aura holds the key to a persons physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states.
• By maintaining a smooth flow of energy through our chakras, by freeing ourselves of mental or emotional traumas, we pre-empt the onset of physical dis-ease. 

(All above information is re-worded from Liz Simpson's book 'The Book of Chakra Healing')

This is a bit of information that has so far been outlined in the book. I find reading about this all quite interesting, and typing it out to you all helps me remember the information better, so I am sorry if it has all been a bit boring for you. 

Anyway, I think it is good to learn and grow, keeping an open mind to all types of beliefs and forms of finding our higher selves, whether you are finding yourself through sport, music or art, I believe that yoga, meditation and spiritual understanding is my form of finding and accepting myself.

So if you want to continue to delve into this book with me, great...

Welcome aboard!

A Great British Day

This post has been waiting in the queue of my 'to do' blog posts since I have been back in London..

Yes, you know it.. its another food report.

Ok, so we all know I am a self confessed foodie, and it tends to be healthy, natural, organic produce that I rant and rave about.

However...

I have in the most recent months come to know balance.

To many of you this may be a standard meal.. to me, a huge challenge.

Deep.. Fried... Fish & Chips.

In the summer months I tried to tackle my un-healthy orthorexic fears and challenged myself to a Fish & Chips in a restaurant called The Church in Chester.. it is fair to say this ended in a huge meltdown. Embarrassing to say the least, I know to most people you must be thinking, "How on earth can food cause someone to have anxiety and a mental breakdown?!" But until you have walked a day in someones shoes who hasn't let anything fried (and in batter), pass there lips in near enough a year.. if not more, something so small suddenly becomes so big. Why eat it then? You may ask... well the fact a piece of food would cause me to have a panic attack.. is the exact reason why I decided to challenge myself.

I was once a girl who would get hangry if someone had a bigger portion then her, who stated that Chinese was her favourite food, anything fried just meant extra delicious, carbs was her middle name, and veggie patties & cheese on toast was a standard snack.

Of course, I love being healthy, it makes me feel re-juvinated, energetic and happy. I barely crave anything considered un-healthy. I could easily become a raw-vegan and would get an A* in the raw till four diet. However, the matter of fact is that these fears towards food are not normal, so until I do not fear food my veganism fantasy of becoming an at one with nature gypsy gal, who attracts animals to the windows when she sings and has mice and birds help her create her latest fashion collections, is on hold.

In Australia I tackled fish from a chippy, but only ever opted for grilled fish.

In London I decided to go for "ding, ding, ding", round 2.

May I present to you..

Poppies Fish & Chip shop, just off Brick Lane and opposite Spitalfields market.

This place is always jam packed whenever I walked past.

So I thought... "If I am going to do this, I might as well make sure it is from the best fish and chip shop in the area".

Pop has recreated East End London in 1945 and 1955. You can dine in or dine out with a newspaper styled chip shop box to take away.

The staff are stylishly dressed in quirky hats and aprons, and the interior is decorated to match, with juke boxes and an old school diner feel, a true taste of the mid 1900's.

Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of this.. so you will have to visit to experience!

I visited Poppies with my mum, as you can see one fish is not fried. This was me. Guilty. But we didn't want to purchase 2 fried for me to not like and then go hungry. So I safely ordered a grilled fish, mum ordered fried. We decided that if I liked mums we would halve... and guess what.. I loved!

So we ended up halving our fish and sharing, we also got mushy peas and of course tartar sauce and ketchup to make it a truly British affair.. along with a squeeze of lemon and cracked pepper to top the fish, and vinegar for the chips.  

Mum also got a beer, while I got a sparkling water (if you don't know i have been T Total for a few years now). However, pretty jealous of the glass mums beer was served in. 

I would completely recommend Poppies if you ever find yourself in the East End of London.

And don't hesitate to go fried!

Day 7 - Bakasana Practice

So it is day 7 of the Bakasana (Crow pose) practice..

I hope you have been practising every day,

I managed to squeeze an extra 10 minutes of Yoga practice in my day to focus on my crow pose.

I know it still isn't there yet, but I have seen improvements in my posture and length of time I could hold this arm balance for.

The biggest thing I noticed was how important it is to engage you core, the more I did this the longer my posture could be stabilised.

So here is my day 7 photo's. Let's keep practising are foundations of Yoga and we will be ultimate Yogi's in no time!

Looking at these photos I can also see where I need to improve (note to self: KEEP FINGERS SPREAD AND FLAT)

But I have also come a long way, getting a better posture: more lifted, and showing more stability on my arms. Because I gained better balance I could hold the posture longer. This is just after a week of practice. I hope to perfect this one soon! 

Any suggestions for our next Yoga challenges? 

Thinking of keeping it simple with Tolasana or Vasisthasana.

Becoming a Yogi

It was on my New Years resolution post that I wanted to become a fully fledged Yogi..

Admittedly I am not practising Yoga as much as I hope to yet, however have been following Yoga with Adriene videos on YouTube, which I usually do on the weekends as my body is still feeling chronically fatigued during the week days, but thankfully I can slowly feel my self becoming more awake and self aware once again, when I feel comfortable with my body again I will hopefully start practising my Yogi moves during the week as well.

Ok so I have done the occasional Yoga class in the past, but never really ventured into all of the foundations of yoga, (WARNING: remove all rude thoughts now) of course I have done the occasional downward dog, it is pretty much the move you will be guaranteed to learn at any Yoga class.. but my interest is in the contortion of Yoga, therefore I embarked on learning my first more challenging move this morning, Crow Pose.

This move will strengthen your wrists, forearms and abdomen, while improving your balance.

It is my challenge to practise this move for 10 minutes every day for a week, taking a day 1 and day 7 photograph to see the progression.

Feel free to join along and post your photographs too, which you can do over on my Facebook page or tweet me at @SSC_x

Here is the video I learnt from today:

The Basics:

- Bring flat palms and feet close together, bending them, while keeping back and chest elevated.
- Place one knee on the upper arm, followed by the other.
- Press your weight into the heel of your hand.
- Lean slightly forward, keeping gaze forward as well.

Oh and remember, the falling crow is one of most important steps toward mastering your Crow Pose, you have to try to perfect.

Day 1 Photographs:

I think you can already see the development in these photographs after a few practices!

Excited for my Yogi adventure now!

Namaste

x

WILD THING

Good afternoon Sunday readers,

                                                     I have a quick update for you...

Started a new internship 2 weeks ago.. 

It is going well..

I only have 2 weeks left..

Then I am back to being the 'New Girl' again..

Another day, another internship..

Sending my anxiety through the roof of, will it be a good one? 

I hope so..

I am there for 5 months.

Anyway, all things aside, I met up with my favourite London gal pal yesterday to talk fashion, life, food and futures.

We decided to go for lunch to a place that has been on our foodies bucket list for a good long while now called Wild Food Cafe. 

The building was picturesque, with brick work that was so orderly you wouldn't believe, old fashioned and somewhat Parisian style blue window frames, surrounded by neat greenery and pretty florals. 

This beautiful building is in the perfect London location of the magical Neal's Yard in Covent Garden. 

The food is colourful, fresh, raw, vegan/vegetarian and created using playful innovation that will be sure to satisfy your hunger queues with not so guilty meals and puds!

There is no denying the menu had me wanting to go tapas and order everything.

I was initially drawn to the Ayervedic Salad of:

'organic lamb lettuce and wild rocket topped with amaranth, courghetti spaghetti, hijiki seaweed, slices of artichoke hearts & avocado, cucumber & red pepper cubes, finished off with coriander, rocket & parsely pesto, mango salsa, activated savory seeds flavoured with leafy greens and spices, and marinated shiitake mushrooms.'

However, I pretty much live for salads, therefore I thought trying something more unusual would be the best option.. as good as this looks and sounded.

My next temptations were the:

I Love Ewe:

'unpasteurised Neal’s Yard dairy sheep cheese, caramelized onions, Dijon mustard, gherkins & tomato sandwich.'

The Wild Pizza:

'raw, dairy-free young coconut cheeze, wild sea purslane & basil pesto, raw cultured tomato & goji berry marinara, Turkish olives, artichoke hearts, avocado.'

The Wild Burger:

'scrumtious shiitake, raw olive & dulse burger with in-house cultured Wild Sauce, tomatillo salsa verde, caramelised onions, baba ganoush & crispy gem lettuce in a wholemeal sprouted organic wheat bread.'

The Wild Falafel:

'organic pistachio, olive & coriander superfood falafel balls, sprouted chickpea hummus, baba-ganoush, sprouted quinoa tabouleh, red pepper dressing, tahini sauce.'

In the end I opted for the Wild Falafel and Rosie chose the Wild Burger.

Of course I am going to be honest with you here, we don't know if we just made the wrong choices or  we would of thought this whatever the choice.. 

The food was delicious, but not worth the money with both our lunch orders coming to around £13 each. The portions were pretty small for the price, but I guess organic and healthy food like this generally tends to be more expensive. The food tasted great, but it wasn't mind blowing like you would hope for a £13 wrap. 

Either way the food was good but I don't think I would order the same thing, I would however definitely go again.. maybe when money isn't so tight. 

Feeling slightly disappointed by the lunch mains due to how much this place was hyped up, we decided to go all in and share a dessert as these looked doubtful to disappoint! 

We decided to ask which was the dessert that is most recommended to a newbie at Wild Food, we were told to go for the Raw Chocolate Tart:

'our most popular dessert. Creamy & smooth thick layer of chocolate superfood heaven on a firm crust of organic almonds, figs, dates and coconut chips.'

This was delicious. We had wished we had just visited indulging in an array of desserts. 

The mousey, chocolatey, gooeyness, just melted in your mouth and the base provided a filling soft but crunchy end to the delectable mouthful. 

Ok so if you are reading this and you haven't already cracked open your treat jar.. now is the time to run to the kitchen and satisfy your cravings, writing this post sure had my belly rumbling! 

Time for a Sunday of Homeland, lunch prepping, chocolate and church. 

See you next week, hope you have all had a lovely weekend. 

Oh and if you are in London be sure to go and treat yourself to some Wild Food! Nothing like guilt free cakes. 

WELCOME TO 2015

Sorry it has been awhile, I have been a busy bee, but no1 on this list will be to get back into the swing of things. Ironically in the past I would have made a list of 'New Years Resolutions', and yes like most people, this list would be made one day and forgotten the next. The ironic thing here, is that in 2014 I stuck to my New Years resolutions of working out more, eating healthy produce and drinking more water. My 2014 resolutions all sounded great but predictable, little did I know these resolutions that most of us admittedly make every year turned my life upside down, as you can probably gather from the last post I made. So before you make your list for 2015, really think about it. Yes, most people probably won't spiral into the whirlwind my mind created, but one thing 2015 should really be about is happiness, why feel guilty about not working out or eating that piece of cake, a healthy body isn't just a one man show, it needs a healthy mind to accompany it. 2015 is about balance, self love and acceptance for me. If you hate running, why put it on your New Years resolutions list to hit the treadmill 5 days a week, not only are you setting yourself up for a fail, you are not spending your time doing things you love. I found there was a lot of sadness in 2014, not just for myself, but for others, many deep and upsetting events in the world took place, it makes you realise that you only have that one life and doing little things everyday, like the passing smile to a stranger, ok might freak them out, but also might brighten their day, you never know what someone else could be going through. 2014's had many traumatic events for the world, and with the sadness that this week took place in France, we are not making a very good start, but its in times of trouble that you see how us as beings can really pull together and support one another. I am hoping 2015 is the year of conquering demons and overcoming hardships.

Anyway, in my list you won't see me striving to work out, cut out food types, and up my water intake any more (water is good, but if I drank anymore my whole day would be spent on the toilet, TMI?):

1. Consistant blogging.

2. Get more organised - make good use of my Filofax 2015 refills!

3. Work hard, making the most of my internships to hopefully startup a network of freelance work ready for graduation.

4. Explore more, I live in London right now and could only tell you about the tube stations I have been too.

5. Read more books. Kindle at the ready!

6. Become a Yogi. No, not Yogi the Bear, Yogi is the term used for "one who is adept in Yoga" (courtesy of The Free Dictionary .com). I have done the occasional bit of Yoga here and there, but I really want to pursue it further, I notice how Yoga makes my body feel relaxed and rejuvenated, it definitely makes a difference to my day.

7. Further my religious journey.

8. Keep in better contact with loved ones. I haven't been the easiest person to get in contact with since  becoming an unpaid working woman. I want to speak to my nearest and dearest (friends and family) more often now I am apart from everyone, even if its just a text.

9. Meditate. This goes hand in hand with me becoming a fully fledged Yogi. Whether it is on my walk to work or before I go to sleep, 10 minutes of Meditation a day has been proven to be a worthy source of medication and transform many peoples lives, while also being something many successful people do day-to-day, check out this article in the Huffington.

10. Aim for no less then 7 hours of sleep a day, strive for 8-9 hours. Sleep is a vital part of healthy living, I recommend listening to this - TED Talks video, it proposes some interesting facts and theories.

Let's hope I stick to these resolutions this year, I think they will be the secret for my happy 2015.

My Body Is Amazing

Hi, howdy, hello, aloha. 

Sorry I haven't posted as recently these days, I am still here guys bare with me. I have been concentrating on myself a lot these past couple of weeks, focusing on my mental health and happiness. During mid-September I posted a blogpost called 'The Anti Model Series', In hope to basically follow up that series (that honestly had not really begun) I present to you.. My Body Is Amazing. I would also like to bring attention to The Nu Project, I would say don't click on the link if you are very young as things are a little naked (literally this time) but i believe that targeting a younger audience may prove successful in helping all ages accept there bodies and love every bulge, wrinkle and curve, ultimately proving that not every woman is what you see as you flick through the pages of a high-end glossy magazine. I think the Nu Project is just great and the photography is stunning, so everyone… click on this link now to reveal REAL women.

To compliment my Anti-Model series and my revaluation of the Nu Project, I have decided to do another positive '#', after the lovely feedback from my #ProjectBareAll post inspired by Thumbelina Lillie. I am also a huge fan of the 5 minute journal and daily things to be thankful for tags that are floating around so much recently which link well to all these positive vibes - I think this Aussie way of life is going to rub off on me massively, I am definitely planning on coming back to the UK a laid-back, peace loving, gypsy skirt wearing hippy, spreading positivity, flowers and all things righteous across London and the valleys. 

On a more personal note this tag will encourage my journey to health as well as anyone else struggling right now.. the hashtag of course is #MyBodyIsAmazing, vein? nope. Food and calories have consumed my life for far to long, now I am ready to fight. 

My story.

I mentioned awhile a go that one day I will tell my story, why I keep referring to things as "repair my health and happiness" ect. As I have been absent awhile, I feel like I should let you somewhat in. Today I will not let it all out completely (as I am still have a huge battle ahead of me), I also don't want to bore you with my sob story. So let's make things a little more exciting. I will give you a run down…. Disney style. (p.s. I have slightly tweaked the story, but you will catch my drift)

Once upon a time, in a land far, far, away, lived a girl called Sueliana 
She had a loving family, with a mother for a best friend. This happy little family, lived in a oldy-worldy snug in the heart of the beautiful Welsh countryside. Sueliana loved dancing and could occasionally be spotted twirling through the fields, surrounded by flowers of all walks of life. However, Suelianas one true passion was art, splashing paint wherever she went, it wasn't hard to find her.. you'd just follow the colourful road. One day a terrible Ogar, known as Oglan, broke into the cosy, tucked away snug, only to find little old Sueliana twirling her pencil around her hair. There was a Prince due in town, he was looking for a Princess, before Oglan rudely interrupted Sueliana was busy planning the punchy colours for the romantic illustrations she was about to create for the prince's arrival. Oglan upset Sueliana, convincing her she was not good enough to be an artist, and would never be worthy for a prince. So she went on a mission. A mission to be the best person she could be, while also hoping to impress the Prince. After achieving amazing work experience with incredible design companies, and having an academically successful year in her studies, Sueliana was convinced the year 12345 would be the best year yet, showing that damn Ogar he was wrong and that the prince would fall head over heels into her colourful world. Sueliana was convinced that to make 12345 truly the best year she must also adopt a healthy lifestyle, after indulging in copious amounts of chocolate christmas reindeers, crumble puddings, log cakes and sparkling giggle-ade. After hearing about the success of the vegetable cleanse Sueliana decided that was her best shot and decided she too would cleanse her system. Only a terrible thing happened, the wicked Oglan was determined not to let Sueliana succeed, casting an Ogars hideous spell on her which made her take her New Years resolution of being healthy too far. She became obsessed with cleansing and this turned into a horrible nightmare as Sueliana decided to adopt a healthy lifestyle through EATING as well as the occasional cleanse.  She ate all day long, fruits and vegetables were constantly filling the fridge. Sue also enjoyed exercising and eventually noticed the pattern of a tortoises shell forming on her stomach (something she had always desired of her little muffin rolls). This definition was only noticed after she ran as fast as she could on the moving machine of doom and lifting bunny rabbits in each arm, eventually working her way up to the hippopotamus. However, Sueliana became addicted to seeing these results and like Oglan had wished, she took it too far. Only living off the fruits of the ground, she did not support the energy that was being put into her gym routine and busy work schedule. The weight became lower and lower, more food became viewed as a dragons toenail and she wouldn't dear eat anything that society was told was a nasty dragons toenail, never touching a carb, grain or dairy delight, only eating things with that were considered "healthy", she would laugh if you'd even dare offer something with preservatives. Eventually the only food that Sueliana ate was fruits, vegetables and the mermaids of the sea, while continuing to leap and lift every day. Sueliana would feel ashamed if she could not exercise or if she indulged. Even declining free offerings of gold muffins, brought to her by the fashionable minions. Eventually she became very unwell and was taken to see the fairy god mother of medicine, who convinced her that all food is good food. 

Sueliana is now fighting, Oglan tried to take her happiness, family, friends, future but Sueliana is now realising that true happiness is not through what you eat and excessive exercise, it is through enjoying life naturally, the way you did when you were young and carefree, digging up bugs from the garden (yep, I did that). This fairytale is yet to have an ending.. but Sueliana is determined to make it a happy one.

Whether it be you're trying to diet or you're trying to gain neither should consume your life.. you may not be at your goal weight but there is so much more to a body then that muffin top or cellulite, am I right? From experience, you will never be happy with your body no matter how much weight you lose. But we can definitely learn to love our perfect imperfections. 

My first #MyBodyIsAmazing is because I am ME. I have lumps and bumps, I am not perfect, but I am happy being just the way I was meant to be.