Archives December 2012

Is the prospect of Christmas making you mildly anxious?

Are you already in a sweat about ‘surviving’ the festive period?

Whether it’s the traffic you’re dreading or managing the extended family, here’s five super simple rituals to help you thrive during the holiday season. Actually, any season.

These small, daily rituals can make a BIG difference in how deeply you experience the holidays, and your life.

Feel free to begin implementing them right away…

Here they are:

Immediately upon waking: drink a glass of water

Your body loses water while you sleep, so you wake up dehydrated. A glass of water helps kick-start your system…especially if you’ve been hitting the dance floor or festive drinks the night before. Extra points if you add a dash of lemon juice. When do you drink your first glass of water each day?

Every morning: name your daily ‘top three’

Christmas schedules can get pretty darn hectic. It can get so busy we don’t even really experience the holidays. Keep your inner peace by asking yourself, “What are the three most important tasks for me to complete today?” then use the answers as a compass to navigate your day. So, what’s your top three today?

As & when required: manage your mind

Christmas, and changes to your normal routine, bring up all sorts of emotions. Some of them are a delight to unwrap, some of them you might want to bolt from – anxiety, for example. If you do find yourself feeling anxious, just state it – “I’m feeling anxious.” There…you said it. Once you acknowledge what you’re feeling, you’ll feel better. Getting real is always the first step towards feelin’ good.

Every day: get your sweat on

Our bodies are works of art (yes, even yours). Mother Nature designed them to move. Movement keeps us healthy, boosts energy and mood, and relieves stress. Make it your intention to get your sweat on every day for half-an-hour, even if it’s only three blocks of walking for 10 minutes. How will you get your sweat on today?

Every evening: express your gratitude, deeply

Gratitude fosters happy endorphins and connects you to the here and now. Every evening, perhaps as you’re brushing your teeth, pause and reflect on these three questions:

“What surprised me today?”
“What am I grateful for today?”
“What touched my heart today?”

Be really specific so you benefit from the heightened feeling of appreciation.

So…your turn, sweetheart.

What surprised you today? What are you grateful for today? What touched your heart today?

Happy holidays E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E xxx

Mistletoe love etc, Avril

PS: We all know the adage – “first we make our habits, then our habits make us”. If you’re tired of struggling with eating or exercise habits that keep you overweight and need a hand changing them, drop me a line. Why not let 2013 be the year you create the body you love?

Has this ever happened to you?

You got motivated.

Yup.

You were on fire to lose weight.

You were going to drop the extra kilos, get yourself a sexy silhouette.

Maybe you’d joined the gym, colour-coded your meal plans – you were feeling super-duper focused.

And, for a couple of days – or even weeks – you’re doing it. Wooooot woooooot!

But then…

….. life happened.

Perhaps, there was some drama that made you believe you needed to just hit the “pause” button on your health plans.

Then, while you were on hold, something else happened. And that needed your attention too.

And then, slowly one thing led to another and you forgot to remember your promise to yourself. Your progress ground to a halt.

And then, we know what happens don’t we, ladies?

Yup, the self-hatin’ starts. Our self-talk becomes a scream of negativity.

“You did it again – F for fail.”

“What a loser.”

“Who are you to think you could be slim, fit, strong, healthy?”

Instead of feeling full of health, fitness and confidence – all you feel is p*ssed off.

The good news is there is something you can do about it. Here’s what…

I believe that health and personal fitness is the foundation of doing anything in this world.

Being healthy and fit has the ability to create a confidence that ripples across your entire world.

For example, when you show yourself that you can run 5kms when you didn’t think you could walk around the block or you run a marathon when you thought 10km would max you out, you start to build confidence in yourself.

And that confidence compounds and turns up in other areas of your life.

If you show yourself you can lose 25kgs (or let’s start with 5kg), who’s to say you can’t double sales in your business next year or find your life partner?

Suddenly new things become possible.

The ‘impossible’ starts to become your new normal.

All we need to do is start conditioning ourselves to do the little things that we didn’t think we could.

It’s best to start small – real small. Perhaps a single step or one meal at a time. It really can be that easy. Do not overcomplicate this.

As you’re making these small daily repeatable steps, the thing to remember is this:

No. 1 rule – you must only control what YOU can control

Much of our life is outside of our control. You can’t control the weather, a recession, being made redundant, your children, your husband …..

Trying to control any of these would be like attempting to staple jelly to a tree – impossible and very frustrating.

Your health however is NOT in this category.

Your health is directly within your reach.

For example, no one can tell you that you can’t eat a huge green salad for lunch.

No one can keep you from walking around the block as a way to start your day.

No one can prevent you from pushing your own physical limits to see what your gorgeous body is really capable of.

That’s the most beautiful thing about it. Your health and how you treat your body is 100% in your control. Good or good?!

But so many people give that power away.

We find excuse after excuse.

“I’m too busy looking after the kids.”

“I like sweets waaaay too much to lose weight.”

“I don’t have the time to focus on myself and take exercise.”

I mean, “COME ON people!!!”

The clock is ticking….you’ve only got one body….when are you going to make your health and fitness a priority?

Now.

Take action.

Fitness. Changes. Everything.

Love etc, Avril

PS: We all know what to do to get fit and healthy. The real challenge is so few of us build habits which lead to long term results. If your habits are keeping you at your unhappy weight and you’re really, really ready to get yourself a sexy silhouette, perhaps hypnotherapy is the answer. Drop me a line here – let it be easy.