Breaking my blog hiatus with a little video I made recently to share my favourite Qi Cultivation practice, 4-Parts Taoist Breath. It is a great one you can do as a stand alone practice such as in the morning to get the body moving and the Qi flowing, or one to start your yoga practice as a warm up or to move your practice from either yin to yang or yang to yin. 

It's based on the teachings of Paul Grilley and taught to me by my yin yoga teacher trainer Jo Phee in the Yinspiration Yin Yang Flow, Yin Yoga and Shoulder Anatomy module which I completed in 2016 and assisted with in Singapore in 2018 and Utrecht in 2019. 
 
Movement of the body in this way and practices such as yoga and Qigong is great for stimulating cells, circulation, rehydrating tissues and getting the Qi to flow in the body. 

Please note when practicing to allow the feet to pivot and the knees to bend if need be when moving from one part to the next to accomodate your unique skeleton. It can also be done seated, crossed on the floor or on a chair. Watch video for how to do it and written instructions below.

Would love to know in the comments how you went when you give it a go and if you have any questions. 

And if you loved it, please like the video on YouTube and Subscribe to my newsletter and to YouTube so you'll be first to know when I upload my next video. More coming soon.

Part 1 - Gather Qi
Stand with your feet comfortably wide apart. 
Inhale as you circle arms out to the side as you Gather/Cultivate Qi. 

Part 2 - Open Horse
Exhale as you squat, letting your knees and feet pivot as they need to, pushing palms out to the side extending arms at shoulder height.

Part 3 - Draw Qi from Earth to Heaven
Inhale folding forward at hips, let knees bend if they need to, backs of the hands touch the earth and you curl the spine up imagining you are pulling energy from your finger tips from the earth to the heaven. 

Part 4 - Descend Qi to Dan Tian
Exhale the hands descend to the front of the solar plexus/abdomen known as the Dan Tian to store energy there. 

Through conversations with clients, friends and even in my own life, I have witnessed the disharmony that can occur when we are unable to speak our truth, be seen or heard by those important to us. On the flip side, I've also been blessed recently to witness the healing that happens in sister circles when we have a safe space for all these things to occur. 

Being vulnerable and speaking up about the things that are important to us and showing our humanness with others is a practice in itself, made all the harder when there is disharmony....

Have you ever had a time when you've fallen out with someone you love and been unable to come back to a place of understanding? Everything you say seems to push them in the wrong direction and things are escalating out of your control? Your loved one might be estranged from you? They may not be open to seeing things differently or simply hearing you out? Or someone has passed over and you are left with so much you wish you could say to them? 

This soul candle practice is useful in these times.

You see, we may not be able to connect with someone in person because of our differences or circumstances but through this candle work we are given the opportunity to speak from the heart at a soul level to their soul. And yes, I realise this might be considered woo woo for many, but even those I've shared it with who had a hard time believing have given it a go when things were really dire in their situations and had positive results. 

If you can keep an open mind and heart, this too could work for you.

How it works?

The candle you use will need to be big enough to last for 21 days. The intention to set is that the candle represents the soul of your loved one, so you can choose as basic or beautiful a candle as you desire. 

Ideally you want to choose the same time each day to work with the candle and ensure you can do so for the 21days and that you will not be disturbed whilst practicing.

The first 7 days - light the candle calling in the soul of your loved one and speak, out loud if you wish, everything you wish and want to say no holds barred. Every hang up, every hurt, every desire, every unsaid truth.... let it all out. 

The next 7 days - as you sit in meditation and listen from the heart to receive the response from the soul you are connecting to. Having a journal to note anything that comes up at the end of your meditation each day can be useful.

The last 7 days - you simply sit with the soul of your loved one to see if anything else arises, or needs clarification. 

This practice was taught to me by Gita International Yoga during my teacher training and philosophy classes as a way for us to resolve relationships and issues where we might not be able to connect with the person on a physical level. 

Candle work enables us to say, feel and release what we are often unable to in these circumstances and whether you're able to restore physical communication with your loved one, receive clarity or not.

Communication and speaking our truth always heals... whether we speak to the person in question, through the candle, to a professional, or within the safe space of a coaching session or sister circle, being seen and heard in this way creates the shifts towards healing ourselves and ultimately our relationships on an energetic level.

If you find yourself needing to speak up and be heard, ask yourself what resonates for you and reach out, take that first step towards healing.

I'd love to hear in the comments if you have given this a go, or if you have a similar practice you turn to in these times. 

Blessings gorgeous souls, 
Tx

In life we will find ourselves drawn and pulled towards certain people, places, events and lifestyles. 
 
One such lifestyle and tradition I have been heavily drawn to is Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). At a time when I was in transition, moving away from my young partying ways to a cleaner and healthier way of life and just beginning my journey with yoga, I came across these two books which really resonated for me…
 
Higher and Higher& The Perfect Day Planby Jost Sauer.
 
Acupuncture and TCM are based on the Meridian Theory. Meridians are the energetic pathways throughout the body, similarly to the physical nervous system, that carry the life force or Chi energy to different organs. In yoga, we would refer to it as Prana moving along the nadis. 
 
These two books introduced me to the Meridian Clock where every 2 hours the Chi moves to a different organ of the body and if we are to do particular activities during these times we can support the health of the organ and the flow of Chi around the body.

Recently when I began to suffer from a bout of insomnia and kept waking at around 3am - 430am regularly, I knew something was out of balance and if I could get back in time with the Meridian clock as much as possible that I could restore my good night's sleep patterns which happened within a few days of adjusting my routine.

So to give you a little taste of what a day living in tune with the Meridian clock might look like, here are the times and organs, as well as a few suggestions (and quotes) of what to focus on during those two hours as taken from The Perfect Day Plan book by Jost Sauer, which you can refer to if you are intrigued to know more.
 
3am – 5am: Lungs. The Meridian clock is said to begin here as this is the first organ we use when we take our first breath of life. At this time it is said the soul is returning from the dream state where we may have been during sleep. It is a yin time, and insomnia at this time could suggest we are yin deficient. If not yin deficient, we can utilise this time to connect with the soul, interpret our dreams, meditate or practice yoga. But for most, this time is probably best used for sleep.
 
5am – 7am: Large Intestine. This is the time when “we can cut out what we no longer want, vanquish our inner demons and win the battles that will help change our lives.”  A perfect time to sit on the loo for a regular bowel movement and letting go of the old ;) After which we can then replace the old with the new, through meditation, yoga, qigong and/or weight-bearing exercise.
 
7am – 9am: Stomach. The perfect time to sit for 10 minutes and eat something nourishing and warming. “Our taste for life comes from our stomach, so by eating the right breakfast with the right attitude we will naturally want to sample everything life has to offer.”
 
9am – 11am: Spleen. At this time, the spleen gives you full support for action and it is the best time to concentrate and memorise information. Hence, its the perfect time to put your head down and plough into your work and studies.
 
11am - 1pm: Heart. The best time to express yourself is when the chi is in your heart, a time all about purpose and joy as we have access to the soul. Spend some time doing what you love or thinking about what you want, journaling, setting spiritual goals, speaking with people about whats closest to your heart or who you are. If at work, work smarter not harder as the energy moves from yang in spleen time to yin in heart time. 
 
1pm – 3pm: Small Intestine. Slow down a little. Have lunch and a siesta if you can. Make lunch something warm and celebratory to nourish your blood, Chi and organs. “Our small intestine is paired with our heart, and it too plays a role in ‘editing’ how we present to the world. Physically, it is responsible for separating the pure and impure and sending the latter to the large intestine for excretion… The small intestine gives us mental clarity and wisdom.”
 
3pm – 5pm: Bladder. 330itis could be a sign we are not in the flow of our Chi. At this time we want to “put cruise control on, go with the flow and feel the power.” Do work that is enjoyable and not hard, such as the easier tasks of the day in a non-urgent manner.
 
5pm – 7pm: Kidney. Time to switch off, if we can or “keep reminding yourself that this is kidney time, a time when everything is fine, everything is good, everything is perfect. Time spent well here can ensure a good night’s sleep. A great time to acknowledge our skills and strength, share a laugh and have a massage or sex ;) …. All allow us to make the switch from yang to yin. “By 7pm you need to have consciously handed over the quarrels and stresses of the day to the motherly embrace of your kidneys. Otherwise you will be taking the stresses to bed.” Exercise is not a recommended way to switch off in the way your kidneys need. 
 
7pm – 9pm: Pericardium. This is the membrane around the heart. It is said to be the line of defence that protect the heart. This focus on protection and safety makes it the perfect time to feel at home, get creative (read a book, listen to music etc), be yourself and have a light dinner. Getting changed is a great way to be yourself after a day at work. 
 
9pm – 11pm: Triple Burner or San Jiao. This is a mysterious organ, with much debate as to whether it is an organ or a function? Either way it is important to the chi cycle. This is the time for sleep, or at least preparing for it and allowing yourself to drift away. 
 
11pm – 1am: Gall Bladder. “Being asleep between 11pm and 3am, the four hours of the wood element, is crucial for health and happiness…. If we are asleep during gall bladder time we can actually access the universe’s problem-solving service.” Lack of sleep at this time is a sure sign of being out of alignment with the chi cycle and an important sign that building yin is necessary. 
 
1am – 3am: Liver. Restoration time. The time of most yin when we too should be yin and sleeping. “While we sleep our blood returns to the liver to be cleansed and revitalised.”
 
“The more things we do right by one organ, the better our whole system works.”

Do you have a word for the year? 
If not, have you ever thought about choosing one or worked with one before?

To be honest, before this year I have never been able to settle on one single word. I've had affirmations, intentions, resolutions and lists. But as the start of the year approached and through all the work I had been doing, one came and it has been so powerful to have a single word to keep coming back to.

My word for the year is Limitless.

For me limitless living is about finally breaking through all the blocks that have held me back in the past, be them self-imposed or by society. No more excuses stopping me from living the abundant, full and purposeful life I have dreamt of for way too long.

Having a word to encapsulate and represent what I want to feel and experience this year has been proving to be a powerful reminder to keep me on track to creating the year I want to have.

So here are 5 tools that I believe helped me uncover my word this year...

1. 2017 Best Nine

Closing up the last year with this reflection activity and choosing the best nine things about the year helped me to focus on all that was great about the year and see what things I wanted more of in the new year.

2. 100 Things list

Every year, for the last 4 or so, I have written a list of 100 things I want to accomplish and do over the course of the year that would make it an amazing year. This is another tool that focusses my attention on the things I want in my life, those that light me up, that make life life feel amazing and the year one to remember.

3. 12 month oracle card reading

Another activity I love to do in the new year is shuffle a deck of oracle cards and open up a 12 card reading, one for each month of the year. The cards give me an idea of the kinds of challenges, learnings and successes I will have over the course of the year and allows me to reflect on how I might face them and handle them or what I wish to focus on. 

4. Journalling

This is a great way to evaluate your values and what you want most. Allowing yourself space to write and reflect on what you want gets the flurry of thoughts out of your mind and onto paper. My 100 things list on paper changes over and over again until I feel it reflects how I want to feel. Another journalling activity I do is simply writing about all the feelings I want to feel during the year, a brain dump of such. When you see all the words in front of you there may be a theme that runs through them that could be encompassed by a single word or there may be one that stands out to you more than the others. I journal daily which reflects back to me the fluctuations I go through from day to day and can be very revealing when it comes to lessons we are going through or challenges we are facing. Themes, habits and patterns become more and more apparent, until maybe one day you are ready to face them, rise above them or let them go. This could be the moment that leads you to your word.

5. Meditation

Even 5mins a day of meditation can create substantial space for insights and intuition to occur for you. It can be as simple as sitting still focussing on your breath and returning to the breath every time a thought appears and allowing the thought to arise and fall like clouds floating past in the sky on a windy day. This was when my word chose to come to me. It came through loud and clear and stuck with me. I wrote it down straight after I came out of my meditation sat with it in future sessions to ensure this was the word for me. 

Now, I find the word arising for me throughout the day, whenever I am making a decision or facing a fear.

It has made me more aware of the excuses and limitations that I've placed on myself and gives me that space of awareness to evaluate where these blocks have a arisen from, what I can do to move past them, let them go or what I can learn from them. 

It has set such a strong intention to guide my year and I'm excited for all to come in 2018. 

If you would like to have your own taste of what we call in yoga and coaching as intentional living, then give these activities a go for the week and let me know what arises. 

However, if you are feeling drawn to receiving more support in this process, I'm honoured to be involved in a new group coaching program where you can connect with other like minded people and gain the support of not one, but 3 yoga teachers/life coaches over 4 empowering months. If you're called to make this year your year to remember and live with purposeful intention,  read more about the program here.

And here it is...this year's list! 

100 things that would make 2018 an awesome year in my books. 

A practice I have done every year and shared over the last 3 years up on the blog.

And a practice I can't recommend more highly enough as it sets the tone and intention for the year you want to have!

Some things I do every year, and some are new things for this year alone. 

What would your list consist of? 

If you do this practice, I'd love to hear how you went and what's at the top of your list and what are the things you're most excited about. And if you blogged about it, please share the link in the comments as I would love to read it and give you some blog love and who knows, it may even inspire me to add a few new things to mine in the future.

PS: trying something new this year and keeping tabs on what I complete on my list in bold.

If you're an Instagrammer you would probably know what the #2017bestnine is, it's the best nine pics that received the most likes during the year as generated by this website. However, for me it is less about the number of likes and more about the amount of heart felt, memories made, and lessons learnt in those moments that would make it count.

So as I did in 2015, I chose my own 2017 Best Nine and I'd love to hear from you in the comments, what would yours be?

 1) Travel
 Travel opened both my mind and my heart in 2017 with 6 trips out of Perth visiting 12 different cities in 7 different countries including my first cruise. From as far as Miami and the Caribbean, within Australia such as Byron and Sydney, and then not too far away places like Malaysia and Bali. I was blessed to see so many new sights and revisit some places, as well as make many new friends and strengthen friendships around the world.

2) Handstand February
USA was my first and biggest trip taken in 2017. Travelling for 3 weeks with a group of between 5 to 30 people to our online franchise business convention taught me how to tactfully find quiet time for myself, respecting the quiet solitude treasuring introvert within. As well as to let go and have fun handstanding in interesting places along the way, including Disney World, Universal Studios, Little Havana & cruising the Caribbean. 

3) BYCA Inspiration Day
This was a spontaneous trip to Brisbane for the Beautiful You Coaching Academy Inspiration day. I wrote a blog here you can read all about how everything fell into place for this trip as soon as I followed my heart and made the decision to go. 

4) Becoming a Beautiful You Coach
Becoming a coach showed me the power of having a strong "why" and how you can achieve anything you set your mind to if you want it enough. Like finding the time and the money to dive into the 6 month Beautiful You Life Coaching Course, fulfilling a long held dream of mine. Super proud for completing this course, and even more so, grateful for the amazing women who are now in my life as a result of it, from coaching buddies to inspiring  coaching clients.

5) Funarium
Some times you have to say "YES" to the scary stuff as this is what will stretch and grow you. This happened when I helped organise the yoga area in Perth's largest kids festival event of the year, The Funarium, and the biggest yoga event I have ever done. You can read on the blog all I learnt from the 27 classes over 3 days with over 400 students of all ages.

6) Visiting Malaysia
When home is where the heart is, which may be in various places around the world, it leaves you wishing often that you could be in more than one place at a time. So, getting to visit Malaysia twice this year for the unexpected launch of our online business in Malaysia and for my cousin's wedding was amazing. Time with loved ones always leaves you with a full heart and yet a little heartbroken too when you have to say good bye at the end. 

7) Bucket List Ticks
Never wait to start ticking things off your bucket list. It feels so amazing when you do. I managed to tick off two in 2017. The first was to complete a fun run with a couple of my students, though we walked the 12km so next time I aim to be able to actually run the entirety. The second was my dream to live in Bali for a month completing a yoga teacher training. 

8) Yin Yoga Teacher Training
You'll often hear me say, if you have a dream or something lights you up, do it!....it's almost always a step towards your life purpose in some way. And you never know how it will fall into place. It wasn't until I fell in love with Bali in 2015 that I dreamt of living there for a month. In 2016 I fell in love with yin yoga and in my pursuit of learning more I did a training with Jo Phee, which in turn lead me to enrolling for her 2017 3 week 200hr Yin Training in Bali. And when you find a world class teacher you resonate with you jump at the opportunity to learn again from them, which I did in Perth a month later and who knows where this path will lead me in 2018.

9) Amazing Friendships
Even above and beyond the blessing of being able to travel and study as much as I did in 2017, the biggest blessing was definitely all the amazing people that crossed my path from all corners of the earth that I got to spend time with. From family, dear friends and new friends, course mates, to coaching clients, these are the connections I treasure and were definitely the Best of the Nine chosen for 2017.

So that is my #2017bestnine! Its a great activity to contemplate the year that was and focus on the blessings it held.

If you get a chance I highly recommend giving it a go. Find some stillness and list your Best Nine for 2017.
I would really love to hear what your list includes? Of if you could narrow it down to one, what would it be? 

OMG, it's October!

2017 has seriously been a whirlwind.

3 months have flown past since my last post (sorry!), but not without some proud achievements.

In that time, I have completed my 6 month Beautiful You Life Coaching Course (blog post long over due). 
I have been stepping up with my online franchise, helping with trainings, new partners and even had the opportunity to present along side a millionaire with 22 years experience public speaking in front of group of 85 people. Plus our business opened up in Malaysia which called for an impromptu trip in early September! 

And now, just before I head to Bali this Wednesday for a 200hr Yin Yoga Teacher Training (future blog post to come),
I decided to hold my very first Self-Care Sister Circle (SCSC) this weekend.

​And yes, I am writing about it the day afterwards!
Wonders never cease to amaze, right?! 

What is a Sister Circle? 
A sister circle is not necessarily a circle but rather a space created for women to gather, connect, reflect and share with one another in a more meaningful way. They are being held more and more around the world and can entail all sorts of activities from dancing, essential oils, journalling to craft, but all with the aim of giving women the opportunity to connect on a deeper level with themselves and one another in the process.

Why Self-Care? 
In this busy modern world in which we live I'm meeting more and more people, and women in particular, who are time poor and not taking any time for themselves. Life seems to be getting busier, demands on them greater, and self-care gets left to "later" all too often. As a yoga teacher and life coach, I know all too well the importance of Self-Care. In a role that sees me giving a lot energetically for my students and coaching clients, if I don't take time to do things that fill my cup then I find myself at the end of the week burnt out, with nothing more to give. 

What is Self-Care?
Self-care will mean different things to different people, but in a nutshell, it is time taken to do any thing that lights you up and fills you up. These are the activities that have you feeling yourself again, renewed and rejuvenated. For me they are things like yoga, walking, meditation, getting my haircut, journalling or receiving a massage. 

​How do the Self-Care Sister Circles work? 
A SCSC is a women's circle and pampering session created with a focus on Self-care and usually runs for 2 hours.

A SCSC will almost always involve an aspect of reflection to have you connecting with yourself again, sharing with one another to allow you to connect with other like-minded women, nibbles and refreshments to keep your bodies nourished and hydrated, and self-care activities to leave you feeling pampered and nurtured inside and out.

Who are they for? 
Sorry guys, but the SCSCs at the moment are for the ladies only. SCSCs are for all women of any age who are seeking to meet with other like minded women and who are looking to strengthen their commitment to self-care and themselves.

How did it all begin?
Well, it is a bit of a long, round about story, so I'll try to keep it short.

I have been drawn to circles for a long time, dabbling in them here and there in Melbourne. A part of me craved a circle of women with whom I could connect with and share on a deeper level. But it wasn't until the beginning of the year that I started to feel a stronger pull to them and played with the idea of running one myself. Coaching training gave me that connection with women I craved and when it ended I started event coaching as I knew events were my next step forward. I have run retreat days in the past and been wanting to start holding them again but this time with more confidence. Circles seemed like a great way to build that confidence and before I knew it I found myself signed up for a sacred circle training I had been eying all year.

In the mean time, I was stepping up in my online franchise and receiving coaching to help me bring my 3 businesses together in a way that felt aligned. With all this the circle idea started to fall into place more and more. 

It definitely helps when you find someone on the same page as you and I was blessed to find a partner in my business, Dione, who had similar ideas to me. So after months of thinking about it, I set a date with Dione to run our first and Self-Care Sister Circles was born!

The Inaugural Self-Care Sister Circle
Our very first SCSC was on Saturday. It was focused on skin care and how a skin care regime can be an integral part of your daily commitment to self-care. We had 6 lovely ladies join us and another of our partners Susie working with us.

It was so amazing to see the ladies connecting straight away. There was much joy and laughter. The pampering session included a glass of bubbly, some journalling, lots of sharing and facials. As face masks were setting the ladies enjoyed a meditation and visualisation. And after they finished their facials, the conversations continued over more refreshments and nibbles and everyone went home with a gift pack to enjoy.

I loved seeing the ladies leaving the session glowing from their facials and full of joy from their experience shared and connections made. This is exactly what I had hoped for and I can't wait to run another.

Thanks so much to Dione for being on the same page and working with me to bring this about. Thanks also to Susie for helping out at such late notice. And huge thanks to each and every woman that came, participated and shared openly with one another. Thank you for a magical afternoon of connection and self-care!

Who's up for a Self-Care Sister Circle in November?

Keen to join us for our next circle or to be kept in the loop for details? Please contact Natasha to be the first to know. 

On my birthday weekend in July, I was involved in the biggest event I have done since I became a yoga teacher. 
​The Funarium is the newest and one of the biggest kids festivals to hit Perth.

Not only was it an honour and privilege to be asked to be a part of it, it was also a huge step outside of my comfort zone.

This year has truly been all about stepping up and playing bigger, and here is what I learnt from this experience and some pictures I love from the event....

1. Believe in yourself
At some point you just have to step up and back yourself. There used to be a time when I would have turned away from accepting a big job like this. But something inside me said, "I can do this" and I trusted it. And not only did I do it, it went well and I also created my first relaxation audio (free for you to download).

2. Take one step at a time
Every big goal is made up of smaller bite size pieces that are so much more easier to "chew" so to speak. Rather than being overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task at hand, which I often do, I find it helpful to break the bigger picture down into easily actionable steps that move you step by step closer to the end result you are after.

3. Ask for help
I knew from the start that this job was way too big for one person alone. I listened to my intuition and asked for help from the person that I knew would be perfect to help. I felt blessed to be able to partner with Michelle from YogaZoo as we were on the same page about the event from the very first call.  Along with the 4 amazing teachers she connected me with to teach for the 3 days, we were a dream team. Everyone worked well together, classes at the event were fun for all ages and the 3 days went as smoothly as one could wish them to be. 

4. Be flexible
Not everything will work the way you want or hope. This was true for our area. Despite all our preparation and planning, the event which was tailored to kids from 4 to 12 years old, our classes ended up becoming for all ages as kids yoga turned into family yoga. We even had a bub on a mat whilst mum did yoga with her older daughter and dad was yoga-ing on another mat beside her. It meant we had to be flexible to adjust the classes according to who was on the mat. 

5. Honour your self
With 9 classes each day over 3 days, I planned little else after each day to honour my body's need for rest. Even though it was my birthday on the Saturday, my celebrations were contained to a glass of red and a bit of chocolate with dinner (a gift from one of the teachers) that evening and a massage after the event to begin my body's rebalancing process. 

6. Don't forget to play
After participating in 27 classes with nearly 400 students of all ages, the reminder to play and enjoy the moment was well and truly etched in my mind by Sunday evening. Kids are the perfect reminder to us to enjoy every moment, to play and have fun. There were no shortages of laughter and smiles in our classes. If ever I have to work again on my birthday, then this would probably be the only way I would want to spend it. 

7. Connect with your family.
With over  40 activities in 10 themed zones,​ from science to cooking, action to craft, dancing to drumming, this event was huge! But what I loved was the feedback from so many parents who joined us for yoga who loved that this was one of the few activities they could enjoy with the kids. It was so heart warming to be on the mat with them and witness the shared connections, smiles and laughter between kids and their parents/loved ones. It was another beautiful reminder of what is important in life, connection with others, especially our family and loved ones doing things that are fun.

8. Celebrate & give thanks
Though I was pretty exhausted by the end of the weekend, I still took the time to reflect on our massive achievement and we did take time to celebrate with one another at the end of the month.

A huge thanks to Michelle, the teachers Leah, Julia, Renae and Genie and most importantly every pocket yogini and their families that joined us for a class. It was the most amazing weekend and a birthday spent with you all I won't forget soon. 

Here's hoping we get to do it all over again next year!
(and not on my birthday would be even better)

This story began in 2007, I blogged about it in 2015, and finally I've uploaded the video in 2017.
It only took me 10 years....I'm on to it! 

Some of you may have heard this story, and some of you may have read it here.
Well, now you can see it in action.

This is the story of how I used The Secret and the Law of Attraction to win on a game show. 

And ultimately, this is how I came to become a yoga teacher and the path I journey on now.
You could say it was one of the major turning points in my life!

Energy most definitely follows thought!

Enjoy! It'll have you at the edge of your seat, I promise.
If not, it will at least have you laughing at all the funny faces I pull :) 

I'd love to hear from you in the comments, have you had a big turning point in your life?
What was it? And how did it change the course of your life? 

It's a beautiful thing, when people come together to support one another.

"We rise by lifting others up."

The HBF Run was very much this in action and I felt humbled to be a part of the Perth community that day.

To be honest, it wasn't really a run for me, I was in the 12km walking group. Though I did end up running a few kilometres of the distance after taking a pitstop and attempting to catch up with my walking buddies. Does that count?

Completing a fun run has been on my bucket list for some time, like some other "out there" goals such as getting my black belt in martial arts, following the MotoGP around the world for a year and walking the Camino de Santiago (fingers crossed for next year). The latter being the reason for me walking a lot more in the last year and so the fun run made it to my 2017 100 things to do list.

The List is a way for me to put out there where I want focus my energy for the year ahead and giving back is always on there. With all the travel I had on the cards this year, I was beginning to think I might not be able to do it.

But I would see HBF Run shirts every time I went out for walks and advertisements on the internet, so I couldn't let it go. 

When you're on the right path, serendipitous events will increase in their occurrence.

First sign was at the end of one of my classes, when a couple of my students mentioned they were looking at doing it. And then another student that same week, who had just started his Not-for-profit Optin to Life inc, sent out a newsletter saying he was participating in the run and starting a team to raise money for his charity.

I knew in that moment, I had to do it and everything fell into place.

The walk was on the 28th May on a perfectly sunny autumn day and I had the best time. From start to finish the event was heaps of fun with lots of unexpected entertainment along the way. Perth was a buzz with positive energy. It's hard not to feel uplifted when you're with thousands of others all walking/running for a cause dear to them.

Sure my body was a little stiff and sore by the end of the 12km, but it definitely gave me greater appreciation for being a yogini and yoga teacher with the self-awareness to know what my body needed in the days following.

My recovery consisted of a lot of magnesium, calcium, stretches, hydration and rest, as well as some shorter more casual walks to keep me moving.

Proud to say together we raised over $2500 as a team for Optin to Life Inc so they can continue giving support and invaluable time out to mothers in the first 18months. I love how its a charity that brings the community together to support one another, with mothers helping mothers. And knowing all the amazing mothers that I do, I know this is an invaluable service for women.

If you're in Perth and in need or know someone else who could use some support, their program is currently operating in Victoria Park, South Perth, Bayswater and Stirling. They can use all the support and help they can get, so if you can we'd love you to make a tax deductible donation here or even volunteer here if you feel called.

A huge thank you to those who joined the team, my walking buddies and all the beautiful souls that donated money to our cause. It's a day I won't forget in a hurry. Here are a handful of highlights from the day...