How often do you take time out for yourself? Do you have a daily timeout practice, weekly or perhaps once or twice a year? Or do you just keep going all day, everyday until you fall into bed at night exhausted?

Lets talk about why taking time out is essential for a healthy balanced life.

Because YOU are important – it’s a part of looking after the most important person in your life!

We often fall into roles in life with the belief that we have to put our personal needs second or maybe even last…. the role of a parent, carer, student, worker, business owner, daughter, son, teacher, friend… and the list goes on. Our beliefs may have formed from an early age with influences through our family of origin, schooling, social influences, religious practices or perhaps beliefs we have formed through discussions with friends, partners or colleagues later in life. How can we look after ourselves and have a balanced lifestyle with these nagging beliefs? How do we have timeout without guilt or other embedded negative feelings? This is challenging for many people.

I remember being told (by a former boss) that achieving a work/life balance is an impossible goal – I thought, are you kidding me? (admittedly, I was probably trying to secure the most suitable work hours that worked for me at the time, and so perhaps that was his way of saying no). However, anything is achievable if you have the mindset to support it. YOU are important and a part of nurturing yourself is to take time out in whatever form that is for you. This is called Self Love and you deserve every bit of it.

Your HEALTH is important!

The only person responsible for your health is you. Every thought, belief, action and behaviour can impact on our health on some level. If we never take time to quieten our mind, nurture our physical needs through exercise or self-care practices like massage, or ponder our beliefs about how the world works and what is our purpose, then we are really just on a roller-coaster ride that doesn’t stop to rest, rejuvenate, reflect, reboot and rebirth (grow). And then there’s our adrenal glands… this isn’t the place to go into how they function and the potential results of stress on the adrenals…. just remember that sometimes we think we are handling stress, but our body tells us different and the adrenals take the brunt of this. If you are feeling anxious, tired, physically sore or inflamed or numerous other symptoms (just look into Adrenal Fatigue), these could be signs that your adrenals are fatigued. Perhaps its time to stop and listen to your body (it knows best), even if you think you enjoy the roller-coaster, your body may not.

How to take time out! Food for thought…

Daily – Take time to breathe mindfully, meditate, take a walk somewhere that brings you calm, stretch your body, swim, read a book, chat (actually face to face or on the phone…texting has taken over our communication!) to someone you enjoy, make a meal that you love and eat it without distraction of others or electronics, look up to the sky, out to sea or sit with nature and think about all the things you are grateful for, have a bath…you may notice that these are all slow things…yes heading to the gym and doing a workout is also timeout, just remember to add some things in to your day that slow you down both physically and mentally and bring you calm and balance. Weekly – All of the daily activities listed above would also be great to do once a week. Or maybe go out with people that you have enjoy a laugh with, go on a hike, see a movie, have a massage, try a new activity – there are so many to choose from – just ask Google! Yearly – book that holiday or retreat. Will timeout for you mean being totally on your own or with others? Will it mean a holiday with family or without? Both are important – I love to go away with friends or family however I love the Ahhhhh feeling of going away where no one knows who I am… this could be participating in a course for the weekend or going on a health retreat. I find there is no better way to just be ME (whatever I am on that day – after all, we are never the same as we were yesterday) than to book into a course or a retreat. Whether I am familiar with the content that will be covered or not, there will always be some self-learning and most importantly, self-love experienced during my timeout 😊

Look after YOU – love YOU - take timeout – RETREAT to a place that brings you calm – Relax, Reconnect, Rejuvenate.

Narelle Jones, Pilates Instructor - Inspire Pilates

Retreat Facilitator -Inspire Balance Pilates Retreats

We know that Pilates is great for everyone! And that definitely applies to anyone with Osteoarthritis.Sometimes because our joints are stiff and sore, we just want to stay still and go into protective mode. But if you think about it, that’s not logical. Everything locking up, losing mobility and strength. After all, you have to ‘use it or lose it’ as the saying goes. Pilates is gentle and aims to workout without stressing your joints or add pressure to the surrounding ligaments and cartilage. Working with an Instructor who can individualise your session for your needs, means that you will be looked after however your body shows up on the day. Some days, you may just need mobilisation, stretching and light resistance work and other days your body is up for more challenge. You listen to your body and so will we!

Pilates focuses on precise, controlled movements and can offer you many health benefits. Pilates will help to lengthen your body, increase blood flow to muscles and tendons, which may help relieve soreness. With a focus on movement from your core, joint alignment, Pilates can help you through better posture and stronger stabilising muscles.

All Pilates exercises start in your core (your abdomen), stay in your core and end in your core. Before trying Pilates exercises, you must learn how to move from your core, and only then will you be able to realise the full benefit of Pilates.

Our aim – for you to leave your session feeling great, whether that’s physically, mentally or hopefully both!

Every Body loves to move, to get stronger and be more flexible which gives you the feeling of enhancement when we connect mind to body, using awareness and breath to perform movements with precision and control. Yes, Every Body can achieve the wonderful benefits of Pilates. As a Pilates instructor, I see clients that have poor body awareness, old injuries that flare up and existing ones that need to be managed, lack of cardio conditioning, lack of functional strength and have been disconnected from their bodies for a long period of time, therefore I am always trying to connect body and mind to help clients, gain a better understanding of movement by using core and breath, teaching clients to slow down before starting a session is essential in the Pilates method. Our current clients have come to Evolve to reduce their pain or rehabilitate following an injury, its common to see these clients not making the initial connections to the right muscles or not activating the deeper muscles during their other exercise activities. It’s also about connecting with people, whether it's me as the Instructor or with the group they are in, it’s connecting within that space with

others that amplify their experience. Joseph Pilates said, “Pilates is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit.” When you are totally connected in your Pilates practice, body, mind, and spirit are aligned. When you achieve this, you are in control of your body and where you take it within your Pilates Practice. I love to see people make those connections within their body. Pilates Instructor are qualified to guide you through your practice however as an Instructor, I feel an immense gratitude when I see people listening to their body and moving according to their body’s needs at that given moment in time. Yes, Pilates is for Every Body. Come and learn to connect with your body through movement, breathing, precision and control, your mind and body will reap the benefits!

I’ll see you soon for a Private or Duo Reformer session 😊

Pilates reformer provides a full body workout that can be adjusted to meet the needs of every individual. Tailored programs can assist people wanting to support their existing physical workouts (e.g. Cycling, surfing, dancing, weight training) through to those with rehabilitation needs requiring modifications. Through mind/body awareness, those regularly attending Pilates reformer classes can expect a stronger core, long lean muscles, better posture, balance, improved coordination and joint mobility.

Having sore muscles sometimes can discourage you from training or prevent you from getting back on track sooner, so here is a list of remedies that will help you get back on track, remember the best remedies is to know your limit when exercising and as a rule start slow when doing a new exercise. Remember always a long warm up and a long cool down is best.1. Persevere Your muscles can experience soreness simply from using them normally and not in any intense way. When achy, tired muscles become a nag, combat the pain with some exercise. Starting out, muscles might feel extra-achy, like they don’t want to go on. Weary muscles will often resist a workout at first but once you get into it, they usually loosen up and the ache disappears after a few minutes of brisk movement. Keep in mind that if muscles are sore from an intense bout of prior exercise, you should really go easy on them or you can easily pull or strain one or more muscles. 2. A Hot Soak Taking the time to soak your tired or overused muscles in an extremely warm bath for 30-40 minutes accomplishes wonders for loosening up and relaxing the mind and body completely, creating an overall sync. While your muscles are stagnant and relaxed in the hot bath, the heat has the chance to offer some deep therapy. After a full soak, and perhaps even some gentle stretching while in the tub, getting out will feel so much easier than getting in. 3. Ice the Pain Swelling is one of the key reasons muscles throw off intense pain and discomfort. Swelling is a renowned part of the muscle repair process, which can be undermined if you hit the gym again too hard and don’t allow for some recovery time. Icing the muscles can be the key to bringing down the swelling and relieving the relentless burn. This technique can accelerate muscle recovery and manage discomfort, simultaneously making the next day more manageable. 4. Heat the Ache Where ice packs or baths combat inflammation and swelling, heat works to alleviate the pain directly. Over-the-counter heat rubs (like Tiger Balm and Deep Rub) offer relief through penetrating warmth, getting the blood moving to your overworked muscles. This helps to make them more limber and loose. Rubs can pump oxygen into tissues and dilate blood vessels, relaxing an overtaxed body. 5. Work through the Pain A moderate workout can aid in recovery after intense exercise. Don’t jump back into anything intense. Take an easy and slow approach, indulging your muscles in some deep recovery with a relaxing yoga workout (where the stretching can also help immensely with the pain) or another light exercise that gets your blood moving at an easy speed and intensity. 6. Repair with Massage A soothing massage can be just what the doctor ordered for sore muscles. A.R.T., or Active Release Technique, is a massage treatment you can use to treat tired, stiff muscles and loosen them up by working on individual tissues and in between them too. Stretching during a massage can also do wonders. Forget deep-tissue massages and focus on a gentle rub instead. This can ease inflammation and relax tight muscles. 7. Food for recovery You can just as easily fuel your body with foods and drinks that can help with muscle recovery or eat these foods daily to help avoid muscles pain, stock your fridge and pantry with these ingredients, and start feeling the difference. Nuts, cottage cheese, turmeric ( as a hot drink or curries)spinach, salmon, green tea and manuka honey, all these foods help deliver either anti-inflammatory qualities or omega 3 and protein to help recovery. Keep in mind that muscle pains from exercising usually don’t last longer than a week. So, if the pain just won’t go away, seek a doctor. Alcohol makes muscle recovery even slower. 8. Stretches Assisted stretches either with a personal trainer or a pilates trainer, while pilates instructor may use a reformer bed or a spinal corrector apparatus a personal trainer would use props like foam rollers, fit balls, assisted stretches, PNF stretches. and dynamic stretches. The outcome would be a speedy recovery, working with a Personal trainer or Pilates expert can help with the prevention of muscles soreness, by training with an expert we can symmetrically balance your muscle, show you how to train progressively and to always stretch the right muscles for better recovery. You can't always avoid sore muscles when exercising but you can prevent injuries and speed up recovery time.

Oh, the dreaded plateau…

You’ve been working hard on your fitness and its paid off. The weight started to drop! And then one day your results stopped. You keep putting in the same effort without any sign of improvement. You’ve hit a frustrating plateau. Or have you? Before you blame a fitness plateau for your lack of results let’s critically consider the following: 1. Your Diet: It’s human nature to begin to slip on your nutrition after a few weeks of stringent diligence. A small treat here, and a bit of something there, and before you know it you’ve fallen back into old eating habits. If your results have stopped then take the next few weeks to track your nutrition and hold yourself accountable for every bite. 2. Your Workouts: If your nutrition has truly stayed on point then your workouts could be the problem. Are you slacking on the final few reps? Have you reduced your overall intensity with your training? Did you skip a few sessions last week? Before you blame a plateau for your reduced results take a really hard look at your effort with exercise. Rededicate yourself to pushing as hard as you can, without injuries. 3. Your Sleep: This is a tough one for so many people, but you simply must be getting adequate sleep in order to lose fat and develop muscle. Your body needs close to eight hours of sleep each night in order to recover from your workouts and to maintain balanced hormone levels. Getting to bed on time is vitally important to your fitness results. If you have tackled the three steps above and still don’t see the number on your scale moving in the right direction, then move on to these next plateau-changing steps… 4. Track Your Efforts: It’s time to get meticulous with tracking your fitness efforts, from exactly what your workouts consist of, to exactly what and when you eat in order to constantly improve. Make it your goal to outdo yourself every day. If you’re constantly performing better today than you were yesterday, then your plateau will quickly become a distant memory. 5. Track Your Results: Simply checking your weight on the scale is not a thorough enough measurement of your progress. Start tracking additional metrics for change. Take your measurements. Take pictures of yourself weekly. It’s important to be fully aware of how your body is changing as a whole unit, not just the number on the scale. You may be surprised to find that your body fat has been dropping while your weight has stayed the same. Sometimes additional strategies for breaking through your fitness plateau is needed, maybe we can help.

You've let yourself go during the Christmas break or way before then!

It happens to the best of us. That moment when you realise that you’ve let yourself go, and you need to get back on track. Your first thought is to go on a ‘diet’ but as quickly as that enters your mind the ghosts of many diets past return…along with all the frustration. Then you wonder, why bother? The weight will come back, as it always has or you will stop again midway somewhere between work and life. The answer is not to go on another diet. The answer is to change your lifestyle.

Making the Change It’s time to lose your ‘all or nothing’ mentality. Embrace simple, small changes that will add up to big improvements in your lifestyle. An ongoing healthy lifestyle that supports your ideal body weight.

These are your 2 areas to change:

What You Eat Let’s face it, most of the foods you eat aren’t the healthiest. Some are downright terrible (the burger and fries you had last week). While others are simply excessive (the snacks you eat while watching TV).

The solution to cleaning up your daily diet is NOT to go back on a ‘diet’. In fact, I never want you to go on a ‘diet’ again. Instead, I want you to make permanent healthy changes to your eating habits. Here are some practical examples:

Choose salad over chips or friesDon’t add butter to your foodEat fresh produce with every mealLimit desserts to one or two per weekCut out mindless snackingDrink water,limit soft drinks.. and limit alcohol, why wait for Dry July!

I don’t expect you to eat a perfect diet every day of the week – that’d be ludicrous. You should, however, make MORE healthy choices every day than unhealthy ones.

How You Move Exercise is a huge component of a healthy lifestyle, and you’re not getting enough of it. How often does an entire week go by without you ever lacing up your workout shoes? Don’t disregard the importance and power of a good workout.

Your new healthy lifestyle means exercising on most days of the week.I understand how hard it is to find the motivation to stay consistent and to push yourself. Make exercise a no-brainer—contact us to get started on a lifestyle enhancing program today. Here are simple ways to move more:

Watch less TVStretch stiff muscles every dayPlay at the park with the kidsGo for a jogDo some pushups every morningTake the dog for a walkHave a home exercise program that you can follow - we can help.

While none of the above are meant as substitutes for a solid exercise routine, they are great ways to become more active and to improve your lifestyle.

Your lifestyle is the balance of all the choices that you make regarding your body. Swing the balance in your favor—make a majority of your choices health conscious.

You’ll be happy you made the decision to be better. Are you ready to transform your lifestyle and body? No more beating around the bush. The time is now.

Why is it that so many celebrities swear by Pilates? Pilates enthusiasts claim it makes their bodies long and lean, improving muscle tone and lengthening the spine whilst giving a thorough and challenging workout.Others may assume it is a bit slow at times. So why is it that so many people, including celebrities, swear by Pilates?

Common answers focus on the benefits Pilates exercise has on posture, injury rehab, toning your body etc, arguably the greatest benefit of Pilates – it can drastically transform your sex life.

Pilates focuses on training your body holistically, digging deep and forcing you to activate deep intrinsic muscles that you might never have known existed before you tried Pilates. The pelvic floor is a great example of this. You might know the feeling of an activated pelvic floor muscle when you stop yourself urinating mid-flow. It is the area that spans underneath the pelvis and is a large sling of muscles and ligaments that help control your bladder and bowl and more importantly for some, it makes the vagina tighter and more toned, creating better orgasms and increasing pleasure in sex.

Through Pilates exercise you will train this area both explicitly and implicitly – meaning that you will strengthen it while you are performing the Pilates moves and poses and you will be trained to activate it just by focusing on it.

And don’t just take our word for it – there are a number of studies which show that pelvic floor muscle training exercises to help improve sexual response in both men and women. Most recently, a study published in the journal of sex and marital happiness showed that sexual function can be improved through Pilates exercise. Still not convinced? Try Pilates for a month and see how you go!

First Class 1/2 price.

Coming next year reformer beds

Why are you still waiting for the right time to get fit?

You are busy and hectic. Your family member is sick. Your job is demanding. You are focused on planning a big life event. Your kids are pulling you in a million different directions and now is an emotional time.

There are a million and more excuses for why you haven’t made your body a priority…yet. At the back of your mind, you believe that the day will come when you are ready to take action in getting back in shape.

But that right time hasn’t come.

Let’s be honest with each other right now. The right time to get fit won’t ever magically appear. There will always be another life event to navigate. There’s always going to be someone you know who is sick…and you’ll even get sick at times. You will always have a reason to emotionally eat if you allow yourself that chaos.

So what’s the solution? Drift through life in a body that you aren’t happy with? Avoid mirrors and bathing suits and sleeveless tops? Comfort yourself with the thought that you’ll dial in your fitness one day…just not today?

I’d like you to consider that the right time to get fit is Right Now!

Not despite your current life challenges but BECAUSE of them.

How much more effective do you think you’ll be dealing with a busy schedule, sick relatives, big life events and active kids when you’re living in an energetic, functional and fit body?

Loads more effective!

Consider your current challenges as reasons why you MUST get fit NOW rather than excuses as to why you CAN’T get fit now. I know you can do this. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

to get started on your journey to a fit, active and super functional body!

It seems that many of our personal training programs are based around the need to compensate for over indulgence on thee weekend, or at festive times such as Easter and Christmas holidays. This is when things generally take a dive, but with guidance from your trainer in the months in between, you can make a difference and keep body fat at a lower percentage.

From a trainer perspective we could spend the first half of the week getting clients back into the fat burning phase because clients have over loaded on carbs on the weekend.

You must get your body in a fat burning state in order to get the results quicker.

What is the perfect condition for the body to drop body fat?

There is a certain state that lends itself well to dropping body fat. That state is slightly “carb depleted”. (The easiest way to do this is to increase your protein intake and reduce your carb intake).

When the body is storing a limited amount of carbs in the muscles, it tends to use stored body fat for energy. This is idea. But if they are “carbed up” all the time, they are very unlikely to get lean. So even though they have loads of energy to do a solid workout, most of the energy used is from the carbs component and not the fats, unless you would like to spend at least 2 hours per session to eventually deplete the carbs then continue to burn fats which is unrealistic.

We know that the body will use fuel accordingly

High intensity training will help you burn more total calories and mainly from carbs. During a long slower session you burn less calories however you burn more from body fat storage.

If you were to look at anyone that has lost weight successfully regardless of the diet they followed, you will find that some key point will sound similar in all the different diet patterns, the same rules apply more exercise and less calories consumed.

How to do cardio to quickly reduce the carbs in your system

Avoid long cardio workouts (more then 90 min) it’s just unrealistic for weight loss (even though it works). It's difficult to sustain.

Think along the lines of jogging medium to hard or riding a bike for 45-60 minutes. By doing a sustained jog or bike ride etc this is a good way to burn carbs and get back to the best condition to burn body fat. So instead of waiting for 2-3 days of clean eating to get back to a slightly carb depleted state, you can get there within a day.

When to incorporate long cardio sessions

This type of cardio should be used on a limited basis to get the body back to where it needs to be. Let’s say you ate pizza on Saturday and went to a BBQ on Sunday, then if you felt a bit “carbed up” you would do a longer more drawn out cardio session on Monday to get your body back to fat burning mode.

From that point on you would stick to HIIT (high intensity interval training) or body weight circuits. You would also clean up your diet for the remainder of the week.

Finally

The main thing to remember is that if you are eating less calories, you need to be careful that the cardio sessions are brief and focused . If your diet is carb loaded you will want to incorporate longer cardio sessions to get your body to the right condition. Once this is achieved you will want to stick with mainly HIIT and continue to tighten up your diet.

Need help to get back on track? Call our email us and let's get your program started. Check out our TRIAL KICK START PROGRAM here

Chocolate comes from plants, so it must be healthy, right? Wrong… it depends on what else is in the chocolate, and how close it is to the natural product. Choose the least processed chocolate, with the least milk solids, emulsifiers and added sugar. Chocolate is high in fat and sugar, so eat it in moderation.

Choose chocolate with the highest cocoa content, as cocoa is very high in flavanoids and in its powdered state is virtually calorie free. Add cocoa powder to smoothies or yoghurt. If you do have chocolate, have at least 70% dark chocolate as it contains twice as much antioxidants as milk chocolate.

Chocolate does have some other benefits if eaten in moderation

Dark Chocolate has been shown to help to prevent heart disease and cancerDark Chocolate improves mood by boosting the brains serotonin levelsChocolate is made up of about 300 chemicals, some which may have mood altering effects. (Phenyethylamine is said to simulate the feeling of falling in love).Chocolate contains a wide assortment of vitamins and minerals. (A B1 C D E)Chocolate contains flavonoids which may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer while slowing the ageing process.

If you must eat Chocolate, here are some tips for controlling your cravings and indulgences:

Dark is best. Research has shown that the benefits of Chocolate comes from the dark type more than the milk typeEat your chocolate with a nutrient rich food, like strawberries dipped in chocolateBuy smaller sizes, this will stop you over indulgingOrder fruit for dessert with a small chocolate treat on the side so it is not your main treatSavor, sit down and take your time and enjoy.

And no dribbling please!

Any committed journey to weight loss can take all your determination and will, but it’s no secret the final 5 kilos can be a real challenge, even for the most dedicated! With some focus and a plan of attack, you CAN shed those final kilos and reach your desired weight. Here are our 10 tips for finally getting the job done!1. Keep a simple food and exercise journal Doing this even for a short time will help to highlight any habits that could be getting in the way of reaching your end goal. It’s the perfect reflective tool to tap into your good weeks by emulating them, and reduce those frustrating bad weeks! Awareness is key.

2. A little preparation goes a long way This is the most important step "if you fail to plan, "you plan to fail”. Spend a few hours on the weekend getting what you need together for the following week. If you are serious about losing weight, your nutrition needs to become a priority for at least a month. It just so happens 1 month is the perfect amount of time to lose 5 kilos. Imagine that. It could only be a month away!3. High protein is your friend - especially at breakfast

Having more protein helps to boost metabolism, maintain and increase muscle tissue, and aid exercise recovery. Protein is digested more slowly than carbohydrates, which helps help curb your appetite and keep your hormones well regulated. Make breakfast your biggest meal of the day.

4. Increase your water intake – it makes all the difference

For many of us, our daily coffee habit, or a couple of wines with dinner are habits that have gradually crept into our lives. Increasing your water intake makes it naturally easier to reduce your milky coffee, alcohol, and calorie loaded juices. Drinking water before meals helps you eat less and keeps belly bloat in check, and a green tea is a great choice after each meal. Good hydration all day long can actually help you burn more calories, helping you reduce weight and stay healthier all year long. Swap to water or herbal tea and you are likely to see a reduction in weight.5. Mix it up - go for a variety of exercise

If you only have 5-10 kg to lose, chances are you are already exercising regularly. But, your body gets used to exercising in a certain way, so altering the variety, intensity and timing can be all you need to kick-start the fat burning process again. Alter whatever you are doing now, even if it’s a little. If you are on a treadmill maybe it's the speed or the elevation that needs changing, or it's time to start doing a circuit session instead of weight training.