Radiance Experts: 2014 inspiration

by Christina Agnew,

You'll notice that we have a few favourite experts at Radiance who we turn to time and again for their brilliant advice. This time we asked a handful of them what we should be focusing on in 2014 to make it our healthiest year possible.

Midi Fairgrieve, Nutritional Therapist: "I was reading something called The Healthy Living Manifesto recently, it is a list of things you can do to make your life healthier and what struck me most was that there were 45 things on the list. Yes, 45! Too many. Almost impossible for anyone to keep to mainly because it would be overwhelming to make so many changes at once. For 2014 I'm going to change ONE THING that will make a BIG difference. If you're thinking of your own diet, adding a green food on a daily basis is one thing that will make a big difference. Greens are alkalizing, they boost your immune system, energize your body at cell level, help your body detoxify and, not least, feed you with a wealth of essential trace nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other phyto-nutrients. Find a green food that you like the taste of and make it part of your daily life. Add it to water or fresh juices and feel the difference it makes."

Dalton Wong, Performance Coach: "I'm going to be telling all my clients to stop ignoring signals from your intelligent body: so if you are tired then sleep; if you are hungry then eat and when full then stop; if you are sore or injured rest or get a massage; if you feel lethargic then move! Just by listening to your body it will tell you exactly what it needs."

Rosie Millen, Nutritional Therapist: "I recommend keeping it simple and giving each day a healthy start with a cleansing mug of hot water with ¼ squeezed lemon, a slice of root ginger and a pinch of cayenne pepper."

Christina Howells, Women's Wellbeing Specialist: "If your best laid plans go awry and you can't make it to the gym don't be defeated! Power walk everywhere instead. There is always a way you can squeeze in some more exercise to a busy schedule."

Papillon Luck, Personal Trainer: "Make 2014 the year you really get fit by trying out High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This exercise strategy alternates periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods. You require no equipment and can do a workout in as little as 15 minutes, so there really is no excuse!"

Julie Montagu, Yoga Teacher & Holistic Health Coach: "My 2014 is all about letting go. I’m a worry wart and maybe that’s because I have 4 kids?! However, I do know that I need to start 'letting go’ because honestly, it’s been eating me up in 2013. If you're in the same boat then here are my top 3 LET GOS for 2014: 1) Let go of worrying as worrying is like praying for what you don’t want to happen! 2) Let go of thinking your dreams aren’t important and start listening to your heart not your head! 3) Let go of the need to do more and be more because each day if you've done your best then that’s enough."


Radiance Recipe: Winter Green Juice

by Clare Ward, , link

As you know we love our green juices, so we thought we'd share a quick and easy recipe. This one includes ginger to give it a warming kick.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cucumber 
  • 2 pears (if you can't find nice ripe pears then you could use apples instead)
  • 1 lime, peeled
  • 1/2 inch ginger root, peeled
  • 1/2 head fennel
  • large handful of greens, such as kale or spinach

Method:

  1. Chop all your ingredients so they'll fit through the feeding shoot of your juicer.
  2. Put ingredients through juicer, making sure to mix the leafy greens with the harder ingredients to ensure they go through optimally.
  3. Drink immediately.

The Green Life with Abigail Adams, Founder of Oolong Holisitc

by Clare Ward, , link

Abigail Adams is the founder of Oolong Holistic, a unique service offering both mobile beauty and holistic therapies, as well as private yoga classes.  Thisi is combined with her passion for teas and herbal infusions, which form part of her treatments.  Abigail is commited to organic skincare and uses the Pinks Boutique range for all her beauty therapies.  She specialises in Thai massage (we are HUGE fans of this) and her private yoga classes have been helping keep me sane during my pregnancy (and for a long time before that!).  Abigail's infectious enthusiasm and passion for what she does makes her a wondferful therapist.  We picked her brains on living a green life. 

 

What inspired your interest in yoga, complementary therapies and the wellbeing lifestyle more generally?

I started yoga when I was 17 purely for fitness reasons and to look good.  As I got more into my yoga practice, a whole world of health and wellbeing began to unfold.  Having had nice skin throughout my early teens, I started to have very unsightly and uncomfortable outbreaks of spots and was interested in how to organically heal my skin.

What therapies do you recommend to clients who are on a juice cleanse?

My all time favourite is the Thai abdominal massage.  It works on a physical, emotional and mental level.  It's great to start your cleanse with a gentle massage to help things open up and remove stagnation, allowing your cleanse to come into a prepared body.  It's then ideal to finish with another so as to help any remaining blockages.  A client who was giving up smoking commented how the next day she could taste smoke in her mouth!  Just goes to show how strong the body is and how hard it holds onto things.

Are there any yoga positions which you find particularly beneficial during a detox?  

Breathing!  This understated little gift we have has an amazing detoxifying effect when working with certain breathing exercises such as the cleansing breath (used in traditional Kundalini yoga) and Kapalabhati.  Then I like to open the windgates of the body (all joints but especially hands/feets) as this is where old energy is released and new fresh energy enters.  Then when the body is tuned in and open, it's really good to work with twists (depending on your practice, gentle twists throughout your entire practice if new to yoga, starting gently and working up to more intense and longer held postures for advanced-intermediates) such as Adha Matsyendrasana (half spinal twist - good for beginners) and Marichyasana III (for the more advanced).  Twists act like a pump, squeezing organs and blood vessels and then allowing fresh blood, lymph and prana (your vital energy found in your breath) back in to heal on a deeper level.

As an expectant Mum how are you balancing running Oolong with keeping yourself healthy?  

It's currently a whirlwind of emotions and there are some days I just want to stay under my duvet and sleep - FOREVER!  I really felt the nausea and fatigue in the first trimester which threw my practice completely out of play.  This was a hard time for me, but taught me a lot about letting go and coming into something new.  We're creatures of habit, that becomes addictive.  The guilt I felt at not being able to do a practice first thing or only being able to do a shorter practice was terrible, but I had to take some advice and realise all this guilt wasn't great for me or my baby.  It's been trying, but I now know when enough is enough and to rest.  

What three foods would you always find in your fridge or kitchen cupboards?

Kallo rice cakes, humous and green tea from Organic Life Tea.

What are your favourite skincare products?

I use Pinks Boutique for most of my skincare routine as it's so easy, smells gorgeous and does what I ask of it.  I also use Xylem's eye cream which keeps my crows firmly in their nests!  My indulgence (and I'm hoping Santa might bring me some this Christmas) is the RSM Beauty Burity Bronzer.  I have a lot of respect for the love of organic products and effort that goes into creating them.

Are there any products that you think are particularly helpful to use during a cleanse?

Keep it simple as this is what a cleanse is all about, ridding the body of excess so you can heal on a more natural level.  There are a wealth of products out there to aid your cleanse thinking from the outside in, when you should be thinking inside out which is what your juice cleanse is all about.  If I was to recommend anything it would be body brushing as its great to get the circulation going and sooooooo good for cellulite as the cells that store this wonderful gift respond well to vigorous rubbing (get a good one made from cactus for strength and durability), epsom salts to help draw out any further impurities (and who doesn't like a nice hot bath at the end of the day?) and a massage for more circulation support. A recent gift I was introduced to was oil pulling by my friend and fellow yoga teacher Kat King.  Gargling with extra virgin olive oil first thing in the morning for 15 minutes.  It's amazing what comes out!

What is your guilty food pleasure?  

Crunchy peanut butter and banana on spelt bread.  I try to keep bananas to a minimum as they are very mucous producing, especially whilst pregnant.  But have been known to eat nearly half a tub of peanut butter!

You obviously love your teas - could you pick your favourite tea or herbal infusion?  

I recently tried Saffron Teas Winter Chocolate - AMAZING! Just perfect for the crispy cold eves. Organic Life Tea produce a beautiful Peace Tea which is also a hit with my clients.   But I am a sucker for a good green in the morning.

What's your favourite juice combination?  

I love anything with beetroot - I'm almost obsessed!  I'm not sure if it's the gorgeous dark reddy pink colour, but definitely a beetroot brew.



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