Interview - Abi Adams - Budokon Expert

by Alexandra Williams,

This month we've been catching up with Abi Adams, expert Budokon instructor and friend of Radiance. We talk the mind-body connection, raw emotion and empowerment.

So, Abi - our clients would love to know a little bit about your backgrouond, and how you came to where you are today.

Massage was where it all began for me!  I was very lucky to have the support of my London born and bred family who sent me to study massage in the heart of London (Wardour Street to be exact). My fascination was sparked with the body and how it worked and how to make it work healthier. I travelled various places around the world learning deep tissue and facial release, Thai massage and Thai abdominal massage to name a few, before getting into yoga.  In 2010, I became a yoga teacher under the guidance of Brian Cooper of Union Yoga as an Ashtanga teacher and then, in 2012 I went to India to study under Yog Vishvketu, learning Hatha, Hatha Raja, Kundalini and restorative yoga.  Most of this I did whilst still working up in the West End and City as a PA (studying yoga whilst maintaining my social habits ended up breaking the camels back and nearly ruined the relationship with my now husband).  But it wasn’t the postures that was my main focus, it was the movement into them.

After a traumatic end to 2016 (nothing like a bit of trauma to kick you up the arse and put you back in focus), I booked myself a place on a one month MMA intensive at Budokon, Miami.  Studying with Koncho Cameron Shayne and the most amazing group of open minded people I’ve ever met has changed my perspective and life.  Studying the art of calisthenics, yoga, martial arts, grappling, animal locomotion and mobility has proven that movement is the key to health, balance and joy.

Budokon Yoga is still fairly unknown by most - can you tell us why it's so special?

Koncho Cameron Shayne founded Budokon over 20 years ago.  Coming from his love of movement, Budokon is about striping back the person you limit yourself as, allowing physical expression and exploration to pave the way to your most incredible life.  I’ve been on many spiritual journeys and spent time with many wonderful spiritual people, but these movers I met in Miami were the most inspiring I’ve ever met.  Not afraid to fall, hurt, cry, get pulled up on the drama they created in their day to day lives.  I feel privileged for that experience.  

 

Can you tell us a little bit about that experience in Miami?

We had to move 8-10 hours a day: Running and martial arts the morning, Mind Science, Budokon Yoga (inspired by martial arts), and a solid 4 hours of movement in the evening which included mobility/animal locomotion, sparring/boxing, finishing with grappling.  Come 10pm at night many of us couldn’t speak, but still we had to clean the dojo and kitchen before hitting the sack.  Emotionally drained the majority of the time, you began to see just the person you allowed to show up back home.  We were broken down and built back up again, and I loved every minute of it because I realised how I was responding to life.  I’ve never felt so emotional, the perfectionist coming out in me wanted to scream and run, but we did it and those tears that fell were like a damn bursting.  Pure, raw emotion draining out of me.  Budokon has been one of the most amazing, life changing experiences of my life (second to being blessed with my husband and son).

 As a qualified life coach too, what's the link between yoga and life coaching - why is this important to you?

The old school way of treating head and body as separate entities is slowly phasing out.  The body is a physical expression of everything you are thinking and have experienced.  You can’t just talk yourself out of depression and anxiety, the body holds the tension from the mind.  It's a bit like its dumping ground.  If you keep dumping with no creative outlet or expression, it builds up and physical disabilities start to manifest.  This is why for me personally, counselling doesn’t work.  Words, thoughts and feelings have a movement to them and this is what I establish with many of my private clients in elevating mental and physical imbalances.

Tell us all about the Mind Body Transformation Retreat in June - what can we expect to see?

Mind Body Transformation Retreat is about open minded women looking to understand their mental and physical strength.  To enable them to become the women they keep looking elsewhere for.  It’s about getting down and dirty, emotionally, mentally, physically and with other women supporting them, like family.  For 2.5 days we’ll live by the beach, our days consisting of yoga (Budokon, Vinyasa and Ying), runs to the beach, progression strength training to support your yoga practice (Calisthenics), learning why we react to life the way we do as we understand how we were raised and the blueprint it left, all supported with organic food (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks included and freshly made on site) cooked up by our amazing plant based chef Rachel Dring of Crop Drop. Guided meditations will close our days empowerment, leading to a restorative nights sleep.

You’ll leave this workshop feeling empowered, inspired and tapped into the uniqueness of what makes you, YOU.

You can book onto Abi's Mind Body Tranformation Retreat here

 

 


Interview with Primrose Matheson

by Layla Brice, , link

We love raw food at Radiance and have been huge fans of Primrose's products for a while. So when she got in touch after trying our juices at a Silver Lining's Mini Retreat, we knew we had to do something to share our love for her completely natural and wholesome foods. 

Here we talk about the journey that led her to developing the products and the important hot topic of waste reduction on our planet.

We absolutely love your products and the ethos behind the brand. What was it gave you the motivation to start up Primrose Kitchen?

As with any business out there, PK started with a need. It was a personal one. I had chronic fatigue and ME during my teens and radically changed my diet and lifestyle during this time. I then went on to study naturopathy and homeopathy in London and worked part time in health food shops. I was frustrated by the offering in the breakfast aisle as this was my favourite meal of the day and I wanted that easy to assemble meal but with more balance and nutrition. For me that is about getting more fresh fruit and vegetables into your diet as that is something we all struggle with.  So after a few months of experiments beetroot muesli was born which is 22% fresh organic beetroot and the rest of the range has developed from there.  I also wanted a nutritious cereal that could be eaten at any time of day not just for breakfast with nothing to feel guilty about.

Selecting the right organic ingredients for our juices is key to ensuring they taste as delicious and fresh as possible! How do you go about sourcing the right ingredients for your products?

I am passionate about using as much British produce as possible as we are trying to not only source the highest quality ingredients but also keep our carbon footprint to a minimum. 

Obviously I don't have the luxury of this with nuts and seeds but we have one supplier for this who has their own farms and great organic standards on their ingredients. 

We get our oats from a family run traditional Scottish Mill that still uses its original medieval looking mill to press the oats and they are gluten free and organic. We source apple from Kent and our oranges and lemons come from independent farms in Spain and our processed by us within 48 hours of delivery. Our vegetables ( beetroot, carrot, kale and courgette) come from organic independent growers in Devon who we are really happy to be supporting and who grow the mot incredible tasting vegetables!

Sourcing great ingredients obviously takes time but we never stop looking to improve on the quality of our products and luckily growers of wonderful british ingredients are increasing all the time.

Like you, we are continuously looking at ways to reduce the impact of waste on our planet. Tell us more about the charity 'Surfers Against Sewage' and why they are close to your heart?

I have known about surfers against sewage since I was young growing up on Guernsey where the local team was very active and am very inspired that the work they do to protect the sea. Being a complete mermaid myself come June as I live 5 minutes from the sea in Dorset I want to make sure we can all continue to enjoy our seas and shoreline in the future so anything I can do to support them and raise awareness for their work I always will.

What exciting things can we look forward to seeing from Primrose Kitchen this year?

We have some NPD coming out, we will be continuing to develop our online plastic free pantry for all your organic whole food needs free of plastic. Lots of collaborations and hopefully a long weekend off for me to enjoy my garden and get planting ready for summer abundance!

 


Easter Chocolate Spelt nests

by Layla Brice, , link

  

Chocolate Spelt Nests

  • 130g smooth cashew butter (or almond, or a combination)
  • 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 3 tablespoons honey or maple
  • 70g dark chocolate of your choice
  • 160g Spelt flakes (We used Rude Health or your favourite)


INSTRUCTIONS

Line a bun/muffin tin with paper cases and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the nut butter, vanilla, coconut oil, honey and chocolate resting above a pan of boiling on hob and stir together stirring each time until the mixture is smooth and glossy, and the chocolate is fully melted.
Add the cereal, and stir well until it's completely coated.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, and refrigerate until required. They are best eaten cold, straight from the fridge (the chocolate mixture begins to liquify again at room temperature)

 



Established London 2009
100% Organic Cold-Pressed
Delivered across the UK