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Archive of ‘Soul Sharing’ category

Alchemical Oils & Healing

April 10, 2014 By Kat

Following on from my FB post yesterday I introduced you to the amazing range of Alchemical oils from Sacred Self. I use Sacred Self oils daily in my self-love routine as well as with my clients in healing sessions.

What are the oils made of?

Every Sacred Self oil is the intuitive baby of creator & director Michelle McGrath. The oils are blended from vibrational essences of the highest-grade organic quality with a carrier base of jojoba or camellia oil. Making them 100% safe to use directly onto the skin. (Please note these oils should not be ingested or diffused) It doesn’t stop there! Each blend is infused with love, gem & flower essences, colour rays sacred symbols, mantras & sound. This combination makes for the highest of vibrations. For me they are a healing session in a bottle.

Photo Credit: http://www.sacredself.com.au

How do essential oils work?

Essential oils are powerful healers in themselves. Not only do they work to assist healing the physical body with many being anti-septic, anti-bacterial & anti-inflammatory such as Jasmine or Sandalwood.

Once the physical body has been healed one can start to peel away the layers of the emotional body. Essential oils can play a part here in preparing the foundations for healing on a deeper level to begin.

I love the example from Emotions & Essential Oils by Enlighten Alternative Healing, LLC;

In gardening, it is a common experience to pull the weed while leaving the roots. We can add water to the soil, which allows the entire weed to be removed. Similarly, essential oils prepare our emotional soil so that weeds may be removed with greater ease. (Enlighten, 2013, page 9)

However like with all healing modalities ‘you’ need to do the work by taking action & responsibility. Simply applying an oil & thinking ‘I’m fixed’ won’t fix you. You need to pull your weeds or they will grow back.

Allow me to share how I use Scared Self oils in my self-healing routine.

When I was struggling with a communication issue & not freely following my hearts guidance by ‘biting my tongue’ & not speaking my truth my throat Chakra become blocked. In this instance I was really suppressing emotion in this area so the physical symptoms of a sore throat started to appear*. This indicated to me there was work to be done from within. Time to tune into my Sacred Self collection.

Sacred Self-oils each have their own unique intent, affirmation & vibration. For the above situation I intuitively selected ‘Truth’ to work with. It has the affirmation “I express my truth with love.” A beautiful zingy bled of German chamomile, peppermint & lemon myrtle that I applied directly to my throat & heart Chakras with the intent of connecting the two together. With some oil still on my hands I then swept my whole aura from top to bottom. A meditation session was next to fully integrate the process & assist in releasing any stagnant energy that may have been stopping me from speaking from my heart. This created the space for the energy run through & release.

Just like the law of nature says there has to be an equal & opposite for everything. What goes up must come down. With healing you must release that which is no longer serving you, the negative emotion, to make room for the good positive emotion to come through. It’s not always a comfortable process to go through. The more heavy emotions build up the longer & harder the process. Always best to keep on top of it by recognising when there is work to be done & taking the necessary steps.

How do I incorporate Sacred Self oils into my Reiki sessions?

I use my intuition to guide me as to which Scared Self oil would best serve the clients needs. If a particular Chakra is not open at the start of the session, say the heart, I will apply a few drops of Self-love to my hands & work it through the client’s etheric body.

Sometimes during a session I will receive Clairaudient messages with certain essences such as ‘geranium & sweet orange’. In this case I was working with the Sacral Chakra & I knew I was being guided to use Grace which is really great for assisting the balance female hormones.

Another example I simply hear the name of the oil or I’m drawn to just select one from the shelf. I once went to pick up an oil & my hand went straight to a totally different one! (The one that was needed more)

At the end of the session I match up the messages I received intuitively with an oil or oils & offer to them client to use if they wish. Only once has a client has turned their nose up at an oil. Just a bit of positive resistance, as they really needed that one the most. Funnily enough it was ‘Surrender.’ Once they ‘surrendered’ to the fact it may assist them & rubbed some on their heart I saw them physically relax. “It’s not so bad on is it?” they replied. 😉

I hope you have found this post useful & informed you a little of the great way nature can help us heal through vibrational essences. Also I just love introducing you all to local businesses with beautiful products that are fully aligned with my beliefs & values.

Do you use any essential oils in your healing practice or personal routine? I’d love to hear about your experiences, please share in the comments below.

Love Kat xx

*Essential oils & essences never replace professional health care advice. They are complimentary to Western medicinal practices. Please seek the guidance of your health care professional if symptoms persist.

Organic Skincare Interview with Peachy Clean

April 8, 2014 By Kat

I’m very excited to introduce our guest interview today Haley Thompson of Peachy Clean. This website is a one stop shop for all things natural, organic where nothing is tested on our furry friends. I discovered Peachy myself over a year ago in my quest for toxin free facial care. With such a vast selection of products (all tried & tested by Haley – this lady walks her talk!) & amazing complementary skin care advice via email I can guarantee you will find something to suit your budget & individual requirements.

We’re talking organic skin care today, read on to find out more…

What was your catalyst to move towards natural & organic skin care products?

I wanted to stop poisoning my system and improve my skin once and for all. When I first found out that some (most) of the ingredients in all the products I’d been using since birth were toxic – I didn’t believe it! Surely it has to be safe to be sold to the public? There’s no way they’d be selling me shampoo knowing that the ingredients had been scientifically linked to breast cancer and infertility right? My jaw dropped as I started researching all those ingredients I couldn’t pronounce on the back of my favourite and expensive beauty products. I felt cheated from all my hard earned money, lied to by every advert and campaign and deceived that even when I thought I was choosing safe products – there was almost always something toxic thrown in. I started telling a few friends about it and was just so shocked that no one seemed to know that simply using a face wash could be causing so much harm and the ingredients were often a big contributing factor to the skin problems in the first place! I actively started switching to natural and organic products – not putting a thing on my skin unless I’d researched every ingredient but it was so time consuming and to get the products I wanted was such a hassle! So I decided to start my own boutique where everything is a no-brainer – simple, safe shopping and no BS 😉

Can you share with us the benefits of using natural/organic skin care versus the mainstream chemical laden brands?

Having worked in the media as a radio announce, TV presenter, fashion emcee, model and reporter for so long, I get my hair and makeup done professionally quite a lot. My skin was so dry! I couldn’t wear foundation without it almost flaking off – so I spent more on luxury skin care thinking that would do the trick. Nothing worked – it wasn’t until I switched to natural that my skin actually improved. My skin is no longer harassed and irritated by cheap synthetic preservatives and chemicals, instead it was finally getting the nutrients and moisture it needed. Lip balm is a good example of the ‘regular’ skin care cycle – the parabens (preservatives) in regular lip balms actively dry your skin out and leach moisture, so when you but a balm on your lips you feel instantly soothed…until you need to keep reapplying and reapplying thinking that the lip balm is the only thing that works. If you stopped using the lip balm in the first place – you probably wouldn’t need it. It’s the same with skin care – the products I was using were giving me the dry flaky skin even though everything on the jar said the exact opposite!

In non-natural skin care products which ingredients are the most damaging to our skin & bodies?

Oh there are so many sneaky ones! The general rule of thumb is if you haven’t heard of it or can’t pronounce it – it’s usually not good. The worst ones to look for are; anything ending in the word ‘paraben’ (this can be methyl, butyl, propyl..etc) – it’s a super toxic and cheap preservative that has been linked to breast cancer, infertility, premature ageing of skin, birth defects, immune diseases… PEG’s and DEA’s – Nature doesn’t have initials. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – a cheap ingredient that simply makes products foam and actively dries out skin – super toxic! Our skin is our largest organ and it absorbs and drinks up what we put on it so don’t put anything on your skin you wouldn’t eat.

There is quite a bit of Green – Washing happening in the beauty market. When selecting natural or organic products is there anything we should be looking for on the packaging to ensure we are getting the real deal?

Certifications are always a good sign – it means that an independent body has tested and approved the ingredients as safe. However not all great brands are certified – it’s a very expensive process and some of the smaller but still completely fabulous brands get by without it so you can’t always judge a product by lack of certification – look out for the main culprits above and remember if you don’t know what it is, wouldn’t eat it or can’t pronounce it, odds on it’s a chemical additive.

Palm Oil is another product to look for – it causes so much devastation in the world and the manufacturing of it is almost single handedly wiping out orangutans and other species. Lots of ‘Natural’ cleaning products use it – it sounds natural but unless it’s from a sustainable source you can bet something or someone died for it to be included in the product.

Did you make the change gradually to natural skin care or did you bin everything chemical & start again from scratch?

Oh I binned everything straight away! I freaked right out once I knew the side effects! I even ditched a few of my friend’s products and replaced them with new organic products simply saying “I love you – I can’t let you put this on your skin” – I calmed down a little though ha ha! All you can do is tell people and let them make the choice for themselves. I’m always stunned to find people who simply don’t care. I think “ask someone who is battling breast cancer if they would stop using chemicals if there was even the slightest chance of it making a difference”. Once you switch and once you find a place to shop that you can trust (like Peachy Clean!) it’s easy-no effort required.

How quickly did you notice any changes too your skin once you switched over to natural products?

Seriously within a few days. Hair Care is different – a lot of people try natural hair care and hate it straight away and don’t give it another chance but there will always be a ‘detox’ period. Your hair needs to get rid of the chemical build up from the silicone coating from regular products. Your hair will feel like shit for the first week or two but ride it out ha! Once the build up has been stripped, the incredible natural products can go to work and actually treat and condition your hair (instead of just coating it and making you think it’s healthy). My hair is halfway to my bum and my hair-dresser always comments on what good condition it’s in – natural hair care is so much more effective than regular chemical stuff! Such a myth that you need chemical science to have shiny, healthy hair-it’s the exact opposite!

Did you feel your overall health/wellbeing improved once you went organic & natural?

Absolutely – once I started looking at ingredients and actively choosing what was better for me both my skin and my attitude to health changed. I have my green smoothies every day with my superfood supplements – I choose organic – “if you are what you eat, don’t be easy, cheap or fake” 😉 Feeling good is totally addictive 😉

Tell us about your morning and evening skin care routine, do they differ? (What products do you use?)

It always depends on what products I’m trialling at the time so I’m really lucky I get to have a fabulous bathroom cabinet that’s bursting with awesome products! My boy has a great routine too-he doesn’t care what he puts on so would always just buy the cheap nasty stuff from the supermarket if he bought anything at all – I love that I’ve seen the difference in his skin too! I love my serum 2-3 times a week for a boost! I use my Weleda Creamy Body Wash every day-it’s like showering in whipped cream and it’s so fab on my dry skin! Always brush with my Vitacare toothpaste (too much fluoride is toxic and we get enough from our drinking water), I love my Sodashi Clay Cleanser (6 1/2 months and going strong! So gentle but a demon on makeup) and also my AEOS Oil De Maq cleanser – I often don’t use a moisturiser after cleansing with this it’s so nourishing! The Sodashi Brightening Marine Mineral Mask is by far the best mask I’ve ever used – I use it before any special event and you can bet I’ll get a compliment on my skin! (Kat: LOVE this mask it is fabulous & lasts ages)

Do you have a #1 can’t live without skin care product?

A great serum! Serum’s are so under-rated! There’s a difference between ‘nourishing’ and ‘moisturising’ your skin. Nourishing your skin with an awesome serum (my absolute faves are the Sodashi Serums – Kat: LOVE the Sodashi Balancing Serum) means you’re feeding it the nutrients it needs to renew, protect, heal and glow! Especially in winter when a moisturiser just isn’t enough. You only need a few drops so again these beauties last forever – I won’t ever be without a fabulous serum now. It’s a real ‘hero’ product. If I was stranded on a desert island and only allowed one product though I would say my Loving Earth Coconut Oil though because it does everything! I use it as an eye makeup remover, hair treatment, body moisturiser, lip balm, cellulite treatment, rash cream, I even drink a teaspoon a day in my green smoothies and cook with it! Crazy good!

I struggle to keep up my full skin care routine when I travel. Have you any tips for not letting your skin miss out with a limited luggage allowance?

Ha ha! You should see photos from my last trip – I took around 30 of my favourite products with me! My boyfriend just laughed – he knows there’s nothing he can do about it ha! It was like trying to choose my favourite child ha! Both Sodashi and AEOS do fantastic kits – complete routines in smaller bottles perfect for travelling! I’ve used these kits a few times and honestly I was so impressed with how long they’ve lasted!! The AEOS Realive Serum in the AEOS Essentials Kit is still going strong 6 months later! A really great way to try a complete range before buying too. I always travel with my first aid cream – the Savi Soothing Cream. Anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and super soothing and calming. It’s come in handy so many times for everything from stinger bites, surfing rash and coral cuts, to mozzie bites and grazes! (Kat: Best thing for sunburn ever!)

How important are diet and exercise to maintaining healthful skin?

Think of it this way – if you drink too much champagne or eat dodgy food, you throw up right? (crass analogy sorry!) Your body is trying to expel the toxins. It’s similar with your skin. If you eat nothing but junk and don’t exercise…the body will expel toxins any way it can – including pimples, excess oil or dehydration from the liver working over time! Treat your body right to feel great but to look great too. Water, Rest, Love, Laughter and great skin care!

Going natural/organic can be expensive & off-putting for some people. How would you advise anyone wanting to make the switch on a tight budget?

I used to think this too – I’ve found some really great ranges that are completely inexpensive! Australian Bushflower Essences is a range that has nothing over $28! Weleda is another fabulous inexpensive range! You just have to look. Even with some of the dearer ranges they work out cheaper than most pharmacy ranges – for example, the super gorgeous Sodashi Clay Cleanser is $80 – my last one lasted almost 7 months! I would’ve bought 2-3 other cheaper cleansers in that time and ended up paying more! There’s a great quote by Joel Salatin ‘If you think organic is expensive, have you priced cancer lately?’ – it’s a bit of a scare tactic but it’s true. We only have our health and we only get one shot at it. I’ve included a few great ranges that are inexpensive so there’s no excuse not to ditch the chemicals!

Have you tried and tested all the products you sell on Peachy Clean?

Oh yeah! I’m a product junkie and I won’t sell anything I don’t love! I’ve tried a few expensive, well-known ranges and just been unimpressed. I don’t want any false advertising – if we sell it it’s because I’ve (or my guinea pig boyfriend) have used it and found it to be really good!

Would you consider starting your own Peachy Clean organic skin care range?

Oh that’s in the pipeline! I want to create a range of my favourite products made from the experience of using so many gorgeous products! It’ll be a long process though!

Are then any exciting new products coming to the Peachy Clean website soon?

We’ve just launched our new ‘Wellness’ category – because beauty is on the inside too! We now range of awesome organic Loving Earth superfoods like Acai Berry, Bee Pollen, Maca, Cacao, Goji Berries and Coconut Water powder etc and also glass straws so you can have your daily green smoothie without getting spinach stuck between your teeth or staining them from things like blueberries! Diet plays a bit part in the health of the skin but also if you’re feeling good and feeling happy – you can’t help but look beautiful! We wanted to provide a more holistic approach to beauty and wellbeing and want everyone to really look after themselves! Beauty really is on the inside 😉

Thank you Haley for a wonderfully informative insight into natural skin care. This has definitely made me pay more attention to labels & watch out for those sneaky toxic ingredients.

If you would like some advice on what skin care would be best for you please shoot Haley an email on: info@peachyclean.com.au (Please no SEO spruikers or spam) or head over to Peachy Clean to check out all the amazing products.

Here’s to happy, clean & toxin free faces!

Love Kat xx

Tips for BYTT

April 3, 2014 By Kat

It’s that time of year again when up to 400 passionate hot yoga lovers head over the Los Angeles for Bikram Yoga Teacher Training Spring 2014. It’s been two & a half years now since I made the pilgrimage to train as a Bikram instructor. A decision I will never regret. I love teaching & I love yoga. Bringing the two together to be my job has been an amazing journey.

Today’s post comes from the archives of my old Bikram Blog – A Sweaty Adventure

I was going to write a post myself on this subject but I never got it finalized. Then my awesome TT/Posture group buddy/class Valedictorian & now Spring 13 Staff member Steven wrote this brilliant piece that absolutely covers everything I would have written. This is a personal take from Steven’s own experience of training. Each & every trainee has their own adventure but these tips are an extremely valuable read. Glean what you need…

Hi guys,

I know you’re getting anxious to “Rock & Roll” so I thought I’d share a few tips for teacher training. I went to training Fall 2011 at the Radisson LAX, so hopefully some of this information will be helpful to you. Of course, this is only my perspective and your mileage may vary, so take the advice that rings true for you and ignore anything that doesn’t.

The essentials:
Mindset— Change your mind! It’s normal that you’re a little nervous and anxious, but don’t let that stress you out; This is going to be one of the most enjoyable experiences of your life–so stop feeling scared about it! Your goal should not be to merely “survive” but to thrive! If you find yourself thinking “How am I ever gonna survive this?” try thinking something like “how can I experience as much joy as possible throughout this entire experience?” instead. When else will you ever have the chance to immerse yourself in yoga for 9 weeks!?! It’s best to have no expectations and just go with the flow. Enjoy it!

Yogawear— as you buy new yoga clothes think about teaching as well as practicing. You might look hot in your super short shorts, but you won’t be able to teach in them later! So buy a combination of both. I highly recommend having 11 kits (one for each class) so that you always have a dry/clean one to put on. I would rinse mine out after class (get into the shower with my clothes still on) and then hang them up. After the first few weeks your system is so clean that they’re pretty clean just after a rinse, but I’d still wash them every weekend. Others will tell you differently: they brought like 4 or 5 pairs and washed them in the sink, etc. This works ok, but everyone I know who did this tossed their clothes after training! On the other hand, I still have all clothes I took to training–7 of which I can teach in–and they all still look, smell, and feel good! You’ll need something comfortable you can teach in for posture clinincs, too. (Kat: I still have clothes from TT too, my ‘Half Moon’ outfit I purchased especially to present the first posture in is still going strong!)

Yoga mat—They sell them in the Bikram store for pretty cheap, so there’s no need to fly with one unless you have the space. Get an extra shower rod for hanging up your mats in the bathroom. I brought some tea tree and a small sprayer, too, but only used it occasionally. Again, your system is so clean after a few weeks that a quick rinse is sufficient. Take a big fat sharpie and put your name on the top of your mat facing away from you (i.e. upside down). This way the teacher can see it from the front of the room and you can get corrections by name–write big, don’t be shy!

Water bottles—40 oz Hydroflask. Click on it now! They also make a 64 oz one, which I always envied. Think about what you’ll want for both class and lectures. For me, the 40oz was perfect for class but I always took 80oz of fluids to lectures and posture clinics. Better to have it and not drink it all than to be sitting in the lecture room (for hours!) thirsty! (Kat: Epic fail, I did not get a Hyrdroflask. Now I have two. Get one, trust me it’s worth it!)

Transportation—Make friends with someone who has a car! (Kat did, saved my life!) If you have a car, guess what? You just found 3 study buddies who will never leave you. 😉 If you have a car, be a sport and loudly announce “I’m driving to Whole Foods, who wants to come?” as you walk out of the hotel. There are enough people with cars to go around, plus TT will set up shuttles (eventually) and there’s a bus station near by. You can also split a taxi with 2 other people to get your groceries home for relatively cheap. (Kat: I hired am SUV car service on my first day to drive me & 4 others to Target & Wholefoods to set up the room. Worked out at $20 each for two hours)

Laundry—There are a few washers at the hotel, but not enough for 400 people. I recommend going out for breakfast Saturday morning and then doing your laundry and grocery shopping. Obviously all 400 of you can’t go to the same one, but there are lots around–spread out! Some people went up to Santa Monica, others down to Redondo Beach. I usually went to Whale of a Wash in Manhttan Beach. (Kat: I have no idea where I went to do laundry, my trusty car buddy just took me & there were never any other yoga people there)

Food— Listen to your body and give it what it wants! Don’t make the training any harder on yourself than it needs to be! I saw a lot of unnecessary suffering as people tried to adhere to strict diets (vegan, raw, etc) when their bodies clearly wanted something else. (Kat: mine wanted steak & eggs, I ate way too much protein) On the other hand, some people had no problems at all. So, again, listen to your body! There will be plenty of time AFTER training to experiement with fasting, cleansing, mucusless diets, and “no food is the best food” (I highly recommend Maria Rippo’s “The Green Smoothie Challenge“).

Who knows, one day you might live on prana & positivity alone, but I don’t recommend trying that the first weeks of training!!! No, you’re not supposed to cook in the rooms. Some people did, and some people got caught (I think it was a $250 fine)! Be smart! If you blow a breaker in the hotel, you’re busted. If the maid and everyone else on your floor can hear your VitaMix going, you’re busted! (Kat: I tipped my maids weekly & never had a problem with this 😉 ) If you bring appliances, there’s a room where you can set them up and use them. There will be a couple of microwaves provided (obviously that’s not really enough for hundreds of people–it’s better than nothing though).

The closest grocery stores are the Ralph’s and Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods and Costco aren’t too far away. There may be farmer’s markets on the weekend, too. Bless you, California. 🙂

If you find the fridge is too small for a week’s worth of food, buy a cooler. If you have a car, you can take it with you shopping and buy a block of ice while you’re out. The ice machines tend to run out of ice before class, so never fill your coolers then! Do it in the middle of the night, or at other times when there will be several hours for the machine to recover. Be kind to your fellow yogis!!! (Kat: If you get a room by the ice machine, request to MOVE! It will be rattling at all hours of the day)

Friends with cars are Angels – I ate this, now I feel sick looking at it – The room fridge – Trader Joe’s platter – Weird food cravings on a plate!

Make sure you have stuff on hand to cover your cravings: Sweet things, salty things, electrolytes, etc.

I went through a lot of raisins, dates, bananas, dried mangos, dark chocolate, grapefruit juice, coconut water, Body Balance, (Kat: Bikram has their own version Bikram Balance) nuts, popcorn (for movies!), really delicious salt, soup, pickles, and sauerkraut (I love the Farmhouse Culture brand–especially the horseradish flavor–available at Whole Foods). I also had a SodaStream so I could make my own sparkling drinks (you can buy one at BB&B). Don’t be surprised or discouraged if the food you’re craving on the weekends when you shop isn’t what you want to eat during the week at all. And just cause you liked it last week doesn’t mean you’ll like it this week. 🙂 (Kat: So true. I gave away so much food as I bought it, then couldn’t face it a few days later)

Restaurants—The hotel has a salad bar and the food is pretty good, though a bit pricey. A block away there’s a Subway and then lots of other stuff a little further away (within walking distance). The Thai place is great (and delivers), the Greek place is pretty good, too, and there’s a Chipotle right down the road (their meat is clean and free range, so this would be a good place to break your veg diet if you’re craving meat). On the weekends, I recommend getting away from the yoga bubble and eating out. There’s lots of good breakfast spots all over the place. Some other highlights: Sushi King in Santa Monica, Monte Alban mexican in West LA, Bistro Du Soleil and Tandoor-A-india in Playa Del Rey. Lots more… explore! (Kat: Uncle Bills Pancake house in Manhattan beach is AMAZING! Booking a weekend recommended)

Dialogue—There’s only one way to learn it: verbatim. You might think it’s a typo, you might think it’s not English, doesn’t matter! Learn it exactly how it’s written, word by word. Everyone learns a different way, so I recommend trying lots of different methods to find which one works best for you. Whatever you do, work in chunks and take breaks every 20 minutes! If you stare at the diaogue for hours on end, you’re just wasting your time. Don’t forget to sleep, either! Keep in mind that for most people, it’s two distinct processes: getting it in (memorization), and getting it back out (recall). You’ll need both!

Try to learn as much as you can before you get to training. The more you know, the more you’ll sleep. (Kat: If someone tells you not to learn the dialogue before you go, they secretly hate you!) That said, do NOT stress about it, even for one second, ever–it doesn’t help. Most people I saw spent more time stressing about the dialog than actually studying it (I had my moments, too). Don’t focus on what you don’t know, focus on what you do know! If you know Half Moon by the time you get there, you’re going to be absolutely fine. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you know it all before training (there will be lots of these people, and you’ll learn to love them and ask them for help, not despise them!), you should still stay up late with your study buddies occasionally, otherwise you’ll miss out on some of the best parts of training.

You can do some studying on your own, but once you get to training you need to balance that by working with a study buddy (or several). Make sure you’re saying things out loud–in your head doesn’t help as much as you think it does! Eventually, you’ll want to have 3 or more bodies in front of you doing the pose as you say the dialogue so can start to see the bodies. But first things first, you gotta learn the dialogue!

Between lecture nap – Ankle artwork – Surviving my first class celebrating with an electrolyte cocktail!

Misc Tips—

There’s no green allowed at training–not your mat, water bottle, clothes, nada! Bikram will share why in about week 7 or 8.
The tap water isn’t that bad, but we bought jugs of water each week. There’s also a couple of water filters around in the hotel–be warned though, if you all hit them at once they will run out of water (it’s a reserve tank, cause the filtration is SLOW).
You’ll want some easy slip-on, slip-off shoes and maybe a robe or coverup that can get sweaty to go to/from the yoga room.
Buy yourself one of the mini, laminated dialogues as soon as you get there–much nicer than carrying around a binder or folder.
Put more emphasis on listening and staying present during lectures than on note taking. Take notes, too. 🙂
Eventually there will be a place outside to hang up your mats and get a little sun on them.
Don’t forget to have some fun and take care of yourself on the weekends–massages, pedis, studying by the pool or on the beach are all nice. TT is not the time for scarcity, so let yourself feel abundant and expansive. Boss will say some things that will blow your mind, and many of the things he says won’t make since until months (or years?) later! Try to keep an open mind about everything you hear.
Meet everyone you can and make as many friends as possible!
Don’t stress! It’s just a posture clinic, or it’s just an anatomy test–it’s not the end of the world. You’ll probably want a nice set of clothes for graduation.
Do your best, every moment, and be kind to everyone around you (especially the staff)–then when you’re having your bad day, people will be kind back to you!
Lastly, keep your wrists straight and your knees locked!

Have a blast! Enjoy every moment! Namaste. Steven

Ditto that, love Kat xx

Energetic Flu

April 1, 2014 By Kat

How have you all been the past two weeks? My blogs technical upgrade has been completed. I’m now coming to you fully self-hosted! (thanks to 123host & the legend that is Steve.) If anything isn’t working or looks a little weird just bare with me, there’s still a bit of house keeping to be done.

What’s been happening for me since we last connected? Energetically there has been a lot going on. I’ve been riding quite the roller coaster since the Full Moon in Virgo on March 16^th. It was extremely high energy with the theme of health & well being really coming through. Combined with the powerful Autumn Equinox on March 20^th & some huge solar flares I have been feeling a little out of sorts.

For me it all started on the afternoon of March 15^th. I’d enjoyed a lovely lunch with some fellow Perth bloggers at the Raw Kitchen in Fremantle. Wholesome food & soul sharing was the prefect way to spend a Saturday arvo. When I returned home I started to feel really drained, tired & nauseous. The first thing I thought of was spiritual hygiene. I’d spent the afternoon with new people in a quite a busy environment. A thorough cleanse of my field & some cord cutting would do the trick.

It didn’t. As the evening went on I felt sicker & sicker. I knew it could not have been the food as it was raw & fresh. It wasn’t any dense energy I’d picked up from being in town as I had cleansed. What was it then? Ah the Full Moon was brewing & solar flares were going off.

I spend the rest of the evening curled up on the couch feeling like I needed to throw up. My head was spinning & I couldn’t face eating or drinking. I had a bought of ‘energetic flu.’

What is energetic flu?

Everything that was going on in March has been leading up to the eclipse season in April. It’s been a great time for releasing, letting go, clearing out & moving on. For some people, like myself, I was feeling this energy shift on a physical level, my body wanted to purge – this what I call energetic flu. Energetic flu is like the physical flu just without all the symptoms or any actual reason for it, like a bug or food poisoning. Some people experience the aches & pains without the fever. Others have the fever without the aches. My symptoms were dizzy, nausea, headaches & lethargy. I was also really sensitive to heat & was constantly on the boil.

Isn’t that physical flu then?

It’s hard to describe. It doesn’t ‘feel’ the same as physical illness when it’s on an energetic level. Now I can tell if I’m energetically sick when physical symptoms show up or actually sick. This time is was energetic. There just wasn’t any real reason for it & it just didn’t feel like a typical physical illness.

How did you know the difference?

I could still do my work & function unlike if I had actual flu when I’d be bed ridden. I wasn’t drained fully of energy; it just wasn’t flowing.

On a much deeper level I knew things were shifting & changing for me. When I start feeling like I did I know I am on the verge of a frequency upgrade. From when this has happened before I know it’s time to rest & let the energy settle. With rest & lots of water it usually passes fairly quickly.

Some extra guidance from the Universe

I looked for some extra guidance to what was going on for me by pulling three Healing with the Fairies cards. The moment I pulled the cards my left ear started ringing in a very high pitch; a sure signs there were some strong messages awaiting me.

Vacation, detoxification & rise above your problems came up. These all resonated for sure. I’ve been going hard building my business, teaching & presenting workshops. I have a holiday booked for over Easter but I just know I need to start slowing down, easing off & prioritising NOW. If I don’t it will be holiday time & the moment I stop I’ll more than likely get sick.

Detoxification, yes I do need a detox on a health level. My diet has been a bit too much grain & diary based of late. I’ve been sneaking in a few more black teas than usual. This is very much inline with the planetary activity right now.

Rise above problems, indeed I must. Most of my perceived ‘problems’ are so first world I really should know by now to just let them wash through. Wasting valuable energy worrying about the small things does not serve me. I’ll just attract more lower energies. Focusing on what I’m doing well & keeping my thoughts positive is far more productive.

Looking after myself during an energetic flu

Rest & water is number one. The nausea lasted about three days then the headaches kicked in. Just on the right hand side of my temple, like a tight throbbing ball. Water is so important to flush any stale energy through our system as well as keeping us hydrated so our physical bodies function.

It was really hard to shift this one through. Literally the headache was on & off for a few days. Spending so much time in the hot yoga room has challenged me further in keeping extra hydrated. Thankfully it has gone now!

*Side note – I know my body pretty well, inside & out. If you are in pain or symptoms persist for a number of days please go see your doctor. If my symptoms hadn’t lightened up I would have done so too. Holistic healing works in conjunction with all Western medicine, it does not replace professional medical care.

Healing sessions, mediation & crystals were my go too for self-care also. Usually I receive Reiki every four to six weeks. In March I doubled up, two healing sessions a week for me to really get things out. I chose different modalities so that I was receiving from different healers. Everyone brings their own personal vibration & knowledge to the table so the more variety I received the better.

I ramped up my meditation practice. One day I even did three sessions. The crystals I worked with for the headache & general healing were amethyst, purple & green fluorite & rose quartz. All very gentle & soothing crystals. Wearing an amethyst mala really helped balance the energy that was buzzing around in my head.

Rescheduling any jobs that weren’t 100% urgent allowed me the time to rest up. I’d been feeling some pain in my lower back. This is my indication that I’m putting too much pressure on myself. What could wait till later got pushed back a week.

Now as we close on March & welcome in April I’m feeling so much stronger again. Leaving behind all that does not serve me. Clearing out physically & mentally. I’m ready to move onto the next challenge & what April may bring.

How did you feel through out March? I’d love to hear your experiences of the past months energetic shifts. Please leave a comment below.

Love Kathryn xx

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