Mt Kosciusko & Living with Intention
Monday, November 27, 2017

Mt Kosciusko & Living with Intention

This past weekend, my cousins and I hiked Mt Kosciusko. This has been on my bucket list for a long time, and it didn't disappoint! It really was an amazing hike, with beautiful views and we were so lucky with the weather (the forecast predicated rain, but it didn't start raining until just when we finished the hike!) 

Now here I am, at work with Monday morning blues. It gets me thinking about how I can feel like two completely different people on the weekend than during the workweek. It's not like I don't feel like I'm being me, but it's like I'm compressed, limited and boxed in. 

Two days ago, my achievement was that for five minutes, I was at the 'highest' person in Australia. I was surrounded by snow and mountains, while simultaneously getting burnt crisp by the sun. We witnessed other people, old and young, reaching the top and breathing a sigh of exhaustion but wearing a smile that couldn't fade. We meditated, ate cheese sandwiches, laughed and groaned at the thought of the next few hours' trek back down. 

Today, I am walking a maximum of 2 metres to get to the copy machine, in a corporate dress that feels more like a disguise.

My final thought is this: I am going to actively pursue each decision in my life with intention. I want to make all moments in my life feel like I've just climbed a mountain. I want to feel excited and feel like I'm exactly where I want to be. I want to be fully immersed in the energy of being myself.
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11 Things That Make Me Happy
Thursday, November 09, 2017

11 Things That Make Me Happy

Taken in Santa Monica, California

1/ Witnessing vibrant colours painted by sunrises and sunsets.

2/ Biting into a piece of fruit, and realising it is at its peak ripeness and sweetness.

3/ Watching grandparents interact with their grandchildren.

4/ Seeing older people enjoy a good meal, and each other’s company.

5/ Having conversations with open-minded, colourful and imaginative people who have a thirst for life.

6/ Experiencing cultural differences, and finding out ways in which we are all the same, or ways in which we are all different.

7/ Watching people laugh. And making people laugh.

8/ Experimenting in the kitchen, and having your meal turn out well.

9/ Hiking to viewpoints, that make all the struggle worth it.

10/ Being in the presence of people who are smart, poise, confident and bursting with the glow of being utterly themselves.

11/ Living in this grand universe called life… Sometimes I forget how lucky I am just to be alive at all.
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My Ayurvedic Consultation Experience
Saturday, November 04, 2017

My Ayurvedic Consultation Experience



Today I visited the Ayurvedic Wellness Centre in Bondi Junction, and I wanted to document my experience here because there are so many thoughts going through my head post-consultation that I wanted to write it all down!

First to say, the location is very convenient; a brisk 10 minute walk from Bondi Junction station. I went into my pre-booked appointment at 12:30pm and was greeted by Michael. They first had me fill out a 4 page form with questions from "What do you do as an occupation?" to "How many times a day do you go to the toilet?" to "Where is your happy place?" It was intriguing to complete, as Ayurveda takes everything from diet, to lifestyle, to physiology into consideration. I handed the forms back to Michael and after about 10 minutes, was greeted by my doctor Souhrida Menon

She brought me into her room and began my asking me to tell her a little about myself and my main areas of concern. After a quick 2 minute introduction, she ran through an agenda with me and then listened to my pulse and examined my tongue. From that, she concluded my pulse is very low, and that I should consider working on my low blood pressure. Something I have yet to attend to because there is SO much information out there that it overwhelms me. Oops.

From my tongue examination, she concluded my constitution is Pitta-Vata dosha - so I have a dual dosha type however am predominantly Pitta, the fire type. She then recommended some Lifestyle, Diet and Medicinal treatments. 

There was a certain point in the Lifestyle aspect that was particularly intriguing to me. She asked me what time I usually wake up, to which I replied 7am then she smiled and said "And how do you usually feel after waking up?" and I said "Pretty tired, considering I go to bed at 10pm." She explained that this is because between 6am - 10am is the Kapha time of day, where Pitta-types usually thrive when they wake up before 6am. This was interesting to me, as I have always been a morning person but since I started waking up at 7am... I've constantly felt tired and bogged down! I never would have considered waking up earlier to remedy this. She also recommended a few things to fill in the extra hour before continuing with my normal routine; self-message with oils, cooling breathing exercises, meditation and/or yoga positions (in particular, child postures which are Pitta balancing). 

We then moved on to Diet, which was where a lot of the consultation focussed on. She ran through what I regularly eat in a day and then tried to make recommendations upon that, which I felt was great, because the idea of changing my entire diet would have been overwhelming, and let's face it, I probably wouldn't follow through with it. There was a lot of information to take in during this part of the consultation, but she was writing down notes whilst she was speaking for me to take home. 

We then moved on to the Medication (or treatment) part of the consultation, in which she recommended a tablet called Pitta Digest by Banyan Botanicals and a powder for a body-cleanse I was to undertake. 

This is where things got tricky. The medication was $40 for the pills and $20 for the powder (which I was only required to use 1 tablespoon of) on top of a $120 consultation. I may seem a little uptight, but I have been to SO many doctors (both Western and Eastern) looking for healing that I have spent too much money, and haven't seen the results come through. After expressing this to them, Michael and the doctor seemed to get a little defensive and argumentative exclaiming that if I wanted to heal my body, these were the steps I had to take. I tried to stay calm and let them know that I was going to begin with the lifestyle and diet modifications and go from there. After this awkward encounter, they seemed less friendly to me and were quite happy to see me walk out the door. 

The core of Ayurveda belief is that when you are balanced, you are in full health and your body, physiology and mental state work harmoniously amongst one another. This means you are at optimal weight, health, energy, positivity and clarity. This is a belief I have always carried with me, even before I knew about Ayurveda. After reading about my dosha type, I see a lot of it resonates with me and it's interesting that the doctor could have made all these recommendations for me after a 60 minute meeting and an examination of my tongue. I'm taking her recommendations very seriously and will be paying close attention to my body during the next 2 weeks upon her lifestyle and diet changes she has recommended. 

There is SO much information about Ayurveda out there but seemingly less so about Pitta-Vata. I will be adapting my lifestyle to the recommendations by the doctor, and track my progress. Wish me luck!

***

The top lifestyle changes I will be making: 
1/ Waking up at 6am
2/ Meditation and cooling breathing exercises
3/ Eliminating cheese, canned and fried foods
4/ Eliminating spicy, sour and overly-salty foods
5/ Cooking with ghee in place of olive oil
6/ Focussing on foods from the 'Best' list on this table 
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Oahu, Hawaii
Tuesday, September 05, 2017

Oahu, Hawaii

 Oh, beautiful Oahu. How you take my breath away. 

Oahu was something I'd never knew I needed, and something I long to return to. I don't feel like words can describe how much I love Hawaii.. it has a magical feeling that can only be understood once you're there, experiencing it for yourself. There are no words that can do it justice. 

Here are some of my highlights:
1 & 2/ A gift from Oahu. 
3 & 4/ The most incredible delight from Banan! (A must try)
5 & 6/ Koko Head Trail
7/ Hanauma Bay views
8 & 9/ Moped fun to Manoa Falls!

If you're ever thinking of going to Hawaii, stop thinking and just do it.


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Big Island, Hawaii
Tuesday, September 05, 2017

Big Island, Hawaii

Our time in Big Island was short and sweet. We were there for two nights and three days. I was surprised by the Big Island. It was quite different from Maui in that it was a lot more residential, and more low-key. I can't really put my finger on what it was, but it was probably my least favourite island of the three we visited (Maui, Big Island and Oahu).

These were a few highlights from our time on the Big Island:
1/ The beautiful pristine water view from Maui to the Big Island.
2/ The incredible Akaka Falls.
3/ Beautiful, tropical fruit! 
4/ Island turtle chilling on island time.

We also stayed in a lodge near the Volcano and we visited the Jaggar Museum at night to see the lava but it was difficult to get some nice photos with my little point and shoot. 

We also went kayaking to Kealakekua Bay which was INCREDIBLE. We were lucky enough to see some dolphins who put on a show for us! We didn't get much of it on film, but they do make an appearance in my video here.

On to Oahu we go...
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