If you missed the first instalments of Ché Miller’s SIMPLIFYT journey, catch up here:
With my induction and first week of my new programme complete, things were now in full swing. I had taken to my SIMPLIFYT routine like a duck to water. The varied fitness classes were keeping things fresh and interesting, and the life coaching sessions with Evelyn Sztojanov were grounding me mentally and giving me a clearer vision of what I wanted for my future. The SIMPLIFYT boutique studio was definitely serving as my safe haven during the winter months. Here’s what weeks 2 to 10 entailed on my SIMPLIFYT journey.
Last week I had my induction to the SIMPLIFYT programme and my starting point in this journey had been established. I had completed a short functional workout to gauge my fitness level and had an InBody Analysis to determine my body composition. Now it was time for the actual work to begin!
The day I started a 10-week programme at SIMPLIFYT boutique gym was the day after my boyfriend of 5 years and I broke up. In hindsight the timing was impeccable, but completely unplanned. I turned up to that first session with a lot on my mind – none of which was fitness related, and I toughed my way through the initial assessment with a laser focus on not spontaneously bursting into tears.
Greg Gibson has been in the health and fitness industry for many years as a qualified personal trainer, and has been a competitive bodybuilder, and physique model and trainer in some of the most exclusive gyms in South Africa.
He has devised an entry level beginner’s workout for those who perhaps feel they have been a little too sedentary in lockdown and are wanting to get moving again. This workout can be completed 3-5 times per week to see and feel results. All exercises are standard movements that can be googled if you are unsure of what they are or want to know correct form.
After close to a month of confinement in our homes many of us are trying to learn to let go, relax and stay positive despite all of the unease. For some isolation might even feel like a much-needed breath of fresh air! However, even the most calm and resilient of us can have feelings of stress, anxiety and tension creep up on us unannounced, especially with so much free time on our hands for our thoughts to spiral.
We all know how important movement and exercise is for mental and physical health, but sadly hitting the pavement, park or gym is not currently an option, and we’re limited to our own four walls (and perhaps a bit of a balcony or terrace if we’re lucky!). Yoga is the perfect practice to incorporate at this time. As long as you have enough space to roll out a yoga mat, you have enough space to practice, and yoga not only allows you to get your physical exercise in, it can decrease stress, ease tension, and improve immunity.
With three weeks of lockdown under our belts the crew of S/Y Kokomo decided to put all of the extra hours of downtime into something positive that could really make a difference amidst so much worry and uncertainty.
I recently attended a health retreat in Australia which left me feeling absolutely fantastic. It could have been the daily spa treatments, the crystal steam room, and the plentiful organic food served up, but there were also few unique activities that seemed to really contribute to alleviating stress and tension. One of them was the sunrise qi gong class. This daily practice standing on a hill with a panoramic view of the Gold Coast and Pacific Ocean started the morning off with an extreme sense of calm and peacefulness. Now back in the real world I wanted to look a bit deeper into why the ancient eastern practices of qi gong and tai chi are so beneficial to our health.
We all know Bikini Beach Boutique & Spa for its amazing beauty treatments and therapies. From luscious facials to indulgent massages, manicures, Lycon waxing, lash tints and more, it is the ultimate place to pamper yourself. Now Bikini Beach has expanded its offering to include a dedicated wellness and fitness studio. The aim is to offer classes, workshops and events with a safe community vibe.
Spring is the perfect time of year to reset and prepare for the busy summer months ahead, and what better way to do that than by taking some ‘me time’ and treating yourself to a wonderfully restorative retreat?
Endurance, strength, agility, balance, and flexibility equates to a healthy body and a happy mind according to personal trainer Ali von Moltke, and upon meeting her it is clear to see she practices what she preaches. Her slim, athletic build coupled with her enthusiastic demeanour screams health and vitality. You wouldn’t believe she is 51 years old!
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Viviana Falck first began to use Cannabidiol (CBD) in an effort to end her battle with the anxiety and depression she had suffered from her whole life, which had left her feeling physically and mentally drained. Born in northern Argentina where the traditions and practice of using medicinal plants are alive & well, she favoured utilising a natural product like CBD to alleviate her symptoms.
As I arrive at Johanna Janik’s personal training studio in Marratxi (just out of Palma) she’s at the door welcoming me with double high fives. This woman is radiating vitality and I immediately feel my own energy levels rise in her presence. I have come to see Johanna for a personal training session as a kick-start after several months of zero deliberate exercise and general laziness (otherwise known as summer). First impressions tell me I have picked the right person to sort me out!
When Bobbie Bixler first set foot in a Reformer Pilates studio in Auckland, New Zealand in 1999 she was very close to turning on her heels and walking straight back out. The studio was swarming with graceful ballet dancers, who were using Pilates practice to further hone their lithe, agile physiques. They presented quite an intimidating welcoming.
Not as commonplace as it is now, Pilates hadn’t quite hit the mainstream back then, however Bobbie stuck to her guns, completed the class and never looked back. She quickly became hooked on Pilates, specifically the reformer machine, and the way her body felt from regular practice. It was the perfect antidote to a physically challenging career working on super yachts.
I like yoga, and I like SUP boarding (Stand-Up Paddle boarding if you don’t know the lingo). Why should they be mutually exclusive activities? Because images of me toppling face first into the Mediterranean Ocean tell me they should. However, I’m all for a challenge so when a friend told me her fantastic yoga teachers had branched out and jumped on-board (pun intended) the yoga SUP craze for the summer I was willing to give it a good go.
Overnight walk from Palma to Lluc Monastery. Every year, overnight in August, the country roads leading from the capital Palma to Lluc are transformed and the cars replaced by thousands of people walking to the monastery. Even those who manage to keep up a good pace will take about 11 hours to reach Lluc monastery, which is 50km away (8 -13hours).
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The distance travelled is approximately 12km, which requires some physical preparation and skill in the handling of the canoe. There is the option of doing the Sant Elm to Puerto de Dragonera route (5 km) for the uninitiated.
Being a non-competitive test, the start will last 20 minutes from the moment the horn sounds to start the race. Once that time has passed, no paddler can join Sa Volta. Continue Reading…
Would you believe when I was younger I had an issue with savasana? It seems reprehensible I know, but I would honestly dread this ‘relaxation time’ at the end of yoga because it meant I had to try and pack up my things and duck out to the car without drawing attention to myself. I tried to lie through the ‘corpse pose’ time and time again but it made me feel physically ill. I’m serious. Nausea and headaches. My mother was convinced it was my “toxins getting a good stir up” from the yoga practice. I decided yoga just wasn’t ‘physical’ enough for me and threw myself into the much sweatier pursuits of boxing, netball, and gym sessions.
I first heard the term ‘functional movement’ over ten years ago while interning at a health retreat in Australia’s Gold Coast hinterland. Every morning the guests at the retreat would sit down to a health seminar on various aspects of optimal living, and ‘functional movement’ had a whole session devoted to it so I figured it must be a key concept I should pay attention to, and rightly so!
6Points Mallorca starts and ends at Caló d’en Pellicer, the small beach in Santa Ponsa, and travels to the extremities of the four compass points of Mallorca (north – Cap Formentor, south – Cap de Ses Salines, west – St Elm and east – Cala Ratjada) and to the highest (Puig Major) and lowest points (Santa Ponsa beach) on tarred roads in three days, covering over 400km and climbing over 7500m. Continue Reading…