Why do we try to escape our discomfort with a holiday break or spa retreat? 

When it’s a short-term fix, we return home only to find all the usual daily discomforts, stresses and tensions have not changed – they are there still waiting to be dealt with.
 
What I have found for myself is that we can access everything we need to support ourselves in life, in a single moment.  We don’t need to go anywhere to connect to stillness as it is already naturally within us all.
 
Why do we ‘need’ to retreat from life to have time for ourselves?

Osteoporosis and osteopenia is something that I’m seeing almost every day within my client base. The clients with this diagnosis don’t necessarily fit into the typical picture of someone with this condition; they can be young, very active, seemingly taking care of themselves, eating good food, and have always eaten dairy etc. So why is this this disease on the increase in my client base?
 
Perhaps they come to me because they are drawn to the level of care, experience and understanding of the body that I have? Or is there a general rise of people being diagnosed? And if this is the case, what is really happening here?
 
With the diagnosis, the general medical recommendations are to do more weight bearing exercise, this includes walking and resistance/weight training along with dietary advice. What you may not get told is that there are many physical aspects that are important to be considered while exercising to prevent serious injury and damage to the body.
 
Choosing a program and trainer is something that is super important; that’s why It’s Time to Shine with Beverly Carter has been offering Osteo Strength and Awareness programs since 2016 that honour the physical aspect and so much more to support healing from within.
 
The next program begins Wednesday the 28th of June, with times to suit both Europe/UK and Australian time zones.

Having been an elite athlete and fitness trainer for all my working life, if I had a dollar for every time I heard:

• “It must have been a good workout as I was sore the next day”
• “I must have done something right as I really felt the session the next day”
• “I can’t have done anything as I didn’t feel any pain the next day”.
• “I need to do more as I am not feeling it

 
. . . I’d be rich.
 
​How many of you have experienced lunges or squats where the next 2 days you can’t sit on the toilet or walk down a flight of stairs without wincing in pain? Meanwhile saying to your self, “Oh but I must have been doing a good thing!”

​How does a tough competitive woman, an aerobic champion, an international gymnast and a celebrity ‘Gladiator’ become who she is today – gentle, sweet, inspiring and powerful, while now taking fitness to a whole deeper level?
 
‘When the going gets tough the tough get going’ was something my gymnastic coach said to me every time something got hard and challenging, so much so that it did not stop at gymnastics, it became a mantra for my life. 

​ It's been an incredible year so far at It's Time to Shine and its not over yet...

Recently I had the absolute joy to share the True Movement modality with over 140 people in Manly at the ‘Life is medicine’ day. It was beautiful to experience the joy and freedom of everyone moving as one – yet in their own playful expression.
 
Remember how as children we all loved to express and move with no inhibitions, not worrying what we looked like, whether we were following the choreography, feeling from within, even giggling if we stuffed up and totally being ourselves in every moment, being totally connected to our inner joy? This is what was felt. 

There are many health and fitness programs being offered online, Personal Training studios, gym’s, magazines etc. All these options can be challenging and confusing when choosing an exercise program that suits your body’s wellbeing, body and what it needs.

Tag lines like ‘lose 10k’s on us’, ‘body transformation’, and ‘ideal body in 6 weeks’ are to engage and attract people to buy the product.  Many programs offer the latest research and amazing results. The reality of these claims is generally short term, painful, extreme and unrealistic, which may not be sustainable in supporting long term health and wellbeing.
​
Below are some suggestions that may help you make a considered choice of health and exercise program. For long term health and vitality, the program will ideally support, sustain and integrate simply into your lifestyle. 

The question is ‘how long have you had your trainers?’ There are some people who will only buy one pair in their lifetime and others who have had their shoes for many years. In fact, there are very few people who change their trainers often enough, possibly due to the expense or the inconvenience of getting to the shoe shop.
 
Most people don’t realise that training shoes actually need replacing every 3 – 4 months, especially if you use them regularly eg. Runners, walkers, instructors, sports, group exercisers etc. (And this post isn't sponsored – unfortunately that's just a fact.)
 
I hear many people when they buy their next pair of shoes are really shocked to feel just how ‘slack’ and ‘empty’ the old ones had become. What is it that allows us to keep wearing shoes that are providing no support to our incredible bodies? Why don’t we feel when it is truly time to get new shoes? Why do we put our bodies in disregard while exercising when we wouldn’t ever go on a date with old, sloppy shoes?

Most people would agree that stretching is good for you. And yes it can be wonderful for your body.

How many times have you stretched a part of your body so that your muscle is shaking and you are feeling tension and pain? 

Have you ever found that your shoulders and body feel contracted and tight trying to hold you in a certain position?

This is how most people stretch. What they don’t realise is that this type of tension in stretching will bring muscle contraction and not muscle lengthening. So all the pulling and pushing that is done actually won’t improve flexibility.

How lovely would it be to work with your body and it’s natural function to stretch? How would it be, to really stretch to appreciate, honour and feel gorgeous in your body? Here are some simple tips: