Coffee & Craic
Fitness
Hey everyone!
Mel here. Easter is fast approaching, which means the end of Lent, which means I’m going to be let loose in the world of crisps again. They are my absolute favourite treat and I’ve managed 40 days and nights cold turkey (apart from accidentally eating one at a party and forgetting it was Lent, whoops). My favourite ever crisps, are Smith’s Chipsticks. The king of the crisps IMO. So it’s got me thinking about the amount of extra work I’m going to have to put in at the gym and yoga.
Ahh well. One thing that really perks me up when I’m feeling a little less than enthusiastic about the gym, is new gym clothes. It really does help I think! Maybe not for everyone, but if you’re ever lacking in motivation, go and buy yourself a pair of lovely new leggings. I honestly might have more gym clothes than actual everyday clothes.
I go to hot yoga and normal temperature Ashtanga yoga in a beautiful studio called Planet Yoga on Smithdown Road in Liverpool. It’s an absolute haven and I love it. Everyone there is so lovely and the studio itself is full of beautiful artwork. It’s my favourite place! I always go on a Monday evening as I feel it sets me right and my good intentions for the week. It helps me cleanse my mind and body of the frivolities of the weekend and really refocus. I also love the early morning Saturday Ashtanga Primary series. For anyone that hasn’t done any yoga but is thinking about it. 100% go for it! It helps in so many ways other than your physical being, it really helps clear your mind too.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I live in all black pretty much all the time. If they saw me popping off to yoga they’d probably keel over. There’s celestial leggings and neons involved. My all time favourite leggings are my beautiful Temple Flower leggings, which we sell on JUXDIT.com. Green is my ultimate favourite colour and I was lucky enough to be gifted a pair by the lovely Neesha, as well as a gorgeous flower power jumper. They’re made in America and for every pair that is sold, money is donated to their charity, Light Up A Life. So it’s lovely to know that the leggings I’m wearing, have helped improve someone’s life elsewhere.
The rest of my gym attire is purely based on practicality. For example, I don’t put the leggings that go a bit see through when I squat, on leg day. I’m back in the swing of things now with my gym routine and have been for a few weeks. So it’s nice that I’m starting to see some results! It really makes you motivated to keep going and go stronger and harder. It’s currently my next aim to be able to do a pullup or two as my upper body strength is shocking. Also to manage to crack a headstand in yoga! Both of which require insane core and upper body strength.
The lighter nights are coming and the sun is starting to shine, if I ever needed a kick up the arse to get in shape, that was it. Also, shopping in Zara and realising how unforgiving summer clothes can be sometimes, was also a huge bit of motivation.
BUT aside from pure vanity, I love the going to the gym, running and doing yoga because they all keep my body and most importantly, my mind, in good health.
So, namaste & have a lovely week!
Mel
xo
A little blog to start off your Monday in a peaceful way guys!
Firstly I have two products you should 100% check out. One being one of my favourites from Kickstarter and the other a brilliant childrens book now available on juxdit.com. Toward the end is just a few little words on Mindfulness and my journey with it so far! Again I would love to hear form you guys so please check us out on Twitter @JUXDITCassie and @JUXDITMel.
“The gentle way of coming back into the here and now”.
These beautifully designed cards are probably my favourite crowdfunding product since I began working with JUXDIT.
They are a gentle way of bringing joy, balance and kindness into the forefront of your mind. They can be used as a reminder to be present or as an exercise. You can literally use them as the basis of your whole mindfulness practice. Plus, they are for absolutely everyone - the new to mindfulness and meditation and those who have some experience. Perfect!
The Girl Who Could See Stories - A plant powered childrens book by Gill Torres.
Our latest product to join the JUXDIT team is the beautifully written The Girl Who Could See Stories - Plant Powered Childrens Book.
The story is about a little girl who can see the entire life story of every person, object, animal she looks at. This wonderful tale is about her looking at her food, feeding her tummy with happy stories and seeing herself glow as a result.
This book is a great introduction to empathy and mindfulness, focusing on benefits of eating healthy and feeling amazing!
Practicing mindfulness is pretty new to me. I began in November 2015 after a couple of busy months. I had moved country in September 2014, worked three jobs at once and was beginning a masters … Not sure how I did it but hey I’m here to tell the tale! My wonderful godmother had been following mindfulness meditations for a while and on a quick trip back to Ireland she gave me a half an hour mini run through. After meditating for a couple of minutes together I was beginning to see the importance of this ‘time out’. It was the most at peace I’d been in a very long time! It was only until I stopped and took a minute that I realised how much I needed these moments in my life.
“We try so hard to be happy that we end up missing the most important parts of our lives and destroying the very peace that we are seeking”.
Today the world is going at a crazily fast pace and all us little individuals are trying to keep up with it. In this wacky race we are also trying to jump hurdles of pressure coming at us from all directions - home, work, online etc. “The relentless pace of modern life can stifle creativity and undermine happiness and wellbeing - but it doesn’t have to be this way!”. There are times when these jumps hold you back and it is super tough to pick yourself and get back into the fun, creative, joy that life brings. “Tiny actions can fundamentally affect your relationship to the world for the better”.
I found by taking 10 minutes out in the day, closing my eyes - no music (super difficult for me), no people around and just being aware of my breath has genuinely made such a change in my life and it’s so simple! Amazing! You have the ability to dissolve anxiety and stress and enhance creativity, problem solving and decision making - Win win!
So what I do is just breathe and think of every little part of your body that your breath touches all the way in and right back out. I found falling asleep super hard and I would wake up numerous times during the night but now I find it super hard to even attempt getting out of bed. So good but so bad when I’m legging it into work last minute.
Like I said I’m a newbie but so far so good and I cannot wait to bring more mindfulness meditations into my life!
“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, magic in it”.
*I’m usually not one for the quotes but I think these few are important and you could even write some on a sticky note leave it on your desk to remind yourself to ‘breathe’. They are from a book by Mark Williams & Danny Penman ‘Mindfulness, finding peace in a frantic world’.
Hey, Mel here!
So this section of the blog will largely be manned by myself, with some help and input from our lovely Cassie. She’s an avid tennis player, as you can see above - excellent backhand.
Firstly, I don’t want you guys to think I’m some sort of fitness nut who’s going to be hashtagging ‘eat clean’ and ‘fit fam’ in your face. I am a twenty-something girl, who wants a flat stomach, a brazilian-esque butt and most importantly keep fit. HOWEVER, I also somehow still drink a large amount of gin and eat Steve’s Chippy (THE best chippy in Liverpool) and sausage rolls every week. It’s a real struggle.
So this part of the blog will be me talking about my fitness faves, whilst trying to balance my work life, my social life and gin. My all time inspirations, I have to say, are the LDNM gang. They’re a gang (not like a vicious, gun wielding one), of young professionals who manage to hold down successful careers, general lives and slamming bods.
You can have a nose at them here ___. I love them because I admire their perseverance and their commitment, but most of all their down to earth approach. Their social media and their interaction with their following (which has grown astronomically since I first discovered them a couple of years ago) is absolutely brilliant. You can ask them whatever you like, no question is too small or too stupid and they’ll give you an honest answer.
They recently were under fire from the media, when their poster was put up in the tube stations of London, being called ‘unrealistic’ and ‘unachievable’. People were enraged that there was some people promoting a positive body image. ENRAGED. Anyway, knowing LDNM and what they do, it was great to watch people comment things like ‘these people on these posters are unrealistic, they are personal trainers, it’s their full time job to look that way’. Incorrect, the lot of ya. The guys on the poster, are the founders of LDNM who have full time jobs PLUS the full time job of looking fantastic and running LDNM’s growing brand. So, in your face general public.
We all know that fitness has taken a real upturn in popularity over the past few years and it doesn’t seem to be disappearing anytime soon. I’m fully on the proverbial fitness train, except mine has a little gin and fish and chips trolly that comes down every other hour.
Love,
Mel
xo