Review: Love, Peace and Stillness Meditation Retreat

I signed up to this Udemy course at half price as it was on special, and never regretted a moment of it. Created by Teagan Fea of the Bodhi Connection, these meditation exercises provide an easy, accessible introduction to meditation itself. And no, it does not cost $1500, unlike some other types of meditation courses.

Find this retreat here on Udemy 

What's great about this course?

The meditation audios can be downloaded to your computer as mp3s, which means they can be loaded onto a portable device, so you can meditate anywhere and anytime you desire! 

The content of the accompanying notes is great. I discovered that I have a blocked root chakra, and now am more mindful of this. These notes are concise, and full of good information. 

All of the audios last between 14-19 minutes, which means you do not have to sit for very long. Great for a meditation newbie! 

What's in the course? 

Without giving away too much, this course takes you through the basics of meditation, and then walks you through different types of meditation focuses, including chakra exploration, and connecting with the divine feminine and masculine. 

What could be better? 

Teagan speaks a little too slowly in the first few audios, which makes my mind wander sometimes, but the pace does pick up towards the end. A small thing really, and it helps me sharpen up my concentration skills.

All in all 

I really, really enjoyed this course. I've tried very hard to get into meditation and have had a difficult time, until I found this. It's not expensive, and you can listen to it as many times as you need. I still have much to improve on, so will be repeating this retreat a few more times. Every meditation session has made me feel calmer, clearer and more open. You should try it! 

Till Nov 23, Udemy is having a sale on ALL its courses. Use the redemption code BLACKFRIDAY. Savings drop 3% every day until Nov 23. 

Weight lifting... a man sport?

I can easily recall my first ever session with a Personal Trainer. It was my first year of uni, I was ready to make a new start, and was just about to realize my New Year's resolution by getting my first ever gym membership. That question though, still hung in the air.

"Are you really sure you don't want any weights in your fitness program?" his eyebrow raised in slight disbelief.

Let's see. I grew up in a Malaysian semi-rural town, where an adult female could easily (and quite normally) weigh below 40kg. I was raised in a family where Mum would tell me not to do pushups because it would "make my shoulders too broad". I grew up through the 90s, when waif-life Kate Moss was the pin-up girl for beauty everywhere, when it was the age of the supermodels, all delicate, reed-like, gentle ladies. I studied in an all-girls school, where being too physically strong gave you the lesbian label.

So, was I sure then? Hell yeah. 

Nearly eight years down the track, I still haven't really incorporated weight lifting/strength training into my routine. While I no longer aspire to be Kate Moss, I still had my reservations until I read Nia Shanks' enlightening blog post on Tribesports about women and strength training. And it really hit home... I've never really done it because I was simply too afraid that one day I would look like a man.

Like this. Only... some people wouldn't call Johnny Bravo a man... 

Maybe it was the circumstances of my upbringing. But, believe it or not, it wasn't too long ago that I said that Katee Sackhoff looked like a man (calm yourselves, BSG Starbuck groupies)... very recently though, I've come to the realization that there is no way in hell Katee looks remotely manly, in fact, if she looked like a man, I'd be more than happy to look like a man too.

If Katee Sackhoff looked like a man, she would be a very attractive, feminine man. 

What does looking like a man mean anyway? Broad shoulders, toned, built arms? These are all gender archetypes that we've assigned and given meaning to. Just like sports. There are "male" activities, and then there are "female" activities. Quick activity: Assign a gender to the following sports: Skateboarding, snowboarding, yoga, weight-lifting, football, skiing, figure skating, gymnastics. See my point?

There's hope yet though. Think about it, there was once a time when women didn't do pushups, unless of course you were Nancy Wake (the badass Australian female spy). Sooner or later, there will be more women lifting weights as well. Times are changing, after all.

Interested in testing the waters? Nia has created a strength building guide  to help with strength training.

Click here for the full guide

And, in case you were wondering if lifting heavy weights does make you look like Johnny Bravo, why not read Nia's blog post to see for yourself?

Me? I'm taking baby steps... starting with those pushups (sorry Mum!).

Challenge: Tribesports Abs and Legs Mini Circuit

Too busy to exercise? Here's a mini-circuit that requires no equipment that you can do in your own home. It takes only 15 minutes! And you can even do them in your PJs! I should know... I've done all the above... including the PJs bit. 

Check out the circuit on Tribesports

1. Sit-ups 

I don't have enough core strength (yet) to do this unassisted, so I anchor my feet beneath my lounge sofa. If you cross your arms in front of your chest, you'll use more core strength and protect your neck. Pilates tip: Slow down as you lower, this will engage your core a little more. 

2. Mountain Climbers 

Hold yourself in raised plank, and then kick your knees into your chest. In my circuit, I did this quick, but you can opt to do it slowly and use more core strength. 

3. Leg Raises 

To engage your core, side waist and legs more, flex your feet. Put your outer hand on either your abs or your side waist to ensure that they are engaged. Keep the movement controlled (not too fast). It's easy to let your legs flail wildly around, which makes this incredibly easy but does nothing for you :P 

4. Plank 

Self-explanatory. Want more of a challenge? Raise one leg. 

Have 20 minutes or more? Try adding these into your circuit. 

- 15 pushups per circuit 

- 1 min side plank 

- 1 min bridge 

- 25 squats 

My current record time is 15 mins including 15 pushups per circuit. Give it a go! 

The Foundation Anonymous Report

In July, which is 4 months ago now (hooray math skills!), I decided to stop using foundation, after being a 9-year junkie.

Here is a recent photo of me now, still with no foundation - I'm only wearing some minimal eye makeup, and a tinted lip balm.

Yes you can even click on it for a larger image, because I know you want a close-up of my pores

Having my 4-month chip has taught me a lot of things.

1. My foundation was actually a few shades too light for my skin tone 
On the few occasions I decided to wear foundation (eg. to parties etc), I realized that I looked like I had a kabuki mask on. NOT a good look. It's weird how I never noticed this before.. I guess living in foundation, I  must have thought the kabuki mask was how my face naturally looked.

2. The difference between hormonal and environment caused pimples 
I can spot them now! I only get hormonal pimples now, and I know when I will get them. Recently, I trialled a few new beauty products and got different looking breakouts... they were more clustered, and were smaller.

3. All those little bumps on my skin were foundation caused 
I used to have tiny little bumps on my skin. They were not obvious, and always seemed to be there, so I just thought my skin was rough. They are now gone!

4. My face goes red when I drink alcohol 
This never used to happen. I guess the foundation masked it somewhat.

5. My face flushes/blushes easily 
When it's hot, my face goes bright pink. Also never used to happen.

6. I'm noticing more signs of aging now 
I guess I just never cared about signs of aging because I'd just slap some foundation on. I'm now noticing a difference in my skin texture... it's bugging me a little, but hey, we all have to grow old right?

7. I'm taking better care of my skin 
No foundation means the skin you wear is well... the skin you wear.

8. It was a huge self-journey
Part of the reason why I wore foundation everyday was self-esteem issues. Having to not wear it meant combatting these issues, and now, I'm quite comfortable going barefaced.


/end report

If you've already tried going foundation-free, I would love to read about your experience. And if not, would you?