exeter | Integrated Wellbeing

January 2018 – New Yoga Term

My yoga classes at the lovely new studio at Life Dental & Wellbeing on Queen Street, Exeter (directly opposite Exeter Central Station) start again on Wednesday 17th January 2018.

Classes are for all abilities and run each Wednesday from 5.30 – 6.30pm. All equipment will be provided but feel free to bring your own mat if you prefer.

Your first class is free so come and give it a try without any commitment or cost. You can book a block of 4 classes for just £30.

I look forward to seeing you at the Top Floor Studio, Life Dental & Wellbeing, 31 Queen Street, Exeter EX4 3SR.

Call the LDW team on 01392 278843 to book your place or email me for more info.

Spring Wellbeing Coaching in Exeter

Whether you’re keen to lose some weight or boost your confidence and self-esteem, the aim is to help you bust through any blocks you’re experiencing in your life and free you up to be the joyful, fulfilled person you want to be. I’m excited about sharing with you many of the powerful tools I have used on my own journey to bring about life-changing transformations.

Take advantage of my spring coaching package of 6 face-to-face sessions, now with extra Skype and email support throughout a 12-week period. I’ll work with you hand in hand to set your goals for transforming your life and guide you to prioritise your actions.

The cost of this life-changing 12-week coaching course is £360 and includes 6 individual face-to-face sessions plus weekly Skype and email support.

“I would thoroughly recommend Chrissie for hypnotherapy and life coaching. I have been struggling to lose weight for some time and knew that it wasn’t just knowing what to eat that provides success. Chrissie helped me with visualisation techniques, showing me how to overcome problems in everyday life in a different way, so as not to over eat and guided me away from compulsive eating to a more mindful approach. I am a happier person and positive about achieving my goals because of Chrissie.” L.A.

Book your FREE 20-minute telephone consultation to explore how wellbeing coaching could help you by emailing chrissie@integratedwellbeing.co.uk.

Read more about my approach to wellbeing coaching here.

New Exeter City Centre Yoga Class

chrissie tarbitt, integrated wellbeing, yoga, retreats, andalucia

I’m delighted to launch a new weekly yoga class in Exeter city centre.

From Wednesday 27th September 2017, I’ll be teaching at the lovely new studio at Life Dental & Wellbeing on Queen Street, Exeter (directly opposite Exeter Central Station).

Classes are for all abilities and run on Wednesdays from 5.30 – 6.30pm. All equipment will be provided but feel free to bring your own mat if you prefer.

Your first class is free so come and give it a try without any commitment or cost. You can book a block of 4 classes for just £30.

I look forward to seeing you at the Top Floor Studio, Life Dental & Wellbeing, 31 Queen Street, Exeter EX4 3SR.

Call 01392 278843 to book your place.

Warm Sweet Potato & Quinoa Salad

Integrated Wellbeing, Food Matters, Sweet Potato, Quinoa, Salad

Now that summer’s here, it’s time to mix up your salads and try something different.

This easy recipe for my warm sweet potato and quinoa salad is not only yummy but a nutritious veggie meal with carbs, protein and healthy fats thrown in! And for those who like to support local growers and minimise food air miles, check out The British Quinoa Company in Shropshire.

The quantities below are for a salad that serves 2 people.

Salad Ingredients

quinoa (1 cup)
sweet potato (1 large)
courgette (1 large)
mixed salad leaves (4 handfuls)
cashew nuts (1 cup)
avocado (1 large)
cherry tomatoes (12)
fresh mint / coriander (1 small handful)
balsamic dressing

You can use a pre-made or shop-bought dressing but I prefer to make my own before each meal using the ingredients below. It really is easy and you can adjust it each time to your own taste.

Dressing Ingredients

extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
Maldon sea salt
Dijon mustard
ground black pepper
tiny pinch of Stevia (or your own favourite plant-based sweetener)

Process

Start with the quinoa and the sweet spud. Once they’re prep’d and cooking, you can get on with the other stuff.

Rinse and cook the quinoa as normal then set to one side
Peel, dice and steam the sweet potato
Grate or spiralize the courgette
Dry toast the cashews on a gentle heat in a pan or skillet for no more than 5 minutes (either using them whole or roughly chopped, whichever you prefer)
Dice the avocado
Quarter the cherry tomatoes

Place all the ingredients (except the cashews) in a large salad bowl, then add the dressing and toss thoroughly.

Toss it well so that everything has a coating of that gorgeous dressing and quinoa.

Finally, sprinkle your toasted cashews on the top, and serve!

I’d love to hear your favourite summer salad recipes so we can try them at Integrated Wellbeing here in sunny Devon, so please post links or recipes below.

With love and wellbeing wishes,

Mindfulness For Athletes

Just “go with the flow” – seems like a ridiculous thing to suggest to fitness professionals or indeed to our clients! After all, we’re encouraged to have goals, to have plans, to beat a PB and, by definition, we’re pretty energetic individuals impatient for results.

This is the first in a series of articles I was invited to write for Personal Trainer Magazine and was originally published in April 2015.

For many years my life used to be ALL about deadlines and goals; I thought by making sure I had my running shoes in my suitcase, multivits, energy bars and my sachets of wheatgrass at the ready would be me sorted. I could still train for that half marathon, work long hours and be fit and healthy – wrong!

Enter stage – mindfulness practice

Ever wondered what the heck it is? Or, what’s that got to do with you or your clients? Mindfulness-based stress-reduction has been around for several decades as a therapeutic tool. By turning our attention to what is actually happening in the present, we’re able to see the situation for what it is, allowing us to have absolute control over how we react in any given moment. That’s mindfulness in a nutshell. We are invited to simply be aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different.

The benefits of introducing this practice into our daily lives as fitness professionals are huge: we learn to relax (allowing the body to heal), we learn not to dwell on the last bad training session or match, which can seriously affect our performance (it’s gone, it’s in the past!) and once we have a plan in place, we learn that the “how we get the results” doesn’t always come about in the way we expected.

How to get started?

The first stage is learning to relax. Try this the next time you’re feeling frazzled after a full day of coaching or weary from over-training. Take 10 minutes to sit or lie down undisturbed (we can all find 10 minutes) and connect with your breath. Inhale and exhale deeply, using all of the muscles involved in breathing: the abs, diaphragm, intercostal muscles, and up into the chest, noticing any areas of tension in the body and allowing yourself to simply relax. Just notice any thoughts that come into your mind, allow them to come and go (you can’t stop your mind having thoughts, but you can become an observer rather than a participant in them). With this technique, you’ll automatically switch on the parasympathetic part of your nervous system allowing you to relax naturally. You wait, 10 minutes will soon become 15 and so on.

Yes, it takes practice, but the rewards are instant and exponential. Every few minutes that we choose to direct our attention to the breath and relax into the body, is like having a 30-minute power nap, only much quicker and longer-lasting.

With love and wellbeing wishes,

Rest & Restore Workshop

I’m excited to share with you news of my forthcoming Rest & Restore Winter Workshop. Join me in this lovely, peaceful, light and airy studio in Woodbury for a morning of “you” time.

When?
Sunday 6^th December: 10.00am – 12.30pm

Where?
Ocean Physio & Rehab Clinic, Woodbury Business Park, EX5 1LD

Timetable

9:45 Arrival.
10:00 – 10:45 Introduction to Mindfulness, Meditation and powerful Yogic breathing techniques which you can easily incorporate into your daily lives to bring about that all important sense of calm and peace just when you need it most!
10:45 – 11:30 I shall then guide you through a gentle yin yoga session which will focus on allowing the body and mind to fully let go.
11:30 – 12:00 Yoga Nidra – deep yogic relaxation.
12:00 – 12:30 Finally, some time to share some home-made, cold-pressed juices and raw, vegan snacks before heading home.

Places are limited to 10 people per workshop so don’t miss out if you want to help banish winter blues or just need to rejuvenate before the busy festive period!

The cost of the workshop is £25 per person with 50% of the proceeds being donated to Leukaemia Care as part of my various half-marathon sponsorship efforts. Book direct via the secure Eventbrite site here: Rest & Restore Workshop

No previous experience is necessary. I’ll provide mats, blocks and blankets. Please wear appropriate clothing.

I look forward to seeing you there!

With wellbeing wishes,

Yoga with Chrissie

I’m looking forward to starting the new autumn yoga term on Wednesday 9th September. I’ll continue to teach two adult yoga classes each week in the custom-built, under-floor heated studio at the Ocean Physio and Rehab Clinic in Woodbury near Exeter, Devon with a brand new, additional class exclusively for teenagers on Thursday evenings.

All classes are suitable for beginners and those at intermediate level, combining the traditional Hatha style with elements of the more therapeutic Yin and restorative yoga.

Classes are kept intentionally small (with no more than 10 students) to ensure maximum benefit.

Autumn Schedule

Wednesday mornings (60 minutes): 7.15 – 8.15 am
Thursday mornings (60 minutes): 9.30 – 10.30 am
Thursday evenings (teenagers) (60 minutes): 5.45 – 6.45pm

Prices for adult classes are £8 for a 60-minute class or £42 for a 6-week block. The cost of the 6-week course exclusively for teenagers is £42.

I still have a few available slots for private yoga tuition for individuals or small groups, either at the Woodbury studio or in your own home (where appropriate).

Yoga For Teenagers

My new Yoga for Teenagers course (exclusively for those aged 13 to 19) is a 6-week course starting on Thursday 10th September through to Thursday 15th October inclusive. These 1-hour classes will be held on a Thursday evening in the lovely studio at Ocean Physio from 5.45pm – 6.45pm. . There will be a maximum of 10 places and bookings will be taken on a first come first served basis. The cost of the 6-week course is £42.

Not only does yoga help to build strength and core stability, but it has been incredibly successful in helping students through stressful situations such as exam times.

The classes will include some great breathing and relaxation techniques which, over time, will provide an outlet to enable students to focus on one thing at a time – not something that necessarily comes naturally to many of us as we live in a culture that has raised us to love multitasking. Yoga also helps youngsters gain more awareness of their bodies (including postural habits) which is a particularly important skill for those involved in a competitive sport, but of course relevant to all.

Please email me directly with any questions or to reserve a place on this course.

You’ll find the Ocean Physio & Rehab studio at:
Woodbury Business Park, Woodbury, Devon, EX5 1AY

For class reservations, please call Ocean on 01395 239455. For other yoga or class content queries, drop me a line at info@integratedwellbeing.co.uk

With love and wellbeing wishes,

Women Inspiring Women Awards

Although I’m not one to go chasing accolades, I was thrilled to be crowned “Rising Star / Woman To Watch” in the national Women Inspiring Women Awards 2015 at their annual awards ceremony in Birmingham earlier this month.

I know that a number of you kindly voted to keep me on the short-list and I’m very grateful for that.

The Women Inspiring Women Awards, now in their 4th year and sponsored by a leading national network for female entrepreneurs, seek to find and celebrate great female role models – those who bring out the absolute best in others and make a difference in their respective communities.

I was on a short-list of 8 very strong candidates from across the UK and hadn’t even thought about preparing an acceptance speech. I’m absolutely delighted that the judges recognised the importance of spreading the wellbeing message to a wider audience.

With thanks, love and wellbeing wishes,