You are how YOU eat.

I have a confession to make; I am a terrible eater.

I wolf down my breakfast whilst standing at the kitchen counter, as I make the kid’s school lunches and coax them into hurrying up to get ready. I have even eaten my breakfast in the car on the way to work, sitting at the lights gulping down my cereal, trying not to spill it on myself as I negotiate the busy morning traffic.

Come lunchtime and I’m either at my computer at work or in front of some riveting television show such as Doctor Phil at home. Barely aware of what I am consuming, let alone how much.

After my busy day I gorge my dinner, concentrating only on satiating my appetite.

Eating is not a race, and really no one will come along and steal it from me if I don’t eat it fast enough. So why the hurry?

I don’t know how or when I picked up such terrible eating habits.

I remember having to speed it up a notch once I started breast feeding my first child- there was no time for dilly-dallying, I only had a small window of opportunity to get some food into my ravenous system!

I have decided to become a Mindful Eater and form an Eating Slowly Plan.

I will start with visualizing. I am going to visualize myself eating slowly for a short time every day, a little like an elite athlete in training before a competition.

I will begin by setting aside time for eating.
Not reading, not on the computer, not in front of the TV, not mindlessly doing something while I consume.
I will try to set up a system where I have 15-20 minutes to enjoy my meal.

Righto, once I get that down I should be all prepared and ready to go!

I will relax, take a few deep breaths, a sip of water, and acknowledge the food I am about to eat. I will be aware of what I am going to eat. Noting the name of the food, the look of the meal, lean forward and smell the different aromas. I may even give a little thank you to the food, that’s kind of sweet!

I will sit down with my plate of food. I will use smaller utensils- I knew there was a reason I held onto the kid’s toddler cutlery! I may even have to employ chopsticks- all the better to not heap up on my shovel, I mean fork. I will place my utensils down between each mouthful.

I am thinking it will be a good idea to cut my food into a tiny piece for each mouthful, making it easier to chew up completely, and much better than my usual very bad habit of “mashing” it all together which is now I think about it- all the better for shovelling! Or another favourite, getting lockjaw, whilst I attempt to get my mouth around another huge mouthful.
With all these new techniques I will be able to stop burning my mouth on a whole dumpling at Yum Cha- I will have to take along my toddler cutlery though!

I will chew slowly, I will taste, and I will deliberately notice textures and flavours. Well hello Coriander, aren’t you delightful!
I will chew till the flavours slowly decrease.
I will swallow completely.
I will sip water.
Before I take the next mouthful.

I will be aware of the people I am sharing my meal with. I will discuss the meal, after I have finished chewing and swallowing of course, not with my half full mouth covered by my hand!

I will enjoy my food.

I will change my relationship with food.

Eating slowly and chewing well will also aid my digestion. Mindful Eating will trigger the sensors that allow me to realize I am satisfied, not as hungry anymore. I will avoid overeating, and therefore maintain a healthy weight.

I am thinking by eating like this, it will give me another opportunity to “de-stress” my day. Taking time out. From the race, the pace, the busyness.
Just a sandwich, peace and quiet and me.

Mindfulness while eating — being fully present with food — can be both enjoyable and relaxing.
Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk, encourages eating an orange slowly, being present at every stage from first breaking the peel to the last drop of juice.
The following meditation is an adaptation of Hanh’s exercise that can be used with any favourite fruit. Plan to spend ten minutes or longer on this exercise, and schedule it at a time without interruptions.

1. Breath deeply three times, slowly and carefully, or until one feels connected to the self.
2. Pick up the orange (or other fruit) and hold it in the palm of the hand. Feel its texture. Notice its colour. Spend some time examining and enjoying the orange.
3. Slowly begin to peel the orange. Notice the change that occurs under the orange’s skin. Take time to smell the orange. Gently stroke the exposed flesh.
4. When the orange is peeled, pick up a segment. Bite into it, and close the eyes to concentrate fully on the orange’s flavour. Do not take another bite until all of the previous bite is gone.
5. Pause occasionally to reflect on any new sensations from eating the orange.
6. When the orange is gone, focus again on the self with several deep breaths. When ready, open the eyes.
The orange meditation might offer a welcome afternoon snack break at work or at any time when one desires to combine a healthy food with some time out from life.
If having trouble focusing on the orange, stop and take a few deep breaths to centre the self. Then try, again, to soak in the details of the orange. Take as much time as desired, and be certain to not put too much pressure on the self during the exercise. Indeed, there is no wrong way to eat an orange.

I am really looking forward to bringing this Mindfulness method into my life, to be able to experience and enjoy food in the moment.
Beautiful food, beautiful moment, beautiful life.

suzy x

How To Be Happy

Happiness is a Choice.

We have to squash our negative thoughts...like a bug!
It takes so much energy to think and speak negatively.
It takes all our energy away from us when we choose to feel miserable, to hate, to be angry, to judge others.
Pull yourself up from negative thinking, slap yourself on the wrist. (I actually do that, physically!)
Happiness is a Choice. Make It.

Feel the Love People!
Love the people around you. Love your home. Love your pet.
Love your dinner. Love your bed. Love the weather.
The stronger you feel love, the stronger the power of the Law of Attraction in your life. The stronger the Law of Attraction; the stronger the power to create a beautiful life and attract more love into your life!

Be Grateful. For your family, for your friends, for your job, for your car, for your furniture, for your toothbrush!
If you wake up every morning and feel true gratitude for all that you have, you will feel happiness, how can you not. Mentally going through a list of what you are grateful for reminds you of the positives in your life, of what is important to you.

Mindfulness. Live in the moment. When the moment is good, do not worry about things that have happened, or things that could happen. When the moment is good, sit back and notice, smile, take a mental snap shot. Life is good, whether it’s a funny moment, great meal, fresh breeze. Enjoy these moments. Notice them.

Do not judge others, and do not allow yourself to be judged by others. I believe judgment of others to be one of the biggest failings we can have.
It is sneaky and comes up in our thoughts with out us even noticing. It is erroneous and a daily battle worth fighting.
I can’t say this enough, if you stop judging others you will immediately drop a little misery- just like that.

Do not compare yourself to others either... be inspired by them.
Be happy with who you are, where you are and what you have.

Make deep friendships. Two deep friends are worth a hundred times more than a group of people who do not recognize your value and care for you. Recognize the value in the friends that matter to you, thank them, let them know. Share with them, support them and know that they will always be there for you too.

Be Generous. With words, thoughts, actions. Give a little gift to someone who makes a difference in your life or call them and tell them what they mean to you. People gain a lot of pleasure from being told they are appreciated. You will feel happy by just doing something so simple.

Laugh. Watch funny movies, read funny books. Hang out with kids, have funny friends, be funny, whatever it takes, make sure you laugh as often as you can. See the funny side. Life doesn’t have to be so serious, it should be enjoyed

Rest. Re-charge. Re-energise. Re-flect. Get enough sleep. Take a nap. Lie down with a magazine. Deep Breathe. Meditate. Life is so fast pace; we prioritize getting things done, getting somewhere now and sometimes forgot how important it is to just rest.

Believe in something other than yourself. Something bigger than us. Think about what contribution you can make in your life time. Give back.

Don’t expect the worst. Sometimes when things seem to be going wrong, it may be that they are just changing paths and direction. Some problems are there to help us grow. Have some trust in the Universe; expect things to turn out for the best eventually.

Don’t see the worst in others, accept differences, expect the best only of yourself.

Take a good look at yourself.
It’s fine to know the affirmations, the mantras and read the books...but where are your thoughts...
Are they happy? Or are you concentrating on what you don’t like, what annoys you, who did something “wrong”...
How is your lifestyle? Are you a good friend, co-worker, person; making conscience positive decisions or are you making the day harder and a little more difficult for others or yourself?

If we keep thinking we hate our job-we will always hate our job.
If we think about how someone always drives us crazy- they will always drive us crazy.
If you keep thinking about those extra kilos, you will always have extra kilos.

If you keep thinking about how someone makes you hurt, angry, how things never go right, how you don’t like certain things about someone...you are never going to be able to be truly happy

Happiness is determined by our minds, not our circumstances. Happiness is a choice. No one or no thing can make us happy.

Keep thinking about how awesome our families are.
What amazing friends we have.
How you can make a difference at work, in the world...for someone.
How the sunshine is a blessing, how good your favorite sandwich tastes, how funny our friends and kids are.
We are surrounded by simple pleasures every day.

And remember of course happy people are not happy all the time, that would be impossible, life throws stuff at all of us- they are just better at bouncing back to the state of contentedness after feeling unhappy.

Spread the word. Enjoy the Journey. We are here to live a happy life, a beautiful life.

suzy x

Yoga. Just Do It

As some of you know Beautiful Life has started holding Mother & Daughter Yoga classes here in Mermaid Beach.

This came about from a conversation Regina and I had about how much we enjoyed and what we “got” from Yoga, and how wonderful it would be to share it with our daughters. We were so excited by the idea that right there we decided to start up our own classes. We went out and found wonderful teachers, a great space and off we went.

I love the hour I get to spend with my daughter sharing the joys of Yoga. I feel I am giving her a base for a great positive self image, subtle lessons in breath and posture and some wonderful tools for dealing with life; she is learning techniques for self health, relaxation and inner fulfillment. It enhances her flexibility, strength, coordination and body awareness. It improves her concentration, sense of calmness and allows her to connect with her inner self. She is able to be a part of a physical activity that is non competitive, fostering cooperation and compassion instead off opposition.
Yoga brings out the beautiful inner light that all children have and it is a gift to give her.

Not to mention that we get to spend time with like-minded people and great role models. When you spend time with a community of people that hold the same values and hopes, it dissolves the feeling of separateness we get in the over stimulated, exhaustive world we all live in, us and our children. A group like this practicing together creates an amazing field of energy! It’s also just fun and relaxed. One of our mums said to me, “My daughter may stop doing Yoga at times in her life but she will always come back to it...and she will always be able to say, I have practiced Yoga since I was very young, I used to do it with my mother.”

With this in mind I am hoping to start up new classes of Family Yoga as soon as our Mother & Daughter classes are running smoothly, we have only just had our first month of classes. Family Yoga for all variations of family members, parents, children, grandparents, aunts or cousins!

Anyway, if you are not doing Yoga, thinking about Yoga, want to know more about Yoga, need to get back to Yoga, or love Yoga so much you can’t hear enough about it:
Here is my List of REASONS TO DO YOGA:

1. POSITIVE ATTITUDE Having Yoga in your life helps you face life’s daily challenges with positive energy in your heart. We can become more effective at problem solving as we act less emotionally and reactively to problems. When we practice Yoga we become clear in what we want and manifest our deepest desires. When we treat ourselves with more respect we treat others with more respect also. Trust, acceptance and gratitude are bi-products of self respect and we live with fewer expectations and judgments. Yoga makes us shine from the inside out: you will walk taller, with grace and a positive outlook. You will become more popular; people love to be around you when you are calm, balanced, serene and uplifted from your Yoga buzz!


2. HEALTH Yoga relaxes you and holistically addresses the body’s physical and subconscious needs. It can improve the immune system. Yoga is a powerful cleanser of our mind, body and spirit. It helps manage physical, mental and emotional signs of stress. Many Yoga poses detoxify the body. It cleans and massages your organs; releases feel good and immune boosting hormones, strengthens bones and muscles. As we heal ourselves, we can heal others, with our words, actions and smile!

3. JOYFUL LIVING Happiness does not depend on what we have- but who we are....When we do Yoga we realize we don’t need a reason to be happy, we just are. Yoga increases Mindfulness, as you become more in tune with your self inside and out. Life becomes relaxed and more fun!

Yoga is too fabulous, really it is TOO fabulous. And I am not talking about the transformed, over marketed, go hard, trendy version of a work out class. I am talking about the authentic Yoga, the real deal, where you don’t have to make your body suffer to feel the benefits. Where you are aware of what your body can do...and can’t...and that is enough.

All this talk of Yoga makes me want to practice more often, get myself a nice little set of poses I can do at home before bed, do with the kids instead of watching TV, enjoy and have fun with, and bring it into my beautiful life more and more!

suzy x

Moments in the Moment

Moments That Made Me Smile This Week.

Mindfulness is basically a quality of mind that can strengthen our awareness of the causes and conditions determining this present moment, and our awareness of how we are relating to these causes and conditions.
So if we are aware of why/how things are and we can be aware of how we feel/deal with this, we can be in a pretty good place.

This last week, I started a list in my notebook of moments that make me smile...it’s a long list, and I wont submit you to all of it, but here are a few, to be remindful that each moment is what we make of it!

Hanging out washing on a sunny, breezy Monday morning.
Really enough said, how can you not enjoy getting the weekends washing done in conditions like that!

Having my little sister living near us.
Regina’s daughter is a lot younger than me, in fact not that much older than my own children.
Sadly for us neither my husband’s, nor my family live nearby and I have always been envious of those who are lucky enough to have this. I have always missed being able to see my family more often.
Family is an amazing resource, and I’m not just talking about free babysitting! To see our children with other people on hand to turn to and have a close loving relationship is wonderful. I especially love watching the amazing rapport growing between these three young people. My children have a magnificent role model in this lovely young girl, and we are blessed.
Be grateful if you have your family nearby. Don’t take for granted the diversity of relationships you can all enjoy. Not everyone is in this fortunate position.

Kitchen Dancing.
This is one of my great joys, it makes my children sometimes laugh, sometimes cringe. My husband and I even compete to out geek each other! When I do it on my own, it is bliss, and can transform into a one woman cabaret show. One of the great things about getting older is that you become quite the expert at this particular style...why is that?
So, Dance like you are alone...in your own kitchen!

Dining In instead of Out.
The other evening my plans changed, as often happens when one has children. I had planned to go out for dinner with a friend. Instead of being disappointed when this changed I made a huge delicious curry, my husband lit a fire, and my friend and her children came over. Sitting around the warmth of the flames, watching them lick at the wood, the children squealing in delight toasting marshmallows, my little girl loving the smell of burning wood – she told us it reminded her of camping. Who needs restaurants?

Sharing a Green Tea with a friend.
Sunlight, conversation, silence...Pleasure.

My Weed.
Not what you think! The other day, I was sitting in my back yard when I noticed quite a large weed had grown up out of the concrete on the edge of our rendered house. I got up to pull it out and as I came closer, I couldn’t help but think of how against all odds, this little guy had risen to the challenge, and did just what it was that he needed to do. There he was basking in the sunlight, and looking quite lovely. Needless to say he is still there and makes me smile every time I look over at him, reminding me to just be me.

My kids have been off school.
A little bit sick, a little bit exhausted. Instead of letting this ruin my routine of chores, we have broken the day up with other things we can do; making sock puppets out of hand-me-downs, teaching the kids to sew button eyes on, and then getting back to my stuff, while they play with them for hours.
We redecorated their upstairs area, giving them heaps of enjoyment, moving furniture around, being creative. (and I got to get in a good clean up!) Kids are such a great example of impermanence and mindfulness. Everything changes, moments are just moments.
I also smiled when they went back to school, thank the goddess for impermanence!

My husband was standing in a ray of sunlight.
He commented on how nice it felt to just stand there and soak it up, so I snuck up behind him and stole some, and got to share a hug at the same time.

Sunday Family Roast Lunch.
Always makes me smile. It started out as dinner, but with the rush to clean up and get kids organized in the early evening, it just naturally morphed into lunch. We all enjoy having the time to sit down together and talk with none of the weekly evening distractions.
We have a ritual called “roses and thorns”. Telling each other what has been great in our week, and also being able to talk about something that was not. We make a point of concentrating on the roses as the thorns can become a bit of an excuse to complain...which we had to nip in the bud, so to speak! Actually, the thorns just naturally fell away once we all got the hang of it.
Another element that I particularly enjoy is the follow up Sunday dinner, simply left-overs or toasted sandwiches. What a relaxing Sunday afternoon!

We could all take note, or make notes of the things that make us smile. The small beautiful things that fill our beautiful lives.
They remind us of how each moment just is that, a perfect moment right now.

suzy x

The Simple Joys

The other day while I was doing my grocery shopping I made a choice...I don’t know why, because usually when buying corn I grab the convenient pre-packed stuff that is cleaned and cut. But the long cobs of corn in their husk, for 50c each, grabbed my eye. After a few seconds of indecision, I chose the corn cobs.
A day later, I took out the ingredients for my slow cooker soup, oh the joys of getting dinner over and done with at 9.30am. Don’t get me started on the joys of a slow cooker! As I started to peel away the husk of the corn, I was totally moved! I felt like a child again, how long had it been since I had done this, or even looked at a fully husked cob of corn...It was such an enjoyable feeling, the texture, the soft silken strands, the sound of the husk coming away from the cob, the smell of freshness. I realized how I had almost bought my usual plastic-wrapped pack. If I had, I would not be experiencing this, this moment in time, this pure, simple joy. It is meditative, to be able to enjoy such a simple experience. It made me feel wholesome, and too, it made me feel great because I was creating something wholesome for my family. It got me through the later challenge of what my children thought of having soup for dinner!

Many of the people that I read, listen to and talk with, discuss meditation in a very relaxed way. To meditate does not necessarily mean you have to sit with your legs crossed, back straight, with a completely clear mind, ohmming away blissfully. A meditation is just being in the moment, in the “now” as Eckhart Tolle and others speak of. Be right in that moment, and enjoy it for all it offers, sight, smell, texture, emotion, and it will make you smile to realize how simple little joys can improve your day! It is a great tool for achieving that “in the now”. We should accept the past, not stress about the future, be aware of them both, but don’t obsess over either of them (because that sure ain’t gonna change them!) Be in the present, right now.

Another thought this brought up for me, was that the whole convenient, pre-packed, grab it and run products available for us busy people, robs us of the simple sensory delights, the meditative moments, the wholesome feelings we can add to our day by choosing the cob of corn.

This week I think we should choose one wholesome whole-food to replace one of the handy, frozen, canned or pre-packed options we usually go for...for me, I am going to replace the packet of frozen spinach for my korma that I make in my slow cooker (there I go again!), with a big, real, fresh bunch of spinach!

suzy x