Favourite wellness things...

There are always certain Wellness products I find that quickly become favourites. Every now and then I will share some of the things making my "favourites list" -

*Fit Flops: Now I will be the first to admit when I first saw Fit Flops I didnt think they looked like my type of shoe - But that all changed when I got a pair for christmas 2 years ago. They are the most comfortable flip flops I have ever worn in my life (try them!). I have worn them so much that I am going to have to go and buy another pair for this summer.

* Dark chocolate Goji Berries: Yum yum yum - and since Goji berries are packed with antioxidants, its a wonderful guilt-free indulgence. (Click HERE to read more about Goji berries)

* Method dishwashing liquid: I absolutely love this dishwashing liquid and find it works much better than most. The packaging and smell are amazing - Its also enviromentally friendly and kind to your hands. Plus it comes in Pink and purple ;)

* Wildebraam "Ring of Fire" chilli relish: This is by far one of the best relishes i have ever tried. Its amazing on nachos or on chips. Its definitely got a kick, but its not so hot that it has almost no taste. A bottle of this does not last very long.

* Tia's Granola fruit and nut muesli : Im a very fussy breakfast cereal person. So I was very happy when i tried Tia's muesli. Its delicious. It wheat free. It also has lots of yummy cashews, peanuts and sunflower seeds in it. (its also available in sugar-free)

* All the above products can be bought online HERE or at a Wellness Warehouse store.

A change would do you good...

About a month ago I found myself feeling a bit dull, anxious and generally unenthusiastic about my life. I decided the only way I was going to feel better was to make a few changes, So I sat down and made a list…

Here are some of the changes I have set out to make in my life (and how I am trying to keep them up):

1. Make better food choices- If I can’t make my own food, I try make healthier choices when I eat out (note: Wellness Warehouse in Kloof street has a fabulous buffet). When I crave chocolates I rather buy a yogurt or some fruit to get a sugar fix. I try to eat smaller portions. I try to stay away from anything deep fried, frequent caffeine drinking and processed food.
2. Do more exercise – I found that I was starting to get into a life routine that didn’t make any time for exercise. Now, I have started trying to do some form of exercise nearly everyday (yup, I said everyday). I have started jogging and walking in the evening when the weather allows - I try to go out for at least 15 to 20 minutes (its great thinking and music listening time). I try to head to the gym at least twice a week (for a change). When I feel too unmotivated to get out and exercise, I do my own home exercises (like: stretching, ball exercises, squats and lunges)

3. Drink more water - I now take a bottle with me to work everyday and try to drink at least 1 litre of water during my work day. Having a bottle on my desk reminds me drink water at work. Click HERE to read tips on how to drink more water everyday.
4. Pop good pills - I have started taking vitamins daily. As much as I try to eat healthy I don’t always get all the nutrition I need from my diet. I also find that taking Salmon Oil (Omega 3)has been making a huge difference to my hair and nails.
5. Clear all the clutter –When my environment is cluttered I find myself less productive and more anxious. Its amazing how good it feels to walk into a organised space. I have resolved to keep my work and home spaces as free from clutter as I can (notes: I have found its best to set out a whole day to just focus on cleaning and sorting out a cluttered space. Start with one room at a time. Dont be afraid to throw away things. Donate things that others can use).
6. Stop sweating the small stuff- It seems so easy to say but so hard to do. The way I have started to help myself stress less about silly, little things is by changing my attitude. Now I am starting to see if it’s something little and not actually a crisis its best to just remain calm and let it go. Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.......which leads me to my next change....
7. Think positive things - Its so easy to let the world get you down and make you negative. I dont want to be negative anymore... I dont want to hold onto negative thoughts and feelings. I have resolved to speak more positively, think happy thoughts and let go of things that make me think negatively. Like Budda says: "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.”

Some people say a change is as good as a holiday and I am finally starting to believe that is true…..

What positive changes do you want to make in your life?

Sleep longer this winter.

Hi there. I am Ryan and will be writing about things that happen to me, or that I think about or experience ... I live a 'Wellness' type of life so I loosely attach that to the Wellness Warehouse blog and perhaps you can get some useful information from my words and if not there is even a chance you will be entertained. A chance I say ... no promises.

Well I shall leave an introduction about myself for later. For now I just felt I wanted to write about something that I have been doing for about a year now and find worthwhile. I read in a very clever book, that it benefits the body and the way it functions, when a rhythm is set. Now you may well think right away of a strict rhythm that goes up and down or slides side to side or moves in and out in a uniform manner, with the same strength and all very regimented parameters.

That is not necessarily the case though. Think of the natural movement and position you hold your baby in when rocking the little thing to sleep. I even find a rhythm when running up a mountain with rocks strewn all over the trail. There is a pattern in that chaos and if you relax and settle into it, things become smoother.

With this in mind and from what I read in the a fore mentioned book, I decided to try and get a more natural rhythm back to my sleeping pattern. I think from a young age I worked myself into a mindset of when it is I should be sleeping and when I should be getting out of bed. I think Magnum P.I and the likes of McGyver had a lot to do with this when I was a youngster. As soon as the episode was over I knew the treat was up and I had to hit the sack. Then later on in life I knew that if I did not wake up and catch the 07H08 tube from Barnes Bridge via Clapham Junction to Waterloo station in London, I would not make it to JP Morgan in time (I suppose that has its irony, what with old man JP Morgan being a railway tycoon first and starting a bank with all his prophets second) to start my honest days work.

Well both those times are behind me now. In fact I am totally free to choose what time I wish to go to bed and what time I wish to jump up. The fact is I always was free to choose, but put these restraints upon myself by choice. So the experiment this year so far has been to go to sleep generally a lot earlier than 11pm. Hopefully by 10pm I will be in bed, and then to let myself wake up naturally. When I wake up I then get out of bed. It takes a while to adjust to of course and I needed some patience. What was then revealed was that in summer I woke upon the sunrise and in winter the very same thing. That is a rather huge difference in time. About two hours. I would naturally adjust the going to sleep times in the evening.
The result? My body felt stronger and more alert all through the day. I never felt exhausted when going to sleep and fell asleep really quickly. I also felt rested when I awoke and wanted to get up right away. I am certain the sleep was also much more worthwhile. I developed a fantastic trust that I would wake up at the right time even if perhaps I needed to get up earlier than normal for some reason.

I am really enjoying this new found way of sleeping ...and not sleeping as the case my be. Winter is more of a hibernation and summer a lot more active. The rhythm of my sleep is now a lot more in line with the sun. It does make sense in the bigger picture though and that's how I live. Living life IN the bigger picture as opposed to squashed into the contrived narrow alternative. Why wouldn't I be right? Now to bed.

Does your home have a chemical dependency?

• Question 1: Would you eat off your floor?
• Question 2: Can you safely wash out your mouth with your soap?
• Question 3: Do any of the bottles under your sink contain anything that's drinkable without having to go immediately to the emergency room afterwards?
• Question 4: Is there anything under your sink you could water your plants with? (not the plastic plants, silly. The real live ones.)
• Question 5: Do you like to inhale while you clean?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, your home has a chemical dependency.

Dirty little secret: no. 1

Traditional cleaning products contain chemicals that can be found in the bloodstreams of newborn babies. Many of those chemicals have been connected to all sorts of health related problems.

Find out how to detoxify your home with Squeaky Green, the Method guide to detoxifying your home.