1. Feeling good from the inside out

Working-IN to me means looking after your all of your needs for wellbeing, most of us have the physical training side working well but could use a little help with feeling good from the inside out with training for our minds, relaxation and improving our nutrition and wellness. Working-IN offers balance with so many different classes to choose from and helpful guidance from a team of experts.

2. Spending time on myself and nurturing my body with yoga

Alongside my regular running training with Debbie at Beauty of Exercise I was really keen to try a yoga class with Alethea at The Wellbeing Studio. I hadn’t been to a yoga class for a while and really missed how good it makes your body and mind feel. The studio is a relaxing, calm environment and suitable for all levels. Alethea demonstrates easy and more challenging versions of each pose and we did some amazing hip and gluteal stretches – a must for all the runners out there! Alethea explained the benefits of yoga include purging toxins from the body and centring yourself and your breathing really assists more strenuous training. Spending an hour or so on yourself and treating your body to some nurturing is something I will really look forward to every week!

3. Being inspired by the amazing selection of wholefoods at Scoop

Those who know me are aware I am a really keen cook and mad foodie so I was really excited to pop into Scoop Wholefoods in Mona Vale, especially after I saw that nut butter machine on the Week 1 video! The shop smells amazing and has every health food item you could need beautifully arranged in tubs so you help yourself to paper bags, scoop out as little or as much as you need of organic, fresh nuts, seeds, grains, flours and even delectable chocolates, jot the product code on the bag and take them to the register to be weighed. As a Working-IN member you are entitled to a 10% discount too! I picked up some of my favourites such as coconut flakes, almond meal and peanut butter and also some Coconut Kefir to try – it’s delicious!

4. Guidance and advice on both training AND nutrition

The most valuable part of the program for me is the continued guidance and advice in working on areas of my training and nutrition I would like to improve. The focus on food as fuel and getting as many nutrients out of what I am eating is really important to me to stay well, fuel my training and hopefully lose some more weight so I am looking forward to more recipes, advice on good food for runners and tips to feel great. I am hoping to achieve more balance between physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing, working on positive thinking whilst running and making time for yoga, stretching and meditation on a weekly basis.

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In our crazy-busy world, running has become our ‘release’ for getting fit and sweating out the pressure of the daily grind. Meditation has also gained in popularity, as people turn inward to try and calm their racing minds. Put the two together and we have ‘Mindful Running’.

This brings together a meditative practice to your movement, creating a healthier way to run, that’s more enjoyable, with better results for body, mind and soul. In the coming weeks, we will be discussing ‘Mindful Running’ in more detail.

When first starting out – be aware of your breath. The breath brings in energy and is our metronome and guide. Try running in sync with your breath. Inhaling deep brings in more oxygen, calms our nervous system and reduces muscle tension. It doesn’t matter your pattern to begin, just get your breath and steps together.

• U​se a metronome to help focus you on your stride and your breath​ (available from music shops, or download app for iphone)​
• ​Identify your running cadence (steps per minute) – ie.165-190 ​s​pm
• Create a rhythm ​

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Go slowly, and go everywhere you can, on top of your legs, on the sides of your legs (it’s great for your ITB – the rope-like connective tissue that goes from the knee to the hip, and can even pull up into the back!), and even on the back of your legs, from your hamstrings, to your glutes. Just be careful not to foam roll directly on your kness, on the sides of your knees, or the back of your knees—that’s harmful to your knees.

• Roll out slowly, looking for any tight spots you can find.
• Hold for 30secs to one minute, until the pain starts to melt away.
• Doing so helps prevent muscle pulls, tears or worse because you’re getting at the knots before they become severe or before they harden or become scar tissue.

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Apart from the fact that you can purchase all of the ingredients from Scoop, it’s so easy to put together, packed full of goodness and satisfies that sugar craving around tea time!!

Wet Ingredients:

• 6 tbs coconut oil (it seems excessive but don’t worry)
• 2 tbs coconut butter
• 4 tbs raw cacao powder, or unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tbs maple syrup
• Pinch of salt

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 x cup puffed quinoa cereal
• 1/4 cup cranberries
• 1/4 cup Pistachios
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds or pumpkin seeds

Directions:

Melt all the wet ingredients together in a large saucepan. Add dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into a lined loaf pan, press down firmly and place in the refrigerator to set. Once cooled and set, slice into bars. Enjoy!

Recipe via Wholehearted Eats.

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