Wanderlust Wrap Up

By Kat Harding

What an amazing, incredible, eye opening, awe inspiring, laughter filled, zen weekend…

From SUP Yoga to backbends, to Wanderlust videos and photo shoots, braids, flash tattoos, catsuits inspiring passionate speakers, music and more. You can’t possibly find a better array of wellness classes and experiences than at Wanderlust.

The venue was stunning, passing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, cruising the vast Sydney harbour lined by beautiful houses, walkways and parks you finally arrive at an island which from the outset looks small but is full of character from an era gone by. Surrounded by beautiful blue waters Cockatoo Island has ample green grass, shady areas and a mixture of beautiful industrial buildings that create incredible backdrops for photos, yoga and live music.

I took a leap and went alone for the weekend, and within minutes of being on the island I had met with a friend who I had previously only spoken to online and as more yogi’s and wellness gurus arrived on the island my network of smiling, happy faces around me began to grow.

Throughout the weekend I was spoilt for choice with so many styles and forms of yoga and movement that it was really hard to schedule for. Whilst I had picked the classes that I wanted to attend over the weekend in advance it became difficult to stick to ‘the plan’ as I met more teachers, experienced different styles and classes and learned to listen to what my body was telling me I was capable of.

The beauty of it for me was that there was not one person that I had either met in person or knew at Wanderlust and not one teacher who I had experienced a class with before. The weekend was one of many firsts for me and the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and to get inspired were everywhere I looked. 

Tiffany Cruikshank and Duncan Peak were amazing teachers, I resonated with everything they were saying and their flows and am so glad to have had the opportunity to be there in that moment with them for what was truly inspiring yoga. Living on the Sunshine Coast (QLD) we don’t often get the opportunity to have teachers like Tiffany and Duncan visit us in order to soak up their wisdom on asana, anatomy, compression vs. tension, handstands, arm balances, headstands, hip openers, yoga flows. The experience left my mind buzzing with information and inspiration and ready to take my practice and my teaching to the next level.

The community that I felt throughout the whole weekend can only be described as incredible. You could almost guarantee that if you stopped to chat with any person that was there you would be greeted with a smile, a run down on their favourite moments so far, recommendations on where to go next and would share a laugh about the weird and wonderful experiences that Wanderlust has created for them.

Reflecting on a weekend that could only be described as liberating brings back incredible memories and a smile that you will not be able to wipe off my face.

I thought I would share with you all my 6 key learnings from the weekend that you will see more about in a series of blogs I’m going to post during the coming weeks…

  1. Inversions take more than just strength, it is equal parts balance, flexibility and strength  (Tiffany Cruikshank)
  2. Consider whether an Asana isn’t for based on Compression Vs. Tension (Duncan Peake)
  3. The space in between asana’s is just as important (Kate Kendall)
  4. Dance is the hidden movement of the soul (Yoga For The Bass)
  5. You attract what you fear. You repel what you want (Melissa Ambrosini)
  6. You are enough (Franny & Alex from Violet Gray Design)

The Wanderlust experience is a must do for anyone who simply wants to break free for a weekend of wellness, ‘ah-ha’ moments and yoga, and it’s not jut for yogi’s it’s for everyone who wants to feel part of a global community. See you at the next one!

To sign up for Wanderlust updates click here.


Get Active, Nourish & Be Grateful Ebook: A big thank you!

Firstly, I just want to say a MASSIVE thank you! 

Thank you to everyone who has supported not only my yoga and SUP yoga career but also my partnership with Nicole De Valter (nee Kropp) in creating a global community that is Active, Nourish, Grateful.

Without your support and eagerness to be part of the information sharing, the ideas, the movement and the soul nourishing goodness we would not be here today releasing our first ever Ebook. 

Get Active, Nourish & Be Grateful aims to inspire and provide an easy to follow guide to living your best life. The practical tips and guides in each of the three chapters will give you options to nourish your body and your soul and to try something new. There are no hard and  fast rules in this ebook because Nicole and I believe that everything should be done in moderation, this is something we've learnt over the years and it works - both before and after you make lifestyle changes. 

As part of this I've included a meditation mini guide which is a starting point to living a mindful and present life. You can incorporate this with your very own pranayama (or breathing) practice because let's face it, our ability to breathe is our ability to live and yet we very rarely sit down to focus on it. Better yet, use your meditation mini guide, pranayama tips and the yoga flows in the Get Active chapter to really step it up a notch. 

Nicole has done a wonderful job on using her Holistic Health Coach knowledge to provide you with guides on super-foods, your very own shopping list that you can print and some absolutely delicious recipes for any time of day that are easy to make and simple to understand. This is something that she has taught me so much about and is always able to provide an answer to all of my questions (even the ridiculous ones). 

These recipes have been developed so that there are no surprises when you read the method. This is one of the things we both felt very passionate about as we are too often disappointed after spending hours shopping and prepping our food only to find we don't have a dehydrator or spiralizer! 

Most importantly, we wanted to share this information with you because we want to continue to follow your story as you work towards your best and most beautiful self (inside and out). 

You can invest in our ebook by following the Active Nourish Grateful links on both of our websites or simply CLICK HERE. 



Source: www.kat-harding.squarespace.com/active-nou...

A very brief introduction to Meditation

Check out my very short introduction to Meditation as part of the Active Nourish Grateful Challenge. This was the theme for Day 29 (so it’s a couple of days late in being uploaded). 

Hopefully it provides a brief insight and starting point to meditation especially for those who feel that they simply won’t ever be able to still the mind. 

If you want more information about Patanjali’s 8 Limbs of Yoga you can find it online, I reference Limbs 4,5,6,7 – breathing, withdrawal of the senses, concentration and finally meditation (the eight is  enlightenment, so you get where I’m going). 

The Eight Limbs of Yoga is something that was fundamental in my yoga practice and then my teacher training. Asana, or the physical element of yoga, is only one very small part of the ultimate goal, but when combined with some or all of the other limbs it can be an incredible experience for those who practice. 

Getting Grounded and Grateful - Guest Blog by Pip Herbert

I am just loving connecting with so many self inspired women, who are real, authentic and living and breathing their passions.  Today's guest to the blog is the incredibly talented spiritual coach Pip Herbert from Grounded Guidance.  

 

Pip is going to share some insights on how to get practice mindfulness through being grounded and showing gratitude.  Pip take it away...

 

Each morning, I get up, go outside and ground myself, I usually exercise at this time too, and I get present.

 

But what does this mean and what difference does it make?

 

By stopping to listen to the sounds around me, tune into my body, my breath, notice my emotions, I am fully present in the moment.  It is very challenging to maintain this level of mindfulness, of presence throughout the entire day, as of course we lead busy lives filled with distractions… doing several things at once, day dreaming, or thinking about what to cook for dinner.

 

If I’m ungrounded, I am clumsy, my head is in a haze, I feel scattered and may try to put the milk away in the cupboard, I am certainly not feeling empowered by what I want to create in my life.

 Like anything, mindfulness takes practice and getting grounded takes intention. Remembering to stop for a moment and BREATHE. Plant your feet on the ground and send all that buzzing energy into the earth, let go of the exhaustion. Be in that moment.

 

Allow yourself to be fully present with the person you’re listening to.  To feel what your body needs, and be connected to your soul-essence, your intuition.

 In this space of grounding and mindfulness, I find what naturally arises is gratitude.

I am present enough to notice the beauty around me and appreciate how lucky I am. You do not have to be feeling particularly optimistic to allow the blissful feeling of gratitude to envelope you. If you are struggling to think of something, simply remember how privileged you are, that there is always someone worse off than you.

When we are focusing on the many wonderful things in our life, we create more of this thanks to the universal law of attraction. Often we are thinking about what’s yet for us to achieve, to buy, or what we don’t have yet. When we shift our attention to what we DO have, the universe conspires to give you more of that. In the space of gratitude I experience joy, happiness, thankfulness, peace, love, excitement. Hell yeah to more of that!


So – try it. Each day, think of or write down 3 things you’re grateful for. Really connect to the emotion of it when you do this. You may be surprised how great it feels.