{"id":1328,"date":"2019-11-15T15:52:07","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T15:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jenbensonpilates.co.uk\/?p=1328"},"modified":"2019-11-15T15:52:07","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T15:52:07","slug":"stepping-it-up-the-natural-way-my-new-venture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jenbensonpilates.co.uk\/index.php\/2019\/11\/15\/stepping-it-up-the-natural-way-my-new-venture\/","title":{"rendered":"Stepping it up the natural way! My New Venture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stepping it up the natural way! My New Venture…..<\/p>\n

As a Pilates Instructor I\u2019ve been lucky to have met so many lovely people.\u00a0 Since I first started teaching I have learned a huge amount about wellbeing and how it can mean different things to different people and how exercise is only one part of how we can improve our wellbeing (all be it a very important one!) Reducing stress and tension, sleeping better, reducing toxicity in the body, improved digestion, having good immunity and a desire to self-care all contribute to our overall wellbeing.\u00a0 A whole person approach is a really positive way forward to making improvements, small steps towards a healthier happier you!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only when I look back to the changes I\u2019ve made since March earlier this year that I realise that there\u2019s plenty to be proud of and definitely a desire to share.\u00a0 So I\u2019ve used some diary notes and written a bit about what\u2019s changed and why.<\/p>\n

I decided when I turned 40 (over 2 years ago) that I was going to make myself a few promises, mainly to invest in more self care and quality time in an attempt to reduce a bit of self induced stress.\u00a0 I actually wrote them down in an attempt to hold myself accountable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise to allow myself to take a rest more often\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise to ask for help if I need it\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise that I won\u2019t hesitate quite so much about whether I should be spending money on myself\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise to make more opportunities to meet with the people that I want to spend time with\u201d<\/p>\n

I think you reach a certain point in life where you don\u2019t want \u201cthings\u201d.\u00a0 We crave to be well, less materialistic, feel loved and spend time with the people in life that really matter. \u00a0So I have been concentrating on more meaningful activities with the children, more family time, getting outdoors more, date nights with my hubby (even if it\u2019s just an opportunity to sneak a quick curry whilst the girls are at Brownies), dates with girlfriends (I am blessed with amazing friends), better skincare routines, healthy eating \u2013 you get the idea.\u00a0 As a Pilates Instructor I try to practise what I preach!<\/p>\n

BUT and this is the big but, I am guilty of over thinking, over analysing and this can sometimes stop things being spontaneous.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had to try really hard to stop worrying so much what other people might think and do what feels right for me.\u00a0 After all, often these are only perceptions as people don\u2019t always actually share their opinions on these matters, we just guess that they might have a certain view and there we have a spiral of self induced<\/u> stress and anxiety.\u00a0 As a people pleaser this has been a tough transition. \u00a0Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m not advocating self care as a license to be selfish. \u00a0But, I have had to retrain my brain to worry less about what people might say or think when I make a decision.\u00a0 Am I happy with it?\u00a0 Yes! Does this decision make a positive impact on me?\u00a0 Yes! Then that\u2019s good enough for me.<\/p>\n

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So what happened in March in particular?\u00a0 After a night out drinking in Manchester I had a terrible hangover, I mean the one that lasts for 3 days where you have your head down the toilet. \u00a0I vowed like we all do that I\u2019d never drink again.\u00a0 Till the next time you hear everyone chuckle!\u00a0 Well, actually 8 weeks later and I was still holding my word.\u00a0 I was adamant that I wasn\u2019t going to be in that state EVER again!\u00a0 I guess the only way I could be sure of that was to not drink to excess. I wasn\u2019t sure if it was possible to give up alcohol.\u00a0 It\u2019s a big part of my social life and it\u2019s something that we do together with friends to have fun, kick back, unwind, lose your inhibitions and all of the glamorous things we associate drinking with.\u00a0 Unlike hangovers I\u2019ve had before this time I knew making a shift in my drinking was non-negotiable.\u00a0 It was weird, it was like something had clicked in my brain.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have to try to not have a drink, I genuinely didn\u2019t want one, any! \u00a0My relationship with alcohol was probably that of a binge drinker combined with a \u201cstress release\u201d drinker (now that\u2019s an oxymoron if ever there was one \u2013 alcohol is a huge cause of stress!!).\u00a0 We didn\u2019t drink at home during the week and I clock watched until it was appropriate to have a glass of wine on a Friday and everybody drinks at weekends, right??\u00a0 If we went out with friends I would drink excessively (on purpose!) and generally suffer the next day.\u00a0 I was in a poor habitual cycle but worse still I knew it.<\/p>\n

I know that reaching for an alcoholic drink is not going to relieve stress but at the time you convince yourself that it does.\u00a0 My training in health and fitness has given me all the knowledge and understanding I need to know that alcohol is a stimulant to the body and a toxin to the liver.\u00a0 We can definitely do without it!!\u00a0 Anyway in a show of self protest, I didn\u2019t touch a drop until we went on holiday about 8 weeks after the offending evening.\u00a0 By that time I felt ready to have a responsible drink for the sake of enjoyment! \u00a0I enjoyed 1 cocktail or 1 glass of wine and left it there.\u00a0 I wanted to enjoy \u201cjust the odd one\u201d rather than be completely tee total but wasn\u2019t sure if there was a happy medium but I was willing to continue and it felt right.\u00a0 The long period of complete abstinence had broken that habitual cycle.\u00a0 The best bit was improved sleep patterns.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t really noticed that I wasn\u2019t sleeping very well until it changed and I was sleeping much better.<\/p>\n

Something had changed that meant I was happy with my decision and didn\u2019t feel like I had to justify it to myself.\u00a0 It was OK.\u00a0 The hangover free, sleep fuelled weekends were giving me the boost I needed to keep it up and if I\u2019m honest I felt proud of myself for ditching what deep down I knew felt like a bad habit.\u00a0 There were a few nights out with friends in the pipeline and for fear of getting drawn into excessive drinking I drove instead.\u00a0 I was nervous that I\u2019d be met with a bit of banter.\u00a0 As it happens my good friends were all extremely supportive of my decision.\u00a0 Some of them have even surprised me by saying that they felt the same and were also keen to try and reduce their alcohol intake.\u00a0 I was feeling more confident to \u201csupport\u201d my own journey and my decision to not drink.\u00a0 After all, why should it matter to anyone else?\u00a0 I\u2019m not sat in the corner sulking when we go out, I just opt out of the excessive drinking and now I\u2019ve had a bit of practice I feel confident I can just have 1 or maybe 2 and then stop.\u00a0 What I was realising was that subconsciously we need a \u201cbuddy\u201d when we undertake a bad habit.\u00a0 I even do it with food.\u00a0 There\u2019s every chance that when we go for a meal out I will indulge in a dessert but I will probably try to encourage whoever I\u2019m with to do the same so I don\u2019t feel as guilty that I\u2019m having one. \u00a0I am finding that each shift in behaviour leads on to the next one and I am being more accountable for my decisions.\u00a0 It\u2019s never too late to make a change and it\u2019s never too late to learn (about anything!) I genuinely believe that.<\/p>\n

The one thing I\u2019m certain of is that my body has responded incredibly well to changing my relationship with alcohol.\u00a0 FACT.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe I\u2019ve shifted to the \u201cno drinking\u201d club!\u00a0 Feeling proud and loving my new hashtags #nohangover #sobersaturdays\u201d<\/p>\n

I was also regularly diffusing essential oils by my bedside every night in an attempt to ditch my obsession with Vicks Sinex sprays.\u00a0 I was buying the cheap oils that you can pick up easily in a chemist.\u00a0 About the same time as I stopped drinking alcohol, they stopped making the nasal spray that I was overusing.\u00a0 As I couldn\u2019t buy another one the same I decided that as part of my new improved wellness regime I would instead diffuse eucalyptus oil.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always had this in the cupboard and regularly use it on my pillow but the change here was to stop using the nasal spray and introduce the eucalyptus as a different method of my breathe easy fix.\u00a0 No synthetic chemicals, 100% natural, smells amazing and provides amazing support to the respiratory system. Win Win!!<\/p>\n

Until I was blessed with a \u201cproper\u201d introduction to using DoTERRA pure essential oils to find natural solutions for wellbeing and in the home.\u00a0 I mean pure on a new level that I hadn\u2019t heard of before which means they are certified pure therapeutic grade and can be taken internally as well as used aromatically and on the skin.\u00a0 What I hadn\u2019t really considered was that not drinking had already had some pretty amazing detoxification effects on my body. \u00a0I learned more about liver function and how toxins in the body (such as alcohol) can have a huge negative impact on our stress levels.\u00a0 If the liver is under pressure to process unwanted toxins it will struggle to process natural chemicals within the body and the flushing out process can be compromised.\u00a0 This is all due to hormone production and the balance of chemicals in the body.<\/p>\n

Here opens the next chapter.\u00a0 \u00a0Jennie Read who I am so pleased to call my friend, is a paediatric nurse by trade and a mum to 3 children.\u00a0 Jennie and I met at CWS Networking Group.\u00a0 This is an amazing group for women in business to get together.\u00a0 I\u2019m so grateful for what has happened as a result of us meeting.\u00a0 Jennie was starting to set up Redemption Health and we talked about how wonderful it would be to bring Pilates and essential oils together.<\/p>\n

Previously I have perhaps only associated holistic and homeopathic remedies with people who have a negative opinion on traditional medicines.\u00a0 At work Jennie treats children with medicine for a living.\u00a0 What Jennie has opened up to me is the nurses perspective, the mum\u2019s perspective.\u00a0 An open minded perspective that satisfies my scientific brain!\u00a0 After making changes to her families health with essential oils Jennie set up Redemption Health in a bid to share what she had experienced.\u00a0 When you are introduced to something new there is a potential for scepticism.\u00a0 Again, as a Pilates Instructor I come up against occasional \u201cresistance\u201d for holistic remedies for problems all the time but I love that Pilates speaks for itself.\u00a0 It\u2019s incredibly rare that anyone will regret coming to a class or say that actually it\u2019s not for them.\u00a0 I think I was in the same boat with my views on essential oils.\u00a0 I was tunnelling my vision on aromatherapy and thinking they are only used for massage and to make the spa or salon smell nice.\u00a0 How much I had to learn was about to be rolled out in front of me and Jennie and I planned to deliver our first joint workshop back in June to combine Pilates and essential oils.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d made a positive change towards balancing my body and this felt like the next chapter.\u00a0 I\u2019m such a sponge, I love to learn and this is particularly true when it\u2019s about health and wellbeing.\u00a0 I wanted to learn more.\u00a0 I was well and truly in the zone and hit the books.\u00a0 Starter kit purchased and oils in full swing at home.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pretty sure the one thing we all have in common is stress.\u00a0 We all have it in varying degrees but how we respond to it makes a big difference to our health and wellbeing.\u00a0 I\u2019ve struggled recently as a working mum with trying to fit too much into the time I have, a To-Do list that seems impossible, mum guilt, trying to be all things to all people and not getting any of it right.\u00a0 I have recently been left holding the reigns of our schools PTA and have felt desperate to find a way to keep it running but manageable.\u00a0 It\u2019s caused me a huge amount of worry.\u00a0 I sometimes struggle to switch my brain off at bedtime and I definitely worry too much about what other people think.\u00a0 The reasons why we feel stressed are individual to us and may not seem important to someone else.\u00a0 That\u2019s just good old perspective, if you feel it, it\u2019s real to you and how you deal with it is also up to you.<\/p>\n

If you know me you\u2019ll know that I\u2019ve experienced trauma and sadness in my life when me and my husband lost our first daughter Ellie in 2006.\u00a0 I can certainly apply perspective when I assess my life events but I still experience stress and anxiety about the small, daily struggles and I don\u2019t undervalue other people\u2019s self perception of stress.\u00a0 I can feel anxious, overwhelmed and angry at times along with everyone else.\u00a0 I do find talking always helps and as I tend to share how I feel with my nearest and dearest it generates conversation.\u00a0 Us girls tend to be good at talking about how we feel but I think we sometimes only scratch at the surface and sometimes the strongest of people can actually be the most vulnerable, not wanting to let their guard down.\u00a0 My absolute \u201cgo-to\u201d is exercise.\u00a0 I have always felt that most of my positive emotions are found in a workout.\u00a0 It\u2019s empowering, uplifting and let\u2019s be honest the most natural way to encourage the release of endorphins, the brains happy hormone.\u00a0 I have taken a huge amount of pride in my work as a Pilates Instructor as it has allowed me to share a desire and a passion to improve people\u2019s emotional AND physical wellbeing.\u00a0 The feedback that I receive about what different clients \u201cget\u201d out of practising Pilates is so varied and I have taken lots of learning and training opportunities to support my work.\u00a0 A more holistic approach to wellbeing is a must these days.\u00a0 We have to be more aware of everybody\u2019s needs as individuals and understand that not every route of recovery suits for every problem.\u00a0 Exercise is SO much more than just the physical experience and I am loving learning and understanding more about how and why.<\/p>\n

Feeling confident and authentic in what I do is really important to me and I think that\u2019s why I knew really quickly when I first started Pilates that I wanted to pursue it as a career.\u00a0 I am on the same page now feeling inspired and passionate about how beneficial essential oils can be to us.\u00a0 There is a natural solution for almost everything that life throws our way.\u00a0 I not only want to reduce the amount of toxins in my body but in my home too and not just for me but for my family.\u00a0 From stress to skin blemishes, sore throats to sleep issues, bloating and period pain, not sleeping well to having an itchy scalp, tension relief to antiseptic uses, muscle rub to kitchen cleaner, air fresheners to immune boosters.\u00a0 You name it, there\u2019s a solution for it!<\/p>\n

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\u201cEssential oils affect the body quickly and powerfully.\u00a0 When used aromatically, the compounds interact with the olfactory nerve system and limbic system to effectively instigate therapeutic chemical changes in the body.\u00a0 When used internally or topically, they interact directly with cells, organs and entire body systems for health benefits.\u201d \u00a0[Source: Advanced Oil Magic]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What I feel I can do is share what I\u2019ve learned about how using essential oils can have a significant, positive impact on your wellbeing.\u00a0 When I smelled my first DoTERRA oil I was intrigued.\u00a0 It was different, good different.\u00a0 Getting hands on and actually experiencing these oils for yourself is a must.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t looked back since I bought my starter kit and incorporated them into my home life.\u00a0 I\u2019m finding myself reaching for my new \u201ctoolkit\u201d everytime we need a solution and I\u2019m not disappointed.\u00a0 My 2 daughters are also using oils regularly.<\/p>\n

So I guess this is where I wrap things up by letting you know that I have taken a step forward with my business to become a DoTERRA Wellness Advocate.\u00a0 I want to share what I\u2019m learning and the learning has certainly been mind blowing!\u00a0 This has sort of happened by accident as the sharing is unavoidable.\u00a0 But I\u2019m officially putting this out there and I feel that it will sit really well with the Pilates.<\/p>\n

If you feel like you might want to talk more about improving your wellbeing and using essential oils, here are a just a few of the things we could discuss\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n