WorkOut WorkIn

After a month of experiencing insane fatigue, an unrelenting cough and achy body, glandular fever has been confirmed.

The funny thing is they can tell if you had it before. Apparently I have. Who knew? 🤦‍♀️

There’s a beauty in knowing where you’re at. It’s validating to hear, because something wasn’t right.

It’s just frustrating as hell - as I don’t do rest well. Who does?

I hate disappointing clients, cancelling appointments & running on empty with my kids. I haven’t exercised in weeks.

My default state is high functioning exhaustion. I love pouring out energy, supporting, nurturing, doing, experiencing. It’s grand. Life is to be lived.

Jump two feet first.

But my body is also saying slow down, tiger.

Settle in. We’re shifting gears.

I did a beautiful guided meditation this week and was asked, what does your soul need you to hear?

And my soul replied “please be very kind to me”. 💛

I’m listening.

I’m now settling into an unexpected season, that requires so much more self care and requires greater discernment with where, and who, and how I expend my energy.

And I have no doubt there will be great learning (and unlearning) from all of this.

Onward and inward journey 💫✨

Ness x

This is something very close to my heart 💓

I would love to invite women on Sydney’s Northern Beaches to join myself for movement, meditation, and connection each week in Dee Why.

📅 Date: Every Tuesday (next session tomorrow, May 14)

🕓 Time: 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

🍃 Address: Unit 6, 17-19 Mooramba Rd, Dee Why (we occupy a gorgeous sun-soaked room at the divine pilates studio, )

Specifically for women in their midlife, these sessions are designed to help you find inner peace, balance, and connection to your body and mind.

I’m a certified Personal Trainer and Intuitive Mindfulness Coach who loves building community.

Hosted by & myself, we invite you to join us for 2 hours, each week, in a practice that will leave you feeling energised and nourished in mind, body and spirit.

Weekly sessions are broken into 45 minutes of movement followed by a 15-minute mindfulness-based practice and lunch or coffee at a nearby café for connection and conversation.

These sessions provide an opportunity for you to feel more embodied and connected to yourself and those around you.

Workouts vary weekly from yoga-inspired stretching to strength training.

You’ll also be guided through somatic movement and breathwork to help release stored tension in your body.

This practice is designed to help you move more and stress less. ❤️

Cost:

$30 pp per session (Connected Women Members)

$40 pp per session (Non-members)

To reserve your spot : https://bit.ly/4dFaQW8

I’m so looking forward to sharing this practice with you & building a supportive community together,

Ness x

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers that make the world go round.

And a huge shout out to our support crew who make it possible to raise awesome humans ❤️💫

Sending so much love and appreciation - from my body to yours ❤️💫

Ness x

Being the safest place your kids want to sleep ❤️🫶❤️🫶

If you’re always running on adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol, continually pushing yourself and ignoring your holistic needs, you will never be in a state of wellness or ultimate health.

Allowing your body time to rest, play, be in nature, seek joy and connection, is just as vital as exercise and a nourishing diet.

I use to run on fumes.
Always going. I never gave myself a break. Until my body shut down.
The body is supremely intelligent and always keeps the score.

What changed was when I truly started to listen to it. Be in right relationship with what it was communicating with me.

Honouring all the systems (especially my nervous and immune system that were perpetually flashing red in distress) and changed my approach to exercise and how much I expected of my body at any given time.

Learning more about the four phases of the menstrual cycle - menstruation, follicular, ovulation and the luteal phase and the optimal time to demand more or less of myself during these phases - also created so much more harmony.

I’m not perfect and as a single mum, juggling work and kids and life, but I’m far more at ease and comfortable in my rhythm with exercise & rest than I’ve ever been.

It’s a journey and I’m glad I have a more intimate understanding of and compassion towards myself and my health 💛

Ness x

Traveler, there is no path,
The path is made by walking.

By walking the path is made
And when you look back
You’ll see a road
Never to be trodden again.

- Antonio Machado

❤️💫

🌈💕💫

What a difference a year can make. 💫

I’ve never subscribed to “time heals all wounds”.

It’s what you DO with the time you have that heals or harms you.

Our healing requires conscious effort and participation.

Movement.
Stillness.
Connection.
Compassion.
Meditation.
Talk therapy.
Journaling.
Somantic experiencing.
Nature.
Breathwork
Cold therapy.

Allowing myself to cycle through all the emotions without attachment to a narrative my ego so desperately desires to hook into.

Allowing things to be as they are but deeply trusting the process that all things evolve, including my spirit and perspective. 🌈

Healing is a journey and a year on, I’ve never felt stronger in my backbone, heart, body and soul.

If you’re going through a harsh season, I encourage you to listen deeply to your spirit and respond to what it’s asking from you.

I designed a vision board at the very beginning of my healing journey and a quote that profoundly resonated with me was “GIVE YOUR HEART THE LOVE IT NEEDS.”

And I am.

I invite you to join me ❤️💫

Ness x

A message I feel is worth sharing ❤️💫

The more energy and emotion we channel into something - the greater it becomes.

Be conscious of where you are giving away your power. If you can’t control or change something - control and change the way you engage with it.

Michael Singers book “Untethered Soul” radically changed my life when it came to this subject.

Your peace is paramount.

Safeguard it.

Ness x

Merry Christmas from my family to yours ♥️🎄✨

I hope today is full of joy, laughter & peace

Ness x x x

There were many connections made on my travels in Tanzania. Two in-particular, standout, that I wanted to share.

To preface this - I don’t do superficial conversations well. I like to get to the heart of things — even with people I’ve just met.

I met A. after he returned from Kilimanjaro- he was unwell and unable to continue up the mountain with his close mates. So an unexpected evening unfolded for both of us…

After chatting for awhile, I pulled out Esther Perel’s conversation cards - “Where Shall We Begin, A Game of Stories” - and over numerous hours and Serengeti beers, we drew cards out of the deck and shared stories on life, love, conversations that shouldn’t have happened or that need to happen… it was refreshing to share this moment in time - listening to one another, empathising and holding space. It was one long, open and transparent conversation. We both walked away all the better for it.

Then a few days later, I connected with N. She was helping to facilitate my safari and climb. In the space of a car trip to the bank together, she shared with me that she had been dating a Muslim man for 3 years and keeping this secret from her devout Christian mother.

At 31, she wants to marry and begin a family with her man but was scared to disappoint her mother. She planned to tell her in a years time, hoping to coincide the unveiling of this information with wedding plans, if all went well.

I listened to her and then I shared my thoughts. You can either live in fear or freedom… you decide the outcome.

And so she spoke with her Mum.

I share this, as we are often so self conscious about what to say, how to say it and where to begin. With loved ones let alone people we’ve just met.

It’s liberating to just meet someone and be completely real. Without hesitation, fear or judgement of ourselves, or the other.

I’m grateful for having met A and N and for what transpired.

The chance to be seen and heard by another, that wanted nothing more, than to be seen and heard by me.

I want to be brave enough to have more of these conversations - and hope by sharing this experience - it inspires you to do the same.

Ness x

My brutiful kilimanjaro experience ♥️🏔️✨💫

Endings, won’t end you 💫🇹🇿

Keep dreaming. Moving. Smiling. Adventuring.

Make yourself proud.

It’s all temporary. Act accordingly 💫💕

Over the past 25 years, I have been in three significant relationships that lasted 24 years.

Being out of a relationship feels raw, loud and prickly.

My codependent, impatient inner child wants to re-couple, yesterday.

I dived onto Bumble. But while loneliness felt loud and prickly - a greater instinct felt even louder.

Be single. Be free. Trust the process.

After an eventful month I deleted the dating app.

I’ve been channelling all my energy into my kids, my friendships, climbing Kilimanjaro, solitude and rest.

It’s the first time in my adult life where I’m not seeking to be in a relationship or trying to maintain one.

I’ve been joyful. Playful. Seeking community. Sleeping like a legend. Spending a lot of time offline. I’ve never been more present with my kids. Relaxing and pottering around the house and then going for the longest walks.

Loneliness still accompanies me at times, but it's quieter. Softer.

I came across this line by Warsan Shire and it made me smile.

"My alone feels so good, I'll only have you if you're sweeter than my solitude."

And I believe it. I’m enjoying the company I keep.

Onward and inward journey 🌿🏔️🥰

Ness x

She lived. 🦋

She never stopped writing new chapters.

She evolved. She let go. She was a tangled mess. She was fierce. She was strong.

I love all of these lines 🙏✨

They resonate.

I don’t believe in balance - in perfect harmony. We are ever evolving and shapeshifting in spirit, thoughts, and relationships to others and ourselves.

Shedding old skin, beliefs and ways of being… for something that feels more right and true.

Be fluid.

Be open.

Imperfection was her back bone.
Forgiveness was her freedom.

Keep feeling, flowing, being open, appreciating all the chapters and versions of yourself - that have led you to this very moment in time.

Keep living ❤️🌿✨

Ness x

This. ✨🔥💪🥰

There’s something truly magical when you stand, anchored, in a place of great abundance, self worth, compassion and love.

When you not only understand - but appreciate your own value…all else falls into place. ✨

You don’t need to convince anyone of your worth.

You innately know it.

So keep investing in your well-being, wholeness and value and keep moving forward with grace.

Ness x

❤️

I listened to a brilliant Rich Roll podcast this week, “spiritual minimalism, purpose and living a meaningful life” with Light Watkins.

There were so many gems in it. I highly encourage you to listen to it.

One of the key takeaways was this line

➡️ The only zen you have at the top of the mountain, is the zen you bring with you” ☀️✨🏔️

We often believe:

If I achieve “x”, I’ll feel accomplished

When I earn Y, that’ll be a true measure of my worth and success

If I do Z - then I’ll be [insert] happy, peaceful, proud, desirable…

But it’s never that way or that easy.

It’s who we choose to be, during the process of getting to whatever goal we set, that helps to determine our emotional state and measure of personal achievement, when we get there.

Submitting a mountain WON’T make me happy or zen.

My emotional state on the journey to get to, and up the mountain, will directly influence my experience, at its peak.

Cultivating our happiness, peace, contentment, joy - is an inside job. It’s a daily practice that’s heavily influenced by gratitude, present moment awareness, curiosity and compassion.

I highly recommend this podcast & all the goodness within it 🌌❤️

Sending love
Ness x

Mount Kilimanjaro - Africa’s highest mountain and the highest free standing mountain in the world - has been on my bucket list for years!

Today, I’ve booked my climb and safari. Time to stop dreaming and start planning. ✨

I can’t tell you how freakin excited I am. An adventure awaits!

What’s been on your bucket list for too long? Join me on taking action… life is too short friends.

Ness ❤️

A cracker from ✨🙏

I love the idea that we are always working towards something, achieving something, pursuing X goal with clear purpose and intention.

My number one value in life is growth (that’s why I feel the universe offers me so many opportunities to grow 🤪🥴🧘‍♀️)

But I also equally appreciate it’s in the PROCESS of becoming - of pursuing these goals - of stepping out of comfort into action, that actually makes us.

The goal inevitably takes care of itself… it’s who we choose to consistently be, at every step, that builds and solidifies our character.

In practice, for me, this looks like making one small decision at a time that’s in the greatest alignment with my spirit.

I desire to be healthy and strong in body and mind for myself, my kids, loved ones and community - then this desire dictates how I show up and directly influences how I take action.

Being proud of yourself in the process of working towards something is significant.

We often only value the achievement…the golden moment at the end…rather than taking stock of our evolution and all the personal, spiritual, mental and physical growth - that takes place in the pursuit of our goals.

Never underestimate the space between - the character building - space between, that happens over months and years, as you chip away at your goals. That’s the gold, too.

Sending love
Ness ✨❤️

I deeply value community and connection and I’m intentionally seeking and prioritising this in my life.

Today I hit up and my heart was happy. Hearing the sounds of the waves break as I meditated next to a great bunch of people & we all enjoyed a coffee, a few stories and laughs afterwards.

Feeling grateful.

Friends, I really encourage you to try something new.
Put yourself out there.
Rock up without a wingman - just go!

When you’re already in a space where you feel at ease and comfortable in the activity (it could be an art class, boot camp, floral design course 💐) - you’ll attract the same kind of boyant energy and it’s so good for the soul.

Have a great weekend
Ness x

A great mate popped over in the middle of my move, and handed me some lemons from her backyard.

“Here’s to making lemonade, my love”

Hells yeah.

Sending you all warm lemon water vibes and love ❤️ ☀️on this sunny winters day

Ness x

Quick follow up:

We are well. The kids and I are pretty awesome, in fact.

I honestly know we are on the right path.

I knew it even before we moved into our new apartment.

There was peace and a calmer energy - around and within me - from the time I made the decision to dismantle the life I thought we were going to have… and accept it for what it was.

When I was 9, the age my eldest son is today, my father unexpectedly passed away.

I have always known and felt the brevity of this one precious life.

What matters most to me, is how I choose to live with integrity and grow through all of life’s changes.

If I am steady, my kids are steady.
And we are.

And I trust :

My sound judgement.
My heart.
My belief that we will be happier because - not despite - of all of this.

I love this quote by Glennon Doyle:

“What I Know:

1. What you don't know, you're not supposed to know yet.
2. More will be revealed.
3 Crisis means to sift. Let it all fall away and you'll be left with what matters.
4.What matters most cannot be taken away.
5. Just do the next right thing one thing at a time. That'll take you all the way home.”

I’m grateful for all that was, focused on the now, and excited for what’s to come.

I absolutely trust the process ✨❤️

Thanks for your love x

❤️❤️