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5 Things I Learnt At The Kick Off of the ClassPass Winter Wellness Series

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5 Things I Learnt At The Kick Off of the ClassPass Winter Wellness Series

I am absolutely loving life right now. Like, filled to the brim with gratitude for everything that has unfolded in recent months. I moved to Sydney without a job, and even though job hunting and the idea of not having a regular income is somewhat stressful to me, it has also allowed me to fully immerse myself into this new city. I have been able to focus all my energy on my nutrition studies and also finally launched my health coaching practice. Thanks to my blog I have been invited to some pretty amazing events and had the chance to meet some truly inspiring souls. It's only been two months that I've been here, but I can honestly say that Sydney has become like home already. I feel like I fit right in, and people's openness and hospitality has been nothing short of heart-warming.

After last week's first Winter Wellness Series, hosted by ClassPass at the Nimble ActivewearStore in Bondi together with Jessica Sepel from JSHealth, I felt compelled to share some of the things that I have learned or was reminded of at all these events.

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My Favourite Bondi Farmers Market Stalls

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My Favourite Bondi Farmers Market Stalls

It's been almost two months since I moved to Sydney and I just realized that I haven't posted a single blog post about my experience here so far. I guess my excuse is that I've really been living in the moment, soaking it all in and just enjoying it. Mindfulness is what it's about, right? But I wouldn't want to keep all the amazingness that I've encountered from you, so I've decided to write about one of my best experiences so far: Bondi Farmers Market.

I had been meaning to go to Bondi Farmers Market months before even moving to Sydney as I had heard so many awesome things about it. And it certainly didn't disappoint. Beautiful healthy produce, amazing food stalls, cool chill out spots on the grass with live music and the beach right across the road. That has to be food market perfection!

The farmer's market phenomena may be partially because it's "fashionable" and trendy to shop there, but I'm just so excited to see more and more people becoming increasingly interested in where their food comes from and how it's grown and produced. Plus you get to support local producers and even reduce your carbon footprint.

Vegan and sustainable fashion inspiration from LaBante

Vegan and sustainable fashion inspiration from LaBante

Maybe you make an effort to eat organic and buy vegan cosmetics, but have you given the same thought to your wardrobe?

I have to admit that I haven't, until recently. It was only when I interviewed my blogger friend Justine for my healthspo talk series that I began to think about where my clothes come from and how they are produced. I'm not saying that I instantly converted to being a vegan fashionista, but it definitely made me think...

The more I educate myself on the matter, the more I begin to understand the profound impact not only a vegan diet but generally a vegan lifestyle can have on our planet. There are a million and one reasons why going vegan is the right choice from a moral and environmental perspective, and I’m starting open my eyes to these important matters.

Did you know that fashion is the third most polluting industry in the world, after oil and agriculture? Scary, huh.

Must Visit for Natural Chics: Pretty and Pure in Zurich

Must Visit for Natural Chics: Pretty and Pure in Zurich

A couple of weeks ago I organised a little juice tasting at the organic beauty department store Pretty and Pure in Zurich as part of my job for Fit 'n' Tasty. (Yes, I have the best job ever.)

Pretty and Pure is one of the first all natural beauty concept stores in Zürich and opened it's doors in the summer of 2015. I took the opportunity of spending the day at the store to take a closer look at their brands, their spa offer and to chat to the owners about their personal path to natural cosmetics.

The two women behind Pretty and Pure opened the store out of conviction. Sarah, a professional make up artist with over ten years experience in the field and Nadine, a beautician trained in natural cosmetics have both been on their own journey of discovery that led them to realise they no longer want to support the million dollar cosmetic industry. After educating themselves they slowly changed their cosmetic products to natural, organic and cruelty-free products and also adopted their diet to a more unprocessed, plant-based approach. Holistic wholesome living, baby.

Wellness Me In Montreux: A Spa Of A Different Kind

Wellness Me In Montreux: A Spa Of A Different Kind

Yesterday Vic and I had the pleasure of experiencing the newly opened Wellness Me in Montreux. The 600m2 spa centre in hilly surroundings of Montreux is a luxurious wellness oasis like no other. All treatments are located in individual rooms for complete privacy of use, and boy were Vic and I spoilt. We got the private spa (which is available for 290 .- CHF for 1 ½ hours) all to ourselves and got the full attention of the lovely owner, Michelle, as she guided us through the facilities to introduce us to the different treatments.

While they do offer traditional manual massages , you can also find funky sounding treatments like cryotherapy, Iyashi Dome, Aquafit cycling and Hydrojet massages on the menu. Huh, what? That's what we thought as well at first.

We were asked to look at their offers beforehand and decided to give the cyrotherapy and acquafit cycling a go. We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into, but hey, let's give it a try, shall we?

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New Restaurant Find: Roots In Zurich

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New Restaurant Find: Roots In Zurich

Moving from Lausanne to Bern has brought it's many benefits. Not only am I 10 minutes away from a local Tibits, but I am just a short hour train ride away from Zurich. We in Switzerland are not very 'spoiled' when it comes to healthy eating options and Lausanne is right up there in terms of vegan-unfriendliness. The change in residency might not be the best for my wallet (read: I am taste testing every health hot spot in my way of destruction), but my taste buds are happy campers.

Before going to the Rhythm108 event at Balboa with Victoria, we had some serious catching up to do. We decided to grab a quick lunch at Roots, which opened a couple of months ago and has been getting lots of attention since. I'm happy to see such positive reactions towards a healthy, trendy restaurant; maybe it will encourage more of this type to pop up?

Bern's First Juice Bar: I Love Juice

Bern's First Juice Bar: I Love Juice

When you walk around London or New York, you find a juice bar around every corner. According to Well To Do (one of my favourite online magazines for everything health - related) , there are now at least 25 dedicated cold-pressed juice bars across London. This doesn't even include boutique stockists, retail giants like Waitress and all the online ordering and delivery companies. Can I move back to London already? That's what I thought until recently.

But then I Love Juice Bern came for the rescue.

In Switzerland so far, surprise surprise, juice bars are a rare sight. For the most part, people here still believe that the "100 % natural" fruit juices sold at Micros and Coop are healthy. But with the opening of Bern's first cold-pressed juice bar in Herrengasse 10, a new era has began. Kudos to Tina and Tom, the founders of I Love Juice, for doing something that seems almost revolutionary for this Swiss city.

Heart Beat Up Yoga Event

Heart Beat Up Yoga Event

I have to admit: I'm not a big party girl. I went through a crazy party phase from when I was 18 to 20, but those days are over now. Call me boring, but I just don't enjoy getting drunk every weekend and 'wasting' my days hung over in bed.

I haven't stepped foot into a club in a while, but this event convinced me to give it another go. Hosted by Deddou from Pop Up Yoga and Liora, the Heart Beat Up yoga event converts your yoga mat into a dance floor and sprinkles good vibes like confetti in your body and heart. Imagine holding downward dog to funky hip hop tunes and lying in shavasanah while admiring the twinkling disco lights on the ceiling. Who wouldn't love that?

The event started off with a 90 minute Hip-Hop yoga session with Liora - we first did some gentle flows accompanied by a DJ mixing the beats and later on did some core work and handstand practice in pairs of three. In case you've never done yoga to Hip Hop before, let me tell you that it is a completely different experience to your typical yogi practice with meditative music. You feel so 'up beat', letting loose of all yoga stigmas and can flow freely whichever way you like. Anything is allowed, and it's just so damn liberating.

Rhythm108 x Balboa Event In Zurich

Rhythm108 x Balboa Event In Zurich

First off, apologies for my lack of posts these days; I've been a bit overwhelmed with my workload at the moment. I'm a very determined person and like to pack my schedule to the rim, but sometimes it just all gets too much. So please bear with me until I figure out a good routine for myself that allows me to juggle work, studying, blogging, training for my first full marathon and being a good friend, girlfriend and daughter. Yikes!

Thankfully, I had the chance to recharge my batteries a bit yesterday and just let the #fitfoodie in me go 'nanas. My friend Laura had dragged me to Balboa in Zurich for a workout before, but this time I had the pleasure to attend their event in collaboration with Rhythm108. It involved lots of crossfit (alright, it was only 30 minutes but it felt like an eternity) and a fun and interactive yoga sequence with Deddou from Pop Up Yoga. On that note: she will also be giving a lesson during the Heart Beat Up Festival in Zurich on the 10th of October, so come join us if you're around! Our green-loving palates were spoiled by Sasou whilst Bryon&Bronte delivered the yoga goodies. Now who said Switzerland wasn't finally jumping onto the health bandwagon? I'm so thrilled to see more and more young and fresh health-conscious companies pop up everywhere. Yay!

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Wholesome Travel Guide to Hong Kong & Phuket

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Wholesome Travel Guide to Hong Kong & Phuket

When traveling, I find it imporant to find the right balance between staying true to your food philosophy whilst allowing yourself to discover the local food culture.

It’s not always easy, but it’s doable. Remember that being vegan/vegetarian (or whatever it is that you are) is adventurous, and so is travel – your sense of exploration coupled with an open mind and the willingness to learn new things will take you around the world with no problem at all!

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How To Stay Healthy While Traveling

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How To Stay Healthy While Traveling

As you might have seen on my IG, I recently travelled to Paris, Hong Kong and Phuket with friends. I had been to Paris (lived there for 3 years) and Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ayyutaya) before, but never to Hong Kong and Phuket, so I took great pleasure in exploring these new destinations. Who doesn’t love to discover new cities, new cultures and new food ?

Before I go into detail about what the title promises, I want you to know something : Travelling used to be extremely tricky for me. Not just because I was away from my beloved Vitamix or couldn’t go to the gym whenever I pleased. It was a bit more complicated than that.

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