Wellbeing // What does wellbeing mean to you?

 Today we get to gain some insight into how a very cool green juice chugging lady called Claire thinks about wellbeing and how it applies to her lifestyle. From reading her thoughts, I feel that we think along the same wave length that yes, eating whole foods and as clean as possible is best but eating a pizza here and there isn't going to hurt. It not even indulgence, it's balance. And that is awesome to hear because Claire is actually a Nutritionist in training. So that means pizza chased with green juices for all! (or not). Enjoy..

~

 To me wellbeing means.....
 
Feeling your very best every single day.  To me wellbeing is all about you.  So it is changing your lifestyle to make it the healthiest it can be.  For some that may mean being a tee total super runner yogi raw vegan, but for me it is finding a balance between giving my body and mind what it needs and deserves.
 
I don't binge drink, but I do have a glass of wine on occasion or some fizz to celebrate a special occasion.  I don't generally eat pizza on a Monday, but if it is a friends birthday then I will happily celebrate at a pizza restaurant with them any day of the week!  I exercise daily, but if I go out on a run and my body isn't feeling it, I will respect that and try again the next day.

 
  Wellbeing means commitment to yourself.  It means mental strength and determination.  But is also means satisfaction, happiness and self-love that you have nourished and cared for your body to the best of your ability.
 
My wellbeing mission is for people to realise that being 'healthy' does not have to be all or nothing, and that it does not need to take over people's lives.  I want to show people that making small changes will help you feel at your very best every single day.  And gradually these small changes become habits that are engrained in your life and you wouldn't even consider eating a Mars Bar because you know it would make you feel so bloody awful (true story).
 
I want people to fall in love with food again.  It is so sad that people (especially women) spend the majority of their lives feeling guilty for eating and hating their bodies.  I want to show people that they can eat healthily, feel good about themselves and their bodies and for it to taste a MILLION times better than the bad food which forms a part of our daily life.  
 
As part of my wellbeing mission I am currently working with Jack Beanstalk Juice to open a juice bar in Balham.  We want the juice bar to be an educational hub where the local community can come to learn about how to make their lives that little bit healthier.  And there will, of course, be great juices and healthy treats such as raw chocolate, energy balls etc
 

 As we are a start up business we are crowdfunding to show our prospective landlord that we have community support and that people want an educational juice bar in Balham.  For more information on what we are about please see our crowdfunder website (www.crowdfunder.co.uk/jack-beanstalk) and if you can pledge it will make all the difference to getting our wellbeing mission into action!!

~

Claire is a qualified commercial lawyer who has quit the city life to study Nutrition and Naturopathy.  She loves running (5 marathons in) and Bikram yoga  and her blue boy Alan, who you see numerous pictures of on her blog, as he is the name sake. (I love him!)
 
Please check out here awesome blog The Healthy Blue Bird you will find allsorts of posts ranging from of course juice, along with raw chocolate treats, running posts and more. Add her on twitter here

P.s watch the crowdfunding video even it be just for the awesome song and the cute kids at the end! 
 

Stop Feeling Inadequate

Sometimes, and yes, I know I have written something similar before. But sometimes.
A sneaky voice comes over me, pestering me.

"you're not good enough"

Feeling inadequate.

It's mainly happens when meeting new people. Something I had to do recently.
I compare. I analyse. I over think. Stop feeling inadequate.

I am the one making myself feel this way.

I worry

I worry that I don't fit in, that I can't come across as I'd like. I worry that when people meet me, all they will notice is that I've quite goofy and come across as a flake.
That they wouldn't take me seriously.

In these situations I just have to remain quiet for a few minutes come back to myself and think. You are here now, just enjoy yourself.

You could spend you whole existence worrying about each movement, gesture, sentence. Worrying that someone wont like it.
That they wont like you.

You have to just push through it. Of course it would be a shame if they didn't like you. But at least you have given them an honest representation of yourself. Yes, you could say that, then you know that they don't like you for being you. But isn't it better to be truthful to yourself?
Be yourself and then there's no pretense. 
There is no second guessing.

Calm down and become okay with how you naturally behave. Once you begin building on your confidence, you will feel more comfortable when you are next in a new social situation.

Once you are more comfortable in your own skin and accept how you are, that comfort will come across when meeting new people. You will feel at ease and things will flow more easily.

You'll be fine.
You are good enough.
It will be great, I promise.

#Green Beauty Blogger Meetup

Sunday, for me at least, normally plays out like this:
I try to lay in and can't . . .
I peak out of the duvet cover in search of a hot tea.
I enjoy the quiet morning and normally cook and eat breakfast by myself.
I laze about, do the weekly shop and maybe spend time with family.
Most afternoons are in front of the telly... no shame in that.

However this Sunday there was no lie in, I got up before seven and hurriedly made my way through my morning routine. All in order to make an 8.30 train. Where was I headed?

To Reading. For what? The Green Beauty Blogger meet up. To spend the afternoon with nine other bloggers who as well as sharing an interest in green beauty, are also some of the loveliest people you could meet. I met Katie at Paddington Station, once on the train to Reading we spent the next half hour talking about food, and our love for falafel.

Rachel, Sarah and Jen had organised a blogger lunch. Rachel had also been hinting that something special was in store but we had no idea what was awaiting us.

As we approached our table, we were each met with a hand written place setting and a goodie bag on each place mat. As we neared the table we all notice a large amount of pink. On each chair there was a goodie bag to end all goodie bags (I will gradually review some of the contents of said bag) .
 (if you want to have look at how the day went check out Rachel's vlog)

Goody Bag Photo: All Natural Aspirations

It was overwhelming. Truly, a testament to how highly regarded these three girls are. And as we sat down to chat about all sorts of topics, there was a sense of excitement and community.

This is why I made the effort. I wasn't sure if I could handle seven hours of traveling in one day but it was worth it. For that short amount of time I was part of something special. Obviously I still am now , we all chat through our blogs but to physically interact with everyone and to see how we all get on, is just fantastic.

It was authentic. There was no falseness everyone just gets on with it and you can see their personality shine through. In the same way it does when reading their blogs.

So thank you, to the three lovelies that made the day possible, to Rachel for the brilliant idea, to the brands that surprised us on a sleepy Sunday and to every single person there who made it worth while.

Without them, Sunday the 26th of October would have been a bit boring.

What will I do next Sunday?!

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED: A Huge Thank You and a slightly smaller sized Giveaway

 Hello fellow wellbeing enthusiasts! Apparently there are 200 of you that like to hang out with me and I think that is awesome. To say THANK YOU, I am holding a rather special giveaway. This giveaway is a mash up of things that represent the interests that have been shared on wellmeaningbeing. Things that have brought me and 200 followers together.

So whats in it for you?

The possibility of winning these goodies worth £120:
(all item have been paid for with my own money, unless stated otherwise)

A Susie Watson Designs china mug to drink wonderful mugfuls of tea
A journal to write down your thoughts and dreams
A full size Green People facial oil to keep your skin plump this winter
A full size Nourish Kale Exfloliating Cleanser to keep your skin smooth and bright
Belle Pierre Volume Mascara for cruelty free beautifully full lashes
Mu London Rose Foaming Face Wash - received in a beauty box and passing it on to share the love
The Konjac Company Sponge with french red clay- received in a beauty box and passing it on to share the love
A Pacifica Blood Orange Gift Set containing a perfume, scented moisturiser and lip balm.

These are a few things that I have enjoyed this year. If you know that you would not use certain products. Please let me know upon winning and I will omit them, passing them on to another winner.

This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thank you to all who entered.

To enter you will need to be following wellmeaningbeing on both Twitter and Bloglovin.
You will need to leave me a comment saying what you would like use the journal for and what your favourite type of tea is. (a girl always needs more tea recommendations)
Tweet about the giveaway.
Retweet my tweet about the giveaway (it's pinned at the top of my twitter profile)

If you don't do all of these things, sadly your entry will not count.

This giveaway is open internationally.

I will announce who wins on twitter. If I have not had a response in 24 hours then I will pick another winner.

Finally, to whoever receives the giveaway I would like to see a pic showing a few things in use, like the mug or journal. That would be so cute!.

Thanks again to everyone, you have made writing here so much fun and inspiring. Thank you for your support and kind thoughts.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I had been keeping it a secret

(It's not anymore!)

I had been keeping it a secret.
When I started this blog in January of this year, I had decided that I would only let a select few people know what I was doing. People that I knew would not judge me. As I have continued to write throughout the year a few other people I know have found out about wellmeaningbeing organically and some have even followed me through twitter.

I had chosen not to tell my family, for the reason being that it would give me full creative control over what I write. Without the risk of upsetting anyone or embarrassing myself.

You see I am actually very quite with my feelings. What I write on here has mostly happened in the past and I have taken time to reflect on it. There are things that I have chosen to publish that I have not really discussed with my family. Bad breakups, recovering from traumas, loosing friendships and just growing up. I'm not sure that they know me as a grown up, which is not their fault, because I am still learning who am myself.

This past weekend I chose to quietly mention it to my Dad. I did out of excitement and to see what he would say. I asked him to keep it quite and by mistake he shouted it out for a few other people to hear. I was embarrassed, I gave him a serious look, I was slightly upset.

Walking home I discussed with my boyfriend that I felt stupid for telling my Dad about my blog. But when thinking about the why, it turned out that it was not because I'm embarrassed on having a blog, far from it. Blogging and having a creative outlet has made 2014 a really happy year for me. I love to write and have forgotten that (excuse my big head) that I am good at it. Why had I given up this fantastic hobby?

Anyway, I was nervous and embarrassed to tell my Dad because I don't tend to discuss my hobbies and interests with my family in minute detail. I never find the time. However I have found the time through creating wellmeaningbeing to express myself freely. Freely because no one really knew about it.

Freely because I want to be true to myself and if I'm honest, I haven't been expressing myself truly in front of my parents for a long time.

I don't often mention that I love nutrition, I don't talk about my passion wellbeing or my fascination with relaxation techniques. I forgot to tell them that I'm more interested in green skincare etc. These things are important to me, however sometimes they get lost in conversation. I would rather, talk about mutually appreciated subjects rather than taking over whole conversations and make it about me.

Where as here, in this little place I call my internet home. I talk about whatever I want and am likely to find someone who wants to talk about it. I have made friends and found other creative outlets that I would not have found if I hadn't started a wellbeing blog called wellmeaningbeing.

So if my Dad (or anyone else) happens to find where I have been hiding, I will be proud that he can see what I have been doing and of what I have accomplished all on my own.
Because I think it's blooming fantastic!

Who do I / What do I write for ?

With all the blog talk I see flying around about building a community, being present and having an audience. Knowing your niche.

I start to get a massive headache.

As my blog focused on wellbeing and lifestyle you could easily say that that is my niche. And yes it is my main field of interest, it is what is important to me, I am passionate about it. So I chose to create a space to write about it. I try not to get consumed with constantly thinking is this right? I want it to grow organically. If, in someone else's opinion it is wrong to not be thinking of my blog as a brand or business. That's okay because essentially, I write for myself. I began this blog for myself.

I write for me.....

The women who wants to feel whole
To feel confident in her actions
To know she is doing her best
To know that mistakes are okay
To believe in her self
To accept there is no right way

I write for.....

The women who wants stability
She wants to create a home in her heart
She wants to create little practices each day
She wants routine
She craves adventure
She loves food
She loved to eat
She loves to dance

If that happens to also be you or someone else reading out there. GREAT.

I want to write for anyone out there who has their own thoughts of wellbeing, life, beauty and anything else that falls into being part of daily life.

A life filled with comfort and steady happiness. A life with wellbeing as a daily focus.

I write to find a community of people who feel the same way.

I want to share techniques and share experiences, I want to write pieces that inspire and settle in someone's core and brings them comfort.

So I'm writing for myself , for you, for anyone who will stop by and listen. I write to connect.

To connect with my thoughts
Myself
My world
My present
My future.

I don't want to be consumed with worrying if my niche is right or if my brand okay. I don't want to be my brand, I don't particularly wont the pressure.. I want my words to be the focus. Not how I look. How I look shouldn't matter. Sometimes I feel that if you are focus on making your blog like a business you loose the reason you started. If you are so focused on being the right niche/brand are you really going to be focussed on being yourself? Are you going to be happy to just sit down and see where writing takes you or are you going to be more worried about the views it gets?

What matters is that I have been writing for a while and have found people through it who share similar views or who are happy to discuss completely different ones. We connect and start to explore each others blogs. Our thoughts, our likes and dislikes. If the outcome of staying true and authentic builds a wellmeaningbeing community and I get to know my "audience" then that is fantastic.

However, right now I write for every single person who reads this blog as an individual. I write with feeling.

I am my own person.

I write for that.

Things to remember when you fail

Things to remember when you fail.

It is okay to fail.
It is okay to cry
It is okay to start again
It is not a weakness
It can be learned from
It is not the end
It's a chance to get it right

You are not a failure.

I spent two hours crying over my mock driving test. Because I failed. I failed. I made some mistakes and I failed.

The thing with failing or feeling upset or stressed out is that once you have managed to calm down and are not focused on the feeling, the deep raw emotion. You can begin to focus of the WHY. Why are you so upset? Why has this situation stressed you to the max? Why are you feeling like a complete failure?

Most of the time, for me at least, it is because I'm putting to much pressure on my own shoulders. I'm weighing myself down. I'm making it way to important. Creating so much importance that when something goes wrong, it causes major disappointment.

We should never allow ourselves to be disappointed in our own efforts.

I'm not saying that being mindful of WHY will eliminate stress. Because it will not.

Stress
Upset
Failure

These things will always be a part of life. We just have to learn for ourselves the best way to manage it. To think through the why and use those answers to resolve the situation or the emotions being felt.

I felt emotionally raw about failing. WHY? Because passing my test means better prospects in all areas of my life. Putting this much emphasis on it will lead to panic and stress. Lesson learned.

Next time I will be focused on my breathing and will work on accepting whatever comes my way. If I fail, I'll most liking have a small cry about it but I will understand the why and move on easier afterward.

I've learned that there is no need to be so hard on yourself. We have to have our own back. Be our number one supporter. Often all we do is focus on the negative. If we work on understanding the feeling behind the negative, its very often because we are working towards better prospects, hoping for better things.

Failing does not mean you are a failure. It's a chance to try again.

Stay positive.

Pure Chimp Matcha Green Tea

For when you want some green tea with an extra kick, I'd say get some matcha.
I've tried matcha before as it is said to be jammed pack full of antioxidants, much more than their regular counterpart. This Pure Chimp Super Matcha Green Tea comes in a cute 50g jar (priced at £14.95) . I like this because there is no extra packagaing waste and looks great tucked away in the cupboard. The leaves are so finally ground that when you make your green brew, the leaves dissolve into a light green colour.

 What they say:

Our super tea also helps to reduce redness in your skin. 137x antioxidants of regular green tea.
Raise energy for up to 6 hours, helps with weight loss.
 
The taste is unavoidably green, slightly stronger than green tea, but still smooth in taste. It's not bitter, it just tastes like green tea with a bit more welly. It you already like green tea, I'm sure you will like matcha. It is so easy to make a cuppa with this, it's even quicker than waiting for your teabag to brew.Which is great for when your are in a crunch for time. The only negative when using loose ground tea leaves, is that the few leaves left that have not dissolved sink to the bottom of your mug but that is easily fixed with a quick stir of a spoon.

When I fancy a builders tea in the morning and still want a matcha fix, I have been popping 1/2 a teaspoon in my green smoothie. I can tell when I've added this to my smoothie mix, the caffeine kick is always welcome at 6.30am!

Have tried some matcha yet? You could be a matcha made in heaven!

* Pure Chimp sent me some tea to try, all of my opinions are my own.

An ode to Tea

An ode to Tea, my favourite beverage,

I had tried to write a poem but I'm affriad my rhyming is not it's best.

So instead I wrote this, just for fun. With all the seriousness, of course.

I love a welcoming mug in the morning
Standard builders is often the way
Green tea is delicious
A herbal refresher is a delight
I love that chai can bring you snuggly comfort
A hug in a mug
Lemon brings a zing
Some tea tastes like dessert
Some taste like popouri
I love tea
Tea , I have to leave you until you are just right , I can't drink you right out the pot
Rasberry iced tea, I don't drink you enough, but I love you. remember that
Tea in comfort
Tea in celebration
Tea for a chat
Peppermint tea for after dinner
Camomile to chill out
Turkish apple tea when I'm feeling fancy
Tea to break the ice
Tea at a mr scruff gig.
Tea at lunch
Tea to relax
A Caffeine fixer, decaff elixir
What ever you fancy, theres one for you.
Unless your my friend who hates hot drinks with a passion!
But then if that's the case, there always sweet iced tea!

TEA!

You are only inferior if you think you are

Throughout my life I have struggled on and off with the feeling that I am inferior to everyone else.

This problem is two fold: I let people make me feel that way or I make myself feel that way.

It's not pleasant to pick at yourself and find problems.

I'm growing in confidence small step by small step, but it wasn't always like that.

At uni , I was surrounded by new people from different backgrounds. For the first time I was made fun of for my accent, for that I was from a southern university town but was not rich or from a private school etc.

One guy in particular thought he was the bees knees, he was from money and loved to show it.


Money does not buy you class. Manners cost you nothing.


However,

This guy would parade his fistfuls of cash, he would talk about posh nights out and then pick at you, asking what you had done, where you have been or what you can't afford.

I had and always have thought him to be an idiot, at 19 it frustrated me that he was getting to me so much. I was letting him get me down.

Now on reflection. This guys was actually very insecure and used his wealth as his mask, his protection. No matter that it alienated people.

If I could go back, I would tell myself to not endulge that guy with conversations that were undoubteddly going to end up devauling myself and those around me. I would tell myself that I am the reason that I felt belittled and down, I was letting it conclude that way.

Now I try to be polite but I put more effort into to the conversation and with quiet strength I feel reassured that I'm not inferior to anyone.

Neither are you.