"I'm just so busy!"

When someone suggests you try yoga to unwind and de-stress, you might find yourself saying something like this. And when you're trying to juggle a family, your career and a whole host of other things, it's easy to feel too overwhelmed to consider adding yet another thing to your to-do list.

But this mentality is causing you more harm than good. We chat to W1LL founder Jacinta McDonell about why no matter how busy you are, you should always make time for yourself, and how you can fit yoga into your busy schedule. 

1. Change your mentality

Taking time to practise yoga – ironically – will actually give you more time. Yoga is a practice that enables you to switch off from modern life and all its distractions and spend valuable time with the most important thing in your life: yourself.

Your housemate goes to yoga every morning; your mum and her friends swear by pilates. But you wouldn’t know the difference between the two if someone slapped you in the face with a very expensive set of activewear.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to risk your mum whipping out her moves in the living room to demonstrate the difference – we’ll lay it out for you right here. Both yoga and pilates are great forms of exercise, and there’s a reason each of them attract such a large global following of enthusiastic participants.

What are yoga and pilates?

Origins

Yoga is an ancient practice that originated thousands of years ago in India. It’s since been transported all over the world, and with over 2 million people  who swear by it, it’s currently the most popular cardio, strength and flexibility exercise in Australia, according to Roy Morgan market research.

Pilates is a more recently developed practice that was created by Joseph...

Practising yoga poses is a great way to improve your body's balance, strength and stability, and bring some peace and stillness to your daily life. In this post, we'll take a look at some simple dynamic poses for those new to yoga.

If you're just starting out, don't worry! You can easily incorporate these yoga postures into your daily routine, either during a guided class or in the comfort of your own home.

What are dynamic yoga poses?

Dynamic yoga poses are variations on still poses. They incorporate a little more movement, or dynamic energy, into a static routine, which serves to increase balance and strength.

Many static yoga poses can be transformed into dynamic sequences. Here are five of our favourites: 

1. Standing cat-cows

The standing cat-cow is a great pose to improve your posture and balance, and will also stretch out a stiff back.

Begin this pose with a static one-leg balance. Stand with your feet firmly planted on your mat, and raise one of your...

Whilst running Anytime Fitness I needed to find a way to reduce my stress and find some peace of mind. With a busy schedule I felt like I could not relax and ultimately it was taking a toll on my health, my relationships, and my kids. With a growing business, 1 child in primary school and a 1 year old, it was hard to find time to relax. I was also trying to fall pregnant with a 3rd child, so finding a way to look after myself and find more calm was now a major priority.

I wanted to have more time to feel fulfilled and deepen my relationships.
I decided that yoga was something that I should try.

My background has always been in fitness gyms, so naturally my first yoga class was at a local gym. I went and I didn’t mind it. I felt the pace of the class, the stillness at the end and the movement felt right. I then started to go each Sunday but 2 months in I took an overseas trip for work and lost momentum with it. I decided to get back into and to not only go 1...

1. Detachment

   Sorry goal-driven, success/fail, win/lose society we live in, this one may irk you at your very foundational core; good!The great overarching theory of Yogic philosophy is that life is an ever-changing ever-fluctuating never-static flow of energy and information, replaced moment after moment. So a simple (yet difficult) daily practice is to let the good-bad, happy-sad ebbs and flows of life pass you by without attaching your state of personal peace to any outcome, thing, or person. Your ever-present personal state of peace is within, not without. Do try it.

2. Detox

   Buzz word of the last 5 years it seems. We are what we eat! Yoga goes further; we are what we think. Giving yourself a mental-detox is as easy as stopping what you’re doing and breathing slowly; but you know this already, we all say things like “I just need to clear my head”, right? Mental detox done.
   Now physically we can do 3 simple things every day to keep our elimination systems at peak...