Lisa Eldridge - a Spa on long flights

This is the first video of Lisa Eldridge I watched. In this one she explains how she treats herself with a sort of spa on a long flight. 

I used to love flying and always found it thrilling to get on planes when I was in my twenties. Now, when I fly from Japan to Germany and back once a year, I just feel exhausted and at the end feel and look like a dried out zucchini. 

I'm a very self-conscious person and in the first few minutes into the video I wasn't too sure I'd feel comfortable enough to start putting different creams and lotions on my face and hands with lots of other passengers around me possibly wondering what I'm doing. But Lisa Eldridge has a way to make you think "Screw the others! This is about YOU!" 

And ultimately that's why I put this post in the Lifestyle section; I believe it's important to take care of yourself, to treat yourself, not to care about what others think and make the most of your time and enjoy yourself. 

Also, I love using small samples and smelling good and putting on big sleeping masks. I really want to get one just like Lisa's. You can also learn about other products she uses and the fact that she mentions affordable and less affordable goods is also a bonus.

Last but not least, I like this woman and her video styles. She is very natural, self-confident but not in an annoying way that makes you feel like a loser when you watch her, and she presents herself well. She is a natural beauty though and looks good WITH and WITHOUT make-up on. I'll definitely try to bring one of my colorful lipstick with and put that on in order to distract from the rest of my face. But that's just me. 

Maybe you'll treat yourself with a mini-spa on your next flight. Who knows?

You can find out more about Lisa Eldridge by clicking here. 

Kelly Howell

I've been listening to different binaural beats created by Kelly Howell for over a year now and though I wonder how much of it is based on some kind of placebo effect, I have the feeling that they have a positive impact on my life. 

Her CDs with subliminal messaging range from topics like wealth, love, guilt, anxiety, weight loss, to success, prosperity, creativity, self confidence and many more. 

I started with listening to Attract Wealth almost every night for two weeks in a row, which subconsciously tells you that you deserve all the good things in life and that your mind should be open to receive wealth in the shape of money, opportunities, promising contacts, support etc. Back then I was not doing well financially but I remember how within a short period of time I met people who were kind to give me discounts or things for free, and I met lots of interesting people, who supported me in what I wanted to achieve. Also, small job offers came in. 

I still don't know how and whether binaural beats with subliminal messages work but as long as the messages don't include robbing banks or assessing people, I'm happy to be able to work on myself without having to do anything but to listen to them. You are even allowed to fall asleep because your brain ist still letting in the messages. 

By now I've downloaded a wide range of CDs and because I feel like I get a lot out of them with a minimum amount of effort and money, I wanted to share this with you. 

Below you can find more about Kelly Howell and binaural beats from her website and the Internet:

Kelly Howell is the world’s leading pioneer in guided meditation and binaural beat frequency audio technology. She’s a 6-time National Bestselling Audio Author of the most advanced brainwave audio programs available in the world today. Some of her highly acclaimed best-selling programs include, The Secret Universal Mind Meditation, Guided Meditation, Attract Wealth, Healing Meditation and The Secret to Attracting Love. She brings more than thirty years experience to her work in personal transformation and mind expansion technology. 

Kelly has taught meditation to thousands of individuals worldwide, at Fortune 500 Companies, and legendary retreat centers such as Esalen. She is author of Brain Power, Improve Your Mind As You Age, recommended by the Mayo Clinic and hailed by Daniel Amen as “A blueprint to optimize your life.”  Her visionary healing techniques provide an elegant way to recalibrate brain patterns and reap the benefits of biofeedback training and long-term meditation. Kelly’s healing voice and groundbreaking brainwave music have inspired millions of people to achieve goals, heal their bodies and transform their lives. Read her article published in the Robb Report on the profound benefits of meditation in just 20 minutes a day.

Creator of Meditate.Me Meditation App

A meditation sanctuary you can hold in the palm of your hand. Visit meditate.me to download free app featuring 10, 20 and 30 minute guided meditations from Kelly Howell. 

The Evolution of Brain Sync

In the 1980's Kelly began making personalized positive mental programing audio tapes for friends and clients. She went on to create a wildly successful series of Personal Development audio programs published by Bantam Books, and The SuperMind series through Random House.  1987 Kelly co-founded Neuro-Technologies Research Institute in San Francisco, a non-profit organization that studied the effects of brain technologies. Her work with researchers led to the creation of a series of clinical programs for medical professionals such as Harvard trained Neurosurgeon, Norman Shealy, M.D. Ph.D and Edward A. Taub, M.D. Their phenomenal success prompted her to launch Brain Sync in 1991.  Kelly has worked with eminent scientists to develop meditation and brain optimization programs used in hospitals, biofeedback clinics and by hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide. Over the years, many of Kelly's legendary self help classics have appeared on top of Publishers Weekly’s national bestseller lists. 

Host of Theatre of the Mind Podcasts & Radio Show

Kelly is the host of the much-loved, Theatre of the Mind podcast and radio show, featuring unprecedented access to the world’s leading visionaries and consciousness researchers, exploring mind expansion intuition, creativity and the many facets of human potential. 

Kelly has been featured in publications including The New York Post, Publishers Weekly, Brain World, Body Mind Spirit, Woman, Women’s World, Success Magazine, New Age Journal, Redbook and American Spa. Kelly is a keynote speaker, meditation guide and teacher for companies promoting health and wellness. She is affectionately called "The Brain Whisperer" by her many fans.

binaural beats 

Plug & Plant Vertical Green Wall

I'm a Kapha! And what are you?

One of my dear friends is currently doing an Ayurveda course.

Below is a very quick explanation from the web for anyone who is not familiar with this topic.

"Ayurvedic medicine (“Ayurveda” for short) is one of the world's oldest holistic (“whole-body”) healing systems. ... It's based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. Its main goal is to promote good health, not fight disease."

My friend recommended me to do a quiz from a website called Banyan Botanicals, which helps you determine your ayuverdic constitution.

It’s important to understand that Ayurveda consists of five elements:

Ether/space, air, fire, water, and earth. In which proportion these elements exist in each individual person is being stated by the doshas “Vata”, “Pitta”, and “Kapha”.

The quiz or test is there to make you see which of the three doshas is your dominant one.

There are two different tests

One is called Vikriti, which shows you your CURRENT state, the other one is called Pakriti and that’s the one that shows your original (natural) state.

After taking the tests one can see how far apart from each other both doshas are and the goal is to bring you back to your balance.

I was quite intrigued by all this when my friend talked about what she had learned in her course so far. Ayurvedic medicine makes sense to me and after I took the test, I was quite impressed by the detailed information you get on what your current state is (the one you should do first, if I remember correctly), what impact it has on my health condition and my moods, what kind of lifestyle or diet suits me and what kind of food I should avoid, and so on.

I’ve also taken the Pakriti test a few days ago and I can’t wait to talk to my friend about all the results. Talking to a (soon-to-be) licensed person about my dosha will help clarify things. 

Holistic medicine

As I believe that western medicine makes the mistake not to look at the human body as a whole I hope to see holistic medicine be more part of our daily lives so we can be more in tune with ourselves. That’s why I’d like to share Banyan Botanicals’ link with you.

Due to the fact that my friend spoke passionately about her course and that she introduced me to this site with a sense of responsibility, I’d like to forward that feeling and I hope that you take the time to read a little bit about this topic and do the tests in a rather quiet time.

Before you start ...

Click here to take the Vikriti test. You can find the Pakriti test on the same website but I would recommend to not do both on the same day just because it's a lot of information. Also, when you do the Pakriti test try to remember how you felt around the time you were a teenager rather than answering the questions from your current point of state. 

I've already started implementing some of the things recommended to my type.

Be good to yourself! :-)  

AP&AS

Recently I'm totally into DIY and so I was really thrilled to find this stylish website called a A Pair & A Spare that lists up DIY projects. 

I love the layout, the pictures, the variety of ideas, and the simplicity of the website and even though I haven't tried out any of the many DIY projects yet, I'm pretty sure I'll find something that I can introduce to my DIY group of friends. 

Check out A Pair & A Spare here. 

A Beautiful Mess

There are quite a lot of blogs out on the web that lift up your mood, let you dream and hope that you could do this too, make you desire a life like that, give you wonderful ideas, help you improve yourself and inspire you.

Some people find them easily and some stumble upon them once in a while by coincidence. I'm usually the type of person, whose friends know everything and gets things recommended. 

A Beautiful Mess was one of those recommendations. I instantly fell in love with the website for different reasons: 

• I love the look and the contents 
• What a cool name for a blog
• I find their ideas creative
• The fact that two loving sisters do this together is quite sweet
• Their message is clear despite the many topics they cover
• I love the "teamwork" and "enjoying my job and my life" vibe
• Because it reminds me of my own Palm Me Up website idea I feel extra connected to A Beautiful Mess because it makes me think that I could really pull this off

Please see for yourself what I'm talking about by clicking on this link. 

Jo Malone - lifestyle in the form of scents

I use Emirates every time I visit home and on my last flight I came to listen to one of their interview series’, in which Jo Malone, the founder of two fragrance brands, talked a little bit about her story. 

I had played with the thought of buying her English Pear & Freesia fragrance for over two months and had lurked around a Jo Malone shop here in Osaka like a strained cat for quite a while but couldn’t bring myself to pay that much money for a 100 ml bottle. 

Each scent is connected to a story and you'll find that the name and scent truly resembles that story.

I love the elegant unisex bottles, the straightforwardness of each fragrance. There is no “wanna-be-cute or -sexy”. It's simply classic! 

Some of my friends loved the famous fragrances after I showed them some samples, other friends couldn’t really connect with them. To me Jo Malone fragrances are pure natural scents that make me feel like I was born with that scent rather than just wearing it on for that day. 

After listening to her story, I knew that I wanted to have one of her fragrances more than ever, just because I felt drawn to her story, in which she explains how having dyslexia made her teenage life very difficult, and how for that reason she came to find her talent for smells. Her nose became her strongest weapon, and now, at the age of 53, she is known for being the “niche fragrance pioneer” with her Jo Malone London and Jo Loves fragrance lines as being her two babies. What seems important to this incredible woman is how every person has a chance to redefine him/herself and her story is a wonderful example for that. 

Rachel Felder from Financial Review wrote an article about her, which - in case you want to read a little more about Jo Malone - I have included as a link here. In it she mentions the newly published autobiography Jo Malone: My Story by Simon & Schuster. 

By the way, I thought “screw it, I’m worth it!” and bought English Pear & Freesia in Dubai at the duty-free shop. It stays on me the whole day and makes me feel fresh and pretty. I don’t regret having spend that money one bit.

Real Girl's Kitchen

Recently, rather than watching TV series or movies, I'm hooked on reality TV type of shows. 

This one - Real Girl's Kitchen - swept me off my feet with its first episode, in which Haylie Duff, the star and producer of the show, is getting ready for a detox weekend with her friends at her Malibu Beach House. First, she makes a stopover at a herbal garden to get some fresh greens for her salad and smoothie ideas. Throughout the day she tests her friends' patience by pushing her healthy intentions on them until her sister shows up as the Detox Antichrist ...

I can't explain it in any other way … I've fallen for Real Girl's Kitchen because it touches my deepest inner dreams of a perfect lifestyle - great friendships, places and homes that feel like an everlasting holiday in Hawaii, fun activities, going on trips, hosting small get-togethers etc. 

I must say though; the show almost creates a high and dry feeling in me - I love watching it but as soon as it's over I feel like my trip to my version of dreamland is over and my flying carpet drops me off at my home and my "non existing Malibu Beach House"-Life. 

I love Haylie Duff! She comes across as very natural and simple, easygoing and fun, and speaks and does everything in her show with enthusiasm and passion. I've watched other reality TV shows in which people say nasty stuff and compete with each other all the time. Real Girl's Kitchen is quite the opposite - it has a friendly, positive and respectful tone without being boring (unless you are a guy, who takes pride in farting like a champion, I suppose).  

I also enjoy the show for its inspiring and tasteful table settings, the extra information you get on food, the insights on what's in in L.A., and - since I'm not a native English speaker - the new expressions I learn like "massaging a salad". (Makes me laugh every time.)  :-) 

Oh, and the recipes - the main topic of her show - are creative, diverse, and seem easy to make. I'll definitely try out her healthy chocolate cake. As healthy as a chocolate cake can be. 

About the star and producer of the show: Haylie Duff is an American actress, television presenter, author, singer, songwriter (I'm almost done …), producer, businesswoman (if you haven't guessed that by now), writer, and food blogger. She is the older sister of the former Lizzie McGuire actress Hilary Duff. 

One last thing before you might want to check out the website. For my friends and readers in the U.S. - this is probably outdated TV material for you guys. It takes ages for movies, fashion, in-food etc. to find their way to Japan, and so what's new to me/us here might be dusty memories for you. 

Check out Real Girl's Kitchen

Blogilates

Now that I've started working out at the gym (as you can read in my post under "me busy with …" I take having a healthy, strong body more and more serious. 

At the beginning I can't say I was into Cassey Ho and her Blogilates website because I found her a little overwhelming, to be honest. But over time I got used her way and now I really appreciate her energy, optimism, hard work, and her commitment. 

Blogilates is a well structured website, and her videos show quality and effort! 

In this post I would like to introduce her website and recommend her if you want to start with exercises at home on a regular basis. 

And here is one of her cardio workout videos. I think it's a perfect example for how well Cassey bonds with her audience and followers by throwing in a personal story, how she is trying to be more than just an online fitness instructor who just shows you the right moves to get your dream abs because she cares about deeper messages. And last but not least she makes sure you don't give up, you do it right, and feel taken care of!

Let's dance!

I put this video in the Lifestyle rather than in the Lau..haha..gh section because I think that dancing like Justin Lawrence Hoyt in the video below is a way of enjoying life. 

I watched this a couple of times and started dancing to it in my apartment in front of my husband, who was getting ready for bed. He watched and then joined me with his toothbrush in his mouth. 

I bet this will make you smile and maybe even dance. 

Danielle LaPorte - Day Planner

I wrote a post about this planner in the ideal-l section of my blog but I wanted to connect it with a post in personal development because I think that this planner has potential to also work on your personal growth. 

Enjoy the other post here. 

Danielle LaPorte - Day Planner

Let me say first that I don't owe this day planner yet but I've heard so many good things (from Jacqui and Amanda) about this so called Desire Map Day Planner and watched a very informative and convincing video about how to use it that I'd love to get this for myself for 2017 .

"Danielle LaPorte is a bestselling Canadian author, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and blogger. She is the author of four non-fiction books dealing with topics from style to entrepreneurship, incorporating aspects of personal development." (Wikipedia) 

What is fascinating about her planner is that it asks you to write down 3 to 4 main goals for the year and that it helps you get centred again when you get off track in order to to get you focused back on your goals. It does that on a regular basis.

It helps you to not only be efficient in your daily life but it enables you to ground yourself, become aware of your presence, and see your achievements with little sections you have to fill. 

These sections cover what you are grateful for today, what you have accomplished this week/month, how your body feels and so on.

I think that this planner is special and though I sound like I was paid for this (which is not the case) I believe that it can assist you in personal growth. See and decide for yourself. 

This has so much gift potential. Don't you think? 

It's gift time

When you have run out of ideas for what to get for a friend or a family member and you have something special and fancy in mind for that person then try out a shopping site called ahalife. They sell great gifts. A lot of items are pricey but here and there you can find some great gifts for a decent price. I fell in love with the Herbal Sinus & Migraine Cap for $ 40, for example. (You might be able to get it on amazon for a cheaper price.)

If nothing else, it’s a well put together beautiful website for getting ideas for presents. 

Treat yourself

As I wrote in my other post, I was baking bread with a friend of mine at her place when the bell rang. She answered the door and half a minute later she walked in with a big smile on her face and a small package. 

She was excited to open the box like a little girl on Christmas Day.

In it was this:

She explained that she had subscribed to My Little Box and that each month she was getting a little box full of small surprises as a way to treat yourself. I was hooked up. 

The idea is brilliant because who doesn't like to receive a little surprising gift with well-chosen cute items on a regular basis? I also love the quality of their website.