Current Objects of Bliss...

And here are my 5 favorite things for blissful living this week:

Hier klicken und runterscrollen, dann geht's zur deutschen Version

Tea & Talk: Personal Trainer Lory

My little chat with the gorgeous Lory - my dear friend and kick-ass drill instructor - is the first of my new interview series where I meet up with people who inspire me to live a healthy, balanced and blissful life.

With a background in the fast and merciless fashion industry, Lory soon realized her true passion came to life when she was competing in ultra endurance races across the mountains of Hong Kong. So she traded handbags for backpacks and is now happily torturing her clients with burpees and cruel ab exercises. But they are oh so effective! Being very knowledgable about nutrition and healthy weight-loss, she also convinced me to go Paleo. I still remember when we were casually talking about our breakfast habits: I was gushing over my daily Viennese brekkie (coffee with toast, butter and jam) when Lory suddenly turned very serious and said: "This is not really healthy you know". Well, a in-depth talk about health, nutrition and exercise followed which left me inspired to change my eating habits.

Last week we met for a quick cuppa tea to talk more about her favorite healthy stuff:

Hier klicken und runterscrollen, dann geht's zur deutschen Version

My first blog award!

Well, for today I had planned to do a DIY post but – sorry to disappoint you – this is not happening for the following 2 reasons:

- When checking my aromatherapy utensils this morning I realized I had run out of coconut oil. I’m serious, that’s not an excuse! Obviously, the time has come to start buying 1L bottles instead of 500ml ones. My aromatherapy teacher will be so proud!

- While eating my breakfast this morning, I got a tweet from the lovely Miranti from Pen & Peplum saying she nominated my little blog for the Liebster Award. Again, I’m serious; I’m not suffering from delusion!

So, according to the rules of the Liebster Award, I need to write a post answering 11 embarrassing interesting questions from the nominator, state 11 unknown facts about me and choose another 11 nominees for this award who have to answer my smart questions. Sounds fun, right?

Current objects of bliss...

So, I thought it would be a nice idea to share my current "objects of bliss" with you. Things that I love - some I own and some I wish I would - things that I find inspiring and things that simply give me joy:

Hier klicken und runterscrollen, dann geht's zur deutschen Version

Yoga home practice: From procrastinator to addict

Photo credit: Yogaglo

For many years, I haven't been very keen on home yoga practice. My mantra was procrastination. I'd always find excuses for not rolling out my mat, even on weekends when it was really easy for me to squeeze in a nice, relaxing hour of yoga. Although I had tons of magazines giving me suggestions of  yoga sequences, it wasn't quite motivating for me to read first and then practice. I'd usually read the sequence, turn the page and keep on reading for another half an hour until every inch of motivation was gone. Even yoga dvd's became so boring after a while as I repeated the same sequence over and over again.

Sounds familiar?

Hier klicken und runterscrollen, dann geht's zur deutschen Version

Foot Soak Indulgence: 3 easy recipes

When the days get longer and temperatures drop, I just love indulging in foot soaks. It's not only warming and soothing, but it helps me getting rid of any stress or worries. After putting my feet in the hot water for 10-15 minutes I usually sleep like a baby.

My Sunday: 108 Sun Salutations for Charity and a beautiful sunset

Wer hätte gedacht, dass ich jemals 108 Sonnengrüße in einem Stück vollbringe? Freiwillig sicher nicht, aber für einen guten Zweck gerne: "Off the Mat, into the World" und Organisatorin Vennes Cheng luden zum Charity Yogathon Event, dessen Einnahmen Opfern sowie Überlebenden von Zwangsprostitution in Indien und auf der ganzen Welt zugute kommen.

click below to view in English 

DIY: My top remedy for neck & shoulder pain

self massage photo credit

Today is world arthritis day. Around this time last year, my doctor told me the shocking news that I - having just turned 31 - was suffering from early stage cervical osteoarthritis. At first I thought she had mixed up my X-rays. I mean seriously - arthritis is what old people have, like 60+ year olds or my grandma, right? 

But then it suddenly kind of made sense to me: this ongoing neck and shoulder pain, occasionally spreading out to my chest, stiffness of joints especially in the mornings - there had to be an underlying cause for these symptoms. One night, I could barely lift my left arm, I was crying because the pain was so excruciating. It was this incident that forced me to do a checkup.

"It will only get worse if you don't start doing something about it immediately!", my doctor warned me. So, how to prevent my neck and shoulder pain from becoming worse?

Ich bin ein Streber // I'm a geek...

"Bleistifte spitzen und Notizbuch raus!" - so werde ich seit gestern von meinem Blog-Drillinstructor Holly Becker von decor8 herumkommandiert. Und das ist gut so. Denn der von Blogging-Ikone Holly professionell gestaltete und - wie ich erfahren habe - fast schon legendäre e-course 'Blogging Your Way' ist für mich der perfekte Anlass, ins kalte Wasser zu springen (oder besser gesagt: gestoßen zu werden) und endlich meinen Blog zu starten.

click below to view in English

Blogger Glück // Blogger Bliss

...ein relativ unbedeutendes Ereignis im Blogger-Universum, aber ein großer Schritt für mich: mein geheimer Traum vom eigenen, kleinen Blog wird Wirklichkeit. Lange geplant, oft verworfen aber nie vergessen war die Idee, meine Interessen & Entdeckungen in einem Online-Journal zu sammeln und mit Freunden sowie weiteren Wellness-Fans zu teilen. Ich habe ja das große Glück, in einer Stadt zu leben, wo sich asiatische und westliche Heilmethoden treffen, sogar teilweise ergänzen. Mein Blog ist daher mein kleiner Reisebegleiter auf meinem Weg zu einem Leben voll Wohlbefinden, Ausgeglichenheit, Glück und Zufriedenheit....mit vielen Massagen und Verwöhnprogrammen! Ich bin ein Spa-Junkie :) 

Click below to view in English