In today's busy world, everyone needs a moment of calm and a chance to reset. Yoga offers that space for relaxation and restoration. At Amp Wellbeing, we emphasize the importance of making yoga a regular part of your routine to maintain both physical and mental balance. Whether you're a beginner or experienced, slowing down through yoga can provide as much benefit as an intense workout, helping your body and mind to rest and rejuvenate. Try these relaxing moves from Jen McGregor Yoga to get started.

Why Add Yoga to Your Routine?
Yoga offers a gentle way to stretch, strengthen, and connect with your breath. Regular practice helps reduce stress, improve flexibility, and bring balance to your body and mind. Adding yoga to your weekly routine acts like a reset, helping you handle life with more ease.

A Restorative Yoga Routine for Balance
Below is a restorative yoga routine from Jen McGregor Yoga, designed to help you unwind and recharge. It’s perfect for evenings or anytime you need to reset, allowing you to slow down and experience the peaceful side of yoga. Jen suggests using a Yoga Wheel for extra support during your stretches.

1. Child’s Pose (Balasana)

How to do it: Kneel on your mat, bring your big toes together, and sit back on your heels. Extend your arms forward and rest your forehead on the mat.

Why we love it: This pose calms the body and eases tension in your back, hips, and shoulders.

Tip: Use a Yoga Block under your chest or forehead for support.

2. Cat-Cow Stretch (Chakravakasana)

How to do it: Start on all fours, alternating between arching your back (Cow) and rounding your spine (Cat) as you breathe.

Why we love it: This movement releases tension along the spine and improves flexibility in the back and neck.

3. Assisted Fish Pose (Matsyasana) Using a Yoga Wheel

How to do it: Start seated with your legs extended. Place the Yoga Wheel behind your back and slowly lean onto it, letting it support your spine.

Why we love it: The yoga wheel supports a backbend, helping open your chest, shoulders, and throat for deep relaxation.

Tip: For deeper relaxation, light candles and practice this pose in the evening.

4. Butterfly Legs with Yoga Wheel

How to do it: From Assisted Fish Pose, bring the soles of your feet together in a butterfly shape while the Yoga Wheel supports your spine. Rest your arms at your sides.

Why we love it: This pose stretches your inner thighs and hips while maintaining support for your spine and chest. It's perfect for unwinding.

5. Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani) or using the Yoga Wheel

How to do it: Lie down and scoot your hips to a wall. Extend your legs vertically up the wall. Alternatively, use the Yoga Wheel for support as you raise your legs.

Why we love it: This pose promotes circulation and relaxation, calming the nervous system and reducing leg tension.

Finding Balance
Incorporating restorative yoga into your weekly routine helps bring balance to your life. Whether you're practicing in the morning or unwinding in the evening with the support of a yoga wheel, these moments of stillness reconnect you with yourself. Roll out your mat, relax into the calming energy of yoga, and let your breath guide you into deep relaxation. Enjoy the gentle, velvet soft textures of our vegan suede mats to practice on.

Find out more about Jen McGregor Yoga here or follow Jen on Instagram @jen.mcgregor.yoga for more yoga tips, inspiration and challenges!

We'd love to know how you get on and how you feel after practicing these moves.

With your big day approaching, you’re probably experiencing a few jitters and worries as the wedding preparation ramps up. For many of us, part of the anxiety is around wanting to look and feel our absolute best, but with all the stress and busyness surrounding the event, how do we even begin to focus on ourselves?

To make your life a little easier, we’ve put together the ultimate wedding wellness guide. Following these top tips will ensure you are physically, mentally, and emotionally on top form for the big day.

Get stuck in to exercise

Having gone to all the effort of choosing the perfect dress, you don’t want to be feeling uncomfortable wearing it because your body confidence is low. Exercise is the best way to lose those few extra pounds, tone up, and can also help ease any pre-wedding stress, ensuring you feel amazing and look killer.

To get the best results, include a combination of both cardio and strength training in your workout routine. Some great cardio exercises to blast away the calories, helping you slim down and shift weight, are running, cycling, swimming, or even brisk walking. Research has found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a more effective way to lose weight than moderate-intensity exercise and results are noticeable quicker - perfect if you’ve not got long left until the wedding! 

For strength training, you might want to focus on exercises that target your arms, as they are often on display in sleeveless or strapless gowns. Exercises like bicep curls, tricep dips, and push-ups are great for sculpting and defining your arms, while exercises like the plank and shoulder presses can help strengthen your upper body and improve posture, giving you an elegant and poised presence as you walk down the aisle. 

To accompany your arm toning workouts, include AMPs 2kg strength bars which add just the right amount of weight to give you the physique you need. These come in a variety of colours and are super easy and comfortable to hold. If you’re looking for something heavier to take your workouts to the next level, try the 3kg or 4.6 weighted triangle.

Establish a Self-Care Routine

Self-care is essential during wedding planning as it helps you maintain balance and rejuvenates your mind and body so that you feel fresh and radiant on the day. Here are some of the best self-care practices to incorporate into your daily routine.

Meditation

With all the stress surrounding the wedding, setting aside some time to practice meditation or mindfulness is essential for calming your mind. If you spend your days fretting, your physical appearance can also suffer - you don’t want to have bad skin or bags under your eyes at your wedding. Meditation is a great way to bring you back into the present moment and has been proven to have many bountiful benefits for our mental health.

Pamper yourself

Treat yourself to regular home spa treatments such as facials, hair masks, or body scrubs. Not only will these pampering sessions relax your body, but they will also give you that radiant bridal glow.

Practice Gratitude

Keep a gratitude journal and write down things you're grateful for each day. Focusing on the positive aspects of your life will help you maintain a positive mindset throughout the wedding planning process.

Nourish Your Body with Nutritious Foods

A well-balanced and nourishing diet not only fuels your body with everything it needs to function properly, but it also enhances your skin, hair and nail health. By eating the foods with the right vitamins and minerals, you can ensure you look and feel a million dollars. Here are three of the best foods to eat for your hair, skin and nails.

 Fish high in Omega-3

Fish like tuna, salmon and mackerel are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which are powerful antioxidants that help fight cell damage, helping reduce inflammation and redness in the skin. 

They are also a great source of protein, the building block of hair, and biotin, a nutrient that supports the production of one of the most important hair proteins, keratin. Both of these nutrients give your hair strength, bounce and sheen. 

Avocados

Avocados are rich in healthy fats including vitamins A, E and C which are important for healthy skin, hair and nails. These nutrients help moisturise and strengthen hair, support collagen and keratin production to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and increase nail toughness, and protect against oxidative cell damage to combat hair loss.

Dark leafy greens

Dark leafy greens like spinach and kale are packed full of amazing nutrients that help strengthen brittle hair, including vitamin A, iron, beta carotene, folate and vitamin C. These all work together to keep the hair and scalp hydrated and support hair growth.

Destress and look after your emotional well-being

Let’s face it, wedding planning can be stressful. But it's important to take care of your emotional well-being and limit stress during this time because stress can have several negative impacts on your physical and mental health. Try some of our tried and tested strategies to manage stress and cultivate emotional balance.

Connect with Loved Ones

Spend quality time with family and friends who provide support and positivity. Share your concerns, seek their advice, or simply enjoy their company. Social connections are essential for emotional well-being and can offer a sense of comfort during stressful times.

Connect with Nature

Spending time in nature is the perfect calming tonic and helps ground you in the moment so your worries can melt away. Take a walk in a park, go for a hike, or simply sit in a garden and soak in the beauty around you. 

 Practice Mind-Body Techniques

Explore relaxation techniques such as deep breathing exercises, gentle yoga, or aromatherapy. These practices will help you find moments of tranquillity, reduce anxiety and ensure you approach your wedding day with a calm and rejuvenated mind.

Summary

Your wedding day is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so of course you want to look and feel fabulous! By following our top tips in this guide, you'll radiate beauty, confidence, and bliss on your special day. 

Most importantly, don’t forget to exercise as this is key to feeling confident and comfortable in your wedding attire. Incorporate a combination of cardio and strength training exercises into your routine to tone up and achieve your desired physique. Alongside exercise, nourish your body with nutritious foods like fatty fish, avocado and leafy greens as these provide essential nutrients that allow you to shine both inside and out. 

It's completely normal to feel a bit anxious and overwhelmed with all the wedding preparations. By connecting with loved ones, nature and practising mind-body relaxation techniques you can manage stress levels and boost your emotional wellbeing. Establishing a self-care routine that includes meditation, indulgent pamper sessions and gratitude practice can also help you maintain emotional balance and rejuvenates your mind and body. 

Focusing on your wellbeing in 2023

The new year is a time when we look back on the last 12 months and decide what changes we want to make for the future. The fitness industry has seen a significant increase in the number of people making New Year's resolutions to start exercising more, eat healthier and lose weight. However, January can also be a hard month to get going on these plans. It's cold, dark and busy, so we can feel more like hibernating in our free time than jumping around. If you're one of these people, you might be wondering how to keep up with your goals throughout the year. Here are some tips:

Set some goals. It doesn't have to be new year new you, or require making a 180 degree change in lifestyle, but if you want to get into healthier habits and make those fitness changes you want to make stick for the long term, then you have to start somewhere. Goals can be a really fun, motivating way of turning habits into a healthy lifestyle, particularly when they incorporate all of your wellbeing. They help in many ways, from scheduling time to relax and enjoy self care, to spending time with friends and family, getting those finances in order and prioritising sleep as well as improving your exercise and nutrition. Taking a more balanced approach and using small step changes, can help you improve the likelihood that you will make positive and lasting changes in all areas of your health.

Make it specific. The first step in setting New Year's health and fitness goals is to make them specific. Instead of saying "I want to get more exercise," try "I want to walk (run/bike/dance) three times a week for 30 minutes after dinner." Schedule it in your diary, but if something comes up that prevents you from walking one night, at least you can count it as missed instead of giving up completely and you have 3 days out of 7 to achieve your goal. If you want to achieve more strength and tone, you could sign up to an online class and commit to taking two full body 30 minute classes a week to start off with, then review your actions each month to ensure you're moving towards your goal.

Make sure your goals are realistic. If you're just starting out, don't expect to run a marathon or lose 50 pounds in a month. Setting unrealistic expectations can lead to frustration if you don't reach them right away, overeating when you've restricted yourself too much and burnout from trying to do too much too soon, which can lead you to stop all together. Instead of aiming too high, start small and increase your level of activity gradually over time. Consistency in exercise routines and approach to nutrition is key to those health and fitness goals, and you don't need a gym or heavy equipment to achieve body confidence or a toned physique, but you do need to allow time for yourself to get there in a healthy and sustainable way. Read our blog on the benefits and reasons to use light weights in your workouts here. And remember, abs are made in the kitchen! 

Set small goals that are easily measurable. For example, if your goal is to run five miles every other day by June 1st, instead of saying "I'll run five miles every other day," write down "I'll run two miles, three times a week for the first month." You then have a starting point (achievable for you) which can help you to break down your goal over the next 6 months and work out how you can build up to achieving it realistically from there. Writing down your goal helps you stay accountable for it as well as track your progress toward achieving it. If you can share them with a friend or create an accountability partner, you're also more likely to stick to them. Depending on your overall goal, you don't have to be strict or rigid in your approach, allowing flexibility in your goals can help make them more enjoyable and achievable. You could set an intention, such as "workout 3 times per week for half an hour," as this lets you then choose the workout you feel like doing on the day so you're more likely to stick to the routine and feel good when you've done it, whether it was HIIT, sculpt or yoga. 

 

Some examples of simple SMART fitness goals: eat 5 servings of fruit/veggies every day (ideally aiming for 30 different types of plant over a week for optimal health benefits); go for a 30 min walk 3 times/week (at a time which works for you); do 10 push ups every other morning or before bed (build up to add a one minute plank hold!); drink 6-8 glasses of water per day throughout the day; get 8 hours of quality sleep every night; spend 1 hour reading each week, set aside 20 minutes 3 times a week. These small habits can then build into lasting lifestyle changes for overall wellbeing.

Lastly, it's important to take the time to think about what you want from your fitness plan. What are your ultimate fitness goals? What do you want to achieve in the next month or year? How do you want to feel by the summer? Once you have an idea of what you want, write them down so that you can break them down and track your progress along the way. What goals can you set today? We'd love to know how you're getting on, let us know in the comments below.