Summertime in Australia can be a magnificent time – beach holidays, joyous barbeques, crimson sunsets late in the evenings; an all round wonderful time of year. But with the stress of Christmas, the tensions of seeing family and the general busyness we can forego our most important asset we have – our wellbeing.

We’ve gathered our inspirational teachers together and asked them to give us a peek into their summer lives and how they managed to stay healthy – both physically and mentally – during this time.

Here’s how our staff love to stay healthy physically over summer:

This is the season to simply slow down, absorb the sun and enjoy nature’s bounty. Spend time outdoors – mother nature has a lot to offer us! Teresa

My home brewed kombucha is my personal life saver. Amy R

To keep healthy during this time of year, I love walking in the sunshine. Charlton

With the heat of the day it can be easier to stay indoors and get complacent about exercise. I like to walk early in the morning before the heat of the day, yoga (goes without saying) and paddle boarding. Being active releases endorphins the feel good hormones so you actually feel physically fitter and more energised. Staying hydrated is a big one over the summer. Nothing more refreshing than ice cold water with mint, cucumber and lemon which is a great antioxidant. Sue

Exercise early in the morning, make use of the warmer evenings for spending more time outside to relax, reconnect and to have fun. Eat lots of cooling foods such as watermelon, cucumber, mint, fennel, coriander, rose and aloe. Reducing the amount of alcohol you drink is also a great idea as it heats your blood and is rather dehydrating. Amy L

Here’s how our staff love to stay mentally healthy over summer:

Relax and breathe! Take time to slow down and enjoy not just every day, but each and every moment. Teresa

To keep my mind calm and stable during periods of stress and to balance out the highs and lows, I always turn to meditation. Charlton

Meditation, meditation and meditation! And it doesn’t necessarily have to be sitting. Meditation is simply single pointed focus so being mindful of each task can help keep that “monkey mind” at bay and as a result, reduce stress.

‘I won’t lie that a nice drop of red wine or a cool gin and tonic with a favorite magazine or good book gives me mental space.’ Sue

To keep as mentally healthy as possible, I like to get outdoors, preferably barefoot, heading to the beach, picnic in a park or a bush walk. Amy R

The main thing that I normally recommend is: do something small once each day.

This is a guideline that I live by for both my physical and mental wellbeing. We often get caught up in the idea of being active meaning that you have to do a workout for 90 minutes or meditation requiring us to sit perfectly still for half an hour.

While these are good too, time is precious and often fleeting – especially at this time of year. So we often need to practice the little things when we can. Wake up in the morning and doing a few rounds of Sun Salutes is just as valid as practicing a 75 minute class of hot yoga or going for a walk around the block will be enough to get some energy moving through your body.

If things seem to be getting too much (which they so often do), take just five minutes for yourself and do nothing but be still. You can sit in a chair, stand overlooking your backyard or just take the time to fully appreciate that morning cup of coffee, rather than drinking it as fast as you can and then rushing to get on with your day.

Sometimes we surprise ourselves and these few minutes encourage us to then do a little more and then… a little more again. Other times it’s enough and we can then move on, but those few moments will echo through the rest of our day. Simon

Yoga has been scientifically proven to be advantageous for your physical and mental health. We’re beginner friendly and very supportive. Try a class today.