Live a Healthier Life

Lindsey Jackson has been a business owner with Forever for around 13 years and is now a Senior Manager in the business. She also runs her own Pilates and fitness training classes at More Than Pilates Ltd.
Following on from our active dance classes and C9 fitness classes with Kristina Rihanoff in May, we’re switching things up a bit in June as Lindsey goes live with us on our Facebook page to help us find balance and inner strength. Read her story below and don’t forget to tune in every #WorkoutWednesday at 1pm on Facebook!
Welcome to a month of Pilates! I’d like to take you on a journey of discovering your inner strength!
We tend to think of fitness as running, cycling, HIIT and weights. Of course, cardio and strength is important; for years I taught all of the aerobic fitness styles because I love them! Then one day I discovered Pilates and life changed: it became more balanced.
To give you an idea of my background, I was in NHS management, then consultancy and training. I discovered Forever about 13 years ago when a class member told me about the company. With 2 small children my life had got busy, and I was teaching too many classes in the evenings. So, I decided to weave my part time hobby, Pilates and fitness training, in with this new-found Forever business - and the rest is history.
Like many, I discovered that being flexible and working from home around small children was unconventional, but brilliant. I’m now a Senior Manager in Forever and have qualified for 8 Chairman’s Bonus cheques - trips and rewards I’d have never achieved just teaching my classes.
I’d love to help you discover that strength is an inside job! Core strength and postural strength give you much more than just the physical benefits. With Pilates comes improved mindful movement, better breathing, stress reduction, focus, determination and patience. All attributes for life AND for your Forever business.
So, whether you’d like to develop a flatter tummy or stronger back, or just ‘balance’ your current fitness with something less energetic (but incredibly effective) then get ready for our Wednesday slot at 1pm every week in June.
I’ll be covering some basic techniques first (for those new to the practice), followed by some progressively harder workouts that you can move on to in time. If you’re already into Pilates, the later sessions will be a great chance to revise your technique or hear from a different teacher and then to apply this new knowledge to all that you do. I’ll be delivering the following classes over the next few weeks:
Wednesday 3^rd June - how to engage your inner muscles and fire up that powerhouse. What is Pilates all about?
Wednesday 10^th June - some simple moves that will keep you mobile, release tension and start to build your strength from the inside.
Wednesday 17^th June - putting it together in some flowing moves. Discover areas you want to improve so that you can set some goals for improvement.
Wednesday 24^th June - Some more dynamic moves that require flexibility and strength but will be fun to try.
As a Pilates teacher for 25 years I’ve seen what works. I know that it’s quality over quantity every time that brings results. In just 40 mins a week together, you’ll become aware of tension you repeatedly hold in your body and ways to unravel some of the stresses of life. If you’re already fit and sporty, you’ll improve flexibility, reduce the chances of injury and create physical and mental balance.
I hope that you’ll love it so much that you’ll want to keep Pilates in your life and explore this exciting form further with me. If you have any questions please feel free to find me on my Facebook page More Than Pilates Ltd, but in the meantime don’t forget that these #WorkoutWednesday sessions will be taking place on the main Forever Living UK & Ireland Facebook page, kicking off the 3^rd June at 1pm. See you on the mat!

Next week – the 25^th to 29^th May 2020 – is National Children’s Gardening Week, which we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate, not least because, with us all being in lockdown, our gardens have turned into our own personal havens. This week is a great time to introduce your children to gardening in a way that is educational and fun – it’s a brilliant way to get active, too!
Whether your children enjoy the garden already, or need a little encouragement to get outdoors, we’ve compiled some tips to help get them interested in the nature around them – including a few tips for those who may not have gardens.
Make it a game
If your kids need a little encouragement getting outside, it might be worth making a game out of being in the garden! For younger children, it might be a case of counting how many worms you can find while digging up soil or placing numbered plant pots around the garden and getting them to run around finding them and counting them up in order – this is a great way to let them burn off some energy while enjoying the fresh air and getting familiar with the nature in the garden.
For older children, it’s time to get competitive. Everybody in the family can get outside and plant something at the same time – like sunflowers – and each take care of their own. Whoever’s grows the tallest, or fastest, or flowers the best, wins! There’s nothing like friendly family competition to get the kids interested in something!
Get crafty
Why not encourage your children to get crafty in the garden as a way to spend more time outside and make the place more colourful? They could try making signs to point out the different flowers growing in the garden as a way to be both educational and fun. Perhaps they could collect rocks or pebbles to paint, or even paint their own flowerpots to make them more personalised for them?
For an added bit of aloe fun – and a great way to recycle product packaging – why not get them to make a watering can, a plant pot, a bird feeder or bird bath from old Aloe Vera Gel bottles? If you’ve been taking part in our C9 challenge, you should have a couple of gel bottles to make use of, as well as a whole C9 box to perhaps make a hedgehog feeding station! We’d love to see any creative projects you come up with from these items!
Outdoor growing
Whether you’re looking to make your garden more colourful, or you’re keen to start producing your own food, there are plenty of things you can start growing outdoors as a family.
Flowers which grow well when planted around this time of year are sunflowers, petunias and poppies, all of which will contribute to a very colourful garden.
If you’re looking to make a start on producing your own food, why not try growing some potatoes, cress, runner beans or carrots? These are all fairly easy to grow and most thrive when planted around this time of year. Kids will get a real sense of achievement growing something which later goes on to feed the whole family, and it’s a terrific way to educate them on where their food comes from!
Indoor growing
For those of you without garden spaces, or if you’re easing yourself into growing things outside, there are plenty of things that can be grown inside. Once you’ve got your hands on some seeds (available online, or at any garden centre currently open – remember to stay safe!) all you need is soil, a few plant pots and a sunny window ledge! You can still make games and competitions out of your indoor growing, so kids can be just as involved in indoor growing as they would have been outdoors!
If you need some inspiration, things that are great for growing indoors are radishes, cress, lettuce and herbs like rosemary, coriander or basil! The obvious bonus to all this growing is of course the fact that you have easy access to these delicious veggies and herbs for eating. You could cut down your food bill, your reliance on the supermarkets, and any unnecessary plastic packaging. Win-win!
It’s not just for children!
Do you love to get outside in the garden with your children? It’s worth noting that for a 170-pound person, an hour of gardening burns roughly 231 calories – not bad if you’re looking for new ways to get active while the gyms are closed? Bonus: your garden will be in perfect shape for a stay-cation too!

Over the past few months, things have been very different for many people, and with all the change and uncertainty, it is natural for even the most optimistic person to feel anxious. Whilst it is so important to maintain a positive mindset amid all of the changes to our daily lives, staying positive isn’t always easy.
But keeping a positive frame of mind is not only important for ourselves, it is also really important for those around us too. Positive thinking can not only help with stress management, it can also help with mental and physical wellbeing.
Now more than ever, it is really important to stay productive, and be proactive about creating small moments of happiness each day. Here are some of our suggestions to help you get started:
Take care of yourself.
With day to day distractions being removed from our busy schedules, now is the perfect time to make sure we are looking after ourselves. Eating well and getting plenty of rest and exercise will help you to feel healthier both physically and mentally.
Write down five things you’re grateful for, every morning.
Focus your mind on the things you are grateful for, and write them down. Doing so will put things into perspective, and gratitude will start to become an instinctive reaction. Making this part of your morning routine will give you good head start to a positive day.
Switch up your workout routine
Whilst going to the gym is not possible at the moment, there are plenty of ways in which we can stay active. Fitness is for everyone, and for more tips on ways that you can keep active, view our blog here.
Learn something new
Learning something new is a great way to use this new-found time in a positive and productive way. Learning something new will also give you a goal to work towards, which will help you to remain focused, and give you the motivation to overcome any obstacles.
Connect with those around you.
Whether you’re at home quarantining with family, living with friends or your dog, or living by yourself, now is the perfect time to connect with those around you. Catch up with people you haven’t spoken to in a while, and talk to family and friends over the phone or via the internet. Surrounding yourself with positive people and those you love can lift really help to lift your mood.
Hopefully, these tips will help you practice a positive mindset, and for more on this, our latest issue of Aloe Life has an article dedicated to the ‘Twelve tips to positivity’. What are your top tips for staying positive during these unprecedented times? Have you created any new habits or routines to create a positive mindset? Let us know in the comments below.