Category: Journals

Ramadan is almost here and we want to help you approach your fast this year with mindfulness, discipline, and awareness. Perhaps it can even be an opportunity to focus on living a healthy and balanced lifestyle through a more mindful approach to eating, and to better prepare you for fasting, we have put together a few ways that can prepare your body for fasting. By planning and adjusting your routine before the fasting starts, it will be easier to kick any cravings, making the transition a whole lot easier.

Here are our tips:

Portion control — In these days before Ramadan, it’s important to reduce your portion sizes. Some may think splurging on food before fasting begins to sort of ‘stock up’, but this is exactly what not to do. The aim here is to reduce your appetite and hunger for larger quantities of food, ultimately helping your body transition to fasting in a healthy way.

Start eating your breakfast earlier — By getting your body use to eating breakfast earlier than usual, the transition won’t feel so strange for your metabolism. So start putting your alarm on a little earlier each morning, and even if you’re not hungry, eat. You want to trigger your stomach into understanding your new routine and when to expect food.

Don’t snack — If you are a hard-core lover of snacks (even those healthy ones!), then Ramadan can prove challenging. So just like with breakfast, you want to reset your stomach and mind now in the lead up to Ramadan, so try to stick to only three nutritious meals a day. This will help you lose the desire for these little goodies throughout the day, and your body will begin to not to expect them in your routine.

Step away from the coffee — Caffeine withdrawal, it’s a thing. And if you are a: ‘multiple cups of coffee’ kind of person, that headache will feel much worse while you’re fasting if you haven’t prepared your body in advance. If cutting down on your favourite cuppa seems impossible, then start small and work your way up. First, reduce your coffee intake to only one cup a day (somewhere mid-day not first thing in the morning), and maybe even switch to decaffeinated coffee. And ultimately, finish with cutting it out of your day all together.

Stock up on your groceries now  — Prepare now while you are still hyped up and full of energy. Shop and stock up on nutritious foods that can be served at Suhoor or Iftar times so that you’re not so tempted by those hunger driven guilty pleasures later. Plan what foods are best to have for breakfast, find the recipes and stock up on the ingredients, this way you will leave less to temptation and you can make sure that cravings won’t hinder what your body actually needs while fasting.

If you feel that you need help or accountability throughout this Ramadan, and really want to make it your healthiest Ramadan EVER, get in touch with us via email us or call on +9714 344 7333 to see how we can help!

We are so excited to announce that we finally have our infrared sauna up and running!  For months we have been working hard to bring you transformative infrared sauna services to The Hundred Wellness Centre. Unlike traditional saunas, which operate at extremely harsh temperatures, our infrared sauna is gentle, soothing and it’s therapeutic heat promotes relaxation, detoxification, improved sleep and so much more. Infrared sauna therapy helps you relax and relieves stress while you receive an invigorating deep tissue sweat, leaving you fully refreshed and rejuvenated after each session.

Whether we know it or not, we are exposed to heavy metals on an almost daily basis through pollution and as a matter of modern life, and left undisturbed, these heavy metals can cause illnesses. Sweating is the body’s safe and natural way to heal and stay healthy. Infrared saunas therapy induces a rise in core temperature that then results in a deep, detoxifying sweat at the cellular level, where toxins reside.  Infrared heat penetrates tissue, joints, and muscles to help relieve anything from minor aches and pains, to even more chronic pain conditions. Athletes also benefit from this therapy as it can help speed up recovery time post training, as well as decrease muscle spasms.

As with all of the services and treatments you will find at the centre, we strive to bring our clients the best of what is in the wellness world to help you meet all your health and wellness goals. So, in addition to pairing the infrared sauna therapy with our in-house detox program (highly recommended), we are also offering individual sessions, as well as packages.

 

To learn more or to book a session email or call us today on +9714 344 7333

Ramadan shouldn’t be an excuse to abandon your fitness regimen. Whether you are a seasoned fitness enthusiast or have just recently started classes with us, fasting during Ramadan does not need to be the end of your exercise regimen until after Eid!

We want to help you prepare your body for Ramadan and keep your motivation up throughout the entire month! So we have tailor-made a month-long  program of diverse group fitness classes ( you could say our own version of the mainstream “Bootcamps”), with the purpose of promoting the sustainable practice of physical activities during the month of Ramadan and beyond. This program is fun, accessible and fasting-friendly. Join us to prepare your body to stay active while fasting in a safe and supportive environment.
The program outline:

– BCA test (body composition analysis) at the beginning of the program to track progress
– ‘Strategic Eating’ A talk by Ryan Penny on how to consciously eat in Ramadan to maintain good health, high energy levels, and even lose weight.
– Eight Super Circuit classes (High Intensity & Fat burning)
– Four Body Weight classes (Moderate Intensity & Muscle sculpting)
– Four Pilates classes (Stretch & Recovery)
– BCA test (body composition analysis) at the end of the program to track progress
– 20% discount on fresh cold-pressed juices.

The all inclusive cost of the Ramadan Package is: 1500AED

Note:

The classes mentioned above will be conducted in different times than current Hundred Wellness existing classes.

Classes will be exclusively LADIES ONLY. The program will start on May 8th and run through until June 8th, with the classes being offered on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 4:30pm.

All classes support a maximum of 8 people. Classes must be booked at least 4 hours in advance.

To learn more or to book your spot, email or call us on +9714 344 7333

Forgiveness – for·give·ness /ˌfərˈɡivnəs/ the act of no longer feeling anger or resentment towards someone (or yourself).

While we all know the concept of forgiveness, but it can be extremely difficult to really understand it, never mind put it into practice. There are so many layers to it, and many times we make an effort to forgive someone, but then as soon as one bad memory comes up, the anger, hurt and resentment all come racing back, throwing forgiveness right out of the window.

Wasn’t life so much simpler as a child? One ‘sorry’ held the key to fixing everything that was wrong in our world. But we are adults now and that isn’t how it works. However, before you are too hard on yourself, did you know that forgiveness is actually a learned skill? We are not born into the world knowing how to do it automatically, it takes time for all of those negative feelings to process, and that is OK!

Sometimes forgiveness almost seems unnatural, because our internal sense of fairness tells us that people should pay for their wrongs. And one of the hardest thing about practicing forgiveness in our daily lives is that it requires us to confront our feelings toward the closest people to us. It is difficult enough to forgive a stranger we might never see again, but it is so much more difficult to forgive a person we love and trust. So even when you think that you have “Blessed & Released”, and come to terms with what has happened, there are probably still some buried emotions about the event that you have pushed out of your mind that will come out again once something is triggered.

No matter what the circumstances are, and how challenging it can be as a ‘grown-up’, forgiveness really is a gift that you give to yourself. It allows you to return to a peaceful place within yourself. So what do you do when you find yourself struggling with all this? Decide today to do something about it. For example one thing you can try on your own is a forgiveness exercise. The below is adapted from the Stanford Forgiveness Project:

01. Get a paper and pen. Make a list of all the people you feel have wronged you in some way. Write each one down and why it was not not OK.

02. Acknowledge that those things did happen, and that they did hurt you.

03. Make a commitment to do what you need to do in order to feel better.

04. Recognize that your anger is coming from the thoughts that you have about what happened, and your thoughts are within your control.

05. When you start getting upset about those past experiences ask yourself, “What am I thankful for?”

06. Focus your energy into looking for ways to achieve happiness by letting the anger go, instead of using your energy on  re-living the negative experiences over and over in your head. (We call this: Blessing & Releasing).

In the end the best advice we can give if you find yourself still having some difficulty practicing forgiveness, is to please get in touch with us to learn more about our Forgiveness Clinics with Maya Badran and how she can help guide you through all your emotions and help you navigate this tricky skill. Maya is available every other Thursday throughout the month of July and August.

 

 

At The Hundred Wellness Centre, our mission is to empower others to live healthier, happier, more intentional lives. Lives where you are consciously choosing the kind of food you eat, who you surround yourself with, how you move your body, and even the things you do in your spare time.

On April 22nd we join people around the globe to celebrate ‘Earth Day‘, but truth be told.. in our little Hundred Wellness world, Earth Day is every single day! Every choice we make as a business and as a team is a conscious one, with the community’s health, and the wellness of the planet in mind.

To show you how easy it can be to do the same, we listed a few small things you can do to make every day ‘Earth Day’:

01. Use canvas or reusable bags – Get yourself some reusable bags and keep them in your car, and the next time you are in the grocery store, simply decline plastic bags from cashier. Scientists estimate that every square mile of ocean contains approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in it. And believe it or not, you CAN make an impact on those numbers by making this small change to your grocery store visits, and encouraging your friends to do the same.

02. Clean your home with non-toxic household cleaners – Most people don’t think of their household cleaners as pollutants. Just because these products do their job by cleaning, it doesn’t mean they aren’t also harmful. So instead of using the toxic cleaners, you can purchase some non-toxic cleaners (we love Ecabiotic), or maybe even make your own alternative cleaners to keep your home safer… and squeaky clean!

03. Learn to love a plant-based diet- Research done by Oxford University shows that when it comes to climate change, following a plant-based diet could cut food-related emissions by 70%. Now we are not saying that you should give up meat completely, but doing your best to lower your intake of animal products is definitely a great start.

04. Buy organic foods and products – According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: “By opting for organic products, the consumer through his/her purchasing power promotes a less polluting agricultural system”.  So when you go to the grocery store or farmer’s market, depending on what you purchase there, you are contributing to the type of agriculture system you want to support. So support a local organic system (like IGRUAE) that doesn’t use synthetic herbicides and pesticides, these chemicals are not only foreign to your body, but also harmful to the water, air and environment too!

These were just a few examples, but there are tons of ways we can make a positive impact for Earth day. If you need more ideas please do get in touch with us and our team will be happy to help!

And this year, as you go through Earth Day, (and the other 364 days of the year) remember to keep this quote in your mind –

“I don’t want to protect the environment. I want to create a world where the environment doesn’t need protecting.” – Unknown

Join us for a fun bonding opportunity for you and your child! Learn watercolor techniques, and have fun painting and experimenting with art materials to create original artwork together with your little one. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles are all welcome! All Ages! Join Hosanna Lee to learning the basics of painting in watercolors. Take inspiration from summer fruits & vegetables and apply these skills to draw and paint all kinds of wonderful works of art.

Hosanna Lee is an illustrator/watercolour painter who is currently based in Dubai. She graduated from the United Kingdom with a BA (Hons) in Landscape Architecture, and  loves to illustrate food, recipes, plants, flowers.  All of her illustrations are created by hand, using mostly ink and watercolors.

Where: The Hundred Wellness Centre

When: Saturday the 29th of April

Time: 10am -12:30pm

Fees: 350aed per Adult+Child duo

All materials will be provided.

Limited spots available, so email or call us on +9714 3447333 to book your spots

“Those who are wise won’t be busy, and those who are too busy can’t be wise.” ― Lin Yutang

We know that life can be busy. There is so much to do, with so little time. We totally get it! Many of us juggle a lot of balls at the same time – work, our health, caring for our families and the list goes on. All of this leaves us feeling that we are always ‘busy’.

How much do you love to have nice little to-do lists organized neatly on post-it notes, with tiny little tasks that can be efficiently checked off? By the end of the day, you feel so happy and in control. Let’s be honest, it seems that most of us like racing against time and being this busy, but at The Hundred Wellness Centre we are HUGE self-care advocates. We believe that caring for your mind, body, and soul is a priority in order to live healthy, happy and purposeful life.  So how does one go about doing this when they are so busy and constantly feeling like they are fighting the clock?

Consider these tips to get you started:

01. Appreciate and schedule time for rest: One of the reasons many of us keep busy schedules is that we fail to recognize the value of rest. But rest is so beneficial to our bodies, minds, and souls. Set aside one day per week for some rest and familytime. Intentionally schedule it on your calendar, and then, guard it at all costs.

02. Cultivate ‘space’ in your daily routine. Take time for lunch. Find space in your morning to sit quietly before starting your day. Invest in solitude, meditation, or yoga. Find opportunity for breaks at work in between projects. Begin right away cultivating little moments of space in your otherwise busy day. Give yourself permission to start freeing up your schedule to give yourself space for your personal needs, and to just BE.

03. Realize that being busy is a choice. It is a decision we make. We are never forced into a lifestyle of busy-ness. The first, and most important step to becoming less busy is to simply realize that our schedules are determined by us. We do have a choice in the matter.

‘Busy’ does not need to define you― ‘UNbusy’ is possible. And it’s really okay to be happy with a slower paced life– so tell us, what is your current mindset around being ‘busy’? And what is one thing that you can do to try and make a positive shift this coming week?

The most challenging, but important part about getting fit is committing to it. The key is to create a fitness habit that becomes like a muscle—the more you work it and maintain it, the stronger it will get. So clearly if you join a class that is fun, and you start to see/feel the results it will be easier to stay consistent and committed! If this is what you are looking for, then we recommend you try out the latest addition to our class schedule: The Hundred Bodyweight Classes. These high energy sessions are a great choice when it comes to gaining strength, building muscle, and burning fat.. Still need to hear more? Here we have listed 4 great reasons as to why our bodyweight classes should be a key component of your workout regime:

01. There is something for everyone: Bodyweight classes are a great choice because they’re easily modified to challenge any fitness level. Adding extra repetitions, performing the exercises faster or super-slow, and perfecting form are a few ways to make even the simplest exercise more challenging. And progress is easy to measure, since bodyweight exercises offer endless ways to do a little more in each workout.

02. Super-efficient workouts: Since there’s no equipment involved, bodyweight workouts make it easy to transition quickly from one exercise to the next, and these shorter rest times mean it’s easy to quickly boost heart rate and burn some serious calories!

03. Injury prevention: Since injury is one of the main reasons why people fall off the exercise “bandwagon”, preventing those aches and pains is a big priority for our team at the centre. The Hundred Bodyweight classes are generally quite safe for anyone regardless of experience, age, or fitness level.

04. Let’s talk results: Bodyweight exercises get results partly because they involve compound movements -which means that you are engaging more than just one of your joints and muscles in each move/exercise. These types of exercises have been shown to be extremely effective for gaining strength and improving performance.

 

Now we do know that how you choose to workout is very personal, and there is no “best way” for everyone.. But our bodyweight classes are efficient, lots of fun and offer a ton of benefits that other forms of strength training cannot match, and the sessions are diverse, and never boring! So if you want to give it a try* (*this is highly recommended) check out the class schedule here and call us on +971 4 344 7333  in to book your first class!

Gym, pilates studio, cafe, art space – all these words have been used to describe our favourite spot in all of Dubai –  The Hundred Wellness Centre. With so many wellness services on offer here, it was important that the space itself reflects The Hundred Wellness Centre lifestyle, and anyone that knows our founder Asma Lootah, knows that this centre brings together two of her passions – fitness and art. On the heels of Art Dubai last week we wanted to turn the spotlight on to our centre, and some of the curated design and art pieces you will see when you visit.  The Hundred Wellness Centre is a hybrid concept born from the perfect union between the love for art & design, and a fully functional fitness center. Tucked inside a peaceful villa in the heart of Jumeirah, every little design and decor detail has been thought out, from the chairs in the waiting areas, to the coasters that you rest your teacup on.

The Hundred is definitely not your average fitness studio. The team here practice a holistic approach to wellness, which means they focus on how the three main areas of your life – body, mind and soul –  are connected and how they can be optimized to improve your overall sense of well-being. The Hundred has been painstakingly curated to truly help our clients feel at home – and at peace, while celebrating amazing UAE local talents, and the mere fact that a person can get all of these services within a functional art-centric space is truly unique. Each and every piece of art at The Hundred Wellness Centre has a purpose and a story behind it‘s journey to finally finding its home here, and you can read more on the tales of some of the pieces that are dotted around the space by visiting our website, or the next time you visit just ask one of our team!