Tag: dubai wellness

We are dedicating Saturday, March 11th to all of you.. our community! We have carefully curated a fun-packed Wellness Day, and we are inviting everyone to join us at The Hundred Wellness Centre as we celebrate the start of Spring and devote an entire day to living our healthiest happiest life.

Given how important awareness is to our health and wellbeing, our mission on this day is to look at some of the different aspects of wellness in a fun and interactive way. From what we put in our bodies to how we feed our minds and spirits, each session and activity is designed to give you accessible and actionable steps to take back to your everyday life. We all want to live our healthiest, best life and our Wellness day will help you set that foundation. If you take a peek at what is on our calendar of health-focused workshops you will find:

– A children’s art class with Medaf that will be led by Alia Lootah (2 hours) – This exciting workshop will bring together the creative energy of nature into the little ones own canvases. Learn the basics of colour mixing, perspective and live drawing. We will look into the grass, trees and the sky for inspiration! Children from 5 to 13 can join in.

– An informative talk about creating a healthier environment at home with Lamis Harib – Lamis will introduce visitors to Ecabiotec products, and will discuss why Ecabiotec is set up in the Middle East, and the importance of the ‘Made In UAE’ value as a local company. She will also explore the difference and change it’s values will bring, as well as awareness on toxins in disinfectants from a health & environmental perspective, which is core to The Hundred Wellness as a mission as well. A selection of products will be available for purchase.

– A therapeutic ‘Forgiveness’ clinic with Maya Badran – This session will emphasize the importance of forgiveness as a preventative therapy and as an empowering tool to improve one’s mental and physical wellbeing, and how subconscious negative beliefs and negative repetitive emotions can cause illness in the body and how practicing forgiveness can eliminate the negative feelings so that a person can feel happier and healthier.

– An Asana Yoga session with Charity Adams – Charity’s Asana classes emphasize the connection with the breath and body in addition to proper alignment and acknowledgement of one’s own limitation. She believes in the beginning yoga can be a physical practice but with sincere commitment you can cultivate freedom within the body leading you to deeper meditative practices.

And tucked in among our complimentary Wellness Day workshops and talks there are plenty of other activities to participate in during the day depending on your interests – here are a few that might catch your eye:

– An indoor local, organic market with freshly harvested produce from our partners IGR (Integrated Green Resources UAE).

– A complimentary (sugar free – gluten free) healthy brunch, featuring local Emirati specialities, courtesy of The Hundred.

– Free outdoor and indoor fitness, Pilates and ladies only classes run by our highly skilled trainers will be running throughout the day, and everyone is welcome to join in.

– For those about to embark on a new plan to get fit or improve their health, there is an opportunity to have a free body-fat ratio analysis consultation with Lulu Alarmali, one of our in-house nutritional specialists. Lulu is offering body fat analysis consultations that would take 15-20 minutes, and afterwards she will give a brief explanation of what the individual’s body fat distribution indicates. If a meal plan or supplementation is required to target specific areas or for overall fat loss, an appointment to follow up can be booked. (Early bookings required and spots are limited so please email or call us on +9714 344 7333 to book.

– In collaboration with Loco’motion there will be an evening screening of the multi award-winning movie, “Happy” –– from Roko Belic, director of the Academy Award-nominated “Ghengis Blues” –– in The Hundred’s beautiful gardens. The uplifting movie explores the nature of happiness.

Additionally, there will be a range of pop-up shopping opportunities, ranging from homemade Kombucha and Sauerkraut made by our founder Asma Lootah, fitness apparel for yoga and active lifestyles from Yapparel and Lorne Jane, handcrafted locally-made candles with a touch of luxury by Wallance and Co, to natural nutrition and performance supplements from the FitnessFuel Company, and experts will be on hand to answer questions.  

This is not just a party, it’s community, education, creativity and a way to bring together like-minded people to give back, and take action on important wellness issues! We look forward to welcoming you all, and making this a day to be remembered. You can find the schedule of activities and their timings here.  If there is a certain activity that you don’t want to miss, drop us an email or call us on  +9714 344 7333 and we will make sure to secure your spot!

p.s. To keep up with all the updates on our Wellness Day, follow the hashtag #thehundredwellnessYAY on Instagram!

“Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor,” Joseph Pilates

If you joined us in our last talk by Ryan Penny, you heard how consistency is critical if you want to make a new habit stick. Habits are powerful, and they can be challenging to make or break, but if you can gain control over your habits — both positive and negative — you can raise your health and wellness to a whole new level.

It has been said that it takes anywhere from 21 to 40 times to turn a new behavior into a persistent habit. In other words, when you are trying to create a change in your overall health you are not going to be able to do that overnight, consistency is the key and that will take some time and work.

First, hold yourself accountable to your new chosen activity. Don’t fall into the trap of instant gratification. Trying something three times and saying it didn’t work is never the answer. In the wise words of Joseph Pilates the founder of the Pilates method: “In 10 sessions, you will feel the difference. In 20, you will see the difference. And in 30, you’ll have a whole new you!” 
 
This concept can be applied to anything really. So any time you start something new, challenge yourself to make it happen 30 times. Don’t pressure yourself into thinking that you need to do all 30 sessions immediately because doing that will only lead to a burn out. Slowly build on the activity one week at a time, and as the days go by you will see the positive changes and you will be rewarded with the results.

At The Hundred Wellness Centre we strongly believe that your wellness and the quality of your life are worthwhile journeys to work on, and our team are here to support you! Take one small step at a time, be consistent and we are sure you will be successful in finding a healthier, happier you.

The Dubai Tennis Championships are set to begin in just a few days, and the world’s top tennis players have been gearing up to battle it out on our sunny courts. Granted there are many amazing players participating in the championships, but it is no secret that over here at The Hundred Wellness Centre Britain’s #1 player Andy Murray has our vote! Aside from working on his serve, there’s been lots of press coverage about how essential the Gyrotonic Method has been to his tennis training. Last year before the 2016 tournament, Andy visited our centre multiple times to privately train on our Gyrotonic expansion system.

“Gyrotonics has made a huge difference to my life, actually. Not just my tennis but to what I can and can’t do. I still do Pilates, but a lot of it is straight lines. With Gyrotonics there is more twisting and turning, the kind of movements I use in tennis.”– Andy Murray

The “Gyro”, as aficionados call it, originated in the 1980s when Hungarian ballet dancer Juliu Horvath began developing a system to help him recover from injuries. The result is a complex-looking piece of equipment – with weights, pulleys and a web of inter-connected ropes – designed to help users perform controlled spiraling movements to help keep their joints loose and flexible.

Currently The Hundred Wellness Centre is home to the only Gyrotonic expansion system in the UAE. We sat down with Mara Tataki our in-house Gyrotonic teacher to get to know more about her and the system itself:

– Hi Mara, tell us a bit about yourself and how you started in Gyrotonic training? 

As a dance instructor and dancer myself, I have always been interested in studying about techniques that prevent injuries and help build a lean, strong, and super flexible body. I first heard about Gyrotonic from a fellow Pilates instructor during a workshop; her description was captivating “It is amazing, even deeper breathing and fluid movements, oh, it makes you feel even better than Pilates!” but what really caught my attention the most was her face while she was talking about it.. she was glowing. During that period in my career I was still looking for “the best thing” to deepen my knowledge about movement and there it was! I spent one year in New York, studying about Gyrotonic and it was truly the answer to my quest!. I have not stopped since, it is the love of my life, and I have not felt better!

        – Briefly can you tell us what the Gyrotonic expansion system is?  

The sentence that Juliu Howarth -founder of Gyrotonic Expansion System- uses to describe his Method is “The Art of exercising and beyond”. I must say that however vague this description may be, Gyrotonic DOES GO BEYOND! Not only is it exercising in a way that strengthens and stretches the muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia (aka myoskeletal system), but at the same exact time, during a workout, all internal systems of the body (nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, lymphatic ) are equally activated in the process of restoring internal communication for a totally rejuvenating experience within a simple 60-90 minute workout. I have tried all types of exercise methods, and this is the only one that achieves a holistic effect to the entire body.

– What can people expect from a session on the Gyrotonic? 

This question is probably the trickiest part of all. How can you describe what a child feels while playing out in nature? It is not just a simple dimension of exercising, it is so much more! While Gyrotonic does use weights you won’t feel the “burn” and this is so much healthier as both agonist and antagonist muscles work together at the same time. The body will feel like you’ve been on a long and intense swim but you are not going to feel sore afterwards, it feels more like you went for a great massage session, and the changes in your posture and quality of movement are in most cases is eye-opening just after one session!

– Ideally how often should you perform these workouts? 

If It was up to me I would ask my clients to come in every day of the week and it will literally transform not just the body but the person as a whole in 3-5 months’ time. But being realistic, 3 sessions per week with a 5 minute homework exercise can yield fantastic results very soon too. However if you are short on time, practicing twice a week is a good option, and a person can definitely experience results within 3 months time, while what I call the “transformation” may take a little longer. For people who are already actively practicing sports or exercising with different techniques during the week once a week is adequate. However the most important element for your training regardless of how many times a week you come in, is: consistency, consistency, consistency!

– Who can benefit from the exercises, and what are the top benefits if you keep it up? 

Gyrotonic is literally for everyone! From a health compromised person suffering from issues related to the nervous system, to a top athlete that wants to take his/her performance to a new level, Gyrotonic is not just another exercise, it is THE VEHICLE that will take you to were you want to be inside your own body, healthier, stronger, and happier. You might be thinking “yeah right..” but I have personally witnessed with my own eyes people changing, looking younger, taller and more beautiful! When I returned to Greece from NYC my friends were astonished…I was taller and my dancing was even better than before…how could it not? It felt like I was dancing on the clouds!

– What do you personally love about Gyrotonic? 

The amazing sense of freedom and joy of the movements that go way beyond strength, stretch and control. It makes me feel like I can do literally everything bigger, better, easier, with laser-accuracy and minimum effort… and on top of all that… it makes you feel like you are 15 years old again!

Well, reading all of this, it is no wonder that Andy Murray is so obsessed with Gyrotonics – with all of its relaxed swoops and yogic breathing, it must be the most relaxing yet effective part of his training routine! If you are interested in trying out the Gyrotonic with Mara for yourself, drop us an email or call on +971(0)4 344 7333 to book a session and get ready to dance on the clouds!

We live in a world where everything is just a click or touch away – we communicate, share photographs, pay bills, and even shop with a touch of a button! This digital era has surely made our lives easier, but at the same time, the growing dependency on our gadgets and apps has taken its toll on our health and relationships.

Tell us, when was the last time you disconnected from your mobile devices and enjoyed some good old-fashioned, face-to-face social interactions, or went for a few hours of uninterrupted silence without reaching for your phone? If it has been so long that it’s hard to even remember, then this post is for you!

Technology in many ways brings us together and helps us stay close to people, but it also doesn’t hurt to sometimes step away from it and take a break to remind ourselves that life is moving by so quickly–things are happening offline in the here and now and we need to pay attention.

So here is what we are proposing: Go social-media free for a day. Start by turning off all the phone notifications and emails for your social media apps, and move your social media apps to a folder on your phone called “Unplugged”. Choose one time (or two) during the day to check in with the digital world. Once you’ve started to wean yourself from scrolling aimlessly through Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter, go completely social media-free for one whole day (probably a day in the weekend would work best).

Now fill your time offline with meaningful things that maybe you haven’t been able to do lately. Take a walk on the beach, arrange a coffee with an old friend, or read that book you have been saving for when you had the time to focus. The possibilities are endless, and you’ll be less tempted to spend time scrolling through social-media when you have other activities to look forward to!

The idea is to reduce stress, slow down from all the “busy-ness” and focus on real life by engaging in social interactions in the real world, rather than on virtual platforms. Over the next month use your times of connectivity on purpose, and step away from social-media to reconnect with your family and friends to create new memories without all those fancy filters.

Have you gone social-media free for a day or longer? If so drop us a note below to let us know how it went and what you learned from the experience!

Well this came along quickly didn’t it? It feels like it was just yesterday that you signed up for the Dubai Marathon, and you promised yourself that you would run miles and miles whilst training in the gym every day turning yourself into a well oiled running machine. So… how did it go? If your answer is “not quite as planned” don’t worry, lots of first time runners feel exactly the same way.

Last October I ran my first half marathon in London, and before you hit the start line on Friday I wanted to share some of the lessons I took away from my experience of running in a race:

01 Stop comparing yourself to anyone else
Do not compare yourself, your endurance, your time, or your training to ANYONE else… and… Don’t Panic!! Trust me when I say that before any race everyone is a little bit nervous. I know I was!  It is normal because you are about to do something that is pretty amazing, probably harder than anything you have done before and these feelings of worry and fear will later translate into feelings of pride and achievement. 

02 Fuel and hydrate properly
Nutrition is really the foundation for performance and recovery, you can’t complete a marathon without fuelling your body correctly, and hydration is a careful balance of drinking the right amount and replacing what you need. Remember, your body is your home base for life. So fuel it properly by eating healthy, hydrating and supplementing wisely. One supplement that I take daily without fail is immune 360, it supports my immunity all year long and is a key to staying healthy.  I am always conscious of my diet and was even more so leading up to the day of the run. During my training I would regularly seek out advice from my team at The Hundred Wellness Centre and one of the best tips I was given was from Dr Sean Penny. Sean told me to prepare my favourite lean95 shake with one ripe avocado 1.5-2 hours before the race, preparing the shake this way meant I had a tremendous power boost of energy due to the shake being packed with lots of easily absorbed good stuff including healthy fats and amino acids ( I highly recommend doing this!)

03 Listen to your body
During my training I diversified how I prepared and moved my body, and my team at the centre emphasised the importance of stretching, warming up my muscles, as well as using a foam roller. I added Pilates into my training rotation to help balance things out in my legs and help with my alignment. Joint mobility, improved flexibility, body awareness, and of course a strong core, are just a few of the ways that Pilates can help with running.  

04 Mental strength is just as important as physical strength
During my rigorous training schedule I recognised the importance of mind over matter. I repeated to myself how strong I was, and how I’ve endured harder things in life than running.  I love the feeling of putting my mind to something and accomplishing it. We all do this on small and large scales every day, but it had been a while since I set out on such a major goal that was so outside my comfort zone, and I learned a lot from the experience and will carry forward the importance of consistently challenging myself. 

05 A good pair of shoes and watch your pace
Do not EVER run a race in new shoes! For the best fit and the most comfortable running, match your foot type (yes there are many types of arches) to the shape and components of your running shoes, and the best way to do this would be to go into a running store and have a proper fitting. When we come to the issue of “pace”.. Here are my thoughts: Don’t go out too fast. You will be tempted. Resist. Don’t do it! Setting the pace for your run is a process that starts in training. It depends on your race type, goal times, current fitness level… the list goes on. My best advice here? Aim for a steady rhythm the entire race. Wearing a watch really helps with keeping track of your pace, and for long distance races like the half marathon I find it is best to break down the race into manageable chunks. 

06 An AMAZING playlist is a must
I know that some people like to run without music to get “in the zone,” but not me. I feed off lyrics that are uplifting and empowering. Truth be told sometimes I run listening to one song on repeat! TrailMix Pro is an amazing app that actually syncs the music to match your steps seamlessly. It has other great features as well so I highly recommend giving it a try. 

07 Recovery time
You did it! The race was successful, but once you reach the finish line, it isn’t quite over yet…Recovering from a marathon is a critical step that runners often neglect. First off, grab some water and hydrate! Your body also needs fuel to repair your muscles right after your race, so that is when I take peac which provides easily absorbable amino acids without overloading or excess calories and Microhydrin to help boost the muscle repair! One other thing to try (I love this one!) is Epsom salt baths for their restorative benefits—soaking in the magnesium rich salts can reduce inflammation and helps restore electrolytes to your muscles.

In the end, I wouldn’t trade the experience I had training for and then running my first half marathon with anything! It truly feels like such an accomplishment to cross off my personal achievement list. Overall, I became more in-tune with myself on a new level, so if you’re getting ready to get out on Friday and run in the marathon I hope these tips help you! Good luck, and once you are done we would love to hear about your experience!

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