Warming up your body for the day shouldn’t be overlooked and as the years go by the importance of stretching on a regular basis cannot be overemphasised. Stretching keeps our bodies healthy, strong and flexible to maintain a range of motion in our joints. With a body full of muscles, the idea of stretching may seem overwhelming at times, but we are here to help. The Kabana team has come up with 5 easy stretches. As you complete the movements, take this time to reflect and prepare for the day ahead. Each stretch should be held for 1 -2 minutes.

Chest and shoulder stretch | Hamstring stretch | Groin stretch | Lat stretch | Quad stretch

Deep breathing

CHEST & SHOULDER STRETCH

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and take a big breath in. with your hands together stretch forward and hold. As you hold take long, deep breaths in and out and try to relax.

HAMSTRING STRETCH

Put one leg out in front of you straight and bend the other leg slightly. Lean your upper body forward so that you feel a stretch in the backs of your legs. Repeat on the other leg

GROIN STRETCH

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Take your right leg out to the side and bend it slightly. Lean into your bent leg and feel the stretch up your inner thigh and groin area. Repeat on the other leg.

LAT STRETCH

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Take a deep breath in and take your right arm over your body. Lean your body slightly in the same direction as your right arm and feel the stretch up the right side of your upper body.

QUAD STRETCH

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Holding onto a wall for balance, bend one leg behind you, bringing it up to your bottom and hold it with your hand. Repeat on the other leg.

DEEP BREATHING 

Once you have finished stretching it is time to relax and take some deep breaths. Get comfortable and lay down on your back. Place one hand on your stomach. Breathe in and let your stomach fill with air, hold your breath and breathe all of the air back out. Repeat these steps as long as you wish.

Plant care is very much about people care and there is a science behind how plants heal just by being in their presence. Horticultural Therapy is the process by which gardens and plants are used to improve both the physical and mental well-being of an individual. It has been widely recognised as an effective form of therapy since the ancient Egyptian era. Doctors would prescribe walks around the garden for patients with mental issues. Today, therapists continue to recommend plant care for people who are stressed, depressed or recovering from trauma.

Growing your own herbs and vegetables can seem like a daunting and difficult process, however, now knowing the enormous benefit of gardening we have found the perfect yet simple indoor herb and vegetable garden for you. In a time where shopping and food options can be limited, now is the perfect time to start this very rewarding hobby. All you need is a light filled area, that gets a little sun and one or all of our urban green kits. These Australian made kits are a great gift for a food enthusiast, gardener, the health conscious or the hard to buy for.

Summer salad grow kit

The summer salad growing kit includes everything you need to make a delicious salad. Whether it’s on the side or a full meal, salads are a daily must. This growing kit is full of nutrients and full of colour to help keep you healthy. Our kit includes 5 seed varieties (confetti mix radish, cucumber poinsett, oakleaf red lettuce, black cherry tomatoes and golden wonder capsicum), 5 peat pots, 5 growing substrate discs, 5 plant labels and 1 booklet with recipes and instructions.

Micro herbs windowsill grow kit

If you are looking to grow your own herbs and don’t know where to start, look no further! We have the perfect at home grow your own garden kit. This growing kit of delicate herbs, full of nutrition and flavour is the ideal garden to grow on your kitchen windowsill. This kit is the perfect crop for the urban gardener and brings fresh herbs and life into your kitchen. Our kit includes a porcelain windowsill box with a bamboo lid and drip tray (40 x 8 x 7 cm), 3 micro green varieties: basil, parsley and chive seeds, sustainable organic coir propagation mix and growing instructions.

Microgreens windowsill grow kit

If you are looking to start a vegetable garden but don’t know what to do or where to go, we are here to help! We have the perfect at home vege patch full of delicate greens that are big on nutrition and flavour. This growing kit will impress the urbanites, children and those looking to bring a little sustainability into their lives. Not only is this kit perfect for growing vegetables indoors, but it will look beautiful in your kitchen! Our microgreens kit includes a porcelain windowsill box with bamboo lit and drip tray (40 x 8 x 7 cm), 3 micro green varieties: rocket, cabbage red and radish sprouting seeds, sustainable organic coir propagation mix and growing instructions.

Self-isolation means no facials, no manicures, no eyebrow waxing… we could go on. But don’t worry! We have the perfect at home facial that can be done for you by you in the comfort of your own home. It’s finally time for you to focus on you and be present in each and every moment. Not only will our at home facial reduce your stress levels, but, it will prevent ageing, rejuvenate your skin and promote blood circulation. Before you begin your facial, take a shower or bath and light a candle or incense and get comfortable.

Our routines are changing, and we have gotten our Kabana Community together to share what we are doing to inspire our newfound routine. Working out at home is the best way to keep our bodies moving and our minds motivated, especially in times like these.

In this circuit there are 6 exercises and should be completed back to back. The circuit is 45 seconds on and 15 seconds off. This means that each exercise should be done in 45 seconds with a 15 second rest in between each one. Use your stopwatch to time yourself. This circuit is focused on toning and sculpting your lower body, creating the perfect at-home lower body workout.

1. Bicycle Crunches 2. Pulse Squats 3. Side Lunges

4. Fire Hydrants 5. Lunge Jumps 6. Hip Thrusts

1 MINUTE REST

REPEAT X 2

Deep Breathing

BICYCLE CRUNCHES

Works: Abdomens

Lay on your back and put your hands behind your neck. Bring your legs up to tabletop position. Embrace your core and extend one leg out, keeping the other in tabletop. Simultaneously, lift the same sided shoulder and crunch towards your tabletop knee. Bring your straight knee back to tabletop and relax your shoulder back to the ground. Repeat on the other side.

Beginner variation: classic crunches – don’t extend your legs

PULSE SQUATS

Works: Thighs, glutes and hamstring

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your chest up. Lower to a seated position. In small pulses lift your bottom up and down in a tiny movement. You should feel this in the tops of your thighs.

Beginner variation: Instead of pulsing, hold the squat position

SIDE LUNGES

Works: Hip flexors, thighs, glutes and hamstrings

Stand upright and place your hands on your hips. Take a large step to the side with your right foot and bend your leg into a right angle. Return to standing position. Repeat on your left leg.

FIRE HYDRANTS

Works: Thighs, hamstrings and glutes

Sit with your hands and knees hip and shoulder width apart. Keeping your let bent, bring your left leg out to the side and lift it as high as you can. Return your leg back to the floor. Repeat on the right leg.

LUNGE JUMPS

Works: Thighs, hamstrings and glutes

Standing upright with your legs shoulder width apart, step one leg back into a lunge position. Bend down, keeping your upper body upright. Extend your legs while simultaneously bringing your back leg in front of you. Bring your knee to your chest as you jump. Land back in the lunge position. Repeat on other leg.

Weak knee/ beginner variation: Complete the movement without the jump.

HIP THRUSTS

Works: Thighs, hamstrings and glutes

Lay on your back with your hands by your side and bend your knees, keeping your feet on the ground hip width apart. Breathe in and squeeze your glutes, lifting them up as high as you can. Bring them back to the starting position. Repeat.

DEEP BREATHING 

Once you have finished your workout it is time to relax and take some deep breaths. Get comfortable and lay down on your back. Place one hand on your stomach. Breathe in and let your stomach fill with air, hold your breath and breathe all of the air back out. Repeat these steps as long as you wish.

Our routines are changing, and we have gotten our Kabana Community together to share what we are doing to inspire our newfound routine. Working out at home and getting our bodies moving is at the forefront of our mind, and this is where we thought we should start.

In this circuit there are 6 exercises that should be completed consecutively. Each exercise is done for 30 seconds and after completing each round of the circuit take a 1-minute break. Each exercise is focused on toning and sculpting a different part of your body, creating the perfect full body mat Pilates workout at-home.

1. Hundreds 2. Leg Circles 3. Backward Kicks

4. Flights 5. Calf Raises 6. Lateral Steps

REST

REPEAT X 2

HUNDREDS

Works: Abdomens

Bring your knees into tabletop position and bring your head up with your chin down. Engage your abdomen muscles. Curl your spine up off the floor and keep your arms straight by your side. Pulse your arms up and down, keeping your body in the same position.

Beginner variation: hold position without arm pulsing

LEG CIRCLES

Works: Abdomens, hamstrings and quads

Lay on the ground, flat with your body stretched out. Lift one leg into a right angle, keeping it straight. Keep your lower back flat on the ground. Circle your lifted leg outwards from your body as wide as you can. Repeat on the other leg.

Beginner variation: Do smaller circles with your leg

BACKWARD KICKS

Works: Glutes, abdomens

Move onto your hands and knees, in a tabletop position. Extend one leg behind your body and lift it up so that it is in line with your back. Keep your leg straight. Repeat on the other leg

FLIGHTS

Works: Shoulders, biceps, triceps

Lay on your stomach with arms straight by your side and fingers reached toward your toes. Squeeze your shoulders down and back and hold this position. With your palms facing up, pulse your arms up and down.

CALF RAISES

Works: Calves 

Stand up straight and hold onto a wall or chair to keep balance. With straight legs, raise up onto the balls of your feet and hold for 3 seconds. Lower back to flat feet. Repeat.

LATERAL STEPS

Works: Glutes, thighs and calves

Bend down as close to a right angle as possible. Keep your body weight evenly distributed through both feet. Step sideways. Continue until time is up. Repeat in the other direction

DEEP BREATHING 

Once you have finished your workout it is time to relax and take some deep breaths. Get comfortable and lay down on your back. Place one hand on your stomach. Breathe in and let your stomach fill with air, hold your breath and breathe all of the air back out. Repeat these steps as long as you wish.

Our routines are changing, and we have gotten our Kabana Community together to share what we are doing to inspire our newfound routine. Working out at home and getting our bodies moving is at the forefront of our mind, and this is where we thought we should start.

In this circuit, there are three pairs of exercises and each pair should be completed back to back. Each exercise should be done for 30 seconds each and after completing each pair, take a 30-second rest. The exercise pairs are focused on toning and sculpting a different part of your body, creating the perfect at-home full-body workout.

Dynamic core plank / Backward Lunges

REST

Jumping Jacks / Tricep Dips

REST

Squats / Deep Breathing

DYNAMIC CORE PLANK

Works: Abdomens

Walk your hands into a plank position and engage your core. Bring your right knee into your chest and then extend your leg backwards, pointing your toe towards the ceiling. Repeat with your left leg and continue alternating for 30 seconds. If you are starting as a beginner to an at-home workout or have weak wrists, hold the plank position for 30 seconds or as long as you can.

BACKWARD LUNGES

Works: Upper legs, glutes, calves

Stand upright and place your hands on your hips. Take a large step backwards with your right foot and lower your hips so that your right knee lowers to the ground creating a right angle. Return to a standing position. Repeat on your left leg and alternate for 30 seconds.

JUMPING JACKS

Works: Hip flexors, legs, arms, lower back

Stand upright with your legs together and arms by your side. Bend your knees slightly and jump into the air. As you jump spread your legs and stretch your arms over your head, landing in a star position. Jump back to your starting position. Repeat for 30 seconds at a speed that benefits your body. If you have week knees or are a beginner to an at-home workout, start in the same starting position. Step one leg out to the side, then bring it back in. Repeat on the other leg for 30 seconds.

TRICEP DIPS

Works: Triceps, shoulders, upper back

For this exercise, you will need a short bench or chair, and a step can work too. Set your hands on the edge of the chosen apparatus with your legs extended in front of you. Slowly lower your elbows to bend to a right angle. Extend your elbows to bring you back to your starting position and repeat for 30 seconds. If you are a beginner or have weak arms bend your knees to take some weight off of your arms.

SQUATS

Works: Thighs, ankle mobility, calves 

Stand upright and place your feet shoulder width apart or slightly wider. Push your hips back and sit down like you’re sitting down on a chair. Make sure you keep your shoulders back and your chest up. Once you have lowered down as close as you can get to a seated position return to your standing position.

DEEP BREATHING

Works: Mind

Once you have finished your workout, it is time to relax and take some deep breaths. Get comfortable and lay down on your back. Place one hand on your stomach. Breathe in and let your stomach fill with air, hold your breath and breathe all of the air back out. Repeat these steps as long as you wish.

Our grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents swore by the benefits (and flavour) of home-made bone broth. They boiled bones (combined with other natural goodies) for hours to extract maximum flavour and goodness. It was used in soups and stews and was a time-honoured tradition.

In our modern, fast-paced lives, this tradition and skill has been replaced by using stock-cubes, stock powder and liquid as available on the super market shelves. These are often filled with nasty preservatives, chemical flavourings, a too-high fat content and a lack of the nutrients that make the real bone broth so important. They are very poor substitutes indeed for the real thing.

RETURNING TO TRADITION - THE MODERN WAY

The use of Bone Broth is making a resurgence in cooking, not just as a natural flavour enhancer, but as a dietary supplement that boosts your metabolism, nutrient absorption, and immune system.

Gratefully, you don’t have to do the time-consuming work involved in making your own (unless you want to!). Australian made, organic, chemical and preservative-free bone broth is available – if you know where to look.

We have sourced a fantastic one for you. Made locally on the Gold Coast in Queensland, our broth combines ancient wisdom with advanced modern knowledge to give your body the punch it needs to push through modern stress.

Bone Broth Concentrate Natural and A.M. Cleanse Available For Pick Up In-Store - West End

Please call 0488 550 338 to order yours!

Simply add to a meal as you would normal flavour, or dissolve a teaspoon into a mug of boiling water for the perfect pre-work-out boost or 3pm pick-me-up. The high protein levels suppress appetite, stopping those sugar cravings, while giving you a hit of vital nutrients. A teaspoon in hot water makes the perfect cup of soup, so with Winter coming, cosy up with a cuppa that your body, and family, will thank you for!

BUILD UP YOUR FAMILY

Just one teaspoon of our wonderful broth has ten times the amount of amino acids that you would get from a serve of eggs, tofu, soy, buckwheat, quinoa, or dairy!

We all know how important Amino Acids are to:

• build and maintain muscle,

• transport nutrients,

• prevent illness,

• ease digestive problems,

• help with fertility issues,

• mental alertness and

• have many other health benefits.

The perfect zesty start to your day and all natural flu killer for when you’re feeling under the weather. A.M CLEANSE kills two birds with one stone combining all the benefits of Bone Broth with traditional alkalising and immune-boosting superfoods - lemon, ginger, organic apple cider vinegar and turmeric - for the ultimate morning tonic.

Directions: Hot - Add one teaspoon to a cup of hot water and stir. Cold - For something refreshingly different (especially in the warmer months), add one teaspoon to an empty glass (if the broth has been in the fridge, let it sit for a couple of mins at room temp), add sparkling water, ice and top with a slice of lemon. So refreshing and delicious!

Ingredients: 100% Grass-Fed Beef Bones (82%), Naturally Evaporated Sea Salt, Ginger, Turmeric, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Black Pepper, Lemon Myrtle.

Bone Broth Concentrate Natural and A.M. Cleanse Available For Pick Up In-Store - West End

Please call 0488 550 338 to order yours!

A REAWAKENING

For as long as human beings have existed, so has our affinity with stones and crystals. We have used them to cut, to build, to heal, and to protect. They have been talismans and amulets, jewellery, sculpture and even formed cosmetics. Some of the most powerful nations in the history of mankind embraced crystals as a normal, everyday part of life. And as a significant part of their spirituality and culture.

So why don’t we?

The good news is, we do. Or at least, we are starting to. With knowledge comes power. And we are starting to relearn what our ancestors already knew. Our modern, technology-soaked culture is starting to realise the benefits of crystals and their use - and learn from the wisdom of our elders. It is an awakening.

HISTORY SPEAKS

The Ancient Egyptians used lapis lazuli, turquoise, carnelian, emerald and clear quarts in their jewellery for protection and health. They made kohl from galena for (the world’s original) eyeliner! The Ancient Greeks (the fathers of modern philosophy) used amethyst and hematite for health and protection.

In China, Mexico and South America – jade for healing. The Maoris of New Zealand wear it to connect to their ancestor spirits. During the Renaissance in Europe precious and semi-precious stones were used for healing different ailments alongside herbs.

Even Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism use them! It is impossible, in one blog article, to delve into the entire beautiful, full, rich history of crystals, or even all the types of crystals and their benefits. There are countless books written on the subject!

A TREASURE TROVE

What we do know, scientifically, is that everything has a vibration caused by moving particles. A table, a rock, a bird, a tree, a crystal. It is a basic law of physics. And, we all know that one thing affects another. These two truths mean that crystals do, in fact, affect us. More than we realise!

Over the coming weeks we will delve into some gorgeous products that feature the varying properties of different crystals. They are not just beautiful, but absolutely beneficial to your wellness. From delightful, crystal-infused essential oils, Korean Gua Sha stones and facial rollers; calming Selenite, stunning multi-stone jewellery and powerful Amazonite – have chosen a treasure-trove of crystal for your delight.

Crystal Necklaces Small $77.00 Large $85.00 - Available online and in-store

Bopo Women Crystal Facial Roller Rose Quartz $39.95 - Available online and in-store

My Qi Crystal Essential Oils - Available in-store only

My Qi Jade Gua Sha Facial Kit $39.95 - Available online and in-store

Chakra Stones - Available in-store only

The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall - Available in-store only

Crystal Water Bottles $59.00 Available online and in-store