Instructor Newsletter 14th May 2015

It’s that time of year again when I’m teaching on
the “out of this
world” Deluxe Fitness Week in Tekirova
in Turkey.
And as usual it’s
been a top week so far.

It is like paradise here, beautiful hotel, facilities,
food & entertainment & of course a full programme of classes
in the sun.

The next week is 3 – 11th October & if you fancy it
check out the link here for all of the details, prices etc.

Fab newsletter this week with Jo De Rosa who “comes out”
Helen Barness talks about juggling teaching, with life, family & running a business & Andrew comments on the election & all things finance.

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The Rachel Holmes Podcast

This week on the show I interview Kelly & also Jayne
both podcasts have some great business ideas, updates
& general chat. You can subscribe via iTunes or listen
via the C2GO website
Click here to listen and subscribe
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We launched the new Kick Start Digital Magazine last week
and over 25,000 people downloaded it which is AWESOME.
Its designed to be a 5 minute smart phone motivational
read, that is quick & inspirational.

Click here to read it
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Our best selling Pilates courses coming up now only have a couple
places on them so do jump in quick if you want to get qualified.

Fitness Pilates 2 Day Certification 11/12th July click here to book

Level 3 Pilates Derby 18/19/20 June click here to book

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Kelly Reed-Banks Abdominal Tour kicked of
big style last week in Bristol.
With a packed house. The next date is 23rd May in Southampton
if you would like to get a ton of new ideas for your Abs/Core/Back
section click here for the details

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I’m Coming Out!
By Jo De Rosa
I’m Buddhist.

There I said it.

It’s funny but even though I’ve been a Buddhist for nearly 10 years it’s something that I haven’t, up until now, talked openly about.
I’ve always assumed that it would scare people away; that everyone thought I was teaching or forcing Buddhism upon my yoga and meditation students.

Of course that was not the case, just my perception, and what I’ve now realised is it was actually me that was scared: scared of what people might think.
But what my practice is teaching me to do is allow and embrace the real Jo. What makes me tick, be happy, and feel at one with myself.

This is me.
This is who I really am.
And I want you to KNOW me.

For years I was stuck: in the same job for 12 years; with a man that called me a very nasty four letter word for 10 years; skint; and addicted to whatever I could get my hands on, to take me away from it all for a few hours everyday.
I found yoga and meditation a little over 15 years ago and from that moment the trajectory of my life took an upturn.

Now It’s Your Turn

Is there anything that you are not being completely honest about?

Anything you want to tell me?

Because when we are hiding something from ourselves/others how on earth can we expect to attract what we wish for into our lives. The universe is always listening, whatever frequency we have set ourselves to is what we are pulling back in. And if we are sending out mixed messages, then obviously we are going to be given even more confusion in the form of our relationships, jobs, and day-to-day living.

Congruency
So lets get honest.
Don’t be afraid of what others will think, because you become more beautiful and attractive when you come from a place of truth. And the other vital quality, which will back up your honesty, is confidence.
ENJOY being you. ENJOY being authentic. ENJOY your truth.

An Ineffable Connection

The truth for me is that as early as I can remember Tibet held a sense of wonder and intrigue. As a child in primary school in Essex I took my very first glimpse of a map of the world, and I was immediately and unexplainably drawn to Tibet. Just the word had a magical ring to it and something within me stirred. It would be over 25 years later however that the calling became crystal clear…
First I lived in Thailand, a Buddhist country, for six years and was not in the slightest bit drawn to Buddhism whilst there. So it came as quite a shock when I met HH Karmapa in India.

I had been in the south in an ashram in Kerala studying yoga when a very special friend of mine, Maia, invited me to the Himalayas.
I travelled on one train for 55 hours and 1,789 miles, then a further 15 hours and 520 miles on another to get to my destination. And I had no idea that I was about to meet two men that would change my life forever: my yoga teacher Sharat Arora, and HH Karmapa.

It was to be a pilgrimage to the foothills of the Himalayas, a once in a lifetime experience. That first visit to India was a unique six months of my life that stripped me bare and taught me true discipline within my practice.

I had never heard of the Karmapa. The Dalai Lama was out of town at the time so Maia suggested we go and see the Karmapa, who had recently escaped from Tibet and was conducting public audiences and teachings.

I had no expectations, yet was met with the most intense energy I’d ever experienced. Being in the presence of an enlightened being is not something that you can prepare yourself for!
The effect is permanent. Just being in his energy field did something to me. I didn’t talk to him, just received a red blessing cord that I tied around my wrist (I would leave India months later with many of these red cords tied to my arms!)

I couldn’t speak for the rest of that day and evening.

Luckily Maia knew exactly what I was going through so I felt fully supported as I made this transition. I went back to every teaching and blessing that the Karmapa gave whilst I was there, and the following year returned to India on my way home to the UK when I left Thailand for good.

I requested a private audience with His Holiness, which was granted (a very auspicious event), and there I took refuge with him.

He bestowed on me my Tibetan Buddhist name, ‘Karma Choekyi’ meaning ‘happy teachings/teacher’ xx
That was in June 2006 and since then I have been in limbo: showing the world what I think it wants to see, and privately practicing Tibetan Buddhism.

But that is about to change and I am finally ready to be fully me! To shout from the rooftops,

“I’m a Buddhist!”

“And it’s ok!”

“I have a Buddhist name!”

“This is who I am!”
In Hiding
I had two different CV’s when I came back from Thailand, that’s how confused I was!

One was for where I was going: yoga teaching.
And one was for where I had been: the corporate world.

I gave different CV’s out depending on what jobs I was applying for, and back then had no idea how this mixed message was messing up my energy, and therefore my life!

It was only when the two documents merged that I could finally be who I really was, and the universe knew what I was asking for.

And because the universe knew through my clear message, I began to effortlessly manifest the work I wanted and said a firm goodbye to corporate life.

So the moral of the story is, who are you?

Are you being honest?

Are you living your truth?

Do you enjoy your job?

Does your partner/husband/wife nourish and support you?
Are you in a healthy body?

Do you have unlimited energy all day?

ARE YOU REALISING YOUR FULL POTENTIAL?

Respect

Through hiding who I really was I feel that I’ve somehow disrespected Buddhism a little, so this blog really is about coming clean and being proud of my rock-solid beliefs.
The biggest realisation from this years’ Scottish retreat has been that actually Buddhism is the glue that holds all the separate parts of my life together. Up until so recently I had thought that the different areas were all working independently of each other, but no!, there is a common theme…and that is my faith.

I can tell you that the moment it became clear to me was a moment of such beauty that I couldn’t stop crying for days. A wall came down, a pretense, a delusion, a denial, as I fully comprehended that finding Tibetan Buddhism was my destiny, my purpose, and that everything that came before had led me to this point.
It had to happen, it was always going to happen, and I had simply discovered and ultimately allowed who I was supposed to be. With some of my earliest childhood memories being enchanted with just the sound of the word Tibet, how could it ever have been any other way….
And this is where I now stand, in the doorway of a newfound understanding that has led me to start writing my next book, because all of a sudden I can see HOW I can help others. It’s so clear, and there is so much more to tell in this body of work, which is revealing itself perfectly to me.
The Shift

I started writing this blog a week ago, and since then SO MUCH synchronicity has occurred around Buddhism. It’s like signposts, showing me that I need to do this, need to be authentic with you all and it feels GOOD!

And my meditation too has shifted, with a deepening of connection and calm. People close to me have even noticed, and this everyone is what meditation does to you, this is how you know that you’re doing it ‘right’. It emanates FROM you: a feeling of being ok, of everything being just as it needs to be. Even though you may be being bombarded with ‘crap’. That’s life! We all get bulldozered at times! No one is free of that!

But how do we deal with it?
That is the test. That is the change. That is what people notice in you.

Wow! There it’s out! I said it all!
THIS IS ME FOLKS!

Let me know what you think…..
And let me know if there’s anything you need to get off YOUR chest xx
Web: www.innerguidance.co.uk
Email: jo@innerguidance.co.uk
Facebook: InnerGuidance
Twitter: @Inner_Guidance?Instagram: @Inner_Guidance
Copyright: Jo De Rosa 2015

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Top five tips to juggling work, life and happiness by Helen Barness

Life is so busy all the time isn’t it?

It is really difficult to find balance when you have so many balls up in the air from children, to housekeeping, to working, to social life!

Where and how do we find the time?

I run a fitness/pilates business and also teach a few fitness classes in my local gyms.

The nature of teaching fitness means that although you can to a certain extent work the hours you want to fit around family life, it can be very broken up so I might do 3 hours in the morning and then 2hrs in the afternoon and another 2-3hrs in the evening depending on the day.

Some of you may say, that’s great, you must get so much done not doing a 9-5pm job, well in all honesty sometimes I think 9-5pm might be easier because you know your focus for those hours and you can get on with things whereas I might find that I’ve been teaching in the morning then my son comes home and all plans change because there is something he has to go to or homework to be done that is going to take longer than anticipated or he has forgotten that he needs something by tomorrow!!

So how do I cope? Well in all honesty, sometimes I don’t but when I manage to stick to my plan and you need a weekly plan, then to a greater extent every thing flows quite nicely.

Here are my top five tips to juggling life, family, work!

Get a diary and use it! I sit down on Sunday evening and look at my week. I check my appointments, look at the things that might happen outside of my work, check my son’s calendar, my husband’s and then allow for a few extra hours here and there to give me a bit of down time too. I have my calendar on my phone and synced with everything I use. Everything goes on it, even down to things I have to do. I check it morning, noon and night to keep on track.

Get a meal planner! You need to know what you are going to cook for at least the first three days of each week otherwise the rubbish food tends to creep in. I make sure that my fridge has healthy food in it as much as possible. You might think this is a bit extreme, however with fitness being my work, I have to have the right stuff in the fridge to keep me going and I can’t start doing small shops day each day which take up time that I just don’t have. The more you do this, it starts to become a habit and you start to eat better for the whole family!
Have daily goals – 3 max but focusing on one each day and get it done, don’t put it off for other things. If you don’t do this, things will start to get on top of you. Schedule your week so you know that Monday is your teaching day, Tuesday is your admin day, Wednesday is a combo of the two for example.

Don’t forget to ask for help! Sometimes we try to do too many things ourselves when just asking for help could have made the job for easier and simpler. I used to try and do so much around the house but now we have a cleaner because it just was not happening and we were all getting stressed out by it. If there are jobs to do around the house for example try asking your children, family to do some of them instead of pushing through it all yourself. It’s not a sign of weakness but of good sense!

Take time off! It’s all very well trying to help everyone be fit and healthy but are you looking after yourself? Each week there should be an hour or two allocated to you time – get your nails done, meet a friend, just do something completely different to what you normally do. It will recharge your batteries and you may well find yourself thinking more clearly and have new ideas, etc from your time out!
Have a happy day!
Helen Barness
07956 520767

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The Scotsmen Cometh. Och Aye.
It’s a braw bricht moonlicht nicht the nicht….. D’ye no ken?

By Andrew Crawford

Well done to my Brothers & Sisters from North of the border securing all those seats showing the ‘Boys In The Big House’ that they mean business….!!

As the dust settles from the polls last week there have been some notable departures.

Jeremy Hunt’s claims that the NHS is not for sale lay in tatters this week after he signed the largest privatisation deal in history.

The Health Secretary who has repeatedly denied health services are being siphoned off to private firms under this Government faced furious reactions as the £780 million deal was revealed.

“…..The sale to a total of 11 private firms, some with dubious records, are intended to help hospitals tackle the backlog of patients waiting for surgery and tests……..”

Someone told me this would happen but I knew it wouldn’t occur BEFORE the elections..!!

What’s in it for you?

Well…..as Health Professionals, I’m sure you could come up with an angle to siphon off …oops….I mean relieve these Private Companies, with a variety of your Health & Fitness services, from some of burden of the millions of pounds they are just about to receive..!!??

Think…diagnostic testing, health testing, obesity testing anything to do with Patient care… #youknowwhatimsaying?

These are examples of contracts won. Just research them and see what they offer. Then put your £100k package together…..or your £10k packages…you name it..and approach them with it.

Circle Healthcare 285.9m (two contracts)
Virgin Care £182.5m (two contracts)
Diaverum UK Limited £150m (three contracts)
Bupa £132.1m (three contracts)
Care UK £104m (three contracts)

The World Health Organisation warned that almost three-quarters of men and two-thirds o women in the UK are risk of becoming overweight or obese in the next 15 years.

Listen to this……..
“…….Obesity is one of the fastest-growing threats to the health and wellbeing of our society………..”

I can smell opportunity…

Oh …and here is a list of MP’s linked to Heathcare companies.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/selling-nhs-profit-full-list-4646154

In other news…..

Something that may have gone unnoticed was that Idris Elba now holds the British land speed record. He did it using a Bentley.

Bentley confirmed that “…….the car used to break the record was mechanically unmodified, equipped with standard tyres and of showroom specification. …………”

I love me a bit of Bentley..!!

So…Andrew….you Bentley loving Son of a Gun….

What has the SNP coming to town in force the NHS contracts and Idris Elba breaking the land speed record got to do with Accountancy & Tax?

Well………it’s all new..!!

There’s cause for celebration. Then 9 months later……….BOOM…….. ‘The Birth of a New Beginning’.

Let’s talk Maternity Allowance for all you Self Employed …..ladies really.

Maternity Allowance is usually paid to you if you don’t qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay.

You might get Maternity Allowance if:??You’re employed, but not eligible for Statutory Maternity Pay
?You’re registered self-employed and paying Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs), (that’s most of you) or hold a Small Earnings Exception certificate
?You have very recently been employed or self-employed
?You may be eligible if:??You’ve been employed and/or self-employed for at least 26 weeks in your ‘test period’ (66 weeks up to and including the week before the week your baby is due). Part weeks count as full weeks; and
?You earned £30 a week averaged over any 13 weeks in your test period “?
You could get either £136.78 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is lower). It’s paid for up to 39 weeks.

You can claim Maternity Allowance as soon as you’ve been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can start 11 weeks before your baby is due.

What You’ll Get
You can get a weekly rate of either £136.78 or 90% of your average weekly earnings before tax (whichever is lower).
Maternity Allowance is paid every 2 or 4 weeks for up to 39 weeks.
You can claim Maternity Allowance as soon as you’ve been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can start 11 weeks before your baby is due.

How You’re Paid
All benefits, pensions and allowances are paid into an account e.g a bank account.

Impact On Other Benefits
Maternity Allowance won’t affect your tax credits but it will affect how much you get for:
Council Tax Reduction
Housing Benefit
Employment and Support Allowance
Income Support
Jobseeker’s Allowance – this will stop if you get Maternity Allowance
Bereavement Benefits
Carer’s Allowance

If You Lose The Baby
You may still qualify if the baby is either:
stillborn from the start of the 24th week of pregnancy
born alive at any point during the pregnancy
Change of circumstances
Report any changes to your circumstances to your local Jobcentre Plus as they can affect how much you get. For example, if you go back to work.

How To Claim
Send form MA1 to the address on the form.
The form comes with notes to help you fill it in. The ‘interactive version’ can be filled out on a computer.

What You Need To Know

You can claim Maternity Allowance as soon as you’ve been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can start 11 weeks before your baby is due.
You need to provide:
proof of your income – eg, original payslips, Small Earnings Exemption Certificate (if applicable)

proof of the baby’s due date – eg a letter from the doctor or midwife or your MATB1 certificate

your SMP1 form – only if you were refused Statutory Maternity Pay by your employer

Appeal a decision
You can appeal the decision about your Maternity Allowance if you’re unhappy with it.
Now this article was inspired this week because one of my client’s has just told me that she is pregnant……… this is dedicated to you.

Finally

My heart goes out to those people in Nepal who have suffered yet another earthquake.

3 words……….Game of Thrones..!!

My gosh where have I been.?? I started watching a couple of weeks ago from season one..!! Favourite character, Peter Drinklage aka ‘The Imp’…….great lines..!!

I thought I would end with one of my favourite Scottish sayings…dedicated to my ‘Scottish Connection’…it goes like this…… (say it fast)

‘Says he to me is that you, says I who, Says he you, Says I me, Says he aye, Says I no, Says he well it looks awfy like you’ JC & RH
Tee Hee…..

Andrew James Crawford

www.fitnessindustryaccountants.com
www.facebook.com/fitnessindustryaccountants
www.twitter.com/tax4fitness

HAVE A GREAT WEEK
Love Rachel xxxx