The Golden Door Health Retreat - Elysia

Stress Less – Live More! Easy Fast Solutions to Reduce Stress with The Body Guard, Christine Barnes ND

A successful entrepreneur, hotelier, real estate developer, importer, manufacturer and retail chain owner, Christine Barnes was so intrigued by the secrets to her success that she put aside her business interests and trekked to India and Sweden to study them in greater depth. Many years later, Christine emerged as a stress reduction expert and health practitioner. She now shares those same secrets with audiences and clients throughout Australia. An engaging and fun speaker, Christine lets us know how to manage everyday stress by identifying where the stressors are, and then taking action to reduce their impact. She believes that the best approach to reducing stress is not by giving up your life, but by integrating stress reduction techniques into what you are already doing. Her solutions will enable you to make better life and business decisions, enjoy more fulfilling relationships, improved health, and ultimately, to live well longer.

Christine Barnes is a highly qualified Stress Reduction Expert and Natural Medicine Specialist. Founder of The Body Guard and Chief Clinician, as well as author and producer of the ‘Breathe Relax Meditate’ range of audio CDs.

“Life & Other Crises” -  A refreshing, candid, honest & humorous look at the daily dramas of life.

Kerri Sackville is an Australian author, columnist and mother of three. Her blog Life And Other Crises (at kerrisackville.com) details the daily dramas of her life as a 40-something wife, mum, chaos wrangler and owner of an improbably white house.

Kerri has written extensively for mainstream media and online publications, including the Sydney Morning Herald, the Melbourne Age, The Telegraph, Sunday Life magazine, and Mamamia.com. She is a columnist for the Fairfax website Daily Life, and for the magazine Practical Parenting.

Kerri’s stories are usually funny, occasionally deeply moving, and always highly personal, and cover everything from friendship to sex, marriage, parenthood, anxiety and grief.

Kerri appears regularly as a commentator on television and radio, and is an accomplished public speaker.

Kerri’s first book “When My Husband Does The Dishes...” is a funny, honest expose of what marriage looks like after 150 years of togetherness and three children.

Her second book “The Little Book Of Anxiety - Confessions From A Worried Life” is a highly personal account of living with an anxiety disorder. It is due to be released in May 2012.

Kerri is an avid reader and enjoys spending time on social media such as Twitter. In her free time she enjoys eating out with friends, and relaxing on the couch.

Guest speaker Judy Davie will deliver an informative and unique presentation based on the book “Star Foods” written by Judy and Joanna McMillan.

In the game of healthy eating, each food group plays an important role in driving your body through life. Within these food groups we enjoy individual foods, or to liken the analogy to a sporting game, players. Like all sporting teams some players are better than others and in this presentation the audience will learn which players are the stars, good all round performers, reserves and complete liabilities.

It will also include a discussion on some easy and delicious ways to buy, store and prepare some ‘starfoods’.

A self-trained cook, Judy studied psychology, macrobiotic … read more cooking and food as medicine, and she draws on the skills of others to provide her comprehensive website on food and nutrition: thefoodcoach.com.au. She’s passionate about inspiring people to improve their eating habits and learn that healthy food does taste great. Judy has recently joined Prevention magazine as food editor, and is also the author and co-author of three books: The Food Coach, Read the Label, and Star Foods. She writes articles for other food and health publications including Body + Soul, and is a frequent contributor on radio and TV. She’s also an enthusiastic and engaging presenter to corporate and community groups..

Bestselling author, public speaker & Golden Door regular Matthew Johnstone will be giving a talk based on his new book Quiet the Mind - an illustrated guide on how to meditate. (Release date March 1 2012). It will also include an introductory visual presentation about ‘Resilience’.

 Over a 24hr period we have up to 70,000 thoughts which works out to be about 2 thoughts for every heartbeat – basically our brains never shut up!

Meditation is one of the greatest ways we can give our over worked grey matter some valuable time out. Meditation can help decrease stress, lower blood pressure, ease pain, improve metabolism. Not only that but it can make us calmer, happier, feel more engaged, more able to get things done and most importantly it helps us be more present.

 The talk is a no nonsense, non cosmic, easy to understand guide which is accompanied with stunning visuals from the book followed by a brief meditation for those who would like to move Omwards and Upwards.

Sleeping Well
While focusing on stress management and yoga, my clients invariably reported improvement in their sleep, which inspired me to specialize. For the past eight years I have assisted people to find permanent solutions to their sleep difficulties, both in my private practice and with corporate clients.                                                                                                              

My training and skill
There are no degrees in sleep therapy, so my approach to learning has been eclectic and wide ranging. Over the last 18 years I have studied a varied range of therapies and practices, including: Therapeutic Yoga, Macrobiotic Nutrition, Diploma of Herbology, Anatomy and Physiology, Corrective Bodywork, Insight Meditation for Health, Sport Yoga, Practical Stress Management, The Sedona Method (emotion-release based counselling). I have taken the relevant and useful qualities of each modality and formulated my own approach to natural sleep. I continue to learn and evolve in my quest to find the best solutions for this widespread problem.

Inspiration to make a difference
I have seen first-hand the devastation that insomnia can have on an individual, a family and a workplace. It is a huge problem, in our fast paced and technology based world, statistically effecting 50% of the western population. Finding the easiest, most efficient techniques to help people have a total and restful sleep inspires me. I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Anna will talk about:
- Understanding short and long term effects of sleep deprivation
- Knowing the primary causes of sleeping problems
- Tools for overcoming physical, mental and environmental sleep hazards
- Creating a positive mind-set for sleep
- Upgrading unhelpful habits.

Andy Crozier is a vitalistic chiropractor from Healing Wave (A group of health professionals, dedicated to inspiring and supporting more life to the Newcastle community, through quality, professional and relaxed chiropractic care).

Andy is one of only three practitioners in Newcastle - Level II certified in Network Spinal Analysis (Network Care):  A transformational approach to healing.  People around the world are seeking regular Network Care to enhance their health & Life. These include Anthony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, and Candice Pert, PhD (Nobel prize nominee & author of Molecules of emotion).

 Andy has been involved in the health & wellness field for the last 12 years and is passionate about Health, Healing, Wellness and Wellbeing.  From his beginnings in Yoga & Surfing, Andy assists people to get the most out of life.  In his inspiring & enthusiastic presentation, he will share with you stories of healing, how to be a healthier you, and ultimately that healing is less about health and more about LIFE!

How to eat, move and be healthy
Geoff Loomes is an Exercise Physiologist with a passion for teaching the fundamentals of health. Geoff uses the holistic principles of how to eat, move and be healthy, together with leading self management techniques, to assist in the creation of a healthier and more productive lifestyle.

Geoff believes that achieving optimal health and vitality is all about making a series of conscious choices.  By focusing energy on the things you want in life,  and creating daily habits around a few simple health strategies,  you can quickly change both the quality and quantity of life you live.

Whether your goals are to lose weight, feel more energized, overcome specific health problems or optimise an already healthy lifestyle, Geoff provides guidance on how the natural medicine of movement and lifestyle modification can get you there.

Geoff has worked within many sectors of the Health and Fitness industry, from small businesses to large corporate companies and currently runs an Exercise Physiology Clinic in St Leonards, Sydney. His qualifications include a double degree in Human Movement, and Commerce, a Diploma in Transformational Life Coaching and various certifications as a C.H.E.K. practitioner.