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  • Adell Bridges / Q&A

    1st March 2017

    1st March 2017

    By Shivraj Bassi

    Adell completed her Yoga Teacher Training in India at the Trimurti School of Yoga. Despite a gymnastics background, she strongly believes that everyone regardless of age, body shape, physical ability, or lifestyle, can benefit from yoga and she's passionate about sharing her love of it with everyone! Currently teaching in Cardiff, we sat down with Adell and managed to get some real pearls of wisdom.

    “I have always been active since I was a very small child, from playing in mud puddles in Mississippi to competing as a gymnast, and then taking part in various sports and activities until I finally found yoga. It’s always just been a natural part of the way I live my life, but I started to become more aware of the importance of fitness and nutrition around my early twenties. The desire to understand what makes a human body healthy and efficient has not only made me able to enjoy life more (because we of course enjoy every moment more when we are free of ailments) but it has also led me onto the path of travelling yoga teacher that I’m on now. My philosophy towards health and fitness is not to force it, or make it some strict regimen, but rather just enjoy little things every day that are good for the body and mind. You only get one body, and it’s the vessel that carries us through life, so why wouldn’t you want to treat it like a rare and precious object?” 

    Favourite Innermost products, and why?

    The Health Protein. I'm vegan so this superfood protein blend would be the best option for me. The Detox Booster. Another vegan product. This one contains 10 health-focused ingredients.        

    What's your hustle?

    I teach yoga. Which means I get people moving around on a mat, but more importantly looking inwards and understanding themselves better.  Their bodies, their breath, and ultimately their true selves.

    What does #liveinnermost mean to you?

    When we start to pay attention to ourselves, beyond what social norms say about who or what we are or should be, but examine our bodies and minds without judgement or expectation, we start to learn how our thoughts aren’t reflections of who we really are.  We can begin to understand what is truth and what is just a distraction. We learn to listen to our bodies and turn unfounded fear into motivation to reach goals. When we examine something deeply, we understand it better.  When we understand something, we can change it.

    What was your last workout?

    A 10 minute handstand, done with a stopwatch, so it’s not 10 straight minutes! When I fall out of it, I stop the stopwatch, and start it again until I get to 10 minutes of being on my hands.  It usually takes about 20 minutes to complete! Then 10 tick-tocks - going from urdvha mukha svanasana (downward facing dog) to urdvha dhanurasana (wheel) and back again. Then 10 one armed handstands on each hand - for me this involves falling every time as I have not mastered the one armed handstand! Finally 10 ekapadabakasana on each side

    Best travelling tip you've picked up?

    Do NOT wait for the perfect time.  Don’t wait for “when I have enough money” or “when my friends will join me” or “when I’m not so busy”.  If you want to travel, do it. The best thing about travelling is how it takes you out of the familiar, out of your comfort zone. If you don’t have much cash, great - it means you’ll be forced to speak to people, make contacts, find work. If you don’t know the area, it means you’ll have to explore on your own and figure it out. Travel is about experience, not staying in nice hotels and taking nice photos. So don’t wait for it to be a perfect time.

    Best advice you've ever received?

    My dad always used to say to me and my sisters: “This too shall pass” when we were complaining about things not going our way. I learned over time that he was right - nothing lasts. Nothing is permanent.  Sometimes things are awesome, sometimes life sucks. Either way, it’s not going to stay that way. So wherever you are, remember circumstances will change. Enjoy the good times, and learn from the bad times.

    A book currently on your bedside table?

    I’m nomadic and live out of a suitcase so I don’t carry books, but my Kindle currently opens up to Diet, Shatkarmas and Amaroli - Yogic Nutrition and Cleansing for Health and Spirit by Yogani.

    What is body confidence to you?

    Health. When I feel healthy, I feel confident. Being active and eating nutritious foods, having good digestion, being hydrated, and feeling stress-free. When I’m able to keep all this up, I feel confident in my body because I know it’s the best it can be.

    Message to the world?

    Get rid of fear your life. Fear is the opposite of love and love is the greatest force in the universe. So many of the world’s problems are caused by fear - fearing the unknown, fearing change, fearing things that are different. If we embrace these things with love instead of fear, we grow a culture of compassion, tolerance, and understanding. We can elect good leaders, support businesses that are more about positive change than the bottom line, we can help each other instead of competing. And then the world will be little better.

    Number one reason for taking care of your body? 

    You only get one! Why wouldn’t you?

    Get another dose of Adell on her on Instagram (@adellbridges).

    Other Insights

    Moving For Body And Mind With Sarah Mariko
    On Resolutions And Staying Authentic With Anj Magecha
    We sat down with Innermost Insider and mindful wellness advocate Anj Magecha, who shares how she stays on track with new goals and habits whilst remaining true to herself, and what to do when faced with setbacks. Hey Anj! Can you introduce yourself to our readers? Hey everyone, I’m Anj! I’m a 24 year old wellness geek working in consulting. I’m all about navigating life in London, trying to find a balance in my approach to nutrition, exercise and socialising, and improving my mental health and personal development 1% at a time. (And hopefully helping other people do the same!)  How did you become an Innermost Insider and what’s your goal as an ambassador for the brand? I’ve been a Innermost user since I joined F45 TCR in 2018, I was new to the gym, vegan, and in need of some serious protein intake to pack on muscle— at a time where most vegan protein powders were a bit rubbish! I also run on caffeine and hate coffee so got hooked on the pre-workout to fuel going to the gym, uni, working at lululemon and a busy social life!  I joined the Insider program as soon as I was able to, and have seen so much growth for the brand since then! I love all the extra merch, the sweatshirt and duffel are essential - so would love to see more of my go to gym bag essentials become Innermost 👀 Our topic this month is resolution. How would you personally define resolution and has it been a pivotal part of your life?  Resolution means taking control of your own life and making conscious choices that lead you towards the often intangible ‘better’. It's about having the determination and drive to create the future you want for yourself, and accepting the task of navigating the challenges that come your way. To me, resolution is about being true to myself and living with purpose. It's about not letting fear or doubt hold me back, but instead trusting in my own strength and abilities to overcome any obstacle even when it feels like it’s too difficult, or unfair. To be resolute requires a strong sense of self-discipline and self-control, as well as a clear vision of what you want to achieve. It requires a sense of resilience and adaptability, and the understanding that things sometimes get worse when they get better. Resolution has showed up for me in my journey with eating disorder recovery and weight restoration, with difficult conversations with therapists, even with holding boundaries with friends when sometimes it feels easier to let things slide. It’s not just about the big things! Ultimately, resolution is about living a life that is authentic, meaningful, and fulfilling. It's about having the conviction to pursue my passions and make a positive impact on the world around me. How do you go about setting goals in your life? So this is an interesting one. I suck at New Years resolutions. Or so I thought. With a background in disordered eating and a late diagnosis of ADHD I can retrospectively look back at some of my new years resolutions and understand why they felt so insurmountable.  To keep it brief, they were generally unrealistic, overly restrictive or prescriptive, and boring. And to be honest, sometimes goals aren’t going to be exciting.  I’ve read quite extensively around habit forming and achievement and currently quite like the 12 week year format (it’s a book, decent read but for a short version there’s a video on my TikTok!) The 12 week year has really resonated with me - it's all about focusing on what's most important and taking consistent, small steps towards achieving your goals over the course of three months, and then re-evaluating. So a year long goal gets broken into 4 three-month goals, then 12 one-month goals, and so on, until the minutiae of daily habits. It helps you focus on what matters most It keeps you accountable It allows for flexibility It helps you make progress faster Do you ever struggling with sticking to your goals and resolutions? How do you overcome setbacks? Overcoming setbacks in pursuit of your goals can be tough, but it's also an essential part of the journey towards success. Every challenge and obstacle presents an opportunity to learn, grow, and become stronger. I am a very emotionally driven person, when I get sad or anxious or I’m face with a negative life event, my goals are quite easily derailed. So for me it’s important to allow myself time to recuperate after a major setback, as it can be emotionally and physically draining to deal with challenges and obstacles. Taking a break to rest and recharge helps refocus and regain energy and motivation.I practice self-compassion and am not afraid to reach out for support when things feel overwhelming. I’m also a strong believer in setting boundaries for myself to protect my time and energy. Naturally some setbacks are less personal, things like the pandemic or tube strikes. In those cases I try to keep things in perspective: an old manager at lululemon used to say, at the end of the day, it’s just black stretchy pants and I apply that thinking to most areas of my life. Don't let setbacks define who you are or what you're capable of. Instead, use them as an opportunity to learn and grow. Are there certain times where you feel more motivated to set goals or resolutions? Naturally times like birthdays and new years have loads of messaging around goals and time passing, but in my experience I find birthday goals and new years goals are just that. They exist until I feel less festive and then things get difficult. I find the goals that come to me in the other 75% of the year are actually more in line with what makes me feel happy and healthy. The 12 week year method really helps facilitate this for me. Furthermore according to a study published in the journal Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, people are more likely to succeed in their goals when they start working towards them immediately, rather than waiting for a specific time (like the new year) to begin. When we set a goal, we often have a burst of motivation and energy that can drive us to take initial steps towards achieving it. By waiting to start working on our goals, we risk losing that initial motivation and energy, which can make it harder to get started. So why wait for the new year to make changes that will make you happy? What advice would you give to others about setting goals and resolutions for the future? Check in with yourself to make sure your goals are your own and not what you think people expect from you. And don’t be afraid to set goals that people aren’t going to see happen, there have been points in my life where my goal has been to get out of bed every day for a week and they were probably more difficult and transformative than any weight loss or fitness goal I’ve set for myself.  Do you have any important personal resolutions for the next year? I have some goals from my previous 12 week cycle, including the turf games in summer 2023 hopefully, which naturally lends itself to some commitments around training style and frequency.  I think saying no more often is a big one for me. Not to everything by any means but I do a lot of things that I think I ‘should’ do and I usually go in eyes wide open knowing it’ll leave me not feeling great. So hopefully this year I’ll have the resolve to just say no straight off the bat!  That's a wrap! To keep up with Anj, check out her Instagram and TikTok. Read more