Marissa Frew
Marissa is a holistic living and wellbeing consultant with over 20 years experience in her field and a lifetime working with alternative wellbeing practitioners. She’s an inspiring presenter, guest speaker and writer as well as a personal trainer specialising in flexibility, movement and rehabilitation. Marissa is the founder of Rocket and Beets and is passionate about empowering others through teaching the elements of health. Her Happy Body Lifestyle Program brings together the key elements of how to properly lay the foundations of a vibrant lifestyle and an enlivened energetically enriched body.
We love what you do and your passion for health and wellness is immensely inspiring. Tell us, how did it all start?
My journey of meditation and visualization began when I was young as a kind of protection mechanism to safeguard my emotions. I carried this though into my early twenties where my instincts launched me into anything that would potentially heal and make me a better human being.
What do you think are the key ingredients for a healthy life?
Don’t take anything too seriously but know when you’re not taking yourself seriously enough. Self-respect is the key but it’s also subjective. How you feel about yourself will determine the kind of healthy life you create for yourself. Put really simply you can start with these:
• Move everyday
• Meditate everyday
• Eat only nourishing foods
What does a typical day look like for you?
I wake up between 5 and 6:30am to train some clients then train myself. If my morning is free I sit up with a cup of tea and watch the sun rise. I’m then either at my computer or in meetings from 9:30/10am. When I break for lunch I always try to get out for a half hour walk with my dog. I aim to prep dinner at 5:30pm then sit down to eat before I leave again at 7pm, either to teach stretching/yoga or go to my gospel choir rehearsals (I call that my training for the soul). I’m then home between 8:15pm and 11pm. I shower, meditate for 15-20 minutes and then go to sleep.
What are your top 3 healthy tips for anyone who travels?
• Stay hydrated. Cabin pressure can really dehydrate you and change of climate can sometimes be unrecognized when you travel frequently.
• Stretch often. Every 2-3 days. Sometimes you don’t have time to train. Stretching is different. It moves your muscles and opens out the muscle fibers to release any stored toxicity that you can then flush away with water. Stretching will keep you mentally clear and reduce body aches and pains from prolonged sitting.
• Eat the local cuisine. Getting in touch with the local culture as well as eating locally sourced cuisine will ensure that you’re eating foods that are prepped daily. That means less GMO, preservative filled foods and less mass farmed livestock.
Let’s do a little something called, “What’s in my bag”. Say you’re heading out on a retreat, what are the things you’d never leave home without?
Haha, that’s easy: Yoga mat, organic sunscreen, puffer vest, an assortment of leggings and training tops, water bottle, supplements like magnesium and zinc, leg warmers (must haves), hoodie, trainers, music, cap, underwear and Pj’s. Also my Cleanser, vitamin facial serums and coconut oil. Last but not least my bikini cause let’s hope where I’m going it’s warm!
How do you stay fit whilst traveling? Any on the road, go-to fitness secret you can share?
I love mountain biking. It gets me outdoors and allows me to check out the local reserves. When I travel I like to find any MTB trails or guides that can take me out. The rest of the time I’ll do either yoga or my Happy Body Training plan, 30 minutes of body weight training and I’m done. I also walk everywhere. I won’t let fitness consume me when I travel, I do it because it’s fun and allows me to explore!
Please share the motivation for creating your Happy Body program
With all the fitness obsessions being created from this recent Health Buzz boom there is a definite by-product of unhealthy body image and a lack of connection to the deeper components that truly connect us to the core of health. A Happy Body knows how to eat well and train well yes but it also knows the importance of a deeper connection to self and how to achieve that.
How does one achieve happiness with his or her own body.
Self-love, self-respect and self-empowerment are the key. It’s very easy to use many or all health and fitness fads to feel better and they certainly do help. But these external elements don’t completely connect us to who we really are and what our bodies really need. Using certain techniques to connect to breathing, stillness, core values and emotional understanding are essential in the deep cellular healing of your body as well as the development of your own inner appreciation of yourself, your life and your body.
Know more about the Happy Body Lifestyle Program here and catch the latest from Marissa on her Rocket and Beets IG at @rocketandbeets.
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