Astarte Mind & Body

17/11/2025

I'm looking forward to rebooting my studio art classes in 2026. I've been pulling my materials out regularly for council workshops but it has been a long time since I ran my own classes.
These short series will allow participants to take their time and dive a little deeper into the techniques and subjects, providing more time for the development of skills and confidence.

10/11/2025

In our lives we create little bubbles of safety to provide a psychological or energetic barrier to protect us from perceived harm or discomfort.
However, there inevitably comes a time in our lives when that same bubble that once served as protection now serves as a prison and a barrier to personal growth.
It may be time to expand your bubble, or burst it!

09/11/2025

Yesterday we drove to The Pines at Saddleback Mountain to see the farm and The Passion Project is a permaculture space within the farm grounds dedicated to regenerative organic produce farming.
You can volunteer to help with the garden on Friday mornings in exchange for some fresh produce, or visit on selected open days.

08/11/2025

I feel my body responding to sound and vibration constantly, and know that even my cats and plants love a solfeggio frequency. Unfoetunately modern technology doesn't quite deliver the sound in as pure a vibrational form as live music can. Recently I had my first experience with a tuning fork while up in QLD for NUMA Fest. The lovely Pip Simpson had organised a massage therapist to come to our accommodations on the morning after our big show, and she brought a tuning fork along with her. At the end of the massage she placed it on my crown, and then on my feet. It was an 8nteresting and pleasant sensation. After two huge days of dance training I still had a surprising amount of energy left folliwing four more hours of dance training. I am going to invest in some professional tuning forks of my own.

🎵 Our cells can literally feel sound!

In a fascinating new study, scientists at Kyoto University discovered that audible sound waves — the same ones we hear every day — can directly influence how our genes behave.

When cultured cells were gently exposed to these vibrations, nearly 190 genes changed their activity, including those linked to metabolism, inflammation, and cell structure. Most astonishingly, sound exposure seemed to stop fat cells from forming — a potential step toward sound-based therapies that could shape metabolism or healing without any drugs or chemicals.

This phenomenon, known as mechanotransduction, is how cells convert physical forces like pressure or vibration into biological signals. It suggests that sound doesn’t just move through us — it may talk to our bodies on a cellular level.

While the research is still in its early lab stages, it hints at a future where sound could become a form of medicine — influencing everything from tissue repair to chronic disease treatment.

📚 Source: “Acoustic modulation of mechanosensitive genes and adipocyte differentiation,” Communications Biology (April 16, 2025).

07/11/2025

I know this to be absolutely true from personal experience. Stress and emotions can have such a profound impact on the body in so many ways. Having an autoimmune disorder that I am managing through my food and lifestyle, I know that flare ups always occur during periods of emotional upheaval, affecting my entire digestive and endocrine system. It takes a concentrated effort of extended calm over a week or two to get m6 system back into a state of homeostasis.

In a remarkable discovery, scientists have found that the brain can influence the gut microbiome in as little as two hours. Using mice models, researchers observed that brain signals rapidly altered the composition of gut bacteria revealing that communication between the brain and gut is not only mutual but astonishingly fast.

For years, we’ve known that gut microbes affect mood, immunity, and even cognition. But this study flips the script, showing that the brain can send signals that actively reshape the gut ecosystem. The finding highlights a dynamic, two-way relationship where stress, emotions, or brain activity can directly alter gut health.

This breakthrough opens exciting possibilities for future therapies. By understanding the pathways through which the brain communicates with gut microbes, scientists may develop treatments for digestive disorders, immune dysfunction, and even mental health conditions by targeting the mind itself.

Credit: Source — Nature Communications (2025), study on neural control of gut microbiome dynamics.

07/11/2025

With our 23 year old mattress beginning to feel less comfortable than it used to, it was time to start thinking about getting a new one.

But, not only did I not want to contribute to landfill, I hated the 'off-gassing' that comes with new mattesses, not only from synthetic fabrics and fillers, but also from chemical flame retardents which are mainly used for synthetic components. Most off gassing usually happens in the first 24-72 hours, but it can persist for months depending on what chemicals have been used.

I did a bit of online research and found an Australian company that creates non-toxic natural latex and cotton mattresses and toppers.

So, rather than purchasing a whole new mattress, we just purchased a mattress topper, and what a difference it has made.

I also discovered in my research that latex can either be naturally produced from natural ingredients or synthetically produced when mixed with petrochemicals. I had not previously thought too much about the production process.

It makes me wonder if people with latex allergies are allergic to the tree sap itself or whether it's something in the processing. 🤔 Feel free to enlighten me.

Anyway, think of this post as my PSA for the day. File it in the 'stuff I never really thought about much before' section of your brain. You never know when the information could come in handy. 😉

05/11/2025

This month we are adding the Pilates Bar to our pilates Fusion and Strengthen and Lengthen workouts.
The Pilates Bar is an interesting and challenging prop that can be integrated in multiple ways to provide additional resistance to our regular Pilates based exercises.
It actually requires quite a bit of upper body strength to stabilise the bar through the movements and we end up employing a lot of isometric tension to maintain stability and resist against the pull of the straps.
I'll be teaching some basic movements and adding in a few challenges over the next two weeks.
Feel free to Zoom in! If you don't have a Pilates bar you can still do most of the exercises with a plain old resistance band. 😊

28/10/2025

This is interesting, and actually makes sense since we know that muscle contraction is the most important thing for the body.

Sitting for hours at a time doesn’t just affect your energy, it can seriously disrupt blood sugar control.

A recent study reveals that interrupting prolonged sitting with short bursts of movement can significantly improve glycemic control.

In the study, participants who performed 3 minutes of walking or 10 bodyweight squats every 45 minutes had better blood sugar regulation compared to those who stayed seated or even those who took a single 30-minute walk.

These frequent, targeted bursts of activity were shown to activate key muscle groups like the quadriceps and glutes, leading to better glucose management throughout the day.

This is proof that you don’t need to spend hours in the gym to support your metabolic health.

doi.org/10.1111/sms.14628

24/10/2025

I'm up in Brisbane at the moment as part of the project at .
It's been a pretty full-on program so far with seven hours of dancing today and a fourteen hour day tomorrow with rehearsals, filming projects, and the live performance at the official show.
This is when I am so grateful for all the cross-training I do with the classes I teach. I have really put my body through the wringer today, but it came through and mostly did what I needed it to.

17/10/2025

My weekly 30-minute Strengthen and Lengthen class is designed to challenge the body in different ways through a combination of functional and multi-directional movement. We explore body weight and loaded movements, as well as range of motion through the integration of dumbbells, resistance bands, and, for the first time this term, the Pilates Bar.

Don't worry. You dont have to do it all and feel like me today. 😅 You can work at your own pace and depth in all exercises, and I'll provide options for modifications throughout. 😊

All classes are recorded for access any time throughout the term.

11/10/2025

There have been a few small changes to our online timetable for term four, primarily with our Saturday Pilates Fusion class now slated for the earlier time of 8am .. so you can get started earlier and enjoy more of your weekend.
All our classes are delivered live via Zoom, with four classes recorded each week so you can catch up in your own time if you can't make it.
Our members also have access to our online exercise library with access to over 70 recorded classes and tutorials. I usually add a few extra during each term to help it build and grow.
If you'd like to join me for mind body classes online this term from the comfort of your own home, you can sign up via my website. We start back this Monday.

10/10/2025

My term breaks are never a real holiday. They are a time to shake things up, let things settle, and reset myself for another term.
This break has been a little more adventurous and busy than usual, though, with some extra workshops to prepare for and teach.
This is what I got up to.