Happy and Healthy in 2020

The Christmas tree has been packed away, the parties are over and a brand new year - and a new decade - is ahead, ready to be shaped into your best ever. Whether your style is a juice detox and meditation, an outdoor work out or a beachside walk and a healthy bite to eat, our health and wellness guide covers the best ways to kick-off 2020 in the Shire.

Yoga, barre, meditation & more
Try out yoga practice by the beach, a pilates class or barre session – the Shire’s many popular studios will help you stretch, tone and calm. Try In Motion Lifestyle Centre in Cronulla, In Balance Wellness Studio in Caringbah, Pilate Insynch in Menai or Engadine Yoga and Pilates and begin the decade longer, stronger and more centred.

It’s just as important to look after your mental health so if you’re in the Shire on the weekend make sure to join the new free beachside meditation sessions at Wanda Beach. Run by Making Meditation Mainstream, the weekly sessions start at 6.30am every Saturday and are a great opportunity to calm your mind and connect with the community.

If you want to take it up a level, prepare to sweat it all out in a Bikram yoga class.  Bikram is a challenging series of 26 postures performed in a room heated to 38 degrees, releasing toxins and improving strength and circulation. Check out Bikram Sutherland Shire’s  timetable of daily 60 and 90 minute classes.

Live Life Get Active hosts free boxing, cross training and yoga sessions from Monday to Friday at Don Lucas Reserve during school terms. Cronulla RSL Club also has a timetable of lifestyle classes including fitness, strength, gentle exercise and chair Zumba.

Cleanse and detox
If you’re keen to cleanse the excesses of 2019 away then check out local juice company Detox Delivered for deliveries of fresh juices and healthy meals to your doorstep or hotel room. If you want to take your cleanse a step further you can pair your juice cleanse with a colonic series from Exhale Wellness Spa to remove those Christmas toxins and rehydrate from the inside.

Ocean, bikes, sailing and kites
The Shire’s coastline and waterways are dotted with ocean pools – from North Cronulla and Oak Park to the tidal pools at Gymea Bay and Como, there are pools to suit everyone Grab your goggles and jump in for laps or join one of the local swimming groups you’ll find at the pools or outside the South Cronulla Surf Lifesaving Club each morning. Our leisure centres in Caringbah, Engadine and Sutherland have 25m and 50m pools and fitness classes, while the Como Swimming Complex is open in summer and has a 20 metre swimming pool and tidal baths just a few steps away.

Our Shire boasts some of the best workout spots around. For a leg and cardio burn take the three kilometre track in from the Don Lucas Reserve carpark to the Wanda sand dunes or try the stairs run at Salmon Haul.

Jump on your bikes  - or hire them from Chain Reaction Cronulla - and ride out to the Woolooware Bay shared pathway, a leisurely four kilometre cycle from Taren Point to Greenhills through mangroves and bird viewing platforms, or set off to Kurnell.

Waking up before the sun and starting the day in nature with a morning walk is also great for body and mind. Use your feet and walk the Esplanade from Wanda Beach to Bass and Flinders where you can splash in for a snorkel and swim around the point, or brave the waves at Wanda on the return leg.

If you prefer to be on the water then sign up for sailing lessons at Port Hacking Open Sailing Club or book in for the popular Bundeena Kayaks Eco tour and paddle through the waterways of the Royal National Park on a three hour tour. You can hire SUPs here too, or from Cronulla SUP at Gunnamatta Bay and explore the bay and the Hacking River. Cronulla Surfing Academy can teach you to surf at North Cronulla Beach or for a different surf workout check out ProKite Kurnell for kite surfing lessons.

Eat
Start your day with a healthy organic smoothie or coffee at Eadie’s Organic Wholefood Market in Woolooware Road and fill up on organic fruit, vegetables and meals. Eadie’s also stocks ethically produced meat and dairy products and our family favourite vegan chicken nuggets (no one has cottoned on yet). Heart and Soul Organic Café in Gerrale St Cronulla serves up some of the best tasting salads, vegetable curries, sweets and coffees in the Shire and you can wander over to South Cronulla Beach for a dip after your meal.
 
Pop into Home Coffee in Kirrawee for kombucha goodness, turmeric lattes, Buddha bowls, smoothies and gluten and dairy free meals.
Local favourite Pilgrims Vegetarian Café Cronulla serves vegetarian and vegan breakfast, lunch and dinner from burgers and pies to salads, wraps and smoothies, and Six Smith Create in Ewos Parade offers home grown seasonal produce every day straight from their garden out the back door.

Spending time with family is often the best way to wellness - so grab the gang and head out for an evening down at the beach, by the riverside or at one of the Shire’s parks for a walk, beach cricket or a swim. You’ll have so much fun you won’t even realise you’re getting a workout.

You can find author Evie Farrell at www.mumpacktravel.com of follow her on Insta where she writes about her adventures in the Shire and around the world.