My Life Tonic

The Alps in Summer?

Absolutely! ⛰️☀️🚴

When most people think of Méribel-Mottaret, they picture snow-covered slopes, ski lifts and winter holidays.

But after spending a long weekend there, we’re convinced it’s just as incredible in the summer.

A few extra days would have been nice, as there is still so much left to explore.

Here’s what we managed to pack into our adventure...

🥾 A four-hour hike through the Vanoise National Park to the Refuge du Saut. Following the valley, crossing mountain streams and walking through beautiful alpine meadows.

🚴 Cycling the famous Col du Loze (on e-bikes this time 😄). The climb was tough going cross country - maybe next time I’ll do it all on a road bike. Whether you’re a road cyclist or prefer gravel and trails, there’s something for everyone.

🏊 Lake swimming in some stunning locations. Taking a dip at the supervised lake in La Praz, taking a dip in the mountain lake to finding a public pontoon to get into Lake Annecy; it was a great way to cool down. There’s something incredibly refreshing about swimming surrounded by mountains.

⛳ Golf in Méribel, where each hole provided varied and spectacular views. Thankfully we had enough balls and a buggy to get round.

Evenings were a little slower, enjoying great food, a well-earned drink and watching the sport in the local bars—this time it was the FIFA Club World Cup final and England taking on Argentina in the rugby.

Of course, we’ve already started making a list for next time...

🎱 Boules
🎣 Fly fishing
🚵 Downhill mountain biking
🚴 More road cycling
🏐 Volleyball
🎾 Padel

..and no doubt a few more mountain hikes!

The summer season runs from early July until the end of August, and if you’re looking for an active holiday with cooler temperatures, fewer crowds than many beach destinations and endless opportunities to get outdoors, the Alps should definitely be on your list.

I’m not very good at sitting still— moving, breathing fresh mountain air and returning home feeling genuinely recharged.

Safe to say... I’m already planning next year’s trip Les 3 Vallées

10 Years... and we almost forgot! 😂🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️

If you know us, you’ll know we’re not the best at remembering anniversaries...

After all, we both forgot our first wedding anniversary! 🤦‍♂️🤣

So it probably won’t surprise you that we nearly missed another milestone...

This month marks 10 years since we qualified as yoga teachers.

Back then, it was simply a side hustle. We loved practising yoga and thought it would be fun to share it with others.

We had no idea where it would lead.

Over the last decade, our passion for helping people feel better has taken us far beyond yoga.

It started with Vinyasa Flow, before growing into:
🧘 Yoga for Athletes
🕯️ Yin Yoga
🏋️ Personal Training
🥗 Nutrition qualifications (watch this space...)
🔥❄️ Contrast therapy with saunas and cold tubs
💚 A much broader focus on supporting people’s overall wellbeing.

What began as Yoga Tonic has naturally evolved into My Life Tonic.

Looking back, it’s incredible to think what we’ve created together:
✨ Weekly yoga classes live and online
✨ More than 500 on-demand classes
✨ Programmes for runners, skiers and active lifestyles
✨ 31-Day Challenges and 4-Week Tone Up programmes
✨ Our Wellbeing Scorecard
✨ Wellbeing Reset Days and retreats at our home (with more exciting plans ahead!)

Like everyone, Covid changed our plans overnight.

But instead of standing still, we adapted, kept learning and discovered new ways to support people. Looking back now, those challenges helped shape My Life Tonic into what it is today.

The greatest part of this journey hasn’t been the qualifications or the programmes—it’s been the people.

To everyone who’s joined a class, trusted us on a retreat, completed a challenge, supported our ideas or simply followed our journey over the years...

Thank you.

You’ve helped make the last 10 years incredibly rewarding.

We’re excited to keep learning, keep evolving and continue helping people move more, feel better and live healthier lives.

Here’s to the next chapter... we can’t wait to see where it takes us.

Tim & Shannon 💚

🕺🏃‍♂️ Exercise Comes in Many Different Forms... 🧘‍♀️🏊‍♀️

One thing this weekend reminded us is that staying active doesn’t have to look the same for everyone.

Over the course of the weekend we:
🔥 Danced at a Sauna Rave on Friday evening.
🧘‍♀️ Taught yoga as part of a friend’s birthday celebrations.
🏊‍♂️ Took on a SwimRun event at Grafham Water on Sunday.

Talk about variety!

Thankfully, Saturday gave us just enough time to recover from one before getting ready for the next.

If you’ve never heard of SwimRun, it’s a relatively new sport where you alternate between running and open water swimming. There’s no transition area like in a triathlon—you simply run in your swimming gear (wetsuit, goggles, swim hat, paddles and pull buoy), jump into the water, then climb out and carry on running.

Our route included 8 runs and 7 swims around one side of Grafham Water, covering 10km in just over 2 hours and 15 minutes. It’s a great event - if you’re interested check out

Having met through triathlon back in 2004, it reminded us of those early days when triathlon was still finding its feet. SwimRun has that same grassroots feel—people are there to enjoy the experience just as much as the event itself. Even those racing took time encourage one another and let people through. It’s a wonderfully welcoming community.

Years ago, we would have trained specifically to achieve a time. These days, it’s much more about enjoying the experience together, celebrating with friends, exploring somewhere new and keeping our exercise varied.

That’s exactly what My Life Tonic is all about.

We’re often told to “be more active”, but there’s no single way to do it. Whether it’s yoga, dancing, walking, cycling, open water swimming, local events like this or simply spending more time outdoors, the best form of exercise is the one you genuinely enjoy.

It doesn’t have to be a gym if that’s not your thing. Find your movement, have fun doing it, and make it part of your lifestyle.

🌿 A Free Opportunity to Better Understand Your Wellbeing 🌿

Many of you will have seen our posts about My Life Tonic's Wellbeing Reset Days, where we bring people together to switch off, recharge, move, connect, and focus on their wellbeing.

While these events are a fantastic way to invest in yourself, we'd also like to offer something that everyone can benefit from — completely FREE.

Throughout June and July, we're inviting people to complete our Free Wellbeing Scorecard.

At My Life Tonic, we believe that understanding your wellbeing is the first step towards improving it. Too often, we wait until we're feeling stressed, exhausted, overwhelmed, disconnected, or lacking motivation before taking action. By then, we're often reacting to challenges rather than proactively looking after ourselves.

Our Wellbeing Scorecard helps provide a snapshot of where you are today by exploring four key areas:

🧠 Mental & Emotional Wellbeing
🏃 Physical Activity
🤝 Community Connection
🌱 Lifestyle & Habits

Once completed, you'll receive:
✅ An overall wellbeing score
✅ A breakdown across each category
✅ Insight into your strengths
✅ Areas where small improvements could make a positive difference

The purpose isn't to judge or label. It's simply to help create awareness.

One of the key messages behind My Life Tonic is that wellbeing doesn't always require expensive solutions or major lifestyle changes. Often, the biggest improvements come from small, consistent actions that require awareness, time, and effort.

Understanding where you are today can help you make positive choices for tomorrow.

Whether you're feeling great, feeling stuck, or simply curious about your wellbeing, the scorecard is a useful starting point.

If you'd like to better understand your wellbeing and discover where small changes could have the biggest impact, we'd love you to take part.

We hope this helps you understand and identify small ways that can help improve and maintain your wellbeing.

https://mlt-wellbeingind.scoreapp.com

If you're wondering about the the image - I thought it was particularly apt bearing in mind we are all sweltering in a heatwave - cooling down on the river, safely, with friends....

A long weekend in Lisbon reminded me of something we don’t always prioritise enough...

Time with friends. 🍻

Not the quick catch-up squeezed between work and family commitments, but proper time together.

Time to reconnect, share experiences, laugh, move, explore and create new memories.

I headed to Lisbon to celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday and what a city it is.

We spent the weekend exploring on Lime scooters, wandering through streets at all times of the day and night, getting lost around the castle, finding hidden cafés and soaking up the atmosphere of the city.

There was surfing (which is always harder than you remember 🏄‍♂️), a bit of padel 🎾, plenty of time on the beach and more steps than expected.

One of my favourite moments was catching up over coffee with a great university friend; picking up exactly where you left off, even if months or years have passed.

There were also rooftop terraces, walking home late through a city that felt welcoming and safe, along with great meals in beachside cafes and city restaurants.

What struck me most was how good it felt to step away from routine.

To move more.

To laugh more.

To spend time with people who have shared different chapters of your life.

At My Life Tonic, we often talk about the importance of movement, connection and trying new things. This trip had all three.

Sometimes wellbeing isn’t about adding another habit to your routine.

Sometimes it’s about saying yes to a trip, reconnecting with old friends and creating space for experiences that leave you feeling energised and refreshed.

And while Lisbon was the perfect destination for a weekend with friends, it’s definitely somewhere I’d love to return to with Shannon and experience a different side of the city together.

What place would you go back to in a heartbeat?

🌿 Thank You for Joining Us 🌿

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our latest Wellbeing Reset Session this weekend.

As always, what makes these days so special isn’t just the yoga, cold water and sauna sessions — it’s the people who come along. It was wonderful to welcome new faces joining us for the first time, alongside those who have returned to previous sessions. Seeing friendships form, conversations flow, and people support one another is one of our favourite parts of the day.

Thank you for embracing the experience so enthusiastically and being open to trying something that may have felt a little outside your comfort zone.

From flowing through yoga, to taking those first few breaths in the cold water, to relaxing and chatting in the warmth of the sauna, it was fantastic to see everyone fully engage with the day and with each other.

While the weather had other plans and we weren’t able to practice on the deck this time, we still had a wonderful day together. Here’s hoping for some sunshine and outdoor yoga at future sessions 🤞☀️

One of the things we love most about these reset days is seeing people take a few hours out of busy lives to focus on themselves, reconnect with friends, meet new people, and leave feeling calmer, energised and refreshed.

✨ New Wellbeing Reset Dates Now Available ✨

📅 Sunday 13th September
📅 Sunday 27th September

⏰ 10am–1pm and 2pm–5pm sessions available on both dates

Each session includes:

🧘 Yoga & Breathwork
❄️ Cold Water Dipping
🔥 Sauna
🥗 Healthy Snacks
🌙 Restorative Yoga

Spaces are limited and can now be booked online.

https://www.mylifetonic.com/3-hour-wellbeing-reset-days

Thank you again to everyone who joined us and helped create such a welcoming, supportive and positive atmosphere. We hope you’re carrying some of that calm, energy and sense of connection into the week ahead 💛

SelfCare