The saying "Your body is your temple" is something that we encounter a lot, but can overlook amidst all the busyness we face on the daily. To thrive on life, the first thing on the agenda should be to take good care of body and soul, and that comes before everything else. This is where the Bodies.co x Chillibean collection comes in.
Vanessa Budihardja-Barus, also goes by Chillibean, is a fitness guru on a mission. Vanessa is a certified personal trainer, a functional strength and mobility coach, and was once an Indonesia’s representative for Nike+ Training Trainer. The Bali-based fitness and wellness professional also has a previous background working in corporate, but now she has made it her ultimate goal to deepen the connection with herself and her environment to then share well-being practices within her community. She is a mother and a lover of Mother Nature - proudly advocating for women, environmental sustainability, and minimal-waste lifestyle.
Her first collaboration with Bodies.co is called RAGA - deriving from the Indonesian word which means body or form. RAGA is strongly moved by the concept of the embodied mind: an avenue to connection, wholeness, and health in all aspects.
"Our existence and wellbeing is inseparably related to the wellbeing of the planet. We share many elemental commonalities with the Earth. In fact, our bodies - our raga - are inseparable from nature all around us - even intertwined with the history of the universe."
You might wonder, what type of workout exercises are the best fit for this collection? Vanessa reassures us that it works for everything from low intensity to high intensity workouts, which means that it's perfect for yoga, weightlifting, and HIIT. Not only that, but the pieces are designed to be super-versatile. They are something you can also wear to your favorite coffee shop or for a chill hangout with friends.
"Inspired by the colors of nature, this collection was designed in mind to inspire your body to move, explore the outdoors and connect back with the world outside."
At its very core, RAGA is a collection dedicated to Mother Nature. Shades of green and citrus color its pieces, and grounded earthy tones of its tops and bottoms remind us to explore the world outside. The collection is created to accompany your adventures with nature, and to let us take a moment to think about how much it has given us.
Nature. The very inspiration behind RAGA. Spending time surfing, hiking, or walking on the beach is incredibly rejuvenating. It's part of my daily routine.
So, how does a day in Vanessa's life looks like? At her Bali residence with an astonishing open view of the rice paddies, she wakes up early to take care of her first child, whom she welcomed earlier this year. After that, she spends the morning at the home gym or at a surf session. On some mornings, she teaches morning strength and conditioning classes/indoor cycling/PT sessions with clients.
Once she arrives back home, she prepares her healthy homemade lunch and spend the rest of her midday on her laptop or creating content. In the afternoon, she goes for a beach walk with her baby, bathe her at 5PM, and put her to bed at 6.30PM. She has her dinner afterwards, and turn off the lights at 10PM. Through her daily grind, we can see that Vanessa takes good care of her fitness habits, and she advises us to do the same, too.
Your body is literally your temple - keeping it strong and healthy in both body and mind is the foundation of everything that we do. When we maintain physical fitness and general wellness, it is easier for us to thrive.
And of course, a healthy relationship with the body goes hand-in-hand with a healthy mindset. Vanessa points out that going outside does wonders for our health or wellbeing. She recommends for us to have a movement routine - something we love doing that can be as simple as a walk around the neighborhood - and learn meditation to make yourself be less reactive of the things life throws at our way. And finally, Vanessa reminds us to be kind - especially to ourselves.
Be kind to yourself. The way you would be kind to your own best friend. Don’t put yourself down, talk to yourself as if you are giving your best friend advice whenever they are feeling low.
Through this collection, Bodies.co and Vanessa aim to inspire us to move and find your wellbeing in nature. It's a celebration of living your best life, of healthy habits, of taking good care of oneself. RAGA invites its wearers to be in tune with nature, explore the outdoors and reconnect with the world outside.
ABOUT THE COLLECTION
"As is the human body, so is the planet. As is the planet, so is the human body."