Take 5 with Alana Bowles - co-Founder

Tell us a bit about yourself?

You're probably best to ask someone else to describe me but if I had to describe myself I would call myself a heart-centred visionary who believes anything is possible.

I have been defining my purpose for a long time and it is without a doubt that I believe  that I am here the create as much positive impact as possible. At the moment I do this through my business and personal life.

Tell us about your business?

Health Associates reflects Chris and I as a couple. Prior to starting our business we spent a lot of time digging deep and really asking the big questions. Who are we? What are we about? Why are we here? What is important to us? Not only did we need to look within as individuals we needed to unite our values and vision into on that resonates with us both.

Health Associates combines our love for health, fitness and people. We believe that business is a vehicle to create as much positive impact as possible. We strive to do this through the service we deliver, the opportunities we create and the social impact we have on our local community and beyond.

My vision is for Health Associates to create positive health impacts within the communities in which it is located - at this stage it is the amazing suburb, Loftus.

What inspires you?

I really love seeing people overcome challenges, achieve something they never believed possible and to totally redefine who they thought they were or were capable of. Hopefully, I have had some small role in their transformation.

How do you overcome challenges?

By now you probably have realised i'm a very positive person. Starting business is hard. Very hard. Starting with a 3 year old and newborn adds that little bit extra pressure that would be enough to give up.

When starting out I was very aware that this was not going to be easy. I have a long term mindset and expected to make mistakes, learn and grow. Challenges are a given, it's all about how you deal with them.

I often ask myself these questions:

1) What can I do right now?
2) How can I keep moving forward?
3) Who can do this better than me? Can I delegate/outsource?
4) Do I love what I do and believe in our vision?

There have been countless times I have wanted to give up. But I really believe in what we are doing and everyday I can see the positive impact we are making in peoples lives. 

You really need to look for the silver lining in everything and use the challenges as lessons you have needed to overcome to make you better at what you do.

How do you balance motherhood and business?

Quite honestly I don't. It's messy and crazy. Some days I feel like i'm winning and others are a total wipe out. I have essentially given myself permission to not be perfect but to do the best I can. I actually think its ok for my children to see that I haven't hit the mark - but I don't give up. I keep trying, keep learning, try to do better and always do my best. I think if they learn this from me and our crazy life then maybe, just maybe I have done an alright job raising our children.

Also, I am fortunate to have the most amazing hands on husband that any woman could wish for. I don't tell him enough but I will say it here for the world to see. Chris is outstanding. He steps in and steps up to the plate. He does what needs to be done. There is no gender divide. We are a team. We are both parents and we do what ever we need to do to the best of our ability. 

What does health mean to you?

This is a great question and it has evolved for me over the years. My health was driven by my ego for a long time. Which actually made me really unhealthy.

I was measuring my success and worth on what I perceived as success. How ridiculous! 

Health is very holistic to me now. Today I consider my mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health  - in balance. They are all important. I try to tick the following boxes:

1) Have I exercised at least 3 times this week?
2) Do I eat nutritious food most of the time?
3) Am I sleeping well most of the time?
4) Do I have good relationships?
5) Am I social?
6) Am I still doing the things I enjoy?
7) Have I had time out this week?
8) Am I happy?

If I can answer yes to these questions most of the time then I feel I am kicking some big goals. I remind myself that life is full of ups and downs. It's ok to have a good week and not so good week. It's ok to fall out of routine then regain that routine again. My life demands that I be flexible, adaptable and kind to myself. I feel I am a healthy person. I am happy and I love my life - isn't that all that matters?

Favourite quote?

I have many but at the end of the day I think about my mum and all the important things she taught me and the thing that resonates the most is - Be Love!