New to Yoga? Here are some beginner’s tips to ease into making a yoga routine part of your daily life:

Breathe. This is fundamentally important throughout yoga and movement. Whenever you focus on specific poses, always remember to breathe. Breathing is what keeps you mindful and aware and allows your muscles to relax. Breathing during yoga should come from deep down in your diaphragm- from your belly! Breathe slowly and with the goal to ‘tune in’ to your body.

Learn to let go. Yoga is not about the mastery of poses, as much as the journey and conscious practice of yoga principles. Perform the poses to the best of your ability, and relax your body. Once relaxed and once your focus is not on the perfect pose, many poses become achievable.

Commit to class. Be realistic and only set up what fits into your schedule. Don’t buy an unlimited monthly pass if you can really only come one day of the week. Once you set up a class schedule that works for you, hold yourself accountable to the commitment you have made to yoga and to your wellbeing. Be on time to class and be mentally, emotionally, and physically present.

Take care of your body. Get enough rest and eat well. Many people choose to practice yoga early in the morning, and then follow it with a healthy balanced breakfast. Sometimes the thought of the good meal to follow can motivate you to get out of bed early and head to yoga class! Often the bodywork done during yoga relaxes the body and stimulates the appetite, preparing the digestive system for optimal nutrition.

So what sets us apart.....

• West End Park café is dedicated to providing all the staff at Flight Centre with mouth watering food at surprisingly low prices.
• Cater for major events such as Melbourne Cup.
• We provide a menu based on the company’s budget.
• We are established for over 10 years.
• We offer an extensive catering menu for Buzz Nights, Planning/Focus Days, Work Parties, Conferences, Training Days, Supplier Meetings, etc.
• 24 Hour turn around time.
• Flexible and cater for special dietaries needs.
• Easy online ordering system.
• FREE delivery over $50 (CBD, South Brisbane & West End area).
• Friendly team dedicated on providing efficient
• View the various reviews from Flight Centre staff members- http://www.westendparkcafe.com.au/reviews/

• And, we donate a percentage of every dollar spent to the Flight Centre Foundation that supports Red Kite, Young Care, Foodbank & Bush Heritage Australia.

Redkite provides real and practical support to children and young people with cancer and their families. Support is provided from the moment of diagnosis, through treatment, and on return home to the community

Young Care currently have more than 6500 young Australians (under the age of 65) are living in aged care simply because there are few alternatives. That’s why Youngcare is committed to providing choice in care and housing options for young Australians requiring 24/7 care

Foodbank Australia collects unsaleable, surplus and donated food and grocery products from farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and the public and distributes them to over 2,500 charities and community groups around Australia.

Bush Heritage Australia is a national non-profit organisation that protects Australia’s unique animals, plants and their habitats. We do this by acquiring and managing land of outstanding conservation value, or by working in partnership with other landowners. Our vision for 2025 is to protect 1 per cent of Australia.

To find out how your business can benefit from our professional and affordable catering service please call us on (3844 2255) or visit our Brisbane Catering page for more details.

Here are a few suggestions to find a good read near the West End Park Café:

At Bent Books (205a Boundary Street ), you will find books from many genres, including but not limited to: contemporary and classic literature, children’s picture books, young adult fiction, counter-culture and Beat Generation literature and non-fiction, science fiction and fantasy, graphic novels and comic books, crime novels and true crime, business and investment, literary criticism, linguistic studies, foreign languages, art/photography/design, sheet music and scores, philosophy, psychology, religion and spirituality,  witchcraft, self-help, gender studies, travel writing including Lonely Planet, ancient and contemporary history, anthropology and mythology, Australian and international political studies, biographies, indigenous and Pacific Island studies, sciences, wildlife and ecology, gardening, cooking, sport, collectibles, architecture, maritime fiction and non-fiction, military history, and Australiana.

Avid Reader (193 Boundary Street) is dedicated to providing a true booklovers community and shopping experience. The collection is large and interesting, and the staff are eager to share their knowledge and favourite selections. Avid is kid-friendly and a great place to find ‘hard to find’ items. There are also regular events and even book clubs run at and by Avid.

A newer arrival is Ecclesectica (163 Boundary Street), which labels itself Brisbane’s only Esoteric Bookshop and features both the written word and other eccentric Curiosities. The owners are practicing pagans and very passionate about the shop, as well as the surrounding community.

Little Bookshop Around the Corner (34 Harriet Street) specializes in foreign tiles; specifically German, French, Spanish, and Italian. Here you can find coursebooks, teach yourself texts, phrase books, dictionaries, and foreign language fiction and non-fiction. If you don’t see what you need, they are happy to order it for you.

Happy hunting!

Your favorite breakfast spot is also a perfect place for joggers? Stop on in after your workout and enjoy our large selection of rehydrating drinks and delicious healthy meals. We feature protein shakes starting at $5.50 and the option to add bananas, berries, or mango flavours for only 50 cents additional.  Enjoy a scenic jog along the river, then pop on inside—the atmosphere is casual and you will feel right at home.

West Park Café supports a healthy lifestyle. Jogging is a proven way to lose extra pounds, stay fit, increase your endurance level, and combat stress. Don’t jog yet, or want to improve your workout? Here are our tips for newbie joggers:

1. Start off easy and mix jogging with walking to build up your stamina. This may take a couple of months.
2. Gradually increase your jogging ratio to walking.  Always make sure to stretch properly before any exercise.
3. Try to resist the temptation to walk and increase your endurance until you are jogging for the full circuit.
4.  Always make sure you replenish your body with plenty of fluid and a healthy meal.

Hopefully these tips will motivate you this weekend to get your trainers on and go for a job along the river with a final pitstop at our cafe for healthy breakfast.

• The team at West End Park Café wishes everyone a safe and happy holidays
• We are closed from Friday 6 April to Monday 9 April
• Drop by this week  and enjoy a complimentary Easter eggs with your coffee
• Why not take the kids to South Bank after a meal at the café?

South Bank will put on a heap of school holiday activities over the Easter holiday break that will excite children of all ages. Activities will be physical and culturally entertaining so fuel up at the café and let the kids loose at South Bank? 

Alternatively, why not pick up some tasty sandwiches and treats from West End Park Café and have a picnic in the parklands?

Have a great Easter and we look forward to seeing you soon.

We customise packages to suit most budgets. With most of our current Brisbane Catering Group Bookings we know in advance how many people are on the tour, what meals they would like (usually a choice of 2 to 3 varieties), what time they are arriving and how long they have for lunch. Once these factors are accounted for the rest is easy. For the Tour Group, they simply arrive on Schedule to find their meals ready, have a coffee and off they go again.

Most Tour Organisers take responsibility of all payments for ease of transaction as we provide a per head price which usually includes a Main Meal and a Dessert. Most Tour groups usually know how much they are paying per head and payment is made directly to the tour organiser. We email an  invoice to the organiser after their visit with one total amount.

View our large range of homemade menu items.

Plus, you can also take advantage of this great deal on the 13^th as well. We think this deal will sell out quickly so CALL 3844 2255 to book your table.

See you on Valentine’s Day. 

Here are the top 10 ways to have a happier workday.

1.   Eat breakfast – If you skip breakfast, you won’t be at your best during the morning.   You will more likely pig out at lunch and have a sleepy afternoon.   So eat something healthy that includes protein so you can ensure a smooth start. View our healthy breakfast menu.

2.   Get plenty of sunshine – Sun in the morning signals the body and mind to wake up.   So put on your shoes and go outside.

3.   Get Aerobic Exercise –   while you are getting your sunlight, use it as an excuse to get a good walk or jog in.   Exercise lowers stress, gets your blood moving and wakes you up.

4.   Avoid emails or phone calls before 10 am.   Emails and phone calls demand immediate attention, whereas your goals and work can easily be brushed to the side.   If you can avoid unimportant jobs until 10 or 10:30, you’ve got a fighting chance at getting all of the important tasks done.

5.   Think positive thoughts not negative – Seems simple, but many people never do it.   Instead of looking on the worst side, try to see the bright side.   Ask yourself “what is the advantage of this situation?”   “how am I benefitting from this?   What am I learning?”   These are all good questions that you can ask in all negative situations to turn them to the positive.

6.   Take breaks – If you push on one task for too long you your work starts to suffer.   It’s easy to become tired and frustrated.   So every 30 – 45 minutes, take 5.   Get up from your desk, stop what you are doing and get your mind off your work for awhile.   You’ll find you’ll return with more ideas and renewed energy.

7.   Go for a mid-day walk – again, more exercise.   Getting a brisk walk in over lunch (even if for only 10 minutes) will get you to feeling better about your afternoon.   Where most others are sitting around digesting, you can be energizing. Pop into the cafe for a quick coffee and bite to eat.

8.   Avoid gossip – One drain on your day is gossip.   It may seem fun and exciting to learn some juicy gossip about your colleagues but good gossip is always negative talk.   Negative talk starts the pendulum swinging toward negativity.

9.   List your top 5-7 objectives for the day and break the list down to 3 – It’s good to get in the habit of making lists, it’s bad to make long lists.   If you’ve got more than 5 items on your list, break it down to the top 3 things (you can always go back and edit in another task or two).   But with a list of 20 things, how can you not be overwhelmed?   3 is a manageable, magical number.   Break your list down to 3.   Anybody can do just three things right?

10. Be slow to react to other people’s “urgent” requests.   When someone else asks you for help, practice saying “what’s your deadline on this?   Or when do you need this done?”   Most people when asked one of those questions realize it’s not as urgent and will set a future date.   That way, you can go back to working on one of your top 3 activities.