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Listen From Your Heart

Shape up for Summer

Naomi Garrick tells us how she went from working in the ho-tel and tourism sector to being the darling of public relations

and marketing. Also, it’s still spring, but summer is right around the corner, so here’s a head-start guide to “Shape Up for Sum-

mer”, plus more in this week’s issue of Your Style.Have a happy and safe Easter holiday!

Live.Love.

Laugh a Lot.

Editor’s Note

Quote of The WeekLife can only be understood backwards, but

must be lived forwards.

-Soren Kierkegaard

April 18, 2011

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Cover & Cover Story Photograpy by Warren Buckle

Naomi GarrickThe Fresh, New Face of

Public Relations

Summer

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fitness

Shape up for

90-Degree LiftWhat you’ll need: A yoga mat (or a bath towel) and a chairTargets: Butt, outer and inner thighs

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding one end of rolled-up

mat (or chair back) in front of you with both hands.• Bend knees slightly and hinge forward from hips, extending arms to plant vertical mat on floor a few feet in front of left foot so that back is parallel to floor.

• Keep both hands on top of mat for support and extend right leg out to side, toes pointed.

• Keeping abs engaged, back flat, and mat upright, exhale as you lift right leg out to side as high as possible. Hold for 3 seconds, then lower leg.

• Do 10 to 15 reps, holding the last leg lift for 10 seconds. Switch legs and repeat.

Open anD ShutTargets: Shoulders, back, abs and quads

• Stand with feet together, toes pointed out to sides, holding rolled-up mat (or towel) near ends in front of thighs with both hands.• Extend right leg in front of you, toes on floor. Reach arms overhead, leaning back to form a diagonal line from right hand to right toes.

• Bring mat to shoulder level while lifting right leg to hip level in front of you. Hold for one breath; lower leg and lift arms.• Do 10 reps. Switch legs and repeat.

inverteD ButterfLy LeapSTargets: Shoulders, back, arms, abs, inner thighs and calves

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, straddling rolled-up mat (or towel).• Bend over and place palms shoulder-width apart on floor so that body forms an inverted V.• Bend knees slightly and lift heels off floor (onto tiptoes). Jump feet up about 12 inches and

bring legs in, tapping feet together in midair (above mat), then landing back in an inverted V.• Do 20 reps.

StanDing Leg CurLTargets: Hamstrings and calves

• Stand with feet together and place rolled-up mat (or towel) evenly behind right knee so that

it’s parallel to floor. Lift right foot behind you with toes pointed and pull heel toward butt to

secure mat behind knee.• Extend arms at shoulder level in front of you and clasp hands. (Beginners, use chair

for balance.)• Squeezing mat with leg throughout, lean forward slightly, keeping back flat, as you lift right knee behind

you about 6 inches; lower.• Do 20 pulses up and down. Switch legs and

repeat.

heaven anD earthTargets: Back, abs, butt and quads

• Stand with feet together, holding one end of rolled-up mat (or towel) in

each hand, palms in, arms extended at shoulder level in front of you.

• Lower into a squat, then exhale slowly as you fold upper body over thighs, forming a ball. Tuck chin and bend elbows

to pull mat to knees.• Maintaining squat, uncurl upper body as you extend arms diagonally overhead.

• Return to tucked ball position. Do 15 reps.

one your butt, thighs and calves in just 15 minutes -- and show some leg this summer.T

“You have to build media relationships, making the follow-up calls and doing your research, but, most importantly, you don’t need to know everybody in the media; you want them to know you as well. You have to be a reliable source of information.”

cover story

n any given day, Naomi Garrick’s morning starts at 5:00 a.m. It usually involves making breakfast for her four-year-old son, grabbing a cup of coffee

for herself if she “gets the chance” and then taking him to school. After that, she’s usually heading to meetings, about three per day. Sounds like a full plate, but don’t feel sorry for this working mother. She is enjoying every minute of it. The founder and CEO of Garrick Communications, a boutique Public Relations, Event Planning and Marketing company, has not looked back since landing her first client in May 2010. “A lot of people believe that PR is sending out a press re-lease saying ‘Hi! Hello!’, but it’s far more than that,” Naomi pointed out. “You have to build media relationships, making

the follow-up calls and doing your research, but, most im-portantly, you don’t need to know everybody in the media; you want them to know you as well. You have to be a reli-able source of information.”

The PR/marketing business is a highly competitive field and it certainly helps that Naomi has always worked on her own initiative. Dating back to high school, Naomi was always told that she had the fitting personality for hospitality and tour-ism, advice she ran with when she did a Degree in Hospital-ity and Tourism Management. She really loved the industry and aspired to be her own hotel manager.

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NaomiGarrickThe freSh, New face of public relaTioNS

NaomiGarrick

cover story

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Her entry into the job market was at the Terra Nova Hotel, then Grand Lido Braco and Negril where she was the sale manager. Being the city chick that she is, Naomi longed to return to the city where family and friends are and this time it was not in the hospitality sector. “I met Kimani Robinson who was the CEO of RE-TV, he told me about two compa-nies RE-TV and JNN which they were about to launch at the time and they were locking for a Sales and Marketing Execu-tive. I tried it, ended up becoming the Sales and Marketing Manager, Acting General Manager and several other things. I basically became Kimani’s right hand with the company while I was there.”

After four years at RE-TV, Naomi found herself back in the tourism sector, this time at the Spanish Court Hotel. But it was her time at RE-TV that provided the push into her cur-rent profession as several musicians she had met while work-ing there approached her to do press releases and publicity work for them. She discovered a love for the field, having always nurtured a love for writing and reading and had even considered being a literature teacher.

All these roles have prepared Naomi for her biggest and most daunting venture to date - being her own boss. “I have worked in so many different role in all those companies. I’ve learned what to do in a business and what not to do in a business,” she said. It is no walk in the park, but she really enjoys working for herself primarily because she has a son whom she described as ‘her world’ and operating her own venture gives her the flexibility to spend as much time with him as possible because being a mom is her first job. Even so, she knows the “long and hard” hours that are required of entrepreneurs, which plays to her benefit because the me-dia industry is similar and it is a 24-hour business. She has achieved a lot since first going on her own, currently working as the Public Relations consultant for Victoria Mutual Building

Society and Geddes Refrigeration Limited; Red Stripe is on her client list as well, and she also has several other projects in the pipeline.

Photos taken at Rituals Coffee House, Shop 5, Village Plaza

Her StyleMixture of classy and chic: loves pearls, little sweaters,

dresses and heels.

On a work day: branded shirts with slacks or jeans, depend-ing on the engagement.

Can’t do without: the diamond earrings her dad gave her for her 16th birthday.

Who are the most important people in your life? Family: mother, father and brother; my son and his father, who is also

my boyfriend.What drives you towards excellence? The main driving force is my son. I want him to have anything his little heart

desires that I can afford.

When it is ok to move on? Though I’m not a perfection-ist, I do want to ensure that my clients are happy and I’ll do whatever it takes. When my client is satisfied, then my job is

complete. Where will find you after a brutal day? In bed for sure,

watching something or reading a book. I recently purchased an iPad and have two on it that I’m currently reading.

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relationships

Listenfrom Your hearT

ave you ever had friends or family members tell you that you don’t listen when they speak? How

can this be, you might wonder, when I hear what they’re saying and respond accordingly? Many of us are not even aware that there’s a difference between hearing and listen-ing. They’re both done with the ears, but according to min-ister and inspirational writer Paul Ferrini, 99% of what we hear comes from what’s already in our minds, meaning that we colour what others say to us with our own thoughts. Listening, however, is a process free of our own thoughts, opinions and judgements.

According to renowned spiritual teacher Iyanla Vanzant, “Listening comes from the right-now moment when you make a connection with the person that you’re talking to. Listening has no judgement. Listening has no expectations. Most of all, listening is a process of love.”

This might sound like new-age mumbo jumbo, but allow your mind to really tune into her words and let them sink in, then think about this: How often do you intentionally or even unwittingly tune out what is being said to you because you’ve ‘heard it all before’ or you’re just not interested in the information? For example, your best friend is complain-ing – again – about her lousy boyfriend and when she asks, ‘Why does he keep doing this to me?’ your mind automati-cally snaps ‘Because you’re a doormat.’ How many times have you actually blurted out your thoughts in the middle of someone’s speech? This proves that we do interpret what we hear according to our own thoughts.

Listening asks us to tune out of our own mind and into what is being said to us by paying attention to the words and feel-

ings being expressed. This shows that we value the speak-er as well as what is being said. It shows respect and yes, love. Your thoughts on your friend’s boyfriend are not the focus of her speech. She already knows he’s no good, but she just wants to unburden herself of her worries and fears. So listen. If she wants your advice, she will ask ‘What do you think I should do?’ Then you can launch into your own speech about how she deserves better.

Listening also requires your full attention, so if you’re busy doing the dishes or typing a report, you can’t be fully in the moment. People can often sense when you’re not really present in a conversation or when they’re being judged. The next time somebody is speaking to you, look into his/her eyes and allow a connection to form. Just pay attention.

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by Tracey-Ann Wisdom

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