But you can also be devoted to yourself, and this is discipline. If you are setting aside time to move your body, to eat nourishing amazing foods, to cook amazing food with your loved ones, to go out and have that coffee with your friends where you get to have that really connected catch up… this is discipline to your own health, your own mental health and your own cup, you are filling your cup up. And I think adding on that little bit of devotion, disciplined devotion, makes you want to do it even more, it makes the practice come easier. Well, I think discipline can have that connotation you are in trouble perhaps for some people, like when you were a kid you were disciplined, really rigid, no flexibility… but devotion feels loving and flexible. ~ Emma & Carla Papas

What an absolute delight to interview these two beautiful beings. Emma and Carla Papas are the Merrymaker Sisters, and they are quite literally changing the world as they themselves change. In this interview we hear their heartfelt and open viewpoints on their personal journey’s and how their business has literally grown up with them. They are talented, delightful, clever and beautiful souls who are living life out loud with infectious joy!

Here is a little info about these two special souls that they shared with me about their journey so far.

Yes! We are real-life sisters and no, our last name isn’t Merrymaker… it’s actually Papas.

No, we’re not twins, Emma is 2.5 years older than Carla.

Yes, we do fight occasionally, and yes we are actual best friends… and yes! We do work really well together.

Ok, glad we got that out of the way!

We started The Merrymaker Sisters as a hobby in 2013, it began as a blog to simply share our favourite healthy recipes, our thoughts on mindset, dieting, fitness and life in general.

If you’re wondering… Merrymaker means ‘to bring joy’ so that was always the mission (for us and for you).

One day while Carla was sick in bed getting over a botched up nose job (that’s a whole other story for another day) we came across the great philosophies of Joseph Campbell.

The term Follow Your Bliss stood out…

We realised The Merrymaker Sisters was our BLISS.

We understood that if we gave it more energy and attention it would only grow.

And yes, it was a big risk… but we gathered…

… the greater risk wasn’t to leave the ‘stable’ high paying Government jobs (we were on $80k each, pretty good for 22 and 24 year olds!)…

…the greater risk was staying in a mediocre job and ignoring our passion, our hearts and our bliss.

We both sent our resignation emails on the same day, at the exact same time and danced out of the office.

It’s been a wild ride since, filled with ups and downs, easy fun flowing moments to hard stressful days and a lot of WTAF moments.

From selling cakes, to creating recipe books, the #1 best -selling recipe app Get Merry, live meal plan challenges, podcasts and MORE.

We’ve created lots but what we’ve done from the very start is to stay true to our hearts (our bliss).

We’ve done the work that felt right and this is what led us to create MerryBody Online Yoga, Pilates and Meditation Studio.

Through the empowering combination of Yoga, Pilates and Meditation, MerryBody will totally change the way you workout – AND how you feel about yourself.

100% online, on-demand, it puts you in complete control, letting you pursue your own personal idea of what it means to feel good, respect and care for yourself.

We spent years and years trying all the diets and spending hours in the gym. The goal to lose weight, to be smaller, to take up less space became our main goal in life (“lose 5 kilos” was always top of our NYE resolutions).

We didn’t care about health, we only cared about how many kilos we saw on the scales every morning.

This toxic way of living completely consumed our minds and left no space for magic.

The real toxicity came from our intentions and mindsets behind our ‘healthy‘ actions.

We dieted to lose weight because we never thought we were good enough.

We worked our butts off in the gym, because we didn’t accept what we saw in the mirror… or because of something we’d eaten prior to that moment.

But no matter how much weight we lost, then gained, then lost, then gained… we were never happy.

Through our journey with Yoga, Pilates and Meditation we realised the only thing that truly mattered was how we felt about ourselves right NOW.

And not when we lost a specific number of kgs or fitted into that dress.

Yoga, Pilates and Meditation was the key to realising that right here, right now… we are absolutely, 100% enough (in fact… we are amazing… and you are too).

Our goal is simple, we want you to come on over to our site, read, watch, move with us, cook with us and feel more self-acceptance, self-respect and more joy.

To us, the most important thing is embracing and celebrating who we are – and we want you to do the same.

Always merrymaking, Emma and Carla
Their definition of Self Love is the practice of self-acceptance. It’s also self-respect and it’s kindness to yourself. It’s self-compassion, patience, honouring yourself, it’s giving yourself time to just be. It’s all of this and it’s so much more as well. It’s also about tuning in and speaking your truth, living your truth, it’s feeling what’s inside that you can express it. It’s giving yourself the time to do the things you love. It’s living how you want to live.
Their favourite quote is their mantra at the end of every class:

‘Always remember you are amazing just as you are right here and right now.’

And from Joseph Campbell:

“Follow your bliss and the Universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.”
Links to follow:
Free daily 10minute workouts: https://themerrymakersisters.com/5days/
Merrybody Live Tickets:
https://themerrymakersisters.com/merrybody-live-events-tickets-are-limited/
Website: https://themerrymakersisters.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Themerrymakersisters/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Themerrymakersisters/

Quotes:
Follow your bliss
Follow the stuff that lights you up
Yoga and Pilates has been the turning point for self-acceptance
I accept myself here and now
Movement paired with self-acceptance creates self-belief
There are ripple effects everywhere
Feel the difference
Your actions will be heard
Self love over fear
Self-doubt is safety that is all
Awareness is enough
Tap into ancient philosophy
Connect with the breath
Be present with yourself and raise awareness
Stop, reflect and be ok with yourself
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If you would love to work with Kim one on one coaching or be a part of her Self Love & Wellness Mentorship Program to continue to master the art of self-love click here – www.kimmorrison.com

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LINKS:
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MUSIC INTRO & OUTRO
Many thanks to Wes and Charlotte Carr – https://wesleydeanmusic.com/