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Lisa Portolan

Author, blogger, green-juice sipper, yoga and meditation instructor

Lisa Portolan is a writer from Sydney, Australia. She has three books published (two under the pseudonym E. Ashby), and often blogs for a number of websites including Elephant Journal, Yoganonymous, Rebelle Society and Mamamia.

She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) on ‘happiness-washing and the advertising industry’. She has a MA International Studies, and BA Communications and International Studies from UTS, and has worked in the advertising industry for over a decade.

Lisa is also a yoga and meditation instructor, closet green-juice-sipper and incorrigible dreamer. Check out her website www.lisaportolan.com, or follow her on Instagram @porti82 or Twitter @lisaportolan.

She now lives in Canberra with her daughter, husband (craft beer guru and co-owner of the Pot Belly) and two pooches, Apollo and Juno.
Please note she does not like cardigans.
I Propose More Women Get Down On Bended

I Propose More Women Get Down On Bended Knee

I've been proposed to, friends around me have been proposed to, I've watched umpteenth proposals on television in romantic comedies and dramas, and never once have I thought to myself: "Gee... This is sexist."
14/06/2016 3:00 PM AEST
Social Media Addiction Is Not The End Of The

Social Media Addiction Is Not The End Of The Story

We curate the content of our lives, weeding out the ordinary, boring or too sad bits and generate an actual narrative around our lives. One that gives us purpose and meaning. We have an actual story! It all means something!
29/05/2016 6:06 AM AEST
I'll Tell You The Secret: Manifesting Is A

I'll Tell You The Secret: Manifesting Is A Con

If we were manifesting health, or authenticity, a real sense of identity, then I would be all for it. It makes sense, after all, those are the core blocks of life. But instead we're trapped manifesting products and events consumer culture told us we wanted.
25/05/2016 1:23 PM AEST
Admit It, You Love To Hate The

Admit It, You Love To Hate The Kardashians

If there aren't a couple of us watching their blockbuster series, following their instagram accounts, or downloading their apps -- who are those hundreds of millions of people?
28/04/2016 6:37 AM AEST
Does The Gym Gear Make The Gym

Does The Gym Gear Make The Gym Goer?

The apparel required to attend your average gym class is second to none -- next level sort of dressing. Ladies and gentlemen sashay into the gym like they're walking a gym-centric Versace runway in Milan.
13/03/2016 6:21 AM AEDT
Are We Living in 1984, Even Though It's

Are We Living in 1984, Even Though It's 2016?

What is most interesting about our compromised personal data, and the key point that Orwell missed, is that we give it up so freely. We fling our data out there like caution to the wind because, who cares right? It's out there anyway.
07/03/2016 1:06 PM AEDT
Is Narcissism The New

Is Narcissism The New Normal?

Are we all just a little bit obsessed with ourselves? Will we too, like the original Narcissus, become so fixated with our appearance and the perfect selfie that we'll just wither away and die?
29/02/2016 11:43 AM AEDT
Is Our Recipe For Happiness Making Us

Is Our Recipe For Happiness Making Us Sad?

For the past 50 years or so, the favoured mantra among the mindfulness and wellness community has been 'live in the moment'. 'Be present' we're told. But what if they've got it wrong?
07/02/2016 6:14 AM AEDT
Premo Ergo Sum: I Click, Therefore I

Premo Ergo Sum: I Click, Therefore I Am

If Descartes were alive in the 21st century he might have asked: "Do we exist at all if we don't exist on social media?" I click, therefore I am. I post, therefore I am. I don't post or click, therefore I am not.
29/01/2016 5:05 AM AEDT