Category: Mental Wellbeing

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5 Ideas to Negate the Post-Weekend Blues

Monday Blues

Let’s face it, Monday has the tendency not to be a fun-day; but, it doesn’t have to be this way.  Gently taking what you need from these few simple points (tried and tested) can help you to feel somewhat lighter and brighter.

      1. Cleanse, inside and out.  Warm water (maybe add some lemon or lime), herbal tea; ensure you get a good dose of caffeine free rehydration to help flush the system.  Also, have a shower or at least wash your face to help remove accumulated and oozed toxins from your skin.
      2. Get Moving!  Anything from using a body brush, or rolling around and having a stretch on the floor to opening up with a few Sury Namaskara (sun salutations, we can never worship the sun too much); these babies activate all of your bodily systems and helps to shake out your s***
      3. Put on your favourite ambient but uplifting track, music is one of the easiest steps to help soothe the soul
      4. Wear something you feel good in, hopefully it can be warm and comfy but including an uplifting colour, or favourite item
      5. Go Easy on yourself and Smile.  You’re human, not robot; and smiles release endorphins (the happy hormone)

Much love.

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I Must Do This Now

Must do it now

I Must do my best, I Must finish what I started, I Must say the right thing, I Must have the right clothes, I Must clean the flat, I Must take care of others, I Must pay my bills, I Must give all I can to those who need me/it, I Must look my best, I Must be a good person, I Must sort my hair out, I Must eat the right things, I Must have a good time, I Must quit XXX, I Must do my work, I Must do the shopping, I Must keep smiling, I Must make some dinner, I Must say thank you, I Must be healthy in body and mind, and I Must do it all NOW!

This is what occasionally runs through my head.  Well, when I say occasionally, I mean it used to be every 2 seconds, now, when I keep up regular yoga and meditation practices, it’s closer to every day or so.  My intention is to eventually let go of trying to hold everything together so rigidly; to relax, and respond to each situation as it happens (most of these Musts, seem pretty ridiculous when I see them all listed like that!).

The difficulty for me, is finding the balance between preparing for life and allowing life to happen.

Looking at and listening to people out there helps me to realise; it’s not just me who can get overwhelmed and sometimes missing the point about being alive.  Some people may call this depression, I call it learning how to live life to the fullest.  Something schools don’t have on their curriculum at present?

It’s the people I love (and who I probably hurt the most), whose reactions to me, allow me to see a mirror for where I keep tripping myself up; reminding my why I got into yoga so strongly, and why it’s so much more than just a physical strengthener.  Thank you all, I consider myself blessed.

In conclusion, my main hope by sharing my muddled head, is possibly to give confidence to any other fickle headed persons reading this, that there are things you can do to empower yourself, every day, and live your life – beyond getting through a mental to do list.

Do you have a list of Musts?  If you do, maybe, try writing them down and seeing which are actually musts right Now?  If this seems to much, if you’ve been given the label of depressed and want help to shake it, maybe find out a local yoga or meditation teacher or a counsellor; these guys are worth their weight in gold, diamonds, and raw cacao.  An authentic yoga or meditation practice, in any form, enables you to see these Musts popping up in your head, and then, by breathing through it, can help you to maintain your position in the now.   Therefore, coming into your own realisation that, these musts don’t own you; they’re not important for your immediate survival.  Remembering, that you are capable of living better once you release what doesn’t serve you in this moment and relax into your own self and time.

 

Namaste

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Being comfortable this Autumn/Winter

winter-blog-1.5

Autumn and winter are historically wet and cold, have a lower energy and is when the fluffy furry animals hibernate.  Also, at this time of year, warming root veggies from the Earth are a staple food whilst there’s a lot less sunlight bringing its energy into this part of the globe.  So as modern humans instead of slowing down, even in the weariness of the autumn and winter, we try to do more to make up for the shorter days – it’s OK everyone’s at it!  With Christmas (or other religious holidays) and the January sales around the corner the very thought of having a quiet 5 minutes seems months away for some.  It can be hard slowing down with nature when the rest of the population still seem to be running at 200MPH, how is it possible not to also be so busy?!

This answer lies with our ancestors and nature, our inner nature and nature in the wild as we know it, but it’s our negligence to our deep connection with this planet and its seasons which is why we must again pay attention more to the changing energy of the weather, the hibernating animals and the actual foods which grow; imagine how people lived 500 years ago in winter?  Slow down and take this time to restore yourself!  Following on from the highs of the summer, now is the time replenish our reserves so we can have a spring in our step next March.  Being generally conscious of this can be an asset, but Yoga is an excellent tool to help us to do this, not only does it turn our attention inside to our true nature but it also can be used as a gentle way to build heat and keep us from getting too cold or sluggish.   However, it is still very important we learn to slow down and generally take stock of our lives; live like the seasons with cooler but also sometimes, more extreme energies.

5 Tips to help transition into chilling:

  1. Eat warming and earthy foods, locally sourced where possible so you can really eat with the season of your dwelling
  2. Take the opportunity to sleep more with the earlier sunset and later sunrise, see what small changes you could make to your routine to allow this for a few months.
  3. Do some Yoga, Pilates or Tai Chi, keep the fire burning inside so you can keep warm.
  4. Move more towards mental tasks rather than physical ones to make the most of a clearer mind bought on by the cold weather.
  5. Appreciate the warmth of your home or your winter coat with the coolness of the air which helps to freshen things up after a sweaty summer!