It is 11 days after New Year. Did you make a resolution and have you stuck with it so far?

I think resolutions can be a great idea, an empowering way to start the year, with the hope that you will follow it through as the year progresses.

I also believe that resolutions can and should be made anytime, not just at this one time of year that has become a major milestone in the resolution making stakes.

So what are the best ways to stick to resolutions/changes that you want to instil in your life?

1.) Choose something that is a lifestyle change, rather than a fad, this will be easier to stick with. I think diet/losing weight must be one of the top three things people want to change. A complete change in the way you eat as part of you lifestyle will mean you can retain the weight loss, a fad diet will see you yo-yo.

2.) Take small steps everyday and make it part of your daily routine.

3.) Set yourself up little reminders on your phone or in a diary.  If you miss a day or two, don’t worry, just start again.

4.) Treat yourself each time you reach a milestone, whether that is a weekly, monthly or quarterly reminder that you have changed something and integrated it into your life.

These are just some ideas of how you can take responsibility for your own lifestyle changes.

And remember to have fun! This is not a race until tomorrow but a race for life…..

It is a busy time of year as Christmas is full of entertaining, parties and high energy. It is exciting!

I have realised over the past few weeks how important it can be to take time out during the festive period. Time just to be with yourself.

I have decided to take some time each day to do an activity on my own, one that has no technological distraction. I think one hour to do this activity is optimal but as little as 10 minutes will have a positive impact.

On Friday I had a massage.
On Saturday I had a bath with my favourite essential oils and read a magazine.
On Sunday I took out my yoga mat and practiced body and breath work.

What activity is truly going to allow you to go inward and be on your own?
When can you carve out this time for yourself? How often can you do this?

I realise that it is not just Christmas that can make us feel tired, overwhelmed, in need of some TLC. The idea of finding time for solace at anytime is very important. It often seems a good idea in the winter months as the nights draw in.

So it has been some time since I last posted on this blog.  It has definitely been on my mind.  I have swayed from feelings of guilt for not doing it to being annoyed as to why I should do it!

I think that this feeling can be translated to so many things, for example, dieting and exercise. How often do we start a diet/exercise regime, go gung ho into it, then just suddenly stop and decide a better option is to do nothing at all!

I have gone through a spell of what I would call “the demotivated hormonal drag net,”  I am pregnant, therefore, I feel it is justified that I have not felt like blogging.  What I am trying to illustrate here is that I think it is ok to not always feel like you have to be “on it” or pushing yourself as it may not be what you actually need in that moment and in fact, the impact of pushing yourself could be detrimental.

So how can we tell if we are being lazy or pushing ourselves unnecessarily?  I think that there is a real art to this and it is all about knowing yourself.  It is a deeper understanding of what you genuinely need in a given moment that helps you to identify when you should push yourself versus when you should just slow down and stop.  In my case, my body was signalling that I just needed to take myself away from my normal day-to-day energetic self and take it easy.  I am now in my second trimester, I feel my energy levels coming back, therefore, I am taking this opportunity to start blogging again.

So if you do fall off the bandwagon, in whatever context this might be, rather than force yourself to get back on it, first ask yourself, what is genuinely in my best interests right now?  What purpose will it serve for me to complete this task?  Am I pushing myself unnecessarily or am I not pushing myself enough?  If you can figure this out and be truly honest with yourself, you will be less likely to quit what you have started, you may just put it on hold for a while.

I have always been a big fan of food.  As a child my mum would say that I ate anything and everything!!  I was not a fussy eater.  My husband and I love to entertain friends and throw big dinner parties, it is such a lovely way to spend time with people.

I have of course, like most people, tried dieting at some stages in my life but I found that I have never felt better then when I have allowed myself to eat what I like, as long as it is in moderation.  Moderation to me is the key to good food habits. Be moderate and you don’t have to miss out.  A healthy dose of exercise coupled with healthy eating is a winning formula.  I believe that we have an “optimum” weight, shape and size at a given time.  If we are at that optimum weight, we are physically and mentally balanced.  If we try and diet and starve ourselves or binge until we feel sick, then we won’t feel that sense of balance and will probably feel very bad about ourselves.

If we compare diet to filling up the car with petrol.  If the car is in the red zone then it is very low on petrol and will soon come to a complete halt. If is is overfilled then the excess will spill out of the tank and onto the floor and be unused.  If the car is filled above the red zone and below full, it will drive along nicely for some time.

The way I became most happy and balanced with how I looked was to start off slowly and not create an unrealistic short-term goal.  I would change my eating habits so that I could sustain this change for the long-term.  Slow and steady wins the race.  Over the course of 6-12 months, I was healthy, I ate as much as I wanted in the vegetable department. I would eat both protein and carbs (I don’t believe in cutting out carbs as we need them to fuel our body.)  I would allow myself a naughty treat.  I personally like a piece or two of dark chocolate everyday.  I would walk, walk, walk…….to places that I would normally use public transport to get to.

I enjoy running, swimming and yoga but you could do many other forms of exercise, just make sure you enjoy them enough that you will do them regularly.

After this period of time my body certainly changed, not drastically but enough that people noticed.  I was bringing my body to a happy and balanced place, just where it needed to be at that given time.  There was not only a physical change, but also a mental one.  I was not controlling my life through what I ate but I had made a choice to honor my body and love it, not fight it.  Every now and again there are moments when things fall a little off balance but at least I know that I can bring it right back.

Do you ever have a morning when you wake up feeling so refreshed from sleep that you are awake before your alarm goes off? Have you ever felt so tired that when you head hits the pillow you are out like a light? Or have you closed your eyes to fall asleep and found that your mind is just racing and that you are twisting and turning to find a comfortable position but nothing is helping?

Research suggests that on average the optimal amount of sleep each night is 7-9 hours. This gives the body a chance to recharge and repair.

It is not always possible to get enough sleep at night for one reason or another. I find a catnap or meditation practice during the day can be hugely beneficial. Just 10-20 minutes of quiet and focused napping can make a huge difference to energy levels.

These are my Top 10 tips if you struggle to fall asleep:

1.) Switch off technology – try to not use your mobile phone or watch television just before going to bed.  Allow yourself at least 30 minutes before bedtime with no technological distractions.

2.) Gentle exercise/relaxation – it is good to do some gentle stretching, relaxation or meditation before bedtime. High endorphin activity is not recommend in the evening as it takes time for the body to calm down after a workout. If you want to high intensity exercise, try and do it after work to leave plenty of time before you go to sleep.

3.) Dinner and snacks – do not eat food that is too heavy and hard to digest close to bedtime.

4.) Have a relaxing bath.

5.) Drink a glass of warm milk or camomile tea.

6.) Room temperature – make sure the room is not to warm.  Turn the heating off and sleep in your bedroom at room temperature. If it is winter and you are a little chilly, get an extra blanket or duvet.

7.) Lights out – make sure that all lights in the room are off, including little red lights on televisions and mobile phone.

8.) Busy mind – if you mind is racing before you go to bed, try a relaxation technique like the “body scan”. Rather than focusing on what is going on in your head, focus your thoughts on taking the breath to different parts of your body. For example, starting with the right foot big toe, take your attention to what is going on in your toe at that moment, is it comfortable, hot or cold, itchy etc.  Stay with your focus on the breath and right foot big toe for 5 breaths.  Take your awareness in this way exploring all the parts of the body, from the toes all the way up to the crown of the head. This exercise takes approximately 40 minutes. You might find yourself asleep way before the end!!

9.) Don’t struggle – as frustrating as insomnia and sleep deprivation can be, the more you fight it the more worked up you will get and the less likely you will be able to fall asleep. Try and just accept that every now and again you may not be able to fall asleep and put this time to better use. Perhaps get up and walk around, read a book or start writing a journal.

10.) No two bodies are the same – we all need different amounts of sleep depending on our natural rhythms and how busy our lives are at that particular time. It is helpful to be aware of how much sleep you need to live a healthy and energetic life.

We live in busy times.

There are so many chores we need to do, many hours we need to work, projects that we need to finish, messages and emails we need to respond to, people we need to see and events that we need to attend.

Are we taking time to pause through all of this? Do we have time to process what is going on around us? Are we able to connect with our reactions to what we see?

If we can find moments to STOP and PAUSE during the day then we have the potential to hear, feel, see, taste and sense so much more.

Right now, wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, STOP and PAUSE . Take three long steady breaths. Inhale and exhale through your nose. And observe. What do you sense right now?

When applying for a new job, multitasking is a skill that is often added to a CV. It is deemed a positive attribute. It is also assumed that woman are better at multi-tasking then men, where does this statement of “fact” come from?

When we multitask, i.e. we try and complete a number of tasks at the same time, is this actually possible? Can we brush our teeth, whilst emptying the dishwasher and reading the newspaper? Or, can we make dinner, whilst talking to a friend and watching the children? Perhaps we can do some of these things at the same time but what is the real benefit? Time? Fitting more into our day? Crossing more off our to do list? There can be something so satisfying about a to do list where all items have been crossed off.

In the end, how much real attention are we paying to each task? What are the benefits of doing a number of things at the same time? How does it feel after a few hours or days of multitasking activity?

Multitasking has benefits as does doing things one at a time.

Why not take a mindful approach to what you do? That is, pay complete attention in that given moment to what you are doing. Can you be mindful whilst multitasking?

Mindfulness exercise:
1.) Try and be completely mindful with just one single task like brushing your teeth;
2.) now try and be mindful whilst doing several things at once;
3.) observe the difference in yourself mentally and physically. Does one way work better for you and can you list why?

What is the first thing that you do each morning, as soon as you realise you are awake what does your body do? Reach for your mobile phone? Does this sound familiar?

Perhaps you are expecting an email or text message having sent one to somebody the night before, or you want to check the latest news story that happened overnight.

I have got into the habit to not check my mobile phone until I leave the house and am on my way into work. Why? Because I am so attached to my phone for the next 14 hours that I think a moment of awake time with zero technological stimulation is going to be good for me.

Surely the messages can wait until I have really woken up, had a shower, my first hot drink and left the house for the day.

This morning I decided to take things a step further. I noticed myself automatically wanting to respond to some emails I received last night as soon as I left the house. I decided to try and travel all the way into work before responding to emails, it was more challenging then I expected!! I did want to reach for the phone a number of times on the journey but then I reminded myself of my small experiment.

Of course, everybody’s day begins differently, perhaps you work from home? Or have small children so wake up at odd hours? If this is the case, why not try and just give yourself a 30 minute period during the day when you do not use your mobile. A break from technology can be truly relaxing!

There is a great deal to be said for spending quality time outdoors.

Connecting with nature can be very positive for mental and physical wellbeing.

Examples of ways to connect with nature include:
• skiing in the mountains;
• swimming in lakes;
• walking in forests;
• sailing in the sea and ocean;
• cycling in the hills and;
• yoga retreats in beautiful surroundings.

What is it about nature that we can benefit from so much? Accepting the unpredictable nature of the elements and weather patterns; its’ incredible beauty, history and variety; the growing and thriving of plant and wildlife.

Today we are so connected to mobile phones, computers, televisions and other distractions. These distractions can prevent us from ever really “switching off,” adding to stress and burn out. Regularly connecting with nature can be a great remedy.

To spend an extended period of time in nature with no real technological distractions could be considered a real detox. However, if you can spend just a small part of each day in nature, it will have real benefits.

Below are examples of simple experiential ways of connecting with nature:

1.) Walking without speaking on your mobile phone. Perhaps pick a time to walk when you would normally use transport.

2.) Cycling or running in a park or forest.

3.) Open water swimming.

4.) A day trip to the seaside to breath in the fresh sea air and pick shells and pebbles.

5.) Being out in the garden and watching things grow. If you have very little outdoor space, try a window box.

Do you currently connect with nature on a regular basis? If so, how do you do this? If not, how can you integrate it in a small way into your everyday life?

Coming across stressful situations is part of what all human’s go through at some point in their lives. In fact, I think it is common nowadays to experience stress everyday.

What I notice in stressful situations is that my body and my mind have a reaction, a fight or flight reaction.

There will be many stresses we come across on a daily basis, and various degrees of stress, many we have little or no control over.

A mindful approach to stress, noticing what is going on in the body and observing your thoughts, can be helpful when dealing with and understanding how you relate to stress.

A meditation practice can be a very beneficial tool to help with this.
In this way, we can start to make positive changes as we become more fully aware of our reactions to difficult and unpredictable situations.

A meditation practice:

1.) Sit comfortably on a chair or cushion, make sure you are sitting upright and that the back is straight, feet are flat on the floor if sitting in a chair or in a comfortable cross legged position if on a cushion.

2.) Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Notice your facial muscles, are they tight or relaxed?

3.) Place your hands on your lap or thighs.

4.) Begin to breath in and out through the nose, let the breath flow naturally.

Tips: Count to the same number as you breath in and out. For example, count to 5 as you inhale and count to 5 as you exhale. You can vary the number (3, 4, 5, 6…..etc)
Try this everyday for 5-10mins to begin with, then start to lengthen the time of the exercise as feels right for you.

As little as a few minutes each day can make a big difference. Practice is key!!