Watch where you step

Mindfulness has been a bit of a buzz word in the health and healing sector for many years now.  People have attributed all sorts of spectacular effects to having a regular practice.

Often when people get introduced to the concept of mindfulness, they are thrust straight into a world of meditation and usually come to believe that this is what mindfulness is.  In actual fact, mindfulness is the practice bringing your awareness into the present moment, rather than ten steps in the past or a dozen steps in the future, and this can be done in a number of ways which don’t involve traditional meditation.

I personally love mindful movement in many of its guises, and mindful walking is one of most favourite ways to bring myself into the here and now.  It’s a fabulous way to sharpen my attention on what is currently going on, and get some much-needed movement and nature immersion at the same time.

So, in honour of mindfulness day (12th September 2024), I thought I would share 4 different ways to enjoy mindful walking so that you can give it a try for yourself. Read more

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Greeting the darkness

It’s time to greet the darkness again.

The wheel of the year is turning.  A chill has sneaked into our morning air and August sunshine and carefree summer days will soon be a distant memory.  We are officially heading into the dark half of the year.

This time of year is odd, if you think about it.  If you follow the standard calendar, we are officially three quarters of the way through the year when we reach mid to late September, and yet in our modern lives we also find ourselves on a threshold, at a time of ending and a time of beginning.

Our long, light, busy, adventurous, lazy, hazy summer days are fading behind us. Some of us will grieve their passing.  For me, they are here too short a time so I will be among those numbers.

And, our attention is being called towards our work, and our education; we are being asked to bring new vigour to these spheres of life, whilst at the same time facing a world which is fading into darkness. We are being asked to do something which is largely at odds with the season’s call.

I like to take autumn inspiration from our glorious cousins the trees, the original standing people (we are actually related on an evolutionary scale, we just took a different path in a time so long ago that none of us can remember). Read more

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What even does self-care look like?

Let’s talk self-care…

Self-care has been a hot topic for me, for quite some time now. It’s prominent for me personally and is deeply embedded in my work. Allowing time and space for self care is probably the biggest obstacle the majority of my clients face in getting to where they want to be.

It’s important and often difficult sh*t!

When we embrace a life that involves recognising that we are as important as any other person on the planet, and that we might need to do some looking after ourselves too, our experiences generally change – for the better!

It could just be the way that I have trained the various algorithms to provide me with material I am interested in but, the world at large also seems to be a bit obsessed self-care too.  Everywhere I look in the media, there is some expert or other telling me I should move a certain way, eat a certain way, breathe a certain way, or generally exist in a certain way in order to avoid some terrible fate which is heading towards me unless I change my unhealthy ways and start ‘living my best life’ in the particular way that they suggest.

But, the vast array of information out there is overwhelming and full of conflicting information. One person will tell you the key to happiness is in cold water therapy, another will contradict this by being certain that you need to embrace hygge and life should be all about being warm and cosy. Read more

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Beating the February Fizzle

January rolls around every year and we see a barrage of year end reflections and new year, new me proclamations appearing in our social media feeds.

We all know the drill, make a new year’s resolution or an intention for the year, give it the best you’ve got in January (which is often very little, because we are mammals, in the depths of winter and we tend to not have a lot of energy going spare at this time of year), and fizzle out by the time that February rolls around.

It’s a bit depressing really when you think about it, and yet so many people go through this process every single year.

So, what can you do about it?  Read more

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It’s the most wonderless time of the year

Sing it with me now…

It’s the most wonderless time of the year!

Please tell me you sung that in your head to the tune of that really famous Christmas ditty?!?

Now, I know what you’re thinking – “Rachel, where is your festive spirit?”

I’m going to own it, I’m not a fan!

Christmas can actually be really stressful and, to be quite frank, a little bit sh*te for many different reasons. And I have found over the years that this is not often a popular point of view with the mass British public.

I want to share a little bit of my experience with you though, just in case you are one of the people who struggles with this particular festival for whatever reason. Because do you know what? – I think there needs to be space for people who have a difference in experience or a different opinion without them being labelled a scrooge and being shamed for not getting on board with the popular narrative.

So, if you’re someone who finds this time of year tough, read on… Read more

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Who turned out the lights?

It’s that time of year again!

Image of winter tree silhouetted against a sunrise with fields in the backgroundAre you feeling it already?  I know I am!  It is already so much harder for me to get out of bed in a morning now that I have to do it in the dark every day.

Autumn inevitably brings with it shortening daylight hours and for some people (myself included) this can have a heavy impact on our energy, mood and motivation.

And do you know what? – The world would have us believe that there is something wrong with us for being impacted.

We are sold the story of needing to be in some kind perpetual summer state by our society.  We always need to be switched on, and we always need to be sociable, and we always need to be producing blah, blah, blah.

The fact of the matter is though, that this is just a story.  And, when we take a look at the rest of nature (which, in case you hadn’t heard, we are a part of), no other living beings on the planet spend their lives in a perpetual state of switched on, high energy production! Read more

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What You Need is a Bacon Sandwich!

I sat down one day with my friend at the kitchen table. It had been a long few days and I was tired, sad and fed-up. “You must be hungry,” she said “you haven’t eaten today. What you need right now is a bacon sandwich!” she declared.

I heard my friend’s words and could feel the care that she was trying to express to me but she had no idea how I was really feeling at that moment in time.

I was at once appreciative of her care, irritated by her assumption that she knew how I would be feeling and what I might need (I mean, what if I was vegan), and all at the same time feeling rude because I wanted to reject her kind offer and that may cause her to feel hurt Read more

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