Not exactly the toilet bit 🙈 but more the washing our hands after bit.

Do you notice washing your hands?

Do you wash them on autopilot?

Why should you even notice that moment?

For World Meditation Day I’ve recorded a video with a short practice so you can experience some of the benefits of meditating.

When I found out that the theme for Mental Health Awareness week was 'Movement: Moving more for our mental health' I was pretty excited!

Not only does movement release feel good endorphins and lower our stress and anxiety levels, but it also gives us a very accessible way of connecting with our bodies and, for me, that's the exciting bit!

April is Stress Awareness Month and the theme for 2024 is “Little By Little”, recognising that sometimes the best way of managing stress is to do something small, with small consistent daily actions cumulating to contribute to overall wellbeing, helping to reduce cumulating levels of stress.

I wouldn’t expect to be physically strong and healthy if I didn’t exercise and mental health is no different.

Practicing mindfulness builds mental strength in the same way that lifting a weight builds physical strength.

With mindfulness you build the mental capacity to be aware of the present moment and to notice what’s happening in your life without judgment.

Last week I’d had a particularly bad night’s sleep and the following day I was struggling to work through the things I’d planned.

Luckily, it was a Friday when I’m only answerable to myself. I had no meetings and had just finished delivering an 8-week mindfulness course so had no course commitments.

So, at 11am I decided to have a nap. Only I didn’t nap! I just lay there. Feeling frustrated I got up again, had some lunch and then felt overwhelmingly tired. So, at 1pm I went back to bed to see if I’d nap then instead.

Yesterday I went on a mindfulness meditation retreat which included a silent mindful walk in nature. I felt immersed in the surroundings and noticed my own response to them.

Here’s a poem to share what I noticed.

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest on Katie Austin’s "Meditation Inspiration" podcast and we talked about so many benefits of practicing mindfulness!

2024 is My Year of Curiosity!

I’ve never heard of the concept of having a ‘word of the year’ before but this year I’ve come across it in a few places, including on LinkedIn and in Psychologies magazine.

My understanding of it is that instead of new year resolutions a word of the year allows you to make choices that are aligned with your values, ambitions, and passion. You are then likely to be clearer about what to commit to, to live the life you want.

It’s the New Year and often it’s a bit of a shock to the system when we have to dive back into work after a break, and it can be hard to keep our boundaries and to stick to our good intentions that we'd set for ourselves!

If this sounds familiar and you're already feeling your stress levels rising, I've recorded a short mindfulness of the breath practice to help you in your day. It might be just what you need.

You may be thinking "What?" 'You cannot be serious!" "I don't have time for that!"

In this short video I guide you through a basic mindful walking meditation practice.

Last week was quite momentous for various reasons and coupled with that I didn't feel 100%.

One of the things this all affected was my sleep and by Saturday I felt tired and groggy and had for a few days.

Despite this, I decided to go for a big walk in nature and it was exactly what the doctor ordered!

In this short video I explain why it was the right thing for me to do and how it helped to energise me ❤️

Find out how mindfulness can help you to be less reactive and more grounded in this video, something which can bring huge benefits to your life and to the lives of people around you.

It includes a short standing meditation to give you a very brief flavour of it.

In this short video I share some information about stress itself, my personal experience of it and how I've learnt ways to be more resilient and manage stress in a better way through mindfulness.

👉 Your life is whatever you pay attention to, and you can choose what you pay attention to, but it doesn’t seem that way when you live life on autopilot, lost in your thoughts!

💭 Mindfulness has helped me to notice my thoughts without getting caught up in them and to return my attention to whatever it is that I want to focus on.

💪 Meditation is the training ground for this.

Here’s a very short video of mindfulness in action, walking in the woods!

In this video I share how mindfulness has helped me to be more patient and present in life instead of always living for the future, a future that never arrives.

Why does that matter though, I hear you ask?

I was recently a guest on the ‘Feeling Good in Finance’ podcast with career coach Katie Pope.

In it I talk about the finance profession and mental health, my work in social housing which spans over 20 years and, of course, mindfulness and the impact it’s had on my work and personal life!

It was a great experience and not one I thought I’d ever have given that 10 years ago I had a fear of public speaking, which mindfulness helped me to overcome!

Have a listen to find out more!

A few days ago, I read an article in Psychologies Magazine encouraging readers to notice the joy in the perfectly ordinary!

It piqued my interest immediately because I know how easy it is to miss those moments of joy, because of what scientists (and I) believe is our inbuilt negativity bias. That delightful bias which means we’re much more likely to notice things that aren’t going well than we are to notice those things that are.