Wellness Wednesdays

Self-care is any activity that we do with the intention of looking after our wellbeing – whether that be our mental, emotional or physical health. Psychologist Agnes Weinman defined self-care as ‘something that refuels us rather than takes from us’ – ultimately it must be an enjoyable activity that you do by choice and has a positive impact on your mind and body. Often, in our busy lives it is the last priority on a long ‘to do list’ – it’s so easy to put other’s expectations of us before looking after ourselves. The reality is, if we don’t take good care of ourselves, then we aren’t in the best place to care for our loved ones, and strive in other areas of our life, and our wellbeing can be affected. So what does self-care mean to you? For me, it’s taking the time on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to do things that make me feel good and it is essential for my mental wellbeing. I have definitely experienced a time in my life where I wasn’t making any time for self-care (as a new m

This week I focus on yoga and why it can be a great way to enhance wellness. The practice of yoga originated over 5000 years ago in India and is based on ancient Sanskrit teachings. It has developed over many centuries and migrated across the world into different styles and forms. The yoga that is practised today in the Western World is different from its traditional form, although the underpinning philosophy remains the same: to connect the body, mind and spi rit through physical postures (asanas), meditation and breathing (pranayama). Numerous research studies highlight the positive impact of yoga in reducing anxiety, stress and depression, maintaining physical health, recovering from physical illness and supporting pre and post pregnancy. Introducing just ten minutes of yoga practice into your daily routine can have a real impact on your wellbeing and focus. It is a gentle form of exercise that is amazing for toning muscle but is kind on the mind and body. There is no pushing throug

I am currently reading the NY Times Bestseller Untamed by Glennon Doyle. In this book, Glennon talks about how women are tamed from birth into a set of social rules and regulations that ‘cage’ them from becoming their true selves. She uses a powerful metaphor of a cheetah at the zoo who has been born in captivity, raised with dogs and behaves like a dog to perform a ‘cheetah run’ for zoo visitors. In this sense, she explains, we too as humans are taught to perform c ertain roles to meet the expectations of society and these can become our own personal cages. From a sociological perspective, role socialisation is necessary for society to function. We need boundaries, rules and regulations to keep society ordered and economically productive. Untamed has really made me think about how as individuals, it can be helpful to examine the roles and expectations society holds for us and that we place on ourselves which aren’t always helpful. These might relate to gender, race, wealth, education

  We are now three months into the Covid-19 pandemic, and whilst lockdown restrictions are lifting, there is still a real sense of uncertainty lingering and the situation has highlighted that we can never quite predict what is around the corner in life. We are also likely to be feeling run down and burned out at this point in the pandemic, as we take stock of what has happened over the past three months and our fight or flight mode r esponse begins to ease. It is really important at this time that we check in with the experience of uncertainty and how it can affect our mental health. Uncertainty feels uncomfortable and it is easy to fall into patterns of behaviour that make us feel as if we are in control and that numb the discomfort we are feeling. Brene Brown calls this our ‘vulnerability armour’. Examples of this might be excessively seeking reassurance from others about decisions, taking on more tasks at home or work to busy yourself, delaying making tough decisions, avoiding situa

This week I feel that I need to move away from my usual tips for wellness and acknowledge the challenging times we are facing. Please note that I am writing this from a position of white privilege, as a person who has never experienced racism and thus I welcome feedback and discussion relating to this article. As human beings we cannot ignore the collective pain and suffering that we are experiencing and/or witnessing both locally and globally in response to toxic racism in our society. The tragic death of George Floyd through police violence cannot be minimised in a larger debate around racism and inequality, however we also cannot ignore the long history of oppression and injustice in health, wealth and opportunity that BAME citizens face; the high exclusion rates of Black boys from schools, inequality in the criminal justice system, the Windrush scandal and the high Covid-19 death rates in the BAME population, to name but a few. The current protests are a turning point towards the n

This week I am going to share some breathing techniques that can help with relaxation and help you to feel calm. In yoga, control of the breath is called pranayama - this is the practice of cultivating and focusing on the vital 'energy of life' within you. Breathing techniques can be used to find calmness and focus in meditation and you can also use them to bring about a state of relaxation and control when you are experien cing stress and anxiety. When we are stressed or anxious, our sympathetic nervous system is activated. Our body is in fight or flight mode and our breathing is sharp and shallow. By practicing breathing exercises, slowing down and controlling our breath, we can stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system which helps us to feel relaxed and calm. Breathing exercises are also a form of mindfulness practice, as our awareness is focussed on our breath, directing attention away from unruly thoughts and towards the present moment. Here are two of my favourite sim

You may have heard of mindfulness as a form of therapy or a specific way to meditate and it is both of those things. But you don't have to do a mindfulness therapy course or even meditate to integrate mindfulness practice into your daily life. In very simple terms, mindfulness is developing an awareness of your thoughts as they enter your mind and developing an ability to recognise them as JUST THOUGHTS and not reality. Our brains are wired to give us a running commentary of our daily lives, and often when we are under pressure or stressed, this commentary can be full of fear, worry, self-criticism and self-doubt. One negative thought can lead to another and before we know it we can be so overwhelmed with our situation that our mood and anxiety levels can be affected. Guided mindfulness meditations can help us to practice developing an awareness of our thoughts and over time develop an ability to 'catch' negative thoughts before they spiral out of control. Mindfulness medit