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Mind Body Plus Me!

~ Musings and Inspirations towards Holistic Health

Mind Body Plus Me!

Category Archives: Holistic Health

Happy Earth Day!

22 Saturday Apr 2017

Posted by mindbodyplusme in Holistic Health, Nature & Gardening

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Happy Earth Day, Health, Inspiration, love, Nature, Sharing, Thoughts

It seems odd to me that we have a day to celebrate virtually everything you can think of! That said, Happy Earth’s Day to you all!

I am finding it difficult to spare the time to update this site, but I do intend to keep it going, and I would like to thank you all who continue to contact me having read some of my older posts, it is appreciated, and nudges me to try and find more time!

So, Earth Day – it is rare to find people who truly respect, appreciate, and share the importance of the Earth in their everyday life. But as black and white as it possibly can be, Earth is paramount to our daily breath. Obvious I know, but translated a few times, ask yourself, when did you last focus purely on the Earth we stand on . . . hmm you see, it’s a phenomena that raises a smile on peoples faces.

Seeing today has been chosen as a special day to remind ourselves about the importance of the Earth, spend a moment looking at the surface of this Earth; feel it with bare feet,  smell it, touch it; widen your gaze and look at the sheer magnificent beauty of it. How it sustains life not only for us, but for every other creature on the planet, every living plant and organism. Everything we know relates back to the Earth. If you let your mind wander and your imagination time to ignite, the concept becomes even more ‘mind blowingly’ magnificent! We are so small, almost like a grain of sand in the grander scale of the planet, probably not even that! And we only exist within the tiniest depth of the Earth’s surface, so, how small do you feel now?!

Many of us love our lives, love our gardens; our walks in the countryside, our expeditions to more adventurous pursuits; love every minute we get to spend looking out of the window watching birds or butterflies, or simply admiring the view of flowers, trees, far reaching views, the sea, hills, rolling wolds, mountains, the list goes on. We have such diverse scenery, wildlife, plant life, we should be thankful and grateful with every breath we take.

Being mindful, and living in the moment we are in does bring a harmony within our souls, only possible when you engage with the Earth and all it offers around us.

Enjoy your day appreciating and loving the Earth, that boost of love today, can only help in healing the many scars we have given the planet. We need to give back instead of taking and living with an ignorance that it will always just be there without any thought and care given. We are only here for such a small amount of time, which flies by faster every year; lets make it our mission to embrace and better the Earth around us in any, and every way we can. It is precious and we owe everything to its existence, literally!

Happy Earth Day!

Druantia

International Women’s Day 2017 . . .

08 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by mindbodyplusme in Holistic Health, Thoughts & Words

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Inspiration, International Women's Day, love, respect, Sharing, Thanks, Thoughts

Where is time going?! I have never known time fly like it is this year, maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m getting old, but it’s taking some coping with! However . . .

Today is a day when we should spend a few moments to think about the women in our lives, or women who have helped inspire us, cared for us, love and have loved us; women who gave us a spark to re-evaluate our lives, have guided us to where we are today, for without women, none of us would be here. It’s a day to say, “Thank You” – it’s International Women’s Day!

We all need each other in this world, but there are always those people we meet along the way who leave a special print on our lives, on our souls. I am very lucky to have a wonderful relationship with my Mum, she has been in my life from day one, literally! I know how blessed I am to have my Mum in my daily life today, and truly cherish her presence. I have female friends who enrich my life, who show every aspect of what a woman is capable of; from their love, their friendship, support, patience, tolerance, their strength, forgiveness and endless energy, they really are inspirations.

Around the world, and in this country, there are those who’s role of a mother, and being a woman is hindered by many constraints. We are a fast changing species, and as such there seem to be more extremes transpiring all the time. Some parts of the world are still very difficult, where existence is a daily fight; where Mums can do nothing but watch their new born and young children die due to horrendous living circumstances. Where women are not allowed to be heard, nor seen, have no rights nor ways of experiencing and expressing themselves, and live a very restricted life, in the dominance of men. On the other hand, there are women who have more opportunities than ever before, even running countries! They stand equally to men on business boards, and positions of authority.The extremes between the two are almost too extreme to believe they are all on the same planet, only a matter of hours by plane apart, it’s a mind blowing concept. How the gap between the two extremes has changed.

Whilst I encourage everyone to live their dreams and be free to achieve them, irrespective of gender. I do also acknowledge the fundamental role differences between men and women, and would not like to think those values were ever eroded. A more global level of acceptance of women and their abilities would be lovely, but I doubt I’ll be still around to see that global transformation.

So today, on this internationally recognised day, take five minutes to just think and acknowledge the women you know; who hold a special place in your heart and life. Give them a call, send them thanks and love, for without their presence, near or far, our lives would have been that little bit less whole than it is today . . .

Happy Women’s Day to all the women in my life, and thank you all for enriching my life.

Druantia

New Year, New Incentives

11 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by mindbodyplusme in Holistic Health

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Diet, Health, Inspiration, Mental Health

Hello again and a belated Happy New Year!

It’s the time of year when thousands of well intentioned people convince themselves, this is the year they are going to get healthy, fit, slim and happy!

Whilst I encourage everyone to strive to achieve all of those brilliant states, I also advise caution. Make your aspirations achievable. We tend to want everything now in this day and age, and with the minimal of effort and cost, which often thwarts the end results.

My humble advice would be, think twice, and then think again about what you want to change the most, write it down. Look at it again after a couple of days, amend anything you previously wrote down, leave it again for another day; then start to plan your journey. Take into account your lifestyle, in the sense of what time you have to dedicate to the task. Your finances, your true expectations, and a realistic timescale, and whether you can, or want to do this alone, or with a group, then off you go.

Should you want to be slimmer this year, and healthier from eating better, then this can be a lot simpler than you imagine. Eating wholesome real foods will help you shed the pounds and reward you with more energy, less potential headaches, better bowel, better sleep, better skin and hair and, have a less stressed physical body. So think about what you are eating on a normal day, and tweak it. Cutting down the amount you eat will start the ball rolling. Changing the snacking on sugary biscuits, chocolate to having fewer, and adding alternatives like, unsalted nuts, raw carrot, celery, an apple, banana, red grapes, or a pre-made health snack that could be fruit and nut based, or oat and seed based. These will have sugar in them, so you get your sweet fix, but will have nutritional value that will be adding to your ‘Health Account’, as opposed to depleting it with bad foods.

Your new regime doesn’t have to be drastic unless you want it to be, and have the will power, stamina and determination to follow it through. Eat more fresh natural foods, and less refined processed foods. Sometimes eating a little and often suits people better than three set meals when you tend to over indulge. If you want to stick to your meal times, then add more fresh foods like the vegetables, salads, nuts and cut down on the pastry, sauces, bread, gravy, keeping the emphasis on green steamed vegetables and raw foods. If raw foods is a new concept, eat in small quantities until your body gets used to it. Grated carrot, celery, spring onion, red cabbage and beetroot, with little mayonnaise makes a great addition to a meal. Be experimental with your choices; ginger root, leeks and stir fried greens takes minutes to prepare but full of goodness, cooked in a tiny amount of coconut oil. If cooking your vegetables always steam, stir-fry, or roast them, never boil them.

Exclusion diets can be tough and often do not give you the long lasting result you seek, so I would suggest you tweak what you eat now, favouring smaller healthier quantity and quality, than drastic changes. Eat more fresh natural foods, allow yourself a treat everyday, a biscuit or some chocolate preferably dark, and feel good about yourself, instead of feeling guilty when you need that treat.

You do need to check the labels on packets at the shops though. Many cereals are full of sugar, so look for Shredded Wheat for example, instead of the Cheerios, which should be banned in my opinion; sugar free muesli instead of the sugar laden granola cereal cluster types. Natural live plain yogurt that you can add your own blueberries or other fruit and nuts to, rather that the fruit yogurts which nearly all have added sugar. Live yogurts rather than non-live and yogurt-like deserts. There are hundred on the shelves nowadays, and nearly every single one is packed with sugar, such is due to our sweet tooth of today. You can get the sweetness from natural fruit, organic honey, it won’t take long for your tastebuds to accept the natural sweetness in foods rather than the added sweeteners. Avoid ‘diet’ foods, they are often nutritionally void and have artificial sweeteners added, none of which are good.

Drink more water, have smoothy nutritional rich drinks that are freshly made, and remember to “chew your liquids, and drink your solids” to help the assimilation of the nutrients from whatever you are ingesting. In other words, take your time to eat and drink whilst in the mouth. Don’t gulp your fluids, nor hoover your food from the plate. Take your time to chew solids until they are liquidised and mixed with all the saliva and enzymes needed for proper digestion. The same with fluids, take your time to drink it, rather than gulp the whole glassful in one action. The process of extracting all the nutrients out of what we eat and drink, essential for health, starts in the mouth, and taking that little bit longer to taste, and enjoy your food and drink is an excellent start to improve your overall wellness.

Breathe, stretch and walk. All of which are free and possible every day of the week. Breathe good and deep (see other posts on the importance of breathing correctly). Nice deep abdominal breathing everyday, will help calm your body so that it can assimilate the nutrients and digest your food better. Making the bowel work better and takes some of the stress from your internal workings generally. We naturally have to breathe to be here, so how easy is it, to make sure the breath is working for you and not against you. Breathing correctly is a key stone to total well being and cannot be over stated, it is an essential part of being healthy.

Stand up more often if you have a sitting occupation, just stretch, lift the arms over the head and stretch upwards. Roll the shoulders slowly and relax them and the neck. Bend over towards your toes, and dangle your body, allowing gravity to free tension from the spine. It also helps circulation to the brain. Bow your body forwards – standing up push your pelvis forward and gently stretch. This is particularly beneficial to people who sit for long periods of time, it creates an opposite stretch to how you will have been sat. Get into the habit of stretching whenever the opportunity arises through the day, then, particularly first thing in the morning, and last thing at night.

Walk more every day; if you already walk, give yourself bursts of walking faster so you get a work out. Proper footwear that cushions impact on the heel and supports your feet is better. Think about once a week at least, go for a really good walk, either in distance, or endurance. If there is a walk you can do that makes you sweat and increase your breath then you know you are working out! A walk that involves steps, or a hill, will naturally increase the calories used. This can be the highlight of the week, walk with family or friends, dogs, or by yourself, deciding where you are going to go, make it a social event, helping others get outside and enjoy the great outdoors too, it’s a win win situation.

Most importantly, your mental health is essential to wellbeing. So this year, make that a daily focus too. If you are happy and balanced in your mind, then everything you do will be  easier. You will be able to achieve more goals and targets when you are not battling against yourself. Those invented reasons for not doing the exercise, for really needing that extra chocolate bar, will be replaced with a kinder mental approach, not the guilt. If you really really need the chocolate, then have it. If you are in the right state of mind, that chocolate bar will be taken in your stride and you will automatically compensate with extra effort in your walk, or less sugar elsewhere in that day. It isn’t failure, it’s balance.

So have fun, laugh, sing and enjoy your life and do something exciting whenever you get the chance. Be kind to yourself, be true to yourself, and as long as you are gracious and truthful in your efforts, a healthier you will be waiting for you at the end of the year!

Druantia

 

Bodily Comfort . . .

07 Monday Nov 2016

Posted by mindbodyplusme in Ankylosing Spondylitis AS, Holistic Health, Nature & Gardening

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Ankylosing Spondylitis AS, Back Neck Shoulder Arm Problems, Body Limitations, Car Seats, Dog Walking, Handsfree Dog Lead

When you have, let’s say, a ‘limiting’ condition that requires you to think differently when doing daily tasks, you learn to think outside the box. Your priorities are different to the norm.

I recently went to look at a new car, and although the looks, capabilities, economy and, yes okay, the colour are important, nothing is more important than the sitting position. So irrespective of all the above, and what the engine is, if the seating position for my straight spine doesn’t suit, then the car is a no go. I can tell that within a minute or so. The sales assistance gets all poised for the technical data to impress me, and I’m already out of the vehicle saying, not for me thank you very much. They almost stand with their mouths open as if to question what just happened! Most seats are shaped to support a normal ‘s’ curvature of the spine, and the head rest is usually slightly forward to the upper part of the seat, none of which are good for me. So I’m still looking!

Dog walking too is an activity where I have had to think outside the box. I am lucky enough to do a lot of dog walking, I love it. But my days of conventional lead holding with my hands are over. Most people with back problems, and that includes the neck and shoulders, not just Ankylosing Spondylitis afflicted people, but many of the patients I treated with back, neck, arm and wrist problems got the same advice. Look at how you use your body when walking the dog, more so perhaps if it’s dogs. Most people you see are having one arm tugged forward on a tight pulling lead, and the jerking and jarring will undoubtedly either hurt or hinder any condition.handsfree-lead2
We use harnesses on our dogs, I personally do not like seeing a collar round the throat of a dog. The harness gives, in my opinion, better control as you take the power out of the forelegs of a dog when you need to restrain it. It’s also great in helping you lift the dog into a car, over a gate or fence, it also lets the dogs head be free to sniff and move.

I have had to change to using a handsfree lead that goes around my middle; I then attach an elasticated tracer to the harness. Whilst our dogs are pretty good at walking without pulling, there are occasions when they see something too good to ignore and they, in a blink of an eye, will change direction and or pace. Ordinarily that would jar and certainly hurt. With the set up I use, it is very much minimised, the elasticated tracer softens the jerk. I have an elasticated lead too, on days I am extra cautious about my neck. And when I want to move them on, I use my body in walking forward, I don’t use my arm to pull them, it’s so much easier.

Of course dog training is very important, and like I say, ours are pretty good. But I do like a dog to enjoy their walk, and have a bit of spirit in their character, instead of robotically walking by your side showing no interest in the countryside around them; but that is my choice. Ours get plenty of free running round our field, but discipline on a lead is an essential part of their daily routine.

So before you decide, walking a dog is too painful on your wrists, shoulders, neck or back, try thinking outside the box and try a long lead round your middle, or invest in a purpose made jogging lead. It may prolong your dog walking days for years, so you and your beloved four legged friend can exercise in comfort today, tomorrow and beyond . . . so it’s a win win for all concerned!

Druantia

A Little . . .

02 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by mindbodyplusme in Holistic Health, Thoughts & Words

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Inspiration, Poems, Thoughts, Words

A little more kindness, a little less creed,

A little more giving, a little less greed,

A little more smile, a little less frown,

A little less kicking a man when he’s down,

A little more ‘we’, and a little less ‘I’,

A little more laugh, a little less cry,

A little more flowers on the pathway of life,

And fewer on graves at the end of the strife.

Often the changes that need to be made to make a big difference to our lives are little ones. The above verse gives a good guide to a happier healthier life path. I was always told “manners cost nothing”; being courteous and polite brings positive karma to your life. These words give substance to how we could improve our daily life, not only for ourselves but for those around us, and none of them cost a penny! Hindsight is double edged, so doing the best you can for yourself and others now, is better than leaving it until it is too late to make a difference.

Have a happier day, smile, laugh and show a caring attitude to those around you. ‘What goes around, comes around’, and you never know when you might be the one in need of the kindness of others to help you through your day.

Druantia

Advancement? . . .

24 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by mindbodyplusme in Holistic Health

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Faith, Health, Human Beings, Mental Health, Mental Perspective, Responsibility, Worldly Pressures

We are made aware in every newspaper we read, every news bulletin we watch on the TV that the world and therefore us, are facing hardship and destruction. It is often a depressing snapshot of the world as a whole. The sad thing is that the vast majority of imbalances we face are manmade, in the environment, with our health and society.

To me, for as long as time has been recorded, earth has evolved. The climate has constantly changed, from the eras of the prehistoric dinosaurs, cavemen, Bronze and Iron Age to date. We have had eras of geographical changes due to the Earth flexing its muscles and fracturing land mass, and being covered in glacial ice. We are still discovering much of our planets evolution. Global warming I believe is part of the constant cycle of the Earth evolving. I do think we should be far more mindful of how we treat the Earth without doubt; take responsibility and become far less of a scar on the plants surface and be responsible for what we are doing.

It takes time for changes to evolve and be adapted to. We have flown through so many developments in the last twenty years, never mind the last 100 years, and it is too soon for many of the health implications of these changes be fully assessed. Think about our technological development over the past 30 years alone. It has been nothing short of staggering. Our lives are unrecognisable to those of my grandparents’ time, even to my parents’ youth; but there will be costs to our human psyche because of it. All the electrical technologies that dominate our lives and world, Wi-fi connections virtually everywhere, and many other electronic pulses bombarded our atmosphere every second of every day. Whilst being amazingly convenient and helpful to the way we live our lives now, it is destroying the natural energy forces that affect our wellbeing. With these ‘pulse waves’ being something we can neither see nor touch, ignorance gives the façade that our atmosphere is pure and clean. Satellites surround our planet with billions and billions of signals bouncing back and forth, with a cellular charge, that must, no matter how you look at it, must make our energy fields different to those of the pre digital world. I am not suggesting we unlearn our technical developments, and go back to sending messages by pigeon, but we do need to acknowledge the potential weakening effect the world today poses to our own body energy fields, those that make us healthy human beings. It also affects everything else that lives in our atmosphere too, plant and animal alike, and it potentially affects the cycle of Mother Nature.

Someone once said, ‘We are the only species on Earth who believe in a God, yet we are the only species on Earth that lives as if there is none’. I agree with that wholeheartedly, I do have issues with us as a species; we destroy, kill, harm, and ruin each other and this fabulous planet with an arrogance not seen in any other species. We are ruled by some very strange ethics, but these are often disguised in the names of religion, politics, and greed. I don’t believe there is a religion on earth that advocates violence and hatred to the scale we see today, nor have seen in the past. All religions were written by human hand at some point in history, and from history we know how those words were altered to suit the Ruler of the day, sometimes many times over to how they appear today. Conflicts and abuse under the banners of religion and culture should be a thing of the past.

Everything in life is open to extremism, and fanatics, it is sad but true. Nearly every aspect of life has an element of extremism infiltrated in it. Diet – you can’t beat a natural wholesome diet, yet every week we read of an extreme type of diet. Diets tweaked to create money, sometimes with little health benefit to be gained and usually not sustainable. Kundalini Yoga is the mother yoga, an art form and lifestyle discipline; aspects of it have been exaggerated and diluted to give us the diversity of yoga available today. Don’t get me wrong, exercise is generally good, particularly stretching based ones, but sometimes the dilution of the discipline creates imbalance. Therapies also, once you had to study to know your subject in depth, then if you qualified you had to be mentored before you could practice your discipline. Now you can do a weekend course as a complete novice and afterwards call yourself a practitioner; without any knowledge of how the body works. No meaningful knowledge of anatomy and physiology, no true time spent to study the art of the therapy, and no mentoring to assess your suitability to the profession. I find it is frightening people are putting their health and wellbeing into the hands of these dilutely-trained ‘therapists’.

We no longer put the emphasis on what I think are the key issues to sustain health and wellbeing. We do not eat for nutritional need or value, we want food now, we eat it fast, we keep on the move. We do not exercise our bodies or minds as a priority to live well, and to heal. We are detached from our intuition which has kept our species alive to date. We are becoming more robotic as the world around us becomes more technically developed. Everything is done with speed and detachment. We are beginning to treat health in a similar manner, pop a pill to kill the pain, we eat to feel full, we spend hours looking at devices that weaken our health force. We are surrounded by electronic fields that jar with our own natural flow of energy. We expect everything now, and take short cuts to save time and try to achieve the unachievable. We have stopped living by the natural flow of energy, by the flow of nature.

On a grander scale, you look at the poverty and horrendous lives some people suffer daily around the world, yet within the same country there is wealth. There is so much going on in the world that could influence your inner thoughts on a daily basis, which in turn, can create imbalances within us. It does take some dedication to keep your mind, psyche and projection in a positive optimistic way. Some people are completely ignorant of the world outside their immediate circle, and maybe they are right to do so. Because once you broaden your horizons, it is a balancing act to not become judgemental in what you see. It takes strength to stick to your core beliefs and you are fortunate if you can live your life by those beliefs.

As a general overview, as human beings, we seem to be altering the face of the planet and the atmosphere around it, at the fastest pace since our existence. I think a time will come when the speed at which these changes have happened, will manifest itself in our bodies and our health. Our bodies are having to cope with more external influences on a daily basis than has ever been the case before. We feed our bodies foods that have never existed before, our homes are environments we have not experienced before, our pace of life, and our focus are all new too. So only time will tell, what the real outcome all of this so called advancement will be for us; but to me, I think we are a very mixed up species indeed!

Druantia

 

Footprints . . .

19 Wednesday Oct 2016

Posted by mindbodyplusme in Holistic Health, Thoughts & Words

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Faith, Inspiration, Poems, Spirituality, Thoughts

Whilst the following poem has been re-written by many authors, Mary Stevenson 1936, Margaret Fishback Powers 1964, Carolyn Carty 1963 to mention but a few, I am unsure who wrote this particular version. I am not a religious person, but I do class myself as Spiritual, and whilst the word ‘Lord’ may have different interpretations depending on your viewpoint, this poem has inspirational tones. Anyone who has Faith, Belief and a connection with ‘something’ bigger than ourselves can also feel a kinship to the words within the lines, I certainly do . . .

FOOTPRINTS

One night a man dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord, scenes of his life flashed across the sky. There were two sets of footprints in each scene, his and the Lords. Looking back at the footprints in the sand, he noticed sometimes there was only one set of footprints, and that this happened at the lowest and saddest times of his life.

Bothered, he said to the Lord, “You said, when I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way, yet during my most and troubled days there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand, why, when I needed you most, you would leave me?”

The Lord replied, “My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you saw only one set of footprints, it was then, that I carried you.”

It makes you think about our own ability to survive through difficult times we all experience at some stage or another in our lives. What helps us cope, what gives us the courage and strength to come out the other side? We often go into an ‘auto’ mode because we just cannot comprehend what to do to deal with certain situations, you take it day by day, but there is something giving us strength, hope and ability. It makes you think because no one has a definitive answer; what you think could be just as correct, as real as anyone else’s opinion . . .

Druantia

Look . . .

16 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by mindbodyplusme in Holistic Health, Thoughts & Words

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Communication, Inspiration, Mental Health, Thoughts, Words

Look backward with gratitude,

Look forward with hope,

Look upward with confidence.

Again, I do not know who wrote this saying, but I liked it’s sentiments nonetheless!  I tend to jot down sayings, poems and thought provoking words when I see or hear them, this one was no exception.

It’s a daily affirmation we could all aspire to have! It has depth of meaning, and the more you think about it, the depth seems to deepen, there are so many layers it could apply to!

Druantia

Your Reflection . . .

16 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by mindbodyplusme in Holistic Health

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Health, Holistic Health, Holistic Knowledge, Mental Awareness, Self

Isn’t it strange when you ask most people to look in a full length mirror, they laugh, squirm, ask if they ‘have’ to and generally feel uncomfortable in seeing themselves in the way everyone else sees them?

When treating a patient, with say a back problem, it is important to assess their gait, how their body is contorting to accommodate the injury. You need to assess how they walk, bend, move, assess the level of the hips, the shoulders, and see any curvature in the spine. I always had full-length mirrors in the clinics I’ve had, so when explaining what has or is happening with a body, the visual imagery can help enormously in the patient grasping an understanding of what their bodies are dealing with.

But usually, with women, the suggestion of them having to look at themselves head to foot, in their underwear is not a happy prospect. I find this fascinating. It isn’t to assess whether you are beautiful, or that I’m asking you to be vain, it isn’t to study your attributes, nor criticise, it is to see the body you are in for what it is, and how it is physically adapting to the injury in question.

Within seconds the embarrassment and uncomfortable initial phase passes and they start to see their body in a way they have never seen themselves before. Seeing how potentially the waistline is more curved on one side than the other, the hip line may be higher on one side, shoulders the same, the head may be slightly turned to a side, off centre. The centre line down the front of the body may be way off straight. It is fascinating and to see the awakening of how their own body is in a patient’s eyes is a wonderful experience, they have seen themselves from outside their body’s maybe for the first time in a non judgemental way, and to add to that, in the company of someone who is just appraising the body whilst respecting the soul.

I keep threatening my yoga ladies that I am going to introduce full-length mirrors into our yoga hall to their many moans and trepidation! But most gyms are equipped with mirrors not only to help disperse the lighting to make the gym appear larger, and also make it easier to keep an eye on everyone for safety reasons; but also for people who want to visibly see they are lifting weights and exercising correctly; and yes ok, some people love to look at themselves too! But seriously, our minds can make us believe we are the most flexible person, who’s arms are always straight when they should be, who’s body’s ability to flex is the same left to right; who’s body is relaxed when it should be; but in reality the very opposite could in actual fact be true.

I usually ask anyone who wants exercises from me to be done at home, that they do them wherever possible in front of a mirror. Again, that concept is met with disapproval and negativity. But I am asking not for the vanity of how gorgeous you are, but to help you check your starting stance, and acknowledge the areas that become apparent from this appraisal. As a teacher, I can see your body, and when I ask you to stand up straight and relax your shoulders down and back, I can see that you are not straight, your shoulders are not relaxed, but in your head, we see ourselves in near perfect posture. It’s the same for me too.

To be truthful and seeing the true movement and shape of your body can be very liberating. It does help prevent some people from kidding themselves, because when the exercise they have been doing is actually seen, they realise their posture has been wrong, hence the benefits they have been expecting have never been felt.

To be able to see your body from an outward perspective has many benefits into its welfare. It also adds a dimension to yourself that may not have been recognised before. So when you next do some stretching, some yoga, or when you want to try and work out why your back hurts, or why you have regular headaches, spend a little time and look at yourself in a mirror. Look at your face, relax the frowns, soften the face, look at your shoulders, see whether one appears higher than the other, look at muscle definition and see whether a muscle appears tighter across the front of the shoulder than the other side, the same into the arm. Look at the waistline and see if there is a difference in the curvature of your outline; put your fingers on the top of the hip and see whether the fingers line up horizontally across your body or whether one side is higher than the other. Look at the knees; again do they look the same, look at the ankles and how the feet are rotating. Look at the spread of the feet on the floor, and the angle of the feet.

The body has a towering effect to keep us upright and functioning. If you have an ankle lets say that rotates slightly differently to the other, then the knees will be first to try and rectify the imbalance, then the hips will feel it, which in turn puts tension into the lower spine unevenly. This will tower itself, left to right, then right to left up the length of the spine, to the neck and shoulders. So no one place in the body works alone, the whole body works as one. Little differences are completely natural, but if the differences are because of injury, or are left to become bigger differences then at some point the body will manifest a pain or problem that will need attention.

So look at yourselves in that mirror; see your body; then see yourself; the ‘you’ inside and be proud you’ve ‘separated’ the two. Much can be achieved when the body is given what it needs, and you can see it as it really is.

Oh and, don’t forget to give yourself permission to be honest and not turn that into a negative mindset. If you can’t stretch visually as well as you can mentally, so be it, don’t beat yourself up, just lessen the stretch to the point of how it should be done, and with practice, the rest will follow to the best of your body’s ability, and that’s all you can ask of it. Be mindful of having fun when you exercise, whether it’s a daily practice or purely for a weekly de-stress. To have a happier state of mind to start with helps every body respond better. Of course we all have off days, and for some the daily schedule has to be adhered to, but generally speaking, mix the routine up a little, doing the same thing every day, can make the body lazy in assimilating the benefits of the what you are doing, and thus will be reflected in your image in the mirror. Plus mentally you’ll get bored and lazy in your approach, and then skip the next session, and then the next when something else sounds more exciting. We’ve all been there I’m sure.

Looking at yourself in a mirror not only has huge educational benefits; it can also fuel our confidence, help us rehearse how we deliver a presentation; help us decide on the best clothes choice. It allows us to communicate directly with ourselves, and the better we know ourselves the happier and fuller life we can live. We owe it to ourselves and our bodies, to know them and look after them the very best way we can. So embrace and enhance your image, give yourself the freedom to be you, and you are most definitely, allowed to admire yourself inwardly and out!

Druantia

 

Our Butterflies . . .

11 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by mindbodyplusme in Holistic Health, Nature & Gardening

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Butterflies & Bees, Flowers, Gardening, Nature

 

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Small Tortoiseshell

On The News yesterday it was stated that nationally our native butterflies are in a definite decline. We do have some beautiful butterflies, and moths actually, which always seem to get forgotten, so to think they are struggling more than ever is very upsetting.

We have a field round our ‘nature inspired garden’ that we leave alone, apart from cutting a walk able path round it. There are a few wild flowers which are self seeded, so 80% grasses. We do not cut this grass, it does its own thing and has established itself into an incredible weave of protection for wildlife as well as being beautiful to look at. We planted some trees and shrubs all producing flowers and berries, again planted with wildlife in mind. During the summer when the grasses are in flower, the soft colours are simply fantastic, from mauve heathery colours to salmon pink, to golden corn shades, really gorgeous, and because there is so much of it, the waves of soft muted colours is truly a beautiful summer treat; and very importantly, it is full of all kinds of wildlife all year round.

There are beds of thistles, which this summer were smothered by hundreds, and I do mean, hundreds of butterflies, moths and bees. I have never seen so many butterflies ever, and not just for a one-day wonder, but for days and weeks, the number of butterflies was utterly amazing. So I am very pleased our tiny corner of the world has helped the butterfly population here at least.

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Marbled White

The reason for the national decline is unknown. The weather did cool right off when butterflies were usually at their most prolific, so maybe it was down to that. Farmers will no doubt get some blame as always. But the bigger picture must surely be looked at when pointing the finger towards farmers. Yes, I am biased, but I am also not a fan of commercially driven farming. Huge fields, the chemicals, the ‘chemically dressed’ seeds, the fast field rotation are all aspects I do not endorse at all. Nor GMO but that’s another subject. I favour the organic, nature based farming. Nature and Mother Nature should be embraced and enhanced, not rewritten and manipulated, it will always win in the end!

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Painted Lady

Anyway, to list some of what we had here this year:

Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Peacock, Green Vein Whites, Marble Whites, Painted Ladies, Large and Small Whites, Brimstone, Orange Tip, Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Large and Small Skippers. And so many different moths many of which were daytime ones, I wouldn’t know how to identifying them. The above mentioned are what I have decided we had, I am no expert so my identification of some species may not be correct. We did see a Ruby Tiger Moth, which was stunning. I didn’t see this year however, either a Comma or a Humming Bird Hawk Moth. We have a tiny lavender blue butterfly every year that I am yet to identify.

 

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Ruby Tiger Moth

Check out the Butterfly Conservation website, it gives loads of information from identifying to what plants to use in your garden to attract more of them.

butterfly-conservation.org

See if there are some butterfly and bee friendly plants, trees and shrubs that can add to your garden. It would appear both butterflies and bees are in desperate need of all of our help. Besides the sight of beautiful butterflies and the sound of bees completes the perfect summer scene!

Even now, when the summer is fast leaving us, we can still help the hibernating species survive by providing suitable sites, get to the gardens folks and do your bit whilst the last few butterflies take advantage of the late summer sun!

Druantia

 

 

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