Hear the Silence

Do you or would you have a phones off policy after a certain hour?  I am finding myself constantly checking, texting, browsing and emailing well into the night.  A couple of weeks ago I checked my emails right before my head hit the pillow and some stressful news kept me awake, tossing and turning until gone 2am.  Recently I’ve read some interesting articles about this, and some simple solutions.

1. Pick a time that all household mobiles and laptops shall be switched OFF
2. Buy a landline if you are concerned about friends/relatives being able to contact you in an emergency… note. emergency

What do you think?

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5 Things I’m Loving

1. James Dean… they don’t make em like the used to.  Went to the Filmhouse the other day to catch East of Eden, and swoon with a glass of red wine

Photograph: Cine Text/Allstar

2. Sunshine – sun’s creeping out, feel the Vitamin D!

 

3.  Ondine – what would I be without seafood?  This place aint cheap but it’s phenomenal.  I always have the langoustines and a glass of prosecco.  SH can’t see passed the oysters.  Bonus – it also sources sustainable produce in line with fish2fork.

Photograph: Ondine website

4. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – CBT helped me overcome anxiety issues whilst I was at University and now I feel the tools it gave me help me immensely in day to day life.  I am very keen to tie in key concepts from CBT with mindfullness and meditation techniques for a hybrid therapy to help people tackle their demons.

5. Nail Glow – this stuff is magic but I can’t take credit for its discovery.  www.acupofjo.com always hits the mark, and this particular treasure was a find by Jo.  So slick it simply enhances your nails, whites are whiter and pinks, pinker.

 

Photograph: A Cup of Jo

Leap of Faith

So it’s official… May 18th will be my last shift working at the pub and restaurant.  I have taken a leap of faith, going FREELANCE?! with my first big gig at Meadowlark Yoga, Edinburgh.  I’ll be helping them behind the scenes to build their client base, work on scheduling and generally soak up the delicious, healing atmosphere.  This place is amazing.  If you live in Edinburgh, or just swing by every once in a while, STOP BY Meadowlark.  There is a yoga class for everyone, be it gentle, restorative or hard core power flows.  And what’s more, next door is their very own cafe serving up mind blowing super juices, hearty soups, salads, sandwiches and soul feeding treats.

How about this for a day:

• Early Morning Yoga to stretch out before the day at Meadowlark
• A delicious green juice and bowl of almond milk and granola at Cafe 39
• A session with resident holistic wizards at Meadowlark; try Thai Massage or Tui Na perhaps?
• Try something new – Aerial Yoga, too. much. fun
• And you’ll still be home for dinner and movie

So if you hadn’t guessed, I’m a little excited.  It’s scary; ditching the security that has cocooned me for my adult working life and exchanging it for healthier working environments and a little dose of healthy challenges.

Wish me luck!

Plant Based Diet

So as I mentioned in my last post, my Christmas spirit never really left after December and as a result I have 6 or so llbs to lose in order to fit into my wedding dress (that’s important, right?).  So my game plan is to 1) up the yoga and 2) spend the next couple of weeks following a plant based diet.  Ok so that doesn’t mean eliminate meat and fish, it just means that any given plate of food will be predominantly based up plants, grains, seeds, pulses etc.  I will be getting most of my protein from dairy – cheese (never going to give this one up…), yogurt, butter.  And carbs in the form of grainy breads, rice and fruit will be important too.

Here’s dinner sample 1: The Good Old Vegetarian Mezze Platter!

 

Real french bread, olive oil, sundried tomatoes, raw green peppers, cous cous with sultanas, olives, avocado, hummus, soft cheese stuffed spicy red peppers and the Queen of the Show: Spinach, strawberry, goat’s cheese, almond and balsamic salad.  Oh and a glass of white wine 🙂

 

Feeling the Pinch

While visiting my parents this weekend I tried on the beautiful wedding dress my Mum is making and to my (and my mother’s) horror, realised it didn’t fit!  Since my last visit in January, I have been mindlessly munching away on cakes and chocolate, never really ever having left the Christmas state of mind… and half a stone later, we face a problem.  My Mum doesn’t consider herself experienced enough in the sewing department to re-fashion the entire dress a size bigger, so the only solution is for me to ditch the cakes.  My route of choice is to up the yoga and eat the veggies.  Stay tuned, this ride could be bumpy!

© Ragne Kabanova | Dreamstime Stock Photos

5 Things I’m Loving

1. Beetroot

The colour, the flavour, the mess. I used to hate this stuff but now it makes me go crazy… there is something in this stuff I swear!

2. Wedding Planning

Who knew! I am actually loving the wedding planning phase and I’m not sure I want it to end (defeats the purpose, I know…).  I think it helps that SH and I have a small budget so we don’t have room for the plans to get crazy + we both have the same idea for roughly how we want the day to go.  Roll on October 2014!

3.  Etsy.com

I wish I could make stuff.  Or fix stuff.  Or Invent stuff.  Well until then, thank God there is Etsy.  Such a great site and even better, supporting individual craftspeople and small businesses.  Both my engagement ring and our wedding bands have been purchased from etsy.

4. Flying

In the last few weeks I’ve been learning that just because I have grown (albeit not much), changed shape, lost and gained weight/strength/flexibility/mobility, I am still capable of moving in many of the ways I could as a kid.  The difference seems to be fear.  As I youngster I would walk across a room on my hands, or drop back into full wheel, flip my legs over my head, back to standing.  Obviously flexibility etc is super important but with a little faith in yourself, good guidance from your teachers and persistence in practice, you can rediscover your body’s potential – this is all very exciting for me!

5.  New Opportunities

This one isn’t public yet, but soon! All I will say is that you need to say YES when in doubt.  Trust your gut.  Take the leap of faith. Challenge yourself.

Feeling Optimistic

Things are looking up, and changes are about. I have finally taken my own advice and decided to be proactive about choosing my own path – watch. This. Space!

Beat the Snots

Thanks to these tips from some wise folk I am nearly never ill with a cold… and if I am, these ensure it’s over as quickly as it started.  I’m feeling the first niggly signs so I’m repeating these actions on a loop!

• Eat your fruit and veggies – in a smoothie/juice/whole, it doesn’t matter, just make sure you get a tonne!

 

• Blow your nose don’t sniff!
• Wash your hands obsessively
• Gentle, restorative yoga to twist your body and wring out the toxins

• Think positively!
• Doctors may disagree but I reckon a stiff drink helps to kill the bugs!

 

• Look after yourself – treat yourself, get cosy, eat cake
• Noodle soup – I don’t know why, it’s magic

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate – tea, water, juice, tea, water, juice, repeat

5 Things I’m Loving

1. Mindfullybeing

These guys provide an excellent training service for mindfullness – how to use it in your personal or professional life and how to use it to overcome psychological barriers.  Get Mindful People!

2. No Make Up Selfies! 

Wow there are a lot of barenaked faces out there and everyone looks great.  Everyone text BEAT to 70007 to donate to Cancer Research – selfie or no selfie.

 

3. No. 39 Cafe

Your one stop shop for green juice, teas, raw snacks, delicious sandwiches, yoga and aerial yoga! All they need now are bunk beds!

 

4. Yoga Girl

 

For all the yoga inspiration you could ever need!!  Great recipes from her blog too – I’ve tried the Raw Vegan Chocolate and the Raw Vegan Nutella (notice a theme?).

  

5. Say Her Name – Francisco Goldman

A beautiful book, and the first one in a long time that hit all the right notes with me and got me thinking – long after I read the last page…  Painful and honest  Check out the Guardian review.

Morning Yoga and Instagram

Nothing like a morning headstand to get the blood moving and sieve out the aches and pains.  More yoga related posts will be added to my instagram @green_tea_bug in the future