Radical Self Care - Seven ways to find greater joy in daily life.

Radical implies ‘almost too much’. Extreme, pioneering, ground-breaking. The type of thing your more narrow-minded friends will condemn. But why not? Why not be a little extreme in the care you take of yourself. It doesn’t have to be indulgent in terms of money or huge chunks of time, it just has to be radical in terms of the importance you place on it. After all, if you are not prioritising your own journey into optimal health and joy, when who is? 

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Sylvia FergusonComment
Let’s not call it Meditation any more. 

There’s a perception shared by many: meditation is boring, we hate it, it’s dull. Blank the mind? Impossible. Dwell in peace and stillness … yes that bit sounds lovely, but how?

The particular words used to describe something can have a huge impact on whether we ‘get it’ or not. They can immediately alienate or immediately resonate. Instead of asking you to meditate, how with it go for you if I asked you do the following?

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Beginners at Sylvia's Yoga

Wear loose comfortable clothing. Yoga is done barefoot. Don’t worry if you don’t have perfect feet, nobody will care! It’s nice to put the effort into being well prepared with fresh, comfortable clothing you feel at home in.

Bring a yoga mat and a small blanket you can sit on, or use as padding under your knee or your head, or throw over you for final relaxation. Yoga mats can be purchased in any sports shop, luxury mats such as Manduka can be purchased online, the cheaper ones tend to be a bit slippy. Buy your throw / blanket in Pennys! Bring warm layers for relaxation, a sweatshirt or hoodie, cosy socks, maybe an eye pillow to block out the light.

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Summer newsletter!

Wishing you all a season of growth. If that growth comes from resting, rest deeply. If it comes from action, make your actions considered. 

“How do you know you are growing in the right direction? You can breath more deeply, think more clearly, and feel calmness and happiness flow more strongly through your being.” Yung Pueblo. 

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Rediscover your best posture as you sit with ease.

It can take a bit of time and tuning-in to discover the best position to be in. As a child you did this instinctively; this is the way you used to move before bad postural habits and tension crept in. So in a way you are re-discovering. You are peeling back the layers of tension and stress that have made their imprint on your body for all those years and when you re-discover your own effortless state of optimal alignment it’s as familiar as reconnecting with an old friend.

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Sylvia FergusonComment
The Hand Meditation

When you have settled into a pleasant, easy, rhythm, see if you can go a level deeper into your meditation practice by allowing the breath to start and the movement to follow a moment later. Breath first, movement follows right behind. It’s like you become a passive follower of your own, natural, relaxed, rhythm of breathing. This helps switch off your busy ‘thinking’ mind and allows you to dwell in your quieter ‘being’ mind.

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