Tag Archives: life choices

Call back your power

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You are very powerful, provided you know how powerful you areDo you feel your own power? Do you feel in control of your life? Do you feel completely happy in your own skin?

If the answer is “no” to any of these questions then please know you’re not alone!

Low self-esteem is rife in our society (particularly amongst sensitive people who’ve had a lifetime of people telling them not to be so emotional, to get over it, and to grow a thicker skin).

Feeling crap about yourself in some way is a hidden epidemic and a taboo subject as it’s rarely talked about. Who wants to admit to feeling this way? Read more…

Are you living your life in alignment?

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Train tracks
Does something not quite seem aligned?

Do you ever get the sense there’s something out of kilter? That something doesn’t quite feel right?

Maybe you know what it is. Perhaps you can’t quite put your finger on it but it’s a niggly sense that something needs to change.

A strange but very real sense that something isn’t quite aligned properly.

What’s going on? Read more…

Start your day with intention

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Sunrise: start the day with good intention
Rise & shine

Here’s a question for you. What’s your intention for today?

Did you answer something along the lines of, “Erm, dunno”?

Daily life can all to easily turn into a hamster wheel of: get up, go to work or look after the kids or run around all day doing stuff, arrive home exhausted, flop in front of the TV, haul yourself off to bed before repeating it all the next day.

We’re so busy, busy, busy – in a culture which unhealthily glorifies busy and being productive – that one day can easily feel like the next.

Events determine what we experience each day and how we feel.

What would it feel like to know there’s another way?

Imagine living each day with purpose and intention.

Yes, you might still need to do the same stuff but what if you no longer needed to feel pulled this way and that as if you have no control over what you do and how feel? Read more…

Tough love on self-care

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Relaxation time - cute dog
Sit and stare and just rest

When was the last time you did nothing? 

Rested? Pondered over a cup of tea? Stared out of the window to watch the clouds? Stood and listened to birdsong? Went for a walk with no aim in particular – just for the love of it? Sat and let your feelings come and go with no judgement?

Recently? Not in ages? Never?!

If this isn’t something you regularly do, I’m not judging you! I know how difficult it can feel to pack into your days all the activities you need and want to do – let alone finding time to do nothing!

But … this do-nothing-in-particular time is actually really important.

And the fact it is usually overlooked and not allowed in our lives is contributing to the high levels of stress and anxiety as well as fatigue and niggly illnesses in modern life.

Why? Because rest is essential to bring our bodies and minds back into balance.

It brings our bodies out of the stress response which modern-day life puts us into, and into the relaxation response where our body can rest, digest and heal. Rest balances the nervous system and soothes the mind. Read more…

Make joy your resolution this year

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Southampton yoga teacher Stella with her joy jar
My Joy Jar 2016

Happy New Year!  Goodbye to 2016 – a very, ahem, “interesting” year for Britain and the world… How was it for you?

Hello 2017! Here’s to a calm and soulful year of reconnection. Let’s make 2017 a wonderful year of kindness, self-care and compassion.

Would you like to feel more joyful? More present? At peace, calm and contented?

Then start this new year as you mean to go on: choose an attitude of gratitude and notice the joyful moments that occur each and every day in your life. You just need open eyes and a willing heart and you will see them.

No matter the measure of health and wellbeing you have. No matter the challenges you are facing. There is always something which can spark joy.

Maybe it’s the robin jumping around in the garden. The blue-green sheen on a Mallard’s head. The pattern of raindrops as they roll down the window. The rustle of leaves in the breeze. The pattern of frost on a leaf. The smile of a loved one. The feeling of understanding as you chat with a friend. Quiet-time alone to recharge your batteries.

Everyday there will be something in your life which connects you to your heart, to joy, to the present moment. Read more…

I’m changing

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I'm changingWe’re living in interesting and changing times.

It feels like there’s so much anger and fear in the world.

Yet at the same time more and more people are turning to yoga and meditation and other healing and energy modalities because they instinctively feel there is more to life than materialism and yearn for a greater spirit / soul connection – and are finding this connection and thriving with it.

The world is changing.

And I feel my work changing with it.

I’m feeling called to work more deeply.

Teaching and empowering people who are more sensitive and soulful by nature to find inner peace and to embrace their sensitivity as a force for good in this world which sorely needs more kindness and reflection and compassion and connection.

Dru Yoga, Restorative Yoga, & Meditation are the perfect tools for this work.

So, you’ll find my teaching and writing subtly changing over the coming months to reflect this work I’m feeling called to do.

I hope you’ll come with me on this journey

How can I help you? What support do you need? Let me walk with you, by your side, supporting your sensitive, soulful nature.

Do comment below, get in touch or connect with me on social media: Facebook & Instagram.

Much love,
Stella xxx

Mindfulness in action: a personal story

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Meditation and mindfulness in action
Mindfully looking inside

So, last week was a bit of wobbly, weird week for me.

It started off great. I graduated from my two-year Dru Meditation Teacher training. I felt refreshed after a week off. I was looking forward to getting back to my yoga teaching – with that exciting “new term” feel. I’ve got new classes and workplace yoga and mindfulness initiatives coming up.

But then I found myself not sleeping very well. My mind wouldn’t shut up. A Facebook post irritated me and I let it get under my skin.

I felt the “not good enough” button well and truly pressed. Read more…

Calm contentment: a manifesto!

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Sweet Pea: smell the flowers for some calm contentment
Slow down and smell the flowers

Why oh why does our culture glorify busy-ness so much? We’re supposed to struggle, to push through our comfort zones, to do, to achieve, to climb the ladder. Blah, blah, blimmin’ blah. Whatevs. We’re not meant to want to relax in calm contentment.

Well do you know what? I can’t be bothered. It all sounds way too overwhelming and tiring for me, sensitive soul that I am.

I’m not lazy. I work hard – and yes, I find myself pushing too (and wind up exhausted when I do).

So I’m standing up for slowness. For gentleness. For kindness. For sensitivity. For time to relax and notice the simple pleasures in life. Read more…

I’ve finally done it!

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“Most [wo]men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with their song still in them” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Here's my excited face
Excited to finally be walking on MY path

I don’t want to be one of those people.

So, I’ve taken the leap. I’ve done what I’ve long been dreaming of. I’m taking control of my life and my destiny.

I’m going to sing MY song.

I’ve handed in my notice at work to leave my part-time job in one month’s time.

I’m devoting my life to play my small part in helping to relieve the suffering of stress and anxiety through calming yoga, relaxation and meditation.

I have a calling. It’s always been there. To do something useful. To make a difference. To help others. To empower others that there is a different way in life. To write. To create. To get up on stage somehow. To inspire.

To let as many people know as possible that life doesn’t have to be struggle and difficulty and stress and self-loathing and quiet desperation. That we are free despite the mass manipulation by of our governments and media and culture with their twisted messages of fear and self-loathing and hatred of others.

But first I had to make my own journey from that dark place to a different one.

To a place of joy and self-acceptance and permission to do what lights me up. Of lightness. Of simplicity. To a place of self-belief. Read more…

Four steps to let go of guilt and let yourself relax

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guiltyFinally. You have 30 minutes with nothing scheduled.  Some precious me-time alone. Time where you can just do what YOU like. Ah lovely…

But then, you remember the bins need putting out. Ah, you forgot to answer that email. Hmm, you haven’t spoken to such-and-such for a while may you should give them a ring.

And you start to feel guilty for not getting on with stuff which “needs” doing.

Guilt strikes

Feeling guilty. It usually comes with an unhelpful dose of “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts”. That nagging feeling you should be doing something else instead. The knot in the stomach. The tension in the head and shoulders. The chattering thoughts.

The guilt comes with an extra whack when we’re doing something just for ourselves. Some aspect of self care that we know we desperately need but we somehow find difficult to allow ourselves to have. Quite time away from the kids and family.  Time to go for a walk and get some fresh air at lunchtime to get out of the office and  away from the ever-refilling email inbox. Saying a gentle but firm “no” to looking after the grandkids at short notice when you had some me-time planned.

And we either cave into the guilt and prioritise others’ needs or the guilt consumes us and we don’t enjoy what we’re doing.

Sound familiar? Read more…