4EFT Life Now: Trees don't care

4EFT Life Now: Trees don't care: ......they just being. This morning I spent a little time gazing out of my kitchen window. In the distance I see some beautiful silver birc...

4EFT Life Now: Thoughts - weapons or medicine

4EFT Life Now: Thoughts - weapons or medicine: Let's be careful where we put our energy over the coming days and weeks. We know that where we put our energy affects our experience o...

3 achievements yoga, running and published

I have had the most amazing week! Firstly I found myself a yoga class and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have been intending to return to yoga classes since I relocated two and a half years ago. SecondlyI completed the NHS C25K programme. Basically C25K stands for couch to 5 kilometres it is a programme to take someone like me who had become a couch potato to being able to run for 30 minutes (aprox 5k) in nine weeks. I completed the programme in seven and a half weeks and feel great. Thirdly a published my book on Amazon in both eReader and paperback format. All in all a great week, unfortunately I cannot celebrate with a glass of bubbly because I have given up alcohol for Lent, this could turn into a lifetime of abstinence but it might not.....

Resolutions - Today I will help myself -1

Even though I believe it is good to take stock of where we are and what changes we want to make in our lives I gave up making new year resolutions a long time ago. I believe the Reiki way with daily precepts are far easier to keep to i.e Just for today I will not anger etc. I know in my heart of hearts that if I say I am going to loose weight and get fit and stay fit this year I am setting myself up to fail and by the end of January I will be eating chocolate to console myself because I can't get into my favourite pair of jeans. So on Friday 4th January I decided that just for today I would try out the NHS couch to 5 kilometre running programme (C25K). The programme entails exercising three times a week with at least one day rest between each session. The goal is to be able to run for 30 minutes completing approximately 5 kilometres after 9 weeks of exercise. During the first week you warm up with five minutes brisk walking and then alternately 60 seconds running and 90 minutes brisk walking and ending off with five minutes brisk walking. There is a great download with a trainer telling you what to do when and some good running music. I read that someone suggested a cold bath after the workout, I thought that was definitely something I was not going to try. As luck would have it Mother Nature decided to give me a cold shower by turning on her rain tap just before I reached home.
Saturday 5th January the tops of my legs were aching a bit but not too bad.
Sunday 6th January I  decided that just for today I will try to improve my fitness level and do another  C25K session. I looked outside at the weather and it was drizzling so set about finding my lightweight waterproof sports jacket with hood, nowhere to be seen in the end I grabbed a floral waterproof which looked awful with my grey joggers. I was on the verge of deciding I couldn't go out looking such a mess when I realised that such a decision. would be made out of pure ego because I was worried about what people would think of me. I headed out into the rain I'm pretty sure some of the local seagulls were laughing at me but at the end of the day I can add to my gratitude list the fact I am grateful that aged well over 60  I can still run (sort of) and I can do so in a lovely part of the country and I can see and hear the seagulls.

Tranquility on Stormy Days: 5 Stress buster tips

Tranquility on Stormy Days: 5 Stress buster tips: 1. When it all gets too much in the run up to Christmas (or any other time) don't get your hands around someone's throat. Go into th...

5 Stress buster tips

1. When it all gets too much in the run up to Christmas (or any other time) don't get your hands around someone's throat. Go into the bathroom, pick up a towel, grasp the long ends and twist it, keep twisting and verbalise about what is stressing you, it's in the privacy of the bathroom so if you want you can swear and stamp your feet as you twist, I certainly find the foot stamping helps. Twist and twist that towel until it can't be twisted any more. By the time you get to that point you have used up all your anger. The towel won't hold a grudge. Flick it out nd hang it back where you got if=t from. Exit the bathroom calm and serene.

2. Go to a private place and breathe in to a slow count of 7 and breath out to a slow count of 11. Keep the 7:11 breathing up until you feel calm and relaxed.

3. Remember, no matter how bad things feel, in a years time you will have forgotten you were  
stressed today.

4. Go for a walk, even a short walk. Walking costs nothing and you will complete your tasks better fo having taken the time to look after yourself.

5. This is my favourite. Feel the stress. Yes, really, feel the stress. Take time out and observe the stress, ask yourself if there are any emotions attached to it maybe anger, frustration, disappointment. Feel the emotion, check out where in your body you feel it, observe it, how is it effecting you? Once you start to observe yourself it is amazing how an unwelcome emotion dissolves under scrutiny.

Stormy Days (outside)

Sitting cosy in my home I can hear the storm raging outside and I realise how lucky I am. I'm warm, comfortable and peaceful. Two years ago I was in the midst of an emotional family storm that made me decide to up sticks and move to the beautiful Isle of Wight. That storm blew down and cleared away a lot of the debris that had for several years stopped me making the move. Storms can do that, but, we often have to wait for the storm to pass before we see that what they have knocked down was not as safe or well maintained as we thought and room is made for the new to come in.
Sometimes we can be so caught up with the storm we feel it will never pass over and it can be handy to have a few tools to help us through. One of the things I find useful under such circumstances is connecting to my heart centre. I touch the centre of my chest with my fingers and look down at my hand (some people might prefer to put their hands together as if in prayer and bring the hands to the heart centre) and take a couple of deep breaths. There is something about looking down to the heart centre and slowly breathing that brings instant calmness. I then think of something that makes me feel happy or for which I am grateful, I hold the position until I feel calm and tranquil or at least back in control of myself.  This really is one of my favourite stress busters. Try it. We will probably all need a bit of calmness as we go through the upcoming Christmas festivities. 😀