I don’t believe in the New Year’s resolutions. And please challenge me if that worked for you. I would love to know your secret. Life is so busy, and I feel resolutions create even more pressure. So this year I have no resolutions!

For me, it’s more about implementing minor changes throughout the year. Realising my behaviour patterns and trying to break them. And if we implemented one slight change every month, by the end of the year we would have changed 12 different issues, no matter how small they are!

This month I spotted that I and my husband eat a lot of junk food when we watch movies. Instead of getting popcorn or crisps, we had some grilled sunflower seeds. How do you make them? You move seeds to the bowl and coat them in soya sauce, making sure all of them are coated. Then you spread them flat on the baking tray and grill them for about 3 minutes. The liquid will dry out and they will become crispy. So tasty and much better than crisps ? And popcorn? Is it terrible for you? If you use air instead of oil and go easy on salt and sugar, or even better, don’t use it, it’s a healthy snack!

Let me know what you think!

Happy New Year

Based on recent events, we talked a lot about fear last week.

Fear is an emotion like any other, sadness, happiness, or anger. Emotions are not bad or good, they just are, and we need to learn to stop judging them and starting to listen to what they have to say. Like any emotion, it’s not an enemy, it’s a message from the brain that something is happening, something we need to look at. And like any emotion, fear is energy. Observe what happens in your body when you feel it. The energy level is increasing. And what you do with it is up to you.

Most of the time we practice escapism from the fear – we are judging and living in duality. We classify fear as not comfortable and brush it under the carpet. What happens then, it creates a vortex of energy and sucks the energy out of us, without us being aware. Sometimes we are allowing unconscious fear to lead our life. Our mind may forget but our body is imprinted with all the experiences, memories, and emotions which need to be released.

What can we do to release the fear?

1. Identifying what are you scared of? Why is that? Which previous experience programmed your brain to respond to similar situations?
2. Asking yourself a question – what is the worst that can happen? Putting situation into perspective. For example, if I run out of fuel what is the worst-case scenario? Will I have to walk, take the bus, cycle?
3. Yoga, Meditation – become aware of patterns and releasing them. Yoga Sutras text says – Yoga is stilling the modifications of the mind. Fear is one of the modifications. I found Ganesha mudra very helpful too:https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/ganesha-mudra Physical yoga – asanas – takes us away from the thinking mind, it can release fear hidden in the body. It works on the body, mind, and energy. It can transform us if done properly. Sometimes it’s difficult to meditate or breathe if anxiety hits, I prefer to do physical yoga instead.
4. Accepting that it’s ok to be scared – noticing what happens to the body, becoming aware of the reaction of the body, breaking the pattern. There are no irrational fears. If you feel it, it’s real, but you also have the power to overcome it by creating space.
5. I found Humming bee breath very helpful with fear. I struggled with a lot of anxiety last year and it really helped me:
6. A. Sit in any comfortable meditative pose. You can also sit on a rolled blanket with your knees upward and the elbows resting on the knees.
   B. Plug the ears with the thumbs, resting the other four fingers on the head, or use the index or middle fingers to plug the ears.
   C. The lips should remain gently closed with the teeth slightly apart throughout the practice. Make sure the jaws are relaxed.
   D.Breathe in through the nose.
   E. Keep the mouth closed, exhale slowly and in a controlled manner while making a deep steady humming sound like that of a bee.
   F. Listen to the sound with the awareness focused in the centre of the head. The sound must be soft and deep, making the front of the skull reverberate.
   G. At the end of the exhalation, breathe in deeply and repeat
   H. Perform ten to fifteen rounds.
   I. When the practice is finished, keep the eyes closed and spend a few minutes observing the effects of the practice.
   J. The vibrations of bhramari produce a soothing effect on the mind and nervous system
7. And many more, which I hope to share with you in the workshop about anxiety.