I'm self-employed so through necessity, I have to fit a lot into my daily routine. This includes time physically spent at work or teaching, time at home doing the admin side of my business - social media, accounts etc, time for myself, including working out, spending time with my friends, family and pets, and time for those boring but necessary daily chores. This does sound like I have a lot of plates spinning and in all honesty, I do, but it's just what works for me. Now, I'm not writing this post because I want to suggest I am some kind of superwoman (really, I'm far from it), but because people ask me how I manage it all and I wanted to share my secret for finding a good work/life balance... LISTS! Ok it's not that exciting or innovative but stick with me on this... I write a weekly to-do list, as I'm sure loads of you do too.  I start with the things I absolutely have to do that week. If things are time sensitive, i.e. I need to pay that invoic...

Ok so when you start yoga, people are ready to tell you all the positives - that it'll change your life, that you'll become more flexible/stronger/balanced - and all the negatives - there *may* be involuntary passing of gas, you might fall over when you try and balance, people might see your pants through your leggings - etc. etc. etc.  However, what they fail to mention is that probably the hardest thing to do is actually to pluck up the courage, book a class and walk through the doors. In a world where we spend copious amounts of our day to day life behind a computer screen, going out into the 'real' world and interacting with 'real' people is not always easy.  Especially if you're worried that those people are going to be toned gods and goddesses who weave their own clothes from yak's milk and discuss in great detail how to power up their root chakras.  Yes, yoga is a spiritual practice and to be honest, it is one of my bugbears when people just...

Finding space to relax in our busy lives never feels particularly easy.  Here's 5 simple ways you can add a little bit more 'chill time' into your day... Meditate .  You don't have to attend a meditation class (although they are a great way to learn and meet like-minded people), you can instead download apps onto your phone, listen to YouTube or even buy a guided meditation CD. Move . Yes you read that right!  One of my favourite ways to relax and chill out is to actually get moving.  I see running as an active form of meditation and love getting out of the house into nature, allowing the focus on physical movement to help deal with any mental or emotion stresses or anxieties. Yoga .  Another form of 'active chill', yoga asanas (movements) are performed with mindfulness and class finish with a lovely savasana (relaxation) session, where you get to lie on the floor and feel your whole mind and body relax.  You could try Restorative Yoga, which is d...

We've all been there....you're training for a specific even and at some point you just think 'what the hell am I doing?' and want to jack it all in... This week has probably been my hardest week in terms of staying motivated throughout my marathon training.  I've felt knackered every day and all I've wanted to do is eat and sleep.  It's made me question how much I'm putting my body through.  However, coming out of the other side of this mindset, it has also made me very grateful and proud of just how much my body is capable of. I have had IBS since I was 18 and when it flares up, which it does and often unpredictably, it can be incredibly painful - inconvenient at best and debilitating at worse.  It gets worse when I'm tired or stressed or not sleeping well.  As I've been suffering from all three of those triggers the last couple of weeks, its not been great. However, rather than giving into it, it's got me thinking about how to sta...

Today is the Spring Equinox where, theoretically, we experience equal hours of daylight and darkness. It is a wonderful time to ditch the things in your life that no longer serve you.  Consider the notion of spring cleaning; traditionally, this is a time to sweep away the clutter and accumulated 'stuff' from the dark, winter months in readiness to welcome the lighter days and warmer weather. This notion of cleaning could, and should, be extended to our bodies and emotions. By removing the habits, thought processes and behaviours that are no longer working for us, we make way for those that do. We often hear people talking about going on a detox diet and, whilst it is very important to consider what we are putting into our bodies, this is something that we shouldn't see as a short term fix - a week of following a juicing diet will not miraculously solve all your problems!  Being more mindful about what we eat, what we think and what we do is a more realistic and hea...