Celebrating National Poetry Day 2018, here are some beautiful poems about pregnancy and motherhood. As the great French Obstetrician Michel Odent says, pregnancy should be spent gazing at the stars and reading poetry - so here’s some perfect pieces to read and inspire your wonderful, awesome, powerful women.
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The art of slowing down.
With so many different styles of yoga, and perhaps a general understanding of yoga being 'movement', people can sometimes be unaware of the deep stillness in some styles of yoga - not just in the mind but in the body too. Having a deeper inward focus and time to reflect and enjoy the real feeling of your body taking different shapes, and releasing them, slowly can be so very enlightening. It can be deeply transformative, and can show you so many things about yourself. It's the practices of Yin and Restorative yoga that I bring together in my weekly Slow Down yoga classes, and monthly Slow Sunday yoga workshops, that I truly believe can benefit us deeply in the crazy, busy, modern world. It’s perfect a form of self-care for body and mind. Read on to find out more.
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Simple Self-Care - take time for you
This is such a brilliant idea to remind you to build a little time into your busy life for some simple self care practices and rituals - a self care box. Even though I do a lot of yoga and meditation each week, which to me is definitely self care, I also need other practices and rituals to help me have time for me. So I have a 'self care box' at home containing the things that uplift me when I need to have that little slice of me-time and feel better.
Read on for my tips to create your own self care box. Everyone's will be different, and of course you change it over time, its definitely not rigid and fixed. But here's some lovely ideas to consider...
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The Art of Loving kindness for pregnancy and motherhood
"In modern life we have become so busy with our daily affairs and thoughts, that we have forgotten this essential art of taking time to converse with our hearts….If we are still, and listen deeply, for even a moment, we will know if we are following a path with heart… " Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart
In my 'Self-Care Sunday' Facebook live video this week I introduced the practice of loving kindness (if you missed it catch it here https://www.facebook.com/yogaformodernlife%20/videos/1369281359787198/). I also shared it in one of my pregnancy yoga classes which is a just the most lovely way to connect with your unborn baby. It's such a beautiful practice and I really wanted to write a blog post to share it with as many people as possible and tell you more about it...
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The great magnesium shortage
Right now, less than 70% of women and 40% of men in the UK are getting their fair share of magnesium. If you are suffering from poor sleep, muscle knots and tension, fatigue or even a modicum of stress, not to mention one of the 22 or so magnesium deficiency triggered ailments, it’s time to think about your magnesium intake.
Read more about why magnesium is important, and how you can address any imbalance in easy ways.
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"It is not selfish to refill your own cup, so that you can pour into others. It’s not just a luxury. It is essential.”
This week’s blog post is about self-care, self-love and 10 brilliant things you can do to increase this in your life. As a mother of two, and a yoga teacher who’s whole ethos is about trying to counter the effects of modern life (the busyness, the stress, the multi-tasking) through yoga, I think about think about self-care…. a lot. We do so much to care for the ones we love, our children, family, friends, our wider community. We offer warm embraces, patience, and understanding. We give our energy, our time and our love out freely. We cook nourishing meals, give gifts, and express gratitude. But do we do the same for ourselves? Do we put in the same amount as we give out? Do we take time to recharge, to give back to ourselves?
The answer is usually no.....
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