Many people who have been diagnosed with a health condition also struggle with their mental health, with some estimates putting the number of people at about 25%. So if you are one of the people who are struggling with both a chronic health condition and your mental health, here are some of the steps that you can take to improve your wellness and quality of life.
Get a Monitor for Your Condition
Some people who are struggling with a health condition find that their mental health takes a knock because of a sudden lack of independence or reliance on other people. Not only this, but their plans can often be disrupted because of sudden medical issues or emergencies. To mitigate both of these issues and the way that they trigger poor mental health, you should consider investing in a monitor which can help you to manage and track your condition much more easily. By investing in a smart blood glucose monitor those with diabetes can easily go about their daily life without worrying about their condition, and they will be able to track their health themselves at any time, ensuring that they catch the signs of a medical emergency before it occurs.
Get Professional Advice
If you are struggling with your mental health due to the symptoms and side effects of your health condition, you should make sure that you get professional advice as soon as possible from a doctor or psychologist. They will be able to prescribe you with medications, such as anti-depressants and refer you to a therapy that could help you to flourish, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy. They may also be able to give you advice on how to better manage your health condition and may even be able to change your treatment plan for your health condition to one that suits you and your lifestyle better.
Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
You should also try to maintain a healthy lifestyle as much as possible when you have a health condition, with many people giving up on this when they are diagnosed or when their mental health problems begin to develop. For instance, you should ask your doctor about any exercises that you can do alongside your disability that can help you to stay active, as well as the foods that you should be eating to improve your mental and physical health. You should also try to get enough sleep, and talk to your doctor about sleeping medications if you have tried everything and you are still unable to get the 8 hours of sleep that you need to function.
Be Mindful
You should also consider looking at mindfulness practices that could be of use to you, with many doctors now recommending meditation and deep breathing techniques as a way to de-stress and improve your mood and mental health. However, you might have to join a group to learn how to meditate and to be mindful effectively as this can encourage you to keep the practice up.
Weight management is a big priority for most people – the consequences of not looking after your body can be extremely dangerous and affect your whole life. And with obesity a rising problem in the world, it’s more important than ever to understand how to manage your weight.
Most of what we’ve been taught about weight loss revolves around restrictive diets and excessive exercise. We’re told that in order to lose weight effectively, our bodies need to be in a calorie deficit – what that actually does is cause havoc in our bodies. But there’s a way to undo the damage of traditional dieting, with reverse dieting.
In this article, we’re going to explore what this new method of weight management is, how it works, and what benefits it offers.
Traditional Dieting: Outdated Methods
Before we dive into the world of reverse dieting, it’s important that we highlight why there’s a need for a new way to manage our weight.
Traditional dieting techniques focus on calorie deficits that only allow people to temporarily lose weight – unless of course, they’re happy and willing to live a lifestyle characterised by restrictive diets and extensive fitness plans. In fact, losing weight in this way isn’t just a short-term fix to a longer term problem, but can create more issues too.
Why Doesn’t Traditional Dieting Produce Long-Term Results?
When you suddenly cut the amount of calories you put into your body, the body goes into a survival mode of sorts. This causes it to start storing any food it does get as fat reserves in preparation for a starvation period.
This happens because your body’s primary function is to keep you alive – and losing access to food, and calories, can trick your body into thinking that it isn’t going to be able to have access to the food and energy it needs to keep you alive and healthy. So in effect, cutting your caloric intake can actually work against you when your goal is to lose weight.
A Missing Element: Metabolism
When we think about how the body burns calories, and fat, we must consider the role of metabolism. This is the process where your body uses up energy by converting the food you eat into energy for all of the bodily processes needed to stay healthy. So, if you want to lose weight, the focus of any weight-loss-program should be on supporting the body’s ability to burn fat. In other words – weight loss should look at boosting the metabolism primarily.
When the metabolism is at its highest, the body can burn fat and calories at its most optimum level, and therefore help individuals work towards weight loss goals in a healthy, sustainable way. But everyone’s metabolism is different, therefore there can’t be a one-size-fits-all solution to weight loss.
This is another huge area where traditional weight loss programs and theories fail to deliver long-term, healthy results. They don’t take into account the huge diversity that exists across individuals and their bodies. However, this is where reverse dieting comes in.
What is Reverse Dieting?
Reverse dieting is a method where your diet is catered to your individual needs in a way that supports the metabolism. Over time, the goal is to get your metabolism back to its optimum level, which can be significantly compromised after putting your body through periods of caloric deficit.
When the metabolic rate is at its optimal level, the body is able to burn fat and calories in a much more effective and healthy way, and reverse dieters often find that they can lose weight without starving or restricting themselves.
Reverse Dieting Works in Tandem with the Body
A huge difference between traditional dieting and reverse dieting is the fact that reverse dieting actually works with your body, rather than against it. It’s main focus is on boosting your body’s performance and metabolism – supporting its ability to lose weight too.
Benefits of Reverse Dieting
Reverse dieting offers a number of benefits for people who choose to boost their bodies and metabolism. Let’s look at some in more detail now.
A More Natural Approach
Reverse dieting is a much more natural way of eating and living. By getting back in touch with your body’s innate wisdom and functions, you can learn to manage your own weight and health by knowing what to listen out for. The power to affect your own health is back in your hands with reverse dieting.
Sustainable Results
With reverse dieting, you don’t have to worry about putting the weight back on again. This is often a fear for dieters, because the methods used to hit a goal weight or appearance requires extreme changes to your lifestyle. These are extremely difficult to keep up with and many people will ‘fall off the wagon’ as it’s known, once they stop training or restricting their diets. But reverse dieting works by ensuring you eat a range of foods and in amounts that are suited to your individual needs.
Boost Your Immune System
Because traditional dieting involves eating a limited range of foods, it can mean that your body isn’t getting a varied enough amount of nutrients and vitamins. These are absolutely crucial for keeping your body strong and your immune system able to protect you from illness and fatigue. With reverse dieting, you’re guaranteed to have access to all of the different food groups and variety within each.
A Deeper Understanding of Your Body
Many of us don’t actually understand how our bodies work or what they need. But with reverse dieting, you can start this journey. Insights into how your metabolism works and what helps it to be at its best is vital for getting in touch with your own intuition about your body’s needs. When you understand more about yourself, you can make better choices and stay healthy.
Start reverse dieting by getting in touch with an expert today.
Laura McDonald has always been interested in the workings of the mind so launching her business, Eden Wellness, was an inevitable path for her to take. A bundle of positivity and high vibes, Laura is the kind of person that will improve your life just by meeting her.
We spent some time with her to find out more…
Tell us about your journey to running your business?
It all started after I saw an ad in the newspaper for a hypnotherapy course in 2003. I was always fascinated by the workings of the mind. I had studied psychology briefly, but at university my degree was in Linguistics and English Literature. I had ideas of becoming a writer, a journalist, a speech therapist, or a teacher, but I was intrigued by this ad and in hypnosis and hypnotherapy. On the first weekend of that course, I phoned my Mum in the lunch break and said ’this is the area I am going to work in!’ I loved the idea of being able to help people, choose my working hours, and being my own boss. Of course, I had a very romantic idea of how it might be, and while it is great being able to do all that, it’s not that simple!
I got straight to work a month or so after completing the course, with a job in a SureStart clinic in Ladbroke Grove, helping pregnant women to stop smoking. I then went on to rent a room in a health centre in Willesden Green and worked there for a year, before moving to Ireland and renting a room in a health centre here from 2007. Since then, my business has gone from strength to strength. After 5 years in practice, I became a hypnotherapy supervisor, supporting other hypnotherapists around the world. I qualified in BWRT (BrainWorking Recursive Therapy), became a mentor/supervisor for BWRT, and opened my own training school. I started off running professional practitioner training courses for people wanting to become hypnotherapists, and shortly after, I got my license to teach BWRT as well, also mentoring and supervising BWRT practitioners worldwide. Over the years I’ve gone on to expand my coaching skills, trained in Reiki, became a Personal Trainer, qualified as a Yoga teacher, and co-authored my first book over lockdown in 2020.
Can you tell us about your personal story and how your experiences have shaped your outlook today?
I was born and raised in Wembley, North West London. My parents were Irish, but my mum left Ireland to have me in the UK, so I always had a sense of uncertainty in myself and my identity. I grew up with 2 older step-brothers and 1 younger sister, from Mum’s marriage to my adoptive Dad. Knowing what I know now about the brain and the mind, I can understand so much of what I was experiencing, and this is why I love being able to help others with whatever it is they are dealing with. Many issues can boil down to a poor sense of self, a lack of confidence or self-belief. All this can be changed and built up, which is wonderful. I can’t help but try to figure everyone out though, which can be a hindrance as well as a blessing! I did eventually meet my biological dad and all his family, and have since moved to Ireland to bring up my own family.
How did you decide to wanted your career to end up being about supporting others?
I guess it was because I would have liked similar support myself, I suppose. Like so many, I never understood why I felt the way I did, why things were difficult, why the mind can seem to turn against us from time to time. When I was studying hypnotherapy, I thought how amazing it would be to have elements of it taught in schools, from the very start. If children understood their minds as early as possible, we would have far less stressed, anxious, or depressed adults in years to come, and I firmly believe that.
If you weren’t doing what you do now, what other paths could you have taken?
I would love to have been a surgeon! I only realised that in the last couple of years. I actually did look into it recently, but by the time I would qualify, it’d almost be time for me to retire. Next time! At university I had a view to go into writing, or the jobs mentioned above. I still love writing, I always did, it was a form of therapy for me. It’s something I am not finished with yet and see it in my future. Whether or not that is just in the form of more regular blogs, or another book, I am not sure. There will definitely be courses written, though.
Where does your drive come from and what tips do you have for keeping focus?
If I am working with people to help them improve their lives, I should also seek to do the same for myself. I try and test every modality that I work with, before I attempt to inspire someone else to do the same. I don’t have it all figured out, but I like to think I have techniques and skills to help me along the way. The drive is what gets me to where I want to be or what I want to achieve. I study successful people, and look at how they’ve done it. To keep focussed, I would suggest visualising what it is you want. Feel how that feels. Know that to get there, you need to stay on track, be disciplined, and that the view will be 100% worth it. Think about times in the past when you’ve lost focus and let it get out of control, and how disappointed you were. Always remember that you are the one who can make things happen. When you come up against walls, closed doors, etc, allow yourself time to go inward for a while, but always come back and think of other ways to make it happen. What else can you do? How else can you succeed? What lessons have you learnt along the way? Always come up with a plan B, C, D… whatever is necessary!
For our entrepreneurial readers, what advice do you have for them to start their own thing?
It can take time, but keep going. Not much happens overnight, and you might often find yourself frustrated, impatient, and losing motivation, but keep going. Consistency is key – keep doing what you are doing, keep showing up, get as much exposure as you can and let people know you are there. Stay passionate about what it is you do and always remember why you started.
What personal achievement of yours means the most to you and why?
My family. I have a lovely supportive husband and four beautiful children – three girls and a boy, and I work my business around family life as much as possible.
Entrepreneurial souls are often burning the candles at both ends, as a wellbeing professional what tips do you have for our readers when they are feeling emotionally exhausted?
Slow down, tune in, and rest! Being constantly on the go is like a badge of honour these days, but it’s not clever. I am not always the best for going to bed at a reasonable hour – I never was – and it filters into my day somehow. Something will suffer, whether it’s my concentration, the housework, my energy levels or falling behind with work. Basically, I won’t perform as well as I could. I run a weekly mediation group and I am always stressing the importance of siting in silence, or meditating, or just doing something for ourselves, to recharge. We will be better for everyone around us, and better at work, when we are rested and our minds are clutter free, allowing ourselves to be even more productive! Get a decent sleep, drink at least 2 litres of water, eat clean, and mind your mind and body.
If you ever have a creative block / funk; how do you get yourself out of it?
I often just have to stop whatever it is I am trying to do. The more I sit there trying to accomplish something and can’t, the more frustrated I become, which of course makes the block even stronger. If I stop, walk away, and do something else instead, it helps to reset everything and bring down the blocks. It’s like having a change of scenery to bring down stress levels. Unless I am writing – that’s different. I just type ‘I don’t know what to write’ and it’s amazing how much starts to flow from there!
There seems to have been a shift of late and more people are having open conversations around women’s health and what exactly that means. I am of the generation where talking about periods was ‘gross’, buying tampons along with that night’s dinner offering was awkward, especially if you were doing the shopping with your new beau. Thinking back to the day my period started I remember embarrassment and hushed voices as my mother whispered through the portaloo door – only I could get my first period at Pony Club whilst wearing white jodhpurs – “make sure the pad is in the right place, god knows we don’t want a leak”.
We have come along way since then but there is still not enough being done to educate both girls and women as to how their cycle really works. Too few of us know how our cycle can work for us, not to mention the hormonal contraception we are all put on quicker than you can say “but what about condoms” from a young age and then wonder why there are so many issues with mood, libido and even fertility further down the line.
In my early thirties I started to become a lot more aware of my body both mentally and physically and realised I had been on contraception without a break for 17 years, and never thought to question it. Despite living with M.E. and depression no conversation was ever had to see if there was any correlation. I am not saying there definitively is, but maybe it would have been good to explore whether the pill was affecting my mood rather than just whack me on some antidepressants and be done with it.
I decided enough was enough and had my implant removed so I could at least see what it felt like to have a natural cycle. It took a while for my body to get used to the natural way of life but once it did, the changes were incredible. More energy, being able to feel the highs and lows of progesterone and estrogen spikes rather than a base level plateau of ‘meh’, better skin and weight loss. Sounds great huh? But the one thing that wasn’t so fun was the rage. This sounds dramatic but believe me it was like clockwork, five days before my period I became a she devil, screaming at my long-suffering partner, hating everything and everyone. I could tell this was to do with a hormonal surge but I wanted to gain a better understanding of what was happening and if there was anything I could do to help it. Enter Menstrual Cycle Coach, Carly Procter of Nourish and Flo. We worked together over a six week period (no pun intended) to really help me understand my cycle and how to work with it, rather than against it. Each weekly session centered around a different topic including nutrition, exercise, working methods eg, when to plan meetings, pitch work, admin; and as we uncovered more and more it all started to make sense – of course I’m absolutely knackered on this day, my body is trying to gear me up for menstruation and here I am asking it to get to the gym, pitch to a new client, make a three course meal and write a column. Menstrual Cycle Coaching is not about reinventing the wheel it is about learning how your body works and small changes that can be made to increase productivity, to rejoice in rest and to honour the absolute miracle us women go through monthly.
I took some time to talk to Carly further to get an understanding of what she hopes to help women achieve moving forward.
Before we dive in, could you give me a bit of background as to how you came to be here? Have you always worked in coaching / women’s health?
I have always been interested in health and well-being but had no idea what I wanted to do as a career. While I was figuring it out I trained as a beauty therapist in Brighton and then moved up to London and found work in a Kensington spa. I then decided I wanted a career as a nurse. After 3 years of training I really wanted to go into women’s health in some way. Things didn’t work out that way, and ended up working in the busiest ICU in London. I still had this itch to coach people, particularly women, and guide them to better health and well-being so I went part time in my nursing job and trained as a Nutritional Therapist. I specialised in women’s health, teaching women how to find the root cause of their health issues, eat better, and live a more fulfilling and healthy life. As time went by I wanted to go a little deeper and I started geeking out on all things menstrual cycles and periods. I am now a certified Menstrual Cycle Coach, teaching women how to work with their hormonal ebbs and flows, and not against them, to achieve better health and smoother periods.
And what was it that made you want to make the transition from nursing and nutrition to focusing more on women’s health?
The more I learnt, the more passionate I became. After my own experience of coming off hormonal contraception, I realised how little I knew about my own body. The more conversations I had with other women, the more I realised how little they also knew about their own physiology. Through no fault of their own, most didn’t know the basics of how their menstrual cycle worked. It is something that is only briefly touched on at school and then barely spoken of again, yet it is the very foundation of womanhood. For too long women have been done a disservice when it comes to their bodies and their health and I feel so passionate to be a part of what I see as a revolutionary time for women reclaiming themselves.
As a woman, and this is something we touched on during our coaching sessions, I feel there is still a lot of shame around discussing periods and it is all a bit taboo (even though the year is 2022) why do you think this is and what ramifications do you think that has had on women in general?
Unfortunately, we have been socially programmed for years to see periods as unpleasant, painful and disgusting. If that is all you hear then that is what you’ll believe, even if it’s untrue. It was a subject that even our own mothers or grandmothers wouldn’t talk about. It means women feel embarrassed to talk about it to the point that even buying sanitary products is a shameful experience for many. If you are reading this and feel this way, ask yourself this: why are we embarrassed about something that is so natural and the very reason we are all on this planet? How can something so incredible be seen as anything other than beautiful? Your menstrual cycle should be celebrated and not something to feel shame about!
When you began your journey into this subject, what did you find the most interesting or surprising aspect?
The game changer was learning the power of cyclical living. Cyclical living is about learning to adapt your life according to the phases of your menstrual cycle. Each phase has a hormone shift which enables menstruators to experience variety in their cycle. We are taught that the ups and downs of hormones are a negative thing. Where actually, if you learn how to listen to your body and adapt your life accordingly, you can use these ebbs and flows to your advantage.
We have spoken a lot about how we think girls should be educated about their periods and everything that surrounds them – if you could go back and talk to pre pubescent Carly, what would you say and do you have any suggestions / advice on how mothers can support their daughters through the transition?
The most valuable thing you can offer someone starting, or about to start their period is your unwavering support and an open ear. Whether it’s a daughter, a niece, or a friend’s daughter, let them know they can talk to you or come to you with any questions. Secondly, a girl’s very first period should be celebrated! This could be something simple like a girly day out, or a gift box of goodies filled with things like period products, nail polish, bubble bath and their favourite snack. Whatever you do, make it a special occasion to make their experience as positive as possible.
Can you give me a snapshot of how to celebrate your cycle to show how we should be using our femininity as a reason to celebrate rather than hide away?
Let’s use day one of your period as an example. Your reproductive hormones are lower in this phase, which means your energy might be less, you might have an increased appetite and you might feel a little groggy. Check in with yourself and listen to what your body is telling you. How do you feel? What feels natural and instinctive to you?
You want to focus on being as nurturing and nourishing to your body as possible. This might be allowing yourself a little extra time in bed in the morning. It might be putting on your favourite comfy clothes or lounge wear. It might be turning your phone to aeroplane mode while you sit mindfully with a warm cup of tea and a nourishing bowl of porridge. It might be running yourself a bubble bath and treating yourself to your favourite chocolate (yes, at the same time!). Your period is also the time of high intuition, so you may enjoy reflecting on the past month and journaling your thoughts and feelings. This phase is all about you and celebrating the arrival of your period with indulgence and down time.
After menstruation we move into the follicular phase, our hormones are starting to rise – this is the perfect time for earlier mornings, girly dates with friends or just treating yourself to something feminine such as flowers.
Once we move into ovulation everything is at a high – oestrogen is giving us all the good vibes and great energy. This is the perfect time to hit PB’s at the gym, putting your favourite outfit on and going dancing, flirty dates with your partner and nourishing yourself with fresh, colourful foods. Think of this time as summer solstice and that feeling of letting loose and dancing in the fields – that’s what this is about.
The fourth phase is the luteal phase, things are slowing back down ready for menstruation. We start to retreat and hibernate. I like to do things like hunker down and read my favourite book, say no to things, put boundaries in place. This is the time for boujee candles, nights in, getting cosy and preparing ourselves for the next stage.
If women can work in restructuring their cycles in this way and even look forward to each phase and what it represents, the results will be amazing.
If you had five minutes to educate our male counterparts – I know, it’s not much – what message would you drive home to try and get them to think about women’s health a little differently?
That their support is crucial for us to be the very best version of ourselves we can be. Men and women have very different hormone cycles. Women’s are a lot more complex, with several transitions throughout our lives. Therefore, all we ask is for your patience and understanding. Encouraging your female partners, family and friends by letting them know you are open to conversations around their hormones and menstrual cycle really is the most incredible thing you can offer a woman.
Do you think it is possible to restructure your life in a way that works in harmony with your cycle?
Absolutely! For too long many women have lived their lives fighting against their biology. Let’s start using what we have, by listening to our bodies, paying attention to our hormones and learning the art of cyclical living to enhance your health and well-being.
What do you hope to achieve as a coach when working with your clients?
I teach women how to tune into themselves to become more intuitive with their bodies to give them back control of their health and well-being. My clients learn how to eat, move, handle stress, manage their lives and celebrate their menstrual cycles for more ease and flow in their lives.
What is next for Nourish and Flo?
I am just so proud to be a part of a menstrual revolution that is happening right now! My focus is on working with amazing women and menstruators to inspire them to own their hormones and to embrace their menstrual cycles. I want to drive the message home that women don’t need to be suffering with problematic periods. It is completely possible and within your reach to have enjoyable menstrual cycles and I’m excited to teach you how!
To find out more about what Carly has to offer visit her IG here or drop her an email carly@nourishandflo.com
Colour – the manifestation of dispersed white light into a spectrum of nuances – is beyond spectacular. But did you know that each colour has its own frequency, and the wavelength of light reflected in an object determines its colour?
The intrigue doesn’t end there either. Colour has a direct effect on our emotions because our energetic field corresponds with it. Our body is composed of seven spinning energetic centres, also known as chakras. These centres are specific to points in our body that guard the physical organs related to them, as well as the emotions. Each chakra radiates a type of frequency which is reflected in colour.
That magnificent system was first conceptualised in Indian culture around 800-700 BCE and has now penetrated Western philosophy, too. Through understanding it and balancing our chakras, we can heal ourselves. As colour is all around us, especially in our wardrobe, we can implement knowledge of our chakras and colours into our daily routine to live a wholesome and harmonious life. Here is how to boost each chakra through colour.
Red – root chakra
Located at the base of your spine, the root chakra is your connection with the Earth, your ancestors, and your instincts. It’s represented by the eye-catching vermillion red – a symbol of power, strength, and courage. The root chakra is your association with survival, protection, and self-awareness.
When the root chakra is over-developed, you can become hyperactive, angry, and obsessed with material possessions. If you’re looking to tone down your root chakra, wear more green.
If your root chakra is under-developed, however, it’s likely that you’ll feel fearful, lethargic, and unmotivated. In that instance, bring more red into your outfit, which will ground you and remind you of your personal power and stability.
How to style red: red is often associated with passion and many ladies decide to wear a red dress on a date. This is certainly no coincidence as red revitalises you and equips you with the courage to chase love. Alternatively, if you’re going to a job interview or have an important meeting, bring along a crossbody bag in red print – a reminder that you have everything under control. For men, wear a red tie.
Orange – sacral chakra
The sacral chakra is the source of your creativity, joy, and sexuality. It’s located in your lower abdomen and is represented by the colour orange. This is the centre of pleasure from which our desire to create and procreate stem.
It’s also the guardian of our genitals, bladder, and colon. So, when we are lacking enough orange in our lives, it’s likely that we feel as if something is holding us back from finding fulfilment and can even experience pain in any of those organs.
An over-stimulated sacral chakra, however, can result in you becoming obsessed with creative pursuits or indulging in your carnal sexual desires. In that case, you might need some guidance and insight, which a hint of blue can bring you.
How to style orange: orange underwear can be a subtle reminder of your sensual feminine side, so why not wear it every day? For a quick mood uplift, wear an orange shirt and don’t forget to bring your orange umbrella on a rainy day!
Solar plexus chakra – yellow
The solar plexus chakra is the centre of our personal power and is located below the chest. It’s the sunshine residing within us and radiating our aura to the whole world. It’s also home to our self-confidence and self-esteem. Reflected in bright yellow colour, the solar plexus chakra is where we need to focus on if we’re feeling insecure and are unable to see our worth.
Showcasing arrogance and superiority to other people is usually a sign of an over-developed solar plexus chakra. To ground yourself, invite a bit more red into your wardrobe. On the other hand, an under-developed solar plexus chakra means that you need to welcome more sunshine and self-love into your life. We all know that yellow is the perfect colour to give you that sunny happiness boost.
How to style yellow: there are no rules when it comes to nurturing your inner child. Add a splash of yellow wherever it feels right. That might be in your underwear or outer layers, accessories, and even your home! You deserve to radiate the sun!
Heart chakra – green
Have you ever wondered where all your love is contained? It’s in the heart chakra ornamented in a bright green oriole. Love knows no limits and neither does your heart chakra. Located in the centre of your chest, right next to your heart, it’s the source of humanity’s most cherished values: compassion, kindness, and unconditional love.
A blocked heart chakra simply means that you’re lacking love, especially for other people, and have emotional problems. Bring more green into your life and show that you’re not afraid to reveal your vulnerable side.
Alternatively, if you’ve opened your heart chakra too much, you might be too emotionally available. This might result in choosing a partner that’s not good for you since you’ve been blinded by love.
It’s in the heart chakra ornamented in a bright green oriole. Love knows no limits and neither does your heart chakra.
How to style green: when you’re lacking a little sweetness in your life, put on a green dress or hoodie to warm up your heart. As this chakra is located in the prime place for necklaces, so close to the centre of yourself, you can wear healing crystal pendants associated with that energetic centre. Malachite, jade, and aventurine are great for that.
Throat chakra – blue
Your ability to speak your truth is governed by your throat chakra coloured in magnificent sky blue. It also symbolises clear communication, speech, and creative writing.
Oftentimes, when our throat chakra is underdeveloped, we tend to suffer from tonsilitis or loss of voice. When it’s over-stimulated, we may lose our speech filter and say things we might regret later. This can lead to deceit, disloyalty, and exaggeration in our stories.
How to style blue: only the sky is the limit when it comes to expressing your truth. Show the world your authentic self by wearing sky blue in the form of scarves, coats, accessories, and all sorts of garments. The more indulgent, the better!
Third eye chakra – indigo
Your wisdom and your ability to see the true colours of things reside in the energetic centre governed by the colour indigo. Your third eye chakra is located between your brows and is responsible for your intuition, vast imagination, and even clairvoyance.
A lot of mediums and clairvoyants have a well-developed third eye chakra. They’re able to see beyond our physical world and into the metaphysical. We all possess that ability within ourselves, yet we need to ensure that we open our third eye chakra carefully, step-by-step. If we rush the process, we risk becoming overwhelmed by the knowledge we receive and developing mental issues.
On the contrary, having an under-stimulated third eye chakra can result in problems with the sinuses and allergies, as well as vision problems.
How to style indigo: to boost your vision for all things important, wear indigo as often as you can. Jewellery featuring a healing stone, such as sodalite, is a great addition to any outfit. If you’re feeling indecisive, an indigo top or acid washed indigo jeans are your best choice.
Crown chakra – violet
The crown chakra, located at the top of your head, is the all-encompassing energetic centre that governs all of the rest. Like the guardian Moon, it connects the divine with human nature. It’s the bridge between life on Earth and the universe. That’s why the crown chakra is associated with spirituality, perfection, and idealism.
If you have too much violet in your crown chakra, you might become overly involved in the spiritual realms, ignoring your bodily sensations and the physical world. Vice versa, if your crown chakra is neglected, you’re likely to be lacking purpose and motivation in life, feeling powerless.
How to style violet: violet is the colour of enlightenment. Discover what’s beyond our physical realm and invite a healthy dose of spirituality by wearing violet. To connect with the higher realms, wear a violet hat, and to activate other chakras, pair it with the relevant colour.
Colour is all around us, yet there are few people who are aware of how powerful it is. When we understand how the chakra systems and the colours work, we can coordinate our outfits to elucidate specific emotions and balance our energetic centres for a healthy and fulfilling life.
When faced with personal problems or worldly issues, many people often forget about their health as they start fretting out and feel overwhelmed with the ongoing crises and changes. Unfortunately, the more you feel stressed, the more those problems will adversely affect your life and health. In turn, you’ll find it hard to sleep, have higher blood pressure, or resort to stress-eating. Thankfully, meditation is an effective way to fight off these symptoms and manage stress.
Plenty of studies has already proven the positive effects of meditation. However, not many people still feel motivated enough to practice it and incorporate it into their daily lives. If you’re not yet convinced enough, here are eight ways meditation can affect your health and wellness, which may inspire you to turn it into a daily habit:
1. Better Concentration And Mental Clarity
When you meditate, you’re required to stay still while focusing on your breathing. Practicing this daily helps improve your concentration and mental clarity. Think of this as an exercise to strengthen and lengthen your attention span.
You can also use this benefit in other areas of your life, especially if you’re having problems staying focused in school or paying attention to your work. So, start practicing meditation even for five to ten minutes each day to slowly build up your concentration ability. Moreover, you can also consider going on a wellness retreat in the UK for your meditation. Practicing your mental exercise in a quiet place will help you focus on your thoughts.
2. Improve Self-Awareness
Meditation encourages you to be more aware of yourself and reflect on the positive attributes that you can offer. This is crucial, especially for people having problems with their self-esteem or suffering from low confidence due to their past experiences. Through meditation, you’ll be able to self-reflect, recognize the thoughts that are harming your self-esteem, and replace them with positive thinking.
Furthermore, meditation also helps open your third eye, which is essential in boosting your self-awareness. You can answer how to know if your third eye is open quiz and discover if yours is activated or not. With an open third eye, it’ll be easier for you to recognize your gut feelings and be more aware of yourself and the things surrounding you. Practicing meditation and certain yoga poses will help open your third eye and improve self-awareness.
3. Reduce And Manage Stress
This is one of the primary reasons why people begin practicing meditation. Stress is an everyday occurrence in everyone’s life as it’s your body’s way of responding to certain situations or problems. However, when your stress levels become uncontrollable and too overwhelming, it can mess up your mental health and eventually cause other side effects like sleepless nights, anxiety, fatigue, and much more.
Through meditation, it helps in reducing your cortisol levels, and in turn, makes you feel calmer and more relaxed. Along with focusing on your breathing, you can also try repeating a mantra during meditation to help shift your mind away from stressful thoughts.
The beauty of meditation is you can also practice it anytime and anywhere. So, for example, if you’re stressed about being stuck in heavy traffic or queuing in line at the store, you can meditate right on the spot. You can be still or close your eyes as you take deep breaths or repeat a mantra until you finally feel at ease.
4. Control Anxiety And Depression
Various factors cause a person to develop anxiety or depression. It can be due to work, family or peer pressure, relationship issues, or financial problems. When the anxiety or depression caused by these problems are left untreated, they can lead to severe symptoms like lack of appetite, sleepless nights, low mood and energy, or worse, cause a person to develop self-harming thoughts.
That’s why healthcare professionals and therapists always encourage their patients to practice meditation daily as part of their treatment against anxiety and depression. Meditation helps redirect your mind into staying in the present instead of lingering on the past or future that fuels your anxious thoughts.
Meditation can also reduce your generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, especially if you constantly worry about your daily life events. So, if you feel anxious before going to work or school, consider practicing meditation for a few minutes before leaving your home to reorganize your thoughts and emotions.
5. Fight Off Addiction
For sobers or people recovering from their alcohol or drug addiction, practicing meditation helps alter your brain receptors, minimizing your cravings or odds of going back to relapse. Keep in mind that craving for these substances is highly common, especially if you just recently cut off your alcohol or drug usage and had just started your addiction treatment. Furthermore, for recovering alcoholics, alcohol withdrawal symptoms can be so severe that they’d eventually relapse if they let those cravings win them over.
Thankfully, meditation is there to help you control your urges and cravings instead of the other way around. Meditation will boost your awareness about these urges and make it easier to manage them. The more you’re aware of the craving silently creeping in, the easier it’ll be to ignore it and avoid giving in to it.
6. Promote Sleep
Many people often struggle with getting enough sleep at night. When overlooked, these consecutive nights of depriving yourself of sleep can lead to sleep disorders, making it even harder for you to fall into a deep slumber. One way to help you put yourself into sleep is through meditation.
Meditation helps calm down your racing thoughts, which is often the reason behind insomnia. Furthermore, it also helps put your body and mind into a peaceful and calmer state, making it easier to fall asleep. You can incorporate meditation into your bedtime routine along with taking a hot shower, listening to soothing music, or sipping a cup of tea.
7. Control Pain
People suffering from chronic body pain or post-surgical body aches can take advantage of meditation. Although meditation may not directly cure the pain you’re feeling, it’ll help control the feelings of pain and make it easier to cope with.
So, for people currently healing from their surgeries or are constantly experiencing body pains from tedious work, make it a habit to meditate once you get home to make the pain more bearable and possibly reduce the sensation of the pain.
8. Generate Kindness
It’s amazing how meditation also works wonders not only for your health but also for your emotions and behavior. Metta meditation, otherwise termed as loving-kindness meditation, is known to help you foster kindness and compassion towards yourself and others.
This type of meditation allows your brain to focus and eliminate unconscious bias thoughts and instead focus on selfless behaviors. In short, this type of meditation aims to help you develop positive feelings for yourself and others.
The Goodness Of Meditation To Your Overall Well-Being
Undoubtedly, meditation brings plenty of benefits to your physical, mental, and emotional health. You can practice it anywhere, anytime, without spending a dime for memberships or equipment. So, make the most of everything that meditation offers and incorporate it into your lifestyle starting today.
New to the wellness scene is The Body Lab. Located in West London, the brand is pioneering a new and unique health offering to empower people’s lifestyles. Exclusive to the UK, the facilities have been expertly curated to meet the rise in demand for those looking for optimal health that’s intelligent, informed, and more connected than ever. From the Hyperbaric Hydroxy AirPod that speeds up the body’s healing process, the first of its kind in the UK, and the coldest whole body Cryotherapy Dual Chamber in Europe at -110 degrees Celsius, to enhanced recovery treatments such as the Float Tank, The Body Lab London is set to disrupt the luxury wellness market.
Overseen by industry professionals in the vibrant atmosphere of an expert-led facility, the state-of-the-art therapies are designed to improve the body’s ability to perform and recover at its best. The treatment benefits include reduced inflammation and oxidative stress, accelerated fat loss, increased metabolism and stimulation of collagen production. The company vision is to offer the most comprehensive and holistic journey to optimal health currently available on the market.
The Kensington HQ screams the kind of luxury synonymous with a five-star hotel, Dyson hair tools and ADEM hair and skincare products feature in the changing rooms. The Wellness Lounge has been designed as a relaxation area to enjoy the range of premium coffees, protein shakes and juices.
High-end fitness equipment has been carefully selected from leading industry brands to create a world-class gym facility, including Prime Fitness, Atlantis Strength, Watson, Eleiko, Keiser and Technogym. Bespoke personal training is offered as standard across all membership packages and is unlimited with The Body Lab London’s Signature Membership package. There’s also an on-site podcast room where expert guests will be dropping in to discuss all things wellness and keep members updated with the latest news. The facility itself features the highest standard of air purification and ionisation plus lighting that mimics the body’s natural circadian rhythm (i.e. warm in the morning and evening, cool in the day). Every sensory factor has been considered from the music to the scent in the air, to optimise training performance.
John Attard, Managing Director of The Body Lab London says: “The Body Lab London is the ultimate premium lifestyle experience that will revolutionise the wellness and fitness sector and we’re excited to be providing facilities and treatments like no other. All of our therapies, programs and expert-led initiatives are scientifically proven, and we’re excited to be offering some of these for the very first time in the UK, combined with state of the art facilities and leading innovations.”
The Body Lab London has the wow factor as well as the expertise and tech to take your wellbeing to the next level.
Membership packages range from £5,000 – £18,000 per annum. For more information visit The Body Lab London
With winter in full flow and Christmas fast approaching, many peoples’ desire to take part in outdoor activities is dwindling fast. These days, with extensive technology at our disposal, time spent in the house no longer causes the boredom it used to, our mobile phones, tablets and laptops provide us with hours of entertainment. Unfortunately, even when we plan to use these devices for something constructive, we inevitably end up scrolling our favourite social media sites for hours on end. Of course, there is a lot of interesting information to be found on social media these days, usually though, your feed will be full of selfies, drama and gossip, content which doesn’t stimulate our brains.
In recent years a lot of information has come out about the two sides of the brain and which side certain qualities and traits come from. Simply put, the left side of the brain is responsible for analysing information, speaking, writing, reading and number skills, while the right side is responsible for understanding context, emotion, intuition and music and art awareness. Studies have shown that while genetics play a part in which side is stronger for each person, we can train and improve both sides. So here are some ideas for training both sides of your brain while you’re inside protecting yourself from the cold.
Left side
The many misconceptions surrounding casino-style card games like blackjack and poker, lead a lot of people to believe that they are only for serious, highly skilled players. In recent years more and more people have been discovering that this isn’t the case, and that these games can be really fun ways to train your brain. Although they can be somewhat complicated, learning them can be very rewarding as they force you to stimulate the left side of your brain, which is responsible for sequencing, mathematics and logic.
For beginners, practicing together with friends can be entertaining and competitive helping you improve quickly. Online casinos are gaining popularity too, as they allow you to practice when you’re home alone on cold winter nights and test your abilities against players around the world. There are countless websites to choose from, however oddschecker has compiled a list of online casinos with bonuses for first time players. Playing in this kind of environment helps you put your skills to the test and improves your ability to effectively use your left brain under pressure.
Sudoku is another example of a stimulating activity for the left side of your brain, as well as improving your maths skills, it enhances your ability to think logically and sequentially which is important for analysing information. As well as the huge number of books available with hundreds of Sudoku puzzles in them, there are many websites and apps you can use to practice puzzles for players of all levels. Sudoku.com for example, has a website and app with puzzles ranging from beginner to expert difficulty levels completely free.
Right Side
Learning to play a musical instrument is one of the best things you can do for developing the right side of your brain. Music stimulates the parts of the brain which are responsible for our emotions, helping us to stay in touch with our feelings. It helps us understand things like abstract meanings and context, as well as improving our imagination and intuition. Learning to read music can do wonders for your shape recognition skills, which are related to practical tasks like map reading. The physical action of playing music also improves hand-eye coordination and in some cases fitness, drummers for example are believed to be as fit as elite athletes due to the physical demands that come with playing the drums. Great apps like Yousician are available for learning a variety of different instruments, meaning you can impress your friends once the weather is nice again.
The right side of your brain is also responsible for things like detecting motion and spatial awareness, abilities that can be improved through yoga. Yoga is a relaxing, stress relieving exercise which is beneficial for both the mind and body. It gives you calming techniques to keep you cool during high pressure situations and can be used for emotional control. Practicing yoga is easy with thousands of videos on YouTube for beginners, as well as specialist apps and websites.
Lower back pain can be debilitating and painful. Back pain can range from minor discomfort to extreme pain. If the pain becomes long-term, it can cause disruptions in your daily routines and your life.
Since lower back pain continues to plague our society, you think we would have the perfect solution or remedy at this point. Unfortunately, we don’t. Certain people go directly to Advil or other pain medication to help dull the pain in their backs. Others contact their local chiropractor for lower back pain. Regardless of your preference for healing modalities, there is always more than you can do yourself. It doesn’t cost anything, and you can perform them directly from the comfort of your own home.
Stretching your body can do wonders for any existing lower back pain that you suffer from. It keeps your body loose and warmed up throughout your day. Lower back stretches can also help avoid injuries in the future by keeping your body limber and in shape. In this article we’ll focus on effective types of stretches you can do to alleviate lower back pain and live a healthier life.
1.) Child’s Pose
This yoga stretch is great for relieving pain and tension built up along your spine and shoulders. Your lower back is your base and foundation. By stretching this out in the morning, you can relieve this area of pain and allow it to properly support the rest of your back. The child’s post increases the blood circulation around this area through the movements it requires. This is a perfect stretch to do first thing in the morning or right before lying down at night. To do this stretch, please follow the given steps:
Place your feet and knees to the ground, sitting so that your hips rest upon the heels of your feet.
Layout your hands forward onto the ground, palms facing the ground.
Stretch out your hands by leaning forward onto the ground, until your knees start touching your stomach (akin to how a cat stretches after waking up).
Hold this pose for a minute and stretch back up if you feel any unease. Then repeat. In case you experience any discomfort during this stretch, you can either widen your stance (knees) or replace the mat with a softer one to provide more ease to this movement.
2.) Knee-to-chest Stretch
This exercise gives your lower back flat ground to rest on while loosening up the muscles through the movement of your legs. This is better for people who have consistent bouts of lower back pain as it does not put much pressure on the back but rather, relaxes it. Gravity feels much lighter in this position. By giving your lower back more freedom to move in a relaxed state, your muscles can stretch more and relieve any stiffness you are experiencing. Here’s how to do the knee-to-chest stretch:
Lay down on a soft mat, and bend your knees while keeping your feet flat onto the ground.
Using both of your hands, either interlace your fingers around the knee joint or under your knee cap.
Keeping the other foot flat on the floor, move the knee that your hands are encasing, closer to your stomach, meaning inwards.
Very slowly and gently, bring that knee to your chest and back down. While doing so, you can also keep the other foot flat on the floor, however is easier for you.
Now shift your hands to the other knee, and repeat steps 1-4.
Repeat this exercise 2-4 times for each leg.
3.) The Piriformis Stretch
As the name suggests, this stretch is done to relax and stimulate your piriformis muscle, found deep in your hips. Stretching this will have a significant impact on your lower body pains and underlying tensions. If you are someone who works from home and sits for long periods throughout your day, this stretch will help keep your lower back loose. The steps to the piriformis stretch are as follows:
Lay down on the mat with your frontal body facing upwards and knees bent, feet flat on the mat (just like knee-to-chest stretch).
Put your right ankle on the base of your left leg’s knee joint.
Interlace your fingers under your left leg’s kneecap and lift it upwards slowly.
Lift gently towards your chest until you feel some pressure.
Hold this pose for 30 seconds and let go when you start getting tired. Repeat with the other leg.
4.) The Sphinx Stretch
Contrary to the other stretches we’ve recommended, this one is not done with your back resting against the ground. Instead, your eyes will be facing the ground and your back will face the ceiling. It’s a backward bending stretch that lengthens your back while also giving it room for recovery. To do this you must:
Lie on the mat face down with your stomach and frontal body on the mat.
Now perch yourself up by using your elbows as a stand for your upper body.
Layout your hands flat on the ground while doing step 2, so that your arms are now at a 90-degree angle.
Widen your stance and distance your feet in case of any unease.
Now gently lift your head and upper body by stretching out your elbows upwards from their previous position on the ground.
Lift as much as you can, and hold that position for 15-20 seconds. Make sure to stretch your lower back as much as you can.
Relax back down with your elbows resting on the ground. Repeat.
Final Notes
Stretching is an effective tool that you can use at home on your own time to decrease the back pain that you are experiencing. Of course, make sure to consult your doctor before starting any of these exercises if you are experiencing severe pain already. Each person, and their bodies, are different. Do things that are within your comfort level to ensure that practice these stretches properly.
Take advantage of the time that you have at home. Stretching is free. You can perform these stretches first thing in the morning before you start your workday. If it helps, consider waking up 15 minutes earlier to fit these stretches into your routine. Ideally, you can perform them before work emails and text messages begin flooding your day.
The stress of daily life and a few bad habits can team up to make our nights incredibly hard. While a day spent hard at work is supposed to make it easier for us to sleep, sometimes it ends up doing the opposte as we lay awake, overthinking every angle.
Of course, this causes problems as we grow more irritable during the day or develop problematic sleeping patterns that never seem to make us feel truly rested and feeling our best. Once you fall into this viscous cycle, it can be hard to break out of it. This is why you need to make sure you sleep right and on time.
If you want to know about a nightly routine that will help you fall asleep faster and sleep better, keep reading.
Drink Calming Tea
Calming teas like chamomile and mint can help you relax and feel at ease. They can also help regulate body temperature on cold nights, which also helps you fall asleep faster.
If you’re not a fan of tea, you can always change it for some warm milk – you can even make it chocolate flavored if you want. What’s off the table is any kind of caffeine – that will only make it harder for you to fall asleep, which is the opposite of what we want here.
Change Your Mattress
The kind of mattress you sleep on can have a very big influence on the quality and duration of your sleep, and a comfortable mattress will only make it easier for you to fall asleep at night. If you’ve been trying to get better sleep on an old mattress, this is your sign to invest in a mattress that is more suited to your needs.
This can mean different things for different people. Your needs will be different if you prefer sleeping on a very soft mattress versus if you suffered from lower back pain.
Keep the Lights Off
Our body is hardwired to feel sleepy when it’s dark out and to be active when there’s light. If you want to sleep better, it pays to take advantage of your natural circadian rhythms. Besides, it just makes sense to keep the lights off in your room when you’re sleeping.
If you want to make sure you fall asleep every night and feel refreshed and well-rested in the morning, you might want to make sure the room you sleep in is dark, quiet, and free of any kinds of distraction.
This way you’ll be able to get the uninterrupted rest your body needs. Once your body iis well-rested in the day, you won’t feel sleepy until the next night.
Stay Away From Caffiene and Workouts Before Bed
Both these things are responsible for making your body feel active and keyed up, which makes it harder for you to fall asleep when the time comes.
Stay away from heavy workouts and any caffeinated beverages before bed, and avoid alcohol and heavy dinners as well. This is time for your body to rest, and you don’t want to put anything inside it that won’t let it do so.
