Photo by Arnie Watkins on Pexels.com Why drinking 3l of water a day is a good idea How many times have you heard that you should be drinking more water? I know I don’t tend to drink enough water, so this year as part of my Year of Self Care I’m going to be making much more of an effort to get this right. Why? It’s good for me and as such I should be trying, right? Right! I’ve been told all my life that drinking enough water is important, and I’ve always accepted this, but what difference will it make and how much is enough? The amount recommended varies a bit, but from what I’ve read 3 litres ..read more

Do you have any New Year’s day rituals? Do you make New year’s resolutions? Do you keep them? For many people the past year has been a particularly rough one. 2020 has certainly bought some challenges. For some they have been financial, for some emotional. Lockdowns have challenged people to different degrees all around the world. Hundreds of thousands of people have died. For this reason the rituals around New Year’s Day may seem more important than ever this year. The main one for me is always about the resolutions. What can I aim for this year that will make my life better? In the past I ha ..read more

Have you seen the brightest new kid on the block? Smoothie bowls have arrived! If you’re a regular reader of the blog you’ll know I’m a big believer in food as medicine and the new trend of Smoothie Bowls is a fantastic way to take your medicine. Different colour foods contain different nutrients and the deeper the colour the richer the source. Not only that, but these delicious, healthy bowls are definitely instagram ready! Personally I have the artistic flair of a dead slug, but even I can make one of these look reasonably attractive. Choose brightly coloured fruits, nuts and seeds on a nat ..read more

I have been a practising hypnotist for over 5 years now, and I really struggle to answer this very basic question. What is Hypnosis?  It’s difficult to answer because there are so many answers and so many different experiences of hypnosis. As far as I can tell, everyone seems to experience it in different ways. For some (around about 1-2%) it feels really uncomfortable and they struggle to find a way in. For others (10-20%) it’s a magical experience that alters their reality in easily accessible ways – these are the people who are chosen for stage hypnotist shows where they make things i ..read more

I had a message from a client today who told me that she was doing something that she had not been able to do for a long time, thanks to some work that we had done together. I was thrilled for her, for changing her thinking and freeing herself from an old fear. Then she told me that she still didn’t feel confident and asked ‘How do I improve my confidence?‘ What a great question! My first reaction was ‘Fake it ’til you make it’ – Let me explain. When we start to do something new, we often don’t feel very confident about it. We are learning the rules, how it works (or doesn’t work) and what to ..read more

Mindfulness is a term that is being used a lot at the moment, but do you know what it’s actually all about? What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness started out as a practise in India about 2500 years ago. It was created as a type of mediation that allowed the practitioner to be present in the moment and to notice what was happening in their own mind. To notice their thoughts, feelings and emotions and give themselves the time and space to look at them, hear them and to react to them in a non judgemental, balanced way. There is a direct correlation between our thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Think ..read more

I recently had a genuinely new experience. My partner and I had a meal in the dark – I’m not talking about eating a burger with the lights off, I’m talking about a full three course meal, with strangers in total darkness. It’s rare enough to be in total darkness – to literally not be able to tell if you have your eyes open or closed. Then we had the added layer of being around people we had never met (or knew were there) and eating a mystery meal. Let me explain. There is an amazing restaurant in London (and at other locations around the world) called Dans Le Noir. When you arrive, you go into ..read more

Hello beautiful people! How’s your New Year going so far? Have you set yourself a load of New Year’s resolutions or are you planning on staying exactly as you currently are? If you’re perfect already, why change? Most of us haven’t quite achieved the ‘perfect’ status as yet and so may have some things that we are working on – getting fitter, slimmer, happier, richer, calmer, more motivated or maybe even just working on blogging more! I’m a big fan of learning, growing and self improvement, but more importantly than all of that I’m an advocate of being kind to yourself. I see lots of clients wi ..read more

A lot of the people I see come to me because they have issues with their weight. The vast majority of them want to lose weight (though some have issues around limited eating or eating disorders) and they often tell me that they struggle to control their hunger. They are sometimes ‘always hungry‘ and sometimes ‘eat when they are not hungry’. When I ask them about their ‘Newsfeed’, I often get a confused look. Let me explain where I’m coming from. Language is a funny thing – especially the English language. It is full of metaphor, simile, multiple meanings and interesting roots. The use of lang ..read more

Hello beautiful people! It’s May already. A third of the way through the year? How’s it going? Are you getting closer to your goals? Have you given up on them? Maybe they’ve just changed as your priorities have. In January I decided that May would be a good month to talk about food. So, here goes. Food – I love food. That’s not quite right – I LOVE food. I’m one of those people who wake up in the morning thinking about what they are going to eat today. I enjoy eating it, I enjoy cooking it, I enjoy shopping for it, I enjoy trying new things and revisiting old familiar things. I like exploring ..read more