RITUAL.

For the first couple of weeks of June I was taking some rest after a minor, but unexpected operation. It might sound a little dramatic to some, but for me, illness has often been quite a spiritual experience. Sometimes major or sometimes minor, it can throw a spanner in the works of our normal routines and expectations of ourselves. Watching and feeling ourselves heal can be humbling and remind us of the fragility of our human bodies, that none of us are invincible, we are not machines.

Life seems to have really bounced back to pre lockdown speed and has left me wondering if those changes we so strongly believed we would make have already been forgotten. That slowing down the pace just a little is a necessity, not a luxury. This, perhaps isn’t a concern for everybody, but I know for me that being able to rest and spend time at home just ‘being’ is very important. Working for yourself, or even just working from home can be brilliant, but there is also a danger of merging those two states of work and home that concerns me. This can make it so much harder to switch off and decide when you are done for the day. I don’t know the answer to this but I’m planning to be more conscious of this next month, to experiment with ways to organise my time and be able to relax without guilt…

NOURISH.

Everybody knows about probiotics now and I suppose I can agree that the hype is justified. Having a balanced microbiome is a foundational need for our bodies to be healthy and for all of our systems to work in sync. The overuse of antibiotics, pesticides (and plenty more) are all working against us to deplete our ‘good’ bacteria. I’m not going to go deep into what I think should be done about these issues (for now..!) but I will just say that taking a probiotic is an easy thing you can do to help to counteract this. When possible it’s best to get these nutrients from freshly fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, plain yogurt and kefir. But I also like to take a supplement daily. I’ll finish a jar and then give it a week or so before I start a new one, as sometimes too much of a good thing can work against us. This is the one I’m currently using and I like it. When I’m taking probiotics consistently and from a range of sources I always feel more resilient, less reactive to foods, have better sleep and more balanced moods with significantly less anxiety. Kombucha is also great, and a brilliant alternative to alcohol. However, as it has become so popular I’ve noticed so many new brands popping up and I’m not sure they are always made correctly- as in there not to be any sugar left over. My personal favourites are by Old Tree and Karma.

SELF PRACTICE.

I’ve mentioned guided meditation before, it is a staple for me to unwind and to process any challenges or strong emotions I am navigating.

I’ve tried a lot of different types and have done a lot of research on how to use these, not just for relaxation, but also in a therapeutic way to rewire neural pathways and release emotional blocks. I started making my own so that I could focus on the aspects that I knew worked best for me. I use these with students in private sessions and can also make them for specific purposes.

I currently sell some of these to download, although throughout July I am making them available for free to anyone using this link.

I recommend following the meditation with the journal prompts provided to reflect on what came up for you.

SELF STUDY.

I am currently half way through Elementary Sanskrit, a 12 week online course with the author of The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit, Antonia Ruppel. The course is through Yogic Studies, an online school which runs courses hosted by some of the leading yoga scholars and researchers. This is the first course I have taken on this platform and I am really enjoying how it works. It has been a lot to keep up with, but an enjoyable challenge.

I had purchased this book for myself at the beginning of the new year, but it has been hard to motivate myself to keep at it alone. Taking a course by the author herself has made it so much easier to work through and understand. As I have also mentioned before, I had previously taken a short course by The Samadhi Collective as an introduction to the Devanagari script. Alongside these courses I use the Hindi course on duolingo to keep up my basic knowledge of the alphabet and vowel sounds.