RITUAL.

Our daily morning and evening rituals can feel a lot more enjoyable and luxurious with the addition of the right products. I have been someone to obsess over being minimal and using only ‘natural’ products, and although this is still desirable, I have had to be honest with myself about what actually works for me. Mask wearing is also a constant battle against blemishes if you’re prone to skin issues, so I’ve had to really figure out what works best for me. These have been successful for me lately: Glossier milky jelly cleanser, Mad Hippie vitamin C serum, Avene extreme tolerance emulsion and Paulas Choice spf 30 in AM. PM, double cleanse and Paulas choice BHA. My favourite toothpaste is still Auromere and Dr Tungs floss is seriously the best, if you’re ever going to get excited about flossing it will be because of this!

Also pictured: Dr Haushka cleansing cream- I have used this for years, its not actually a mask but I use it like that in the shower sometimes for the enzyme exfoliation. Green clay mask for a deep clean. Neem oil, a gentler alternative to tea tree oil, also good for teeth. Castor oil, massage onto scalp for hair growth before washing. Glossier balm dot com in Cherry, I struggle with wearing lipstick so I like this!

NOURISH.

I do of course eat all sorts of rich and carbohydrate based foods but I also regularly crave a big salad. I have probably never made exactly the same recipe twice because it always just depends on what ingredients we already have. This was particularly delicious:

Watercress, spinach, red pepper, celery, spring onion, (if you want to bulk it up a bit you can add in some beans- cannellini, black eyed beans or butter beans all work well) topped with Infinity Foods ‘Omega four’ seeds. Dressing- olive oil, balsamic vinegar, celtic sea salt, black pepper.

Green smoothie- spinach, banana, chia seeds, barleygrass powder, hemp oil, water/nut milk. I once read about a study that found the combination of barleygrass and hemp oil taken internally could make you more resilient to the sun. It was tested on patients who were on treatments or medications that made them more sensitive to the suns rays, and showed good results in all who took part in the study. Since then I have always tried to incorporate these into my summer diet. (If you are interested in looking at this further let me know and I can try and find the original research…).

SELF PRACTICE.

I’ve been a bit unwell this month and unable to exert myself too much. I often rely on exercise to make me feel more connected to my body and to lift my mood. But I am also very dedicated to meditation, in all of it’s forms!

I had these sandbags on my wish list for a long time and this month decided to make the purchase. They can be incorporated into a yin or a Katonah yoga practice to help stabilise a posture and really experience the benefit from it. Equally they can really help you to find the ‘ground’ in seated meditation. So simple, but the weight is incredibly comforting and naturally relaxes you, making it much easier to find stillness.

(Yoga Matters is the best place to buy these in the UK and Europe.)

SELF STUDY.

I’ve been reading How to do The Work, by Dr Nicole LePera this month. So, it looks a little cheesy but I was interested as it’s very focused on recognising patterns we have picked up in childhood, how they are now affecting us as adults, often negatively, and what you can do to begin shifting these. Dr LePera is a psychologist, however a lot of the book is about recognising the somatic implications of how trauma affects our bodies, the way we can hold it within us physically, causing issues such as indigestion or nausea or perhaps leading to more serious conditions. A lot of alternative literature talks about this concept and it’s something I have always witnessed in my own body. But for me this book slots together the mind-body connection theory and the physical effects of trauma in a way that makes a lot of sense as well as practical ways to address these. Bessel Van Der Kolk’s ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ is another book I have recommended before which, amongst many things looks at how movement (he uses the example of yoga in the book) can be therapeutic for mental health, essentially moving the trauma held physically in the body.

There’s a lot more I could say about this.. perhaps I will have to do a separate post sometime..