Antidotes to our world
Jubilant at having free time at Exeter airport enroute to a retreat recently I decided to try my very first fish pedicure with Tootsies, a man-and-wife team based at the airport. Apparently the Garra Rufa fish they use are found in Turkish hot springs and have suction−cup mouths that gently lift away dry skin without [...]
I read in The Week recently that a ‘good samaritan’ has been giving envelopes full of cash to the needy in the German city of Braunschweig. So far, the anonymous donor has given 190,000 euros to individuals and organisations, including a hospice, a robbery victim and a vicar – the money often comes wrapped in a cutting [...]
Apparently you have 7-15 seconds to make an impression when you meet someone for the first time, and only about 10% of the impression you make has to do with what you say. A scary thought, but one easily dealt with. Sorting out what you wear is all part of the retreat-at-home process, a way to [...]
I have been living most of my daily life in yoga clothes for quite some time now. Possibly years. It isn’t just because I practice yoga and they feel so damn comfortable, but also because for an even longer time I haven’t really known what ‘normal’, day-to-day clothes do and don’t suit me. I know [...]
For those looking for ways to retreat at home, imagine three packing boxes. One is small and labelled Beautiful Things. The second is a fair size and labelled Useful Things. The third is absolutely huge, and it’s labelled Crap. Sadly, it’s the box of crap we carry with us most of the time. Time to [...]
Most of us know a sustainable sense of wellbeing stems from having a nutritious diet, plenty of down time, regular exercise, balanced relationships, a job you enjoy and a well designed home in an environment that you love. Sounds superb, but the daily toll of a busy life and the general struggle of being human [...]
The infinite choice that surrounds us today has become a burden to my soul. I have spent more time than I want to staring bewildered at the range of tissues on supermaket shelves, I’m always the last one to choose from a dinner menu, and I get panicky in the queues of busy cafés, wondering [...]
Happy Christmas Eve! It’s getting a little chillier, so I asked my three favourite Ayurvedic experts in the UK for their tips on how to keep warm and well in the cold. Ayurveda is a holistic system of health that originated in India over 5000 years ago, and it’s still the wisest, most natural method I know [...]
Whilst I wait patiently for my first ever trip to the Caribbean (to check out the newly revamped BodyHoliday on St Lucia) I am creating my own little retreat at home (far cheaper). Right now this takes place every evening in my palace bedroom, which I keep free of baby things, and prepare each evening [...]
