BLOOM: self care + wellness for spring 🌸 // transcript to I Feel For You podcast episode 73

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You’re listening to I Feel For You and this is episode 73.

I’m Dionne; a writer, installation artist, yoga, somatic movement + embodiment facilitator, dj, ….amongst other things. In short, i create events and experiences for the community to feel more space, more at home in their bodies and more free, using modalities like art, sound, vr, nature, writing and feelings.

IN TODAYS PODCAST

We’re revisiting the archives - self care and wellness for spring.

It’s a deep dive my friends with what i hope is a feast for you to explore.

We cover topics including:

the seasons and their impact on us
Ayurveda and how it can support us to find balance
we explore how we can sync up with the seasons - especially useful during transitions and when times feel weird - hello!
i share some things to consider and think about when exploring taking care of yourself in the springtime - lots of practical tips whether or not it’s spring where you are
we talk about fluids and mountains (not a euphemism!)
what a Wu-Tang clan song has to do with immunity
we talk a bit about body stuff. the weird but real pressures.
we get into immediate ways to support yourself and shift your state - things you can do right now!
we talk about the paradox of balance and how to reframe it for real life
we also have some real talk about meditation and the challenges of it. So for those of you who don’t have a meditation practice, or those who might be pulling a face at me right now like, meh, whah? I really hope that bit is helpful.
I’ve got a treat for you as well: there’s also presents from me peppered like little bits of seasoning throughout this episode, free presents, which i hope will aid as an extra booster when exploring this stuff

i want us all to be as well as we can be… you know? and right now, over a year into lockdown for me at least...i started social distancing on 12 march 2020 and i’m recording this on 18 march 2021…

✨hello fam. hello friends. miss you very much.✨

So yeah. i hope this offering is useful.

And after listening through to it as i was writing a transcript for it, i realised it’s still applies and can be relevant despite lockdown, so think of this as a big distanced hug from me.

and let me know how you go eh? i always love to hear from you.

📱CONSIDER SUBSCRIBING …

And if you dug this podcast, perhaps consider subscribing, and/ or rating / and / or sending it to someone who might find it useful. I really appreciate you and your feedback! I always love to hear from you.

Thank you so much for supporting this podcast. It means so much to hear that it resonates and land and that this is useful for you. Thank you for listening and thank you for being there. Thank you and massive shoutout to my Patreon Fam whose support helps me to keep making stuff like this accessible. Offerings like this podcast and free youtube videos, and pay it forward slots for low/no income and members of our community to come to virtual events and access my virtual offerings so it really means the world to offer this exchange. I never take that for granted.

⚡️NEWSFLASH!

🌈 our weekly yoga + movement livestream community classes are BACK! Those of you booked onto BLOOM virtual day retreats will already know this (you get them all for free as a bonus treat from me!) There are also drop in options available to those who feel like it. ⁣

Here's some details of what to expect:⁣

❤️ 7 week journey through the Chakras⁣

🧡 60/90 minute open level class ranging in style (flow, restorative, etc)⁣

💛 every body is, options given to choose your own adventure.⁣

💚 includes a mix of movement explorations + rest practices⁣

💙 Spotify playlist for each session⁣

💜 plus opportunity after the session to connect / ask questions etc. Like a post-class tea/fro-yo from back in the irl community class daze hello Lick Yoga fam + art + yoga buddies + Herosalen ⁣fam - i miss you all!

💗a space to land, explore, rest, be, unwind, release some tension and create space, aka a live community class, to those who are interested…⁣

Hope to welcome you this Saturday, 20 March, 10:30am GMT for our next class in the 7-week ⚡️energy⚡️ series!

Head to dionne.space/online⁣ for info on yoga + movement community classes, and dionne.space/bloom for info on the BLOOM virtual day retreats.

The BLOOM retreats have a longer more workshoppy vibe event that coincide with that chakra journey. They also have a creative activity - freewriting and prompts from me. There's also this interactive sound um experiment which is basically a walk in nature, wherever we are in the world and i’m really excited about it (!!!) it’s interactive and immersive so come and join the journey if this is resonating with you! As i said there are live parts, but everything is also available to replay and you have access to replay at least a month after. So if you vibe, do come along. You can come to one or both BLOOM day retreats, and whichever you choose, you then get the gift of all the livestream community class events.

If the day retreats don't resonate and you just want to come to a community class, you can feel very welcome to drop in and it would be lovelyt o see you!

All the details are over on dionne.space

If you’re interested in the classes on their own: dionne.space/online

If you’re interested in BLOOM, dionne.space/bloom

And i really look forward to seeing you and so far it’s been wonderful to reconnect and have this space together, particularly at this difficult time, you know? So...yeah….vibes and thanks and maximum enjoyment to all of you, however you can get it in this moment! So speaking of that, on today’s show i hope it will also give you that wrapping in a duvet feeling with little tender cups of tea and maybe some flowers and gentleness and activating tools for you to sync with the season.

So let’s get into today's show shall we?

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🎶 INTRO + THEME MUSIC 🎶

You’re listening to I FEEL FOR YOU - a podcast that chews the cud of life and explores ways to feel better that are real and accessible and non-snooty.

I’m dionne, a creative coach, yoga, movement and meditation teacher (and forever student), writer, dj and human being, hi. And i’m so glad that you are here! Welcome my friend!

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I’m just back from Norway running my BLOOM workshops in Bergen + Oslo which featured lots of yoga + movement + creativity + meditation + energy explorations. My fave.

Shoutout to everyone who joined, thank you so much for your vibes!

I realised in planning these workshops i could spend an age talking about wellness related stuff to do with spring, and it seems that there are lots of you who are also interested in it too - so wanted to put together an episode that’s kind of a brief wellness guide featuring things that help me find balance and transition the seasons and i really hope that will serve and inspire you too!

🤔 SO WHY EXPLORE THIS STUFF?

Syncing with the seasons can be really helpful for us to find balance in all ways.

And the system of Ayurveda -which is yoga’s sister science, is very much focussed on how we can use tools, techniques and rituals to return to balance and get more closely aligned with nature’s giblets.

Does nature have giblets? It does now!

So in case you didn’t already know, Ayurveda is a sanskrit word which means science or wisdom of life. It’s a philosophy that explores understanding the human body, mind and spirit. And as you know, there can be a tendency to feel fromagy about those three words lumped together, you know, like a lot of jugglery folks posing with crossed lotus legs and palms together or an elegant tree pose perhaps, wearing hemp clothing and who when upon talking to you, they gaze into the middle distance whilst proclaiming how “spiritual” they are. You know what i’m talking about.

A lot of serif Gaelic style fonts, lectures about their new Sanskrit name and who boast how they “don’t need money even though they were raised very comfortably on vast farmland in dorset and go to bali or india or some remote part of the jungle for an ayahuasca ceremony for the winter whilst never encountering any quote unquote, “locals” other than their shaman that endows them with spiritual powers that enables them to lead very expensive and exclusive trainings to westerners featuring an abundance of cacao ceremonies. Yet they call parts of non-gentrified london “sketchy”.....”

Am i being too salty? You know it’s true. And sidenote: im a big fan of cacao. And hemp. Maybe not as clothing but. Anyway.

Back to this connection between the mind, body and spirit. Use other names for them if you’re now stuck on the Dorset farm. I love Dorset. But you know.

a basic principle of Ayurveda:

Like attracts like

Opposites balance things out.

Ayurveda is an ancient and vast system of medicine that has many branches. Despite me sharing Ayurveda inspired tips and tricks, i’m not suggesting at all to ignore western or Other medicine. Isn't it weird, the word, western? I mean, what does it even mean?! Ask Alastair from Dorset. Ok-ok i’m done with that, just being shady and have encountered too many fashion bindis chanting “all lives matter”.

A conundrum for another day i think….

So as i say with anything i share, do your own research, listen to your own body. In fact, that is the basis of Ayurveda to be honest. To tune in and listen. Do what works for you.

This is a guide which i’ve tried to keep simple and condensed and concise. And please know there’s many many layers beneath all this stuff, so use this as a place to wet your whistle and a launchpad to dig deeper into the stuff that you vibe with.

Ok?

Yay! Let’s begin!

🌱 SPRING SOUND - MUSIC INTERLUDE, BIRDS - (a recording from Siljustøl and our composers retreats)

🌷 SEASONS AND THEIR IMPACT

Ahh, Spring - an energetic transitional season - you might already be aware of the shifts and changes going on around you.

We can see outside as things come to life, become greener, more outward after the dormancy of winter. Blossom on the trees, flowers blooming and so on.

Spring and autumn have a lot in common in that they are transitional seasons. So there’s a lot of shifts going on. Winds tend to pick up and weather can be temperamental so one thing we can expect is change. Shoutout to last week’s heatwave by the way.

Our environments have a big impact on our bodies and minds.

So let’s think about what’s going on during the spring season.

There’s more light, warmth too, hopefully, and we tend to have showers- in fact, as i record, there's a little shower going on outside, much needed as the plants have been parched these weeks!

So in springtime we have all the elements for new potential energy for growth - that’s if we are open to receiving them that is, right?

It’s an opportunity to plant seeds, physically and perhaps creatively too. Maybe we feel like starting new projects, getting more organised or clearer on a few things.

In contrast, Winter is a dark, damp, wet and dormant time. Physiologically, in winter we might feel more introverted, more inward, spending more time indoors and perhaps we feel more tired as there has been less energy to put out there. There’s less sun. More darkness and so on.

-- so as the natural world shifts towards a lighter more mobile season, it’s inevitable that we too will experience changes.

Physically, we might start to spend more time outside in the spring. Perhaps we might feel more social. For some, especially those who can’t deal with the warmer days, might find the springtime changes can stir up a bit of frustration or anger in some folks. Like Brighton on a Bank Holiday.

Stress is not a great thing as we know, it weakens our immunity, and if there's one thing for sure about spring, the focus is on boosting our immunity and cleansing after the winter. And i’m going to talk more about that in this podcast.

We know our environments have a massive impact on how we feel. I mean, if you haven’t heard me talk about my life in Norway with 8 month winters with no sunshine as a brown person, then listen to episode 2 for deets which is all about the UK vs Norway + the art of chill.

I also wrote a huge blog post about *** how i survived winter in Norway for those of you that are still in the depths of it, i hope you find that useful. Know there’s some of you out there!***

We can’t deny the connection we have to nature, cause we are part of it. Our bodies are an ecosystem that mirrors so much of what we experience in the natural world.

So i think it’s worth mentioning that SPRING as we know it isn't the same all over the globe. Some places don’t experience spring. And in some places, there can be different patterns of weather that we experience, so for the sake of this podcast, the spring i’m exploring is of the more temperate climate. It tends to be changeable, generally windy, sometimes wet, and it ranges from moderate to high-ish temperatures. So it can be really hot one moment, cool the next. At this point i have that Disney song April Showers in my head. Apologies for the earworm.

So let’s bring in some Ayurveda.

🔸 Ayurveda

Many of you know I've been really inspired by Ayurveda over the years, i find the system interesting and so much makes sense to my own experience. Of course, i’m also into other systems like the energy body, chinese medicine, tools like reflexology, craneo sacral therapy and various other bodywork.

And just like my approach to yoga, i’m a non-dogmatic kind of person. I don’t feel the need to commit to only one, as i think there is so much value in exploring the interconnectivity of all kinds of holistic health stuff. But i’m also aware that it can get a bit of a bad rep as there are many stereotypes about it. Often i think that it's a similar case with the yoga thing.

For example, something starts as an idea, a dominant ideology presents a lot of this stuff, and sometimes when this stuff gets mixed up with some powerful problematic people who are a bit rotten, it can become distant, the idea gets further away and inaccessible to everybody. Which is crap. Because we all deserve to feel better. And to have access to tools that can help us on the road.

But maybe that’s another story… i’ve been speaking on for hmm… over a decade now in relationship to this “wellness” stuff…

So i’m going to talk a little about spring in relation to Ayurveda, and offer some ideas about things to consider, and potentially adapt and implement into real life.

☘️ THE DOSHAS

In Ayurveda, they use a categorisation method that puts everything into types or doshas. Many of you know i’m not a massive fan of boxes, and i will say that although there are just three general “types” of dosha in Ayurveda, we are all a mix of each of them, and tend to have one dominant dosha at any given time or a combination of 2 or 3 of them. It starts to get a little complicated as we as humans can have a dosha, but seasons also have doshas. There are certain yoga postures for example that balance out or aggravate particular doshas. Foods too. It’s an endless and wonderful feast of fascination.

The three doshas that are used as types to categorise stuff, and all things are comprised of one or more doshas. The doshas are Pitta - represented by the element of fire, Vata is the second type which is comprised of air and ether - the otherworldly entity, and Kapha, which is comprised of the elements of earth and water. If you haven't already, you can explore your own constitution by either visiting an ayurvedic doctor or researching the different doshas - and there's loads of quizzes online that you can do to get an idea of what you might be. I’ll link you up in the shownotes in case it’s of interest.

FYI in case you didn't already know, i’m predominantly Vata. And that means I'm governed by the elements of air and ether. However, as i said, we are all made up of a combination of the doshas, and this can shift depending on our environment or our age for example.

But i hope i’m not getting to far ahead an overwhelming you here. Let’s get back to the seasons and the element and dosha that applies to it.

So, late Winter and early springtime are known for being khapa season. So the elements of khapa are earth and water - and if you think about those two elements, it’s basically like clay. And the qualities of kapha are a bit clay-like if you can imagine. Soft. Moist. Heavy. Static. Solid.

So we can think about this kind of heavy cold and moist energy in the spring. Ayurveda reminds us what is outside is also inside. So if we think about what’s going on in our environment, so right now, it’s raining outside, it’s not super cold, it’s somewhat temperate, the ground is moist, soggy, dense, still, things are thawing out. Buds are definitely in bloom but it’s still in this transitional process. Trees are definitely green but they aren’t completely in bloom like in summertime.

As i said earlier, Our environments have a big impact on our bodies and minds - as above and so below - what's going on inside is often reflected by what's going on outside.

So if we consider this in terms of our bodies, we might notice similarities with the doshas. If you have a dominant kapha constitution for example, you might be more sensitive to the environment and all that means is to pay particular attention to what’s going on outside. In Ayurveda, one of the main principles is that like attracts like, and opposites balance things out. So if there is too much kapha in the air, e.g. if it’s early spring, it’s likely there’s more kapha in the system. And if you’re already a kapha type, it might lead to imbalances, so if you think about adding more damp, heavy and lethargic energy to an already damp, heavy and lethargic season, side effects might mean things like low motivation, low mood, low energy, low digestive fire, a feeling of stuckness, feeling uninspired or motivated, and so on.

Does that make sense?

So it’s all about energy. And energy is real.

And in a season that is dark, damp, heavy, cold, the most basic and simplest way to think about balancing things out is to introduce the opposite. As i said, like attracts like, opposites balance things out. If we’re feeling that damp, heavy, cold and lethargic feeling, we add the opposite, e.g. increasing warmth, light, movement, might be helpful.

So like, a super simplistic way of applying this principle is that on the lethargic days, rather than spending 20 hours of netflix and chilling, perhaps i can seek to decrease my consumption a little and add some movement to the mix. Know what i mean?

God i’m probably going to offend some rilly serious Ayurveda folks out there.

Sorry!

But hey, here we are.

Do you.

Tune into what’s going on with your body, your own guidance system. Physically, mentally, emotionally and notice what’s going on outside.

But always do you first and foremost.

What works for one person might not feel elegant for another.

And sidenote, by lethargy, i don't mean exhaustion. If you're exhausted, rest babes.

Ok?

ok.

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SO LETS TAKE THIS INTO SOME MORE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS:

🤝 HOW DO WE SYNC UP WITH THE SEASONS?

HERE ARE SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER AND THINK ABOUT WHEN EXPLORING TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF IN THE SPRINGTIME:

I’d say the most fundamental focus of spring wellness is to boost our immunity and to cleanse ourselves post winter time. That might look like simply drinking more water. Or introducing new things into your diet, perhaps cutting out stuff that makes you feel sluggish. Perhaps it looks like breathing.

There are so many different ways that you can interpret the information, so i just want to emphasise that yeah, there’s lots of info and this stuff can get complicated very quickly but underneath it all, take what works for you and leave the other stuff behind.

Alright?

Alright. Enough disclaimers!

🏔💦 Fluids and Mountains

- whaa?

So in areas that get snow in the winter, we notice in our environments the spring the snow starts melting from the mountains - when i was flying in and out of bergen and oslo, there was still a fair amount of snow up there, but gradually, it’s starts to lessen and the snow is becoming water and trickling down. And as we’ve spoken about, the outside environment also reflects our insides. So we might find in our bodies that there’s a dislodging of our own fluids - mucus becomes more present... unlodged, stuff is flowing, if you know what i mean. In some cases, when that’s out of balance we might notice consequences like getting a spring cold. Sinuses being on the blink and so on. Hay fever even. Shifts and changes that cause our insides to also experience shifts and changes.

We might find we are more susceptible to colds, coughs, congestion in our lymphatic system, general fluid retention - in the periods before winter and summer.

So, one way to boost your immunity is to think about circulation - keeping things moving and clear is a good idea. Breathwork is an example of something that can help with that, as can massage, and you can do that yourself, especially if funds are tight. You can use pressure points to release sinus pressure for example. Or simply find ways to go about your business in flow. I think it’s worth saying that this is always a working progress, but especially during this time of year, it's best not to go at it too hard, know what i mean?

I’m going to talk about that a bit later….

And in relation to immunity and defending yourself from the seasonal colds is to

🧣 Protect ya neck

Which is really the best advice i ever had. Protect my neck. And not only via the Wu Tang Clan record of the same title.

Some of you know i was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder a couple of years ago, and it’s really reframed so much of my practice and approach to “heath”...i’m using inverted commas here by the way. Cause health is a relative concept right? There are many different interpretations, many people out there who want to define what health is and what “unhealthiness” is, so again, do your own research.

The thyroid gland is located in the throat, and essentially governs our hormones and thus all of our systems. It’s responsible for keeping everything in a fine balance. So if one little thing is out of sync, it can have a catastrophic effect on other things. Which really isn't fun, i can tell you. Butttt it only makes me appreciate this wonderful ecosystem of a carcass we are responsible for even more.

I have a lot of theories about the throat and the thyroid and think a lot about this region of the body, energetically, physically and so on. Especially in these times of tech neck. There’s lots of sayings about this region too like - something stuck in your throat, cat’s got your tongue, protect your neck, something can be a pain in the neck… which are interesting to explore and dig into, perhaps for another time. Essentially, making sure your neck is warm is useful, especially those of you with thyroid disorders.

🌤 EMBRACING THE “LIGHTER” QUALITIES

Another way that can help you get more in sync with the spring season is to think about being lighter - in terms of movement and shifts

Let it be known i’m not talking about body weight here. Or lightness in colour. Or telling you what to eat. Cause i feel really weird about that. And the reason why? Well i wrote about it ---- twice!

On: The Yoga and Food Thing, Part 1

On: the yoga and food "thing", revisited.

The whole food weirdness stuff is something that’s really close to my heart - it’s a whole topic tbh and i’d love to explore it more in future. I’ve made a note. But essentially, here are some suggestions of guidelines around it in relation to Ayurveda and springtime - but please, do what’s right for your body, innit?

So some ways to add more lightness to balance out the dark from the wintertime, might involve getting up earlier, or perhaps incorporating more easily digestible foods into your diet. That again is relative cause we’re all different and digest stuff in different ways. Some of us have intolerances and find it more difficult to break down certain food or drinks for example.

But if we think about nature, it kind of shows us the ideal stuff to eat at this time of year which again is relative cause in Norway, what really grows?! It’s literally hard to grow much at all there. But generally, spring greens are abundant this time of year which are ideal. Kind of bitter astringent flavours work well. Basically after winter, a time where our digestive fire is low, we tend to reduce energy in all ways and we can feel sluggish, so it can be helpful to add more things to the diet that stimulate and stokes our digestive fire. And when our digestive fire is higher, it helps with our immunity as well.

So things that help to stoke the fire include spices like ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon for example can be good! Ginger is also great in supporting our immune system, so adding something to your routine like grated fresh ginger and lemon to your morning routine or before meals can be very supportive. But again it’s relative so see what works for you!

Lightness might look like releasing low and heavy energy and Incorporating more lightness into your routine. And that might look like getting rid of stuff that weighs you down - like clearing out the wardrobe or getting rid of toxic people for example. Yeah that’s a bit one. Release what’s not helpful. Like the blossom falling from the tree. Avoiding unnecessary tension where possible is always helpful i think. Know what i mean?

As SWV said, release some tension babes.

Something like essential oils might also help with that - this is not sponsored, i’m not affiliated with any brand - you know what i’m talking about - but in terms of essential oils, i’m shifting that up to bring a bit of lightness into my home environment. Things like fennel or geranium can be good for boosting moods. The citrus oils can be good to incorporate, grapefruit, lemon or orange. Also, lavender can be helpful (also good for repelling bugs!), peppermint is also a nice light oil and can help with bugs.

📹 VIDEO TREATS

I have some videos for that in case it’s useful?!!

dionne.space/yoga

youtube.com/dionneyoga

🌀 MOVEMENT

So let’s talk about Movement - cause it can be a great way to find balance in the spring season.

Winter tends to be a sedentary season, we can often feel lethargic and heavy, tired and unmotivated, as there’s of course, less light, less warmth and sunshine, and it’s very normal and natural for us to experience that. However we might have been experiencing imbalances around winter that led to us being down, possibly even having depression - and my friend, if that’s speaking to you right now, i urge you to reach out and get some support to help you to feel better. Tell a friend, book an appointment at the doctors and please trust and know you can feel better and you deserve to feel better, ok?

You’re important.

Ok.

So, movement as a way to balance stagnancy and staticness of the winter season. That might look like some kind of fluidity.

Maybe we might feel stuck in our ways a bit, less motivated and possibly lethargic and resistant to change.

So when considering ways to sync with the spring season, remember that opposites balance things out, so increasing movement can be a great idea.

I like to think about it in terms of finding flow, or embracing fluidity as i mentioned earlier.

💦 FLUIDS!

More fluidity, less sedentary stuff. Gently we want to stimulate stuff but not too much. Important to mention we don’t want to overexert ourselves and then get sick right? It’s all about the balance.

Movement and exercise can be helpful to increase circulation, but take it easy and avoid the hardcore push, even though energy is increasing. You know what tends to happen when the sun comes out suddenly we see loads of joggers everywhere and going hard and getting this weird bootcamp style “get fit for summer bikinis” and all that crap which is just...absurd - i’m sorry, if that works for you, then great but, if you’ve got a body, you’ve got a bikini body, do you know what i mean? Realise that’s a bit of a Pinterest quote these days but still relevant, you know what i’m saying? Just look after your body in general! Embrace it first and foremost...this is going into a separate topic but perhaps i’ll do another episode on this body image thing and related weird stuff that tends to be put in the “wellness stuff” box which is...really confusing cause we want to have a healthy relationship with ourselves and one that is accepting who we are and hopefully compassionate nad loving towards ourselves and doing the stuff that makes us feel good, first and foremost before anything else right? Rather than being stuck on someone else's idea about how we should look.

So we were talking about movement and exercise and not going over the top, not pushing too hard, even though there is more sunshine (hopefully) where you are and more light where you are, we feel that increase in energy, and in Ayurveda in fact, it’s often recommended that at this time of year, booking some time off to rest is a good idea to support yourself with the transition. One of the reasons being that shift in energy and potential low immunity. Resting and making sure we have enough sleep is really helpful. Of course, it’s not always accessible to consider taking a holiday, so perhaps prioritising self care is a good idea. If you want some ideas of how to do that, i have a BLOG POST for you to check out 15 self care ideas how to shift your state ::::::::::::

Also in podcast form

Self care box

Self care manifesto

🙅🏽‍♀️ SKIN + IMMUNITY

So around this time of year in spring, it’s common to feel lethargic which might seem counterintuitive cause it’s sunny and “ahh i’ve got more energy cause there’s more light but at the same time i’m a bit knackered” so please know that’s ok! A nice tool that I find helpful to shift my state particularly in the mornings and if lethargy is present, is skin rubbing! Which...is kind of what it sounds like which sounds kind of gross, right ohhhh but perhaps it sounds a bit raunch...i don’t know. The simplest thing to do is use your hands on your cheeks and rub your face vigorously a few times. Try it!

PAUSE TO RUB!

Then pause to feel

Perhaps not if you have just beaten your face (make up) but you get the jist.

I’m also a big fan of skin tapping. And if you have been to my autumn and spring workshops, or to a retreat with me, chances are you’ve tried this. It’s a really quick and effective way to boost circulation, via your biggest organ, your skin! And when we boost circulation, we boost our immune system. Getting things flowing and moving….is this kind of making sense? It’s all interconnected this stuff so keep an open mind and don’t feel you have to do all the things i’ve mentioned just apply what works for you. Essentially we’re just looking at what happens in the transition from wintertime to spring and seeing how we can sync up with that so: more fluidity, more lightness, boosting circulation, reducing stress and boosting our immune system.

And essentially all this comes down to is opening up to the new season. Bloom if you like. Hence the name of my workshops.

You can read up more about bloom and extra Ayurveda details. And cause i’m extra, there’s a visionboard. And cause i’m extra-extra, there’s a playlist as well. Springtime! I hope you enjoy that.

So when we think about Blooming - energetically, it could include this idea of coming out of our shell. Inviting a more expansive, outward energy. Which isn’t always easy. Particularly if you’re an introvert like me! I think key is getting the right balance of outward and inward energy---- which leads me onto ::::::::::::

⚖️ BALANCE

BALANCE is key to all this stuff, not just Ayurveda, not just spring wellness but LIFE!

And as i’ve mentioned so many times, be it in this podcast, in blog posts or at events that i lead that i lead whether it’s yoga, movement and meditation and creativity workshops …

Balance is something that’s always in transition. There’s never one time where everything is completely balanced out! It’s a process! So try not to get too hung up on the perfection of “being in balance”. Trust that it is a process and it’s all about tuning in and listening to yourself. Listening to your body and what you need.

I really feel like that’s the most important part in all this stuff.

Most important thing in all of this stuff is to listen to your body, above all.

Do what feels right for you. Notice the changes, and work I them in ways that are sustainable.

Tune into what you need can be useful, and one of the most effective tools i use is meditation.

✨ MEDITATION

I know that can throw up a bit of resistance in people. Cause some folks will tell you you need to “do meditation a particular way and theres lots of rules”

And i appreciate that. It took me 15 years to get a regular meditation practice where i’m sitting down each day to really invest in that space for myself and i’m not saying it should be a struggle at all - some people just find it absolutely necessary. I guess what i want to make clear with the whole meditation thing is again it’s not a one size fits all. Some people like to meditate every day, some people twice a day, some people once a week. Making it accessible for you is the most important thing of all. Ideally you want something that’s a bit consistent, but that might not look like daily for you. Or if it is daily, maybe it’s a short amount of time a day, so try not to add more tension and more resistance by doing something that you think is good for yourself, do you know what i mean? Like, there’s no point in stressing over making yourself a green juice every morning if it’s costing you a fortune and loads of time in the day, that’s causing you more stress, leave that behind and find something else that works better, that makes you feel more ease and makes you feel better...right?

So with regards to the meditation thing, as i totally understand what it’s like to feel resistance around it, i’ve been making something behind the scenes and i have a little gift for you! A free music + meditation that Finemann and i made just for you as part of our music + meditation project that some of you might have heard of before.

So ketil is a musician and we’re both quite into meditation and find it a useful way of tapping into more space for ourselves and it’s great for reducing stress levels and most of all i think for both of us, we’ve found it really helpful for creativity and opening up space for creativity to thrive. So this meditation that we’ve made is one that focuses specifically on balance and it’s free as i said and you can get a link to stream or download it by going to dionne.space/meditation

It will also be in the shownotes.

And also, i have a free yoga and movement video for you too which is all about embracing the springtime! So i really hope that’s useful for you - let me know haw you go!

RESOURCE::: yoga + movement practice in case it's useful

So, dassit for now. I mean, that was a lot and…. i really could go on but, we have lives to live right? Thank you so much for making it through till the end. Really hope there is something there that’s useful for you to take and adapt or maybe just use as a starting point to continue your journey and exploration as we transition to the spring season!

And if you're interested in more free resources, i send out a weekly mail called The Digest and in it, there’s lots of motivational ideas for you and inspiration and lots of stuff i make for you to enjoy, hopefully! You can subscribe to that here.

And if you’re interested in working 1-1 with me in one of my creative coaching programmes, i’m now booking a limited number of slots from June onwards. So if you’re interested in getting supported to design and live your best life and to feel more free and clear with more space, more connected and inspired, just get in touch HERE.

And feel welcome to come and chat to me on the internet somewhere! You can find me hanging out in various places like instagram or twitter or my secret-ish tumblr!

So without further ado, i’m going to pack up and head to the spring inclement weather. Thank you so much for supporting this podcast. It means so much to hear that this is useful for you. Thank you for listening and thank you for being there.

I feel for you!

Have a great spring transition! Byyyeeeee!