Hot toast dripping with butter and marmite or a thin crust pizza oozing with molten mozzarella, hot pepperoni and chillies; my kind of culinary heaven. Lunch day-in and day-out has to be a Prêt smoked salmon sandwich, which I probably should not admit to wolfing down faster than some people sneeze. And this year Easter without hot cross buns soaked in butter and jam is going to be just plain odd. So what is happening here? Something is responsible for the chronic abdominal pain and a distended belly that has made me look several months pregnant, so I intend to find out exactly what is behind this. Instead of throwing all the usual suspects of sugar, wheat and dairy into jail at once without a trial, I have decided to catch the culprit causing this pain and uncharacteristic weight gain in action.  When my local GP turned my life upside down with yet another unsubstantiated evidence free verdict and announced that my pains were signs of an impending the menopause, I declared a mistrial. I am not usually confrontational; in fact I would rather eat my own arm than have a face to face discussion [...]

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit” –Aristotle It has not quite been the first quarter of the year I had planned for 2013. It was not, however, until last night when I was attempting to bake a cake that I finally got what has been bugging me for a while now. A month or so ago—24th February to be precise—exasperated by my life as a One Armed Warrior, I turned to my favourite oracle deck to pick a card that I hoped would inspire me out of the sticky physical and mental mire I was sinking into. The deck handed me the Cosmic Carrot, a card I have never seen before. It made me giggle. I do like alliteration; and carrots for that matter, raw not boiled.  I have to admit that while I love the divinatory purpose of the Tarot, I personally use cards for creative guidance and inspiration, having not yet found time to study them in the depth they deserve to be of more use to me. The first thing that struck me is that the Cosmic Carrot is the 28th card and 28 just happened to be [...]

Today I enter my personal Year 6: a year that represents the start of a change. Without even knowing this as a fact, I feel it intuitively. Last weekend I started a year-long Yoga teacher training course. With all the yoga, the Meditation and philosophy I will be learning over the 200 plus hours, a mind, body, spirit transformation is inevitable. If the last 18 months of ISHTA yoga practise are anything to go by, the next year is not going to be just any ordinary journey. ISHTA is both an acronym for Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda, but also the Sanskrit for individualised or personalised. In the last few months, I have felt that I am finally entering my own mind and body, the latter of which ironically is thinking quite seriously about a change of its own, but that is another story. As I spent the summer watching the Olympics and painting my flat, I reflected on this very strange sensation; that of contentment. It has been 11 years since I moved into my flat; 11 years of stories: drama, death, heatbreak, love, lots and lots of lovely godchildren, a niece, the longest [...]

This will be my first encounter with Stephen Russell, aka The Barefoot Doctor, and if the energy and humour in his book The Man Who Drove with His Eyes Closed is anything to go by, the evening at Sadler’s Wells is going to be fun. I have so many books piling up asking to be read and concepts jumping up and down dying to be explored that right now another author and teacher to connect with is the last thing I am looking for. But the event came with two endorsements that made me think this avenue was worth at least investing a little time, money and energy in. The first endorsement, and for me the most important because it was personal, was from my teacher and friend Davina MacKail mentioning the upcoming talk in her own New Year newsletter. The second was the enthusiastic forward, written by author John Parkin for Stephen’s book The Man Who Drove with His Eyes Closed. I love the idea that Stephen Russell has studied with masters ahead of, as John put it, “an era before you could do Yoga in your local gym, tai Chi in the church [...]

Epiphany is my word du jour. It all started when I was explaining the importance of the 6th of January, or Epiphany, in the Italian calendar, as a day when La Befana fills the socks of children with toys or sweets if they are good or coal, onions or garlic if they are bad. My meandering mind then turned circuitously, via the origins and dual meaning of the word, to an epiphany of my very own triggered by a conversation about witches, witch crafts and covens.  In Italian folklore, La Befana is often depicted as an old woman or crone wearing shawl riding a broomstick, like a traditional witch. For Italian children, La Befana is like Father Christmas, coming down the chimney—explaining her sooty look. And just like children that leave food for Santa and his reindeer, Italian families will often leave a small glass of wine and some thing to eat for La Befana. According to local folklore, La Befana sweeps the floor before leaving.  There are a number of versions of the Christian legend behind La Befana, but one is that she was too busy sweeping and cleaning to join the Three Wise Men, [...]

The Mayan long calendar is ending but the world is not. The year 2012 has the power of the number five and, while it might be a roller coaster ride for some, five is all about change. The energy of the number five is about exploring the structure, says Colin Baker in his illustrated book on Numerology. Five is a number not constrained by convention; it sees new possibilities in existing structures and communicates them with enthusiasm, says Colin. Five is about being on an exciting voyage of discovery, which is very much in line with the dawning of The Age of Aquarius. On her Way Ahead tour, Shelley von Strunckel gave us an insight about what it will be like to live in The Age of Aquarius for the next 2,150 years. This is the era of the individual; the time of the alpha female (and the metro-sexual man); it is all about what you as a unique individual have to offer not who you know, says Shelley.  Last year I discovered the Alpha Female Club launched by a lady in the hedge fund industry doing a tough job during the day and a [...]

For me 2012 is going to be the Year of Yoga, starting with a four hour workshop on 1 January 2012 with Katrina Repka at The Life Centre. I have been studying yoga with Katrina for more than a year now, so I might be a bit biased, but the yoga cocktail she teaches is just perfect for my otherwise frenetic mind.    I am already signed up to her private group courses until June and from zero a year ago to an agains the wall headstand 12 months later, I am really looking forward to joining her Saturday morning level two classes at The Life Centre. Katrina, author of Breathing Space: Twelve Lessons for the Modern Woman, teaches a blend of Hatha, Tantra, and Ayurveda, called ISHTA Yoga, which is the creation of yogiraj Alan Finger. Katrina, who has also co-author with Alan of Chakra Yoga: Balancing Energy for Physical, Spiritual, and Mental Well-being, is the second only person to have achieved the yogiraj title in the west in the ISHTA yoga lineage. I started meditating years ago, but after a while I lost the momentum and fell out of love with the dollar amounts attached [...]

This will seem like a very odd blog to anyone who does not know that there is and has almost always been a ladybird theme running through my life. I even once had a red Ford KA on which I put black spots, an unofficial Ford Ladybird. But on closer inspection it seems that ladybirds are quite a powerful Symbol. For me, it has nearly always been a sign of change when a very large number of images or actual ladybirds appear in my life at any one time.  So when one landed on my pillow at the end of July I started to think a blog on the subject was due. But when a ladybird landed on my desk the other day it triggered me to add one to the masthead. Afterall there are ladybirds everywhere else in my life–on towels, mugs, stationary, my hoover is a large ladybird, and I even have a stain glass window–so why not on my blog? Aside from my life long fascination with all things ladybird, red strategically placed one third of the way down and one third of the way across in any corner of an image is a photographic trick to enhance a [...]

As I enter my personal year number five, where I am set to explore new possibilities, I am feeling unusually calm. Normally my mind races with the things I haven’t done, but this year I am feeling rather serene, despite the craziest September on record at work. Is it possible that all of this Yoga and Meditation that I have embarked on is making this Libran balanced? This new personal year is all about making changes, exploring different ideas, meeting new friends, and perhaps trying a new relationship, according to Colin Baker, author of Numerology. Sonia Ducie, author of Do It Yourself Numerology, says Year 5 is all about communication. This is a number that enables one to speak or write one’s mind more freely. This is further reinforced by Colin: “The more that [the words] carry the imprint of your own truth, the greater its impact will be.” Which ever way I look at it this is going to be a good year to let The Life Detective out of the incubator and see where it takes me. “Business endeavours can prove financially rewarding,” says Colin, but cautions, “If you do take risks on [...]

The more I enjoy my bike, the more I zip back in my mind to the days of when I was fit and healthy. While I am not that unfit or that unhealthy, I have noticed my midriff expanding and I have hit 11 stone, which I have never been in my life. I have also never dieted but I have been severely underweight at least three times. Not through food abuse, but simply Stress, which is why I associate being too thin, with being unhappy and depressed. Now I understand how belief systems operate, I know that this can be changed. Right now I am happy, but that does not take away the fact that something is happening to my body that does not feel right. The expanded bloated feeling around my waist is not a healthy feeling and it is one that I want to get to the bottom of. So I am embarking on Operation Clean & Lean to see if a programme of clean, lean and healthy living is what it takes. I have set up a programme that does not attempt to “lose” weight but creates positive attainable goals by taking [...]