Freepost on Organic Clothing Weekend

 

Freepost on all orders this weekend 2nd June - 4th June 

Fabulous organic & sustainable tops and tees for all ages and styles . . . take a look at

https://wellnessclothing.teemill.com/

The Big Allotment Challenge ~ Part 2 as it develops and grows

 

And so the plot began to develop . . . and the story continues

After lots of hard work to dig over & manure the soil in readiness for growing & planting conditions we created a potager style structure to begin to plan our organic & companion planting around.

We planned to underplant our roses with garlic & plant a wide variety of herbs and lavenders along the borders to encourage bees and wildlife onto our plot.

Nearly everything on our little allotment patch we grew from seed following a biodynamic calendar plan of when to sow, prick our seedlings & plant out. 

Here's what our greenhouse started to look like . . .

Quite joyfully chanting to our seeds as they were being sown . . .

        Using Reiki energy flow on the seeds and watering process. . . 

                Working with love . . . and watching everything begin to grow & florish . . .

We still had little idea of what the upcoming challenges were going to be, so we just had lots of fun sowing & growing a wide variety of herbs, fruits, flowers, root vegetables, beans, onions and sooooo much more. 

Each week when we went down was exciting to see how it was beginning to manifest into a mini amazonian festival of plants.

Next part will show how it florished . . . gardening is so good for the soul.

www.mindbodywellbeing.co.uk 

 

The Big Allotment Challenge ~ Intro to the Plot

 10 years ago Edd and Harshani had applied to take part in the Big Allotment Challenge for the first series which was filmed in 2013 and broadcast on TV in 2014 on BBC2. The series was the brainchild of well known TV producer and journalist/author Daisy Goodwin. 

We were 1 of 9 couples all brought together with a passion for gardening to create our own allotment plots from scratch in the stunning setting and grounds of Mapledurham Manor House, on the outskirts of Reading.

Our secret location was incredible ~ originally it was called 'The Patch' before being re-named the Big Allotment Challenge for TV showing. 

   

Our first sight was filmed as we all came together and entered the Patch for the first time to discover our allocated plots, empty greenhouses and to begin to create our pre-planned allotment designs.

Our plot was very stony, weedy and was riddled with an old bed of artichokes ~ if you are a gardener you will know what that means . . . we were forever needing to dig these up as the roots kept producing no matter how deep we dug to get them out. So that was Edd's main mission that first weekend to dig over the plot and dig in extra manure which was an entire weekend mission on it's own ~ whilst Harshani started organising the greenhouse and began madly sowing seeds to get things going. 

Our brief was that everything had to be grown from seed and only very limited plants were allowed to be from plugs or tubers. We had pre-selected what varieties of veggies and flowers we were going to plant and that was what we then had to stick to. The only established plants we were allowed were potted Roses for one of the later challenges.
We had a plan to create a potager style of planting and we went with a YingYang design for our plot to be created around. We had a guide of what we needed to be planting, but no idea of what the up-coming challenges were going to be. 

It was late April, with a completely blank canvas and whilst others started planting things directly in the ground on their plots, Edd was passionate about getting the ground right before planting a thing. 

Our style for the series was planting Biodynamically. We had been following Biodynamic gardening at home for the last few years and that is what we brought to our patch. 
Biodynamic gardening means planting by the phases of the moon. From sowing seeds, pricking out seedlings, planting out  . . . everything was highly co-ordinated and managed by Harshani in harmony with this cycle. Biodynamic is mapped out in 4 categories of Root Days, Leaf Days, Flowers Days and Fruit Days. Harshani had a Biodynamic Calender which is detailed of what days and times of day that each of these can be sown/planted/potted on. We brought into our patch insect friendly, bee friendly plants, companion planting, mad eour own nettle feeds and use organic matter.

Time on the plot each week was limited and each couple were only allowed to be on their plots for 2 full days each week (or however you allocated that time between half days) ~ so time had to managed well for watering, planting, potting on according to this calender too. Our plot needed to be fully estabilished and ready for the competition to begin by June/July.

Gradually over the first few weeks of intensive gardening out patch began to arise. . . . 

   

The story will continue . . . 

www.mindbodywellbeing.co.uk

A Weekend Spent Bowling

 

A Weekend  Spent Bowling

Harshani and I have had a great weekend playing with Tibetan singing bowls.  

A selection of which we have had especially imported from Nepal by a friend of ours in time for our 'Singing Bowls PlayShop' Day at the Field of Healing in Bythorn, Cambridgeshire ~ on Sunday 4^th June. Full details & bookings for this day can be found at https://mindbodywellbeing.co.uk/classes-events/

Singing bowls have become very popular in recent times in the West. 
It is thought singing bowls (which can also be called healing bowls) can be traced back to Asia as early as 2000 BC.
They are said to have had many uses: as a cooking utensil; an offering bowl; for meditation purposes; relaxation; space cleansing, and also healing. A really good quality bowl, old or new, however has many ringing tones or overtones , so it’s thought unlikely a good quality bowl was used for cooking!

Harshani  and I have personally used Tibetan Singing Bowls for meditation  and sound healing for many years now, and find that they are unique in the way that that they stimulate and heal the mind and body in a very gentle yet powerful way.

Much myth and legend exists around Singing bowls, what was their original purpose? 
Is a new bowl better than an antique bowl?
My own view is that it is a matter of budget and personal belief, as some antique bowls are incredibly expensive and not always the genuine real deal, but have been made to look aged!

Of course it is possible  that some antique bowls have an added spiritual element and may have been originally made and used by Llamas in Tibet centuries ago. However, my personal view is that new bowls can sound just as good as an antique bowl and there is absolutely  nothing to stop you consecrating your own bowl for spiritual purposes any way.

Usually singing bowls are made of an alloy containing 7 different metals ~ connected to the 7 astrological planets. A good quality bowl creating a wide  range of sounds and overtones.
The seven metals are gold = Sun,  silver = Moon,  iron = Mars, tin = Jupiter , Lead = Saturn. The size, width, weight, color/ patina and composition of the bowl are all variables ~ which means that each bowl in itself  is unique and each bowl plays and sounds slightly differently. There are also many  regional differences in manufacture and decoration.

Find out more about Sound Therapy here www.mindbodywellbeing.co.uk

Best Wishes

Edwin

An Ocean of Sound

 An Ocean of Sound

Having experienced the benefits of a monochord bed treatment many years ago at the Dome Centre in Alcalili Spain, on my International Sound Therapy training course, I knew that when the opportunity arose I was going to add an Octave Monochord Sound Bed to my Sound Therapy practice.

It arrived late in 2022 and is now set up in my therapy room.

It is a delight to play and also experience and a pleasure to see the amazing effect it has on my clients.

The quality of the instrument is wonderful the range of sound and vibration it produces is unworldly. One of my clients describing it as an “ocean of sound” and “like being enveloped by a comforting vortex of vibration”.

It’s definitely an extremely relaxing and strangely re-charging experience both at the same time! 

An opportunity for a complete mental and physical re-boot.

Here is a little taster of the Sound Treatments which are available for all to benefit from

https://mindbodywellbeing.co.uk/sound-therapy/

Reiki ~ Energy Balancing ~ Self Care

 

Have you ever wondered in those moments of feeling out of sorts, out of sync, out of balance what you could do to help you feel back in harmony once more?

Sometimes in life, we just feel like we are not quite ourselves ~ more many different reasons . . . even the full moon and our natural life cycles can do that. 

It's good to know that we are energy & vibration ~ so we can learn to balance this in a natural way. 

There are many terms for this subtle energy ~ universal life force ~ Prana ~ Chi ~ Ki ~ Mana ~ spiritual energy. There are also many helpful subtle energy practices & methods that can also help bring this into harmony too e.g. Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong & Reiki.

All of which are practices that you can learn & do yourself.

As a Yoga Teacher Trainer & Reiki Master Teacher, I have been priviledged to guide & support many students into discovering helpful techniques to return a sense of equilibrium, grounding & inner balance ~ mentally, physically, emotionally & spiritually. It is all about bringing balance to the fullness of your being, not simply your physical body, but understanding that we are so much more than that . . . and so much more than our minds can possibly perceive. We have a subtle energy body, an auric energy field & many planes of our existence. All needing care, balance & harmony to be able to bring us gently back into our flow . . . to begin to feel back on track.

Everyone can learn to work with subtle energy & Reiki practices are supportive ways that can easily be integrated into a daily practise of self care & wellbeing.

So whatever is going on in your life right now, maybe exploring the first level of Reiki healing ~ which is all about self care & Self -Reiki ~ teaching you how to ground, how to clear your energy field, how to connect with Ki energy & receive it's healing essence, how to balance your chakras, & to learn some helpful Reiki Meditation & breathing techniques that you can do every day. 

If you are new to Reiki, then I fully recommend that you receive a Reiki treatment first before beginning your self healing path, so you can explore if that feels right for you.

Reiki is natural. It's a deeply relaxing & restorative treatment ~ & wonderful that you can also learn how to do this for yourself too.

To discover more about Reiki Courses or Yoga please visit https://www.mindbodywellbeing.co.uk

Once we know how to bring ourselves back into harmony again, then the ability to change is in our hands 💗

Never think of giving something up ~ always look for what you will gain

 

So . . . how do you look at life?

Do you see what you can't have? . . . or . . . Do you see what you already have or have gained?

Even as we land on Shove Tuesday as Lent ~ we can explore what we have too much in-excess of and what we might make a conscious choice of 'Giving up for Lent' ~ whatever that might be . . . chocolate, alcohol, caffeine, smoking, meat, eggs. 

But it's good to look deeper into how even having a break away from something you always have (or sometimes habitually have too much of . . .) that concept alone is good for our mind, body & soul.

Review . . . Reflect . . . Reset . . .

A sense of appreciation of other things . . . enjoying more savoury and less sweets/chocolates . . . the ability to take stock of our food choices or lifestyle and make changes for the better. . . the ability to take a break and re-evaluate diet/lifestyle . . . the ability to be able to break any poor habits and re-gain our sense of inner control. 

There are so many gains and personal benefits that we will receive on making any changes in our lives, even if only for the 40 days of Lent . . . it all starts somewhere, and just like New Year for it's resolutions, Lent is another time to create positive change and have a fresh new approach.

So we invite you to make changes today, which may even benefit you for a lifetime or even just for 40 days out of your life. Small steps make big changes in the long run of life 👍

Look up through the tree of life and see what you may discover along the way.

www.mindbodywellbeing.co.uk

 

Be in Love

 Sharing this beautiful poem today from . . .  Love by Donna Ashworth

Be In Love

Be in love with your life
every minute
it's your trail
blaze it and blaze it brightly

Be in love with yourself
think of how you'd like to be loved
and make it happen
show the way for others

Be in love with your partner
really love them 
as if there were no tomorrow
and all you have is 
right here right now

Be in love with your home
never mind the mess
the things you don't like
pour some sparkle
on what you have

Be in love with your family
none are perfect
but they are your blood
and your history
you need each other in this life

Be in love with your job
look at all the positives
and be thankful you have it
if you can't
then change it
life's too short

Be in love with being in love
create that life
full of friendship
stolen kisses
unnecessary hugs
food for the soul

www.mindbodywellbeing.co.uk 

Retreat . . . Replenish . . . Refresh . . . Recharge . . .

 

We all need to take precious time out of our busy schdeules and diaries and make time for ourselves.

Self-care time is an essential aspect of being able to maintian our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual sense of wellbeing. 

So what do you do to relax? Does it recharge you or replenish you?

Going to a retreat gives you time and space away from your normal environment, a space to be, a place to switch off from all that is going on at home and at work . . . it gives you time to deeply re-connect with yourself, to discover new layers within you . . . time out . . . time to be.

Maybe join us on one of our Yoga and Sacred Sound retreats this year ~ in the UK or France.

No prior experience necessary ~ we warmly invite you to simply dive into something new for you to enjoy.

Discover our Retreats here ~  

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/yoga-and-sacred-sound-retreats-1696629?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=creatorshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=odclsxcollection&utm-source=cp&aff=escb