Gardening for the Soul

Last year my husband Edd and I had the greatest pleasure of taking part in The Big Allotment Challenge ~ which is being screened on BBC2 8.00pm on Tuesday 15th April.

We had an amazing 4 months of tending a brand new allotment, creating, designing and growing in our own special style, amongst the other 8 wonderful teams taking part.

What a journey indeed . . . both of us being very keen gardeners with our home patch, growing and turning our produce into wonderful tasty meals, chutneys, jams, jellys, vinegars etc etc ~ we rose too the challenge of creating an allotment from nothing . . . to a tight time scale.

Gardening is truly good for your soul . . . it get's you in tune with nature, the seasons and brings a deep sense of grounding on all levels of beingness.
Edd and I have planted by the phases of the moon, following Biodynamic Gardening calendars for around 5 years now, which is such a beautiful way of planting organically.
As a Cognitive Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master and Integral Yoga teacher I wholeheartedly encourage my clients and students to find their connection with nature to help them find a sense of balance in their lives. Gardening can help to reduce stress, anxiety and depression ~ supporting a deeper sense of wellbeing on all levels of being ~ physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
And what can be even nicer than nurturing plants, being outdoors and enjoying nature ~ but to then grow things you can eat and enjoy seasonally and organically, just as you'd like them to be.
You just can't beat the flavours and freshness of picking your own produce that you have tended throughout the year.

So enjoy the show and be inspired to grow something new yourselves too!
Whatever size garden, patio, allotment or even on a windowsill you can always grow something ~ whether flowers, herbs, fruits or veggies all can bring you such a deep sense of achievment having sown and grown it yourself.

Happy National Gardening Week . . .

Om Shanti

Harshani and Edd
x
www.mindbodywellbeing.co.uk

Finding Balance and Getting it Just Right

How good is your sense of balance?
Can you stand on one leg in a steady pose in a calm and comfortable manner?
How does being able to control your balance help you in your life?

All of these questions and more you can discover at my next Yoga Workshop Day which is centered purely around yoga balance postures (Asana's).  

Being balanced is not just a physical thing, where you can shift your weight from one leg to the other whilst maintaining steadiness ~ it's also about mental awareness, finding a focus point, developing your concentration, and quietening your mind and mental chitter chatter that goes on often unconsciously. The thing with the mind is, that it's mostly in those quiet contemplative, meditative moments when you realise just how much constant inner dialogue is going on. Learning to work through a standing physical balance helps concentrate the mind so keenly that the thoughts can eventually drop away more and more. Balances can bring about an incredible inner peace, whilst the body is strong and steady. When your mind is all over the place then your balance is likely to be wobbly and unsteady. So balanced mind = balanced body and that can flow into your life too!

Standing yoga balances can help strengthen your bone density; develop your core strength in your abdominals; help balance the left and right side of your brain; help develop your concentration skills and sharpen your mental focus (which aids studying, work, exams etc); increases the quality of patience and acceptance; and help you tackle some of life's natural obstacles in a more positive manner.

So if you want to discover the benefits of yoga balance postures then drop into your local yoga class or come and join Harshani in Islip, Northamptonshire on Saturday 19th October.
To find out more or book your place, please visit www.mindbodywellbeing.co.uk  

Why worry about all those worries?

This morning I read today's beautiful reading from Sri Swami Satchidananda's book "The Golden Present".
And I'd like to share it with you here: ~

Hundreds of Worries

How many wants do you have? How many things do you worry about?
"I don't have this."  "I didn't get that."  "I don't have a nice enough office." "I didn't get the car I wanted." "I don't have an air conditioner."  "I didn't get what I wanted to eat." . . . . 

There are all kinds of unnecessary worries. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of worries.

How can you even lift a small blade of grass with that kind of attitude?

The mind is the main source of health and happiness. 

The same mind can completely rob you of all your health and happiness, if you don't train it properly.

Heat, humidity, cold, hunger ~ all these conditions are nothing if your mind is calm and balanced.

So many things we take for granted, so many things we worry about needlessly, taking up energy and making us unwell. Emotional stress can effect our daily lives. So try putting your worries into context. Try seeing them from a different perspective. Train the mind to see positives rather than negatives. Once you realize it's all in the mind, it's easier to re-frame it towards something that supports you, instead of weighing you down.
I teach my yoga students and therapy clients how to train their minds in a positive way, so daily stresses and concerns can be let go of far more easily and the mind can become more peaceful, easeful and useful.
You can find out more here www.mindbodywellbeing.co.uk

Remember that golden song . . .  "Don't worry . . . be Happy!"
Wishing you a peaceful week ahead.
Harshani
Cognitive Hypnotherapist, Reiki Master Teacher and Integral Yoga Teacher
Mind Body Wellbeing
Islip, Kettering, Northants.,

The Healing Power of Sound

I've always felt that sound has an amazing effect on us all . . . it can change your mood from happy to sad, from grumpy to cheery, from depressed to up-beat . . . and visa-versa. Sound not only can effect mood but also emotions, thoughts and our physical responses to them as well.

When you think about your thoughts/feelings/moods make a conscious note to maybe the sounds around you, whether it's music you're listening to, or talking, or birds song, the sound of rain, or wind or loud industrial noises around you . . . all effect you both energetically and vibrationally.

Sound can be a healer and a harmer. I know which one I'd rather choose to follow . . . healing sounds are so powerful and incredibly re-balancing to our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual sense of self. My first experience of the positive effects of yogic chanting, was in an Integral Yoga class in Bournemouth, and even though at the time I thought it a bit weird (as most people do), I discovered an energy, a quality afterwards which had such a profound effect on my life ~ that now as an Integral Yoga Teacher I love to chant whenever and wherever I can, because it feels so wonderful.
Shortly after my first steps into mantra chanting I also very gratefully found myself lying down on the grass outside on a yoga retreat being bathed with the healing Gong vibration of a Sound Bath!
Wow, such an amazing experience to enjoy . . . being bathed in sound ~ and I highly recommend it.
Since then I have been fortunate to experience many through my wonderful Yoga friends and their giving of healing Sound Baths . . .

So if this has whetted your taste buds to be curious about Sound Baths and would like to experience one for yourself too then check out this link to our next Yoga Sound Bath Workshop day being held on 14th April in Kettering . . . you never know you might like chanting too!

http://www.mindbodywellbeing.co.uk/Cognitive+Hypnotherapy-Kettering-Personal+Development+Courses-46.php   

You never know we might see you there!
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Harshani
Mind and Body Wellbeing