January
Published: 26.02.18
January turned out to be somewhat of an indulgent month for me. I was feeling incredibly burned out throughout the majority of winter. Luckily by mid-December many work commitments had come to an end, meaning I was free to visit friends and spend a lovely Christmas with my family. I always look forward to the New Year and I take my goal-setting very seriously. I spent a large part of January in solitude, reflecting on where I want to go and making space in my life to accommodate these changes. It’s actually been a pretty deep month! Now I’m at the end of it, I’m feeling incredibly refreshed and full of new insights for the year ahead.
Massage & Reiki
Somewhere during the cold, hectic, illness-inducing month that was November; I decided enough was enough and scheduled myself in for a treatment at Louisa Brown Holistic Therapies. The only slot was for early January which felt perfect to me. December was an absolute killer but knowing I had couple of blissful hours of self-care to look forward to helped spur me on. I’ve been treated by Louisa before and I always feel instantly relaxed by her presence. What’s more is that she really knows her stuff when it comes to the science behind her practise, putting a great deal of thought and consideration into the treatments and services she offers. I had the Signature Treatment which combines no-hands-massage, Indian Head massage, facial massage and the option to conclude your treatment with either a foot massage or reiki. (I chose the latter) I’ve seen Louisa in the past for Reiki sessions, which I’m hoping to make more of a regular thing this year. I challenge you to see Louisa and not feel blissed-out afterwards!
Kon-Marie
Over Christmas I was able to cram in a lot of reading, much to my absolute delight. (In fact there are so many books I have enjoyed this month that they may have even earned their own separate blog post.) A strong favourite was The Life Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo. A book dedicated to the art of discarding and tidying through her trademarked approach; the Kon-Marie Method. This book has been on my radar for a while, but something about the New Year approaching nudged me into finally purchasing a copy. I won’t go into the methodology behind this book because there are so many wonderful reviews of this best-seller out there. What I will say; is that this was in fact, life changing (or at least it was for me) My room now has so much space and a few small changes here and there have literally changed a drab, over-crowded space into something Pinterest-worthy. After establishing a sense of order and calm within my own space, my entire lifestyle has changed. My room is a place of inspiration, somewhere I can retreat to whenever I want to do some work, relax, listen to a podcast or meditate. I have now become one of those people who EMPTY THEIR PURSE EVERYDAY. I don’t think I can explain how much of a change that is for me. At the end of each day, my clothes all get put away in their designated spaces and my room becomes a haven of relaxation once more and I can focus on what’s really important. If you’re reading this and you think how astonishingly boring I must be; trust me you haven’t experienced the sheer ecstasy that this process can bring! I recommend you all try it or at least give the book a read.
Skincare
After previously being lectured by my beauty-enthusiast friend for not taking better care of my skin (“but I have more important things to worry about” I whined, to which she replied “you will literally have your face for your whole life Lyndsay, you may as well take care of it.) I decided that she may have a point and that it was time to try a few new products. It is important to me that a product is cruelty-free, vegan*, contains mainly natural ingredients and has a low price point. I’ve always thought that I was asking the impossible, hence why I was surprised when I learned that all of these “non-negotiables” of mine are present in the Boots Botanics range! I use their Organic Facial Oil. Because winter hates my skin and I am clearly not supposed to live in England; my face can get incredibly dry this time of year. I find the oil really helps with dryness; it also smells amazing and adds a sense of luxury to your routine. They also include the percentage of organic ingredients present in each product. The oil was labelled 100% organic. I am also using the Triple Age Renewal Eye Correction Serum (which may sound intense but I’ve found that my dry skin enjoys it.) This one contains more chemicals but if you wanted a more natural option, they also have an eye cream in the Organics Range.
*according to my research, the only product that is not vegan is the hot cloth cleanser. Remember to check prior to purchase if this is important to you, because formulas can always change.
I am really enjoying Pinterest at the moment. I feel that a lot of social media platforms can induce a feeling of comparison within people. What I love about Pinterest is that its users aren’t claiming to have the perfect life. It’s as if by re-pinning something we’re saying “wouldn’t this be nice?” In contrast, I feel like the overall rhetoric on other platforms is “I have this”. I know this statement totally over simplifies social media in general and I do find a lot of authenticity in other places also. Nonetheless I have really been enjoying Pinterest and feel my sense of style has been sharpened since using it. I probably need to go through and clean up my boards a little bit, since a few things have snuck in that are out of place but in general I am really happy with the little world of visual inspiration I have created! On my boards you will find clean, quirky home inspiration, classic, European inspired fashion (with a heavy dose of summer styling), healthy and well-presented recipes, office inspiration (my personal favourite), and a few more projects to watch that I haven’t made public yet! If you’re there, feel free to give me a follow or leave your details below! I’m looking for people to follow for inspiration so definitely share your favourites with me!
Soul-Scripting
Something I had been meaning to go to for a while was Soul Scripting by Gill Torres. Soul Scripting is a meditative writing practise that takes you through several steps designed to help you connect to your authentic voice. As a creative writing practitioner, I’m interested in how people merge creative writing with spiritual or mindful practises. I had seen this workshop all over social media for a while and was really interested to experience it first-hand. The session was held in Love Thy Neighbour, which is one of my favourite places in Liverpool to eat! (Healthy, delicious food, interesting superfood-filled drinks and a gorgeous interior, complete with pink neon lights.) Gill holds the space really well, the session was really popular and I felt I could have written for hours!
Clue
I didn’t think I needed a period-tracking app but this has proved to be so interesting! If you want an explanation for why you’re suddenly feeling a little down or alternatively super energetic; Clue can tell you whereabouts you are in your cycle and what you’re likely to experience, based on your previous data. With this app the more you use it, the smarter it gets. I only really think about my cycle during the time I’m on and maybe a few days before. In reality where we are in our cycle dictates a lot of things including; energy levels, emotions, eating habits, sleep, sociability, concentration levels, sex drive; the list goes on. You might be surprised by what you learn through tracking each day and this app can be really helpful in connecting the dots.
Podcasts
I am really late to the podcast party but I’ve finally got into them! Especially because I spend what is a whole heartedly un-necessary amount of my time travelling. I’m currently listening to anything around health, wellness and spirituality. I'm looking to add in any that focus on entrepreneurship. I’m very open to suggestions as I’m only just getting my teeth into these. If you have any favourites, do let me know. Through these podcasts I also came across some very eye-opening interviews with Lacy Phillips, a manifestation advisor. This brings me to…..
Unblocked: Reparent
My final favourite, the Unblocked: Reparent online course by Lacy Phillips from Free & Native. Lacy’s take on manifestation is as down to earth as it gets. She mainly focuses on the psychological aspect of low self-worth standing in the way of us receiving what we truly deserve. Lacy believes that low-self-worth mainly stems from childhood and adolescence conditioning. (Even within those who had great upbringings, there are wounds created by external sources that dwell in nearly every person’s psyche) The process uses a series of Deep Imagining’s (similar to hypnotic journeys) to delve deep and re-program your most magnetic childhood. I’m not going to lie, this is pretty deep! If you would like to challenge some of your limiting beliefs and identify their points of origin; then Lacy is the person for you. Equally, if you feel this sounds far too intense then maybe honour that! I do not think this work is for everyone. Personally I’m so glad I did this. It took me a while to work through but I feel like I’ve cleaned out my brain in a way and I look forward to reporting back on this topic even further down the line, when the work has had a chance to really sink in. Lacy offers several courses worth checking out, including her new one on Partnership.
Currently….
Listening: Miguel: Simple Things
Watching: Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry
Drinking: Yogi Women’s Tea
Reading: Spark Joy by Marie Kondo
Wearing: Anything yellow!
And there you have it, an overview on some of the things I have absolutely loved this month! I’ve also had a tonne of Epsom salt baths, been loving mismatched nails (like this look on Pinterest) got really into learning about birth charts and solar returns, attended a gong bath, took a human design quiz, Balayage-d my hair after years of no colour, celebrated my mums birthday and my friends baby shower! What have you loved throughout January? I’d be interested to know if you’ve had experience with any of the things I’ve mentioned too!
Till the next time.
