Change One Thing

This January we want to encourage you to go gentle on yourself and resist the new year’s urge to create a whole new you. Instead, start by changing one small thing, then give it several days until it feels as if it’s bedded in as a new habit before moving on to something else. And go easy on yourself if you miss a day – it happens to all of us and the key to success is to be kind to yourself and keep going. We asked some experts for some tips and advice to start you off on the right foot.

Kate Taylor

Life Coach & Master NLP

While January is all about creating BIG, BOLD & BEAUTIFUL intentions for the year ahead, it’s also a time of deep restorative care as we are still in the depths of winter. Honouring yourself in this month with ritual can be a beautiful way to nourish yourself and your intentions for the year ahead. Enjoy early nights and the power of restorative sleep, and bring your intentions into your sleep and dreams by meditating or journalling on them before you go to sleep, or writing out daily gratitudes before you go to bed.

Suzy Reading

Coach, Author, Psychologist & Yogi

No time for self-care? Think about skills rather than practices. 

No one has spare time for self-care but the good news is that we don’t actually need more time. Rather than equating self-care with activities, connect with the skills or values that boost your positivity and look for ways you can weave these into your day. What resonates will be individual to you, but you might like to seek ways to imbue your life with tenderness, a sense of humour, curiosity, kindness, compassion, gratitude, mindfulness, forgiveness, acceptance or courage.

Just writing down your list of values can be uplifting! Then look for ways you can incorporate these into your everyday life, transforming the humdrum into something nourishing. Listen to an uplifting podcast while exercising, have a kitchen karaoke session while you cook, get absorbed in a mindfulness app on your commute, or massage in your moisturiser with presence and care.

Valerija Lifanova

Soul-based Spiritual Counsellor

To create a feeling of wholeness through the day, take a moment each morning to set an intention for how you want to feel. It only takes a few minutes, and with consistency, over time it will accumulate to create a strong sense of purpose and togetherness.

• Find a quiet space, where you will not be disturbed
• Take a seat and close your eyes
• Intentionally think about the feeling you would like to connect to (for example, love, peace, joy or power)
• Then bring your attention to the heart centre and focus your attention on your feelings
• Maintain the focus until you can identify with the feeling you want to connect to within your heart, then try to amplify that feeling
• Stay with that feeling for a while until you feel the energy expanding (you might feel warmth, lightness, a sense of expansion)
• Express gratitude for what you experience before you come out of the state
• Bring your attention to your body, into the room

Have a beautiful day charged with positive energy and feelings

Phoebus Tian

Master of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine

After a hectic Christmas, it's time to slow down. A lot of people try to do more exercise to lose weight in January but I would recommend that you don’t do too much. January is usually the coldest month and the body is in its weakest state. Too much exercise and not enough nutrition will make your body vulnerable in the flu season. So exercise moderately and don’t practise aggressive fasting.

You can find out more about one-to-one treatments and consultations at Gazelli House here. Suzy Reading is joining us for a workshop, Gentle January – Nourishing Yourself Through Times of Change on 31 January. This month Valerija Lifanova and breath coach Melike Hussein join us for the monthly Intense Transformation Retreat.