Hello there and welcome to my forty-seventh blog.

Sunday marks 1 year since I launched my website and my blog.

It really feels like so very much longer and what a  year it has been! The writing of my blogs continues to be, the most amazing personal journey, and I have so enjoyed bearing my soul, often and consistently, with you all. Your response has been beyond wonderful, so exciting, and truly astonishing! Thank you all so very much.

I have spent some of this week reading my blogs again, reflecting on what I have said. I have sat with my feelings and then decided to assess them, and my subsequent growth, healing, and learning from them, using the seven dimensions of wellness.

1. Physical

I believe that I have exercised more than adequately over the last year. I have put a lot more effort into my fitness and this has had a positive effect on my mental and physical wellbeing. I have improved my stretching regime and I have been careful about unnecessarily stressing my joints and musculoskeletal system. I aim to increase my cardiovascular workouts whilst also adding regular strength and relaxation regimes to other workouts. I have gingerly begun beginner yoga again, and this is proving t be rather a challenge.

Sleep does not seem to be eluding me any longer, except last night…of course… Murphy and His Law, and this is just so very good. I believe this is due to my new supplementation regime as nothing else has changed. I remain cautiously optimistic.

I note with some joy and a degree of pleasure that I am managing to remain much more consistent physically. I am continually striving for balance My inner struggles with my physical body and my ongoing comparisons when looking at pics continue intermittently. This may always remain, but I am dwelling on this less.

My health has become even more important to me after my time with Covid and nutritionally I am feeding my body really well, on the whole.

My physical decluttering has gone a little pear as I have been on a wee shopping spree recently and was also incredibly spoilt on my Birthday. I aim to toss an item for each item that I will be adding to my cupboard (when I get around to putting my new items away). Another area I need to address.

2. Intellectual

I have engaged my brain and exercised my mind strenuously over the past eighteen months.  I have studied and researched and read more than I have done for a very long time and this has been both stimulating and mentally invigorating.  I have observed that some of the science-based blogs have not been as popular as the more heartfelt ones, and this is A-okay. My ongoing nutrition studying has also been so fulfilling and has enabled me to open my nutrition practice subsequent to my attaining my nutrition diploma last year. This has been a learning curve second to none for me, and one which I have just loved. This ever-evolving nutrition story will challenge me forever.

My saboteurs, particularly my Judge, do still manage to override my intellect and sage quite regularly but I am able to recognize this and deal with it, more often than before.

 

3. Environmental

I have always been an avid conserver of water and electricity. I also try to reduce, reuse, and recycle as much as possible. I love being outside and this always makes me feel better, stronger, and more optimistic. By partnering with Neolife which has 100 percent organic home care products my awareness of the importance of minimizing our effect on our planet has hugely increased. This is an area in which I plan to be more active in the next year, and the years that follow.

 

4. Vocational

The opening of my nutrition practice and the relaunching of my physio career during Covid has resulted in a huge amount of personal satisfaction and enrichment, as well as lots of teething problems and stresses. My aim is to enrich people’s lives by sharing my nutrition and wellness journey and the naked truth of my vulnerabilities in my blogs, by helping my patients with my physio skills, and by helping my clients on their journey of optimal health and wellness.

With regard to my work, my time management has been fine-tuned and my organizational and planning skills have improved drastically. I seem to be learning to smile and wave, and shut my mouth, most or perhaps more, of the time and that is big progress!!

5. Social wellbeing

Covid has put a huge strain on all of our social wellbeing. Personal connections are vital for us all, and there has been a drastic reduction in humans being able to do this effectively over the past few months. During this time,  I have learned so much about the importance of surrounding myself with my tribe. I have been able to nurture the relationships I have with the family (the best gift for me this year was the quality and quantity of family time with my 4 favourite boys), my true friends, and my wonderful patients who add value and meaning to me and my life. My wish is to make a difference, even a teeny one, to their lives.  I learn from these incredible people every day and these healthy support networks are vital for me and my family. I hardly use Facebook or Instagram anymore, for the “highlight reel of my life”. Social media is important for my brand and perhaps holiday pics but not necessarily for my not- very- often parties and gatherings.

 

6. Emotional wellbeing.

I definitely am able to feel and express my emotions, perhaps sometimes with a little oversharing. I also believe that my self- acceptance has been enhanced over the last year. I am definitely accepting and forgiving of myself a lot more often. We all make mistakes and do things that we are not proud of, that is life. Naturally, and without doubt, there are some very trying times, but I feel that my navigational skills during these difficult and anxious moments have improved drastically. Consulting with a superb therapist has helped me so much.

My emotional relationship with food has progressed slowly but surely. It has its ups and downs but is there is definitely a decrease in my falling off the old wagon. I am also less hard on myself and admonish myself and my actions a great deal less. I am also making more time for self-care.

Self-esteem and optimism are powerful healers and I honestly believe that through my narratives, I have personally been able to heal so much. By openly and honestly expressing my emotions and the naked truth surrounding so much of my stuff, I have now managed to achieve more emotional balance in my life  The scales still manage to tip with regularity, but somehow equilibrium is restored with greater ease. I am definitely living more in the moment and also am able to park unnecessary guilt with greater frequency than I did before. Another small victory and an accolade for me.

I worry on an ongoing basis, but recognize it, and try to park it, which I manage successfully sometimes. I am choosing to make the most of all that I have and do, and that has been an absolute win for my psyche and self-love. I am learning that my life is actually pretty darn good, and I am becoming more and more comfortable in my perfect imperfection.

The loss of our beloved Muz during this time has been unbelievably difficult and I did not ever realize that living without her would be so hard. I see her in sunsets and sunrises and in the bright yellow birds who often brighten my path. I do not think I will ever learn to live without Muz. This is one lesson I so wish she could have taught us before she died. It was not meant to be. Grief has many interlinked and intertwined stages and as with so much in this life, is really all about time.

 

7. Spiritual wellbeing.

I definitely have a set of guiding beliefs, principles, and values that have given my life direction. I feel that this Covid year has enhanced this and I really hope that my blogs have also reflected this. I have become much more present in so much that I do. I am constantly curious, I want to know more and I just love learning, studying, and furthering my knowledge, although often I do forget stuff if I am not using it on a daily basis! I am listening to my heart and am living by my principles. I am also seeing opportunities for growth in the challenges that life has bought me

My mind and brain are always a little too hectic and overactive. I still need to get into meditation to calm them. Another work in progress. I believe that God has a plan for us all but that we need to make the most of our lives and be proactive spiritually in order to maximize the life we have on earth.

 

So that’s my reflection. My overriding emotion and take home from this year of blogging is gratitude. We are so blessed and privileged in so many ways and for this, I feel so very grateful.  I am so excited to see what the next year of blogging brings.

In conclusion, life is for celebrating, it’s for living now, loving deeply, and laughing often!

So let us do just this!