My Word of the Year - 2017

I hope my presence here after nearly two months hasn't come as too much of a surprise! I've had a semi-conscious break from blogging over the past few weeks, somewhat because my part time bakery job ended up being vey much full time in the lead up to the effective period, and also because, as I'd hinted at towards the end of 2016, I was feeling a little burnt out and needed some time to relax and reflect on what I wanted The Salted Tail to become in future. 

During December I was lucky enough to win an hour long coaching call with Kat Molesworth, founder of Blogtacular and positive fountain of knowledge and inspiration! It was awesome and I've now got some really clear ideas about the future of the blog, but (big but!) they all need some careful planning and lots of time dedicated to them, so I've sort of accepted that while I'll still be around, I won't be launching back into three posts a week right away! 

That being said, I wanted to write a few thoughts about the word I've chosen to guide myself through the coming year. This is the third year I've done Susannah Conway's 'Find Your Word' course, and this year my word was pretty concrete almost immediately! The first year I chose a word, I settled on 'Brave.' The second year, I went for 'Clarity' and it helped me to narrow down what it was I wanted and where I was heading. Last year, the word 'Become' reminded me that now I knew where I was heading, every decision I made and every action I took should be helping me to 'become' all those versions of me I was aspiring to be. I changed A LOT last year and certainly became very different in a lot of ways. 

When thinking about my word for this year, I felt like I needed to build on that, to use the place I reached last year as a platform to grow from. For a short while, I toyed with the word 'build', but I needed something that related to every aspect of my life, something that would remind me to look after myself, my work life balance and my home. So, my word for 2017 is....

Nurture is a very common choice I know, and I've seen several people using it over the past couple of years, so I was actually a little surprised when it presented itself to me so definitely as usually I would be put off my something already so widely used. I think it will be really helpful though - already I've caught myself scrolling through my phone for too long, talking to myself in a negative way or reaching for a convenient but not great lunch option and have been able to ask myself 'what am I nurturing here?' It can so easily be applied to self care, blogging and our current decorating mission, but can also be useful in deciding what/who I'm saying yes to. I'm hoping to surround myself in positivity this year, and in turn help to nurture those around me too! One thing I've already started enjoying is walking every morning - I've found I can't run anymore since hurting my back, so rather than being annoyed about it I've been replacing it with walking and loving it! I've just been wandering down the lanes around my house and feeling really grateful for the area we live in - I took a couple of quick photos in the surprisingly warm sunlight this morning - so many colours even in the depths of winter! 

I'm hoping this post has broken my unintentional hiatus! Thank you for coming back and reading, and do keep checking back for more exciting developments as the year progresses! 

My First Month as a Yogi

Since the beginning of the year, I've been spending every Thursday evening (except for the first one when I got completely lost) at The Yoga Tree, an absolutely beautiful new yoga studio which has recently opened in Norwich.

The classes I've been going to are taught by Jessica McKenna, who teaches ISHTA yoga. ISHTA is an acronym for the Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra and Ayurveda, and is also Sanskrit for Individual. Individual is exactly how the classes feel! There have been varying numbers of participants each week so far, but after only a couple of minutes of moving onto the mat, it's easy to forget you're in a room full of people. I've found I spend most of the class with my eyes closed, only opening them to check my alignment (or have a quick peek at what I'm supposed to be doing!) and because Jess explains that each pose has varying levels of intensity, and encourages participants to move to the rhythm of their own breath, theres no chance of feeling silly if you do it wrong, because everyone is more than likely doing something slightly different anyway!

Each class has a different focus, which really seems to help me to get more out of my practice. The weeks Jess explained she would be 'pushing our buttons' I found myself really wanting to push myself a little further and really challenge my body. This weeks class was mostly made up of poses performed while lying down, with lots of hip stretches and spinal twists, which was great for me and my ol' piriformis syndrome!  One pose in particular seemed a little more difficult than anything up until that point, and it wasn't until Jess pointed out that this pose would work on the piriformis muscle that I realised why!

I'm also finding it really helpful to spend this time really focusing on what my body is doing. When you're concentrating on breathing (and I mean really breathing!) flexing your feet, the angles your body is making and the weight of your body pressing into the floor, there's no room left for anything else. I realise now how often I bumble along throughout the day without really noticing how my body feels, so it's really good to properly connect with it, 'sending' breath to any areas which feel tight or sore (quite often lots of areas!) and also noticing which areas feel free and open.

I thought I would find beginning and ending the sessions with chanting a bit odd, but it's not strange at all. It really marks the beginning of the class, and is almost like flicking a big switch in your brain with the word YOGA on it to the on position, and I find the 'white noise' effect of chanting sort of cancels out whatever is going through your mind and clears it ready to begin.

I've learned so many little things already: that sitting on a block makes meditating so much easier, that I was doing bridge pose slightly wrong and the crack from my shoulders when it was corrected was the best feeling ever, that breathing is absolutely pivotal, that I've been holding my pelvis all wrong, and that putting on socks and a jumper and being tucked up under a blanket for savasana should feature at the end of every day!

I've also learned that you get some pretty funny looks from people when you emerge from the building after being completely relaxed. My face probably looks like I've just woken up, and my hair definitely looks like I've been attacked my a wild animal. As I've been going straight from work and changing when I arrive, I've been stumbling back to the car wearing half work clothes and half yoga clothes (which are basically just pyjamas!) and when I stopped to go to the toilet in the shopping centre I'd parked in last week, I actually laughed when I looked in the mirror: spotty plimsoles, fluffy socks with cats on, leggings, long wooly jumper, work coat and the non-stylish kind of messy bun, the kind that hangs limply from one side of your head with hair grips dangling from it! By that point I feel so good about myself I care even less than I normally would!

I feel like this is only the beginning of my yoga journey. When I filled in my Unravelling the Year Ahead Workbook, one of my (very) long term goals was to become a yoga teacher. I'm only four classes in - but it's four classes closer than I was!

Namaste!

(Print from Olive et Oriel, Frame from For the Love of Timber, Circle Garland was made by me, and is recycled wedding decor!)

Happy Hour {At The Barre}

(image from Refinery 29)

A few months ago, I was browsing youtube (more than likely getting sucked into watching hours of eyebrow defining videos) and stumbled across an advert for shampoo that really stuck with me. I know that sound a bit mad, but it's not until the very end of the advert that it has anything to do with shampoo, so bear with me. 

It's the story of a little girl becoming a rhythmic gymnast, and since I saw it I've been trying to find a ballet or gymnastics class for grown ups. I used to compete in gymnastics competitions when I was much younger, and have always wished I'd carried it on longer than I did. However, it seems that unless you're five, they don't really exist! I still wanted to become fitter (I'm slim but not overly fit anymore really) more agile, flexible and in tune with my body and breathing, so I started practicing yoga more regularly at home, but I was never really sure I was doing the poses in the most beneficial way. I completed the 30 Days to Splits challenge, and while I was a little more bendy by the end, I finished it thinking that I really need someone to point out where I'm going wrong and make sure I'm pushing myself as hard as I can (Also...I was nowhere near getting into splits!)

So last weekend, spurred on by my word for the year, I decided that I am going to become stronger, more flexible, more conscious of what my body is capable of doing. I can't do anything high impact anymore because it aggravates my back, so I booked myself into a yoga class (in a brand new studio) and a bootybarre class. 

Thursday night, I set off for yoga. We'd had a particularly challenging day at work and so I'd been looking forward to it all day. As I said, the studio is new,  but I was pretty sure I knew where I was going. When I got to where I thought I was supposed to be though, it wasn't the right place at all! After literally running around the streets of Norwich (all the while thinking this wasn't exactly conducive to a relaxing evening) I managed to find where I was supposed to be - but I was 15 minutes late! After deciding that I was really too late to interrupt the class, I made my very disgruntled way back to the car (which I'd paid £2 to park!!) and drove home in a strop with myself! 

Fast forward to Saturday morning and I managed to make it to bootybarre on time, in the correct venue, and was even organised enough to be wearing the correct clothes and footwear! 

In short - I loved it! I love how controlled the movements are, how focused you need to be on what each part of your body is doing, and how much it bloody hurts! It's a mixture of pilates, ballet and yoga, and the class I went to is quite upbeat and sassy (did I really just type the word sassy?!) and done to music, which I think will be a nice contrast to the more spiritual, mindful nature of the class I plan to do on Thursdays (assuming I make it next week!) 

Also, it feels great to have done something just for me and as much as my legs and bum are aching now (I very nearly fell over trying to sit down on the toilet earlier!) it feels good to invest in myself a bit! 

You never know...I may make it into a shampoo advert one of these days after all!