things to try ...
in your own time

Creative Self Care Box (February 2024)

A self-care box is a box of items that you can use to help make yourself feel better and to reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety and low mood. It can be used at any time to meet your daily self-care needs.

It is a fun, useful way to help you take care of yourself and prioritise your dearest self on the good days and the bad days.

BEGINNING THE YOGA NIDRA SESSION & VISUALISATION
So we are going to go on a journey now … and then when we have finished, and come back to the room, I’d like for you to stay silent and we’ll do a little creative exercise straight after.

(In the live session, we went into breakout rooms after the creative exercise, to share their reflections).

But first ... I invite you to find a comfortable position, preferably in a seated position - as the art to Yoga Nidra is to cultivate a dream-sleep state (not sleep itself!

The Yoga Nidra session will help you to relax deeply and envision your self-care box in a serene winter wonderscape.

AFTER THE VISUALISATION
Take a few minutes to pop down on paper what came to you during this visualisation - in any way you like - using any materials you have to hand, in whatever way is right for you … perhaps in image form, or in notes … whatever feels good to you …

REFLECTIONS
Things for you to reflect on:

- What kind of container did you have?
- What size was it?
- Could you see the contents clearly?
- What else did you see?
- Which items did you want to bring back with you?

Ask yourself what that size container means - does it enable room for growth, or are you keeping yourself small?

What kind of physical container (or box) would you like to create for your own creative self care box?

Do you have something to hand now, that you can work with?

~ click on the image to play audio ~

How to make your own self-care box

Making your own self-care box is great because you know what works best for you. Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you start:
- What helps you to relax after a stressful day?
- How do you motivate and inspire yourself?
- What exercises help you to centre yourself and calm your anxiety?
- What activities make you feel nourished and refreshed?
- Are there any items that make you feel comforted and safe?
- What things help to improve your mood?

Crafting Paper Heart Decorations (Self Love Day, February 2024)

Don't forget to share with us your crafty paper hearts in the Mobilates Mob!

MATERIALS

Here is a range of materials you may like to have to hand:

:: sheets of paper (A4 or large book size) with a bit of weight to them - cut / torn into approx. 2"cm strips; we'll need 6 of these, minimum, for each heart
:: glue stick, or stapler, or needle and strong thread
:: scissors
:: piece of ribbon, string or thread (like a piece of ribbon that ties clothes tags to new jumpers - that kind of size!)
:: something sharp to make holes through the paper (you could use the scissors? depending on their size)
:: something strong to have underneath your paper heart while you are making holes: like a thick piece of cardboard, or a chopping board - no accidents on my watch, pretty please!

Paper suggestions:
:: book pages (if you have an old one laying around that could be repurposed)
:: printed pages coloured or patterned paper
colouring book sheets

(I think drawing patterns on the back of manila envelopes would be great, too!)

Wheel of Awareness practice

I first discovered Daniel Siegel's book, 'Aware: the science and practice of presence', back in 2018 when it was first published.

A huge part of my own personal practice - and recovery of Triple Negative breast cancer, clinical depression and anxiety (25 years) and numerous other chronic health conditions - has been developing the art of self-awareness and self-compassion.

This gentle practice will help introduce you to the gentle Wheel of Awareness which can act as a tool to help you prioritise your own needs and find a point of balance in your life.

Wheel of Awareness audio (mp3)

Wheel of Awareness - Dr Daniel J. Siegel

download Wheel of Awareness reflections (PDF)

Year of Yes

:: Year of Yes - summary on ShortForm

:: Year of Yes - book publisher page

Sharing our weekly discussions in audio (mp3)

SHARINGS
w/c 10 October 2023
(audio file only)

SHARINGS
w/c 17 October 2023
(audio file only)

SHARINGS
w/c 24 October 2023
(no audio file)

Chapter 5
:: WonderWoman pose (SuperHero)

:: Lesson 1: be a doer, not a dreamer
:: Lesson 2: tomorrow is going to be the worst day ever for you (see speech)
:: Lesson 3: life is a trade-off

SHARINGS
w/c 31 October 2023
(no audio file)

Chapter 6 & 7
:: what do we judge ourselves harshly on? and how can we flip that over?
:: what's your happy place, your joy? what lights you up? (from Chapter 7, where Rhonda talks about WANNA PLAY?)
:: we also touched on how do we go about finding what our joy is, when our life is so busy and wrapped up in taking care of others

YEAR OF YES (YOGA NIDRA RECORDING)

(audio file only)

The Wheel of Yes was based on a feelings wheel I made some years ago, just to give you an idea of what it looked like.

My wheel of Yes (5 December 2023) is below:

MAKING YOUR WHEEL OF YES

1. Draw a large circle on your piece of paper

2.Draw a smaller circle inside of the large circle, making a ring donut shape

3. Divide your circle/donut/wheel into 3 sections, and give each section a heading: EMPOWERING | MEANINGFUL | ENJOYABLE

4. Add in the things you'd like to say YES to (either from the yoga nidra session, or things you've been thinking about of late) into the most appropriate section of your wheel

5. Are there things in your wheel that tick the boxes for empowering, meaningful and enjoyable? If yes, pop them in the smaller circle of the wheel, in the centre: these are the best ones to prioritise doing!

6. When you look at your wheel of Yes, do you have any other insights?

The Havening Technique

The Havening Technique involves a distinctive self-soothing motion with crossed arms, gently but noticeably stroking from shoulders to elbows.

There are also versions which involve tapping your collar bone and stroking the palms of your hands and around your eyes. This is all to create a sense of wellbeing and safety.

:: Havening
:: What is the Havening technique?