Mindfulness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgSGcsnRZs0&feature=youtu.be

This link was posted on Linkedin by Johan Berkstad, well worth listening to.

Mindfulness

There is a lot of interest in the media at the moment in mindfulness. Many articles are written about its benefits, and many websites are out there to reinforce the message. But in simple terms, what is mindfulness and how does it help?

Mindfulness is simply the practice of bringing present moment awareness to the present moment. In other words we approach the situation we are in without the baggage that we carry from our past or the expectations that we have for the future. In his seminal book Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn describes how our minds appear to us when we begin to pay them attention – ‘ you will probably find that there is a great deal of mental and emotional activity going on beneath the surface. These incessant thoughts and feelings can drain a lot of your energy. They can be obstacles to experiencing even brief moments of stillness and contentment’. Kind of stating the obvious, most of us know this, but what most of us don’t know is how to calm this chatter, to contain it, bring clarity and a fresh outlook to situations, this is where mindfulness comes in.

Unfortunately, for those of us who like a quick fix changing our auto pilot response, or calming relentless mental chatter, requires commitment and practice. Mindfulness is gained through experiential learning, through a regular practice where distractions are put to one side and time is given to understanding and developing a more mindful way of being. Just as you can have any number of cookbooks on your shelves, and any number of ingredients in your cupboards, unless you bring the two together, physically engaging in the task, nothing will ever get made, and you will never get to experience the chocolate cake, the beef and ale casserole or the simple salad, you will just have an idea of what it could taste like. Such is mindfulness, you can read the books, listen to the cds, or even occasionally sit and give some time to practice, but only by embracing a dedicated and regular practice can you truly begin to reap the benefits.

This commitment to exploring mindfulness is never a chore, you can give it 5 minutes a day, 20 minutes a day, or even longer, the important fact is the need to give it quality attention. Nature hasn't designed us to fail, so any steps that we make towards improving our health, are rewarded quickly. So before you take the leap of buying another book or downloading a podcast, pick up your diary and pencil in a few minutes each day, become familiar with the pattern of your life, book yourself in to just be with yourself. When you can see that it is possible to bring a 5 minute slot into your day, you are ready to begin.

Over the next few weeks, I will be exploring ways in which mindfulness can become part of daily life.

Ref: Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn, ISBN 0749915854

Immune Boosting Chutney

Yet another recipe given to me by Chionnessa Kaur (Chionessa, where are you?). This chutney, though an acquired taste is simply brilliant and will get you through a heavy cold, relieve a consistent chesty coughs, and boost your immune system.

Ingredients

5” fresh ginger, finely chopped

Whole bulb of garlic, finely chopped

2 onions, finely chopped,

2 tsp turmeric

Fresh red or green chilies, thinly sliced (add to your own taste)

Tamari for seasoning

Saute the first 5 ingredients in a small amount of vegetable oil for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool and add tamari to taste. When completely cool store in an airtight container in the fridge and eat on a regular basis – try for a couple of teaspoons a day. It can be eaten with mail meals such as hot pot, shepherds pie, roast veg, or with sandwiches or baked potatoes, or if you’re feeling hard core just eat it off a teaspoon.

Health benefits of Immune Boosting Chutney

Garlic – supports the bodies immune system, anti inflammatory,

Onions – anti inflammatory and a natural probiotic

Ginger – boosts circulation, kills cold viruses, relieves congestion,

Turmeric – anti oxidant, anti viral

Tamari – powerful anti oxidant

Yogi Tea

Its that time of year when you should consider throwing a few store cupboard ingredients into a pan of boiling water and making yourself a vat of fresh, spicy, Yogi Tea. The recipe below was given to me by Chionessa Kaur, a Kundalini Yoga teacher, and it has become a staple in my house for over 10 years.

Ingredients: 4 pints water
50g piece of root ginger, thinly sliced (no need to peel)
3 sticks of cinnamon
20 black peppercorns
20 green cardamon pods, split
15 cloves
1 tea bag (I use Yorkshire Tea)

Bring the water to boiling then add everything apart from the tea bag. Cover the pan and simmer for 3 hours. Add the tea bag and simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove all ingredients with a slotted spoon. You now have your tea : ).

Once the tea is made you can do anything with it - I like mine plain. Other options are mix 50/50 with milk or soya, add honey or sugar.

The health benefits of drinking Yogi Tea through the winter months are fantastic, consider the following:
Black Peppercorns - Carminative, Ease Sinus Congestion, Warming, Anti-Oxidant
Cardamon - Carminative, Anti-Inflammatory, Eases Sinus Congestion
Cinnamon - Warming, Eases Congestion
Cloves - Analgesic, Warming
Ginger - Aids Circulation
Tea - Anti-Oxidant

But above all else, the tea is delicious, Enjoy!

Manuka Honey

I went for a dog walk with my friend Colette yesterday. She has been through the mill a bit healthwise so gets to have an eye kept on her by the NHS, so they discovered two stomach ulcers and prescribed a drug from the proton pump inhibitor class, she stopped taking it after she couldnt stand living with the side effects and did some trawling of the internet. After finding Manuka honey as a recommendation she decided to give it a go even though she loathes the stuff. So her symptoms subsided and she felt a lot better. after 6 months another laporoscopy found that her ulcers had gone, her doctor was surprised to find that she had stopped taking the medication after 2 months so the rest was down to the Manuka Impressive stuff

The British In Bed

I watched The British in Bed last night, BBC 2, it was lovely, made me feel humble and happy
I loved the elderly Jewish couple, the Sikh couple, and the lady who made bead jewellry - get yourself down to Relate, drag your husband there, save your marriage and buy a large box to tidy all your beads away at the end of the day !

drunks

last friday saw me in A & E for 3 hours with one of my children - alcohol related, much to everyones shame It struck me that during the time we were there the only people who were admitted were there because of alcohol abuse, I wonder how much money the NHS had to spend on that Friday night, how much police time was wasted, how many people were involved in fights or accidents
maybe the NHS, police and other services should be able to send bills out to all of those (including my daughter) who are there because of self inflicted conditions, maybe then people would start to think twice about their lifestyles
I found the whole evening sad