​​My husband Dominic flew all the way to sunny Cyprus for work this week only to be greeted by heavy overcast skies and a suitcase full of shorts and T-shirts. Meanwhile, back here in Britain, we were enjoying clear blue skies dotted with the occasional fluffy white cloud. A pleasant surprise.

It reminded me of something important: there is always blue sky somewhere.

In meditation, we often use the sky as a metaphor for the mind. The vast, open blue sky represents our true nature - spacious, calm, and ever-present. The clouds, storms, and changing weather are like our…

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The words were hurled at my car window, sharp and full of heat.

“Sorry - I was just dropping my daughter off quickly to catch her friends.”

“It’s a car park! You’re meant to park your car! You could obviously see my reverse lights.”

“I didn’t. I was focused on getting my daughter out. Did you see me dropping her off?”

“Yes, but ...”

That’s all I remember. I apologised again, moved out of her way, parked the car and cried.

Here are five things I learned from that moment:

A few weeks ago, Dom and I had a sneaky date night in town to see the brilliant Gary Oldman in Samuel Beckett’s 1958 one-man play, Krapp’s Last Tape.

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In the darkness and silence of the theatre with only one attic light glaring down on the character of Krapp we watched for 55 minutes an old man rewinding and replaying his memories, stopping and starting a tape machine, listening to his younger self from three decades ago.

In this time we slowly watched the journey of vulnerability and regret wrap themselves around his being like a dark, heavy cloak.

It was a fascinating evening, not just the play or the performance but…

I fell in love with my husband of thirteen years Dominic instantly - he was and still is the bee's knees but in the early days of our relationship I noticed he had a quirky habit that I was going to have to confront. He had a tendency to overuse the word “disaster”.

If the bus was five minutes late it was a disaster. If it was raining it was a disaster. If there wasn’t enough garlic to cook with it was a disaster!

When I drew this to his attention he was completely unaware that he was doing it. We had a good laugh and decided ...

Not going to lie, it hasn’t been an easy week.
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We all have them - weeks that leave us feeling emotionally battered and bruised.
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So I would like to share the three things that have helped me lift the veil of confusion, overwhelm and exhaustion that has draped heavily over me this week.
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NUMBER ONE
You’ve guessed it, my yoga practice. I have literally heard my yoga mat calling to me this week. So I have intentionally made time to get on to my mat. Just moving your body is enough to lighten the load of emotion weighing down on your shoulders.
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NUMBER TWO
A very simple way to help me shift my thinking before bed to allow sleep is...

I have a question for you.

What’s your favourite part of a cake, the sponge or the icing? And do you eat your favourite part first or save it to last?

Can you believe that the way you answer this question could be related to your levels of discipline and procrastination?!

We can all struggle with discipline. It can be seen as a bit of a dirty word, causing our tummies to tighten with unease.

But in yoga it is viewed as an important self care ritual that if practised, can create a happy and healthy life. Yoga calls it tapas and describes it as a...

“The day you start yoga is the day you stop ageing.” My ears pricked up as I heard these words faintly drifting through from the radio in my sister-in-law's kitchen. I hadn’t thought about yoga for a good few months now and these words hit a nerve.

It was 2014 and I was heading towards my mid- thirties with my beautiful ten month old daughter at the centre of my universe.

And I was a changed woman. A woman who had gone from dancing in heels for a living to struggling to walking up stairs because of aching joints but as I said, I was heading towards my mid thirties and that’s how your thirties should feel, right? Bloated, achy, soft round the edges, tired. It was okay that my body creaked and ached because...

I walked into our kitchen this week to a barrage of noise coming out of Dom’s phone. This is very unusual but the lure of politics with the upcoming “you know what” has grabbed our attention.

I say a barrage of noise because a journalist and politician were pretending to have a conversation, neither of them listening to each other. Both were on broadcast mode only concerned with their own point of view. It makes me wonder what’s the point if there is no listening?

Listening is one of the greatest gifts we can give to each other. Not advice or how to do something better. Not our opinion or why they are wrong. Just listening to understand.

I noticed myself not listening the other day to...

It’s a double whammy this week - nature is calling! We have had the summer solstice and the big, beautiful strawberry full moon.
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The last time we had a full moon on the summer solstice was 2016. So light is everywhere! These powerful few days bring a wonderful opportunity for us to ...

I remember standing on the sidelines watching and thinking that looks so much fun but I just can’t.

It was a beautiful summer day 15 years ago on a French beach. I was there for a long weekend celebrating my dear friend’s wedding. A group of us headed to the beach where everyone ran screaming into the ocean. Laughing, playing, splashing. Everyone except me. I didn’t want to get cold.

I look back on that memory and wish I...

We all know that nature is a soothing balm for most ailments. We may not always feel like embracing the element’s but when we do our bodies literally tingle with energy as we encounter earth, water, fire, air or space.

Shetland is the perfect place to experience…

Yoga encourages practising non-violence - ahimsa. That's why I switched off my daily habit of BBC Breakfast News eight years ago and never returned. My two year old daughter at the time was in the room when violence was splattered across my screen at 8am. It was a wake up call for me as a mother and I decided…

As a parent, bedtime can sometimes be the most stressful part of the day. Mostly because the feeling of running out of time sits heavy on our shoulders. Running out of time to finish work, to tick off our to do list, to wash the dishes, to get ready for the next day.

Then you get that shout from the top of the stairs. “Mum, can you come here?!” “Have you brushed your teeth yet?” “No, but can you come here?”

I start at the bottom of the stairs, my stomach tight, my jaw clenched…

Mother Nature decided to stand up and be heard this week. She huffed and she puffed and she blew down anything that wasn’t strong enough to bear her brunt. She swept the wind across our lands wielding her power as a reminder of who’s really in charge.

So on Tuesday evening I stopped to listen. After a long soak in the bath after a busy day I retreated to my bedroom, opened the windows and…

Something truly wonderful happened last Sunday - Nell tidied her bedroom! Well, actually, Dom and Nell gutted her bedroom. This has been way overdue and we decided as a family it was best for me not to be involved. You see, I have this tendency to be a little overly sentimental. This has improved over the years thanks to my yoga practice but when it comes to Nell my ten year old daughter I want ….

We find ourselves in a brand new year so my mind has been wandering to what 2024 is going to hold for the Colenso clan. If you are like me, the words “New Year's Resolution” fill you with dread. So I have changed my thoughts around this age-old tradition with the help of my yoga practice. I now ask myself what would I

Energy is contagious. What kind are you spreading? The good stuff or the bad stuff? Here's a 90 second video on how to upgrade your energy!

We've all done it. We've all said something that we shouldn't have said. Luckily, having a yoga practice can help us minimise these painful moments. Here's a 90 second video on…