A piece for Village Raw magazine on life in lockdown and an appreciation of the slower pace.

Back in September, I was running a yoga and mindfulness event at a primary school. During each 30-minute workshop, I introduced the idea of wellbeing to 200 children aged between 4-11 years old. We talked about our emotions and how we feel, we discovered the power of affirmations and of our own magical breath.This is one of my most treasured memories, one I’ll never forget. The story of the little boy and his really big worry.

Every day this week I’ve heard from friends and clients telling me how much busier and more stressed they're feeling with work. I even heard one friend was working on a project even though she was furloughed! Now while I appreciate businesses need to keep running and are working harder than ever to forge a new path and they need you, but I don’t see the need to push people to their limits.

If you were managing to keep yourself calm and grounded while the rest of the world entered panic mode, by now you may be finding it all a little overwhelming. By ‘it’ I mean the anxiety, nervous energy, fear, and panic. To me it feels like smoke or fog that’s seeping in through the walls and into my thoughts no matter how hard I try to keep myself away from the hysteria.

Every year I start by thinking long and hard about what my intention will be for the year ahead. The is something very exciting about creating the vibe I want to carry through my year, it’s like a cheerleader for every grand plan and unfolding opportunity that lays ahead. If you’ve never set an intention but are someone who loves to set yourself goals, I urge you to try this.