I began my early career as a dancer. I loved the feeling that moving my body gave me. All the worries of the day would disappear as soon as I started moving. Nothing mattered in those moments. All that existed was the music, the sound of my breath and my body gently stretching and opening up – releasing any stress, tension or tightness.

At 62, I still adore to move. Even though I have had Arthritis for over 20 years, I still find ways to connect with my body and enjoy the beautiful feeling that moving mindfully and meaningfully gives me.

In terms of looking after your mental health, mindful movement can be a powerful and effective way to help you to move out of stress. It helps you to connect with your body in a way which promotes inner peace and balance. It can also help to strengthen your resilience and boost your self-esteem.

The Benefits of Mindful Movement

When you bring your awareness to your body and your breathing in a way that focuses on a specific movement, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system. This influences things like your heart rate, blood pressure and the fight, flight or freeze response.

This is powerful because it means that we can change our emotional state of being from the inside out. For me, this is self-love in action and it feels so empowering.

Mindful Movement Guidelines

• Always make sure that your body is warm before you move or stretch.
• Wear loose, easy-fitting clothes that you feel comfortable in.
• Do the movements in bare feet if you possibly can as this helps to give you full extension through your feet and helps to connect you with the earth.
• Move slowly.
• Never force a movement and only go as far as you are comfortable.
• Breathe gently into the area that you are moving. Try not to hold your breath.
• Never bounce a stretch.
• Stop if anything hurts or feels wrong – listen to your beautiful body.
• As you move, think about creating space in your body. Allow your stretches and movements to flow gently and easily.
• Notice how your body feels in a non-judgemental way. Simply become curious about what happens in your body when you move mindfully.
• Be aware of any points of tension and simply breathe into them with a focus on being kind.
• Be in the moment.

Move in “Baby Steps”

Like every movement practice, it can take time to really embody and relax into the experience. Be kind with yourself. Notice your inner self-talk. If you find that your thoughts are resistant, simply thank the thought for its opinion and tell it that you are in the process of really looking after yourself and continue with your practice anyway.

Making space for ourselves can often be the most challenging thing to do, and we may make excuses why it’s not convenient to do our movement practice. This often comes from a habitual way of being and thinking.

The key is to build small movements into your daily routine. For example, just doing the “breathing in peace” movement for a couple of minutes can be enough to generate a state of calm within you. Don’t push yourself, encourage yourself instead and take “baby steps” along the way.

Enjoy These 5 Gentle Mindful Movements.

Each mindful movement is designed to promote ease and relaxation for your mind, body and soul. As you practice these movements, allow yourself to be curious about the way your body feels. Take time to really connect with your body and love the feeling the movements give you.

Breathing in Peace (For Deep Inner Peace and Calm)

Stand or sit with your spine long and shoulders wide and down. Gently and softly, bring both hands up towards your heart area as you breathe in for two counts through your nose. Turn your palms over and float your hands down whilst breathing out through your mouth on a long gentle sigh.

Repeat for around 8 times or as many as you feel comfortable with. This mindful movement helps to calm your nervous system whilst promoting feelings of deep peace.

Calming the Waters (Helps to Calm Emotional Turbulence and Promote Inner Calm)

Stand or sit so that you are comfortable. Imagine that you are in the middle of the most beautiful lake. The water is calm and warm and flows gently around your hips. You feel safe and supported by the water which sparkles softly as you move.

Bring both hands to your hip area and move your hands around your hips, lower back and belly in a calming action. Your palms are facing downwards. Imagine that you are gently “swooshing” your hands through the water in a slow calming motion. Breathe slowly and fully, directing your breath down towards your lower belly. Repeat this flowing movement for as long as you feel comfortable.

Calling in Your Joy (Helps to Promote Feelings of Expansion, Freedom, New Possibilities and Joy)

Stand or sit. Breathe in and raise both your arms up from the sides of your body until they are above your head and stretching out into a “high V” shape. Keep the palms of your hands open and facing upwards. Look up as if you are looking at the sky and allow a small smile to spread from your lips.

Breathe normally and imagine that you are welcoming in more possibilities and more joy into your life. Keep your arms open and imagine yourself receiving everything you need. The body “reads” this movement as feeling abundant, free and buoyant. Hold the position for 30 seconds or longer.

The Heart Hug (Helps to Reassure, Soothe, Comfort and Generate More Self-Love)

Stand or sit and gently place your right hand on your left shoulder and your left hand on your right shoulder. Close your eyes and breathe into your heart area whilst gently moving your hands up and down your arms as if you are reassuring yourself.

Just this simple loving movement helps us to feel safe, supported and loved. As you perform this movement, gently say in your head, “I am safe, I am supported, I am loved.” Stay with this beautiful mindful movement as long as you need to.

Clearing Your Path (Helps to Create a Sense of Feeling Safe and Free to Move Forwards in Your Life in an Easy Way)

Stand or sit. Bring both hands to your solar plexus area with both palms touching each other and your fingers pointed forward. Inhale and stretch both arms forward into the space in front of you. Exhale and turn your palms so that they are facing outwards and gently sweep your arms out to the sides.

Return to the starting position and repeat the movement. The key is to imagine that, as your hands and arms come forward, they are clearing a space in front of you – as if you are clearing clouds away from your path. Move slowly and softly, imagining that you are gently clearing away any obstacles in an easy and gentle manner. Repeat around 8 times.

I hope you enjoy these lovely mindful movements.

For more daily inspiration, please join me on Instagram. I would love to have your company!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you feel in need of stress relief? What are your favourite ways to help you feel relaxed, rejuvenated and replenished?

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Everyone knows skincare is a long game; it can take weeks for a product’s benefits to visibly show. Fast-acting skincare that actually works can be hard to come by, that’s why whenever I hear of a formula capable of cutting down the waiting time, it’s like a godsend. Lucky for us all, one TikTok-viral brand has unmasked the key to overnight results with one its most recent launches. Even better, we’ve secured the discount code SC15 specifically for StyleCaster readers. 

Australian company Sand & Sky is most notably known for its Pink Clay Range, which includes the bestselling Porefining Face Mask you’ve likely seen touted across the Internet. The brand’s newly dropped Oil Control Range (it also includes a skin-clearing moisturizer and cleanser) brings all the benefits of its predecessors—eliminating excess oil, refining pores, boosting radiance—but with a more targeted approach to acne. And, if the reviews are any indication, you’ll want to begin with the Oil Control Clearing Face Mask from the line. 

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Australian White Clay acts as a magnet for dirt and grime nestled deep within the skin, and is paired with anti-inflammatory Australian Tasmanian Pepperberry to calm redness. The ingredient list also includes the popular anti-acne additives salicylic acid and niacinamide (vitamin B3), which together tackle dead skin cells and unclogs pores for a clearer, smoother complexion. Perhaps more intriguing, Australian Old Man Weed (yes, you read that correctly), an Indigenious Australian plant “prized for its medicinal properties,” per the brand, brings incredibly soothing benefits to stressed-out skin. 

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RELATED: Shoppers Are Obsessing Over This TikTok-Viral Hair Mask That Provides ‘Instant Results’—& We Have an Exclusive Discount

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Meredith Marks’ Ivory Trench Jumpsuit at Choir Auditions

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 3 Episode 7 Fashion

On this week’s episode of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City we learn that under her trench coat at choir auditions Meredith Marks is wearing another trench with her ivory trench jumpsuit. And although it’s sold out, we’ve of course got some Style Stealers for you below the belt.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to See Her Acler Jumpsuit

Originally posted at: Meredith Marks’ Ivory Trench Jumpsuit

Lisa Barlow’s Black and White V Logo Outfit at Choir Auditions

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 3 Episode 7 Fashion

On this week’s episode of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Lisa Barlow shows up to Heather Gay’s American Idol choir auditions dressed to the freakin’ nines in this black and white V logo outfit. Which needless to say, is definitely gunna be a yes from us dawg. 

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Valentino Cardigan on Sale

Click Here to Shop Her Valentino Top

Click Here to Shop Her Valentino Pants

Click Here For Info on Her Bag

Originally posted at: Lisa Barlow’s Black and White V Logo Outfit

“I
know I should be doing it, I know it’s a good idea, but I just keep putting it
off!” Ever heard that cry coming out of your own mouth, or from someone you
know?

In a
recent poll I conducted as to what was the one thing that got in the way of people
taking care of their end-of-life affairs, ‘putting it off’ was the one that
came top, by far.

And
of course, it is something that can be applied to any action we know we
‘should’ be taking but just do not get around to.

Like
Maureen, who bought a wonderful self-help book, got all inspired by how she was
going to change her life finally – and six months later, it was still on the
shelf and hadn’t even been looked at.

Or
Silvia, who promised herself faithfully every spring that she would go on a
diet and attend an exercise class – and she did. But then didn’t continue.

Or
Sandie, in my field of work, who started the thinking involved with making her
end-of-life plans, but got stopped by a visit from a grandchild, and then
didn’t get started again. And that was two years ago.

It’s
very, very common to put off what you know you NEED to do, but don’t really
WANT to do, for whatever reason.

So,
here are three tips that will really help.

Change Your Thinking

If you’re
constantly thinking you don’t have time to take action, that’s quite possibly
true at one level. However, that’s not going to help get the thing done, is it?
Instead, change your thinking around it.

For instance, consider the idea that there is plenty of time. It is a finite amount, after all. Or the phrase, “time is my friend” or “I am in charge of my time.” All of these challenge the underlying notion of lack of time, which is what you are stating when you say you don’t have enough.

Start Small

If
you feel overwhelmed by the thought of a diet, an exercise class, or an end-of-life
plan, then it needs to be broken down into much smaller, more manageable
chunks. Only then will it become possible to consider where you might start.

For
instance, although I don’t recommend diets, if you decided to do one, the first
step might be finding the plan that feels right for you. Or admitting that you
need support doing this kind of thing and investigating what is available in
your area.

You
have to take the first steps (often research) before you can go any further, as
with any journey.

With
an end-of-life plan, the first step is very often
admitting your own mortality, as in, “Oh yeah. Death is going to come to me
too.” Not always easy to do, but once you do admit it, then other questions
that need to be answered will come rushing.

Reach Out for Help

In
order to reach out, you need to be able to admit you need help. For instance, I
go to a Pilates class twice per week. I go twice because I know that I am not
going to do this kind of exercise on my own at home. I simply am not going to
do it.

The
freedom I gained in admitting that allowed me to look at what I then needed to
do to avoid my back seizing up. The price I pay is having to go to two classes
per week.

If
you find it difficult to get your head round the fact that an end-of-life plan
needs to be done, then help from others in a similar situation can be really
useful.

Get
together with a bunch of friends (just two or three is fine) and use a helpful
book
to go through what you need to do, step by step. This way, you can hold each
other accountable too.

Or consider becoming a leader in your field of interest. There is no better way to ensure you take care of your own health/end-of-life plans/whatever area is your passion. After all, you have to walk your talk then, don’t you!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What’s
getting in your way of getting things done? Comment below and let’s hear about
it – sometimes just having it witnessed is enough to start the process of action!