June Favourites
Things that made me smile this month...
I’ve had an unintentional phone detox this month. I had to replace my iPhone and ended up with a temporary downgrade while I waited. As a result I left this temporary phone app free and on my desk most of the time. The downside was that I dont have many photos to show for this month but the upside was so interesting. I actually started to consider bringing out my “proper” camera to capture my daily life (I really want to do this!) and I stopped being constantly plugged into podcasts and audiobooks. In some way I missed this (like during washing up!) but in general it made me realise I spend way too much time being stimulated by my phone and reach for it way to much. So I think I will have to find some ways around it. Has anyone tried a brick phone during the weekends? Im definitely leaning towards it!
I was having a moan on instagram recently about being sleep starved due to have two children who only sleep when the sun has set. Translate that to never sleeping in summer. Emma Rose Lowe of Essential Nature Yoga, who I greatly admire, reached out to recommend yoga nidra. I confess I didn't actually reply back to Emma (a very bad habit of mine) but I did take her advice and try it out. Now, yoga Nidra isn’t a new concept to me. Yoga is a part of my life and I’ve read Tracee Stanleys book on the subject (I do recommend) but I’ve never actually done yoga Nidra. According to google “ 20-30 minutes of Yoga Nidra can be equivalent to a few hours of sleep in terms of rest” so it could certainly be useful in my exhausted state! So on Emma’s suggestion I gave it a go. Im pretty sure she does incredible in person classes but I just used a free video from YouTube and I adored it. Honestly I found it harder that I thought but I got enough good feels from it and I’ve been back a few times and am excited to keep developing the practice.
Okay here’s a random one but oh my gosh I LOVE the concepts of this book. It has changed my life for the better!! Working on the farm surrounded by family I have learnt that managing people and myself correctly and kindly is essential to survival. There has been many a time I have been seriously tripped up by the challenges it has put in front of me but once I learnt a bit about Non-Violent Communication I was able to stay calm in times of confrontation and see everyones perspective through a more compassionate lens. Now, I should say I am a gentle soul anyway and definitely not even slightly violent but I would argue that it’s people with these kind of characters that need this book most of all. We can get so affected by stressed energy and so learning skills to navigate it is so important!
I asked ChatGPT (Im sorry I know!!!!!) for the main action points and here they are:
Pause and observe before reacting.
Get clear on what actually happened without judgment.Build your feelings vocabulary.
Use words like "sad," "anxious," "hopeful" — not “ignored” or “betrayed” (those imply judgment).Ask: What need of mine is not being met?
Needs might include safety, respect, connection, autonomy, etc.Distinguish requests from demands.
Requests allow for “no” without guilt or pressure.Practice empathic listening.
Reflect others’ feelings and needs: “Are you feeling [emotion] because you need [need]?”Use NVC with yourself.
Tune in to your own needs and avoid self-judgment.
Let me know what has put a smile on your face recently?