Table of contents for Issue 10 in Planet Mindful

HELLO! I’M DELIGHTED to be taking over from Louise Chunn as the new editor and we send her our thanks and best wishes for the future. The future… it’s a funny place – sometimes it’s a land of worrying possibilities, but it can also be a blank canvas full of amazing potential. I, for one, am excited for the future of Planet Mindful as a place that brings together a variety of voices – wellbeing experts, new books, creative people – to offer you mindful inspiration and hopefully play a small part in your wellbeing journey. Looking back on my own journey, it feels like I’ve been preparing for this role for 20 years! That’s how long I’ve worked in magazines, but the fast pace and throwaway culture has sometimes…

Practising mindful moments throughout your day can help to ground you in the present moment and reduce anxiety. This printable ‘My Mindful Day’ planner is full of quick mindful activities, breathing exercises and pause prompts to help calm your busy mind and find peace. £1.50, tinyacornmightyoak.co.uk Finding small bursts of positivity throughout the day are key to developing a happier life. LSW Mind Cards help you do this with a variety of techniques, such as random acts of kindness, daily rituals and pausing to check in on your thoughts and feelings. Get ready to be guided towards a more fulfilling life. £14.99 from urbanmakers.co.uk Looking good and feeling good can go hand in hand, so we love meaningful accessories like this bangle. Made from stainless steel, this contemporary piece features…

HAVE YOU EVER noticed how unstoppably active children are? I’ve certainly noticed it since I became a father. From the moment they first learn to crawl, it’s as if they can’t keep themselves still. Kids take such a simple, delightful pleasure in moving their limbs, interacting with balls and toys and tearing about as fast as they can on bikes and sledges and of course, their own two feet. As we get older, for whatever reason, we seem to lose touch with this. Moving our bodies in any significant way can come to feel like a chore. But this pleasure in movement and wearing ourselves out isn’t the only thing we lose. Part of the primal joy in watching happy children at play is in seeing how they become utterly…

WE ALL KNOW THE feeling of spending the morning in a zombie-like state after dragging ourselves out of bed, despite not managing to get enough sleep. Whether it’s our anxiety, our children, or an addictive TV series keeping us up, life often gets in the way. In fact, one in three adults simply doesn’t get the seven to nine hours a night recommended by experts. Consequently, if our sleep deficit builds up over a period of time, our reaction time, judgment and even our vision are worsened. Extended fatigue can also lead to stress and burnout. And indeed, one aim of World Sleep Day (13 March) is to raise awareness about the importance of healthy sleep. But it’s not all bad news! You can supplement your sleep with the habit…

GLIMPSING THE Northern Lights dancing across the sky, the Milky Way in all its glory or the sheer brightness of the moon and stars is an awe-inspiring sight. This wasn’t unusual to our ancestors – the vivid beauty of the sky, and the nocturnal noises of trees rustling or animals passing by, was part of daily life. Nowadays, most people have never seen a truly dark sky. We live in towns and cities where streetlights, illuminated buildings, lit windows and advertising hoardings have created excessive light pollution. So great is the problem that The World Atlas of the Artificial Night Sky Brightness shows that 99% of the population has never experienced a naturally dark sky. But head out into the countryside and the situation changes dramatically. Walking down a country…

WHILE OTHER girls longed for Barbie dolls at Christmas, Joanne Hawker was busily circling every craft kit she could find in the Argos catalogue. It’s one of many childhood memories she has of her early passion for all things creative. Although using Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle bath pens to doodle on the bathroom radiators didn’t perhaps go down that well with her mum. Luckily for Joanne, however, her mother was also creative and helped to nurture the little girl’s fledgling talent. ‘When we were growing up, Mum was always drawing or doing needle punch [a type of embroidery],’ she recalls. ‘My primary school was also very creative. We made curtains, tablecloths and candles. We also linoprinted, bound and pressed our own schoolbooks. I found the concept of being given [readymade]…

Becky Skuse Poetry in motion From p28 “To me, a good poem is like a daydream. It uses interesting language to carry you away to a magical world where anything is possible if you can imagine it.” Emma Lavelle Keep calm and carry on From p90 ‘Remember, we don’t just need a handful of people being perfectly sustainable – we need billions of us making small changes and trying our best.’ Claudia Hammond The art of rest From p50 ‘It’s gardening; I love gardening. Within minutes of wandering into the garden I am so absorbed and fascinated by it.’ Rachel Roberts 12 ways to be kinder to yourself From p8 ‘Allow yourself to do something just for the pleasure of it, whether that’s taking a dip in the sea or…

1 ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL We’re all different and there are infinite ways to ‘do’ mindfulness, so however you do it is up to you. You might also prefer different approaches on different days when you’re in a different mood. As long as it feels right for you, that’s all that matters. You can do it by yourself, with someone else (such as a friend or a loved one) or with a whole room full of people. It’s brilliantly versatile. 2 SLOW DOWN The first step towards mindfulness is to slow down and take a step back (either physically, mentally or emotionally) from the busy blur of life. If you like, you can continue with what you’re doing, but more slowly and purposefully. If you prefer, you can stop…

Claire Williamson’s latest poetry collection, Visiting the Minotaur (Seren, 2018), has been described as ‘meditations of wonder and exorcisms of grief’. She is Programme Leader for Metanoia Institute’s MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes. Claire also mentors people in expressive and creative writing. clairewilliamson.co.uk THE WOODS ABOVE WIMBLEBALL LAKE Walking the gallery of the world, tree pillars crook the arrowed sun brass the afternoon canvas where bracken arches fold, limp waiting to be tacked to a frame. The dust track aims uphill like a pheasant’s tail starting out by your right hand and flying the way a thought can catch a thread of fear and launch it squawking across a lake to where a white hart stands, a pegged star against the blank dam wall. There is an end…

WHAT DO YOU DO when you are not doing anything? That’s a trickier question than you might think. Especially now that we have instant access to almost every last item of the world’s rich array of information and entertainment in our hands or pockets, with virtually no off-switch. Doing nothing is nearly impossible but at the same time absolutely essential to good health, both mental and physical. What we need is rest; a break from activity. But the way that we assess what is restful differs more widely than you might think. That’s why Claudia Hammond, the presenter of Radio 4’s All in the Mind and author of a range of psychology books, has written The Art of Rest. The book sprang from the Rest Test, initiated by the University…

EVERY SPRINGTIME I fall in love. The sight of all those new green leaves infuses me with hope. And no matter how many times I catch sight of daffodil spears tunnelling their way out of the frozen ground, it never fails to take my breath away. So momentous is this time of year for me (and so many others), that I’ve always found it strange that it doesn’t get much official fanfare. That is, until this year, when I came across the ancient ritual of wassailing. Since the 1500s in England, Twelfth Night (5 January) has been the time to head to the orchard and ‘wassail’ – a ritual that helps wake trees from their deep winter slumber, celebrates what orchards do for us and urges the trees to produce…

A recent study by LoveCrafts.com showed that baking is the happiest hobby, and this mixing bowl will help you enjoy it even more. The name can be personalised and the message will remind you to relax and enjoy the slow processes that can be involved: stirring, rubbing, kneading, rolling, spooning and piping. £29.99, giftsonline4u.com Brighten up your work space with this handmade ceramic pencil holder, featuring hand-printed wording. The pot is perfect for filling with pens or pencils in a rainbow of shades – the burst of colour will encourage your creativity and wellbeing, while the message will remind you to be yourself. £16 from wearthlondon.com Take a digital detox and embrace mindful journalling or expressive sketching with a notebook and a good set of pens. These Uni-ball Eye Rollerball…

WE HOLD A LOT of tension in our jaws because we often clench them when anxious or scared or stressed; sometimes a misalignment in our bodies can start in the jaw. Gently massaging the jaw can release some of this tension. It may not be practical to do this every day, so I suggest two or three times a week. I use a gentle Ayurvedic face oil but coconut, almond or any other oil is also suitable. Use just a small amount and wipe your face with a hot towel afterwards. • Place your fingers on your forehead and use your thumbs to massage your jaw gently, starting at the top of your jaw by your ears, then moving downwards towards the chin. You could also use your knuckles to…

12 WAYS TO BE KINDER TO YOURSELF 1 LET YOUR SOUL SING While it can be tempting to rush headlong into your day’s ‘to-do’ list, just like batteries, we need to recharge – regularly. And on a soul/mind/body level, that means finding the things that nourish you; the activities and passions that make you shine bright. The invitation to kindness here is to allow yourself to do something just for the pleasure of it, whether that’s taking a dip in the sea or walking around your favourite park. Even a few fleeting moments spent cloud gazing or snuggling your pet can give you a boost. 2 Show kindness to others All kinds of websites have popped up in recent years tapping into the fuzzy feels we get by helping others.…

AT THE LAUNCH of her fascinating new book, Anti-Diet, we talked to Christy Harrison about how intuitive eating can help to heal the harm done by dieting. What is diet culture and how is it affecting us? Diet culture is a system of beliefs that worships thinness and equates it to health and moral virtue, so you can spend your whole life thinking you’re irreparably broken just because you don’t look like the thin ‘ideal’. It promotes weight loss as a way of attaining higher status, which means you feel forced to spend a huge amount of time, energy and money trying to shrink your body, even though the research is clear that almost no one can sustain that weight loss long-term. It demonises some ways of eating while elevating…

1 Banish mobile phones from your bedroom. Blue light, the EMF (electromagnetic field) emitted from your device and the deep habitual urge to check-in are all reasons to charge them elsewhere. When I recommend clients go to bed without their phones, their sleep improves hugely. 2 Create some non-smartphone reading and writing rituals. Whether it’s reading a poem before bed or journalling first thing, the urge to scroll will be easier to resist if you have replaced it with a new habit. 3 Stuck on the idea that scrolling headlines every hour or so keeps you up to speed? It’s a myth. Smartphones fill us with information that is bite-sized and ephemeral; there is very little substance to all this ‘noise’ and the constant bombardment can leave you feeling anxious.…

1 READING Spending time with a book (paper or digital) turns off the distraction. Avoid anything too exciting or scary but, according to research, it doesn’t need to be ‘easy reading’ either. 2 SPENDING TIME IN NATURE Walks are good; walks in nature are far better. We break from worrying as we are pulled into noticing the natural world around us. 3 ON YOUR OWN When we choose to be alone we are rarely lonely, and often feel serene and relaxed. It needn’t be for long periods and it takes away the compulsion to talk to others. 4 LISTENING TO MUSIC Just as music can change your mood, music that you enjoy and care about can bring you into a restful state. This is when it’s enjoyed alone, as is…

TAKING TIME TO look at life through our children’s eyes and discover our senses as if for the first time is one of the best ways to practise mindfulness on a daily basis. And the beauty of it is that it doesn’t require us to find extra time in our already busy day. I’ve learned that Lola and Kit rarely think about the past or the future, so children are our greatest teachers in bringing us back to the present rather than reliving our past or imagining our future. Paying attention to what we can see, hear, touch, smell and taste help us take in the present moment. Th is is a lovely exercise to share with the family and allows us to spend time observing the simple joys that…

Maybe it’s my age, the glum weather typical of February or a healthy cynicism, but my feelings towards Valentine’s Day have become increasingly negative over the years. It started almost imperceptibly with mild irritation at the infantile schmaltziness of it. All those little teddies and red heartshaped balloons had started to make me feel faintly queasy. I began to feel increasingly manipulated by the commercial world, who it seemed were pulling my strings every month from Mother’s Day to Halloween with one thing or another. From overpriced bouquets to restaurants charging a premium to dine out on that overblown occasion, it had started to feel like a rip-off. Valentine’s Day may have had its roots in a Roman festival, Lupercalia, which celebrated the rites of spring, fertility and the pairing…

12 ways to let go of stress Look east: wellness methods from Japan and beyond Be GLAD not SAD with our guide to light How to turn time poverty into time prosperity Harness the beauty of hidden spaces for inner calm Spring renewal yoga: detox, stimulate and energise Friendships for introverts: how to change the conversation The joy of hills: challenge yourself and enjoy the view Bringing natural scents into your life and home How to draw and colour your own mandalas The simple pleasure of eating with your hands and much more… @PLANETMINDFUL @PLANETMINDFULMAG @PLANETMINDFUL…