In my last blog, I was extoling the virtues of self-care in January, a month when we could perhaps take things a little more slowly, sleep more, enjoy the simple things in life - a walk in nature, hot chocolate in front of a warm fire, reading a book wrapped in a cosy blanket, a massage. Well, I hope that's gone well for you, but it all went to pot for me when…

In my last blog, I was extoling the virtues of self-care in January, a month when we could perhaps take things a little more slowly, sleep more, enjoy the simple things in life - a walk in nature, hot chocolate in front of a warm fire, reading a book wrapped in a cosy blanket, a massage. Well, I hope that's gone well for you, but it all went to pot for me when…

There are a lot of reasons January should be a time to rest, recuperate, heal, take time out, engage in self-care etc rather than putting ourselves under pressure or rushing around. In historical times, we wouldn’t have had electric lighting or heating. The short days would have been forced upon us and we would have taken to our beds to stay warm through the long evenings, doing what our bodies are often telling us to do during the winter - sleep longer and work with our circadian rhythm, rest as nature does - so we have energy to work hard through the longer summer days.

Beetroot - a root vegetable which has a bad rap. It stains your chopping board, stains pretty much anything else you cook it with, stains your fingers and makes your pee purple! It seems you either love it or hate it. But why should those of us who hate it learn to love it? Isn’t it just something cyclists and runners use to improve their times when they are racing? What’s the big deal?

I spend so much time talking about gut health, sleep and nutrition, building strength and balancing hormones, that sometimes I can forget that your heart is central to your health and fitness! Well, there are two reasons to talk about heart health just now - firstly my sister Sheila telling me she had heard that running down hill is better for your heart than running up (OMG - YES!! This is a life-changer!!!) and this month is heart health month.

“If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Vincent Van Gogh

Have you been to the Van Gogh Immersive Experience which is touring the country (and the world) at the moment? If not, then you should!