Yoga is more than just stretching and bending. It does more than improve your strength and flexibility. I know a lot of people see it as just a mild form of physical exercise, best suited to middle-aged middle-class women. When my friends decided to try Yoga, they told me it was just a room full of old ladies farting while they tried to touch their toes. The idea of going to a gym, wearing spandex, and paying upwards of £5 to sit in a room full of fart did not appeal to me. I wasn't particularly concerned about my physical strength or flexibility anyway. It was years later that I started to care about my health and fitness, particularly because of the effects that has on mental wellbeing. At first, I tried going to the gym and using the equipment there. It wasn't much fun. I tried circuit training, which means running around a room with a bunch of other people while one guy shouts out what to do. That was just exhausting. I even tried zumba, which I just cou...

Sun, glorious sun! It is that magnetic force which our whole world revolves around. In this card, the idea of magnetism is illustrated by two people drawn toward each other. The sun is our source of heat and light, it radiates energy toward us. Within the human body, the centre of gravity is somewhere near the navel, or in the diaphragm if we lift our arms. This is where a collection of nerves called the Solar Plexus is located. This nerve plexus is often associated with the Manipura chakra, seated below the diaphragm, behind the navel. Manipura is thought to radiate energy, or vital power, throughout the body. The Solar Plexus, also known as the Surya chakra, is thought to absorb and assimilate energy from Manipura. In the Tarot card you can see one person is gesturing toward the centre of the other person, indicating the "place of resplendence." Surya Namaskar, or "Sun Salutation" is a well known Hindu mode of worship. A sequence of yogic postures are assum...

The Pythagoreans considered the number seven "worthy of veneration". It was associated with the seven celestial spheres of Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. There are four cardinal directions, plus an up and a down, which equal six directions. The seventh direction is inward. Eastern philosophers teach that the body has seven chakras, also known as "wheels". The spectrum of visible light is typically divided into seven colours. There are seven notes in a musical scale. There are seven days in a week. Seven represents the outside influences in our lives, such as the planets, chakras, colours, and sounds. To me, the Chariot card represents the driving forces which influence us in our decision making. The charioteer is the Will, pulling on the reigns of life in order to travel in the direction which we feel drawn to. It represents the drive to find one's purpose in life. This card is about seeking guidance, as well as feeling guided or pulle...

Hello there, so zero seems like a good place to start. Since moving into the new house and trying to get things organised, it does feel like a fresh start at life. I am a little bit further East down the coast, and am familiarising myself with a whole new beach. It does feel like I'm starting from scratch. This is what prompted my to change things up online, make changes to my blog, youtube channel, instagram, etsy, all of it really. It's just where I'm at right now. I am still organising my bedroom and art studio, which is full of boxes waiting to be unpacked. The living room is just an empty room waiting for furniture. The kitchen is a bit of a mess, with floor boards that need varnishing. It's all a bit of a construction site, and that's ok. I was given the mantra "my life is a work in progress" at Yoga last week. It's a good one to repeat and remember, it's ok to be a work in progress. While I am organising my art studio, I am thinking abou...