It's nearly March...which should mean we're nearly into Spring, so fingers crossed it warms up soon.
My monthly challenge for March is to stop using disposable/single-use plastics. I was quite shocked by the state of one of the beaches we visited in Mexico over Christmas. Along the shoreline there was a plethora of washed up plastics. There were various different sachets, plastic bags, tooth floss sticks, an asthma pump, toothbrushes, shoes, a comb, and those horrid 6-pack rings for cans. I'll always remember a shocking video I saw circulating the internet of a sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck in it's nostril. It actually moved me to tears, and definitely had the intended impact on me to stop using straws. There are lots of amazing organisations out there trying to stop the problem of plastics littering our sea/beaches (4Ocean), and cutting down on our use of single use plastics (Greenpeace). Why not join me in my challenge this month???
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This month my monthly challenge is: Dry February. Controversially swapping January for February...I'm already feeling better for it, not that I drank loads before but it's just nice to have an excuse when you go out and it saves a few pennies. A month off alcohol makes me feel so much more alert, productive, healthy and rested.
As we all know it's Valentine's Day on Friday. Why don't you think about your feet this Valentine's Day and show them some love by booking them in for some reflexology this. I can also do vouchers, so get in touch if you'd like to buy one for friends, family and loved ones, and we can arrange that. As the year draws to an end, I've been thinking about my 2020 resolutions, the ones I've done in 2019 and why I actually do this!
I've done monthly resolutions for the last 2 years, and it's not something I'm giving up just yet...even though it becomes harder each year to think up 12 new or unique challenges for the year. I love having a new and different focus each month, and a month seems more of a doable task than a whole year! Sometimes I struggle to complete a whole month, but we are only human after all. This year I've struggled with some more than others. Here's a round up of what my challenges have been: January- Whole30 I did this one last year, and I always find it's such a great way to reset the body after an overindulgent Christmas. A lot of people judge Whole30 before they've tried it, thinking there won't be enough choice of what to eat, and that the foods you're allowed to eat are boring. You do need to be a bit more experimental, and plan ahead a bit more than normal, but I would really recommend doing this to anyone! There are loads of Whole30 recipes online and the cookbooks are great too. February- 2 Veg days a week Another great one that I found very easy to do. I loved getting experimental with my veggie recipes and trying lots of new things. March- New recipe each week One to get even more experimental in the kitchen! I love cooking and trying new recipes, and having this challenge gave me a focus to get out of the routine of always cooking my favourite things. April- No shopping I failed! I was good at this one last year, but this year I had 2 weddings in April and one of them was in Girona...so I had to do some shopping! Next year I'll try again... May- New workout app A good one to do before my wedding! June- Calm app I had my wedding in June so to keep me cool, calm and collected I did a daily meditation session on the Calm app, which I found was great. July- Read an interesting book The book I chose was "A Little History of the World". I am admittedly still trying to get through this book... August- explore London This one didn't go so well...I was hardly in London during August so I found it hard to fit exploring London into the time that I was here. I managed to go to Kew Gardens to see the Chihuly exhibition, which was great, but that was about it. September- Learn anatomy I really enjoyed going back to my physiology and anatomy book to study in between clients and found I picked up on bits of information than I had the first time I studied. October- less time on social media This one is always a great one. Delete Instagram, Facebook and any other accounts you have off your phone to avoid any temptation! November- phone off 8pm-8am Another one that's very tough, and I did find myself going past the 8pm switch off most evenings, but this is mainly because most evenings I finish clients at 8pm and then use that time to catch up on emails etc. So maybe next time I'll set a more realistic time of 9.30pm. December- Get that body moving! I find that I have to force myself some evenings to do my stretching sessions, but it was always worth it. New Resolutions for 2020 coming soon...
Sticking with the digital detox theme this month by setting myself the challenge of keeping my phone off between 8pm to 8am...
This month I'm repeating one from last year. I'm going social media free for a month! I found this one really broke my habits of constantly scrolling through Instagram and Facebook whenever I had a minute to spare. Instead I will be using my time more productively by reading up on all things reflexology as there's always more to learn.
September means back to school! So my challenge for September is "Learn Anatomy"! I studied anatomy and physiology as part of my course to qualify as a reflexologist in 2011 but feel like I need to refresh what I know. There are constantly new things being discovered and things can be forgotten. I'm going to go back to my study books and online groups and learn new things about anatomy and physiology...
I loved doing my daily meditations last month, and I think I'll even try to keep the habit up. I use the "Calm" app and find it really useful not only for meditation sessions but for relaxing music, sleep stories and even stretch sessions.
This month my challenge is to "read an interesting book"! So I have bought myself "A Little History of the World" by E.H. Gombrich to learn more about this wonderful world that we live in. I can't wait to get stuck into it. This month I am doing "daily meditation". The countdown to my wedding is on now so this one was timed perfectly to keep me calm during the run up. I use the "Calm" app which is great. It's got daily meditation, sleep stories and music. I find the sleep stories great for switching off before bed and if I'm having trouble sleeping during the night.
I am also looking after my own well-being this month by having regular reflexology sessions myself. I have booked my sessions in and am really looking forward to them. April is over but it seems to have left its showers behind! April's resolution was "no shopping"! I did this last year and found it was a great way to kerb my spending habits. I get quite addicted to online shopping and find this is the only way to bring me back to a "normal" amount of shopping.
However(!) this month I failed!! What with having my own wedding coming up in June, and a friends wedding in Spain, I found I HAD to buy things. So, I will be doubling up resolutions and re-doing this one in September. For the month of May I will be doing "new workout app challenge". I've been following lots of different fitness influencers on Instagram to get some inspiration and will be mixing up my exercise routine this month. I've bought myself a new resistance band and can already feel the burn after using it for just a couple of days. One thing I've always learnt from going to different classes and doing different workouts is that your body will only change if it's put out of it's comfort zone. So i'll be challenging my body this month! March's challenge was to try cooking 1 new recipe each week. I love cooking, but I find I get stuck in a routine of cooking the same things. So I really enjoyed this because it meant I had to try something new each week, and I even did more than 1 each week! Here is what I tried (with links to the recipes):
You can see some pictures of my "creations"! on my Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/retreat4yourfeet_reflexology/
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AuthorGeorgie created "Retreat 4 Your Feet" in 2011. The blog includes fun facts, personal stories, and general information. Categories
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