How to make Winter walks your source of JOY!

Now that we have transitioned over to Autumn and Winter is on the way, and yep we can physically see the effects! The rust-like and golden coloured leaves, the soaking morning grass, the nip in the air as we sip our morning coffee at the window. We may begin to think cosy thoughts and perhaps our usual walk may begin to slip from our day as we hunker down to work each week and let nature do her thing. Perhaps you’re feeling that it is getting a little more difficult to get up and out in the mornings, the days seem like they are getting shorter and you really must get on with that to-do list first.

Heads up though!, you started getting outside in the spring and summer to help you to stay grounded and balanced in your mind remember and perhaps you even have a mindful walking practice. Right now it is even more important to continue with that commitment you made to yourself.

With everything that is shifting outside in the world, we need to work with nature more than ever for a better more balanced state of being for ourselves and those we support in our lives.

So I thought I’d put together some tips and little incentives to motivate you to continue walking in nature and even maybe a longer walk than usual over the coming colder months ahead!

Firstly! Don’t let the weather stop you!

Get your favourite coat out!

Go prepared! Wear layers and take a waterproof, my mum always used to say ‘you can take things off, but you can’t put it on if you don’t have it with you’ I take a backpack so I can take my hoodie off if I get too warm. My walking boots and my coat are probably my best buy and they have lasted me years! Oh and some good comfy socks and a cosy hat are a must as it gets colder!

Set the intention to reset!

I like to set an intention for my walk, the reason for this is that often we chose to walk in nature to clear our minds and reconnect to our souls. Why not try setting an intention before you set off? How would you like to feel? Is there a specific goal you’d like to achieve on your return or something you’ve been putting off that you want to complete?

My fave little SMASH flask!

Keep your tummy happy!

There’s nothing worse than having to head home because you’re peckish and thirsty. Pack up a little flask of your favourite hot drink or soup (I like Dream Magic mushroom coffee!) and maybe a couple of biscuits or an energy bar. I have this little SMASH flask that I got from Homesense! It is small enough to fit in my pocket and gives me a warm break after a short meditation session.

Plan a break or stop off if you’re going further!

If you are planning to go further afield, arrange a stop-off point where you can rest for a while and get warm, log fire and cosy chats anyone?

Log fires are the best!

Harry makes walking a treat for me!

Take a furry friend!

If you don’t have a dog, you could try borrowing one for the day. Having Harry has always got me out and about in all weathers, he’s great company and always puts the fun into my walks, he just loves a stick and has me kicking stones and fallen apples for him to chase for hours, I’m sure I’m his human rather than him being my dog!

Start a personal charity challenge or a new commitment!

I started the #walk1000miles challenge at the start of the year for charity and although I don’t think I’ll quite make the 1000 this year, I have gone a long way toward this and I have got outside in nature for a walk at my local nature spaces every single day throughout 2020. This has hugely supported my mental health at a really difficult time. For the rest of the year and to help me complete the challenge strongly, I have set myself a 90 day challenge to help me complete a personal well-being goal before the end of the year! Feel free to send me a message if you’d like support with a goal and let’s finish 2020 on a high!

Taking a few pictures on your phone will create joyful memories to help you on the more challenging days.

Switch off but capture your experience!

One thing that I do practice is not looking at social media while I am in nature, this helps me to cultivate a practice of presence and calm. But I do like to go live to share messages and take a photo or two on a few of my walks.

This helps me to capture the feeling of my walk, helps me to create a relationship with nature and notice the beauty of the seasons and the little things that change, especially at this time of the year! Plus they make awesome pics to share later!

We are all in this together!

If you’ve not seen too many people in your day and you pass a stranger, a smile goes a long way and can change your state of being and that of others too! So make the effort and say hello to your fellow walkers! If you can, arrange to walk with a neighbour or a friend. Giving someone the gift of your time and presence is precious.

Let’s all help one another with a smile

Allow mother nature to support you.

FEEL nature’s gift to you!

The most powerful thing I have experienced in nature is the ability to feel again! After many years of pushing my feelings to one side, through daily walks, I have learned to breathe deeply, feel my feelings, and even enjoy the process of moving through emotions and returning from my walks feeling renewed, refreshed and ready to begin again! Breathing deeply out in nature has even improved my asthma! Start by feeling the feelings nature gives you, try using all your senses by walking on a cold frosty morning, in the rain, crunching the leaves under your feet, using your senses will help you reconnect with yourself in a way that staying indoors simply can’t do for you!

Bring a little bit of nature home!

I’m well known for bringing a bit of nature back with me from my walks! ‘What’s she brought back now lol!’ But honestly, let your inner child come back out to play! Look for conkers, acorns, pine cones, give yourself a little challenge to find the most interesting thing before you return! Nature is a magical place when you notice what you notice!

Cosy up when you get home for your reset!

Give yourself a cosy retreat!

Why not get a meal ready before you go, go for a walk and then indulge in a lovely spa bath when you get back before you eat. There’s nothing quite like reading a book in the bath after a long nature walk.

If you’re reading this and thinking, I wish I had this motivation! I have created a brand new coaching program that includes walking with me one to one, so we can use the healing power of nature to help you to reconnect with yourself, your vision and your life goals. Check it out here, or book in for a powerful conversation call with me and let’s talk!

Why keeping simple this Christmas is the most powerful thing you will do for your business

'Practice presence -- embrace the place where life happens.'

Eckhart Tolle

After spending the best part of 6 weeks recovering from a bad bout of illness and asthma, I am now almost fully recovered with plenty of time out from being online and working hard on my business. One of the lessons I have learned and have reflected on during the latter part of this year is the message that’s been on my mind and in my heart for months now - Karen you need to KEEP IT SIMPLE.

I had heard the message, received it and passed it onto my connections but not acted fully on it myself! Isn’t it always the way in our businesses? It’s so easy to get caught up in trying to do everything at once and it’s one of the major reasons small businesses fail in the first five years.

If you’re always doing doing doing with no pausing for presence, you’re on the road to destruction, and that’s not the reason why you started your business. Keeping it simple means, connecting back with your heart, working from within and focussing on gratitude and the love for your work (why you started in the first place!).

I have realised deeply that don’t want to just keep my head above water, but actually soar in my life and work and that’s going to take commitment to keeping things simple not just in my business but in my whole life, my bigger picture.

So what does keeping things simple actually mean when it comes to your life and work and why does it matter?

• It opens up space for ideas and inspired action to come through

• It allows you to conserve and share your beautiful energy with the world

• Keeping things simple brings that focus you need to be really amazing at what you do.

• It helps you to communicate better with your connections, clients and collaborators about your vision and the value you can bring to the world.

So how can you do that and why start now at Christmas when everyone else is throwing caution to the wind and drowning their sorrows that second bottle of wine?

Keeping things simple this Christmas can mean putting the POWER back into your life and work ready to the New Year by:

• Reflecting with pure honest gratitude for what has already passed and for what you have in this present moment.

• Using your intuition, the present moment and your heart space to actively create your daily experience over the holidays. 

• Having some fun and laughter - let go! You’ll be amazed at how this opens up your energy!

• Doing simple things that bring you joy - I’ve been enjoying being fully present by doing some baking, swimming, drawing and of course walking my Harry bear!

• Setting a powerful and emotionally connected intention and theme for 2019

Practicing presence can have an incredible transformational effect on you and your work. It brings you back to a place where you can fully work from your uniqueness and help you stand out from the crowd!

If you’d like to get into the art of simple presence, practice these skills and begin your New Year working with intention and inspired action, so you can focus and be in your own flow, I’m sharing my best tips and exercises on how you can strip it right back and keep it simple this Christmas in my Radiant Leaders group for connected, heart centered women leaders. Join us here.

Let me know how you’re getting back to basics this season!