Archives January 2025

Being grounded is an energetic term meaning to feel and be centred. It’s about giving your body a sense of steadiness, unflappability, and a strong base. I manage to maintain this state most of the time, but I also actively have to work at it through practices like yoga and meditation.

Growing up and throughout my twenties, I wasn’t very grounded. I would rush around desperately trying to get everything done, but the to-do list never seemed to get smaller. I was clumsy, often stubbing my toe as I ran into things and dropping things.

One of the fantastic benefits of growing older is more life experience and self-knowledge. I didn’t realise back then that I was an empath – I viewed my sensitivity as a weakness, a hindrance. I felt misunderstood often and would get upset (but learned how not to show it because showing my emotions would lead to even more lack of understanding for my feelings and thus put me even farther away from the people I was trying to connect to)! Had I been grounded, I could have coped better with both my own emotions and those of others swirling around me which often had the impact of draining me of energy. I often heard the phrase “Calm down!” I wasn’t hysterical, but I have such a lust for life that I burst with enthusiasm as I loved to connect to people and have fun – I didn’t know how to ‘contain myself’ and again, often felt like I was a problem to those who wanted to maintain order (teachers, bosses etc). I’ve heard the word “shush” more times than I care to remember and once even The Sunday Times described me as like an ‘Andrex puppy with boundless enthusiasm’ when I was on a TV show and they were preparing the weeks’ listings!

These days, I have none of this. My energy is calm and centred for the most part, and I believe that it is because I am grounded—firmly rooted. What has helped is movement—being active, getting out of my head and into my body. Movement is medicine.

For me movement could be running (I put my headphones on and crank up the beats!), spinning or my particular favourite – dance aerobics. I do that class twice a week, and I can’t be anywhere other than in my body as I concentrate on the steps and flow – twirling and spinning around the dance floor. It’s better than a night out! I also love yoga, but I go barefoot for it.

When you are not grounded, you are emotionally vulnerable. You are not present in the ‘now’ of your life. You could be off in your head, daydreaming or just emotionally detached – a step removed from ‘everyone else’. I make being grounded a priority for me now. Ensuring that my energy is firmly planted in my body so that I can be both more productive in my activities and also feel a sense of peace and control as I go about my day. I take a holistic approach to guide my mind and body to connect and this also helps me tap into and trust my own intuition.

Stillness facilitates that.

If you are affected by your emotions, don’t worry too much about moulding yourself into what you think you ‘should’ be or how you ‘should’ act. Ask yourself each day – ‘how do you want to feel?’ and allow yourself to be guided by that.

So, alongside the delicious Easter eggs that you’ll want, or eggs that are a little different for those who aren’t quite into chocolate, get thinking about what else you could do on this fabulous day (which falls on a four-day weekend of course).

A Friendly Morning
Why not catch up with some friends? In fact, as it’s Easter Sunday, you don’t even need to leave the house. Instead, get all those delicious breakfast foods in and cook up a storm for you and your mates while sitting back and having a good catch-up. Just don’t forget the good coffee.

Boozy Brunch
Maybe you don’t want to stay in, so call your friends and arrange to meet up for a boozy brunch. There are plenty of places you could go that’ll only be a stone’s throw away. After all, brunch is hugely popular at the moment. Just try to pace yourself.

Some Me Time
If you don’t want to see anyone, have some time to yourself. Wake up late, stay in your comfy clothes all day, and treat yourself to a day-long pamper session. You can even catch up on your shows, reading, or podcasts. Be sure to get all those relaxing essentials like candles, body oils, and face masks in beforehand.

Get Away
With it being a four-day weekend, you could even get away during the Easter Bank Holiday. Whether it’s by yourself, with friends or with your partner, plenty of European city breaks are just waiting for you. From places dripping in culture to ones with a party atmosphere, the choice is all yours.

Charity
If you want to do something more meaningful with your bank holiday, why not do something for charity? So many places need people to volunteer, and you’ll be able to find one. Or, if you want to go a step further, see what charity events are happening that you could raise some money for. You could even organise something yourself if you wanted.

When you are trying to choose the right SIM-only deal for you, it is important to take steps to understand what this entails. Many factors play a part in helping to improve your deal and get the right outcome for the future. SIM-only mobile phone deals are massively important when it comes to finding the best cost-effective ways of using your phone regularly.

Search for the Right Providers
The best place to begin when it comes to choosing the right SIM-only deals is to look for the right providers as much as possible. There are a lot of different providers these days that make a difference to the sorts of deals you are going to be able to get. If you can compare and contrast the different providers on the market and what they have to offer, you should be well-placed to be able to find the sort of deal that benefits you. There are well-known and trustworthy providers such as Three and Virgin Mobile.

Understand What SIM-Only Means
You should make sure you have an understanding of what SIM-only means so that you are better placed to make the right call moving forward. This is something that can really help you improve the way you make the most of your deals. You need to keep many things in mind when focusing on the offer you choose. Mobile phone money saving tips are so important, and going for a SIM-only deal is one of the best ways of improving this as much as possible. There are a lot of factors that play a part in helping you improve the process and understanding SIM-only is a big step in the right direction.

One of the best things you need to keep in mind is to ensure you check out unlimited SIM-only deals. The unlimited SIM is a SIM-only deal that provides customers with unlimited data, and this is really important. It’s a great way of saving money and providing a much more convenient option for the future, and this is something you have to make sure you think about in the best possible way. There are a lot of factors that play a role in helping with this, and this is something you need to make sure you try out as much as you can.

SIM-only deals are so important when it comes to saving money and finding a more attractive mobile phone package moving forward. There are a lot of things that play a part in this, and you need to make sure you are focused on doing your best for the future right now. Coming up with the best possible SIM-only deals for your mobile usage is one of the most important things you can do.

Creating a festival in your own back garden is a low-cost way of entertaining the children this summer. If you enjoy the sun’s warmth on your skin with an ice-cold drink and some popular music to listen to, here are 10 ways you can do some summer holiday activities to produce those feel-good vibes at home.

2. Music: Every festival needs tunes so round up the children to sing their best songs and ask any budding guitarists in the family to perform on your main stage to a capacity crowd. A festival at home is a great excuse to invite your family and friends round to enjoy a free day out! Once the performers have done their set, tune into the radio for non-stop harmonies.

2. Food: Another element of a great festival is savouring tasty street food, from BBQ grills to burritos. Appreciate the smell of outdoor cooking in the air, light up the barbecue, and prepare your feast, but don’t forget to leave room for a cupcake or churro afterwards!

4. Decorate: A festival wouldn’t look like a festival without bunting, glow sticks and solar lights. Get the children to make some decorative flags and tie them around the trees, fence posts and doorways to dress up your pitch. At the local pound shop, you can pick up craft items to make the bunting, along with glow sticks and lights.

5. Face painting: Festivals are all about expression, and anything goes. If your children want to become a butterfly or a spider for the day, do a web search for ‘children face paint ideas’ and use the images as inspiration for your own designs. You could even put a heart or a star onto your own cheekbone and get into the swing of it.

6. Games: There are always frolics at any outdoor music event, so factor some garden games into your plans. A hula hoop display or dance contest gets everyone moving and bubbles are always a welcome sight for children and adults at a festival!

7. Wristbands: Is it ‘access all areas’ or VIP only? Ask the children to design some wristbands for the family to wear to recreate the true festival experience. Some ribbon cut to fit around a wrist with enough left over to form a knot should do it. Let the children decide what colour ribbon indicates your level of access to the festival!

8. Camping: Pitch your tent to enjoy a night under the stars. There’s nothing like being under canvas to make you feel free. The comfort and privacy of your own back garden mean that you can have snug duvets and fluffy sheepskins if you like—think of it as glamping!

9. Storytelling: As the night falls, cuddle up in your onesies and blankets to keep warm while taking turns telling stories by torchlight. Festivals and storytelling are all about creativity, so have a prize for the best story voted for by the rest of the family.

10. Make memories: Take plenty of photos to remember your summer of love where the whole family got together to enjoy being connected to the moment and each other. Festivals tend to get talked about long after the event has passed and as you are at home, your camera or phone should be fully charged up!