The Energy of Autumn –by Ayeshah Khan (Akasha School of Yoga)

In the fall, nature conspires to appeal to our senses. The brilliant colours, the rustle and crunch of dried leaves beneath our feet and the smell of autumn harvests. It is a time when the nights are drawing in and nature is slowing down with shorter days and longer nights. In nature, autumn reflects dryness and there is a feeling that the earth’s energy is truly gathering inwards in preparation for “letting go” for the winter. It is hard not to take in every moment.

Some Daily Habits to try for Autumn:

Tune into seasonal energy –Energetic theme of a typical Autumn day is about doing less and focusing inwards, be consciously aware of your thoughts and moods, monitor areas of your life where you might be pushing yourself or others too much, try and be enthusiastic and positive in your actions while holding onto your principles and keeping commitments.

Start the day with 8 FULL breaths –to energise yourself and your brain. Try this now -Close your eyes and observe mindfully as you take slow, deep breaths in and out through the nostrils. When you are done you will feel calmer, more centred and more focused. Your breath is a relaxation tool that never leaves you. You can access it at work, while running errands or whenever you feel stressed.

Mucus control –Avoid getting colds, flu’s and chesty coughs by matching the dryness of autumn within your own body. Avoid mucus forming foods. Start the day with a ginger and lime infusion.

Dry skin brushing/moisturising – work upwards towards the heart and moisturise with a cream with the least amount of chemicals in it.

Start to wear warmer clothes –skimpy clothes in the winter encourage the body to put additional fat onto it to keep it warm.

Eating in Season

Some Ayurvedic physicians warn that consuming genetically engineered foods could cause a "crisis of consciousness"—a stale, numbing effect on our senses. So this autumn try and introduce seasonal produce that match the Season we are in.

Diet:

Enjoy more spices to keep up the internal temperature and stop mucus forming.

Avoid sugar, wheat and above all dairy products and orange juice as they are mucus forming which is not good at this time of year.

A typical Autumn food list:

Apples, apricots, pears, carrots, celery, chestnuts, walnuts, grains, mushrooms, onions, turnips, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, ginseng

The cooking style for Autumn:

Prepare and cook foods for a longer time using methods such as roasting, pressure cooking, steaming or boiling

General fitness:

Lots of wide arm-opening stretches or yoga back bends to increase lung capacity. Work on yoga breathing techniques (pranayama)

Make your autumn exrecise routine a little slower and more refined.

Surrendering to Silence

William Butler Yeats once said, "We can make our minds so still like water that beings gather about us to see their own images and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even a fiercer life because of our silence." Just being in present awareness, at ease in our own quiet hearts, can make us a reflecting pool, and those who gather around will tend to see their own images. There is a presence that transmits itself loud and clear, if we attune to it. Rather than straining to quiet the mind in meditation, simply relax into the quiet that contains the mind.

By Ayeshah Khan, Akasha School of Yoga (http://www.akasha.org.uk/)

Guest Bloggers Wanted

Hi Everyone,

I am looking for guest bloggers to contribute to the Murray People blog.  If you are interested in writing an article on something positively inspiring, or on anything that will empower other people to make positive changes in their life, then please contact me. 

I am also interested in hearing from coaches, learning and development professionals and mentors who make a positive difference in the lives of others.  I would also like to welcome real life inspirational stories from everyday people, or if you are raising funds for charity and want to blog about it that would also be great. 

You can blog about anything that has a positive angle to it and will make a real connection with others.  It might even be about your own life and how you have turned it around for the better. 

I want to create a positive culture and vibe in our community and I think it starts with you and your stories.  Please assist if you can.

I look forward to hearing from you bloggers, e.mail me at claire@murraypeople.com

Claire :-)

School Reunion

We all remember our school days good or bad, love them or loathe them but the memories however fresh or vague are with us in some way or another. Now, I will be truly honest here, I did love my Primary School days but wasn’t that enamoured by my High School years. In High school, for me personally, there was far too much pressure and I didn’t know the answer to that all important life decision question, “What do you want to be when you’re older?” this I really struggled to answer, “I don’t know, I’m only 14, help!!” But no one could help me, because the job that I do now didn’t exist 23 years ago!! That’s me in the photo below, 11 years old, with my friends from Primary School.

Above (L-R):  Donna, Sharon, Claire (me) and Brenda

But let’s face it, life moves on, and we find our own path based on our own choices and decision-making. So as I connected with friends from my younger years on the well loved Facebook, I thought it was really lovely and fascinating to catch up and find out what everyone has been doing for the last 21 years.

So better still I decided, together with some friends of mine, to organise a School Reunion from two of the local high schools in my home town. To my amazement and delight this Reunion has created a fresh buzz and excitement for all, I think just what we’ve all been waiting for. So we are going to have a Reunion Ball, yes, a right proper posh do, with lovely ladies in glamorous dresses, and dashing gentlemen in top hats and bow ties. Woo hoo this will be fun, fun, fun.

If you went to Taylor or Brannock High in North Lanarkshire, please come to the School Reunion. It is being held in the Avonbridge Hotel, Hamilton on Saturday, 5 March 2011. For ticket information send me an e.mail: claire@murraypeople.com

OR if you didn't, why not come along anyway, meet new friends and have a laugh OR better still arrange your own School Reunion and bring people together in a fun way. 

Are you a Drain or a Radiator?

You may remember back in September last year Liggy Webb wrote an article in my Company Magazine the Opportunity News on her book ’How to Work Wonders’. In this book Liggy talks about negative people (drains) and positive people (radiators). I created this fun poem to emphasise the differences. I hope you are a radiator and if not what can you do today that will help you to be more of a positive influence on yourself and other people?

RACHEL THE RADIATOR

Rachel is a radiator she always wears a smile

She radiates a positive attitude and goes that ‘extra mile’

When people around her gossip, she always walks away

She doesn’t let their negativity spoil her wonderful way

Her mindset is pro-active she uses that skill so well

She ‘talks the talk’ and ‘walks the walk’ an easy one to tell

Her circle of influence gets stronger day by day

She focuses on what she can do and her concerns just melt away

So take a tip from Rachel as her energy bursts out

She values herself completely and works from the inside out

DONNY THE DRAIN

Donny is a drain he never wears a smile

He gives of negativity and won’t go that ‘extra mile’

When people are around him he gossips even more

He relishes in the ‘grapevine’ which has no open door

He ‘talks his talk’ then ‘watches the clock’ until he hears the bell

He really can’t be bothered, everyone can tell

His mindset is reactive a bad habit he has formed

He fills his circle of concern so he can underperform

So take no tips from Donny stay away when he’s about

There is no added value when you work from his inside out



(by Claire Murray)