This was a song in the late 70’s, sung by Billy Joel. That was its title, “I love you just the way you are.” It did pretty well; people seemed to like it then. Maybe a bit more in the U.S., where it hit #3 in the charts, than in the U.K., where it only reached #19, but even over 40 years later (gulp – over 40 years?!), I don’t need Google to remind me of how the song starts: “Don’t go changin’ to try and please me…” The lyrics spring to mind immediately when I think of this s

It’s been a wee while since I’ve posted anything on this blog. I’ve blinked and summer disappeared. Late summer also seems to have come and gone in a flash, even though technically we’re still in this season. The nights are drawing in and things are slowing down and it strikes me that I’ve not been inspired to share my views about much lately. What I am finding is on my mind quite a bit just now is the concept of enough – and I haven’t been sure if this concept is ‘enough’ to

I’m having an interesting summer so far this year. I haven’t slid into summer completely burnt out from the flurry of finishing off a semester and academic year, but I have just finished a year-long training course. So while I do need some rest, the process of unwinding feels far easier. For once, I’m not coiled up as tight as a bedspring when reaching this point, and the result of this seems to be I have quite a lot of time to ponder. And what I’ve been pondering is how I’m

Have you heard yet that spring is here? I’d be quite surprised if you haven’t. As I’m becoming more mindful – and as I study seasonal yoga – I find myself noticing patterns in what’s happening in the world around me. So, much like I noticed the onset of the festive season or that love was in the air in February (one would have to be on another planet not to notice those things), I have been conscious of the announcements that spring has arrived. Whether this is in the clothes

At this time of year, if you’re like me, your thoughts probably turn to love. Or, if you’re paying attention to advertising, your thoughts will likely turn to chocolate, flowers, gifts and/or holidays for your loved one. This is one time of year that has always bugged me. When I was in my late teens and early 20’s, my friend and I agreed to put on anti-Valentine’s day barbeques (clearly I wasn’t living in Scotland at that time!). As I got older and would find myself unattache

So last time I wrote, I resolved to take my practice off the mat – to see where focusing on the balance between doing and being would take me when I’m not in the yoga studio. And the first thing I’ll tell you is it’s not that easy! My favourite yoga pose is tree pose. You balance on one leg, the other bent at the knee, foot resting on the balancing leg. Your arms, if you choose, are up in the air, either palms together above your head or, as I prefer, arms up and open, like

It can be quite a struggle at times, being. Ask anyone I’ve ever worked with before. They could tell you without a doubt that I’m a ‘do’-er'; I’m most comfortable when I have my list of things to do along with the time and space to get things done. So, it may not be surprising that, initially, I found mindfulness somewhat frustrating, as part of the point of it is to take one of out ‘doing’ mode and into ‘being’ mode. It’s actually the same with my yoga class – but that d

I started intentionally expressing gratitude about 18 months ago. I had read quite a bit about coping with stress and increasing happiness and people say that expressing gratitude is good for you in a number of ways (including decreasing stress, increasing happiness and generally improving well-being*). I thought the idea of expressing gratitude fit in nicely with my journey towards self-compassion and the things I've written about so far in this blog (e.g., acceptance, noti

Almost a year ago now I was at a conference in London. Well, they called it a “forum” and it was about improving student well-being in terms of physical and mental health. (What can I say? This is the kind of thing I’m interested in!) Anyway, over the course of the day there were many interesting speakers saying many interesting things about university students’ health and well-being. I came away from this day with a single, powerful take home message that I was determine

It is a time of change in our household. While our household is small, it is usually full – full of love, full of laughter and nonsense, full of food and, my husband would probably remind me, full of shoes and clothes. So, I am lucky. I get it. And yet, recently, things have been changing, likely for the better. But this doesn’t make the change any easier. It started when my husband realised he had a dream. Now, I am all for dreams and following them wherever they take