A good health app
‘Do you know of a good health app?’ asks a client.
‘Yes, yes I do’, I say, ‘it’s called nature.’
It teaches you to wake up as it gets light and sleep as it goes dark. It makes you want to be more active when the days are long and quieter and more restful in the winter or the darker hours. It makes you want to eat fresh green leaves and sun-swollen fruit in the summer and comfort yourself with thick, warm stews when autumn arrives.
‘It’s hard to do that when we work’, he says.
‘It is’. I say.
But it is the only way, because the life of 24/7 neon is leading to exhaustion, anxiety, addiction, disconnection, overconsumption. It leads us to drink alcohol to sleep, caffeine to help us rise, sugar to keep us going when we are exhausted. It leads us to buying stuff we don’t need to help us feel better, keeps us online rather than walking through the woods with friends, talking for real.
And it isn’t just external nature, it is our own nature which can lead the way.
Working with our menstrual cycles; sometimes social, sometimes needing quiet and rest. Owls, larks, siesta snoozers; some of us can think sharp in the dawn, while others are peaking at dusk.
‘I need to think sharp all day… I have to work to pay’. (And this changes for everyone and is the same) Pay for: the bigger car, the newer sofa, the afterschool club for the kids who I only see when we are all tired and bickering…
‘The thing is’, I say, ‘no app can change your life, it can guide you, remind you, you have to decide to live differently’.
Start by tweaking and adjusting around the edges at first;
- walking in our breaks
- opening windows
- sitting in the sun
- working flexibly
- walking to work
- growing seedlings
- feeding the birds
- resting when we are tired
- moving when we have been still
- plotting our menstrual cycle
- putting the coffee down and going to bed earlier
- knowing that your weight is designed to seasonally adjust (ask a hibernating bear)
We are mammals too and so have to tune in to our bodies, the seasons and nature to sense our way through to a new way of living.
What will you do differently?
For free and low-cost courses to help you in these uncertain times go to: https://julie-leoni-well-being-toolkit.teachable.com/
Or to book a coaching chemistry call email: julieleoni.com@gmail.com
Julie Leoni
Coach, author, podcaster, facilitator, Yoga and psychology teacher, learner
I have over 30 years of experience and qualification in various therapeutic and meditation/mindfulness based approaches. I work with change. Some changes we chose, others happen to us. Sometimes we know we want to change but don't know how. Sometimes we don't want to change but external events or people are forcing us to change. The menopause, children leaving home, the end of a relationship or job, becoming a parent, coming out, bereavement are just some of the personal changes I support people with. I also work with people who want to make changes to their life and wider world in response to social issues such as Covid, the climate crisis and racial, sexual and gender inequalities. Times are changing whether we want them to or not and we need to be nimble, agile, curious and open in order to part of the new story emerging. Work with me to get clear on what matters to you, what makes your heart sing and what kind of future you want for yourself and those you love. It is possible to live differently, get in touch to explore how.
