Well my friends, what a ride!!

If you’d told me that we’d be worried about running out of toilet paper, we’d be in lockdown at home and only allowed out for an hour-a-day, my business would be halted and I would be unable to hug my family and friends for a couple of months, I’d have thought you’d lost the plot!

No fortune-teller that I’m aware of saw this one coming did they?

But here we are…

And I’m looking forward to hearing some of your Covid stories as we start to reconnect.

I myself have had some major life changes which were kind of accelerated when the lockdown was announced. I’ve separated from my husband (we are still great friends), moved out of my home and to Somerset in the south-west of England. I had start to build a new business here teaching, healing and coaching before the lockdown happened, travelling up and down the M5 motorway weekly, spending three days per week here. I was exhausted but determined, even excited about my new life. But I was probably approaching burnout on reflection.

An image that has graced our TV screens for many weeks

When Boris announced the lockdown, with as much stuff as I could grab together and my two large dogs, I left Northampton and my life there behind. I’m now living on the top of the Blackdown Hills with my doggies. They don’t know how lucky they are with so much freedom to roam amd play. I’m lucky too that I’ve found the most beautiful home and ideal place to rest, restore and heal my heart from the break up and huge changes.

At first I went a bit crazy to be honest. The rebellious teenager attitude in me came out to play. Copious amounts of cider have been consumed, a shed-load of chocolate and I’ve found my inner baker, which hasn’t really been in my best health interests I can tell you! Totally counter-intuitive you might think. Why wouldn’t I want to protect and strengthen my immune system at this time?

I realised that I was just really sad, depressed even and the stuff going in my mouth was making me a whole lot worse.

After a thorough cider exploration (well I am living where it is made!) and about a month of cheese and wine, chocolate and crisps, I’d had enough. My skin was ruined, my energy was on the floor, my brain just wasn’t functioning well and my emotions were in tatters. 

Please understand, that all of these junk foods were AS WELL AS my healthy diet. I was also having fresh soups, salads and fruit. Still I felt rubbish. And I felt out of control. Be honest, who has felt in control of anything since this virus started?

It’s taken me a few weeks of intense self-care, self-study, yoga and meditation practice and a deep cleanse physically, mentally and spiritually, pulling in just about everything I know about health, healing and happiness and I’m all but back to my truest self again.

Hopefully in the next few days we’ll start to see some small steps back to a new kind of normal. If you live outside of the UK, perhaps you already are.

Not belittling the sacrifice of life and the suffering that the virus has caused, there have been some amazing benefits to this whole process for me. It’s been a universal PAUSE button that has allowed me to face a lot of my demons head on. I don’t think there is an emotion I haven’t felt and faced along the way.

This time has also given me so many new insights into my work. I’ve read, researched and studied them all. And I’m raring to go and ready to share. One thing I will say is that I have not even thought about dieting or restricting in any way.

Thank you for taking the time to read this my friend.

I hope it offers something positive for you between the lines. I’d love to hear about your journey through this crisis. Please feel free to write back to me if you want to. It feels cathartic to share when we are are so disconnected from so much. It could even serve as a journal to remember how you came through the personal challenges of this time.

Idea alert!

We could even pull them together as a book for future generations! 

The COVID Diaries – what do you think?

Until next time…