Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i In The Moment

“True forgiveness is when you can say, ‘thank you for that experience’.”Oprah Winfrey This month we are exploring the theme of kindness – towards those we know and love, towards those we meet in passing, towards those we may never know, towards our beautiful planet and, usually last but never least, towards ourselves. Why is it that being kind to ourselves comes hardest to us? Why are we our harshest critic? Quick to judge and slow to forgive. And does it have to be this way? Reassuringly, our experts tell us that it does not. We can learn to change our internal narrative; we can learn cut ourselves some slack; we can learn to forgive ourselves. It’s a lesson I’ve been grateful for these past few months. As my daughter…

In The Moment is the UK’s No.1 wellness and mindfulness monthly, inspiring you with mindful ways to live a happy and fulfilled life. Every month we’ll bring you: *Uplifting news and features on wellness, mindfulness, creativity and travel that's good for the soul *Honest and informed advice from trusted wellbeing experts on how to bring more mindfulness into every day, feel calm and look after yourself *A promise to be positive, practical, joyful and fun – never prescriptive – you choose what works for you *We value kindness, inclusivity, diversity, integrity and happiness.…

#inclusivefitness Movement, connection and collaboration, whatever your size, shape or ability, is what these inspiring Insta accounts are all about @womensfitnessacademy @activesoulsproject @leslovexx @lisacox.co WHAT IS? NIKSEN It’s nothing – literally! This Dutch concept is all about idling some time away with no set goal or purpose, allowing yourself to simply be. Reported benefits include increased creativity, reduced anxiety and even stronger immunity. So, lie back and recharge with a daydream. Park life We know that spending time in nature is beneficial for our wellbeing, but us urbanites might not have to venture all that far to get those good vibes – a new study from a group at the University of Vermont has found that spending time in city parks has the power to significantly elevate our mood. The…

Thinking about kindness, I found myself wondering about the way casual unkindness is relentlessly played out in our daily lives, particularly across social media. Whether it’s a thoughtless dismissal of someone else’s woes, an unnecessary argument picked, or a mean thing said. There’s this sense that we should all be better, more successful and, if we’re not, then taking it out on someone else is somehow OK. And when I read some of the things people write, often anonymously, in a below-the-line thread or on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, I wonder about that person and how they have come to feel this way. Is it thoughtlessness or lack of imagination, or are they really so mean-spirited? Is it just a projection of self-loathing? Pushing all their bad feelings onto someone…

When I moved to Japan, I noticed how, even when you were in a busy or built-up place, there was a sense of calm. The Tokyo Metro at rush hour was just as populated – if not more so – than the London Underground, but there would be no passive-aggressive jostling for space. The traffic was almost exclusively congested but nobody would beep their horns or drive erratically. You hardly ever saw anybody rushing. My new Japanese home was bigger and busier in places, but somehow less frantic and a far more welcoming, clean and relaxing space to be in. From that, I felt encouraged to slow down, make some lifestyle changes and embrace new, more enriching and creative challenges. Taking a step into a different culture showed me some…

Whatever the weather Decorate your space with this artwork from colour-addicted and nature-loving Swedish artist, Elisabeth Fredriksson. Available as a poster, acrylic print, canvas and more – simply choose whatever suits your space. The sweet sentiment is sure to bring a smile to your face every time you see it. From £5.95 posterlounge.co.uk Spread some joy Show your appreciation to all of the kind people in your life by letting them know how much they, and their actions, big or small, mean to you. From the studio of husband and wife team, James and Leanne, this cute card is a delight to find waiting on the doormat. £2.50 letterbox-lane.com You’re gorgeous Often, it’s when we’re used to putting other people first that we forget to be kind to ourselves too.…

Honey, honey A cup of warm lemon and honey is a tried and tested way to soothe sore throats and ease the symptoms of a tickly cough. We love Lifeplan’s active rainforest honey with added lemon and vitamin D. Naturally antibacterial, simply melt into hot water or spread liberally on your favourite toast. £5.39 lifeplan.co.uk Herbal hero If this time of year leaves you feeling low and prone to coughs and colds, a natural remedy may be the way to go. A. Vogel’s Echinaforce tincture is made from fresh extracts of Echinacea herb and root, which helps to support the immune system while giving relief from the symptoms of colds and flu. From £4.50 avogel.co.uk Berry good High in antioxidants and vitamins A and C, elderberries have long been used…

Self-belief is empowering, filling us with a confidence that results in a calm and focused mind. Affirmations are important reminders of our core strengths, beliefs and values, like gentle nudges from a kind and encouraging friend. Made up of phrases which speak to our inner self, they are similar to mantras, often used in meditation or for the purpose of motivation. They can be as simple as: ‘I choose joy’. By internalising these positive words, our internal monologue becomes loving. As a result, we feel we can trust our instincts, safe in the knowledge that we know who we are. We can follow our ambitious dreams with a solid foundation of hope and love. In cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), mantras are used to change thought patterns – to press stop…

As we move into winter, we gather with friends and family, and anticipate the newness that is to come but often we are overextended and sometimes exhausted. During this long, dark season your skin craves extra TLC. Look for moisture-binding ingredients that you can whip up to use on your skin, such as avocado, almond milk, cocoa butter and raw honey. Embrace the scents of the season by diffusing essential oils in your home, such as peppermint, cinnamon, clove, grapefruit and ginger. Even though the days are shorter, don’t forget your sunscreen. It’s a common misconception that you don’t need SPF on cold, cloudy, winter days, but this extra SPF layer will help to protect you from environmental damage and the cumulative effects of UV exposure.…

Fascination with the snow-bound land in the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark and Iceland seems to be human nature. We are irresistibly drawn to the Arctic Circle. So, what is it that draws us to the place that begins at 66.5° north? Perhaps it’s the wildlife, which is the stuff of storybooks – velvet-antlered reindeer, snow-white foxes, the unicorn-horned narwhal. Or perhaps the stark loveliness of the landscape, which in winter becomes a world concealed by deep snow. Perhaps it’s that the Arctic is one the last true wildernesses on Earth. And yet, while the Arctic tundra may seem like a mostly uninhabited space, it is home to four million people and thousands of years of human history. People have inhabited the north…

Frequency and vibration, and the idea that our brainwaves could be altered by certain environments, music and vibrations, has always intrigued me. Music has been the common thread in my life and impacted everything that I do. After DJing professionally all around the world, I had an epiphany right there on the decks. While performing for a 5,000 strong crowd on a beach in Jakarta, Indonesia, I witnessed the deep power of music and the transformative effect it was having on the huge crowd in front of me. From that moment on, I didn’t see everyone as an individual; I saw the crowd like a flock of birds, a shoal of fish, or a symphony. All of us listening to the same sounds and resonating at the same frequency. From…

“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.”Amelia Earhart 1 SARAH HARVEY Author and writer Sarah fell in love with Japanese culture while working and living in Tokyo. She now lives in London, where she works for a literary agency. Sarah introduces us to the Japanese way to transform our habits on page 31 2 ALICE WHITEHEAD Alice has been writing about food, gardening and natural health for more than 20 years. She has a passion for grow your own, nurtured by two urban allotment plots. Take a look at her Insta @allotmentalice Alice discovers a more ‘coorie’ way of life on page 58 3 LIZ SCHAFFER Liz is a travel writer and photographer and the editorial and…

SPINACH SOUP 1 Melt a generous scoop of butter in a large saucepan, and add 2 peeled, chopped potatoes, 2 sticks of sliced celery and 1 chopped onion. Fry very gently for about 10-15 minutes until just turning golden. 2 Pour in about half a litre of stock and simmer for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft, then add a bag of baby leaf spinach and cook for a further 2 minutes until wilted. 3 Allow to cool, then place into a blender and whizz up until smooth. Return the soup to the pan, and add the remaining stock until it’s a consistency you like. 4 Swirl in crème fraiche and snipped chives to taste just before serving. This is an edited extract from Simply No Weigh by…

1 Your best friend changes this evening’s plans at the very last minute. How does this make you feel? A I feel disappointed when my plans are disrupted; sometimes I feel annoyed. B I don’t mind sacrificing my plans and doing what makes others happy.C I try to remain open and curious about what tonight holds for us. 2 How did you go about choosing the place you currently live in? A Research – it was within budget and had great potential.B Convenience – it was available and easily accessible.C Instinct – I felt like it was the right place for me to be. 3 You meet someone new for the first time. Would you say that you are a good judge of character? A I don’t trust anyone until…

If you’re kicking yourself for missing a friend’s birthday, or maybe you feel a deep pang of regret about the way you treated someone a long time ago – you’re not alone. We are all used to harbouring feelings of self-condemnation or self-blame. And this is particularly true if you tend to overthink things, dissecting your social interactions, decisions and reactions in detail. “Our inbuilt survival instinct, as humans, wants us to do well and have others see us doing well, so our tendency to give ourselves a hard time when we get things wrong is natural,” explains positive psychologist Cheryl Rickman, author of The Little Book of Resilience and The Happiness Bible. “We are, by default, kinder to others than we are to ourselves and tend to be our…

Q I have a friend who is always late to meet me. Normally, she is between fifteen and thirty minutes late but last weekend we were meant to meet for brunch at midday and she texted me just beforehand to say she was still in bed. We ended up meeting at 2pm – two hours late! I don’t like confrontation, so I ended up saying it was fine, even though I was really annoyed. I have a few other friends who are also always late: one of my friends says things like, ‘Sorry, I was on the phone,’ or, ‘I just couldn’t get myself going this morning.’ I’m getting sick of people thinking it’s fine for me to wait for them, as if I have nothing better to do. Some…

What could be more appealing on a cold winter’s day than the thought of having a massage that uses warm sticks to stretch the muscles and soothe away any aches and pains? Believed to originate from Southeast Asia, warm bamboo massage is carried out using bamboo sticks of varying lengths and widths, which are either hollow or made from steam-pressed bamboo canes to produce solid, smooth sticks. The bamboo is used in place of the hands, providing a deeper, firmer full-body massage. During the treatment, longer, thicker bamboo sticks are used on the larger muscle groups, such as those found in the back and thighs, with the therapist using gliding and rolling movements on pre-oiled skin. Shorter, thinner sticks are then used to treat smaller muscles, for example in the…

For several weeks in 2018, I felt low. It wasn’t one thing and even though I was doing all I could to feel better – spending lots of time outdoors, resting, stretching, meditating, journalling and talking about what was on my mind – I didn’t feel as if I’d got back into my flow. As I explained all of this to a practitioner, he said something that stopped me in my tracks and that helped me to understand self-kindness in a very different way. “You are very hard on yourself. Who starts the year not running and then expects themselves to run a marathon in a few months? You don’t respect your body. You push and push and push. It’s not that you are not good enough. It’s not that…

Winter may be the coldest season of the year weather-wise, but it’s the hottest when it comes to festivities. The cold weather often keeps us indoors, where we’re likely to be found spending time with our friends and family over an annual party or holiday meal. It’s the perfect time to spread kindness and joy with the people around us, often through gift giving. Ever since I began minimalist and zero waste living, giving gifts became a bit more tricky – I had my preferences of less clutter and more sustainably curated items, so it took time for my friends, family and even myself to know what gifts would fit my lifestyle by the time my birthday or the holiday season came around. How often have we received a present…

Feeling overwhelmed by the challenge of climate change? You are not alone. Eco-anxiety is understandably rising. Climate change is, rightly, rarely out of the headlines and we are all being urged to take action. At times, the deluge of bad news can feel exhausting and it’s difficult to know where to begin, but Mike Berners-Lee, environmental researcher at the Institute for Social Futures at Lancaster University and author of There is No Planet B, says there is room for optimism: “At long last, humans are starting to wake up,” he says. So where can we, as individuals, make changes? Mike believes that there are two areas we can focus on: what we can do ourselves and how we can influence others to make positive changes, because, for some people, it…

Liquid warmth We can always rely on a piping hot cup of our favourite tea to warm us through, even on the coldest of days. Pack a brew to take with you on any adventure in this light and compact flask – it will stay hot for an impressive 18 hours. This 0.5L flask is the ideal size for on the go, but there are both bigger and smaller versions too. £16.95 thermosonline.co.uk Beautiful base Is this not the prettiest base layer in all the land? No more plain woollen neutrals – this delightfully warm zip top even has thumb loops to keep sleeves in place as you move. Patagonia’s Capilene Midweight Crew is smart enough to wear with jeans when you aren’t out in the elements too. £65 eu.patagonia.com…

Calm for Christmas I was so grateful to receive my last copy of In The Moment – perfect timing! The bonus Calm Christmas magazine really was the icing on the cake. Thank you so much for adding a regular dose of calm to my weekly chaos. Karen Rose Kingsbury, via Instagram Time to pause On Sunday, I really needed to press pause. I am learning that I have to force myself to take a break when I get engulfed in a creative project. I found time to sip an organic latte and read the copy of In The Moment mag that I had purposely bought for vision boarding as I knew there would be juicy quotes and pics to light me up – there were! But savouring reading the mag…

“It all started when I needed an organiser to transfer things between bags,” she remembers. “I couldn’t find one I liked, so I decided to make one myself!” After experimenting, Elizabeth came across British woven hemp and the world of organic fabrics opened up to her. Friends soon started paying her for zipped pouch bags, and it wasn’t long before Eliza Eliza was born. “I decided that I wanted to give back in some way,” Elizabeth explains. “Initially, I just donated a percentage of the sale of each bag to charity, but with the V Collection (bags lined with a vulva print material) I realised the bags could be used to start difficult conversations too." Elizabeth began working with artists from all over the world to design linings for her…

1 Include plenty of green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains in your diet. 2 There is some evidence to suggest that magnesium can be absorbed through the skin. Try a magnesium cream or run a bath with Epsom salts to increase your intake. 3 Add fortified food products to your usual routine. Cereals enriched with magnesium are a great source – plus, pairing your cereal with milk or yoghurt adds another hit of the mineral. 4 Make dark chocolate your go-to treat. A 28g serving provides almost 64mg of magnesium, just over 20 percent of your recommended daily intake.…

* Be honest Be really honest with yourself about what caused the incident that needs to be forgiven. Awareness is the first step to change. Very often we don’t see the whole picture as it truly is, we only see the mistake and that is all we focus on. But there is a bigger picture. Use a journal to write down as much as you can about the incident to get a clear understanding of your emotional and physical state at the time. * Identify what you could have changed Now have a think about what you could have done prior to the mistake to take better care of yourself and your emotional state. Is there something that may have helped prevent the mistake from happening – such as asking…

1 The Testaments by Margaret Atwood The dystopia of Gilead is an unlikely home for kindness. Introduced in Margaret Atwood’s 1984 novel The Handmaid’s Tale (set in what was then the near-future and is now approximately the present), Gilead is distinguished by its viciously enforced caste system, which pits woman against woman so as to make them all the easier to exploit. In that novel, told through the eyes of the Handmaid Offred (one of those whose role is to bear children for the ruling class), we saw how such a society could breed mistrust, alienation and cruelty. When anyone can be a spy, nobody can be a friend. This year, The Testaments returns to the same world 15 years on. Where The Handmaid’s Tale explored the trauma of living…

So here we are heading into the winter months – in the Northern Hemisphere at least. As the days shorten further into the depths of the coldest season, we usually allow our own energy to similarly quieten and darken. It can be easy in these months to begin to quieten too much, allowing the restful hibernation that comes naturally to turn to lethargy, sometimes leading us to feel stagnated – both physically and mentally. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the winter months are associated with the water element – the remedy to the cold, dryness of the season. The organs associated with this element are the kidney and the urinary bladder. Let us consider the role these play in the body in Western science – the balance of water, an…

1 Warm bamboo massage is a great form of deep tissue massage and excellent for addressing muscular tension. When applied to the neck, back and shoulders, it can help to reduce discomfort in these areas, and tension headaches. 2 The treatment can be beneficial for joint problems as it improves circulation and helps to deliver nutrients to both the joint and surrounding soft tissue. 3 Warm bamboo massage doesn’t just have physical benefits – it is also said to energise and strengthen the mind and spirit. 4 Are you a keen runner or cyclist? This massage is great for easing tired and aching legs. 5 Enhancing circulation and improving lymphatic drainage also helps the body to eliminate toxins.…

Every morning, before anything else, I open a journal and write. It’s not a new idea, or even my own – it’s the core principle of ‘Morning Pages’ that Julia Cameron first introduced in her seminal book for creatives, The Artist’s Way, in 1992. It’s a testament to her work that this simple exercise, first offered as an aid to writers, painters and potters in the early 90s, is still every bit as relevant now, in the fast-paced, ever-connected age of digital creatives. For the uninitiated, the rules of Morning Pages are simple; three pages of freehand, free-form writing, every morning, first thing. (I’ve always interpreted ‘first thing’ to be a relative concept: anyone with a toddler to care for knows that the first hour or two of the day…

West of the Hudson River and nestled among the majestic Catskill Mountains of New York State is a small town called Kingston. Within this adorable little town is an organic farm that changed the course of my life forever. I was four years into my career as a skincare therapist in New York City when I began to feel a tug towards a simpler life. My husband and I lived in a tiny studio apartment in the East Village of Manhattan and, despite a few failed attempts at growing our own herbs on the fire escape, we knew very little about green living. But in New York you can find out about anything that interests you – that’s exactly what I love most about the city. We gradually discovered small…

When you need a cure for dry, chapped skin, reach for this trio of ingredients from your refrigerator. Avocados are rich in vitamins A, D and E, honey binds moisture to the skin and full-fat yoghurt, which contains ‘live active cultures’, helps to balance the amount of protective bacteria in the microbiome on the surface of your skin. Use up any leftover ingredients in a smoothie! INGREDIENTS Makes one mask * ½avocado *1 tsp honey * ½tsp full-fat natural yoghurt METHOD 1 Blend the ingredients in a bowl until smooth. 2 Use immediately. Apply the mixture to the face and neck, leave on for 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.…

1 KATHRYN KELLOGG California-based author of 101 Ways To Go Zero Waste (Countryman Press, £9.99) and National Geographic’s spokesperson for plastic-free living, Kathryn is full of advice on how to minimise our impact on the environment. Kathryn’s focus on health and wellness of both self and the planet is as infectious as her positivity. No change is too small, and she believes “it’s not about perfection; it’s about making better choices”. @going.zero.waste 2 LAUREN BRAVO Lauren loves clothes more than anything, and regularly writes about her experiences in fashion for the likes of Stylist and Grazia, but recently she’s been taking a closer look at the relationship between her clothes and the planet. In her latest book, How To Break Up With Fast Fashion (Headline Home, £12.99), on sale from…

Shintoism, Japan’s indigenous religion, has always fascinated me. It celebrates nature’s might and majesty, and sees its divine natural elements embodied by kami – deities that can take almost any form and add order to our ever-changing world. As it has no fixed doctrine or founder, Shintoism could be viewed as a way of life, one that values honesty, purity and respect. Then in the sixth century, Buddhism arrived. With a philosophical focus, it encouraged followers to abandon their desires and aspire instead for enlightenment. Over time, it mixed with Shinto principles and the two faiths’ teachings worked in harmony to create a form of nature worship unique to Japan. For me, travel has the potential to be brilliantly humbling; a means of encountering the sublime and realising that, although…