What do you do that is balm for your soul?

Last week I was working away at an AirBnB in The Dales in North Yorkshire to focus on developing a new product for SIRPA. This time we decided to make this a real SIRPA project by asking a number of our experienced and knowledgeable SIRPA-trained practitioners to be involved. I must admit that on starting a huge project like this, it can seem overwhelming, but I can honestly say that now it is coming together and I have seen the contributions from our members, I am really excited about this. Watch out for more about this in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, it was really important for me to pace myself last week and not just sit in the apartment writing and recording videos, which would have just drained me and not left me feeling very creative at all! So, I made the most of the beautiful area surrounding me and went for daily walks to set me up for the day. These days I also find places that I will be able to fit in a wild water swim, so I also managed a couple of dips in the water at Janet's Force, a beautiful landmark in the area. You can see a few more photos on our SIRPA Facebook page.

For me being in nature is balm for my soul, whether that's walking, running, swimming or just standing in the garden and listening to the birds or watching the sunrise. Times like this can not only provide you with a lift, triggering health-enhancing emotions, but it also helps retrain your brain to focus more on things that create awe and make you feel good. By doing this it moves the focus away from things that are creating fear, worry, anxiety etc.

In fact one of the topics I was writing about last week was selective attention, or non-intentional blindness. We don't realise it, but we miss so much of what is going on around us, so by intentionally focussing on things we love and which boosts our mood, we become less obsessed/aware of things that trigger fear etc. Check out this video to find out what I mean!

So what can you do this week to help you train your attention away from any symptom you have, while promoting real feel-good feelings? Obviously this is easier if you understand and accept that your pain/symptom are not dangerous and have dealt with any underlying fears,

I will be making the most of the dry weather this week, but even when it's raining it's more about still getting out in the right gear, rather than waiting for the 'right' weather. Apparently!!!