FEELING GENEROUS? WHAT IF THERE'S A PRIZE!

In the spirit of practicing ahimsa (non-violence, compassion for all beings), I have decided to take action. Or did I decide... to be honest, it felt more like a moment of madness when I signed up for the British 10k London Run 2013. But then it was done and it all made sense:

♥ I have a soft spots for the feline kind. Well, I do love all animals but cats have a very special place in my heart.

♥ We have recently adopted a cat from The Mayhew Animal Home, Poppy (the beauty in the picture).

♥ I have seen first hand the great work everyone at The Mayhew does.
♥ They care for abandoned pets (of which, sadly, there are more than you can imagine) and find them new homes.
♥ The Mayhew focuses heavily on the prevention of cruelty and neglect. I mean, if that isn't ahimsa!
♥ They run highly successful neutering, educational, fostering, volunteering and community projects.
♥ The Mayhew Animal Home is a charity and wouldn't be able to do all this great work without our support.

And so I have decided to move from passive admiration to inspired action. I will be running 10k on the 14th of July to raise cash for this fantastic charity and I need your help. Frankly, I will need all the help that I can get to make it to the finish line -- and your generosity might be just the thing that'll keep me going!

JUST GIVING

♥ If you happen to be in London on the 14th of July, come cheer me on!
♥ If this cause resonates with you, please pop over to my Just Giving page where you can make a donation. It's all very easy and secure. You can also find out more about the run and the charity there.
♥ And finally, please help by spreading the word. Forward this to your friends, family, colleagues. Pin, tweet, share on Facebook. Whichever works for you!

SPREAD THE LOVE

Now, I know that there are all sorts of terrible things happening around the world -- wars, starving children, natural disasters, senseless acts of violence... -- and that abandoned pets may seem like a minor issue in the light of those. But they do need us. In the world that we, humans, created, animals are helpless and at our mercy.

And spreading the love any way you can will inevitably raise the amount of love in the world, and eventually contribute to resolving things that are bigger than us. Think of the drop in the ocean. Every single act of love, no matter how tiny, matters.

OOH,  THERE'S A PRIZE!

If you are on the verge of giving... let me entice you a little -- the FIRST (sorry, got a winner there already!) and the MOST GENEROUS contributors will receive a very SPECIAL PRIZE (currently in the making, stay tuned!) So are you going to give? Come on, you know you want to!

My most heartfelt  T H A N K  Y O U  goes out to all of you who have donated already, as well as to those who are yet to donate!

^_^

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WHY YOGA // GARANCE DORE

Photo: Mark Metcalfe // Getty Images AsiaPac

I love Garance. She's funny, has great style and takes beautiful photos. AND, she clearly got the whole point of yoga (ie to get a smile on your face, essentially). What's not to love! 

You don't need to change one bit to do yoga. You don't need to be flexible. You don't need to become vegan overnight and you don't need to know sanskrit (the ancient indo-aryan language that yoga teachers like to throw in every now and then, some more, some less, whereas others prefer to stick with their local language, I know I do) --

ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS SHOW UP ON THE MAT! REALLY.

If you are a turned yoga sceptic, you'll love what Garance has to say about yoga, here and here. Even better, if you have any yoga sceptic friends that you would like to turn and who could do with a bit of a push and shove towards the mat, share this with them. They'll love what Garance has to say about yoga!

And hers is possibly my favourite reason to do yoga, ever: 

BECAUSE CHANCES ARE THAT AT THE END OF CLASS YOU WILL HAVE A GREAT BIG SMILE ON YOUR FACE.

^_^

YOGA AT HOME // PART 1

You've been going to yoga classes for a while, maybe even for years, but you haven't quite taken the practice home. You want to, but it hasn't really worked out.

You have tried. It feels weird, awkward. You can't remember the sequence. How long do you practice for? How long to hold the poses, are you going too slow, or are you going too fast? Do you practice in the morning or in the evening? There are so many distractions around... Is it wrong to do yoga whilst watching TV? And so it keeps going on around in your head... 

There's no doubt about it, a personal home yoga practice is quite different from going to class. Not better or worse, just different. There's no teacher to tell you what to do, there isn't the energy of a roomful of people practicing together at the same time. But, you can do it when you want, where you want, how you want to. And it's free!

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Like with anything new, the best way to begin is to keep it simple. And the most important part of a home yoga practice is so very simple: all you need to do is show up. Don't think about how long for and don't think too far into the future. Take it one day at a time. When you wake up in the morning, just commit to showing up on your mat at some point during the day. Start with a minute or two. Nothing more, nothing less.

THREE THINGS TO TRY:

♥ Keep your mat where you can see it (mine is permanently rolled out leaving me no room for excuses!)
♥ Sit down on the mat for a minute and see how it goes.
♥ Close your eyes and focus on your breath for another minute.

If you've done that, you can go ahead and pat yourself on the back -- you've done yoga today!

Do you have a personal practice? Or do you want to have one? What's your trick for showing up on the mat? What do you struggle with? Comment below or drop me an email -- I'd love to hear from you!

Get your mat out and have a great weekend!

^_^


P.S. If you made it all the way down here and liked what you read, why not sign up for my newsletter to get your weekly serendipity (and more) straight to your inbox!