I’ve been loving my outdoor walks lately, even though it’s winter. Although, perhaps winter is better for walking outside… it’s not so hot, I get to rug up warm, take an audiobook with me for company, and appreciate the outdoors. Sometimes I’ll carry an umbrella too if the weather looks dodgy 😊
I take the doggies for their walk, then drop them home, poke them inside the front door and escape for my own walk. A dog walk is not really a person walk as you will know if you have a dog or three. A dog walk involves stopping to sniff 100 times, plus getting under your feet if it’s our Daphne dog. The other two are better at not tripping me up, phew!
Today I thought I’d share tip no. 30 from my newest book ‘100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life’. It goes along with the topic you see 😊
“Do a ten-minute full body stretch, or a ten-minute sensual dance routine. Follow a video on YouTube for ideas.
Move your body. Love your body. She wants to flow and sway, not be rigid like a dry twig.
Set up a yoga mat permanently if you have the room or at least have it rolled up nearby so you can have five glorious minutes lying on your back stretching your hands above your head and pointing your toes in the opposite direction without having to go to too much bother.
Get into the habit of letting your body feel meltingly soft. Let yourself feel like you are filled with warm gooey gel. It’s a delicious way to be!”
Walking is one of those ‘delicious’ things for me. I just love it. I like things to be simple, and there really is no prep work for walking other than putting on your shoes. Sometimes I’ll change into leggings and a top, and other times I’ll just go for a stroll in my clothes I have on.
You can read ‘100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life’ for free on Kindle Unlimited, and it’s available to purchase on Kindle and in paperback from Amazon here.
I am continuing my fun series of reader photos to celebrate the launch of '100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life', where I invite readers to send in photos of anything that depicts living a soft, calm life in their eyes.
I have a real treat for you today. One of my writing students, Ann in Arizona, USA has sent images from her travels. They are stunning!
In Ann's words...
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'Nothing beats floating in the private lagoon at the Silica Hotel in Iceland. 7 minute walk from the Blue lagoon.' |
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'So calming to watch the feluccas sail along the Nile early in the morning.' |
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‘Wild horses grazing by the ocean on Easter Island. (fun fact: the horse outnumber the people 8:1)’ |
Thanks so much Ann, for your beautiful photos 😊
There's nothing so exotic here in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, but we have enjoyed a beautifully mild, blue-skied winter's day.
I've not long returned from another walk outside and I'm nicely buzzing. You know that blissful feeling when after you've done a little invigorating exercise? I wasn’t even walking that fast; just noodling along listening to an audiobook but it was simply lovely.
I asked for her permission to share them because I thought they went so
well with my current series of soft, calm photos to mark the release of '100 Ways to Live a Soft, Calm Life'.
Walking your dog and taking in the gentle foggy sights, feeling the cool dampness on your skin, capturing beautiful images... and even the enveloping feeling of low cloud and fog promotes a feeling of calm and softness. Like there is no-one else in the world except you at that moment.
Isn’t she such a talented photographer? I love how everything is tones of grey, even the bird below. (Apparently this is a White-Faced Heron according to the AI description in my phone's Photo app.)
And the audiobook is on its way! It’s been recorded and submitted, now it just needs to filter through all the various audiobook channels, hopefully in a week or two it should pop up on Audible.