7 Tips for Bringing Some Colour into Your Wardrobe

One of the things that people know about me is that I have a love for colour and that I am passionate about encouraging people to wear beautiful colours that really make them shine. Whilst neutrals have their place in your wardrobe,  colour is what will really make you stand out, look healthy, vibrant and show your personality. Over the years of being an image consultant I have learnt that it is common for people to shy away from colour, preferring to stick with the easy and safer option of black or other neutrals. People tend of feel a bit afraid of colour mainly because they are not sure which colours suit them or how to put an outfit together that goes. Often people have certain colours they stick to, that are easy to grab when they are rushing round the shops and don’t often branch out to try new ones. If that sounds like you don't worry, you are not alone!

PLEASE NOTE - I am not against black! Black looks amazing on certain colourings and can really create a striking image. Unfortunately on other colourings it can over power and drain the colour from your face. If this is the case for you then focus on wearing a colour by your face and stick to black on your bottom half.

As there are so many lovely colours in the shops for Spring I have compiled my top 7 tips to wearing colour to help you out if that is something that feels a bit daunting to you:

1. You do not have to match your colours. This might be a bit shocking for some people but it is ok to clash colours or just wear colours together without neutrals in between, it is actually more up to date to do so. Matching shoes with your clothes with your eye shadows can look a little twee and out of date.

2. A dress is a really easy way of wearing head to toe colour. If you are not sure how to wear colours together then make it really easy for yourself and go for a dress!

3. To build your confidence around wearing colour experiment with some accessories to start off with. Shoes, scarves, handbags and necklaces are a great way of doing this.

4. If you have not had your colours analysed yet, which I recommend doing as it makes it all so much easier, then really assess the colour when you are looking in the mirror. Ask yourself does this colour make me look alive, vibrant and amazing? If not then it’s probably wrong. You never want a colour to detract from your natural beauty, change the colour of your skin tone, show up dark circles and lines or make you look washed out. This season there is a mix of very bright shades and more soft pastel colours, if you have soft low contrast colouring brights will over power you so instead go for the softer muted shades.

5. Light and shiny colours reflect the light which means they can make you look bigger if you wear them on an area you are not comfortable with. Dark and matte colours absorb the light which is why they can be more slimming. This is why people feel safe with black, although it is not only black that has this effect it’s any dark matte colour.

6. Watch where your colours break on your body. Where an item of clothing ends it will create a horizontal line across you, horizontal lines shorten or widen an area if you are not careful. This is also why people like to dress head to toe in black as it creates an uninterrupted vertical line which is lengthening and slimming. This same effect can be created with any colour though; you just have to blend your colours so you don’t have any horizontal lines ending on your widest parts.

7. Set yourself a challenge, the next time you go shopping ban yourself from going for your usual colours and try on some new ones. Only allow yourself to buy something if it is in a colour you have not worn before and looks great when you try it on. Then see what happens, often when people I have helped have started to wear new colours they start to get compliments from people or they simply feel a shift in their confidence/energy that day when they are wearing something different.

Often after having a session with me, and experimenting with new colours, my clients report how many complimentary comments they get from their new clothes. When a colour suits you perfectly you will naturally stand out with out having to be the most loud or confident person in the room. You simply are going about your everyday business but people notice and remember you which is fantastic if you are aiming for a promotion, looking a partner or networking for your business. Knowing you are looking great also helps to boost your own self confidence levels from within, you look in the mirror and like what you see. This creates a shift that will spill over into your how you move your body, speak and your actions.

If you'd like some help with knowing which colours will really suit you please get in touch. I offer 1-1 colour consultations and also group colour parties. The group sessions are a great excuse for a girlie get together and it's really helpful to learn from watching each other have your colours analysed.

Have some fun with colour and notice the difference it creates!

The Mastery of Love

  "Finally, if you are aware that no one else can make you happy, and that happiness is the result of love coming out of you, this becomes the greatest mastery of The Toltecs, The Mastery of Love.

We can talk about love and write a thousand books about it, but love will be completely different for each of us because we have to experience love. Love is not about concepts; love is about action. Love in action can only produce happiness. Fear in action can only produce suffering.

The only way to master love is to practice love. You don't need to justify your love, you don't need to explain your love; you just practice your love. Practice creates the master".

The Mastery of Love: A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship (Toltec Wisdom) by Don Miguel Ruiz

How could you practice love this week?

What Are Your Rules To Make You Feel Good?

Life Coaching

Consciously or unconsciously we all have rules about what has to happen for us to feel good. For us to feel our highest values, those feelings that are more important to us for example:

Love

Honesty

Success

Integrity

Fun

Power

Freedom

Security

Abundance

..........the list is endless, but we all have a few that we'd really like to experience on a daily basis.

Over time we have developed rules of what has to happen for us to feel our values. A good example is love. Take a few minutes now to consider what has to happen for you to feel love. A good starting point is to ask yourself, how do you know when someone loves you?

This is a great exercise to do with a partner, if you have one, or someone you spend a lot of time with that you love, this could be family or friends. Often our rules for feeling loved are very different from each others and you will show you love someone in the way that you experience it. So say you like to be told and your partner likes to know you make time for him/her. Then say you don't have that much time, you have a busy life,  but you make sure you tell him/her that you love them a lot, so they must know right? However, they may not experience that feeling of love because they do not feel like you are making time for them, even though you tell them you love them all the time.

Next think about another of your top values, what has to happen for you to feel that?

Look at your rules; how easy, on a scale of 1-10, have you made it to feel good?

Notice if what has to happen is external from you. Do you need others to tell you? Do you need others to show you? Is your feeling good reliant on what someone else does.

This is the trap we can fall into if we are not careful. We look externally to feel good, when actually we have it all within us to feel how we wish to feel on a daily basis. When you are looking outside, you are giving your power away to others and to circumstance. Plus it's a lot of pressure for the people involved to be responsible for your feelings, only you are and taking control of this gives them freedom too.

It is possible to change your rules, after all you made them up in the first place!! How about making up new rules that make it really easy to feel good when ever you want?

Start them off by saying "Any time I........." Some examples could be:

Any time I think of the people (and animals) I love, I feel loved.

Any time I think of all I have achieved in my life I feel successful.

Any time I walk in outside and pay attention to nature, I feel abundance.

Any time I think of all the options I have and choices I can make I feel freedom.

Any time I think of all I have in my life I feel happy.

Allow yourself time to work through all your highest values in this way and you will be empowering yourself feel good when ever you want!

Have a great weekend.

Be Aware of Your Body

Life Coaching be aware of your body

As you are reading this start bring your awareness into your body. Start to notice any sensations, maybe an itch, a smell, a pain, a tense area, your heart beating. How are you feeling? What emotions are present.

With both feet firmly planted on the floor close your eyes and just allow yourself to stop to really come into your body for a few minutes. Allow your self the time to explore.

OK so if you are reading this I am guessing you have finished and opened your eyes :-)

How often do you allow yourself time to do that? To really be aware of your body? We are often so caught up in our minds, in the past or the future. Stopping and really experiencing your body, how your feet feel touching the ground, what sensations are there helps us to be in the present moment.

Our emotions are in our body, think about the times when you have felt stressed or completely different, in love. You feel it in your body somewhere, you have sensations. We can tell a lot about our emotional state through how our body is. Illness or pain is often a symptom of something we have been ignoring or simply not hearing.

Our body, breath and mind are all inextricably linked, you change one and it impacts the others. To experiment try the following things when you are experiencing some kind of problem, stress or difficulty;

1) Allow your self time to stop, inhale deeply and then make the exhale 3 times as long. Repeat this ten times and notice any changes.

2) If you are feeling down and heavy, skip. Skip around the room, down the road, where ever you can, and notice the changes in your state.

3) Lie on the floor and put your legs up against the wall, close your eyes and again notice any changes to how you feel.

Stuart Heller once said "We move through space like we move through life". Next time you are walking down the street pay attention to how you walk. Is it heavy, light, direct and purposeful, indirect, fluid, slow, fast, are you within yourself or looking around at the people passing by you?

Then consider how does this relate to how you are in your life?

For example I have a habit of walking very quickly, fast and direct, most of the time. However I always am looking around at the people passing me by, as a result I am forever bumping into people I know, which is nice! In the rest of my life I do have a tendency to do things quickly, to be quite driven and also to be interested in other people. There are benefits to this and also downsides. Sometimes I am can do things way too quickly and am not fully in the moment savouring every experience. Knowing this means I can consciously slow down my movements, slow my pace down which then slows my mind down and brings me into a state of calm.

Becoming aware of your body is becoming self aware, to make changes in your life you can start by making changes to how you move your body.

5 Ways To Feel Good, Even In January!

Feel good Life Coaching tips

I am not sure about you but I find this time of the year can be the hardest to get through. The excitement of Christmas has passed, it's cold, dark and no one seems to be in the mood to have any fun. If you are not careful it can all get quite depressing!

If you are not fortunate enough to be escaping to sunnier climes following are a few suggestions on how to lift your spirits and feel good;

1) If you are feeling stuck in a low place ask yourself "what will make me feel better?". It sounds simple but often when we are feeling down, we think about why we are feeling down and it spirals downwards out of control. Instead switch this around by asking yourself what will make you feel better and do that. Love yourself enough to do what makes you feel good.

2) In fact, stop right now and make a list of 50 things that make you smile.  Maybe things you haven't done since you were a kid, they are often still what brings you joy. Make most of them achievable things that you can start to plan into your life, daily or weekly. I did this once whilst reading "The Artists Way" by Julia Cameron, the idea was that you were then to take yourself off on an "Artists Date" each week. I was in the middle of a tough break up at the time and this really lifted my spirits; I took my self off to art galleries, I baked cakes and I even went to a roller disco!

3) Look at your list of things you have planned to do and ask yourself if there are any "should do's" in there. You know, the things you don't really want to do but you feel you should. Then cancel them all. Set an intention for the next month to do only the things you want to do. Our life gets so full of doing things that we don't really want to do, we feel obliged, we don't want to let people down. Well now is the time to take care of yourself and do what you really want. In fact, when you are doing something out of obligation you won't be giving your true gorgeous wonderful energy to it anyway and others can pick up on that.

If it's reluctance for exercise (which can be the case in these cold months) find something that you enjoy rather than what you think you should do as it's good for you. There are so many ways of moving your body it doesn't have to be in a way that fills you with dread. Aside from my love of yoga I also really recommend Zumba in these winter months, it's so fun to dance around like crazy for an hour to light hearted music and you can't help but laugh your way through it.....which is also good for you too!

4) Invite a friend out for tea, eat the biggest most delicious slice of home made cake you find and share stories. You could even each bring 3 photos of the times in your life you have loved the most so far and then share those stories with each other. Taking about great times will remind you of all the good feelings and experiences you have had in the past (which also makes you feel them again) and that there are more on the horizon.

5)Drop the grasping and start allowing. Stop trying so hard to make things happen, when we get into a state of striving we often end up doing the opposite and pushing what we want away from us. (A perfect example is when you want someone to like you, the more you try to force it the more they run away!). In our minds we have a limited number of ways we think our dreams will happen but the Universe has an infinite number of possibilities. When you notice yourself acting from a place of fear and desperation bring yourself back to love, do all of the above, do things that bring you joy and have faith that there where you are at right now is perfect. In this space of allowing you will be open to noticing the gifts the Universe gives you.

I'd love to hear how you chase away the January blues, please do add your comments to help others who may be reading this and feeling a bit low.

Lots of love

xx

PS If you have been considering have some life coaching with me you have 7 days left to make the most of my January offers!

Often we can only get so far doing it on our own, we set goals, we read helpful books, we make a bit of progress then all of a sudden we can find ourselves stopped. Maybe doubts or fears have crept in or simply motivation has disappeared. This is where my professional skills as a life coach can support you further in making the changes you desire. Please do get in touch if you have any questions; 07779 150886/ [email protected]

Coaching can be done over Skype, in London or Brighton areas.

Foods To Keep You Warm and Healthy

Through my journey of becoming a yoga teacher and taking control of my health I have learnt a few additions to my cooking that have really made a difference. Now we are in the midst of Winter I'd like to take this opportunity to share what I have learnt to help keep you warm and healthy too. 1) Ginger. I am addicted to ginger at the moment, it's just so warming when it's snowy outside. Either fresh ginger in teas, curry's and soups or I have discovered Pukka Tea does the most delicious Three Ginger Tea. Really recommend it!

Ginger is great for inflammation and pain relief, I am sure it's been easing my shoulder injury and helping my breathing now I no longer take my asthma inhalers. It helps get rid of mucus and it's really good for your digestion.

2) Tumeric. Tumeric has so many healing properties, it's like a super food of spices. It calms your digestion, is anti inflammatory, antioxidant, it protects the liver, reduces blood cholesterol levels, protects against Alzheimers disease, cancer and heart disease. It's a staple for curries but also works well in soups and marinating.

3) If you have the beginnings of a cold try this drink through out the day:

Half juice lemon

Fresh ginger chopped up

a sprinkle of cayenne pepper (be careful of putting too much!)

Some honey to sweeten

It's delicious and will blast those germs out of your body.

3) Green Tea. If you are used to a caffeine hit in the morning and not ready to give it up just yet (since giving it up my mind is calmer, emotions are more balanced and I sleep better) try switching to green tea.  Even though it does still have some caffeine it has lots of antioxidant in it.

4) Pink Himalayan Sea Salt. We have all been told too much salt is bad for you but this type of salt contains 84 essential minerals, alkalises the PH of your cells, balances electrolytes and is anti ageing. As well as adding it to your food, taking a long bath in it will help sore muscles and will restore your natural energy. Plus you sleep really well after bathing in it. It's amazing! You can order it on Amazon or find in most health food shops.

5) Cinnamon is great for balancing your blood sugar and is also good for treating indigestion and colds. I am a big sucker for sweet things so stave off those cravings by adding cinnamon to porridges and having it in tea. Cinnamon and ginger in a cup of tea is lovely!

6) Sugar. Making an effort to reduce inflammation in the body(eg when you have colds/ asthma/allergies/muscular problems) is not good if you then eat a load of refined sugar! It creates inflammation and weakens your immune system.

7) Seeds. Seeds are a great source of magnesium, zinc, calcium and phosphorus needed for bone development, immunity and energy production. Magnesium is again great for reducing inflammation which is related to many diseases. They provide slow release energy so great if you need to have a snack, much better than something sugary which will give you a high and then a big low. I find sautéing seeds in soy sauce and some chilli makes them really tasty. I also add them to porridge and yoghurt which is an easy way to slip them into your diet with out even really noticing they are there.

So that's a little of what I have been learning over the past few years. I am not a nutritionist but I do like to take care of my body and health, it's all part of living a yogic lifestyle.

I also believe in the benefits of having a huge slice of home made cake every now and then,  that is simply good for you soul :-)

Show The World How Fantastic You Are

  Do you dress to show the world how fantastic you are? You know, all that great lovely warm stuff about you; like what you are good at, your loving characteristics, your playful side, your creative flare, you loyalty, your courage?

Or do you dress to hide something away? To shrink away from the limelight.

Many people I meet to discuss their image and how to make the most of how they look do the latter. Their main focus is hiding their bottom, their thighs, their tummy, their chest, the list goes on.

Most of the time when I ask someone to tell me something they like about them self they get a stuck.

Many of us are so used to looking in the mirror and focusing on what we don't like that is all we see and that makes it exaggerated. People always think they look a bit bigger than they actually are.

How about this year doing something completely different?

How about this year choosing to just focus on what you like about yourself?

Then show this to the world.

We all know that people make assumptions about you in the first few seconds of meeting you, which is largely based on your image and body language (followed by how you speak, only a small per cent is the actual content of what you say). If you are hiding yourself away how are they going to know how fantastic you are?!

Consider the times when it could be important to make a great first impression;  a few examples are networking for business, dating, wanting to step up your career ladder or make new friends.

I am NOT saying you need to dress to conform, wear something that does not feel comfortable to you or be head to toe in high fashion.

What I am saying is celebrate your greatness, dress in a way that feels totally authentic for you not based on a need to cover up or hide away.

Look in the mirror and focus on only what you like about yourself, dress to draw attention to this.

Grab a pen and paper to make notes on the following;

• Write 3 qualities you love about yourself
• Think of someone who loves you, write 3 qualities they love about you
• Think of someone you have worked with and write 3 qualities they like about you
• Think back to a time when you feel really good about yourself, write 3 words to describe how you were feeling, what you were saying to yourself.

Looking down at your pad these words are an expression of who you really are. Pick the top 3 you are drawn to the most, that you really feel represent your true self.

Next consider how you could show these qualities through how you dress. A few suggestions are:

Fun - bright colours, fun jewellery, quirky accessories.

Creative - mix matched colours and patterns, individual vintage, hand made pieces, unusual make up.

Friendly - softer colours are perceived as more approachable where as anything really contrasting (eg black and white) or really high fashion can be perceived as more powerful so could give off the impression of being less approachable. Yellow and orange are seen as friendly colours.

Loving - red, pinks, flowers and heart shaped accessories or patterns.

Confident - bold patterns and colours, statement pieces, high heels.

Have fun with this and enjoy fully expressing yourself. Remember like attracts like so if you are really showing the world your true self you are likely to attract people like yourself into your life.

Louise x

PS If you'd like some extra help with your image, learning what colours and styles will really suit you and how to express yourself fully please do get in touch! [email protected]

Life Coaching willpower

Life Coaching Willpower

Happy New Year!

I hope you had lovely time over Christmas and the New Year celebrations. I know it's often not the best of times; we are reminded of who is not with us any more, what has not worked out so well over the past year and any kind of other lack can feel like it's put in the spotlight.

The past couple of years have created lots of upheaval and unplanned change for many of us. Through these times though we have grown and have had the opportunity to connect with who we really are and to discover what is important to us. 2013 is a year for love and abundance. Many of us have read about the law of attraction and manifestation over the years, now is the time to use it fully and have the power to create what we want in our lives. Love and abundance are part of the energetic shift that was going on in December, which many people spoke about being the end of the world because the Mayan calender ended. This of course wasn't the case but just an opening for new energy to come down to our planet. It's up to us what we do with it, we can ignore it and carry on as usual or we can choose to utilise it.

Use this brilliant time to be loving to yourself and every being you come in contact with. Use it to set your intentions for the year and to spend time thinking about what you'd like to create in your life. Be aware of not being attached to your dreams, set your desires free and trust what ever happens will be for your highest good.

Around this time of year people think about things they want to give up or begin, i.e. New Year Resolutions! I read in The Metro this week that a study shows that 4 out of 10 people will break any resolutions they set with in 2 weeks! Half of them blame lack of willpower for this.

Willpower muscle

I regard willpower as one of the most important muscles we have. If you work on strengthening it you will be able to achieve anything you put your mind to. Following are my top 5 tips to strengthen your willpower!

1. What ever habit you want to start doing do it for 21 days and it will then become easier. It takes 21 days to create new neural pathways and thus create a habit.
2. Give yourself choice. Spend time to think about what is most important to you in your life, what you are committed to and then when ever you are being tempted ask yourself does it fit in with that? It is in alignment with what you want for your life? If not then you have a choice, you can either do it anyway and accept that you have or you can stick to what is important for you. For example I am committed to being an inspiring yoga teacher for my students, there are some days when I may not be in the mood to practice or perhaps just want to pig out on  unhealthy food. So when faced with temptation I have a choice. More often than not I will choose yoga and a healthy diet but every now and then I choose the latter, and just enjoy it for what it is.
3. Take any negatives out of your language. If you tell yourself "I will not eat chocolate today" your mind does not hear the not! Have you found the nights you go out saying "I'm not going to drink tonight" are the nights you end up with a bad hangover the next morning? Instead tell yourself how you would like to be instead, eg "I fill my body with healthy energising foods" or "I am clear headed, refreshed and revitalised".
4. Freedom is one of my highest values so any kind of discipline used to send me running for the hills. However I have since learnt that discipline is actually the path to true freedom. For example, one aspect of freedom to me is to be able to travel how ever if I am not disciplined with my money and health I won't be able to do that. Following a discipline such as yoga, martial arts, tai chi, meditation will help you to strengthen your willpower, which then gives you the freedom to do what you want in your life.
5. What ever it is you want to do, just start it. Often the biggest set back is getting started but once you have and you build momentum it will become easier.

Willpower notes

Something else I find helpful to keep my intentions in mind is to stick post it notes every where! "I am healthy and full of energy", "I look after myself", "I live every day abundantly", "I am love and courage", "I eat and drink only what is good for me" .....and so on.

Willpower Events

Just to let you know I am running some special offers this month to help you kick start your New Year, click here to see them all.

Love and abundance to you all xx

How To Strengthen Your Willpower

Happy New Year! I hope you had lovely time over Christmas and the New Year celebrations. I know it's often not the best of times; we are reminded of who is not with us any more, what has not worked out so well over the past year and any kind of other lack can feel like it's put in the spotlight.

The past couple of years have created lots of upheaval and unplanned change for many of us. Through these times though we have grown and have had the opportunity to connect with who we really are and to discover what is important to us. 2013 is a year for love and abundance. Many of us have read about the law of attraction and manifestation over the years, now is the time to use it fully and have the power to create what we want in our lives. Love and abundance are part of the energetic shift that was going on in December, which many people spoke about being the end of the world because the Mayan calender ended. This of course wasn't the case but just an opening for new energy to come down to our planet. It's up to us what we do with it, we can ignore it and carry on as usual or we can choose to utilise it.

Use this brilliant time to be loving to yourself and every being you come in contact with. Use it to set your intentions for the year and to spend time thinking about what you'd like to create in your life. Be aware of not being attached to your dreams, set your desires free and trust what ever happens will be for your highest good.

Around this time of year people think about things they want to give up or begin, i.e. New Year Resolutions! I read in The Metro this week that a study shows that 4 out of 10 people will break any resolutions they set with in 2 weeks! Half of them blame lack of willpower for this.

I regard willpower as one of the most important muscles we have. If you work on strengthening it you will be able to achieve anything you put your mind to. Following are my top 5 tips to strengthen your willpower!

1. What ever habit you want to start doing do it for 21 days and it will then become easier. It takes 21 days to create new neural pathways and thus create a habit.
2. Give yourself choice. Spend time to think about what is most important to you in your life, what you are committed to and then when ever you are being tempted ask yourself does it fit in with that? It is in alignment with what you want for your life? If not then you have a choice, you can either do it anyway and accept that you have or you can stick to what is important for you. For example I am committed to being an inspiring yoga teacher for my students, there are some days when I may not be in the mood to practice or perhaps just want to pig out on  unhealthy food. So when faced with temptation I have a choice. More often than not I will choose yoga and a healthy diet but every now and then I choose the latter, and just enjoy it for what it is.
3. Take any negatives out of your language. If you tell yourself "I will not eat chocolate today" your mind does not hear the not! Have you found the nights you go out saying "I'm not going to drink tonight" are the nights you end up with a bad hangover the next morning? Instead tell yourself how you would like to be instead, eg "I fill my body with healthy energising foods" or "I am clear headed, refreshed and revitalised".
4. Freedom is one of my highest values so any kind of discipline used to send me running for the hills. However I have since learnt that discipline is actually the path to true freedom. For example, one aspect of freedom to me is to be able to travel how ever if I am not disciplined with my money and health I won't be able to do that. Following a discipline such as yoga, martial arts, tai chi, meditation will help you to strengthen your willpower, which then gives you the freedom to do what you want in your life.
5. What ever it is you want to do, just start it. Often the biggest set back is getting started but once you have and you build momentum it will become easier.

Something else I find helpful to keep my intentions in mind is to stick post it notes every where! "I am healthy and full of energy", "I look after myself", "I live every day abundantly", "I am love and courage", "I eat and drink only what is good for me" .....and so on.

Just to let you know I am running some special offers this month to help you kick start your New Year, click here to see them all.

Love and abundance to you all xx

Give From The Heart

Life coaching Give from the heart

Happy Christmas!

Christmas is a time for giving isn't it? Although it can also be a time for feeling like you have to give when you don't particularly want to, or have the  time or money to, or maybe that all you are doing is giving but not receiving anything in return. Baaaaa Humbug!

Is giving really worth it when you are in that frame of mind?

Life coaching: Received wisdom

When I was away this year in India, a good friend said to me "I bet you receive a lot in your life" after noticing how regularly I was spending in his crystal shop. I flippantly replied something like "not yet, all I do is give, hopefully one day it will come back to me!" thinking about the amount of purchases I had been making during my entire trip.

When I got home that evening I had a realisation that I am constantly receiving, I have received so much in my life it's untrue. So many amazing things have happened to me, so many people have given me wonderful things, their love, energy and time. I instantly felt ashamed I has reacted so quickly the way I had, I think I was just caught up in shoppers guilt at the time!

I went back the next day to correct my reply and to thank him for the gift of that realisation. You see, again I had received something.

Often what we receive does not come from the same source we have given to. How many unexpected events, gifts, kind words have come to you when you were least expecting them?

I spoke to a friend the other day who was feeling a little depleted from so much giving at work but not getting anything in return. After our conversation she thanked me for helping her to realise all the other people in her life, outside from work, who have given to her this week.

The spiritual law of giving and receiving is that the universe operates through dynamic exchange. Consider your breath for example. Try breathing in then holding your breath for as long as possible. Notice how uncomfortable it feels to hold on to something that is supposed to be released. The same discomfort comes from breathing out and holding your breath, not allowing yourself to take in what is naturally yours.

Any time we are holding on to something, maybe feeling a sense of lack, it doesn't feel good. These negative feelings will have an impact on your energy, your thoughts, your emotions and your physical body.

Life coaching: Give unconditionally

When you give unconditionally from your heart it is a joyful experience. Giving does not have to be about money as we so often believe it is. It could be your time, your words, your kindness, your wisdom anything that is for the highest good of the other being.

Yes Christmas can feel a bit like a commercial opportunity at times but what it really is about is love. Love and connection.

So this Christmas give from the heart. What ever you can give it unconditionally with out expecting anything in return and enjoy the magic unfold. In fact continue this way from this moment forward, it's simply our natural way of being.

Thank you for reading my blog this year, I am grateful for every single one of you that reads it!

Lots of love

xxxxx

Allow Yourself The Gift of Reflection

Self Reflection

As we are speeding towards Christmas time it's easy to get caught up with all the extra social events, late nights, over indulgence and before you know it you are waking up on 1st January bleary eyed wondering what's next (and where are the pain killers)?!

This year give yourself the gift of reflection, the luxury of taking a few moments to yourself to think about how the year has gone and what you would like to create next. Often at Christmas the focus is on everyone else, which is lovely, however it's also important to take care of yourself and your needs too.

I have created an exercise to help you review 2012, to reflect how it's gone and what you have learnt. Allow yourself half an hour out of your schedule, find somewhere peaceful, have a notebook at the ready, close the door, light a candle and get comfortable.

Breathe

To begin with sit in a comfortable cross legged position, on cushions if need be, place your hands in your lap and close your eyes. Take this time to centre yourself, to ground yourself to the earth's energy below you and connect with the energy of the universe above you. As you inhale imagine drawing the energy from the ground up your spine to your heart centre, repeat this 5 times. Next as you inhale imagine pulling energy down from the heavens through the top of your head down to your heart centre, repeat this 5 times.

Once you have done this, simply sit in silence for a few moments paying attention to the natural rise and fall of your breath. When you feel ready slowly flutter your eyes open.

Gratitude

Ask yourself what you are grateful for from your experience of 2012. Really take time to explore this, aim to come up with at least 50 things.

What went well?

In your diary write your best experiences of 2012 in as much detail as possible, remembering what you saw, how you felt, what you could hear (including what others were saying and what you were saying to yourself) and smell. Really relive it in your journal.

What did you learn?

Through good and difficult times there is always and opportunity to learn. Reflect now on the situations that didn't go so well, what did you learn from them? Don't forget to also learn from what went well. Every experience given to us is a lesson in something.

Review the areas of your life

Take a few minutes to rate your happiness levels in each area of your life, on a scale of 1-10 (10 being 100% happy);

Relationship

Career

Money

Personal Development

Fun & Recreation

Spiritual & Contribution

Health

Friends & Family

Looking at your scores allow yourself a moment to consider what changes you might like to make in 2013 any of the lower scoring areas.

What might you do differently?

As you go into a new year considering all you have learnt what could you do differently moving forward?

Take some time thinking about creating an intention for the year ahead. What are you going to create? How are you going to be around that? Write this down as if you already have created it, this will help you to make it happen.

For example "It's Springtime, I am running a yoga retreat in a beautiful place in the countryside. My guests are enjoying yoga, relaxing healing treatments and have the opportunity to create their lives through life coaching. The intention for the retreat is fun, love and creation."

Visualise

Finally sitting down comfortably with your eyes closed and create a picture in your mind of what you would like to create. Visualize how you are being, what you are doing, saying, hearing, seeing, and how you are feeling. Really paint this picture in your minds eye. Once you have created a strong picture take it in your hands and place it into your heart. Feeling your body absorbing it into every cell and then project that image into your future. See yourself there in the future as it happens.

Take a moment to say thank you to the universe for helping you to make it happen. When you are ready open your eyes.

My Gift To You

I would really like to help you create your vision, to create a life you really love. From now until the end of January I have some special offers for coaching with me to help you make this happen;

6 x 1 hour coaching sessions

Over Skype - £45 per session (£270 total was £300)

By the seaside in Brighton - £54 per session (£324 total was £360)

In London - £66 per session (£396 total was £420)

One 2 hour booster coaching session to create and plan your goals for 2013

Over Skype - £75 (was £100)

By the seaside in Brighton - £85 (was £120)

In London - £95 (was £140)

A Create Yourself Day!

Why not treat yourself to a whole day with me to create and prepare yourself for your year ahead?

A Create Yourself Day will include:

A 2 hour yoga session

A healing Reiki treatment

A delicious healthy lunch.

Coaching to create your goals, plan them and work on any ways to thinking that might hold you back from achieving them. The coaching will be split up through out the day and will include time by the sea. I feel being close to the sea really helps you to get things into perspective and your creative juices flowing.

A guided yoga nidra (yogic sleep) session to fully relax you and send your intentions out into the universe.

At a special price of £268 (usually £340)

These offers are valid up until 31st January. Please email me if you would like to take advantage of these great deals or ask any questions; [email protected]

How to Live Every Day Abundantly

I have recently completed a 21 day meditation course with Deepak Chopra on Abundance, which explored what it actually is and how live every day abundantly. Since starting it new work opportunities have flowed to me, my sense of connection to the universe has strengthened and any thoughts around lack have faded away. I can't recommend this course enough!  If you'd like to take part it in yourself you can download it here.

Today I would like to share with you a few things I learnt from the course exploring how to live every day abundantly.

To notice abundance pay attention to nature

The universe is abundant; take time to notice the sunlight sparkling on the water, the birds building their nests, the trees gracefully swaying in the wind, the rain falling to nourish hydrate the land, flowers opening to the sunlight. Nature doesn't feel a sense of lack, it simply evolves moment by moment. Take time daily to be present and notice all the beauty and magic that surround us.

Only you have the power to stop abundance in your life

Your thoughts are the only obstacles to living abundantly day by day. Scarcity, lack and fear will hold you back from appreciating all you have in your life right now.  Take time to pay attention to what you have in your life, what you are grateful for. Ask yourself if you were living abundantly what would you be doing differently? If you have faith all your needs would be provided for how would you be acting? Then do that!

Affirmations, prayer, meditation, intention, taking action towards your dream will all help you keep in a positive abundant mindset.

Change your expectations

What you expect is likely to become your reality. If you expect life to be hard it will be! What abundant expectations could you create? "Money flows to me", "All I need is provided for", "There is an infinite source of abundance", "Everything I want in my life already exists I just have to access it".

What you want it already out there; love, money, happiness, freedom. Take time to go within, meditate and connect with the infinite source.

Give away what you want the most

You want love? Give love. You want more money? Give away some money. Giving away what you want the most will trick your mind into feeling like you have it to be giving it away so you will start to experience what it feels like to have it and this will help you to attract it.

We are all connected

So often if someone in your life gets something you would like for yourself you can be left with a sense of there won't be enough of it left for you. "They have it so that means I won't be able to". The universe is abundant, there is enough for everyone. We are all part of one pure consciousness, others wins are ours too.

The power of meditation

Taking time to go with in and dream of all you want to create in your life will help to send your intention out to the universe, it will help you to notice ways of making it happen through out your day to day life. When you connect to your centre, you feel a sense of peace, that all is well. Which it is, it's just our busy mind that makes us think otherwise!

Pay attention to gifts

What do you perceive as a gift? Pay attention to all the gifts that are bestowed to you each day. The gift of sight, hearing, intelligence, the food you have to eat, the opportunities you are given, the time someone makes for you. What gifts do you have to share with others? When you really think about it everything is a gift, even what you make perceive as negative can be a gift to learn and grow.

Value yourself enough to experience luxury

Do you value yourself enough to take a long soak in a bath, go out for tea (and eat a huge piece of cake!) with a friend, to spend the afternoon walking along the beach, in the cinema. Luxury does not have to be expensive, it's those little things that make yourself and others feel valued.

Pay attention to the choices you make

Are the choices and decisions you make always for your highest good? Take time to think about how you make them and how to ensure they are supporting you in what you want for your life.

These are just a few things I enjoyed from the course, like I said above I really recommend it! If you have any thing to share about how you live your life abundantly I would love to hear it, please comment below.

Namaste x

Learn To Switch Off

I was listening to an interview on Hay House Radio the other day with John Gray, the author of the best selling book Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. He was talking about stress and how men and women deal with it differently. He was talking about a test where men and women had the blood flow to their brain measured whilst sitting on the sofa after a day's work. Women had more brain activity showing than men. When asked what the women were thinking about they generally said something like  "all the things I should be doing other than sitting here". The men mostly said "nothing".

Unfortunately it's just in our make up that women find it harder to switch off. Gray was saying that once the sun has gone down and the work day is over, when nothing more can be done until the next day men can often just relax more easily. Women on the other hand will keep thinking about it all.

So what can we do to help ourselves switch off. Men if you are still reading, take some notes so you can help the women in your life!

1) Brain dump. We all love a list! Before you finish work for the day write down everything that needs to be done the next day and prioritise the things you need to do first. That way you are left with a sense of being organised for the morning, it stops you from leaving in a rush and needing to think about it when you would rather be to be switching off.

2) Plan something completely different to do in the evening, that is preferably relaxing as well. Maybe some yoga, pilates, art class or a meditation group. Something that will help you to think about something completely different.

3) Cut down on alcohol. I know some of you will be disagreeing with me right now as a glass of wine feels like it actually helps you to switch off. But does it really? Do you drink wine and then just talk about what you are stressed about all night anyway? The high sugar content in alcohol can lead to insomnia, or a very disturbed sleep, which will make you feel worse in the morning. Lack of clear head the next day could then make your day even harder work and it then becomes a never ending cycle.

4) Try reading instead of watching TV. Some times its very easy just to stare at a TV but not actually pay any attention, getting lost in thoughts elsewhere. However when you are really stuck into a good book your mind can be totally transported in to another world and time can just fly by.

5) Turn your computer/ smart phone off. The constant need to check emails and social media sites is totally addictive and we can find it hard not to reply to messages immediately. If they are work messages they can wait until the morning, be firm with yourself, you deserve a life too. Life balance is important for your health, and sanity!

6) Already mentioned above but worth a point all of it's own too, exercise. Exercise what ever form works for you helps to get you out of your mind into your body. Of course I will promote yoga as it really does help you to connect with your body and breath which naturally helps you to relax. However I also love Zumba, focusing on what steps to take next and the fun dance music will not leave any space for thoughts about your day.

Just for the next week look at you diary and plan something different for the evenings, something that will help you to switch off for a few hours. Then pay attention to any shifts in how you feel this creates.

Bring Some Lightness To Your Day!

Life can get so serious some times can't it? All these "should's" we put on our selves, or take on from others. Worries about money or what may or may not happen in the future. Fears about failing. Being bothered about what other people are going to think. Over analysis about how are relationships are working out. The list is endless.

Where has all the fun gone?! They have even created laughter yoga classes now to remind us how to laugh!!! (They are actually very funny).

Can you notice the connection between everything in that list?

It all comes from our minds. It's our thoughts that make things so serious.

So what if you fail? As Thomas Edison once said about inventing the light bulb "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

So what if you don't do what you feel you "should?" Is the world going to fall down around you?

So what if people make a judgement about you? You can be sure it will be linked to how they feel about themselves anyway.

So what if you can't buy that new outfit or new thingymajiggy for your house. At least you have somewhere to lay your head at night.

I was listening to an interview with the woman who invented Spanx pants the other day, Sara Blakely. She was speaking about the gift her father gave her whilst she was growing up, the gift knowing it is OK to fail. He used to ask her and her siblings what had they failed at each week, and when they said what it was he would give them a high five! How wonderful is that? Growing up with this mind set encouraged her just to try things out with no fear if they worked or not, and now she is a billionaire thanks to her invention Spanx.

It's time to lighten up!

Laugh!

Smile at strangers, it's contagious.

Jump for joy at every great thing that happens in your day!

Skip down the road, I guarantee it will make you and others laugh!

Play games.

Be silly.

Have a food fight.

Do what ever it takes to bring some laughter into your life.

You have a choice how you choose to be in any given situation. Even a funeral can be turned in to a joyous celebration of your loved ones life if you choose to make it that way.

I heard a great quote recently. "Life happens FOR you, not against you." There is a gift in every situation, if you look deeply enough you will see there is always something to learn, something good to take away from it.

Just for today let go of any pressures, burdens, "should's" and worries....I bet this time next year if asked you what they were you would not remember them anyway.

Give yourself permission to lighten up and smile. This is your day.

xxx

The Power of Your Thoughts…. Part 2

One week on and here are the results of my Big Apple Experiment. I have to say it was an interesting exercise to do, it’s not in my nature to think hateful thoughts and I don’t often experience anger so for most of the week I simply ignored the hate apple, every now and then telling it how horrible it was. Then feeling quite guilty, so sending that guilt to it too! Until just the day before I was going to finish the experiment when I had the most frustrating phone call. You know the ones where you are passed around and the person on the other end of the line is faking compassion but not really helping at all. Well after I got off the call I off loaded all of my annoyance on to the poor apple….that is when the poor thing really took a turn for the worse. I am sure you can guess which apple is which. The love apple is the least mouldy one.

If you’d like to see other peoples results you can see them via Nikki Owen’s (who created this experiment) facebook page.

How amazing is this to show the effect our thoughts have? As I mentioned last week an apple has the same % of water content in it as a human being.

If feelings of guilt, hatred, anger, frustration rot an apple what effect is it happening on us and those we direct it too?

We all have an awareness that love and gratitude make us (and those around us) feel good, they make our heart sing and our energy rise.

I read a great quote by Wayne Dyer this morning who write extensively about the power of your thoughts and intention;

“If you become what you think about, and you’re thinking about what’s wrong with the world and how angry, ashamed and fearful you are, it stands to reason that you’ll act on those thoughts and become what you are thinking about.”

A great practice every day is to spend a few minutes in mindful meditation thinking about all that you are grateful for. The deeper you look into what you are grateful for the more you find. For example the food you have to eat; give thanks to all the people who grew and produced it for you, who delivered it to the shops, the people who opened the shops and served you so that you could buy it, the money you had to pay for it, your health to be able to go buy it, the equipment you have in your kitchen to prepare it, the light you have in your home to see make it, the goodness the food gives you, being able to have a choice about what you have to eat……you get the idea.

It’s so easy to fall in to thinking about lack, what you don’t have, what is not good enough but doing this simply magnifies it and becomes your reality.

As well as gratitude thinking about those you love it a lovely daily thing to do. Personally I like to sit in a comfortable cross legged position, with my hands in prayer at my heart centre. I allow a little air pocket in between my palms and start to fill it up with thoughts of all the people and animals I love, when it is full to the brim I slowly open up my fingers like flower petals and visualise sending that love out to all of them.

Just two nice little daily routines to fill you with love and gratitude.

Enjoy your day xx

The Power of Your Thoughts

The Power of your thoughts: Life Coaching

Through the 1990′s Dr Emoto, from Japan, ran a series of studies on the effects of words, prayer and music on water crystals. He filled different containers with water and gave them different labels such as war, peace, love, thank you and you make me sick. He prayed over some and played different types of music to others.

Next he froze them and took photographs of the different crystals that were forms from each container. The effects were incredible, the crystals that had been prayed over, sent love and gratitude to were beautifully formed where as the ones that had been sent words of hatred or simply ignored were fragmented, dark and quite ugly in comparison.

You can read more about and see photos of Dr Emoto’s experiment via his site.

Why is this relevant to us? Well our bodies are made up of about 65% water. If the water crystals react so differently to different thoughts, sounds and prayers imagine what happens to us humans?

I attended a brilliant course last week called An Audience with Charisma, the creator of it Nikki Owen has devised an experiment for us all to test the water crystal theory. It’s called The Big Apple Experiment. You cut an apple in half, put one half in a jar labelled HATE and another labelled LOVE. For the next week or so send love and hate/frustration/fear/guilt to each respective jar, then check out the results. It’s really quite amazing.

Why apples? They have the same amount of water in them as we do.

I am currently doing my Big Apple Experiment and will post photos of the results when I have finished.

What you say to others and yourself has an impact on a deep level. Take care of your thoughts and words.

xx

Learn to Accept Yourself

  Over the past 8 years of being an image consultant there are three common things I have noticed that we humans often to do at least one of when looking in a mirror;

1. We focus on the bits of ourselves that we don’t like

2. We think we look bigger than we actually are

3. We have a tendency think we are not good enough

Most of this is to do with comparing ourselves with others. We notice other people’s good bits and revert back to thinking about our perceived “bad” bits. The bits we don’t like about ourselves we look out for in others and they always seem to look better.

For example if you don’t like your bum, you will be constantly checking out everyone else’s behinds to see how they compare to yours. However if you are happy with that area you probably never look!

Ultimately people are so concerned with how they look they probably won’t even notice the parts you dislike about yourself.

I am often surprised to find when I ask my clients to tell me one thing they like about themselves, many struggle. Even when I have met people with model looks there is always something not right.

What if you were to purely focus on what you did like?

We are all different, we all have our own unique beauty……after all wouldn’t it be dull if we all looked the same?! Attractiveness is purely subjective, what I may find beautiful may not be your cup of tea.

Could you imagine the chaos if we all were attracted to the same things?!

Plus it’s not just about how you look, it’s the way you move, the way you speak, your personality and also your chemistry with who you come in contact with.

By truly accepting yourself you learn to appreciate all your great bits, make the most of who you really are and stop all that negative self-talk that just puts you down.

You are amazing, inside and out. Other people know this; it’s time to appreciate it yourself.

My mission for you this month is to;

1) Whenever you look in the mirror pay attention to what you like about yourself.

2) Ask yourself “how can I draw attention to the bits I like?” You can do this with colour, make up, hair, extra details, lines of clothing, having that area on display (for example your legs or arms) and so on.

3) Every time someone says something nice to you, accept the compliment (we have a bad habit of dismissing compliments sometimes!) and if this really is a challenge for you write it down as well. Collect compliments and refer back to them when you are feeling low! To learn full how to make the most of your body, wear the most flattering styles and colours for you please contact me at [email protected]

Words to Watch Out For!

  Our human mind is very quick to make us feel bad about ourselves if we are not careful. You would think we would only nurture and say kind things to ourselves but sadly this is not always the case. We can have a tendency to knock ourselves when we are down. Simply being aware of this and watching out for a few sneaky words that creep in and made us feel bad can change all this though.

Following are a few words and phrases to watch out for;

IF; “If only it had been different”, “If only I hadn’t done X” If only keeps us stuck in the past. “What if X happens” is where our mind is running of into the future worrying about the “what if’s”when they haven’t even happened yet and may never do. It’s a really waste of our energy, right now is where we create our future so instead focus on what you can do in the moment to steer you in the right direction.

Should/Ought; When I am coaching someone as soon as I hear the word should, I hear alarm bells. Anytime you feel like you “should” do something it’s usually when you are trying to live by someone else’s values. What your friends would do or your parents think you ought to. It will always condemn you as to do something that is important to someone else but not yourself will never feel right, your motivation to succeed won’t really be there and you could be setting yourself up for failure. Instead look to what you really want, how you feel is right to behave and follow that. Only you know what is best for you and it doesn’t have to be the same as those around you.

Enough; “ I'm not good enough”, “I am not slim enough”, “I am not good looking enough”, “I don’t have enough”. Compared to what? The word enough leaves you feeling in a world of lack. Instead focus on what you do have, what you are grateful for and all your great qualities you have to offer.

Always/Never; “I always”, “I never”, these two sayings provide such an easy justification to keep behaving the way you are and to condemn others. It’s not true and we are not that consistent.

Can’t; This little word cuts of possibility, anytime you find yourself using the phrase “I can’t” ask instead “How can I?”.

Therefore/which means; Our human minds automatically search for the meaning of any event, and often when we are not given the meaning we make it up. However it is not always the truth! EG “He didn’t call which means I did something wrong/ he doesn’t like me/ there is something wrong with me”. “I did not help that old lady across the road therefore I am a bad person” “I got cross with my child therefore I am a bad mother”. Be careful of the assumptions you make they are not always accurate and we are very quick to make an event mean something bad about ourselves.

When X happens then I will be X; “When I get my pay rise then I will be happy”, “When I get on holiday then I will relax”. How about if you were to be happy or relaxed right now? Don’t put off your feelings to a later date, it may never happen. Pay attention to the things you say to yourself and make sure they support you rather than setting yourself up to feel bad.

Importance of Eating in Season

  Eating healthy can seem overwhelming. We are bombarded with all or nothing messages like “you must eat organic all the time” or “you must eat only foods in season.” While these are great goals, eating healthy doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. And while the importance of eating in season can’t be denied, it’s actually pretty easy to do.

In our world of global commerce, where we can get just about any food at any time of the year, why would we need to eat a certain food just because it’s in season? Isn’t everything in season at one time or another someplace? What is the importance of eating in season? Why does it matter?

Why seasonal eating is important

First of all there is the taste, when you eat foods that are in season they just taste better. Think about eating a tomato straight off the vine from the garden, or picking a ripe plum from the branches of a plum tree and eating it straight away. The flavors are so intense it’s almost decadent. It’s because you are eating these fruits when they are ripe and in season, when they are at their healthiest. And when fruits and vegetables are at their healthiest, they are also at their tastiest.

Next there is the nutrition, when you eat fruits and vegetables that are in season they provide more nutrients than at any other time. When produce is picked before it’s completely ripe because it has to travel to the store, it loses some of its nutritional value. Further, transporting produce sometimes requires irradiation (zapping the produce with a burst of radiation to kill germs) and preservatives (such as wax) to protect the produce, which is subsequently refrigerated during the trip. Neither of these procedures improves the fruit or vegetable’s nutritional value.

Finally there is the economics of eating in season. It’s cheaper. When produce is in season locally, the relative abundance of the crop usually makes it less expensive. It’s the basic law of supply and demand, and when crops are in season you’ll be rewarded financially by purchasing what’s growing now. And if it’s in season where you live, transporting the item to your store will be shorter, and less expensive. Ideally having your own personal vegetable garden and fruit orchard on your property would be the cheapest way to go but since that’s probably not feasible, a short trip to the store or farmer’s market for both you and the produce is not nearly as pricey as importing an item from across the world.

How to eat seasonally

Obviously in different parts of the world, different foods will be in season at different times. This holds true even within the UK: London has a different growing season than say Manchester. But there are some general guidelines you can follow to ensure optimal nutrition and taste in every season:

• In spring, focus on tender, leafy vegetables such as Swiss chard, spinach, Romaine lettuce, fresh parsley, and basil.

• In summer, stick with light, juicy foods including strawberries, apples, pears, and plums; vegetables like summer squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and corn; and spices and seasonings like peppermint and coriander are all great summer choices.

• In fall, the autumn harvest foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, and garlic are the best choices. The best spices and seasonings are things like ginger, peppercorns, and mustard seeds.

• In winter, root vegetables are the best choices including potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips and beets.

Sometimes eating healthy can be intimidating. You want to do the right thing, but when we are told to do so, you “must only eat foods that are in season”, well, that can be downright daunting. Fortunately healthy eating is not an all or nothing proposition; you aren’t going to compromise your health if you eat a tomato from Spain in January. So don’t stress about eating the occasional out of season fruit or vegetable (hey, you’re eating fruits and vegetables). But if you generally try to eat foods that are in season where you live, you will not only be rewarded with better nutrition but also taste and perhaps a little extra change in your wallet.

The Power of Colour

In my earlier post this month about What is Reiki? I detailed the different energy centres called Chakra's we have running through our bodies. Each Chakra has a different function or effect on our body, mind and emotions. For example our heart chakra links to how open our heart is to give and receive love, how we are around relationships and how compassionate we are. There is a colour associated with each Chakra and you can utilize these colours through what you wear to bring your attention to what area you would like to focus on, heal and express to the world. Using the example of the heart Chakra, wearing the colours green or pink, especially around your heart will help to heal and open your heart to love. Rose Quartz, Aventurine and Malachite crystal pendants are perfect for this.

Following are a list of the seven Chakra's, their corresponding colours and how to translate them into what you wear:

1. Root - Security, fear, survival, grounding and physical energy. Brown or Red. Brown is psychologically seen as a very grounding earthy colour. Wear red to overcome fear and demonstrate your power and self confidence.

2. Sacral - Action, sexuality, peace and creativity. Orange for creativity, peace and energy (action) and Red for sexuality.

3. Solar Plexus - Emotion, power, wisdom and action. Yellow is well known for being a happy colour, try wearing a yellow top and be miserable! People tend to react positively when they see someone wearing yellow, it's a natural response.

4. Heart - Love compassion, life force and relationship. Green and Pink. Pink it well known for romance, femininity and love.

5. Throat - Self expression, creative energy and sound. Blue, it's such a calming colour and turquoise is great if you are in a situation where you want to ensure you communication is clear.

6. Brow/ Third Eye (inbetween eyebrows) - Intuition, intelligence, light and telepathy. Purple is seen as a spiritual colour, also as one of royalty. Amethyst is a great stone to wear to calm the mind, remove headaches and help you sleep.

7. Crown - Spiritual vision, enlightenment and positive energy. White for it's purity and it's perceived links with spirituality.