If you are a regular to Frost you may have seen my face around here before. A few years back when we were living in Bangkok I kept you up to date with our adventures there. On our return to the UK 4 year’s ago, in the midst of a divorce, my musings were less exotic or sunny in both climate & temperamen, so I took a break.
This year I have been sharing my thoughts on the practice of meditation & mindfulness & waxing lyrical about all things yoga. Recently the wonderful team at Frost invited me to embrace a new role Wellness & Wellbeing editor – what an absolute honour, I leapt at the chance. Thank you. So you’ll be seeing a little more of me from now on.
I hope to turn a spotlight on lots of different holistic approaches to practicing self-care to promote a genuine sense of wellbeing & health. I am a huge advocate of self-care & work closely with my clients to help them craft a self-care tool kit to help them thrive in life so I hope to share not just my favourite tips & techniques but also new things I’ve never heard about before.
Why am I so passionate about self-care? Well over a decade ago I was diagnosed with severe agitated depression & so began a long journey of self-discovery & self-development which also inspired me to embrace self-care & teach yoga & mindfulness so integral were they to my recovery.
More recently I was floored by horrendous menopause symptoms. I honestly thought I was going mad. Or had early onset dementia. Life was very frightening , chaotic . I was absolutely broken.
It was when I discovered it was the menopause that my self-care practices came into their own. I knew I had to slow down, turn inwards & do the work so that I could heal. My own practices & spiritual quests went up to another level. I combined this with a lot of hard work & of course a healthy dose of HRT & can now look back on the past 18 months & wouldn’t change a thing.
I could not have predicted the children and I would be where we are today: settled, happy, thriving, genuinely in love with life. I’ve learnt so much along the way which has changed the way I think, live, my teaching, indeed, my whole way of being. In a very subtle but no less profound way.
So I will be taking time to shine the spotlight on the menopause.
It’s a subject that has come a long way in this past year: there are more companies offering menopause solutions in the work place; it was recently announced that the cost of HRT prescriptions will be cut, making this treatment, which can be life saving for some women, more readily available & most of all we are talking about the menopause in a way we never have before.
1 in 10 working women walk away from or loose their jobs because of the menopause – what a staggering waste of this expertise & talent. 90% of peri-menopausal women are misdiagnosed with mental health issues (err hello!) & 10% of menopausal women experience mental health problems & suicidal thoughts (been there done that). It is estimated that 13m women in the UK are going through peri-menopause or menopause – that’s a lot of women out there struggling. If it’s not you, I’m pretty sure there is someone close to you that it does resonate with.
So I will be shining a light on this cause, using interviews with movers & shakers in the field of menopause & sharing my own journey in the hope I can inspire you that this often life changing transition can be the catalyst for creating the kind of life you have always dreamed of. After all I went from broken to better than ever & so can you.
And most of all I hope to inspire you to take your self-care seriously, whether you are menopausal or not. You deserve to be a priority in your life & to take some time to nurture & nourish yourself. It will help you to be a happier, healthier & more fun version of yourself & all those around you will benefit. How? You’re modelling the value & importance of self-care & it sets and example.
I’m looking forward to this journey with you. Can’t wait to begin.
If you would like to practice yoga with Alex her YouTube channel offers free short classes for everyone & is available here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQlKZJ7MeyYc6lqkv6seISw
Alternatively all of her classes are streamed on live on Zoom, for more information message her at alex@alexbannard.com
Free resources are also available on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AlexBannardYogaMindfulness
And her website is www.alexbannard.com
Alex is based on the edge of the stunning Cotswolds & has been sharing her love for all things yoga & mindfulness for almost a decade, not just in the UK but also around the world. Her mission is to help everyone discover a more mindful way of living & to encourage them to embrace regular self-care practices for a happier & healthier way of being.