Inside My Wardrobe

As we continue to come out of lockdown and attempt to rebuild a new normal, how do we avoid slipping into old habits? Amazingly, 800 years ago, St Francis of Assissi had some pretty insightful wisdom about what to do as you come away from crisis, he should know, he led his followers through many times of both invasion and crisis, surprisingly, the following points are still as relevant today …. Kindness and generosity – a spirit of service and non-materialism. The strength of community in forging new shared pathways towards a more fulfilling life in times of challenge. Love for and nurturing of nature. Simple and fresh food, with occasional fasting. Supporting the roles of women as compassionate and wise leaders, as embodied in St Francis’s elevation of the role and influence of St. Clare, his childhood friend. A sense of our place in the universe – a celebration of the sun, the moon, and the stars – taking our daily focus to a level beyond the everyday to our place in creation. Transcendence of the mundane

Yay us, we have survived 100 days of lockdown!! But if it takes between 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit we are in danger of slipping back into our old ways unless we consciously make the effort now to pinpoint those changes and commit to them. So I decided to come up with a checklist to hold myself accountable and remind myself, hence the title, that this year has truly given us the gift of hindsight and we don’t want to forget what we have learned. They say elephants have amazing memories like humans, they mourn their dead – they literally have funerals, they bury them with branches and leaves, they have an incredibly advanced emotional memory as is their ability to problem solve. I don’t want to forget what I have gained from this pandemic which has brought so much trauma and devastation to many lives. Like a war, there is a cost and we remember those who gave their lives – in a similar vein, people have lost their lives to Covid whilst others have had the chance to improve their lives, in s

Being single, childless, navigating online dating, face yoga, threesomes, fear of another recession, losing parents and dealing with grief alone – we go everywhere and believe it or not, manage to laugh our way through a chunk of it! So This episode comes off the back of one of your suggestions earlier in the year about living an alternative life, not getting married or having children – so I invited an old friend and colleague of mine, journalist Bibi Lynch on as she regularly writes about this in magazines and newspapers …. We actually cover a huge amount of ground, she talks about how the recession in 2008 wrecked her life, the early loss of parents, how she’s not had the chance to have children, she's had abusive neighbours, a real 10 year slog  …and then the pandemic hits and how you deal with all these things when you’re on your own – we talk a lot about being single and how society still doesn’t make space for the 25% of women who will never have children, we talk about online dating, face yoga, we tal

Finding ourselves, properly discovering who we are, deep beneath the surface is the very beginning of an awakening to life so much fuller than we may have ever imagined. In fact I imagine this will be one of those episodes that we revisit and listen to again and again as it’s a treasure trove of much wisdom. To hear more from Natalie, to try her meditations or classes, you can visit www.thecreateseries.com or you can  listen to her podcast called Let’s Play In a nutshell, we hear a LOT of thought provoking things in this episode,  we talk about the impact of life before lockdown and why we often felt so empty and unfulfilled and how if we are willing to, we can learn to expand into ourselves so that we can feel more deeply, listen to and connect with our instincts and that inner voice more regularly, Natalie talks about how to truly find ourselves so that we can BE ourselves, there’s so much in here that I know you’ll love! Natalie Roy is a Canadian actress and brings such a rich conversation to this episode.

The world feels as though it has been turned upside down and shaken to its core and with everything tumbling around at our feet how do we move forwards? When everything seems as if it can never be the same again, how do we do our part in creating a change? Climbing out of a hole involves hard work and determination and by taking one step at a time, we will get there. We take wisdom from the cupboard under the kitchen sink, being lost in Paris, Anthony Robins, Dory, Elizabeth Gilbert, a tapestry, knitting, ladders and even the Incredible Hulk in order to discuss further so that post pandemic, we embark upon a period of curiosity and change that allows us to be more understanding and connected to our humanity and nature so that this world can become a better place for us all. Quotes during the episode: Elizabeth Gilbert “I will not punish myself for the process” Anthony Robbins on taking control of the shoulding thoughts “I will decide” Dory “Just keep swimming” This is the link to our Facebook group page or

With all the events going on across the world at the moment following the murder of George Floyd, I realised how little comprehension I have had of racism in Britain and so wanted to have an open discussion on the podcast to hear more. There is no denying that this is an absolute atrocity that continues to play out under our noses and I have felt deeply challenged for not taking it more seriously and for not realising the impact it has been having on those I love. For this episode, I invited my good friend, Ayozie Pollendine and her 2 daughters, Daniella 18 and Kezia 16 to talk with me. Ayozie moved from Nigeria to Britain when she was 15 and until then, had never experienced racism, or not being seen as normal. Hearing Ayozie’s experiences in the UK shocked me, I had no idea of my white privilege until now.  Racism, both conscious and unconscious is going on everywhere. It’s not enough to say be kind, we need to do better at talking about it, at looking under the surface and at educating ourselves.  I will n

Self-care and self-work are two very different things, does the latter fall into indulgence though or is it an invaluable part of our journeys to emotional and mental health? Addictions therapist Mandy Saligari says “your ability to be comfortable in your own skin is fundamental as to whether you might need to self-medicate later” and you will be surprised to hear, self-medication is not just drugs and alcohol! Following on from last week, episode 062 with Angie Fadel, we talked about shoulding, and how often we find ourselves feeling guilty because we think that we SHOULD be doing something that we aren’t. Our THOUGHTS have huge power over the way we feel and that’s what I wanted to touch on in this episode as a therapist friend of mine said only a couple of weeks ago “feelings are always generated by thoughts”. So whilst our feelings are important to feel, if our thoughts are mismatched with reality, we will find ourselves on these feeling journeys based in unreality. So if our thoughts generate our feeling

How many times have you said "I should have ...." today? Laced with guilt and expectations often from an unknown source, we regularly put unnecessary pressure on ourselves to live according to someone else's expectation, but why?    I was watching Avengers Assemble the other day and Thor's mum delivers this profound line: "Everyone fails at who they should be, the measure of a person is whether they succeed at being who they ARE"  So in this episode we talk about emotional intelligence, boundaries, acknowledging and giving language to our emotions, recognising our needs, knowing our limits, lessons learned from lockdown and most importantly, tools to help us peel back the layers of life that we have built up over the years that hold us back from fully engaging with who we are for fear of rejection, further pain or just getting something wrong - HOW TO RID OURSELVES OF THE SHOULDS! My guest Angie Fadel is based in Portland Oregon, runs meditative archery workshops, does a lot of work with people around managin

What do you do when you get back from work just after midnight and find that you can’t get in because the doors are locked with keys still in the locks? You think a lot whilst trying to keep warm, not lose your cool and make the most of a night spent under the stars!  So what ended up being a whole night on the driveway whilst watching the stars and the sun rise, I got a glimpse into the monastic routine of rising at 3am, enjoyed memories of Zanzibar and the Indian Ocean and pondered further on connection with life beyond language and logic, outside the machine we live in and acknowledging the importance of hanging on to the peace we have found!

This week, we talk all about business! It is being said that because of the corona lockdown, 1:5 businesses will never open their doors again so there is a LOT of change ahead, but that also means there is a lot of opportunity in store for those interested in starting up their own company and pursing passions and ideas that might have been hanging around for a while.   We bounce around all over the place, from knowing when to follow your instincts, spot opportunities and the importance of courage. We talk about recognising your passions and the essence of who you are and knowing what you can bring to the table as those are the things that will keep you going when the going gets tough; the importance of hanging on, when to be ballsy and when to be careful; we discuss the timing around finding investment, how to find out if you’re cut out for running your own business, the importance of failure and the value of self belief. We also cover why you should not let outward circumstances hold you back, and actually t

Well this one’s a bit of a from the heart episode if I’m honest. I don’t know about you but I feel like I’ve travelled a fair non-physical distance over these last few weeks that has taken me deeper, taught me lessons about myself and I’ve observed some fundamental truths of life. Here’s what I’ve learned through Captain Tom, yoga, and doing a jigsaw …..

Why do we wait for a disaster in order to show our true colours? What is love anyway? Universal laws v laws written by man, unconditional love, gloves made from ants, shinrin yoku, the Truman Show, the green and the blue - its amazing what fits into 30 mins! I have found it so inspiring and uplifting to see the outpouring of love during this time of lockdown because of the Corona virus and I really hope that this love continues to infect and effect us so much deeper than any virus ever could, because we are seeing it pouring out everywhere and its GOOD! Elle magazine wrote an article earlier this week called “12 individual acts of kindness proving love and humanity will win over the coronavirus” and they talked about moving our focus from scaremongering to caremongering so in this episode we are going to celebrate and talk about, LOVE. Tonight, Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need are coming together for THE BIG NIGHT IN and the Comic Relief Tshirts are drawn by artist Charlie Mackesy with the simple caption

This week we threw open the floor to everyone on the Facebook group page to talk about how we are all doing at this stage of the Corona lockdown and with lots of struggles alongside lots of wins, there’s a real mixed bag of emotions and experiences afoot so join my daughter and I as we navigate our way through cabin fever, anxiety, less laundry and more …..

A marathon runner trains for the long race both physically and mentally and when we are in the midst of the marathons that life throws our way, such as the corona virus lockdown, there are some tools that help. So like a long distance athlete, we can find ways to keep going, with a sense of hope, peace and belief in a world that heals. I think we are at that stage where for many, its beginning to hurt. We’ve all put our best foot forwards and embraced this newness but the feeling of weariness is beginning to set in. How do keep going and hold on? There are thousands of key workers keeping the country going, daily putting their own health and the subsequent health of their families on the line There are families stuck at home within the same 4 walls who no doubt at times the patience with each other is running thin There are those who live on their own who really are done now with peace and quiet, even though Zoom, facetime and skype have all been a tremendous support I could go on – the reality is, whatever

Well here we are heading toward the end of week 2 of our official lock down and it’s been really interesting to see our emotions come to the surface as the dust has begun to settle don’t you think? Whilst the virus is in the air, there is also this weird sense of uncertainty, a kind of low hum of what next? We don’t know what to expect, we are all in the dark and this naturally causes this feeling of unease, of agitation, and of heightened emotion – I’ve had so many messages from you and read so many posts from others all saying the same thing, random tears, feeling fine one minute and then overwhelmed by an imposing sense of doom the next – it’s just a roller coaster and it’s a ride that we can’t get off - ….I remember years ago going to Chessington World of Adventures with our church youth group and I’ve never been one for heights and I was literally man handled on to the Vampire Ride, for the first few seconds I fought it, my fear rose to the surface but once I realised there was no going back, I embraced

We all respond differently at a time of crisis and this is where we really find out the stuff we are made of. As TS Elliot said, “If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” I am joined by author and speaker Cathy Madavan in this episode to talk about resilience and adaptability when life gets tough, the timing of her book Irrepressible couldn’t have been more perfect! We talk about flexibility, the importance of connection, having courage and other ways to manage this Coronavirus lockdown. Brene Brown says “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it's having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome.” And as a generation that has felt so in control for so many years, we have got away lightly with the need for courage – now really is the time for us to discover what matters, who we are and perhaps discover a whole new life through the process. You can find more about Cathy Madavan on her website and you can order her book "Irrepressible - 12 Principles

Well what a week! So much has happened since 7 days ago when I last recorded!! Yesterday I had some very sad news and one of the things that I found really hard was the reminder and awareness of distance from people. I shared my sadness on Instagram not because of wanting sympathy but because now more than ever, I think we need to embrace and acknowledge the entire spectrum of emotions and talk about how that looks. It’s important that we develop the ability to hold both positive and negative at the same time, if we can’t flex, we break. We have taken so much for granted for so many years. The ability to have a comfortable life, shops filled with everything and anything, deliveries to our doors, flights around the world, weekends away, holidays, pleasures of all shapes and sizes; we’ve been building and enjoying a world that has been so self-centred and driven by desire and literally overnight it’s all change. I know this is a difficult time, we have children uncertain of their futures, their routine has been

This is just a wee little catch up as the week has gone crazy with Coronavirus scuppering everyone's plans left right and centre so I'm flying by the seat of my pants here folks …..

How do you manage expectations or recover from disappointment and heartache? In some cases, severe disappointment can lead to depression so if we can set a life habit in place that enables us to manage these inevitabilites as they come, which they will, how much more resilient and prepared are we going to be when the big ones hit.

One of the requests for topics to address on the podcast has been how to bounce back and stay positive so over the last couple of weeks we have been looking at exactly that. Last week we talked with my friend Tanya Leary on who has just started Feed your Fabulous, a podcast talking with other women on how they take time out to do exactly that. On top of finding things we enjoy to do is finding purpose. Success doesn't come overnight and its worth pointing out that success for one person looks entirely different to success for the next. On top of that success shouldn’t be muddled up with fulfilment.  I often quote Professor Paul Dolan’s recipe for happiness. He says that happiness is the combination of pleasure and purpose over time. So in this episode we are going to look at purpose, hence the title, what gets your goat? I’m currently writing an article for a magazine on mental health and so I’ve been digging a little deeper into those habits and patterns we employ on a daily basis. Just this morning as my s