How I’m starting over with my New Years Goals and Resolutions

I hate it when people say how fast time is passing because it’s always time that you never get back (makes me panic slightly every time someone says this!), and yes time does seem to fly by and I can’t believe we are already in March! However I am quite OK with the fact that spring time seems to be rolling on, fingers crossed the snow doesn’t return! March Is also my birthday month (along with quite a few others in my family) so it’s usually a month of celebrating, but as I am getting older it’s more of a month of reflection for myself - a bit like New Years, and with the coming of spring and new life and all that, I love that I can start my own new year at this time.

I had a few goals for New Years like learn photography, learn piano, learn how to do a handstand (you know standard stuff! Haha) but now I want to get into the specific details about them because it just won’t happen otherwise!

Photography

My skills won’t improve unless I actually take photos, as many as I can and as often as I can using whatever device I have at hand, being my smart phone or an actual camera - I even have to take photos for work so there's no reason I can't practice my skills there too!

I want to learn how to use my DSLR properly, I want to be able to manually shoot in RAW settings and actually know what I am doing instead of relying on automatic all the time, and this is something that will also come with practice. I won’t be lugging my camera around all the time so this is something I will need to work on at the weekends, but it will be good to blow the dust off my camera and get some miles out of it.

I am a visual learner and I want to push myself further to learn more about compositions and the science behind a really aesthetically pleasing photo. I have been using Skillshare to begin my journey into learning photography in more depth, from a variety of industry leaders, and in a variety of different situations; like lifestyle, table top shots, outdoor street views and self portraits. I also love the work of Sorelle Amore who I found on Instagram, she has coined the term ‘advanced selfies’ and she creates the most stunning selfie artwork.

I think this is the perfect time to start learning this properly as the days are getting longer and I wont have to battle as much with lighting until winter rolls around again and I will hopefully be a bit more competent by then!I will try to upload the best of my photos to my Instagram feed which you can follow if you want to see my progress over there, you might also see my progress on doing a handstand too!

5 ways I am Making Yoga Stick as a Consistent Exercise

Spring time is coming and I feel like I am finally coming out of hibernation! I have had such low energy for months now and caught that blasted flu twice this winter! So of course I completely fell off the fitness wagon and now it's all the harder trying to get back on after what feels like such a long time, the chocolate over Christmas never helps either! Haha. My husband and I did try to start yoga in January, and we really liked it but I couldn't keep up, and fell ill with flu for the second. But we are back at it again, and although we both enjoy it, I am trying a few ideas to keep us motivated and lock it in as a consistent habit.

1. A new yoga mat. We both got new yoga mats, the one I had was very old, it had paint on it and was uncomfortably thin which I only realised since getting a new mat. We also only had the one mat! My new mat wasn’t too expensive and is a lovely bright pink, I wanted a ban.do mat but they are a little bit more than I wanted to spend for something we might not stick to, and this one is in a similar colour which I love!

2. 30 days of Yoga. We have started our yoga journey with a lovely YouTube called Adriene, we can cast the video straight to our tv as we are lucky enough to have the space for us both (just about!) in our living area. Adriene builds up your yoga experience over the 30 days however we definitely won't complete it in the 30 days as we have Friday and Saturday nights off, it's also taking time to make it a habit.

3. Short on time. I don't have a lot of time when I get home and really like how this exercise is gentle and relaxing enough to make me actually want to do it. It also feels so good to stretch, and Adriene works in a few slightly more challenging moves for your core too, so we do end up sweating sometimes! But the videos are always around 30mins which flies by.

4. Being ready. My husband and I do yoga in the evenings, once everything else is done and prepared for the next day, this means my mind has a much better chance to relax! We start an hour before I like to be in bed, which means I have half an hour after to get a quick shower and do my skincare and teeth.

5. I need yoga. I really wanted to get back to yoga, my job can be physically and mentally demanding, and I need to do something to combat the wear on my body and mind everyday. I find that it takes its toll a lot more if I haven’t done Yoga the night before work (Mon - Fri) which is why we have Fridays and Saturdays as we will quite often have social plans, and it’s nice to have a break and not hold yourself accountable for something every single day (except from brushing your teeth! Haha)

So all in all I find that Yoga combines mental therapy, light exercise, relaxation, and time with my husband and is just a massive feel good activity to end the day on. Combined with walking/cycling to work and having an active job, its all the exercise I want for now (I may up the fitness around summer when I always seem to have loads of energy!)

Once we establish yoga more into our routine I want to create more of an atmosphere for it; like incense maybe - well I saw some really cute incense holders in urban outfitters and thats my excuse to get one! not sure my nose will actually get on with the smell though!