Saturday ~ Week 3

Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds.

Will you grow flowers, or will you grow weeds?"

~ William Wordsworth

Good morning lovely!

Happy Saturday!

Let's start with some sweet rejuvenating nostril breaths. When you inhale through your nose, hold at the top a moment, then release with a slightly longer exhale. Allow your shoulders to drop, your neck to move gently in all the possible ways it wants to move. Stretch and twist and twirl and breathe and hum and arrive in your body. Relax your shoulders, soften any tight places, find your feet flat on the ground, settle in. If thoughts come, let them, watch them pass by like clouds. Welcome in some hums. Find a kind mantra: "All is well, I am safe, all is well".‍‍

How are you feeling?

How is your inner eco-system? Are the waterfalls flowing freely? The air nice and clear? Try your best to simply notice your personal weather. Observe, breathe into, accept. Aaaah!

Last night I went to an event at the Berklee Music & Health Institute about Parkinsons Disease. The focus was on the intersection of neuroscience and music therapy and one of my childhood friends, Sam Smith, was headlining the event with his band. Sam was diagnosed with early onset PD at the age of 44 and is no longer able to play the guitar ~ however, he has put together an incredible band and has become an inspiring presence within the PD community.

(You can check out Sam's album, "The Art of Letting Go" right here) which was just released today, this is his second album since diagnosis.)Being that I've known Sam since I was 9 years old, you can imagine it was a very emotional evening... but the reason I am sharing about it here and now, is because it really has further inspired me in this holistic work.

One of the follow-up scientist panelists, Senegal Alfred Mabry discussed the increase in PD (and other neurodegenerative diseases); and (more hopefully), the growing body of research showing that lifestyle practices can significantly slow the progression of, and in some cases hopefully help prevent, these diseases that so devastatingly affect so many families.

And that's how it comes home to what we are doing here.

Paying attention to what we eat, how we sleep, move, regulate stress, connect and interact with others, and generally take care of ourselves really really matters.

I definitely don't approach these things from a place of fear or perfectionism, but as a reminder that the daily choices we make really can shape the terrain of our health as a whole: our resilience, our energy, our mood, our relationships, our mental and emotional wellbeing, our brain health... We are seeing more and more research pointing to the profound impact of lifestyle on inflammation, mental health, cognition, nervous system health, disease prevention and so forth. (And how so much of this starts in the gut!)As we come to the close of this class now, I know it can be easy to slip back into old habits, to put aside the rituals, the daily disciplines, the tool kit... the walks, the breaths, the wiggles, the sky before screen moments and be less inclined to make nourishing choices.

But, these things are truly foundational.

Over here in the humble world of Sacha Jones Holistic Living, we are not about chasing impossible wellness ideals. It's never been about "anti-aging" or striving for a (so-called) "beach body". It has always been about the big picture. We are, and will always be focused on the little things and how they add up to be the big things. A collection of habits and rituals and nourishing choices that build a life (a body, a mind...) that feels supported, tended to, cared for (and about), for the long haul. And it feels really validating hearing that scientists are increasingly pointing in this direction too.

So today, I simply invite you to reflect on all of this gently. What does long-term health look and feel like for you right now? What practices from these three weeks together have genuinely supported you? What tiny rituals feel worth carrying forward into your life after we say farewell?

Because this work really is about building and supporting a nourished life to help you deepen your connection with yourself. One breath, one meal, one walk, one nourishing choice at a time.

Please remember that you are loved, you are safe and all is well. And I love you.

Wishing you the loveliest, gentlest, sweetest day,

have a gorgeous day and I will see you here tomorrow.

Love love love

Sacha xxx

Remember that lots of juicy optional bonus stuff (yoga, podcasts, articles, videos) can be found (along with my podcast editions of these emails) under "Daily Chapters/Week Three" ~ check it out!

All content contained within Sacha Jones Holistic Living Cleanse & Nourish is copyrighted and is the sole property of Sacha Jones and Sacha Jones Holistic Living and may not be copied or borrowed without consent of the owner.

Sacha Jones, she/her

+ Holistic Integrative Nutrition Wellness Coach

+ Lifecycle Celebrant & Wedding Officiant

+ Reiki I and II

+ Universal Brotherhood Minister Director‍‍

* * * * * * * * *

+ potter, gardener, yogi, knitter, reader, letter-writer, maker

+ dancer, wanderer, day-dreamer, star-gazer, rainbow chaser, moon watcher!

+ cat-mama to Midnight, partner/wife to Mike, auntie, sister, daughter, friend

+ multipotentialite. polymath, multipassionate, neuro-diverse

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