The Nomad Yogi

I think we’re all looking for it - that illusive work-life balance. We see carefully curated social media feeds and wonder how on earth people do it. But social media is not real life. In truth most of us struggle. I am not writing this series on Slow and Simple living as an expert. Perhaps I should have called it “Slower and more Simpler-ish.” It is something I want to have more conversation about. More honesty and more putting our heads together to come up with solutions. Today I delve into personal grooming. So pardon, guys, this is going to come from the feminine perspective. Feel free to share your hints in the comments below.  For me what has worked best is keeping my hair really short or long. I have not found the middle path (little Buddhist/yogic humour there) helpful when it comes to hair length. Ultra-short is quick and cheap to wash, cut and style although if you are considering this alternative spare a thought for bed head.  Short hair left in its virgi...

So I did it. Went grey. For years I spent a small fortune on hair colours terrified of what I might look like a la naturale. Patient hairdressers laboriously rolled back the clock on my tresses while battling my increasingly irritated, painful scalp even when using supposedly “organic” hair colours.  If colouring your hair is something you do because you think your job requires it I get that. The sad truth is that in our youth and beauty obsessed culture it probably does! If you love experimenting with colour good for you. If you enjoy the quarterly appointments, monthly touch-ups, cuppa and conversation as a self-care ritual more power to you. I never did. Always found it tedious. Don’t get me wrong. I think hairdressers are fabulous people. Part therapist, part chemist, part artist. But life is short and colours cost. Sure there are home colours. But I’ve been there, tried that and lacked the patience. There are just other things I would like to do with my time. Going grey...

"Sharpening the Saw" There once was a carpenter who couldn’t keep up with his workload. Every day he toiled late into the evening to get it all done. A friend dropped by, and taking pity on his exhausted mate offered to give him a hand. But when this helpful friend went to use the carpenter’s saw he was startled to find it very blunt. “No wonder you struggle to get your work done mate, your saw needs sharpening,” said the friend. “Ahh,” replied the carpenter sadly, “If only I had the time to sharpen it. But as you can see I am too busy.” The point of this tale is that sometimes in life we have to take time to make time. This has been my experience. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing useful life hacks and resources related to organizing yourself, your home, social life, finances, social media, children, garden, voluntary activities, cooking, shopping, gift giving and holidays. I’ll share how I changed myself (externally), my domestic environment and then my...

I love to visit my local public library. They have a non-fiction display shelf where they put random books reflecting topical themes. I’ve read some great books that I don’t believe I would ever have found or chosen rifling through Amazon. One catchy title that caught my attention last year was “Supernormal.” Written by clinical psychologist, Meg Jay, this book transports you into the world of those who have suffered from childhood adversity and yet soared to unexpected heights. Actually, it was interesting but unsurprising to me to learn that nearly 75% of us will experience adversity by the age of 20. It might be the loss of a parent to death or divorce, bullying, alcoholism, or drug abuse in the home. It could be illness in a parent or sibling, neglect, emotional, physical or sexual abuse, a parent in jail or growing up exposed to domestic violence. These experiences are often kept secret as are our courageous battles to overcome them. Jay drew on almost 20 years of work with...