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'A quarrel between friends, when made up, adds a new tie to friendship, as experience shows that the callosity formed around a broken bone makes it stronger than before.'
St Francis de Sales, 1567-1622 French Theologian
What you think is what you get....
Thank you Simon for sending this...
What can we do if we find ourselves stuck in our thinking and cannot shift out of a negative train of thought? This was asked of me yesterday on US national radio as it's so important to think positive as much of the time as we can. 'What we think is what we get.' Negative thinking is something that can affect us all. But there is one very effective thing we can do, that we can do for ourselves. Free up your body and you'll help free up your mind.
If we're stuck in our thinking, we're probably stuck in our body too. We hold onto habitual muscular tensions from our neck downwards, and one affects the other. But if we can let go of some of these physical tensions by choosing to release them, then we'll find that our thinking also frees up. One affects the other; emotions and and postural tensions are inextricably linked. And although we have specialists in different fields such as psychology, psychiatry and physiotherapy and osteopathy, it doesn't mean that we can separate the emotional from the physical. Our body works as a whole....all of the time.
So if we can free up our body a little then we are likely to find that we shift in thinking and emotions. If you're stuck....move. If you've had experience of the Alexander Technique you will have an idea how to think yourself free in your neck and shoulders, to bring your body back into balance and breathe freely. This technique is a method we can learn to use to help ourselves in any situation.
By thinking we are communicating throughout our body via our nervous system....right down to our toes. We don't need to worry if that's working or not. If we're healthy, it is. Think of loosening, particularly in your neck. This is most important. Think free and tall. Let yourself come up to your full height and see how different it can be. Read about how I changed my emotions after a near motorcycle accident a few weeks ago.
I had great fun yesterday being interviewed live on national US radio www.dougstephan.com a nationally syndicated radio show. Chatting with Doug Stephan and Darla Shine on 'Good Day USA' we covered a host of topics including the importance of a positive attitude, what you think is what you get in life, happiness, laughing as boost to health and of course Alexander Technique and how to free your neck from tension.
If you missed the programme you can hear the fifteen minute interview by clicking the link below. My contribution starts around 27 minutes into the programme and you can push-forward to it if you're short of time.
When we meet someone, we'll introduce ourselves with our name. "HI, I'm Noel". But in reality, it's only a name, not who we are. Nor is my profession who I am either. It's only what I do.
Who we are is deeply intrinsic to our being and we are all completely unique. This is the wonderful thing about meeting new people that everyone is so different with their own particular attributes, skills, abilities and talents. Yet, in discussion with someone we can discover that our companion may be rather focused on how differently she or he would like to be, or how difficult things are, or how they wish they could do or 'be' something different.
Yet, if we were to take a few minutes and write down a list of all of their personal attributes, talents and skills, we are likely to come up with a wonderfully long list. I've seen people struggling to name three, but with some encouragement, we've eventually come up with over a hundred! 'Nice smile, generous, forgiving, great with numbers, great with kids, intuitive, nice legs, good at organising, quick reactions, green fingered with plants, gentle, strong, etc, etc. And then they may say, "But I'm hopelessly impatient." and we could turn that around and say......."so you like to get things done quickly. Great. So do I!" Or "I spend too much time day-dreaming." But dreams are what life is made of. Everyone should have a dream and something to look forward to. It depends on your perspective. We can all 'do ourselves down' at times, but from another's perspective, they may see us quite different and wonderful.
But all these things are not who we are. No matter what we may have done with our lives, let people down, done bad things, failed someone or ourselves in some way, these are only subjective judgements and not necessarily how some others would see us. But even so, it is not US who is the fault....it is only what we may have done.
It's my belief that if we go deep enough, right down to the core of our being, beyond and beneath all the attitudes, chips on shoulders and 'learnt' tendencies from our life's experiences, then we'll find we're the most loving, caring, kind, forgiving, generous, warm-hearted and beautiful person.....as much as anyone else. We may be concealing it with our learnt attitudes and behaviours, but it's there. It comes down to Love. And it's love that makes life. Love is healing and encourages growth. It is the essence of us and what we were full of as a baby and it's still there. We can still discover it if we look. And we can share it with others.
We are all perfect as we are. It may just be what we do that's imperfect. And we can change that if we choose.
The knuckle crunching handshake is an interesting gesture. Apart from bringing tears to our eyes and potentially putting us into A&E, it can offer surprising insights about our assailant. But such subtle observations of their manner, mood and even bared teeth may be missed by our urgent need to check all fingers are still working, and our struggle to remain conversant.
The first few moments when we walk in through the door provides up to 80% of the first impressions that we make. Ideally we want an upright stature with a calm demeanour. The way we stand, walk and engage the eyes tells so much and the handshake is an important part of it. Whether the hand shake is a bone cruncher, or a soggy, limp fish, this primeval grasping of hands can not only convey information about the person we’re with, it’s also a skill that we can use to our advantage. I’m not suggesting that you practice crunching bones. But if you can give a really good handshake then you’ll be winning friends and deals....
Continue reading "The handshake"
While thinking further about my violin experiences early this morning, I am reminded again of how extraordinary it is that our fingers can become accustomed to movements after a few repetitions so they can do them 'automatically'. As children we learn to tie our shoe laces by copying our parents. It's a complex procedure which we eventually get the hang of. Muscles don't have a memory as such, although we talk of 'muscle memory'. The muscles record patterns of tension in relation to one another and so we develop skills.
It is in this way that we develop all sorts of abilities so it's important to choose a good example, as what we observe goes into our subconscious and informs our own attempts at the same activity. This could be swinging the golf club, tennis racket, in my case listening to Huberman and watching other violinists, or any other activity you care to mention. If we're not careful we can just as easily pick up their bad habits too, so we must be careful who we choose as role-models. Sadly as children we can't select our ideal parental influences, so we inevitably pick up many of their tendencies, habits and characteristics.
But these habits or any others are all things that can be overcome. We just need to give our conscious attention to how we are doing things, and we can over-ride our subconscious habits by choosing to do things differently. It takes thought. For instance we can choose to be free rather than stiff in our neck and shoulders. But the happy thing is, our 'muscle memory' helps us as we can again pick up new muscle patterns and these will become established as the new norm. Any habits can be changed. We only need to make the choices for ourselves. Watching experts provides information that goes into our subconscious that will help us when we want to do the same. Taking care 'not to do the wrong thing' is almost more important than trying to do the 'right' thing.
Bronislaw Huberman (1882-1947) is considered the most individual violinist ever to record. The extreme characterisation of his interpretations brought him great fame particularly in Central Europe, but also the label of maverick.
This morning I'm feeling pleased with my own humble attempts at violin playing. Having listened to some wonderful 1930's recordings of Huberman last night, whose style may be considered rather 'old fashioned' now, I took away with me a lasting impression of his wonderful slides or glissando between notes. It's indulgent and romantic, and he did it wonderfully.
So I was playing the Largo from Vivaldi's Four Seasons 'Winter' and it occurred to me to change all the fingering, so necessitating making many shifts through various positions on the fingerboard, something I hadn't done before to such an extent. It was tricky, but as I experimented I got used to the new fingering and was amazed at how it brought the piece to life. Glissando isn't something that one would do all the time, only where it can enhance the piece. And it may not be entirely appropriate for the piece I was playing. But as a novice player, it was interesting and exhilarating for me to experiment and discover that I was able to work it out for myself without my teacher's help.
You do not know you cannot do something until you give it a go. And if you believe that you can do it, then there's a high chance you will succeed. And as Picasso said, "I am always doing things I cannot do. That is how I get to do them."
Fading Light, Loch Fyne,
John Kingsley,PAI
I've just been to the Scottish Show 2006 at Thompson's Marylebone Gallery, London, where my brother who is a full-time artist, has three paintings exhibited.
John's oil painting continues to evolve and I must say I find his recent work truly exciting, rich in texture and colour, with depth and very evocative. His work may be described as abstract but it is rooted in the deep emotional connection he has with his surroundings. The west coast of Scotland inspires his current work, but rather than painting a literal interpretation of a scene, he relies on his subconscious and intuition to guide him. He allows his heart to speak to him and endeavours not to let his mind and intelligence interfere.
When he's at work, he allows his hands to follow his heart. This approach takes great skill, experience and courage. To paint in this way, he needs to trust in his subconscious as well as his depth of experience to inform his output. He has told me that although he will have a location or subject in mind, he sometimes doesn't know what his painting is going to look like and can be surprised by what comes out. The work evolves as he paints and the painting evolves as he works. By working in this way, his paintings are rich in emotion as well as colour and texture.
John Kingsley's work has been purchased by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Argyle and Bute District Council, Glenisla Group, Royal college of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow and is held in many other collections in Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Lebanon, Canada and USA.
I really enjoy his new work, and am looking forward to seeing more in his wonderful studio when I next come to Glasgow.
Ann Robinson
Julie Christie
There is a four fold increase in women over fifty seeking to have their face enhanced by cosmetic surgery and half of them are doing so to help their careers, reports the Telegraph today. 'Silver surgery' is increasingly seen as the way to provide a 'golden future' for the ambitious women still confident in their powers and wishing to enhance their work prospects.
Feeling pressure from younger women, with role-model examples from celebrities like Anne Robinson, Toya Wilcox and Julie Christie who've all reportedly had cosmetic surgery, many are endeavouring to look a little bit better by reducing the baggy-eyed look and dropping jowls and firming up their jawline by opting for the knife. As 'aesthetic surgery' is no longer seen as expensive, £10,000-£20,000 or the price of a new car, and as we become more savvy about procedures it seems almost expected and common-place.
But as Douglas McGeorge of the BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) points out, surgery is not a cure-all or guaranteed life-changer. It's not the new face that gives the woman a new job, but the confidence the facial changes may bring for her. "If you feel better, you perform better" he says. And I couldn't agree more. But are more women having surgery really to help their career, or is it just they want to keep up appearances and are tagging this reason just to help their conscience?
Another thing to bare in mind is that our face is an outward expression of what is going on inside. We express how are through facial expression, our complexion and lines. And changing the outward appearance does nothing to change the health and functioning underneath. It's like putting a new orange skin on an ageing piece of fruit. (Sorry!)
I have worked with many women who have changed in terms of facial appearance and posture so they look ten years younger.....without having cosmetic surgery. The clarity and elasticity of our skin can be helped by improvements in oxygenation of the body through better breathing, reductions in toxicity, attending to the alkaline/acidity of the body and drinking more water. Better posture gives us more height, apparent slimness as well as better bodily functioning including improved breathing that helps oxygenation of our blood and skin. We move more athletically and carry ourselves with more poise. The better inner-functioning is expressed through our face. A reduction of stress in our internal organs shows itself facially with a relaxed and lively demeanour.
Continue reading "Look ten years younger - without surgery"
An early morning shot from my portfolio that required me to make an exposure for the oaks trunks in order not to lose detail in the shadows. When the back lighting is so strong, it's easy to miscalculate the exposure.
Hasselblad with 80mm lens, yellow filter, Delta 100 film and developed to reduce contrast range to maintain details in sky and shadows.
Richmond, Surrey.
Kenya clinches gold, silver and bronze in the men's 3000m Steeplechase, lapping Sapolai Yao from Papua New Guinea.
Commonwealth Games, Melbourne
It's interesting to see if we look closely, that the winner holding his arm high is nicely lengthening in stature with a free neck. He's in balance and expansive in stature. But the other runners behind are sagging, their heads are off-balance and they are shortening in stature. Good poise and balance affects how we perform and it shows up most significantly when we're put on the spot in such demanding situations.
Musa Swissroll Ngozo
Journalist Matt Majendie at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games interviewed Musa Swissroll Ngozo the Swaziland boxer, who bowed out of the games at the quarter-final stage. Apparently he was born Musa Ngozo, but his middle name was added because if his love for ....Swiss rolls. He confirmed it was no joke by showing another BBC reporter his passport with his name in full. Nice one...
Now Darla Shine has created the Happy Housewives Club after the recent launch of her fun and inspiring book which I blogged prior to publication.
Darla Shine's site is the centre of her club with more topics than a week's shopping list from blog, forum/chat, personal stories, shopping, to mom swap, media, star mom, sex talk, and health/diet. She's doing her own radio show from her computer and you can also listen to her live. This is a forum for those wanting lots of happiness stumulii. It's a full-on housewives 'lets-make-life-brilliant' place to be.
Now I'm no housewife. But it's my belief that being happy in this world is ultimately what it's all about. And if we're not enjoying life much at the moment, then this is something to address. We can help ourselves and others enjoy life more fully and this is why I admire what Darla Shine is doing. We can make any activity a joy if we choose.
Whether it's cleaning my motorcycle or repairing a lock, no matter how mundane and tiresome the task is, there will be something that I can find that's good about it and take pleasure in making a difference. And housework is such great exercise.... Really, it uses all our muscles in a wide variety of movements, and probably better for us than gym work. It involves deep squats and knee bends, step-ups and lunges with the vacuum cleaner....then there's the upper body work. OK Now you think I've lost it. But it's not only good for us, it can be enjoyable too.
We may or may not have much money, and although a good income can help provide comforts, it doesn't guarantee happiness. But if we can find joy in our occupation and tasks, which is something we can all do, then we make a difference for ourselves and everyone around us. One happy moment followed by another all join up to make a happy life, and being happy boosts our immune system and helps keep us healthy. It's all an attitude. Happiness is a choice. Looking for it doesn't work as it's not to be found. We have it within us. We have it if we choose to be it. If you don't agree, then that's your choice, but it's worth thinking about.
Have a great day! :-)
'There is no road to happiness. Happiness is the way.'
Dalai Lama
'The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good. No good thing can be withheld from the forgiving state of mind.'
Catherine Ponder, American motivational speaker
Well, yesterday was an interesting day. No sooner had I logged onto my computer in the morning, did I receive a virus that went haywire through my files and jammed all programmes. I don't know how it got passed my Norton Anti-virus. So no blogs yesterday...
My initial reaction was frustration and I thought several times about putting the computer in the waste bin. But eventually chose not to. I worked on accepting the situation and felt much better and had a laugh. I even got the pile of paperwork that sits on the side of my desk all cleared.
MIke at Touchweb Internet Solutions who hosts my sites does remote assistance. He did four hours on it late yesterday and some again this morning. Now it's fixed and working better than ever... He installed new programs and did several scans and repairs using free software from AVG Anti-virus, Spybot, Trend Micro and Windows Defender.
So I've got my computer back working better than before which is good. Mike has earned some money, which is also good. My paperwork is cleared, and the sun is shining here in a chilly London but it feels like spring, which is all very good indeed.
Things usually work out for the best in the end.... It's just difficult to see how it can sometimes....but they do. :-)
It has happened again....
I needed to go out for a meeting a few miles away at lunchtime so I used my motorbike that's parked on Cavendish Square. This bike parking bay and the three others around the square hold around 200 bikes and they're always full. Getting a space after 9.30am is almost impossible.
But as I drove away for my meeting a motorcyclist was waiting for the next space. He was pretty pleased to get mine. I usually visualise a space being there for when I return. Today I visualised a nice broad space that I could drive into easily, outside my office. The motorcycle bay was full....apart from one space; the space I left two hours before.
What you think is what you get... Coincidence? I don't think so. No, I'll correct that. I don't believe so. And because I believe, therefore it is. At least that's my belief.
Have a good day. :-)
I'm often asked about the little creature sitting at the top of my blog. You'd be right if you're thinking he's a Meerkat living in the Kalahari Desert, Southern Africa. The reason he's here is because of the superb example he gives of good posture, relaxed, upright and free. This cool dude who's only around 30cm tall with a 20cm tail has featured on the cover of my brochure for over eight years, as you can see here.
Meerkats are part of the Mongoose family and live in large 'families' or groups. They inhabit burrows like rabbits, and when above ground they often huddle together. One of them will always keep a lookout for predators by climbing a tree or standing tall. They will stand on their hind legs and use their tail as a support, rather like a tripod arrangement. Wish I had one too...
Meerkats using their tails to balance.
« February 2006 | Main | April 2006 »
'A quarrel between friends, when made up, adds a new tie to friendship, as experience shows that the callosity formed around a broken bone makes it stronger than before.'
St Francis de Sales, 1567-1622 French Theologian
What you think is what you get....
Thank you Simon for sending this...
What can we do if we find ourselves stuck in our thinking and cannot shift out of a negative train of thought? This was asked of me yesterday on US national radio as it's so important to think positive as much of the time as we can. 'What we think is what we get.' Negative thinking is something that can affect us all. But there is one very effective thing we can do, that we can do for ourselves. Free up your body and you'll help free up your mind.
If we're stuck in our thinking, we're probably stuck in our body too. We hold onto habitual muscular tensions from our neck downwards, and one affects the other. But if we can let go of some of these physical tensions by choosing to release them, then we'll find that our thinking also frees up. One affects the other; emotions and and postural tensions are inextricably linked. And although we have specialists in different fields such as psychology, psychiatry and physiotherapy and osteopathy, it doesn't mean that we can separate the emotional from the physical. Our body works as a whole....all of the time.
So if we can free up our body a little then we are likely to find that we shift in thinking and emotions. If you're stuck....move. If you've had experience of the Alexander Technique you will have an idea how to think yourself free in your neck and shoulders, to bring your body back into balance and breathe freely. This technique is a method we can learn to use to help ourselves in any situation.
By thinking we are communicating throughout our body via our nervous system....right down to our toes. We don't need to worry if that's working or not. If we're healthy, it is. Think of loosening, particularly in your neck. This is most important. Think free and tall. Let yourself come up to your full height and see how different it can be. Read about how I changed my emotions after a near motorcycle accident a few weeks ago.
I had great fun yesterday being interviewed live on national US radio www.dougstephan.com a nationally syndicated radio show. Chatting with Doug Stephan and Darla Shine on 'Good Day USA' we covered a host of topics including the importance of a positive attitude, what you think is what you get in life, happiness, laughing as boost to health and of course Alexander Technique and how to free your neck from tension.
If you missed the programme you can hear the fifteen minute interview by clicking the link below. My contribution starts around 27 minutes into the programme and you can push-forward to it if you're short of time.
When we meet someone, we'll introduce ourselves with our name. "HI, I'm Noel". But in reality, it's only a name, not who we are. Nor is my profession who I am either. It's only what I do.
Who we are is deeply intrinsic to our being and we are all completely unique. This is the wonderful thing about meeting new people that everyone is so different with their own particular attributes, skills, abilities and talents. Yet, in discussion with someone we can discover that our companion may be rather focused on how differently she or he would like to be, or how difficult things are, or how they wish they could do or 'be' something different.
Yet, if we were to take a few minutes and write down a list of all of their personal attributes, talents and skills, we are likely to come up with a wonderfully long list. I've seen people struggling to name three, but with some encouragement, we've eventually come up with over a hundred! 'Nice smile, generous, forgiving, great with numbers, great with kids, intuitive, nice legs, good at organising, quick reactions, green fingered with plants, gentle, strong, etc, etc. And then they may say, "But I'm hopelessly impatient." and we could turn that around and say......."so you like to get things done quickly. Great. So do I!" Or "I spend too much time day-dreaming." But dreams are what life is made of. Everyone should have a dream and something to look forward to. It depends on your perspective. We can all 'do ourselves down' at times, but from another's perspective, they may see us quite different and wonderful.
But all these things are not who we are. No matter what we may have done with our lives, let people down, done bad things, failed someone or ourselves in some way, these are only subjective judgements and not necessarily how some others would see us. But even so, it is not US who is the fault....it is only what we may have done.
It's my belief that if we go deep enough, right down to the core of our being, beyond and beneath all the attitudes, chips on shoulders and 'learnt' tendencies from our life's experiences, then we'll find we're the most loving, caring, kind, forgiving, generous, warm-hearted and beautiful person.....as much as anyone else. We may be concealing it with our learnt attitudes and behaviours, but it's there. It comes down to Love. And it's love that makes life. Love is healing and encourages growth. It is the essence of us and what we were full of as a baby and it's still there. We can still discover it if we look. And we can share it with others.
We are all perfect as we are. It may just be what we do that's imperfect. And we can change that if we choose.
The knuckle crunching handshake is an interesting gesture. Apart from bringing tears to our eyes and potentially putting us into A&E, it can offer surprising insights about our assailant. But such subtle observations of their manner, mood and even bared teeth may be missed by our urgent need to check all fingers are still working, and our struggle to remain conversant.
The first few moments when we walk in through the door provides up to 80% of the first impressions that we make. Ideally we want an upright stature with a calm demeanour. The way we stand, walk and engage the eyes tells so much and the handshake is an important part of it. Whether the hand shake is a bone cruncher, or a soggy, limp fish, this primeval grasping of hands can not only convey information about the person we’re with, it’s also a skill that we can use to our advantage. I’m not suggesting that you practice crunching bones. But if you can give a really good handshake then you’ll be winning friends and deals....
Continue reading "The handshake"
While thinking further about my violin experiences early this morning, I am reminded again of how extraordinary it is that our fingers can become accustomed to movements after a few repetitions so they can do them 'automatically'. As children we learn to tie our shoe laces by copying our parents. It's a complex procedure which we eventually get the hang of. Muscles don't have a memory as such, although we talk of 'muscle memory'. The muscles record patterns of tension in relation to one another and so we develop skills.
It is in this way that we develop all sorts of abilities so it's important to choose a good example, as what we observe goes into our subconscious and informs our own attempts at the same activity. This could be swinging the golf club, tennis racket, in my case listening to Huberman and watching other violinists, or any other activity you care to mention. If we're not careful we can just as easily pick up their bad habits too, so we must be careful who we choose as role-models. Sadly as children we can't select our ideal parental influences, so we inevitably pick up many of their tendencies, habits and characteristics.
But these habits or any others are all things that can be overcome. We just need to give our conscious attention to how we are doing things, and we can over-ride our subconscious habits by choosing to do things differently. It takes thought. For instance we can choose to be free rather than stiff in our neck and shoulders. But the happy thing is, our 'muscle memory' helps us as we can again pick up new muscle patterns and these will become established as the new norm. Any habits can be changed. We only need to make the choices for ourselves. Watching experts provides information that goes into our subconscious that will help us when we want to do the same. Taking care 'not to do the wrong thing' is almost more important than trying to do the 'right' thing.
Bronislaw Huberman (1882-1947) is considered the most individual violinist ever to record. The extreme characterisation of his interpretations brought him great fame particularly in Central Europe, but also the label of maverick.
This morning I'm feeling pleased with my own humble attempts at violin playing. Having listened to some wonderful 1930's recordings of Huberman last night, whose style may be considered rather 'old fashioned' now, I took away with me a lasting impression of his wonderful slides or glissando between notes. It's indulgent and romantic, and he did it wonderfully.
So I was playing the Largo from Vivaldi's Four Seasons 'Winter' and it occurred to me to change all the fingering, so necessitating making many shifts through various positions on the fingerboard, something I hadn't done before to such an extent. It was tricky, but as I experimented I got used to the new fingering and was amazed at how it brought the piece to life. Glissando isn't something that one would do all the time, only where it can enhance the piece. And it may not be entirely appropriate for the piece I was playing. But as a novice player, it was interesting and exhilarating for me to experiment and discover that I was able to work it out for myself without my teacher's help.
You do not know you cannot do something until you give it a go. And if you believe that you can do it, then there's a high chance you will succeed. And as Picasso said, "I am always doing things I cannot do. That is how I get to do them."
Fading Light, Loch Fyne,
John Kingsley,PAI
I've just been to the Scottish Show 2006 at Thompson's Marylebone Gallery, London, where my brother who is a full-time artist, has three paintings exhibited.
John's oil painting continues to evolve and I must say I find his recent work truly exciting, rich in texture and colour, with depth and very evocative. His work may be described as abstract but it is rooted in the deep emotional connection he has with his surroundings. The west coast of Scotland inspires his current work, but rather than painting a literal interpretation of a scene, he relies on his subconscious and intuition to guide him. He allows his heart to speak to him and endeavours not to let his mind and intelligence interfere.
When he's at work, he allows his hands to follow his heart. This approach takes great skill, experience and courage. To paint in this way, he needs to trust in his subconscious as well as his depth of experience to inform his output. He has told me that although he will have a location or subject in mind, he sometimes doesn't know what his painting is going to look like and can be surprised by what comes out. The work evolves as he paints and the painting evolves as he works. By working in this way, his paintings are rich in emotion as well as colour and texture.
John Kingsley's work has been purchased by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Argyle and Bute District Council, Glenisla Group, Royal college of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow and is held in many other collections in Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Lebanon, Canada and USA.
I really enjoy his new work, and am looking forward to seeing more in his wonderful studio when I next come to Glasgow.
Ann Robinson
Julie Christie
There is a four fold increase in women over fifty seeking to have their face enhanced by cosmetic surgery and half of them are doing so to help their careers, reports the Telegraph today. 'Silver surgery' is increasingly seen as the way to provide a 'golden future' for the ambitious women still confident in their powers and wishing to enhance their work prospects.
Feeling pressure from younger women, with role-model examples from celebrities like Anne Robinson, Toya Wilcox and Julie Christie who've all reportedly had cosmetic surgery, many are endeavouring to look a little bit better by reducing the baggy-eyed look and dropping jowls and firming up their jawline by opting for the knife. As 'aesthetic surgery' is no longer seen as expensive, £10,000-£20,000 or the price of a new car, and as we become more savvy about procedures it seems almost expected and common-place.
But as Douglas McGeorge of the BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) points out, surgery is not a cure-all or guaranteed life-changer. It's not the new face that gives the woman a new job, but the confidence the facial changes may bring for her. "If you feel better, you perform better" he says. And I couldn't agree more. But are more women having surgery really to help their career, or is it just they want to keep up appearances and are tagging this reason just to help their conscience?
Another thing to bare in mind is that our face is an outward expression of what is going on inside. We express how are through facial expression, our complexion and lines. And changing the outward appearance does nothing to change the health and functioning underneath. It's like putting a new orange skin on an ageing piece of fruit. (Sorry!)
I have worked with many women who have changed in terms of facial appearance and posture so they look ten years younger.....without having cosmetic surgery. The clarity and elasticity of our skin can be helped by improvements in oxygenation of the body through better breathing, reductions in toxicity, attending to the alkaline/acidity of the body and drinking more water. Better posture gives us more height, apparent slimness as well as better bodily functioning including improved breathing that helps oxygenation of our blood and skin. We move more athletically and carry ourselves with more poise. The better inner-functioning is expressed through our face. A reduction of stress in our internal organs shows itself facially with a relaxed and lively demeanour.
Continue reading "Look ten years younger - without surgery"
An early morning shot from my portfolio that required me to make an exposure for the oaks trunks in order not to lose detail in the shadows. When the back lighting is so strong, it's easy to miscalculate the exposure.
Hasselblad with 80mm lens, yellow filter, Delta 100 film and developed to reduce contrast range to maintain details in sky and shadows.
Richmond, Surrey.
Kenya clinches gold, silver and bronze in the men's 3000m Steeplechase, lapping Sapolai Yao from Papua New Guinea.
Commonwealth Games, Melbourne
It's interesting to see if we look closely, that the winner holding his arm high is nicely lengthening in stature with a free neck. He's in balance and expansive in stature. But the other runners behind are sagging, their heads are off-balance and they are shortening in stature. Good poise and balance affects how we perform and it shows up most significantly when we're put on the spot in such demanding situations.
Musa Swissroll Ngozo
Journalist Matt Majendie at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games interviewed Musa Swissroll Ngozo the Swaziland boxer, who bowed out of the games at the quarter-final stage. Apparently he was born Musa Ngozo, but his middle name was added because if his love for ....Swiss rolls. He confirmed it was no joke by showing another BBC reporter his passport with his name in full. Nice one...
Now Darla Shine has created the Happy Housewives Club after the recent launch of her fun and inspiring book which I blogged prior to publication.
Darla Shine's site is the centre of her club with more topics than a week's shopping list from blog, forum/chat, personal stories, shopping, to mom swap, media, star mom, sex talk, and health/diet. She's doing her own radio show from her computer and you can also listen to her live. This is a forum for those wanting lots of happiness stumulii. It's a full-on housewives 'lets-make-life-brilliant' place to be.
Now I'm no housewife. But it's my belief that being happy in this world is ultimately what it's all about. And if we're not enjoying life much at the moment, then this is something to address. We can help ourselves and others enjoy life more fully and this is why I admire what Darla Shine is doing. We can make any activity a joy if we choose.
Whether it's cleaning my motorcycle or repairing a lock, no matter how mundane and tiresome the task is, there will be something that I can find that's good about it and take pleasure in making a difference. And housework is such great exercise.... Really, it uses all our muscles in a wide variety of movements, and probably better for us than gym work. It involves deep squats and knee bends, step-ups and lunges with the vacuum cleaner....then there's the upper body work. OK Now you think I've lost it. But it's not only good for us, it can be enjoyable too.
We may or may not have much money, and although a good income can help provide comforts, it doesn't guarantee happiness. But if we can find joy in our occupation and tasks, which is something we can all do, then we make a difference for ourselves and everyone around us. One happy moment followed by another all join up to make a happy life, and being happy boosts our immune system and helps keep us healthy. It's all an attitude. Happiness is a choice. Looking for it doesn't work as it's not to be found. We have it within us. We have it if we choose to be it. If you don't agree, then that's your choice, but it's worth thinking about.
Have a great day! :-)
'There is no road to happiness. Happiness is the way.'
Dalai Lama
'The forgiving state of mind is a magnetic power for attracting good. No good thing can be withheld from the forgiving state of mind.'
Catherine Ponder, American motivational speaker
Well, yesterday was an interesting day. No sooner had I logged onto my computer in the morning, did I receive a virus that went haywire through my files and jammed all programmes. I don't know how it got passed my Norton Anti-virus. So no blogs yesterday...
My initial reaction was frustration and I thought several times about putting the computer in the waste bin. But eventually chose not to. I worked on accepting the situation and felt much better and had a laugh. I even got the pile of paperwork that sits on the side of my desk all cleared.
MIke at Touchweb Internet Solutions who hosts my sites does remote assistance. He did four hours on it late yesterday and some again this morning. Now it's fixed and working better than ever... He installed new programs and did several scans and repairs using free software from AVG Anti-virus, Spybot, Trend Micro and Windows Defender.
So I've got my computer back working better than before which is good. Mike has earned some money, which is also good. My paperwork is cleared, and the sun is shining here in a chilly London but it feels like spring, which is all very good indeed.
Things usually work out for the best in the end.... It's just difficult to see how it can sometimes....but they do. :-)
It has happened again....
I needed to go out for a meeting a few miles away at lunchtime so I used my motorbike that's parked on Cavendish Square. This bike parking bay and the three others around the square hold around 200 bikes and they're always full. Getting a space after 9.30am is almost impossible.
But as I drove away for my meeting a motorcyclist was waiting for the next space. He was pretty pleased to get mine. I usually visualise a space being there for when I return. Today I visualised a nice broad space that I could drive into easily, outside my office. The motorcycle bay was full....apart from one space; the space I left two hours before.
What you think is what you get... Coincidence? I don't think so. No, I'll correct that. I don't believe so. And because I believe, therefore it is. At least that's my belief.
Have a good day. :-)
I'm often asked about the little creature sitting at the top of my blog. You'd be right if you're thinking he's a Meerkat living in the Kalahari Desert, Southern Africa. The reason he's here is because of the superb example he gives of good posture, relaxed, upright and free. This cool dude who's only around 30cm tall with a 20cm tail has featured on the cover of my brochure for over eight years, as you can see here.
Meerkats are part of the Mongoose family and live in large 'families' or groups. They inhabit burrows like rabbits, and when above ground they often huddle together. One of them will always keep a lookout for predators by climbing a tree or standing tall. They will stand on their hind legs and use their tail as a support, rather like a tripod arrangement. Wish I had one too...
Meerkats using their tails to balance.
One of my clients mentioned this morning that he had experienced a surprising benefit from our sessions. Not only had his posture improved, but while singing at church on Sunday he noticed that he was able to sustain longer notes without taking extra breaths. I was glad to hear this as it's a sign that the overall changes to his co-ordination with our sessions was filtering through to the way he 'used himself' when singing....and other activities too.
Posture is not something 'itself' but affects everything we do. By reducing habits of tension and refining our balance, we can function so much more effectively and efficiently. A good voice is indicative of this. His comment today was music to my ears.
Fred Ott in mid-sneeze
When my first client this morning suppressed a sneeze I thought how much it was like a bomb being detonated inside a sealed container. A huge explosive energy was contained and not let out.....Hmmn.
Interestingly, an unimpeded sneeze sends two to five thousand bacteria-filled droplets into the air at around 60mph. That's quite something isn't it? So if you sneeze in a London tube there's a good chance someone at the other end will catch some if it's not masked. Naturally, by suppressing a sneeze we help avoid spreading germs, but we also create a huge muscular spasm to prevent the sneeze from going out, as well as the muscular spasm of the sneeze itself! One spasm works against the other. The spasm we create to inhibit the sneeze can severely tighten our chest, our ribs and indeed injure our back or neck. So it's good to let the sneeze out and not stifle it. Let it out freely, but for the benefit of others, naturally we should mask it with our hands or turn away.
It's generally acknowledged that the loudness of our sneezes are directly linked to our health. For every extra 1.00 decibel of loudness, we create a 0.4 increase in healthy white blood cells in every hundred sneezes. That's good news as it helps our immune system, and as my sneezes can be heard around the block and set off car alarms, I vow not going to quieten down.
So the message is, if you're going to sneeze, let it out...let it be loud, and mask it or turn away to protect the health of others. Ear plug sales are going to soar....
Here's a good one for the weekend...
'Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step of success to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified.'
Dr Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784 English Lexicographer, critic and essayist
Have a nice weekend :-)
Tom Varndell in action
Melbourne Commonwealth Games action continues with England Sevens staying relaxed and not peaking yet. Matt Majendie reports that Fiji are the form team and a stuttering England will be hard pressed to beat them. But England's Tom Varndell rubbished that as nonsense. He told Matt: "Ok, we're not quite clicking but, look at it this way - at least we're not peaking too early. We've shown this season what we can do against the big sides in the big tournaments. Since our semi-final win over Samoa we've put our feet up and tried to unwind. We're pretty relaxed and still very confident."
Not peaking under such pressure must be enormously difficult, particularly when there are such expectations, anxieties and nerves. Staying cool is a challenge, but if they can, we could be in for some good results.
Knowing when to give it your 'all' and when not to, is very difficult. This can apply to many other things in life too, from social situation to business, musical performance as well as sport. It's so easy, when the pressure is on and we're experiencing stress to give it our 'all' and consequently jeopardizing our chances with further opportunities. When you've blown your top, exhausted your potential, there's nothing left. Timing is all important. It's not about 'holding back' per se, as this almost requires resistance and effort. It's about not emptying the tank and keeping energy, both emotional and physical in reserve. Then we have more to offer should the occasion require it.
It's about knowing exactly when to give it everything we've got. That may be for a concert performance, business meeting, or sport, but in each case, we'll know there's time afterwards for recovery before the next occasion. What trips us up is when we're on a roll of having to perform at peak all the time, then we'll exhaust ourselves and our performance will suffer. It's such a delicate balance and we learn by our mistakes. Let's hope England have timed it right.
This photograph on Wimbledon Common was taken in the early morning when the light is changing by the second. Mist swirls and clears as soon as the sun hits it so working fast with the camera is essential. Landscape photography is often seen as being relaxing and slow. Far from it. I took several other photos at the same time within minutes and they're all dramatically different. It's often a race to capture the image before it disappears.
Hassleblad, 80mm lens, yellow filter, exposed for 1/2 second at f11, Delta 100 film rated at 50 and developed in Dixactol
I've made some improvements to my violin playing without even practicing. Having had a break from my violin for a couple of months due to an irritating arm injury, I returned to it last week to find that in some ways my abilities seemed to have improved during the lapse. Although my dexterity on the fingerboard was rusty, and my bowing a bit shaky, these have returned pleasantly quickly. What I feel has improved is my musicality and approach to the instrument. I am more confident and the musical interpretation seems better, and importantly the sound I'm making is richer and more resonant.
During my lapse from playing I have been watching quite a number of film recordings of virtuoso violinists from the last century and I have also thought a lot about it too. I chatted to my Dad as he's a retired professional orchestral musician and he wasn't surprised. His views concurred with my own thinking; that the subconscious mind works away during such breaks and sorts out a lot of information. With the input of expert examples from the film footage and all the other listening and visualising I had done there was a lot of information and learning. This input is sorted, internalised and built into our systems during rest and informs our approach when we eventually pick up the instrument again....as long as the break isn't too long.
I'm sure this applies to many activities in life. If we feed ourselves with positive and good examples, then the information informs our future work, even after a break. The important thing is to receive good examples and not bad, and visualise regularly your successful performance, be it in sport, music, dance or whatever.
I've got my first violin lesson next week since I stopped, and it will be interesting to hear what he says about my playing. Oh it's all such good fun!
All you work-addicted career brats who think being a housewife is for morons, listen up. There’s real joy to be had in ironing, baking and kids, says Darla Shine whose book 'Happy Housewives' is published tomorrow.
Now, what am I doing writing about a book like this, you might ask? Good question. Darla Shine describes how she gave up a very successful career and high income to look after her young children and become a live-at-home housewife. And having done so, she hated it. She found the house-work irritating, tiresome and demeaning. She did less and less, the family and herself all suffered until one day she got a wake-up call.
Shine decided to do something about it. She would become the best wife, mother and homemaker she could be and decided to make a good job of everything she did around the house. She started vacuuming, cleaning, cooking organising her home and playing with the kids. She would enjoy herself and experience the pleasure and success of creating a wonderful home for her family. She took up tennis, and spiced up her sex life (presumably with her husband).
Although Darla Shine's book may focus on how we can become fantastic and happy housewives (or house-husbands) the underlying message is that it is all about choice and attitude. And these principles can be applied to any situation we may find ourselves in. We all choose our own reality. If I believe that cleaning my boots is a boring and tiresome job, then that's the way I'll experience it. But if I choose to find something good about it and take pleasure in the task, then my experience will be quite different.
It's my belief that we are all choosing how we feel, all the time. No matter what's happening around us or the situations we find ourselves, how we respond to them is our own choice. We can choose to be resentful, unhappy, offended, upset, bored or we can choose to be accepting, loving, happy, cheerful, philosophical, radiant, successful and pretty much anything we wish. It's like a switch. You can just switch yourself off....or on. For me? ...welll I prefer the latter! And if you don't agree with me, well then....that's just your choice.
:-)
Have a good day!
Happy Housewives by Darla Shine (Regan Books £14.99) is published on Thursday 16th March
As I sit here writing an article on postural tips for business travellers for one of the national magazines, I'm more than aware that the same principles apply to most other occupations and daily activities. Whether we're wanting to perform better at tennis, or any sport for that matter, or whether we're making a business presentation, or needing to be fresh for a meeting after a long haul flight, or picking up the baby, we need our co-ordination to be functioning well. In other words, we need to be in balance, not straining or stiffening unnecessarily, and we need to be breathing! All things we take for granted, but can let us down at the critical moment.
The one big thing that can help with everything else is keeping our necks free of tension. This may sound stupid or simplistic, but most of us are over-stiffening our necks.....all of the time. The head is so heavy (4-5 kilos) that any imbalance here will upset our whole body, causing tensions, stiffness and interfere with our breathing. Freeing your neck of tension will lead the way for better posture, calmer disposition as the blood circulation to your brain improves, greater clarity of thought, more wakefulness, less strain, avoid headaches and lead to greater stature. In short it can help you earn more money and win the tennis match.
Continue reading "Free your neck to function better"
Alexander Grinberg Portrait of an Actress, 1920 © Moscow House of Photography, from the exhibition 'Russian Pictorial Photography', at Somerset House, London.
I saw this wonderful exhibition of early Russian photography on Sunday. It's so refreshing to see images from a different era and I particularly like the softness and romantic nature of these photographs. This movement and style of photography, popular for a while, became outlawed and repressed after the Russian Revolution as they were considered decadent, bourgeois and not to represent the new socialist way of life. In 1935 moral persecution of artists led to physical repressions. Under a ludicrous pretext of ‘dissemination of pornography’ Alexander Grinberg was sent to one of Stalin’s labour camps. It is only in the last decade or more that these images have been uncovered and are now celebrated.
Vassily Ulitin, Ships at Low Tide, 1926
Quiet Resistance: Russian Pictorial Photography 1900-1930s at Somerset House, a great cultural centre off the Strand, London WC1.
Continue reading "Russian Pictorial Photography 1900-1930s"
There was an orange ball of fire in the sky this morning as the sun rose over the trees in Hyde Park. Today was the first time I've seen the sunrise since last autumn on my way to work at 6.30am.
I just so love the start to a new day....
115th Crufts, 'the world's greatest dog show' has been happening at the NEC Birmingham. From the bizarre to the beautiful, the athletic to the pocket size and lots of fun and competitive spirit to fill a million kennels. The dogs are such great fun to watch.
However, what I like to see is the wonderful poise of the dogs, how they lead with their heads as they move forwards. The head leads and the body follows. With the clear intention to move, it's the head with brain, eyes and teeth that is 'sent' forwards to lengthen the dog's back and so activate the hind quarters to walk or run. This is the way all vertebrates move; they send their head forwards to activate their legs. Watch a pigeon or hen sometime. They do this too. And so do we.
Humans are very similar, it's just that we're on two feet instead of four. So we won't jut our heads forwards, but we do need to lengthen in our spine in order to activate our legs. We need to lengthen in stature to more healthily. Watch a two year old child. They lengthen as they move.
Child lengthening to walk
Did you know...?
A F1 car can go from 0 to 160 kph AND back to 0 in FOUR seconds !!!!!!!
The amount of aerodynamic downforce produced by the front and rear wings and the car underbody is amazing. Once the car is travelling over 160 kph, an F1 car can generate enough downforce to equal it's own weight. That means it could actually hold itself to the CEILING of a tunnel and drive UPSIDE down!
courtesy of IndiaTimesBlogs
A friend was on a red London bus yesterday and the man behind her on the back seat started singing. His voice was full and strong... "Life is so much better....Oh Yeah!"
She turned to him and said she liked his singing.
He smiled and replied, " Life's not all good, but you have to put the best out there."
Will Fernando Alonso hold onto his title? Will we see Michael Schumacher reclaim his crown or UK's Jenson Button make his first championship? The season starts in Bahrain this weekend and it's all up for grabs as F1 changes its rules to bring back the excitement it's lost in recent years.
Engines have been reduced in power from the previous 3-litre V10 down to 2.4 Litre V8. Although we may not see much difference on the outside, this equates to a reduction of around 200bph, meaning that the teams cannot rely on speed alone.
This year it's down to the drivers. More than ever, they will need their wits and coordination skills to be finely tuned if they're to gain a place on the podium. This is becoming a driver's race, rather than relying on the car's brute power. Instant reflexes, clear thinking and more balanced driving styles are required to carry higher momentum out of corners. The driver will need to drive his car and any small mistakes will cost him valuable seconds.
A reversal of last years decision to allow only one set of tyres means changes are back. Pit stops will be more entertaining and with fresh rubber, the driving will be more ferocious. New qualifying rules will hopefully sift out the pole position drivers better than before. So here's looking forward to some weekend fun...
'My insides shake like a leaf on a tree There’s only one cure for this body of mine....'(Elvis Presley, All Shook Up)
The singer's familiar quiff was spottend and photographed by John Edgar in an old oak in Fairford, Wiltshire.
He said: 'I noticed the bouffant hair straight away and said, “I recognise that face”. Reported in the Metro.
I'd go with that. Thanks John for a great tree.
My tulips are dusky pink this week. They're a bit feminine for me.... I'd prefer something a bit more butch. Butch tulips....now that's a thought.
But maybe these ones will bring out my feminine, intuitive side. I need all of that I can get, to help me make the right choices in life.
I guess I'll cope... :-)
I was brushing my teeth this morning and I became very aware of the need to bend my knees adequately to avoid back strain. By letting our knees bend when we want to bend over, helps our body maintain good balance. As we know, anything that's not in balance tends to fall over, or in our case, cause a lot of strain.
So I let my knees bend a little more and directed them over my toes so they went away from me a bit. I also ensured my overall body-weight staid back over my ankles to avoid knees strain. It was rather like sitting on a cushion of air. So I wasn't 'stuck' in a position, but rather floaty with bent knees. This helped my back muscles maintain better support. Indeed, very young children bend like this naturally...and so should we.
By bringing a little attention to ourselves and how we are doing things, we can help ourselves cope well and avoid unnecessary strain or even injury. A slipped disc from brushing teeth isn't the best way to start the day.
This is me aged three bending freely. I can see I liked flowers at that age...
It's another grey, wet morning in London. We've had a lot of rain over the last few days, and many people I've met recently have said how miserable it is. ...more rain, and more rain, how depressing can it get?
However, there hasn't been a lot of rain in the SE of England this winter, so this is a rare occurrence and we probably need all the rain we can get. I bet the plants and trees and shrubs are enjoying it! Indeed they are positively happy, and soaking it up! There they are, having a fantastic time, waiving their branches around in the air , grooving a real good knees-up. I'm sure if you listen hard enough you can hear them sing.....or is that the birds? Or is it in my head?
Anyway, I must remember to put the plug in the sink when I'm washing up, to do my share of conserving water. If we can avoid a drought this summer, we'll all be happy.
'All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them, nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.'
Woodrow Wilson, 1856-1924 President of the United States of America
I have to admit to being in total awe of the new camera equipment used to film parts of Planet Earth presented by Sir David Attenborough. New technology originally designed for use at times of conflict, enables a helicopter fitted with this remotely controlled camera to film close-up details of activities on ground from up to 1.5 kilometers away. This programme is the first to use such equipment for filming nature.
The subjects are unaware that they are being filmed, so in the case of the BBC programme Planet Earth, we are able to watch previously un-filmed and unseen aspects of predators stalking and chasing their victim, then eventually at the kill. It means the animals remain undisturbed and able to carry on with their lives without intrusion.
These new filming techniques are particularly remarkable when we see packs of wolves organising their maneuvers to stalk unwary victims. The high viewpoint from the helicopter allows many animals to be seen at the same time working as an organised team. It's easy to see the benefits of such equipment in times of human conflict.
The amazing thing, from a more technical point of view, is the camera's ability to zoom in from such a great distance with massive magnification, and the close-up image is as steady and un-shaken as though the camera was tripod mounted on the ground.
Toys for the boys.... and a programme not to miss.
Sunday 9.00pm BBC One
When we're going with the flow, anything can happen...
I use a small motorbike to go to work as you probably know now, and am usually fortunate to be able to park it just outside my practice in Cavendish Square in a bay alongside 80 others. I arrive early so there is no difficulty in finding a space, but if I ever have to use my bike during the day and need to return later I’m always aware that it may be extremely difficult to find a space. I had to use it mid morning to go to a meeting in north London the other day and as I started the engine I noticed there was a motorcyclist waiting patiently for the next available space. I gave him a smile as I pulled out and said to him that he could have my space. He seemed relieved and very pleased.
I returned to the same parking bay about two hours later and visualised a space being there for me as usual. I nearly always succeed no matter how busy it is, but on this occasion I found that the cycle park was completely full. However, one motorcyclist sitting on his bike, and as I drove up, he pulled out. He turned round towards me and I recognized him as being the same person who I had given my space to earlier. The timing was just as though he was waiting for me to return. He gave me a knowing smile as though he knew something I didn’t and said “There you are, you can have your own space back,” and drove away.
Don't you just love it when things go like that? .....What you thnk is what you get.
Keira Knightley crowned red carpet queen and the new face of Chanel.
As Brokekback Mountain only won three Oscars and most other awards were met with muted enthusiasm it seems that the only notable occurence at the star studded event was the remarkably few red-carpet falls. One wonders if the stars have been working on their balance and ability to walk in killer heels during the last few months, so saving their embarassments, and avoiding skint knees. I'm glad that they may be attending to such fundamentals.
Rachel Weisz Oscar winner for best supporting actress in The Constant Gardener.
I was reminded once again this morning as I rode my motorcycle in to work at dawn, how our emotions and posture are so inextricably linked.
While riding along the north edge of Hyde Park facing the lightening east sky I decided to free my neck a bit and think upwards so I wasn't hunching over the handlebars. As my body became more upright, I also became more aware of the width of space between my upper arms and my chest being more open. With this came a lovely release of little tensions, and with a deep sigh and I noticed my mood lifting. Not that I was in a bad mood or depressed in anyway before, but I got a lovely light sense of euphoria! smiling inside ones crash helmet could be seen as a bit mad. Maybe it is, but I'm happy and don't care.
It's interesting how postural fixation and emotions get trapped together. Sometimes if we're suddenly relieved of a problem or a stressful situation is resolved, we may feel our muscles relaxing to some degree. It can happen both ways. But I find that by giving a little thought to my physical condition, I can help myself in a practical way. By releasing and inhibiting unnecessary tensions, while also ensuring that I'm lengthening in stature,,,,without effort, I can bring myself up to my full stature and positively help myself cope with the day's events, no matter what gets thrown at me. It could be called survival, but I prefer to think of it as helping myself function and perform to my best ability.
It's a great way to start the day.
Of all the thousands of tree photographs I've taken over the last twelve years, this is probably the only one that I feel voyeristic as a photographer. Looking through between the beeches towards this loan silver birch, I feel that I'm peaking and spying something intimate.
Taken on Hasselblad with 80mm lens, yellow filter with 12 second exposure.
Last week's tulips are still standing to attention.... Their red colour is less intense, but still great. Thought you'd like to know that....
Being a pancake fiend, I'm disappointed to discover that I missed the Russia and Ukraine Pancake Competition last week. Teams from both countries competed to mark Pancake week celebrations in Moscow.
The director of the festival Sergei Komin announced at a Russian press-conference "Ukraine is our closets neighbour, our sister nation. We have announced comic competition on song singing and pancake making. People from three Ukrainian cities are coming to participate in it", said Komin.
I wish I'd been there.....maybe next year. Don't you just love it?
Fridays are great because they signal the beginning of the weekend, and that's great fun. I also like Mondays because it's the beginning of the week, and that's great fun.
Where you look is where you go. What you think is what you get....etc.
'Always look on the bright side of life' Monty Python's Life of Brian
Have a good weekend.
Stephen Fry - Voted in the Radio Times survey to have a beautiful voice.
Changing the sound of our voice is something can all do if we choose. It just takes a little thought and practice. And as the sound of a voice can have such a dramatic effect on how we are perceived, it's worthwhile making the most of ourselves. Apparently around 40% of the population rely on their voice for their work...that's quite a lot of us!
Our vocal mechanism is something that we use just as much as our legs to walk or our hands to write. It is a part of our body and it needs to be used appropriately for it to perform at its best and will not do so if we misuse it. If we don't have a good voice, it is because we don't make it well. And if we change the way that we do it, we will enjoy a change in the way it sounds.
Fiona Bruce, a smouldering and seductive voice.
Many of us are restricting and detrimentally affecting our voice by excessive tension in the throat, neck, shoulders and chest. Tensions here can make our voice sound tight and strained, thin or squeaky, or even husky and breathy. But it's likely that such habits of tension are not restricted to just when we speak, but are with us all of the time. It would be a good idea if we could see if we can release tensions in our neck, shoulders and generally through our body as often as we can. As that way we are undoing some of our habits. That can affect everything we do....including speaking.
It doesn't take a lot of effort to speak...
To see all the posts in this series 'A Voice Like Honey' click Here.
Continue reading "A Voice Like Honey -3"
We had some blue skies here in London yesterday, and buds are starting to appear on the trees. It's lovely to see the beginnings of spring....
Barry White - A great speaking voice and singer
It seems to be a general understanding that the voice we have is a part of us and cannot be changed. Indeed many of us may not even consider such a thing unless we're an actor, politician or radio presenter. But just in the same way as a comedian or mimic can make themselves sound like another, we too have the ability to influence the way our voice sounds. But what's wrong with our voice anyway?
Well, nothing is wrong at all. We're fine as we are, but that doesn't mean we may not make changes. Just as we may choose nice clothes to wear for special occasions and we can endeavour to look nice so we are appealing. And our voice is only an extension of this. The way we walk in the door is considered to form 80% of people's first impressions of us. It's that quick. When we open our mouths, we may continue to dazzle, or their perception of us might just drop through the floor. Our voice is such a powerful tool that it can make people love us, make deals and swing public opinion. And it can be sooooo sexy.
Improving our speaking voice doesn't mean that we lose our accent, personality or character. Indeed regional accents are sought by television producers for their presenters as they make them identifiable, likable and familiar. All it means is that we help our best qualities to show through and to produce a pleasingly rich, varied and clear voice, that has good articulation and resonance. But unfortunately our voice can be detrimentally affected by our posture and habits. And just by freeing ourselves from some of these tendencies, our voice can change remarkably and quickly. I've heard men and women's voices change in ten minutes just by letting go of the tensions in their neck, shoulders and chest. And it can sound so good!
I'm going to write a bit about voice and how we can help ourselves, over the next few weeks. The idea came to me as BBC Radio 4 starts a two part series this evening at 9.00pm called A Voice Like Honey. But it's all very well, TV and Radio celebrities demonstrating their beautiful and modulus sounds, and then hearing about what surgery can be conducted to help them overcome problems. What about the rest of us? I enjoy working on voice, because it can be changed so easily with a little care, and by doing so we may just have our friends drooling at our dulcet tones. I'll pick up again on this later....
To see all the posts in this series 'A Voice Like Honey' click Here.
