What Sophie Said

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that there's been a pretty big new addition into my schedule over the last few months: exercise. I've never been someone that 'worked out'. I didn't like P.E. and Games at school, I wasn't on sports teams (apart from the rounders team in Year 7) and I wouldn't choose to go out for a run or even a walk. I've dabbled in certain things over the years - horse riding when I was about seven, a long-ish stint of swimming at primary school and short phases of becoming obsessed with a particular workout video, but nothing really stuck. The one thread that ran throughout, certainly since the beginning of high school, was dancing. That kept me moving, and walking to and from school and university did the same, but it was one particular type of movement and exercise, and by the time I left university that had pretty much stopped, too. I think my story is a fairly common one: I didn't enjoy the 'conventional...

Just a quick check-in today to update you on another change I've really been focusing on for the past few months as a part of the whole mental and physical overhaul 'journey' I've found myself on. Today's topic? H2O. Water. Drinking more water is probably one of the most common pieces of advice you hear if you're trying to improve your health in any way. Want clearer skin? Drink more water. Want to sort your digestion? Drink more water. Want to stop constant snack cravings? Drink more water. Want to lose weight? Drink more water. It's the tip we all roll our eyes at and then carry on with our day. Water has never been something I've thought too much about, as I've actually always been fairly good at drinking it. Granted, part of that may be because my drinking options are limited - I don't drink hot drinks, alcohol, fizzy drinks... you could count the drinks I'll go for on one hand. I've never been one of those peop...

It's that time again and I've been reading SO much recently I feel like these posts might be popping up more and more often. The Reading List series is a collection of posts that collate mini reviews on the things I've been reading recently, which is usually a complete mixture of fiction and non-fiction and different styles and genres. Here's the latest collection: Awaken the Giant Within, Tony Robbins Where do I begin? I've heard of Tony Robbins many times, but hadn't picked up any of his books until this particular one was recommended by my personal trainer a couple of months ago. Awaken the Giant Within is about recognising your potential and taking action. It's about the fact that you can make whatever you want to of your life, you just need to set goals and work towards achieving them. This book is so practical, regularly making you stop to make lists and complete other tasks. These tasks range from examining your deepest desires to analy...

I wrote not long ago about the fact I've spent the last 6-12 months introducing new daily rituals into my life to help my mind and my body. That post was specifically about reading for 30 minutes a day . Today's post is about possibly the most transformative step I've added into my daily routine: using my pride and gratitude journals. The first addition to my days was my gratitude journal. Journals, plural, because I've filled a whole notebook and I'm onto book number two. Widely known to be a beneficial daily practice, I'd heard the idea of gratitude journals and gratitude lists many times, but not actually done anything about it. When I was really unwell last year, I kicked myself into gear and decided it was time to start working on changing my attitude away from negativity and towards gratitude. I use a plain notebook (because I'm not a fan of being told how to structure my thoughts!), and simply write the date with five bullet points beneath ...

On hearing I was moving home for a period after a particularly tough struggle with my mental health, a friend of my dad's offered a gift I had no idea would have as much impact as it did. She's training to be a yoga instructor, and suggested to my dad that she spend a little time with me, if I wanted to, to start learning a bit about yoga. I jumped at the offer, having been told so many times it would be 'good for me', but was unsure what to expect having dabbled in it before and not been hit by the love for it others claim to have. Like any practice though, it takes time, effort and learning to reach that place where yoga begins to truly impact your life. The biggest thing I learned is that it's so much more than nice poses... in fact, mastering the positions was one of the least important parts of the lessons I learned. Week after week, she gave up her time to visit me at home and spend about an hour to an hour and a half doing one-on-one yoga sessions ...

I love looking back at these posts to reflect on where my head was at at the beginning of previous months and years, so I need to keep on top of them! Hello, August. Already. Time flies etc etc etc... It really does, though, doesn't it? Only a short post today as there's one, big thing that has changed since 1st July... the house move! New home, new city, new chapter. I've fallen in love with the new flat and am just feeling incredibly grateful for the people I'm surrounded by and proud of the progress I've made so far this year. All the essentials are now sorted for the flat, and I'm getting into a routine, continuing all the practices that have been helping me so much, such as yoga, exercise and running. The next step is to start to get involved in things outside of the home. The first plans are to hunt down a boxing class, a yoga class and a church... and maybe another running group to add to weekly parkruns. I can't wait to start to...