Monthly Archives: December 2016

Fundraising event for 2017 Sarajevo trip

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Sarajevo fundraiser - The Stress Medic

I’ve made the commitment to return to Sarajevo next April! To help continue the wonderful voluntary work of Healing Hands Network. Imagine how amazed and delighted I was when Rose Hutton of Astley Music Group contacted me to offer me a fundraising event, to kick start my fundraising for the trip. In fact they did two, raising a total of £150 which is a fabulous boost towards the £800 I need to raise.

You can make a donation here

About the fundraising event

I was delighted when Rose contacted me. How amazing to be offered a fundraising event to support me going back to Sarajevo with Healing Hands Network – helping to continue the charities work with those suffering as a result of the war. Naturally I accepted, having just made the commitment to return to Sarajevo next April, this would be the perfect boost to start my £800 of required fundraising. In fact they ran two events for me and raised a fabulous £150.

Rose organises regular charity events and supports many charities, and she is very good at it. I could only attend the first event because I had another commitment to Healing Hands Network, but we had a wonderful evening of comedy and song in October, and I’m sure the second event was equally entertaining.

On the 8th October our entertainers were Kelly Louise and Dave Chance. Kelly Louise has a beautiful, clear voice and performed a wide repertoire of songs, and is no stranger to comedy. Dave Chance is a comedian, and had the room in stitches, but he’s also a singer and has an excellent voice, it was a great combination. The evening was such good value, with a ploughmans supper included and a raffle with many donated prizes. A lovely evening was had by all and I am so grateful for everyone’s support.

Breathing for effective sleep

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breathing-for-effective-sleep

Are you having trouble getting effective sleep? Do you find it hard to drift off to sleep? Try Ujjayi breath.

Ujjayi (ooh-JAH-yee) breath is a Pranayama technique. It was shared with me just a few weeks ago as an aid to achieving sleep, but with the following precautions – it should not be practised if you have low blood pressure or are suffering from depression.

Trying it for myself I found it very effective for calming a busy mind enabling me to drift off to sleep, so I shared it with Emma who found the last thing she remembered before sleeping was practising Ujjayi Breath! This has inspired me to share it here.

The Technique:

Very simply, Ujjayi Breath technique requires that we very gently constrict the opening of the throat while breathing comfortably, and making a sound that would be just audible to someone stood next to us but not from much further away.

Start by taking a breath, then as you breathe out, whisper ‘haaah’, and notice how your throat very slightly closes as you do this. There is no vocal sound, only the breath sound in your throat. Then try this again but with your mouth closed so you are breathing through your nose, but making the same sound. Practise this until you are comfortable, there should be no straining, the aim is to be relaxed. Once the out breath feels and sounds right, you can try practising it on the in breath too. The sound made is often likened to waves rolling in and out.

There is more you can learn about Ujjayi Breath, but this is enough to get started. Let me know how you get on.