yoga – Rhiannon Griffiths

Jun 7
2013

Awesome Aussies – Krys Hansen

This is a slightly belated post this week, from a skype filming a fortnight ago with my fabulous and beautiful friend Krystal Hansen. The fourth vlog in my “Awesome Aussies” series introduces this gorgeous creature and discusses how May was her month of compassion, and how her next project focuses on making meditation easy and accessible to everyone, including a very interesting way of funding the project via community!

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Who is Krys? She is a modern yogi, an amazing yoga teacher and a holistic health coach. Krystal is another kindred spirit that I connected with first online via Instagram – I am @rg_acupuncture & Krys is @practisewellness – and on my arrival to Australia, she noticed some familiar local places in my photos!

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In Australia we met up: on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. This is where my main base was for my trip in March, as I had flown into Brisbane from the UK. We spent hours chatting in Buderim, having had green smoothies and raw tartlets at the fabulous raw vegan cafe, Ground.

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In the video below we chat about what compassion means and how it creates a ripple effect of energy outwards to everyone around us; how our gifts / vocations, be it yoga or acupuncture, or whatever our paths are, find us when we are in a dark place, and leads us out into the light, becoming our professions.

Krys explains more about her latest project – The Modern Yogi Meditation Ecourse – and the community funding behind it via Pozible, you can pledge your support there right NOW!

And we also discuss what overlaps there are between the three body types in Ayurveda and the Five Elements in Chinese Medicine – how it is ultimately about understanding the seasons, how that relates to you, understanding what you are, what you might be like when you are in balance, and what you might be like when you’re out of balance! And most importantly how these ancient concepts are SO relevant to modern day life and can help you be healthy in mind, body and spirit!

Be sure to listen to the very end to hear about the strength of the HEART energy – it’s a gem of scientific info that will blow your mind!

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IbAlstrUTs%5D

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Although the May is now gone and the month of compassion has concluded, I encourage you to look on Krystal’s instagram feed or facebook, and check out what the beautiful prompt is for the day of the month you are on NOW – it will work for the month of June too! And if you are drawn to connect in with the energy of her latest project – the method of funding and/or the actual meditation Ecourse itself – then please do visit her website or the Pozible site for more details… its going to be an EXCITING project, one I am THRILLED to be a part of! <3

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Mar 21
2012

The Sunshine Award

by Rhiannon Griffiths

I was awarded The Sunshine Award last week! But what is this you may ask?! The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere! Amazingly humbled to receive this “award of the people”!

As with all the greatest things, with honour comes responsibility, there are rules to being nominated and things I now have to do! The rules of the Sunshine Award are as follows:

Thank the person who gave you the award; write a post about it; answer the questions below; then nominate ten other bloggers, link their blogs, and let them know you have awarded them with the Sunshine Award!

So, THANK YOU Maisie Villegas – my very new, but already very dear friend; a doula extraordinaire, student acupuncturist, fellow paediatric diploma student, and big lover of tea and cake! As she mentioned in her own Sunshine Award blog, when nominating this blog, we do practice very different styles of acupuncture – my Five Element and TCM integrated approach, always gives us something to talk about, bringing a slightly different viewpoint to the same issue… plus, I can talk about Chinese Medicine ALL DAY, so it is always great to find someone new to do that with!

Favourite Colour: Green – fresh, calming and about life and growth… the colour of the Wood Element in Chinese Medicine, and of course, my leaf logo!

Favourite Animal: Birds – they have a magic all of their own, graceful and beautiful.

Favourite Number: 7, it is very me.

Favourite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Tea – in Chinese food energetics, black tea is bitter & sweet, which benefits the Heart & Stomach – this is why you feel so calm & contented when you have a good cuppa! Green tea has a more cooling energy & it moves Qi, which makes it a great stress buster!

Facebook or Twitter: Facebook definitely – good for more photos, but more importantly you can write much much more! I am a huge rambler – yes, you knew that already I’m sure! – and need more room to express myself! The 140 characters is always a HUGE challenge!

My Passion: Acupuncture, Chinese medicine, holistic health, emotions, Five Elements, Chinese food energetics… living life slightly differently, with huge benefits and rewards on many levels.

Getting or Giving Presents: Giving presents – especially those you put tons of thought into, the really unusual, quirky, poignant and personal ones.

Favourite Pattern: I do like the Orla Kiely leaf pattern, but then I do have a penchant for leaves! It is a lovely mixture of 70s retro (which I adore!), with a modern twist.

Favourite Day of the Week: Sunday – love waking up late (topping up that yin!), watching “Something for the Weekend” (though next week I will be switching over to “Sunday Brunch” on Channel 4!), having a walk in the village, having a cuppa or a bite to eat in the local cafe, roast with the family… easy sunday things 🙂

Favourite Flower: Sunflowers or gerberas – the bright yellow makes me smile, and they kind of look like they have little faces! They bring cheer to a room, and I love giving them as presents, it’s like giving a bunch of joy!

The following are my nominations for handing over the baton for The Sunshine Award:

Intelligent Running – let’s get one thing straight, I am NOT a runner, I don’t do running… but I do enjoy George’s blog for his boundless enthusiasm and positivity for health, nutrition, living well, and of course, running! His example (business wise and personally) keeps me striving to be better! And I wish I had his energy, incredible!!

Emma Martin: Mission to Motherhood – fabulously honest and funny blog about my Bournemouth uni buddy’s journey into motherhood. The challenges of being a working mummy, learning as a family at every stage, astute reflections on being with her beautiful boy Phoenix. It’s a joy to read.

Little Mountain Homeopathy – as part of the paediatrics diploma I am doing this year, I am learning more about homeopathy and how it can slot in very nicely alongside acupuncture in the natural treatment of children. This blog has some very good information set out in a very accessible way.

Polly’s Path – a blog that follows Polly’s journey to heal herself of cancer naturally. There are raw recipes, inspiration on how to live a life you love, anecdotal accounts of her journey thus far… she always has something positive to share!

The Pink Peril – my childhood friend Rachel is running the London marathon for the first time! The blog traces her steps from novice to expert, ready for 22nd April, with a lovely dose of humour and reality! She is raising money for The Outward Bound Trust, a cause close to her heart.

Integrative Nutrition Blog – I LOVE this blog, a mixture of recipes, healthy tips, lifestyle advice… they advocate nutrition on all levels, what you eat, what you think, what you study, what you do… just excellent.

On the Road with the Urban Psychic – my good friend Amy Holland is a fabulously talented medium, as well as being a highly qualified psychotherapist and healer. This blog follows the adventures in the “psychic bus” that locals will recognise driving around Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire!

Raymond Blanc – a local celebrity around these parts, and I have been lucky enough to meet the funny, passionate chef – he even winked at me! And the food at Le Manoir is just beautiful. You can hear him talking through his blog (and his twitter feed!), and it always makes me laugh, even if its not always meant to!

MindBodyGreen – a collection of blog posts from a variety of authors on yoga and wellness. I love dipping in and out of these writings, there is always something that is applicable to your day, invoking self-reflection, growth, and development.

Build Your Dream Practice – Kevin Doherty has a whole host of great tips and tricks for marketing your alternative practice… great if you’re new to social media and general marketing strategies, or if you’re an old hand like me, it just keeps you on track!

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Jan 1
2012

Resolutions Reminder

by Rhiannon Griffiths

Hello 2012! We are now entering the age of love, which means this new year is going to be a super positive one, with tons of great changes – I for one, am soooo excited to see what it has in store for me, and also to hearing all about what it has in store for you – here, online, and of course in the clinic.

For those of you who already follow my Facebook and Twitter pages, you probably already know that my only “resolution” for the new year was to start yoga again, after something like 8 years away from the practice! But I chose to start this just after Christmas – it helps that Santa left me some goodies under the tree to get me going!

Starting early, takes some of the “pressure” off starting today, the 1st January 2012, and all the connotations that come with that – the fact that many people spend the first day of the new year feeling hideously hungover (not me – though don’t get me wrong, in the past I have had my fair share of hungover, negative, depressed New Year Days), just adds to that pressure of “oh no, I haven’t started my resolution”, or “gosh, I need a detox”, or “damn, I’ve broken my resolution in less than 24 hours!”… We do not need to put that much pressure on ourselves! Resolutions are supposed to be empowering – looking at what good stuff we want for ourselves in the year ahead… again, the focus is on what WE want for OURSELVES, not what we feel we SHOULD be doing, or going into competition with our friends, work colleagues or neighbours (meeting them on the doorstep as we get up for the gruelling 5am run before work – YUCK!)…

I know what I want my general life to look like, in all its best holistic balanced glory… I want to ensure that I do at least one of the following each and every day – meditation, qigong or yoga. Of course, more than one each day would be preferable (and wonderful!), but I am realistic – if I am treating in clinic until 8pm, as I tend to for the first part of the week, I am not going to be doing yoga, then qigong and meditating before bed… As you think about your resolutions for 2012, don’t set yourself up for a fall, take small steps, and feel good about what you DO manage, don’t focus on the negative and beat yourself up – we are all human, even acupuncturists!

And sometimes we need a little support in keeping on track, I know I do – so you have my permission to ask me, when I see you in clinic, as to how my yoga is getting along! And acupuncture can help keep you on track, as you move into the new year with wishes for a healthier, more holistic focus – whether that be stopping smoking, losing weight, reducing stress levels and feeling more positive about life, or just having a better level of health with a boosted immune system.

Click here to read an article published in “Go Local” magazine this time last year, in January 2011 (scroll halfway down the page and click on the picture for pdf), which explains exactly HOW acupuncture works to help YOU to keep on track with your resolutions this year, and make this your healthiest and best year yet!

Let me know what your healthy, holistic resolutions are this year, and/or how I can help you keep on track with them for this magnificent New Year! Sending goodness to you all!

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