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This week, I would like to draw your attention to your head! Yes, I know, so often I am encouraging you to focus on your body, which we do through awareness, breath and movement. Plus, I’m often asking your mind (head centre) to be quiet.

The quiet piece I’m reffing to here is the ego. Now, the ego can be caring, supportive and uplifting. Yet if allowed to and if stress builds, it can also focus on the negative and amplifying the tension, stories and dramas of life. 

But this week is about your actual head and not the commentator inside! 

Next week, as a head part two we will focus on facial expression.

Here’s a few fun facts

• Your skull protects your brain and has 22 bones (8 cranial and 14 facial bones).
• The head has 22 muscles.
• The average head weighs about 10 lbs (the brain about 3lbs).
• Although your brain is only 2% of your total body weight, it consumes 20% of your calories (feed it well… cut out those processed...

My main goal at Dojiva is to provide ideas, exercise classes and mindfulness practices that help you along the path of healthy living. And I want to make it simple and easy so that you don’t have to think too hard about the how, when and what to do. 

But how do you know when you’re on track? Well, I am hoping that you can see and feel the difference. E.g: 

• A shift to good posture becomes natural 
• You forget about that niggling pain
• You realise you have stopped eating a favourite but unhealthy food
• You find yourself training three times a week (and enjoying the process)
• You are naturally more mindful and in the flow of life
• You notice that you react to stressful moments more calmly
• You fall (and stay) asleep more easily and…
• You get compliments on your physique/posture!

The less known wellbeing practice

Following on from a recent focus about positivity, this week the land at gratitude. 

Unless you are familiar...

 This is Mindfulness class number 57 on the Dojiva membership site!

In moments when I have felt a discomfort or negativity about somebody, I have always found the prayer of light practice to be instantly healing. I leaned this poem/prayer from a friend on a yoga trainer 15 years ago.

This practice has a dual purpose. You can set your intention to have a relative, friend or associate receive the blessings, or your energy could be directed to a person or place that you have a disgruntlement with.

The premise is to let go of any negative emotions associated with that person/place. This can help you move forward as you release old tensions/grudges.

The practice

On either occasion, you first repeat the poem about yourself. Then, for the second round you can choose to send the blessings to a friend who needs healing or when appropriate you can bring to mind that person who is not on your friend list! 

As part of embodiment and clearing the energy...

This video blog is number four in a six part series showcasing the Dojiva Online Studio. 

When you have 1/2 an hour spare, hit play on the above video.

Dojiva is a membership site with a great variety of 'lifestyle' strategies that help you restore, maintain and even develop your strength and vitality. As of Jan 2025, the archive has over 500 videos and audios with topics such as:

• Strength training - One hour classes with functional exercises that enhance the strength of your muscles, bones and connective tissues... plus balance development.
• Mobility routines - 35 minute gentle movement classes designed to enhance your posture, flexibility and flow.
• Ergonomics - a sub category of videos aimed to help body comfort and efficiency in daily life.
• Meditation - Soothing practices that raise awareness, deepen connection to nature and calm your mind.
• Interval training - Meet your body where it is...

The meditative state is not that elusive, it's actually quite natural and simply involves being aware of what is happening. 

This is number three in a six part series of blogs show-casing the Dojiva Online Studio. It's a guided practice into the meditative state.

There are many terms for this:

• Presence
• Being
• Flow
• Mindfullness
• In 'the zone'
• Pure awareness
• Consciousness
• Oneness
• Heart centred-ness
• Liberation 

You can recognise when you’re more present as you will experience a sense of peacefulness, expansiveness and body comfort. When you are distracted and lost in thought, your experience is more of tension, contraction and body tightness.

At first, for many meditation is not easy. But with practice you will soon notice that your thoughts are less bothersome and you’ll find yourself enjoying more clarity and flow in life.

Simply find a quiet space, pop on some headphones and hit play with the above...

Have you noticed that after years of stretching you’re not that much more bendy
Please read on for a new approach.

This is number two in a six part series of blogs show-casing the Dojiva Online Studio. 

Please join in with the above video that until now has been exclusive to the Dojiva Online membership site. It falls under the TAB of 'Mobility' and is a gentle movement class designed to improve your posture and suppleness and reduce overall tension.

The result... a more comfortable and functional body - all in just 32 minutes!

It's a free sample from the Dojiva archive
that has of over 500 classes available right now

The Dojiva difference

My philosophy on flexibility does not fit the normal modal. Too often, I see coaches and people pushing a stretch with the belief that the harder they push the more flexible the muscle will become. However, forcing a muscle while at it's full length is not natural and the body's...

This is number one in a six part series of blogs showcasing the Dojiva Online Studio. 

1 Strength - slow exercises for muscle, bone and connective tissue health
2 Mobility - a gentle movement class to enhance posture and flexibility 
3 Meditation - a soothing practice to raise awareness and calm the mind
4 Interval training - Meet your body where it is as you choose the intensity... low, medium or high.
5 Mindfulness practice - how to bring your goals into your reality (guided audio).
6 Health - interview with functional medicine doctor Robert Ruess MD

Please join in with the above video that until now has been exclusive to the Dojiva membership site. It's an hour of mindful movement designed for anybody who is focused on improving their functional strength.

It's a free sample from the Dojiva strength archive, one of 110 videos.

My philosophy on dynamic exercise is different than most. It is not about grunt or punishing yourself or pushing the body...

I see it a lot, too often for my liking... where people come and go with their exercise/health kick commitment. The yoyo effect is not good!

And if there is one key secret to success, it would be consistency.

So what stops people from adhering to a regular routine of exercise? I think it boils down to one or more of these four key factors. 

1. Results don't come quick enough

It's unusual to meet somebody who says "I appreciate that this is going to take some time and therefore I'm committed to the long run." Usually, people want results yesterday.

However, when it comes to making changes, your body, mind and all the wonderful physiology inside have a timeline.

Whatever health aspect you want to change be it weight loss, strength gains, breaking an unhealthy habit, a dietary shift, managing stress, reducing pain, improving posture or simply feeling more day to day energy, I believe it's best done slowly.

This way, your body and mind can adapt to the...

What a strange title coming for a health coach. And why would anybody want to gain fat weight? Hold on please. I am taking a reverse approach to get a message across. Please read on and I'll explain all.

[5 minute read]. Humans have been evolving for a long long time. And, we have always been lean... even up to the 1970's it was unusual to see many people over-weight.

Then came some poor, agenda driven dietary science about how fats are bad for our health and that we should replace them with carbs. And the fats we do eat should come in the form of highly processed and inflammatory poly unsaturated fats (industrial seed oils) and we should avoid natural saturated fats. Also, food scientists engineered a magic combination of sugar, salt and fat that could make food highly addictive (enter processed foods). 

It seems we may have taken advice from food companies that do not have our health in mind. Rather they want you to buy their...

Welcome to this blog. I have taken these writings directly from the Dojiva Online Studio. I feel it's important reading for all those that are new to me or have purchased my courses but have not yet signed up for the monthly membership.

Please read on for my four concepts of movement:

1. Honour Your Body

Before and during each of our workouts you will notice periods of guided stillness. This is your continuous opportunity to listen to the physical facts of the moment. 

Listening to your body in the moment of any exercise will not only improve your safety and efficiency but also guide you to the right intensity. Sensing is your ultimate guide.

So, how often and intense you exercise is governed by the reaction of your body. Just keep listening. This extends beyond formal workouts and is true for healthy eating patterns and even chores around the house/garden.

And this is not a linear phenomenon and dependent on sleep, stress, food, metabolism,...