BOOM!

We're 'well well' into the seventh month of the year - I hope you are slowly and surely making your dreams come true in 2021. A quick thought: Let who you are be a reflection of what you want to happen in your life.

Dorothea OLDANI on Unsplash So spring has finally sprung officially in the UK, still in lockdown in England but you can still exercise, and one of the main ones for me at the moment is running. I'm still learning as I go but I feel I'm gradually getting better, here are some tips that are helping me: Doing a warm up I confess, for years I would be haphazard with stretching before I started running and that probably hampered my progress in retrospect, because my muscles wouldn't be warmed up and prepped to go - and muscle memory not geared up for taking larger strides while I ran. This YouTube video from Ben Parkes explains it well.    Taking larger strides When I look back to the way I used to run in the early days, it feels like I was probably doing the equivalent of shuffles. I definitely feel a bit more free when I run/jog, taking larger strides helps the run go quicker and produces an easier run. Being light on your feet Just as taking larger strides has helped so has

I've become a morning runner, started consistently running three times a week because the gyms are closed in lockdown.  If you are looking to start running, here are a few really quick tips I've found helpful: Get a good night's sleep and stay hydrated. It will help set up the morning well. Get your kit ready the night before. Obvious, I know, but picking up all your outfit in one place just makes life easier in the morning as I psyche myself up to go for that run. It all helps. I prefer running in the winter as I tend to get really hot in any temperature, so if you are new to it, running in the colder months might be a good way to ease in to a jog. Make your playlist work for you. I am constantly tweaking my list and some songs include Amerie's '1 Thing', Ciara's 'Bang It Up' and Red Hot Chilli Peppers 'Dani California'. Use an app to track your run, I enjoy seeing the progress I make. I might not be quicker with each run, but the monthly av

One of my favourite styles of music is neo soul . I remember hearing Musiq Soulchild for the first time and falling in love with not only his vocals and lyrics, but the atmosphere his music evoked and I'm happy I was able to see him in concert years ago. I think all of these artists make me feel a similar way. Neo soul makes me think of sunny days, laughter, love and good times.  Here's a list of some of my fav neo soul artists and songs: Musiq Soulchild - Halfcrazy; Girl Next Door Erykah Badu - Bag Lady; The Healer Dwele - Subject; Timeless Bilal - Love Poems D'Angelo - Untitled (How Does It Feel?); Africa; Really Love Jill Scott - Getting' In the Way; Whatever Amerie - Why Don't We Fall in Love Lauryn Hill - To Zion Raphael Saadiq - Be Here Amel Larrieux - For Real Who else would you add?

We're halfway through the first month of the year? How is it going for you? A good thing to do is reflect on the month gone and look to the year ahead. A few questions to ask daily may be:  Who were you in 2020? Kind? Nonchalant? Meaningful? Truthful? Horrified? Numb? Shocked? Reflect on the energy you think you held most of the year and whether it's the same type you want to carry on through. I totally understand it was an extraordinary year in so many ways.  Who do I want to be in 2021? What do I want to do in 2021? Who do I want to spend time with in 2021? This may be difficult in these times but could technology provide a way for you to see those you want to?

The world is changing and it's showing us every day that there is so much that we do not know - and won't all learn before we go. I'm seeing more and more that people are trying, and learning. You have to give yourself permission to keep trying, failing, learning, trying again and training. In that space between not knowing and knowing is growing and having the bravery to keep learning. Here's to growing in 2021.