This week in particular we have been talking a lot about being thankful for the people in your past that have helped and supported you to get you to where you are today. It may be that the person isn't around anymore, or just isn't in your life. 

As some of you are aware, both of us practise mindfulness each day - often for just 10 minutes - and this week Sam hit 365 days in a row of meditating!

We have been having some amazing feedback from you guys and have been so impressed with your efforts! Hearing your stories about how being thankful has helped you in various situations this week, reaffirms for us that what we are aiming to do with SMASH is worth it! So for that, we ourselves are thankful

This week a member asked how we can be so positive and happy all the time, so we replied honestly - we aren't (sorry!). Just like you and everyone else, we also have moments and days where work is manic, our minds are all over the place and people (including loved ones!) grate on us! Why?

What can you do today to ensure your Saturday is exactly what you need it to be? Do you need to rest? Exercise? Catch up with family or friends? Surprise your partner with dinner or a day out? Meditate?

Take a moment now to have a think about what you can do TODAY to improve the rest of your week; or if it doesn't need improvement, how can you keep the week just as good??

Yesterday, the 22nd September was officially the first day of Autumn. I've noticed this week especially a lot of friends and clients have been feeling "off"... low energy or slightly ill

As some of you may be aware, I went back to my home city of Worcester at the weekend to take part in the Worcester 10k race - it was great to have my family out to support me!

We've both been a little ill this week leading up to the race but we are using our affirmations and living for now - no matter our times tomorrow we know we are strong, we are successful and we are in control!

Everything you do today will have an impact on how you feel, act and react in the future so choose your thoughts and actions wisely. As discussed on Saturday, remember to pause when the opportunity arises and, no matter what kind of day you are having, try to 'look up'.

In mindfulness we talk about pausing as an opportunity to take a moment to just stop what you are doing, relax, breathe and be calm. Our minds are constantly on the go and it can feel like 'busy busy busy busy busy' is continuously flowing through our brains, convincing us that we don't have the time to stop and reset....

A couple of the things that I've personally struggled with a few years ago, have been with my alcohol consumption and my eating habits; both of which I have been able to overcome by taking one day at a time.

Mindfulness is very much about focusing on the present moment and what you have control of right now, so throughout September we will be talking a lot about how we can all be more mindful about not dwelling on the past or worrying too much about the future.

Here we are at the end of August and SMASH is already 2 months old! In fact, we are soon going to be approaching the end of the 12 week "trial" period we set ourselves as, although we believed in the SMASH concept, we weren't entirely sure how it would be received.

Our final positive affirmation is 'I can and I will' and this was definitely evident from those of you who came to both SMASH classes this week - they were pretty tough! 

I wanted to go in to a bit more detail about the post I put on to Instagram on Sunday regarding the milestone I reached of 500 consistent days of mindfulness meditation.

As I've mentioned previously; I used to have a problem with alcohol as well as being a big binge eater and it was explained to me that one of the reasons I did this to myself was that no matter what was going on; these habits were my own - they were my addictions and nobody elses.

We are half way through our positive affirmations focused month and today we launch the next in our series -

'I am in control'