September swept by, spring sprung in and here are a few things that caught our attention, including self care, Stylebook and reflective practice.
| 🎞️ | The Mind, Explained |
| 🎧 | Self care as a daily practice |
| 📖 | The Virgin Suicides |
| 📱 | Stylebook |
| ➿ | Reflective practice |
🎞️ Watching
The Mind, Explained (TV show)
Ever wonder what’s happening inside your head? From dreaming to anxiety disorders, discover how your brain works with this illuminating series.
The Mind, Explained is a 5 part docuseries on Netflix, with episodes focused on memory, dreams, anxiety, mindfulness and psychedelics, narrated by Emma Stone (who I could listen to for hours!). Each one gives a tidy overview of how it works from a physiological point of view —literally whereabouts in the brain things are controlled— and intel on how we might help ourselves when things go awry.
I’m a little tired this morning so if I haven’t sold it to you, see if the 1minute trailer does the trick!
— Jess
🎧 Listening to
Self care as a daily practice (podcast episode)
Self care is giving the world the best of you, not what’s left of you
I’m constantly looking for ways to improve my self care routines, so I gave this episode a spin to see if they had any new tips or reminders. As the title suggests, their big push was around making self care a daily practice, even if you can only spare 15 minutes (and schedule it into your calendar if you have to!).
Here are some of their suggestions
In the morning:
- Don’t make your phone the first thing you look at
- Check in with yourself: How do you feel this morning?
- Drink lemon and hot water
- Eat a nourishing breakfast
- Take supplements, which might include minerals like calcium and magnesium
- Set an intention for the day ahead: What do I want to feel today? What do I want to get out of the day?
- Make a handwritten list of tasks for the day ahead
Throughout the day:
- Breathing exercises
- Meditation
- Movement or exercise
- Get a massage
- Have a cup of tea or coffee in the sun
- Go for a walk in nature
- Listen to music
- Cuddle a pet
- Figure out what energises you (not what others suggest)
In the evening:
- Take a bath
- Wash your hair
- A calming night time routine, which might include dim lighting, burning essential oils, magnesium spray, reading before bed, and a guided meditation before going to sleep
These aren’t necessarily possible for everyone, but some good reminders of things we may be able to incorporate into our own daily routine.
— Jess
We have a certain amount of energy and once that energy is gone each day, there’s no more
📖 Reading
The Virgin Suicides (book)
I’m part of a book club and we’re reading The Virgin Suicides, which is a literary treat! I really enjoyed Sophia Coppola’s dream-pop bohemian film interpretation of the late 90s, and actually love having that mental imagery of what the characters and scenes look like.
— Jess
The shocking thing about the girls was how nearly normal they seemed when their mother let them out for the one and only date of their lives. Twenty years on, their enigmatic personalities are embalmed in the memories of the boys who worshipped them and who now recall their shared adolescence: the brassiere draped over a crucifix belonging to the promiscuous Lux; the sisters’ breathtaking appearance on the night of the dance; and the sultry, sleepy street across which they watched a family disintegrate and fragile lives disappear.
📱 Using
Stylebook (app)
A virtual closet for your real-life wardrobe, with over 90 tools to manage everything from your favorite outfits to your sizes and style inspirations.
It takes a certain type of personality to photograph every item of their clothing as they wear it, with the purpose of uploading to an app that will keep track of oufits worn, and what’s in your wardrobe. You can bet your ass that personality type is me: Stylebook is my new favourite app!
— Jess
➿ Practicing
Reflective practice
Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one’s actions so as to engage in a process of continuous learning. According to one definition it involves “paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively.
This is something we talk a lot about at work, and I’m always looking for ways to incorporate into the rest of my life; basically how we can use reflections on what we’re doing to adjust and improve. Even writing these ‘monthly favourites’ posts is a form of reflection for me – I really enjoy stepping back to think about what I’ve been doing lately, and articulating what I liked about them.
— Jess