“A good way to organise your experience is to start with your thoughts…”

Hello HG readers!

I’m Emma, founder of Keep it Conscious. I’m a Somatic practitioner and Yoga teacher, and I help people move through the world empowered, in control of their feelings and with full access to the pleasure spectrum of emotion! In short, I help people rediscover what makes them feel good.

My approach to wellbeing is through the felt sense of your nervous system, using the bi-direction processes in your body to keep your mental health in check. A big part of that work is reorientating to pleasure, this might sound simple, but the brain has this super annoying negativity-bias that is ready to send unhelpful thoughts your way. Give it an inch, and it will take a mile! 

A regular mindfulness practice that makes you feel connected to whatever inspires you is like preparation for when life throws some lemons your way. Being able to connect more easily to what makes you feel good is a useful tool for diverting the energy of any negative thoughts. 

Your body responds to what you see

One way to track how your nervous system and emotions are interacting, is to pay attention to the impact of what you consume, visually. How does an image or video ‘land’ in your nervous system? Consider how it makes you feel, and if its influence serves you. Your nervous system is listening to sensory information inside and around your body, and also to the story (thoughts) you have about it in your mind.  

A good way to organise your experience is to start with your thoughts. What are you thinking about when you watch models on a runway or scroll through social media? Do you feel inspired? Relaxed? Maybe it makes you laugh?  For example, I experience the bold, playful energy of Hey Girl magazine as uplifting, and the human element behind the gorgeous images feels relatable, and it’s great to have a copy on my coffee table.

Track your experience with your thoughts, if they don’t serve you, try switching up what you’re looking at.

“I experience the bold, playful energy of Hey Girl magazine as uplifting…”

Body Diversity – London Fashion Week

I recently read an article that talked about body diversity at London Fashion Week. It described how London is behind the curve (no pun intended!) when it comes to the type of models walking the main stage. As beautiful as they are, the models that are showcased are representing a tiny (quite literally) percentage of the population, and body shapes outside of this group are walking at “alternative” events.

These events are featuring models who accurately represent the general population of bodies. But because they’re considered “plus size” (which is anything above a size 8 in model world), they’re typically excluded from the main stage. Take a look at this list of retailers offering plus sizes, adjusting their offering to be more inclusive. 

London Fashion week is a celebration of fabulous attire, seeing it on a single body type feels one dimensional. But whilst the world of fashion is evolving and slowly catching up with an inclusive representation of society, we have people like Rianne Ward who are out here relentless spreading the love for body diversity. And designers like Christian Siriano and Ester Manas who are paving the way for the future of fashion and demolishing outdated model standards along the way!

Visual Wellness

London Fashion Week is with us! If you find your mind getting into a comparison-spin, or maybe that self-talk goes a bit sideways, filter what you watch. Think of the content of your thoughts as a barometer for how you’re feeling, notice what serves you and leave behind anything that doesn’t.

Emma x