Path Less Trodden

Warriors, Knees and Magic

Alison — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:06:36 +0000

If your boyfriend was a yoga teacher what would you ask him to do?!

I asked mine to help me with my knee. Being hypermobile my joints move around too much – this sometimes shows up in my knee. We’ve been doing some practise together including conscious work on my knee.

In warrior position, my in-house teacher asked me to move my knee outwards so that it was pointing directly over my foot. To start with, the only way I could do this was to move 75% of the weight on my foot over to the outside, lifting the inside edge off the floor. But he wanted me to allow my weight to push into the floor through the inside of my foot and engage the muscles from there all up the inside of my leg – to support and straighten my knee.

I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t get what he meant. Every time I put the weight back onto the inside of my foot the knee fell back in again.

But this weekend something different happened. In warrior, my foot was evenly balanced on the floor. Suddenly I felt something different. I felt power coming up from the inside of my foot. I felt the inside of my leg engaged. I looked down and saw that my knee wasn’t falling inwards. I’d allowed something to happen, and it had!

This experience with my knee is a metaphor for anything that you want to change in your life.

You have to:

Allow room for the new: Don’t shut the door on it just because you can’t do it now.

Give it conscious effort: Spend time with the thing you want to change.

Be patient: Show up with an open attitude. Don’t expect things to change right away. Set your intention and be persistent. Changes take time.

Trust: Know that there IS a way. Even if you don’t’ know HOW it’s going to happen right now, doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen.

I Giorni Della Merla

Alison — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:28:08 +0000

My first winter in Italy was 2009, and it was a shock! I’d only ever visited Italy in the Spring and Summer, and for me it was the land of perpetual sunshine. I didn’t realise it gets cold here! Now, having been here 3 winters I can safely say that it’s often much colder than my native England.

The days that end of January and begin February, are known here as i giorni della merla – the days of the blackbird – and are, as legend has it, the coldest of the year.

2012 has proved the tradition true. Most of January wasn’t so bad – I was thinking that perhaps it would be mild this year – but then i giorni della merla hit and from the last few days of January it turned really cold. Then, Tuscany awoke on February 1^st to a thick carpet of snow.

It might be cold, but it's pretty! Photos are courtesy of my friend Susan at www.tuscanyvillages.com

Even the hardest espresso-drinking Italian would struggle with this one!

Luckily there's no grapes on the vines this time of year.

You Can Do It!

Alison — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:45:55 +0000

Have you got something you long to achieve?

Let me power you towards it! Today I've released details of You Can Do It! – a focused 30-day program that will transform 1 area of your life.

Join me; we'll work one on one – I'll be your cheerleader, inspirer, motivator and confidant: 110% on your side, there solely to help you achieve a dream.

Find the details, including a super-hot, fast-action bonus price if you say YES before midnight on Wednesday 15th February, on the dedicated You Can Do It! page.

I Know What I Want, Why Do I Need A Goal?

Alison — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:20:19 +0000

Step 2 in Path Less Trodden’s 7 Steps to the Life of Your Dreams is ‘Pick Your Spot on the Horizon’.

Picking your spot is all about looking ahead. If your dream life is totally different to the one you’re living now, perhaps you need binoculars to help you focus on that horizon. Maybe you’re close enough to see it with your own eyes? Whichever, the surest way to get heading in that direction is to set goals.

Why is setting goals important?

It’s simple: people who set goals and write them down achieve more than those who don’t.

If you want to get somewhere, increase your chances of success so by setting a goal. It’ll make your intention clear and you’ll be showing yourself and the world that you mean business!

It works like this – Imagine you’re setting off into the forest for a hike. You know where you want to get to, but it’s quite a way – it’s obvious you’ll not make it in one day. If you’re smart, you’ll look at the map and mark out the place you want to make it to by the end of day 1 – the campsite in that scenic spot – then you’ll use your energy working out how to get there, and you won’t stress over the rest of the route. As you are journeying on you can refer to your map and direct, measure and motivate yourself with this camp site, not your end destination, in mind.

The same is true of your own journey to the Life of Your Dreams. The final destination, where everything is perfect, will help motivate and excite you, but to actually take well-directed steps, have sufficient motivation to continue and know how you’re doing you have to set goals.

What should my goals look like?

First off, in order to maximise your chances of success, your goals should be S.M.A.R.T. I’ve written about S.M.A.R.T. in my goal setting for success article.

Your goals shouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Dream of being a writer living in Southern Italy, but currently work as an accountant in South London? Don’t set a goal of having a best-seller and moving away within the next few months – that’s like starting out on foot from London with your next stop Scotland. Start with smaller goals… writing your first chapter, signing up for an Italian class, joining a creative writing group.

Smaller goals will actually get you moving, you’ll be motivated by the thought of achieving them as they aren’t too far away. When you do achieve them, you’ll feel confident and inspired to continue. Then, from your new position, a little closer to that dream, you can choose the next appropriate goal and get striding onwards!

Don’t set too many goals. Imagine wanting to reach the campsite before dusk along with assisting your blister-footed walking companion, investigating several other routes, learning about the flora and fauna and swimming in a lake along the way…you just won’t get it all done! Multiple goals stretch your focus will be too wide. You’ll be spread too thin. Chose a maximum of 3 or 4 goals to work on at any one time.

Once you have a couple of S.M.A.R.T. goals that you know are within your reach write them down. Stick them up somewhere you can see them. Use them to motivate your actions– even if you only take a few steps every day, you’ll get there. You’ll be able to set up camp, warm yourself on the fire and use the light of the embers to check your progress on the map and plan your next stop!

Oaty Fennel & Walnut Salad

Alison — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:02:03 +0000

This is a crunchy, fresh, sweet and unctuous salad.

It takes a bit of planning, but it’s worth it! Not only will you have an amazing salad but you’ll also be enjoying whole oat groats prepared in a way that has removed their toxins, made them easy to digest and cooked them in a gentle, traditional way to help maintain all the amazing vitamins and minerals they hold.

And you’ll love the salad even more for all the love that's gone into it!

Ingredients:

2/3 cup walnuts

1 small fennel

2/3 cup raw oat groats

1 large. sweet green apple

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 – 1 tbsp honey

1/2 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Serves: 4 as a side salad, 2 for a main course.

Method:

Note: This recipe needs to be started a day and a half before you want to eat it.

To prepare the oats:

· Put the oat groats in a jar or bowl double their size and cover with tepid water. Squeeze a little lemon juice into the mixture. Leave this to sit for 24 hours.

· After 24 hours drain and rinse the oat groats well.

· Prepare a thermos flask by boiling a kettle and pouring the boiling water into the flask, leave this to pre-heat the flask for a few minutes.

· Boil the kettle again while you empty the existing hot water from the flask. Pour the oat groats into the flask. Cover them with fresh boiling water (to the top of the flask) and secure the lid. Leave it at least 12 hours.

· After 12 hours or in the morning drain the oat sprouts – they are ready to use (they will keep, covered, in the fridge several days)!

Tip: I find it best to start the above process in the evening. For this salad, you would start in the evening two days before you want to have the finished dish. For example, if you want to eat on Tuesday, start the process on Sunday evening.

To make the salad:

· Place the oat sprouts into a mixing bowl.

· Chop the fennel and apple into small pieces and add to the oats.

· Sprinkle the ingredients with the fennel seeds.

· Combine the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and honey and mix well (tip: put these in a clean jam jar, screw the lid on tight and shake to combine)

· Pour the dressing over the dry ingredients and mix well.

· Leave to sit for an hour or so to allow the flavours to combine.

To make the oats even more nutritious, you can leave them to sprout for a couple of days after soaking rinsing twice a day (read my article on sprouting grains here). Although, be aware that not all varieties of oat groat will sprout.

For The Joy Of It!

Alison — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:00:37 +0000

So you want to change your life? You want to be happier?

You know there’s all these things you SHOULD be doing. I bet some of these are you on your list: eat better, go running twice a week, get to bed before 10pm, meditate every day, join a gym, go for a long walk every weekend…

And I bet you feel you really should do all these things, as you know they’ll bring you a healthier life, a slimmer body, a calmer mind, more energy, and much more happiness – which is what you want, right?

But no one can be happy with a list of shoulds. That’s not a journey to real happiness. You’re just making your ‘to do’ list longer and you’ll probably end up berating yourself for not doing them and stressed.

Instead, start putting some things in your life that you don’t do for a reason, that you don’t expect a result from. For real happiness you’ve got to give yourself time to do something solely for the joy of it: Not because it'll achieve something, not because someone told you that you should, not because you read how so and so did it and transformed their life, nor because it ticks something on your ‘must do this’ list. For nothing more than it’s fun, you enjoy it, it makes you smile!

That will bring you REAL change. Because you’re stepping out of the duties, lists, musts. You’re using your time to feed a whole different part of your body, mind and spirit – one that’s soft and warming and that will permeate places the ‘shoulds’ just can’t get to.

This week I signed up to a dance class. Not to keep fit, not to meet people, just for the sheer excitement and joy of spending a couple of hours a week doing something physical, something different and fun. For the joy of it.

My coaching challenge (It’s short and sweet, but SO powerful):

1/ Think of something you would love to do. For no other reason than you’d love it.

2/ Go and organise it, no matter how many other things there are that you think you should be doing.

I promise that if you indulge in joy, the unsatisfactory things in your life will seem less important…you’ll be hanging onto the coat- tails of happiness and enjoying the ride!

Goal-Setting For Real Success

Alison — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:57:06 +0000

It’s been great seeing all the real desire to make a positive change that participants in my 30 Days 2 Change 1 Thing program have. That’s such an important part of changing your life, the sheer want to do it.

But that’s certainly not the whole story. Setting properly defined goals will multiply your chance of success. This is an essential part of Step 2 in my 7 Steps to the Life of Your Dreams – Pick Your Spot on the Horizon.

Here’s how to do just that:

A goal should be short and punchy. One sentence is all you need. That sentence should be S.M.A.R.T. It’s proven that people who abide by this protocol when setting goals achieve more than those who don’t.

Specific – If a stranger read this, would it be crystal clear?

Woolly goals don’t work: Detail, detail, detail and a huge helping of clarity.

Measurable - How will I know when I’ve achieved this?

This is where SO many people fall down. Your goal must be measureable.

Let me give you some examples:

Bad goal: I want to lose weight. Good goal: I want to lose 7lbs by March 31^st

Bad goal: I want to do more things I love. Good goal: I will spend 20 minutes every evening singing, dancing or reading my book.

Bad goal: I want to eat more healthily. Good goal: For 4 weeks I will swap my usual Friday night take-away for a beautiful, organic, home-cooked meal.

Bad goal: I want to do more exercise. Good goal: I will do 20 minutes of yoga every morning for one month.

You get the idea – specificity and detail. The more you have it the more you lay strong foundations for those goals to become your reality. I cannot over-state the importance of specificity. If you’re not sure whether your goal is specific enough, paste it below this post and I’ll give you my opinion.

Achievable - Can you actually achieve this?

Don’t set your goal so high that you’ve not got a hope in hell of getting there. Neither do you want it too low. Reading it should make you feel motivated.

Relevant - Is this something you want to do? Is it going to move you forward? Is it the right thing to do now?

You will only put your energy and enthusiasm into something that the time is right for. My best advice here is to take a moment of quiet, go inside yourself and ask yourself whether this goal feels right for you to work on now. You should feel strength, resolve and a sense of right time/right place. If so, then you’re ready.

Time-bound - When am I going to have achieved this by?

Open ended goals do not work – there’s no end point for you to work with when making a plan for how you are going to get there and there’s no momentum. You must set a time frame…if it’s a big goal then a year might work, if it’s something smaller then 30 days or 6 weeks is more appropriate.

SMART goal setting is a proven method of making goals more achievable. Run your existing goals through this and keep it by your side when setting new ones and you’ll multiply your chances of success with very little actual effort on your part.

Nice one!

2011 in 1 Paragraph & 2012 in 3 Words

Alison — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:07:55 +0000

So far this year, as well as all the inspiring 30 Day content I’ve been creating to help your towards your top goal, I’ve also been focusing on my own 2012 goals – there’s no better time to set intentions than the beginning of the year. Visiting my family back in the UK for Christmas has given me some all-important perspective.

For me, 2011 was about building foundations. I started the year with my old website, a full time teaching job and a head full of ideas for how I wanted my business to look and feel. Step by step, I built up my foundations: I completed and passed my Raw Food Coach training (and am now a Karen Knowler recommended Raw Food Coach), I designed and consulted over the emergence of my new website, I documented my fabulous ‘7 Steps to the Life of Your Dreams’, I started inspiring with Dare to Dream and I spent many happy hours in the kitchen concocting healthy raw recipes! Come September, I drastically reduced my teaching hours so I could focus on serving you through Path Less Trodden.

So, to 2012: I returned to Italy after Christmas again with a head full of ideas – 30 days about to kick off, a detox and weight loss program planned for the Spring, lots of possible joint ventures in the offing and my dream of making the perfect Italian retreat much closer to reality. I’m so excited, both for me, who knows what could happen, and for you, as I’ve got so much up my sleeve this year!

Events over Christmas made it plain to me what my priorities for 2012 should be and I’ve set my intention, so I’m clear on where I want to be: My theme for 2012 is flow, balance & fun (fun, fun)! I intend to meet the opportunities the world sends in my direction with acceptance and consciously go with them. I intend to surf my way to a great balance of my work life, home life, and social life. And most importantly, I intend to have some serious fun!

I look forward to sharing this exciting year with you.

Warning….This May Cause Ecstatic Happiness

Alison — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:19:16 +0000

Imagine you’re in a forest. Where you’re standing represents your life right now. Some bits are really nice – full of colourful flowers and butterflies, but others have seen better days….and what’s that huge pile of thorny brambles over there in the corner?!

You know that somewhere in this forest is the perfect spot for you. A clearing that’s light and sunny: a truly beautiful place where you’ll feel calm, joyful and contented. A place where you can rest up, basking in the sun.

You know it’s out there. But from where you’re standing all you can see is dark, scary, woods. And you know you’ve got to go into and through them in order to find that perfect spot. You won’t find what you’re looking for unless you venture forth, into the unknown, feeling insecure, not knowing the outcome.

Traversing those woods represents taking a risk in your life. Talk to any successful person and you’ll find they took risks. They went out on a limb. They stepped out into that seemingly foreboding forest.

Let me say it again: All successful people take risks. You want to be successful? You need to take risks!

It feels safe to stay in your comfort zone. But to live that Dream Life you must take risks to get you out of that zone and on your way to a newer, more exciting, more fulfilling part of your life.

Want to move forwards? Here’s my coaching challenge:

Below are 8 areas of your life. Pick the one that you feel the least satisfied with right now.

Career – Health – Environment – Lifestyle – Passions –Relationships – State of Mind – Wealth

Close your eyes and imagine yourself in the woods, with your unsatisfactory area all around you.

Visualise that perfect spot, beyond the trees, where this part of your life is just as you want it. How gorgeous is that?!

What risk do you need to take to get you through the forest and out the other side to that beautiful spot? Write it down.

You might have written: Start writing those stories, despite not knowing if I’ll ever get them published. Get exercising, even though it feels like I’ve got a mountain to climb with my weight. Leave this job, take this pay cut because it’ll move me towards work that I love. Allow myself to love, even though I’m scared of getting hurt. Invest in this expensive course, despite not knowing where on earth I’ll find the money.

I can tell you for sure that each of the above risks can pay off big time, as they are all ones that I have personally taken! I don’t regret any one of them – every one moved my life forwards – in fact, the end result of each one left me ecstatically happy. Seriously!

Warning: Taking risks can lead to ecstatic happiness!

Let the thought of ecstatic happiness drive you as you take those steps into your own woods….

Thai Butternut Soup

Alison — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:28:44 +0000

I created this Thai-inspired Butternut Squash Soup for a recent one-to-one raw food cookery class. It got the enthusiastic strong thumbs up, so I'm really happy to be sharing it with you here:

Ingredients:

3 cups grated butternut squash (get this from a around ½ kg of squash)

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp tahini

1.5 cm ginger

½ lime

1 stick celery

10g sun-dried tomatoes

½ tsp dried chilli

1 tsp nori flakes

½ tsp ground coriander

1 small (or half a large) red pepper

½ cup water

To serve:

Bunch coriander (cilantro)

1/4 red pepper

Serves: 2

Equipment: Blender

Method (for a standard blender – if you have a high powered blender, no need to grate the squash):

Peel and roughly chop the ginger, remove the peel from the lime and cut into 4 pieces. Roughly chop the celery. Add the ginger, lime and celery to the blender, along with the coconut milk, tahini, nori flakes, sun-dried tomatoes, grounder coriander and dried chilli. Blend until liquidised.
Grate the butternut squash and add to the blender, along with the pepper, chopped.
Re-blend, adding water as required (c 1/2 cup), to make a smooth soup with the desired consistency.
To serve: Chop the fresh coriander/cilantro and remaining 1/4 red pepper into small pieces and use this to garnish the soup.