Spanish Lifestyle Tips

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When I first moved to Spain, straight out of the ELLE HQ in Carnaby Street, London I was blown away by the contrast in lifestyle habits, sure I'd heard the rumours about the Mediterranean diet, doting mothers, siestas and blue zones but I honestly never thought it would be so... well, so true and so healthy. 

I was accustomed to commuting on a busy tube for over an hour each day (loved it btw!) which was a complete contrast to Spain where people considered working more than 10 minutes away from the comfort of their own home an inconvenient lifestyle disaster; I was accustomed to eating little and on the go in-between cracking deadline after deadline and people here were taking three hours for a massive lunch followed by a nap and family time and while my weekends already consisted of plenty of yoga, nice food and friends here it was meal after meal, saving money by eating with your family (most people I know here receive food parcels from their Mamas way into their 40´s!) and totally rejuvenating yourself for your next working week. It took me quite a while to settle in, my nervous system still craved the hustle and bustle but now as I look back I can see that moving to Spain has probably added many years to my life, colour to my eyes, at little peace to my heart and beauty to my life. Here are my top five healthy Spanish lifestyle tips you might like to have a little play with...

1.      Loving Mealtimes.

Spanish people love to eat, their entire life is planned around food but not in the fast food, obesity driven kind of way but rather the fresh fish, vegetables, lentils and high-quality meat kind of way. I remember my first Spanish family meal, everyone gathered around the table, drinking mini tumblers of Spanish white wine called Rueda from Valladolid, (if you want to style your next meal in the spirit of Spain try swapping your large wine glasses for some understated tumblers, I love these ones and buying a bottle of Rueda from ASDA here,) while dipping fresh bread into plates of anchovies from Bermeo, hand-picked red peppers picked, roasted in wood and jarred in Calahorra along with various seafood style canapes. Up next was an organic, free-range chicken born and raised on the family farm, there were no accompanying roast potatoes or veggies, everything is kept simple and excellent produce speaks for itself, the chicken is served alone covered in its own sauce.

This long lunch, rolling into its third hour was followed by coffee and mini cakes from the local patisserie and a long standing tradition called ´After Desk´ which includes sitting around enjoying a Gin & Tonic or liqueur and taking time, lots of time. Mealtimes are the highlight of their days and right there, hidden behind all that food and chatter is what I believe to be one of the biggest health tips from Spain, the appreciation of local ingredients, slow cooking, slow eating, conversation, community, family and taking the time to enjoy what is there.

2. Naps.

I didn't need to move to Spain to love a nap but since I arrived a daily 30 min rest in the afternoon has become one of my non-negotiables. The Spanish have relied on the trusty nap throughout time as a way to split their long days into two productive sessions, a siesta means they can have a productive morning; skip the intense midday heat and productively work later in the evening.
This moment of peace keeps my mind in a state of balance and harmony, I don't necessarily fall asleep but I allow my mind and body to relax and let go of the stresses of the morning routines and rejuvenate, I use a specific relaxation technique that is called Yoga Nidra, some studies have claimed that 20 minutes of profound relaxation can have the same effect as 4 hours sleep, you can try it for free here. And while it may be easier for people to nap in Spain with their long lunch breaks and close to home offices, everyone deserves a weekend nap as an additional snippet of self-care to look forward to.

3. Less travel, more rest.

Like I mentioned previously I was blown away by the fact people in Spain place so much importance on being able to walk to work and it's not just walking to work, it's being able to walk to your gym, your yoga studio, your hairdressers, your beauticians, your fruit shop, your fish shop – practically everything. Again, this was something I totally resisted; I loved travelling far and wide around London hopping from the Flower Market on Columbia Road to the vintage stalls at Brick Lane to the food markets in Borough Street and my yoga jaunt in Primmy Hill, I loved the diversity, the energy, the excitement... but how much energy was I using to do this? I was basically giving away all my physical/mental energy along with the energy of my time and money so that when it came to aspects of creativity, ambition and personal growth I was somewhat lacking. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Do I feel healthier, stronger and more vibrant now that my lifestyle is more restful? Absolutely. I guess it all comes back to that wonderful concept of balance.

Moving to Spain was never something I consciously planned, it came and stole me in the night on the wave of a romance but maybe, just maybe it was the answer to a higher calling for rest and health which I now have the joy and privilege of sharing on Bilbao Yoga Retreats. These two-day well-being retreats I host from my very beautiful Basque home are aimed at stressed -out city folk who are in need of a quick fix of health and healing. I also offer daily yoga classes and Teacher Training Taster events.

If you'd like to answer the call for wholeness I would love to see you someday soon. Kat x






 

Rustic charm.

Rustic charm.

Arroz Jugoso, that´s juicy paella to me and you!

Arroz Jugoso, that´s juicy paella to me and you!

Red Tuna is abundant in Cadiz and Tarifa.

Red Tuna is abundant in Cadiz and Tarifa.

Mealtimes are a celebration.

Mealtimes are a celebration.

Everyone loves a nap, especially Jacob!

Everyone loves a nap, especially Jacob!

Walking distance please!

Walking distance please!

No need to buy a hairbrush this summer .

No need to buy a hairbrush this summer .

Pebble Meditation for the family

Bella & I have started to do a short mindfulness meditation with pebbles or shells every night before bed, it helps Bella make sense of the stresses and conflicts that she sometimes faces at home/school/in her mind and it helps me to believe that I am capable of meeting my responsibilities with love.

Pebble Meditation

We first discovered this meditation from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, the modern day Apostle of peace and nonviolence, sometimes we practice using a video with one of his monks and sometimes we make it up as we go along creating our own version.

This meditation helps us to remember that we are part of the earth and we are made of many elements, emotions and moods. The meditation also helps us both to take responsibility for the way we are being in the world, allowing us to wipe the slate clean every night and enter the new day fresh like a flower, strong like a mountain, clear like water and full of space. This moment together also helps us to bond and love one another unconditionally.

What do you need?
4 pebbles, shells, stones, crystals - something that holds the energy of the earth within it.


Method.
1. Sit comfortably and try not to worry about your little one(s) fidgeting, just make sure you feel grounded and calm and that will have a soothing effect on them.
2. Ask the children to bring their hands into prayer position and repeat the magic yoga word together 'namaste'. If you feel comfortable, children love to chant OM 3 times and SHANTI 3 times, it is OK to laugh and have fun with this.
3. Explain that you are going to do a special meditation and that as human beings we have lots and lots of layers just like onions do; while sometimes we may feel very happy, other times we may feel very sad and this meditation will help us to know that every feeling is OK and natural.
4. Close your eyes and smile and listen to the silence.
5. Take the first pebble in your hand and imagine this pebble is a flower.
Suggested words- Sometimes throughout our day we get very busy and tired, sometimes we may feel dry but it is important for us to remember we are FRESH, just like a flower. Please repeat - I am fresh, I am a flower.
6. Smile and enjoy the silence.
7. Take the second pebble in your hand and imagine this pebble is a mountain.
Suggested words - Just like a strong and stable mountain we remember that we are strong and we are stable. We are strong for our families, our friends and so that we can do all our jobs well with love. Please repeat - I am strong, I am stable, I am a mountain.
8. Smile and enjoy the silence.
9. Take the third pebble in your hand and imagine this pebble is water.
Suggested words- Just like water we understand that sometimes the waves in the ocean can be big and busy but underneath the waves, there is always an eternal ocean of calm. Please repeat - I am an ocean of calm, I am water.
10. Smile and enjoy the silence.
11. Take the fourth pebble in your hand and imagine this pebble is space. 
Suggested words- We all need space, our families need space, we need space, space helps us to remember who we are. Please repeat - I am space I feel space, space. 
12. Smile and enjoy the silence.
13. It is really nice to end the meditation by saying a big thank you to the children for meditating with you and to tell them that they are loved unconditionally. Namaste.









Meditation Tips for Busy Parents

A few years ago while teaching on retreat in Greece I downloaded a book which came highly recommended by my favourite online teacher, Jo Tastula, the book is called ‘Make Me One with Everything’ by Lama Surya Das. Everything in the book spoke to me but there was one section about how we can create a sense of calm and connection within our everyday family lives and not only on retreats or our yoga mats that particularly grabbed my attention.

Mummy Baby Meditation

Lama Surya Das, a great Buddhist meditation teacher, recommends a practice called 'Inter-Meditation' which kinda means instead of thinking that we can only find peace when we are away from the world or when we are alone (of course we do still need this precious time to ourselves), that we can also find this sense of tranquility when we are in the midst of our busy, hectic and sometimes challenging family and working life.

At the time when I read the book life was pretty darn sweet, Bella our daughter was 4 and was just so easy and good, Ru and I had just decided to get married and everything was flowing like a breeze - and then our new beautiful baby boy came along. Jacob sure was a gift from God, one that lovingly and naturally took all of our spare time. If I wasn't soothing Jacob to sleep or feeding there seemed to be a 100 million other things to do with the yoga studio and our daughter. Slowly but surely I went from feeling like Mother Earth to a new Mum with seriously erratic energy and then I remembered the advice from Lama Surya Das. 

Now I try to make snippets of time with the kids into my practice. For example, when I put Jacob in the bath and he's entertained with his rubber ducks I sit crossed legged on the floor watching him and Inter-meditating with him. When he's asleep I spend 10 minutes watching him and inter-meditate with him. I can honestly say it has turned mummy related chores into moments of immense love and gratitude, moments that light up my day. Of course I don’t manage to do this all the time and I accept that at times I am eractic and grumpy but it feels so good to have another path to walk along when I feel things getting on top of me.

If you fancy a go, here’s the technique:

. Inter-meditate by sitting in your kids room at night after they go to sleep. 

. Let a feeling of absolute love and appreciation wash over you. 

. Let go of all the things you need to do just and allow the tension to melt away. 

. Bring your attention to the breath and the sensations in your body. 

. Let the breath become very gentle and relaxed, maybe focusing on lengthening the exhale, keep looking at your gorgeous baby/child and allow your heart to keep feeling a wave of unconditional love. 

. Watch your children’s chest rise and fall with every breath and begin to breathe with them. 

. As you breathe with your child notice how everything feels calm, like there's nothing in the world as important as this very moment. 

. Take this feeling into the challenges and the noise and remember to breathe through it all. 

Blessings to all you gorgeous parents.



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