Fitness Tips

Daydreaming: Magic Minute Inspiration

Fitness tips with Leanne Spencer | www.bodyshotperformance.com

It is a question I am getting asked on a regular basis: “How to get more energy? Or how to remain energised throughout the day?” This month I will be giving you a tip on how to get more energy into your day and it may be a surprising one. In fact, it is something that I haven’t talked much about, despite the fact I do it every day. It is the idea of daydreaming, and how a magic minute of mind wandering can boost your energy levels.

Daydreaming: The Good and The Bad

For a long time, daydreaming has had a bad reputation and indeed, past studies have stated that a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. There’s a huge amount of pressure on us to stay focused and not get distracted by our thoughts. From an early age, daydreaming is discouraged as our full attention is required for essential learning. Therefore, it’s in our nature to feel stressed when our thoughts are turned away from the task in hand. More recently, however, science suggests that daydreaming can be extremely useful when done correctly.

What is Pleasant Daydreaming?

Though the research is young, it’s clear that there is a good and bad way to let your mind wander. Findings show that emotional content can predict your subsequent mood. An easy example of this would be how thinking about a loved one or looking forward to something that is going to happen can make you happy, whereas rumination (replaying negative past experiences) can lead to feelings of depression. Often referred to as intentional daydreaming, thinking for pleasure encourages your brain to relax, helping you to decompress, and reducing levels of stress and anxiety. Pleasant daydreaming also increases productivity by promoting a more abstract thought process, enhancing your creative ability to “think outside the box” when problem-solving. What is going is that the problem-solving part and the creative part of the brain are working in tandem. This allows you to access information that was deeply buried before.

Learning to Enjoy Thinking

If I am between calls, or waiting to start a meeting, I allow my eye drift over to the window, and I daydream. This takes me away from that screen for just a moment to think about something else. I call this a magic minute, a small opportunity for me to relax and refresh my brain. Though I am not completely disconnected from the person I am about to speak to, or my objectives for that call, it is enough to give me that sliver of energy to enhance focus. So, why don’t you try it out: look out of your window, observe what is going on, be present in the moment. It may be once an hour, or just organically, whenever you are in between tasks, or you realise you have got 10 minutes free. This is one small thing that is simple and easy to implement to inject more energy into your day.

Monday 4 April: Magic Link Intensive Handwriting Course

9:30am – 12:30pm. Recommend for students ages 8 to 12yrs. During this 5-day Intensive Holiday Handwriting Workshops, students will work through the Magic Link workbooks, learning the techniques and patterns for neat, flowing handwriting. Children will work through the programme with support from their teacher. Each child is guided through how to hold their pencil, how to form letters and how to join each letter. By the end of the course, most children will have completed the 3 handwriting books and will be ready to put their writing into practise.

Intensive Handwriting Workshops

9.30am - 9.45am - welcome and explanation of the day’s activities 9.45 - 10.30 am - Structured Handwriting 10.30 - 10.45 am - snack/break (please bring a water bottle and a snack) 10.45am - 11.30 am - Structured Handwriting 11.30 - 12 noon - feedback on progress and homework Bell House Dulwich, 27 College Road, SE21 7BG.

www.bellhouse.co.uk

Monday 4 – Friday 8 April: Easter Dance Camp

9am-3pm. The South London Dance Academy Easter Dance Camp for 4-18 year olds, @ Ivydale Primary School, Inverton Building. Pupils will have lessons in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Contemporary, Lyrical, Body Conditioning and Stretching, Creative Dance and Fitness Fun! Younger groups will also have arts and crafts sessions. Performance for parents at the end of the week! If you would like to join us for a day or week of fun and dance book via:

thesouthlondondanceacademy.com.

£170 per week / £35 per day - Sibling discounts available. Please contact:

info@thesouthlondondanceacademy.com

for further information

Monday 4 April: Fergus Garrett online talk:

Succession planting for a long garden season

7:30pm- 8:30pm. The Dulwich Society’s Spring garden talk this year is by Fergus Garrett, head gardener at Great Dixter and one of the UK’s most influential gardeners. In his illustrated talk, Fergus will use the magnificent Long Border at Great Dixter as an example of how to plan a long season border using structural plants, underplanting and interplanting with bulbs, use of self-sowers, pockets of bedding, masking with climbers and good maintenance. Fergus will explain how to choose the right plants that offer contrasting shapes, textures and foliage from different seasons to produce multi-layered long season communities. The talk is being given in association with Bell House Dulwich, with any surplus going towards garden activities at Bell House. Tickets £7 – book through www.bellhouse.co.uk/events

Monday 4 & Tuesday 5 April: Kids Easter Holiday Workshop

(Age 6-11) 1pm-4pm. Easter/Spring. Clay modelling, drawing, painting, acrylic pens soft pastels Cost: £70. Goose Green Centre, East Dulwich SE22. www.theartsfactory.london.

Tuesdays 5, 12, 19 & 26 April : Tuesday Evening Life

Drawing Zoom & Drop-in Session

7pm–8.30pm. This is an online drawing & painting session conducted via Zoom and in studio. Long pose life painting and drawing. A single pose held for three hours with 5-minute model breaks every 25 minutes. This class will be run by Freya Tate, a wonderful artist with a sharp eye and a playful line. The session will be life model focused but Freya will introduce chaotic elements to challenge you and move your drawing on to higher levels. www.dulwichartgroup.co.uk.

Tuesdays 5, 12, 19 & 26 April: Social runs with DPR

7.30pm-8.30pm. Trevor Bailey Clubhouse, Dulwich Common, Dulwich, London, UK map directions. Join Dulwich Park Runners at their club runs at 7.30pm on Tuesday evenings. All standards welcome. See the website for more information or email: enquiries@dulwichparkrunners.com.

www.dulwichparkrunners.co.uk.

Tuesday 5 & 12 April: Mothers and Babies’ Friendship Groups

10:30am -12pm. Wendy and Sonia would love you to join their Mothers and Babies’ Group to be held on Tuesday mornings from March 8th for 6 sessions. The group is open to anyone with a baby who would like to escape from the house once week and join a group with other people in similar situations. We know it may not be possible to come to every session and this is understandable so feel free come as and when you like. Obviously, you may bring your baby who may cry, sleep, demand attention as babies do, and we can accommodate all of that! We look forward meeting you and your baby. This is a free group and attendance at each session is not compulsory! Bell House Dulwich, 27 College Road, Dulwich. SE21 7BG. www.bellhouse.co.uk

Tuesday 5 April: Honor Oak WI 7.30pm

We meet on the first Tuesday of each month, currently via Zoom, at 7:30pm. twitter.com/honoroakwi www.facebook.com/groups/honoroakwi/

Honoroak_WI

honoroakwi@gmail.com

Tuesday 5 April: Republicans, Suffragettes and Pacifists in Dulwich with Duncan Bowie

8pm - 9pm. Dulwich would perhaps not normally be viewed as an area in which you would find many Republicans, Suffragettes and Pacifists. Join Duncan Bowie to learn about some of the many political activists and social reformers connected to Dulwich who were active at a national and international level. The cost of a ticket is £5, however if you need a free ticket please email info@bellhouse.co.uk. All proceeds to Bell House After School Club for children with dyslexia. Duncan Bowie is an academic at the University of Westminster. His most recent book, The Radical and Socialist Tradition in British Planning: From Puritan Colonies to Garden Cities, was published in 2016. www.bellhouse.co.uk.

Wednesdays 6, 13, 20 & 27 April: Zoom Portraiture @ Dulwich Art Group & School

2pm - 5pm. This is a hybrid session with 15 artists allowed into the studio and also cameras for artists attending through Zoom. Paint a clothed model with a focus on the portrait over two three-hour sessions. We give you a wide view and a closer portrait view so you can work out the framing for yourself. The model will at times be engaged in conversation to bring some animation to the face. www.dulwichartgroup.co.uk