Last month we nudged you towards having fewer ‘mindless’ moments in your life. And while we know that being mindful is good for us, twice a day it’s refreshing to take five minutes or so to empty our minds and relax. Research shows that people who have a few moments ‘time out’ twice a day function better than those that don’t.  It’s to do with our ultradian rhythms – a cycle of about 90 minutes at the end of which we have a slight slowing down in our thinking. If we go with the natural flow and pause instead of trying to override it we reduce tension in the body and strengthen our immune systems. How about getting started today with one of these suggestions?

• Step outside and tune in to the birds, notice the breeze on your face and focus on slowing and deepening your breathing.
• Get your work buddies to pause with you mid-morning and listen to a couple of minute meditations from www.just-a-minute.com (click on ‘experience’ then ‘meditations’). Or just plug your headphones in and drift off by yourself.
• Turn off the radio/TV/washing machine and simply lie with your eyes closed and appreciate the silence.

• Light an incense stick
• Write an uplifting screensaver message
• Have a herbal tea
• Do some at-your-desk yoga stretches
• Create a new playlist for your ipod
• Stroke a lovely pebble with your eyes closed
• Hold a pencil between your teeth to relax (!)

We get a warm glow here when we see how No Diet Dieters support and encourage each other and share their thoughts via the forum. If you haven’t put a post up there yet, Do Something Different and reach out to fellow NDD-ers soon.

And last but not least, because Karen seemed so thrilled about learning a new word (unguent) we reckoned we could all expand our vocabs by signing up for ‘word of the day’ from www.dictionary.com. Enjoy freshening things up, taking time to chill and stretching your vocab this month.

With a spring in our step,
The nodietdietway Team

With spring in the air we’ve started thinking about blowing a breeze through our lives, shrugging off winter and freshening things up. Instead of the usual spring cleaning (mop, bucket, duster and elbow grease) how about focussing on revitalising a friendship this month?

There’s nothing like spending time with friends. And because friendships have a huge bearing on who we are, what we do and how we feel it’s important to keep them in good nick. But not only that, research shows that friendship prolongs life. Australian psychologists asked 1500 over-70s about level of contact with children, friends and relatives and monitored the results over a decade. They found close contact with a network of friends and confidantes – not the rellies – significantly improves longevity. Similarly psychologists at Yale University found from studying 10,000 senior citizens that loners were twice as likely to die from all causes than those with good friendship connections.

So how about putting some energy into a friendship that’s been gathering dust lately lately? It might just be an hour sipping a delicious coffee (we love www.delocator.org.uk for independent cafes in your area) or having a jolly good chat on the phone instead of e-mail conversations that end with a promise to ‘speak soon’. Pick a friend and go for it!