Beauty with a Conscious

I volunteer most weeks with the Prince and Princess of Wales hospice, located in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, where I deliver a mindfulness meditation for the out-patients at the Living Well Hub. It's one of the highlights of my week.

The hospice is also where I host my small business networking events for Glasgow-based entrepreneurs; I love that I can give back in this way too as I donate all money from ticket sales to the hospice. (My next event is taking place on Thursday 24th August, 10.30am - 12.30pm if you wanted to join in, tickets are available here).

The latest venture from the hospice is Beauty with a Conscious, which now has salon space within the hospice itself for offering beauty treatments to the public. (the hospice is a lovely, calm space and members of the public are welcome at the café, the gift shop and now the beauty salon.)

I've been to their Battlefield salon; the treatments were very well priced and I really enjoyed my massage and facial. You can also book online, which is super handy. I'm actually going back soon for some pre-holiday pampering!

You can read in this blog post some of the other holistic treatments in Glasgow that I enjoy, including Reiki Love Club and White Rabbit Healing.

And if you'd like to get more time for the things that really matter, I share lots of tips and tricks on my website, www.sarahstewart.co.uk/blog

An Alternative Advent Calendar

 

An Alternative Advent Calendar - A Moment of Calm This Christmas

This December, join my friend and fellow coach Beth Wright, for an alternative advent calendar - A Moment of Calm This Christmas.

Each day, Mon thru Friday, we'll be sharing 10 minutes of thoughts and activities on the themes of intentional or mindful living, simplicity and slow living in our pop-up Facebook group. (It's free to join in).

At the weekends we will be sharing a (simple) challenge.

Christmas is such a magical time, but it can also end up being busy, stressful and the enjoyment taken out of it because we are run ragged and exhausted by Christmas Day! So, we wanted to bring you a Moment of Calm this year so you can fully enjoy and be present with loved ones.

We're looking forward to creating a peaceful space for you all. 

Sarah x

Mindfulness and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice

Giving Back

I volunteer at the Prince and Princess of Wales hospice each week where I run a mindfulness meditation session for the out-patient visitors. It's actually one of the highlights of my week, and I'm delighted to be able to give back in this way. (I lost my mum to cancer when I was a teenager, and she spent a few weeks in a hospice in Aberdeen before she passed).

Peaceful Productivity and Intentional Living

I'm acutely aware of our limited time (more on my story here), and as a result am an advocate of making the best use of the time that's available to us... I'm less about 'busy, busy, busy' (which was definitely my crux if we were to rewind 5, or 10 years), whereas now it's more about peaceful productivity and intentional living. 

Rest is Productive

The other week I was at the Prince and Princess of Wales hospice salon, Beauty with a Conscious, which is in the Battlefield area. It's open to the public, and all profits go to the hospice. Taking time out to rest and recharge is important to me, and it's even better when it involves a massage!! I had a facial, back massage and head massage… and it was bliss, and reasonably priced (I took advantage of their Halloween special offer and had the 3 express treatments, 1.5 hours, for £44... and I believe they're running this offer until the end of November). You’ll find them on Instagram here. 

Mindfulness

Circling back to mindfulness, it's been a year that I've been volunteering at the hospice now (albeit with a break due to Covid when we had to stop the out-patient service at Christmas-time last year) and I'm self-taught... what I've decided to do is make it 'official', and I'm now training to become a mindfulness practitioner. I'm not totally sure how long it will take to qualify, perhaps a year, but that's me started on the path... and I'm excited for what's next.

Candle Gazing Mindfulness Meditation

I've written a blog post sharing an easy way to get started with mindfulness meditation, it's a candle gazing mindfulness meditation - you can read the full post here on my business blog.

As an aside, I had a brand photoshoot the other month with Bex from www.bexphoto.com, and here's one of my photos taken in the grounds of the hospice:

Skincare & Make-Up Routine

Living Mindfully

I've had a shift with my thoughts around consumerism and material possessions; a combination of Covid-19 and personal development has really opened my eyes to the world that we live in. I'm mindful now when I make a purchase, and typically what I do is I will write the item that I think I need onto a shopping list and if I still feel like it's needed a few weeks or a month down the line, then I will make a purchase. 

I'm trying hard to live with less; I'm by no means perfect, but the intention is there and I am doing my best (I feel I've been saying 'I'm doing my best' to my kids a lot lately, it's hard being a single mum with a pre-teen and a teenager under the one roof!). I do wonder what the planet is going to be like in the future if we continue on our current path, and so I try and do my bit (I don't always get it right mind you, and I know I could do better/more).

Skincare & Make-Up Routine

Historically I had an all singing, all dancing skincare routine with various cleansers, moisturisers and a host of different types of serum. More recently, I have a cleanser and a moisturiser, and I will occasionally use a facemask. That's it. And my skin is still in good, some might even say great, condition. (I was actually complimented on my glowing skin the other week!).

A few other things that contribute to my skin - I don't drink alcohol and I also use a collagen builder supplement daily.

In terms of make-up, I've really pared things back in this department too. Partly for time reasons; I don't want to spend an hour getting ready in the morning - my priorities lie elsewhere and there's also the fact that when I'm travelling in my campervan (@veritythevw), I want to be able to travel light. 

I had also been working with a nutritionist on what I consume (not only in the food, but everything else too) as I was trying to do my best to ensure my Crohn's Disease didn't flare up again. Part of this had been giving thought to the toxins that I allow into my body... this includes the products that I put on my face/body.

My current go to products are:

• Tinted moisturiser (which has an SPF)
• Under-eye concealer
• Lipstick
• Eyebrow cream
• Mascara
• Eyeshadow (which I don't typically always wear) 

The products that I do use are vegan and I buy when I can from certified B Corporations. 

B Corps are companies, verified by B Lab, to  meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. There are 800 B Corps in the UK currently, and you can search the directory here. 

I get my pet food from a B Corp (Lily's Kitchen), toilet paper (Who Gives a Crap), clothing (Baukjen) and so on. 

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