My lovely  friend and yoga teacher is offering the most amazing one day yoga retreats at her fabulous home (complete with brand new custom built yoga studio) at Pentney Lakes in Norfolk.

Tanya is the most generous of women and her package offers 3 hours of yoga plus lunch. The afternoon is your free time to utilise in whichever way you feel is right for you - walking, jet skiing, relaxing in the beautiful surroundings.

The price - just £25 per person! The groups will never be larger than 8 so you know you’ll also get individual attention.

She is running them every other Monday starting in May.

For more info, contact her in 01760 444294 or tkp1@live.co.uk

Another fascinating lecture at the Mind, Body, Soul weekend was given by Frances Harris, an ex marketer of 25 years standing who had, like Beverly Drumm, completely changed her life - is there a theme here I wonder?

The talk was centred on colour, but not in the way I am qualified to deliver, but in way that related to what the colour meant for you, now, at this moment.

Frances has a pole on which were tied the nine colours representing the chakra system. We had to pick the one that jumped out as us - your hello colour- and then the one you least favoured - your goodbye. She then went around the room telling us what our choices represented for us. I was pretty astounded as mine was so spot on, even my friends gasped at the accuracy.

Want to learn more, go to http://www.soothingminds.co.uk/articles.aspx?artid=213 and take the test for yourself.

Frances is also a colour healer and, as you know from my previous blogs, I have been increasingly attracted to orange, a colour I don’t like and it doesn’t like me either. I have also had trouble with my lower intestine. You guessed it. Orange is the colour of healing for that part of the body!  Intuition is a powerful thing.

Just come back from something we should all do more of - a weekend away with your girlfriends. Pampering, yoga, fabulous lectures, great food and brilliant instructors all allowed us, individually, to get the most of the time we had away from our normal routines.

I can never believe the price of this fantastic holiday (I go every year so am well known to the organisers) as the quality of everything on offer is so high. Check it out:

http://www.fitnessfiesta.com/mind_body_index.php

I’ve already booked a pampering weekend in July in the newly refurbished Met Hotel in Leeds. Can’t wait.

Hot and bothered? Don’t know who to ask or what to do for the best?

There’s no need if you know where to go and who to ask.

The Menopause Exchange exists just for that reason.

Its aim is to provide reliable, unbiased and easily understood information to women and healthcare professionals so they can make well informed decisions about the choices they take.  Much of its work is done via a quarterly newsletter, which contains stacks of easy to assimilate information written by professionals.

If you want to take control and not feel that you are going through this alone, go to www.menopause-exchange.co.uk

I wouldn’t be seen dead in a pair of training shoes unless I’m exercising and, even then, I’m loathe to don them preferring Fit Flops for yoga. So I was quite taken aback when I saw that Boden had introduced Satin Sneakers! Apparently, they are so beautiful you need to wear them with a skirt rather than hide them under jeans. That’s definitely one trend I won’t be adopting, but feel free to go ahead if you think you can carry it off.

http://www.boden.co.uk/en-GB/Womens-Shoes/Flats/AR421/Womens-Satin-Plimsolls.html  £39

If you want some harmony in your life, a sleeker body and a calmer mind but have no money or time to go to the gym, you might want to check out Body In Balance. This is a brilliant channel on Sky ( channel 275) with some great teachers, such as the Kundalini Yoga guru Maya Fiennes pictured, Shiva Rea, Katy Appleton and Caroline Sandry to name but a few. The practices are varied and interesting and cover all levels of ability. I’ve become a huge fan and I’m sure you will too if you enjoy yoga, pilates, tai chi or aerobic workouts. Not a Sky viewer? Then check out their website www.bodyinbalance.tv. As it starts at 6am every day, you have NO excuse!

If you’re anything like me and loathe exercising on your own, then take a look at these as they might just change your mind.

These beautiful intertwining dumb-bells weigh a kilogram each so great for toning the biceps and triceps thus preventing the unspeakable  batwings. When you’ve finished, they transform into a fabulous sculpture you can proudly display. Just don’t leave them there too long!

http://www.stylishlife.co.uk/menu-c-42.html

One of FFat50’s experts, the fabulous Karen Devine, has just landed her own TV show. How exciting is that? The Last Resort is shown on SKY Channel 973 from tonight, January 4th, and follows a group of individuals battling to overcome their demons with the help of three world class professionals, one of which is our own Karen the nutritional expert. The conditions addressed include agoraphobia to binge drinking and the idea is to transform individual lives within 10 days using a 3 pronged approach to cleanse the mind, the body and the spirit. Tune in to watch how it all unfolds.

You can also benefit from Karen’ s advice by listening to her words of wisdom on nutrition specific to our age group. Go to the Shop/Podcast section on this website and you can purchase the mp3 download unique to Feel Fab at 50. The hour long interview is also available as a downloadable pdf if you prefer to read.

http://shop.feelfabat50.com/index.php?maincat_id=1

Or was it the mince pies and sherry? Whatever the reason, it’s easy to feel bloated, uncomfortable and over full or develop burning indigestion, a bad stomach or excess wind when the party season’s in full swing. Not much good if you want to dance the night away or fit comfortably into your frock.

If you recognise these symptoms in yourself or any of your family, then help is at hand with two fabulously effective products that work in our house really well.

Proacatzyme helps our bodies assimilate all the nutrients we eat as well as maintaining a healthy digestive system. As we age, our bodies produce fewer enzymes so not only do we suffer more with all the problems noted above but we may not even be getting the benefit of the foods we actually eat.

Papaya Mints can also help. These chewable tablets function as a digestive stimulant as wll as refreshing the mouth. They are naturally sweetened with sorbitol and fructose, so better for you than ordinary mints.

I’ve also felt so much slimmer and more comfortable since I did the Healthy Start Detox programme. I feel like I’ve literally had an internal clean sweep. It’s a 10 day programme so you might want to leave it until after Christmas, but it will definitely be worth it.

Details be found at http://www.naturessunshine.eu/uk/lovinlivin

Go eat!