Karen, Author at Kasona

September 9, 2024 By Karen

Spring into spring with good intentions and habits

How to set and keep the good vibes until Summer

One of my Spring intentions is to have more adventures. So here I am last week on the Great Ocean road, in 90K winds, having a bloody good time. The Twelve Apostles were so invigorating, we could hardly walk and most certainly held onto the railing, in fear (but couldn’t stop laughing) of being blown over the side.

This week I’m refreshed and back to work, with a full week of lovely clients and study ahead. Taking a break to rest, instead of keeping going until you get ill or near mental breakdown (which has happened in the past), can be what you need to have a new spring in your step.

While you have the space to reflect, get out your notepad and jot down things what you have in your life, relationships, work, house, hobbies, exercise, diet, possessions. Then next to it put a tick or a cross. A tick means you’re happy with how it’s going and in a year’s time you’d be just fine and dandy if it stayed the same. A cross shows you that an adjustment can be made. Whether it’s a little tweak so a relationship is more fulfilling, or I exercise, but it could be more consistent with clearer goals, or this is not working and I need to cut it out of my life. Then write next to it the action you need to take to reach that year time’s goal.

This action of getting it out of your head and onto the paper, can be enough to kick start you into setting good intentions for yourself. Give yourself a week’s time limit to start, drinking one glass of water more, exercising 5 minutes more than you usually do, spending time talking or being with a friend. Not big things, but huge impact on your self-esteem and will give you more energy.

I have a whole load of tips on dealing with the big things and toxic people. I’ve been working with some fabulous heart centred clients on how they can manage and thrive in this situation with Personal Success Sessions and having great results.

My next adventure is to Vietnam next month. I’ll be on holiday from 7th for two weeks until 21st October, so taking booking around those dates for your Massages and Success sessions.

One last thing, I’ve brought back the loyalty reward scheme. Where you pay for 7 treatments and get the 8th for half price. As I have lots of lovely loyal clients, it’s nice to say thank you. When you come in for your next treatment, I’ll give you a new card (remind me if I forget 🙂

I’d love to hear about your spring intentions and next adventures.

Warm smiles

Karen

Therapist – Author – Adventurer

t: 0414 973394

w: www.kasona.com.au

e: kasonamassage@gmail.com

March 29, 2024 By Karen

Power of Connection

You may have heard of the phrase “sharing is caring”. We use that in our house a lot. Usually in a joke about sharing germs if one of us has a cold,

The other day I had a good chat over the garden fence with my lovely neighbour. Even though we live next door, we don’t see each other often. So when we’re both out doing a bit of gardening, it’s nice to take a few moments to catch up. We also did a bit of produce swapping. I’ll see your Aloe vera and lemon grass and raise it to fresh eggs and cherry tomatoes.

What is it about freshly harvested food that tastes so much better? Well, the quicker from the harvest to the plate (or mouth in my case) the more nutrients and vitamins are in the food. Long travel and storage diminishes the vitamins in the produce. That’s why a farmer’s market is much better than supermarket bought “fresh” food, as it could have been in storage facilities for months and sprayed with chemical to keep it looking good.

These opportunistic interactions have a positive effect on our health too. Connection with others whether human or a pet, stimulates your Oxytocin which is important for wellbeing. It helps to strengthen your immune system and keeps you happy and healthy.

Research has shown the social interactions we have don’t have to be lengthy, they just have to be meaningful. For example, finding out the name of your local coffee shop worker and asking how they are. Learning a bit of information about them and asking about it the next time you see them and them doing to same to you. If you get regular post, find out your postie’s name and waving each time you see them. Doing a regular walk around your community and saying hello to whoever you meet. It not only does you good, but improves the lives of people around you too.

Good thoughts, become good deeds, become good lives.

When I see clients, we work on the circle of care. Asking yourself what have a done for myself today? What have a done for my family or friends? Then what have I done for my community? The community part can be putting some water of food out for the birds. Smiling and saying hello to someone you don’t know. Picking up a bit of litter while out walking or volunteering at an animal shelter or homeless charity.

Extending yourself and making a difference to lives around you can give your life more purpose and stop you obsessing about your life being less than perfect. It gives you meaning and enjoyment seeing someone else smile and thanking you for your efforts or kind words.

Much love

Karen
Therapist – Artist – Author – Conscious Connecter
www.kasona.com.au

“When we get caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with each other and ourselves” – Jack Kornfield

January 15, 2024 By Karen

Things aren’t always as the seem

A couple of months ago I had a lovely break away over on the East coast with some girlfriends. We enjoyed long walks and chats, tasty meals and pottering around. We visited a market in Byron bay, full of craft stalls, wood wittlers and kaftans. Amongst other things, I bought a face cloth that removes makeup without soap or solutions. It did draw me in too as was purple!!
Ofcourse I left leave it behind, hanging up in my friend’s shower, which she kindly posted onto me.

It felt good to meet the maker, buy local and support a local business. So when I got home, I thought I’d buy some more. I checked the label to see if I could track down the smiley lady I bought it from. Only to find it was made in China and 100% polyester, not micro fibre like I’d believed.
It took the shine right out of it. Not only was it not authentic and made with her fair hands, it was shipped from China and probably made unethically.

Although I’ll still use it, as wasting goes against my Yorkshire ethics of “don’t waste anything”, I will in future check the label and make sure I’m supporting a local business.
As you can tell I’m disappointed and a little outraged, so much so I wrote a blog about it 🙂

Sometimes, things aren’t what they seem. You could be sold what you think is a golden goose, but really is a chicken with glitter on.

What’s important, is not that you made a mistake or was led down a path by someone pretending to be something they weren’t. It’s how you show up for yourself when you realise it. Blame and shame for doing the “wrong” thing or being deceived keeps us trapped in the cycle. Acknowledging things aren’t as they were or not serving us anymore and setting clearer boundaries for ourselves can be the key to feeling empowered and better about ourselves.

It might just be a cloth, but it did spark memory of when someone deceived me into believing something that wasn’t real, but it was just a smoke screen. I had to remove myself, as speaking up wasn’t an option at the time. Sometimes we can communicate and compromise, but other times we have to know our worth and move on.

Know your truth and your worth.

Much peace

Karen

September 2, 2022 By Karen

9 ways to get your Hygge (cosy time) on

What have you done for your Hygge today? (pronounced Hoo-gah)

The Danish have a tradition to find and honour their Hygge, which roughly translates to cosy. They not only make sure they get regular hygge, they regularily ask each other what they’ve done for their hygge this week, compare notes and make suggestions. It can be anything from sipping hot chocolate in front of a log fire, a warm jumper or meeting up with a friend. You could say they’re a little obsessed with getting their regular hygge because it’s important for their health and well being.
So how come we class cuddling up on the sofa in the afternoon with a blanket as “lazy”. How we frame it in our minds makes it a “bad” or “naughty” experience, instead of an essential well being activity.

I’ve been trying to muster the enthusiasm of joining the gym again. I’ve been using the old guilt and self hatred talk of “you’re carrying a bit of timber, so need to shift it” “you’re being lazy by not making the effort”. But since I’ve come from a place of nurture and I’ve topped up my cosy, I’m more open to exercise.

I’ve enjoyed getting warm and toasty after work in my Oodie and slipper socks, Having a winter walk with the dogs and coming back for a coffee and occasional cake. Making sure I’m topping up my girl time with lunch out or catching up over a cuppa. I know it’s not endorphin fuelled activities, but I’m feeding my soul and taking care of me. I recognise I feel the difference in winter with my mood and energy. But we when we honour this and move differently to suit the seasons, our outlook and enthusiasm changes too.

Our ancestors worked the land and would have planned their days with the amount of daylight and what would need to be done. Moving quieter in the winter and conserving energy for the spring planting and growing.

I’ve decided, I’ll get busy in the spring. I need a bit of matron coverage to get me through this winter. I might even start some wild swimming, Wym Hoff style!!!

Here’s 9 suggestions what you can do for your hygge on…..

A hot bubble bath while reading a book.
Watching a daytime movie with a fluffy blanket (and cuddling a dog or cat whenever possible)
A woodland walk in the crisp afternoon air
A gentle beach walk in the winter sunshine picking up oddly shaped pebbles or seashells
A hot chocolate with squirty cream and marshmellows (a favourite with my boys and their friends)
Lighting candles while having a family dinner and staying around the table to chat and reminisce
Sit around a campfire singing songs or sharing funny stories or fables.
Get into fresh bedding, with new night wear and snuggle with someone you love
Take yourself out for coffee and cake and people watch

Nameste

Karen Aitken

web: www.kasona.com.au
email: kasonamassage@gmail.com
phone: +61 (0) 414 973394

January 11, 2022 By Karen

Anxiety – that curious beast

Anxiety – that curious beast, it’s holding me back.

There plenty of this flying around, especially in today’s current climate. How can I be anything else?

I was driving the other day and the song Sad still by Quinn XCII came on Spotify. He sings “We don’t want to feel this bad, so we sweep it under the mat, I take this red pill, green pill, black pill, I know deep down we’re sad still”. Then it goes on about our mask, images on instagram, reality stars, how it’s a taboo, and needing something stronger than Advil.

So if we’re taking all these pills and we’re surrounded by “successful” role models, why do we still feel sad?

Well for all those reasons and more. Comparing yourself as not good enough to all the shiny pics on social media, the stories on how fabulous my life is right now, not talking about how you really feel and not living as your real authentic self, all contribute to a less than happy self. Add isolation and uncertainty to all this, it seems like a mountain not a mole hill to climb.

In order to manage and solve a problem, we have to get very curious about when it started, how it works and what outcome you’re wanting. So
when,
how &
what

Three simple rules of the structure of the problem. In order for a problem to remain, it has to be in balance, some good and bad reasons to keep the problem. When the scales are tipped, as in I’m so uncomfortable with this, it’s not serving me anymore or it’s more hassle than it’s worth, then we can work to find a solution.

So the taboo part, I hear people say, “oh people think I’m so together, I’m exhausted at the end of the day keeping this mask up, I feel it starting to crack”. What if people saw you for being human, just like everyone else, not knowing everything, not being in control all the time. Would that be so bad?

Or the other side of the coin. I have clients that say “everyone knows I’m anxious, so I have an excuse not to do the things I don’t really want to, as I say my anxiety is high today, so I don’t have to tell them how I really feel and hurt their feelings”. Who would I be without it, I’ve had this for so long, I don’t know whether it’s the anxiety speaking or me.

Whatever the reason you’re anxious, just know it, own it and decide right now what you want to do about it.

Some clients say, oh I’ll have a think about that tonight and try and let it go. So I say, oh you want the problem for another 6 hours or so and then you’ll be ready, how about right now?

Because it’s become so familiar, it’s like an old relationship, that you know you should break up with, but just don’t have the Ooomph to get you over the finish line.

It can feel tiring to let go of old habits and patterns, I get it. Clients feel like they’ve had minor brain surgery when they come in and see me. Which they have, because their neurons are making new neural pathways or rather reconnecting old ones, re-routing and firing off into another direction. But it’s more tiring to carry them around, The anxiety is like constantly having a heavy ruck sack on your back full of rocks. Each old unserving pattern you let go of, the bag becomes lighter, you feel more able to breathe, you see things differently and begin to appreciate the here and now and get excited about the future instead of worrying about. You know what it’s like at the end of the day getting that heavy bag off your shoulders (or that restrictive bra!!) It feels great to get it off, to finally fully breathe.

So the 3 step – When, How & What.

When did it start – Was it a memory from when you were young, or after a big event in your life. If you can’t remember a time when you weren’t anxious, where did you learn it from? Was a caregiver always anxious, do all your family worry about everything. Some problems are ingrained in our DNA so ancestorial patterns need to be cleared.

How – how do I know I have anxiety, what physical and emotional sensations do I have. Where in my body do I feel it. Is it a constant feeling or does it happen at certain times.

What – what do I want to do with this anxiety. What does it mean to me? Do I want to keep it?. Is it useful, do I get more attention, can I ask for that attention elsewhere, What do I want to feel like, what will happen if I’m not anxious anymore?

Sometimes our biggest fear is not what we think it is. Our biggest fear can be stepping into our most fabulous self, because we might over shadow our friends and family and make them feel inadequate or bad. They might say who do you think you are or reject us? Standing out from the herd and being seen used to mean danger to us, challenging for the “top spot” of leader, banishment could mean death without the protection of the tribe. But raising ourselves up does not over shadow anyone else, you become the sunshine, the bright light that lifts others, that leads the way to freedom and personal success and shows people how it’s done. If others have an issue with your success, that’s for them to recognise and heal within themselves.

A candle that burns bright can light a thousand other candles, but does not become dim it’s own light in the process

3 steps to success

Movement
Motivation
Mindfulness

You maybe wondering why motivation is after movement, surely I need to feel motivation in order to move? That’s not how our minds work. Even the most motivated athletes, speakers or great writers and artists have times when they don’t feel like showing up . But instead of saying, oh I’ll give it a miss today, they move, they go through the familiar patterns and steps that’s led them to the success they’ve already felt. We have muscle memory, when we exercise regularly, that kicks in and helps us through a work out. We also have the same muscle memory in our brain (even though it’s not a muscle) which activates and keeps us moving forward towards our goal. Then as we’re moving and taking action, our motivation kicks in.

We feel motivated to carry on until our desired predetermined time, then we “must” turn and look back at our progress and celebrate our success. That’s a very important step. Our mind will then store that information and replicate it again more easily. So when you’re not feeling the motivation and you start to move, many references will filter in and spark the motivation quicker.

Then there’s mindfulness – In order to cement these new patterns and behaviours we have to practice mindfulness, because it’s easier to snap back into old comfortable patterns (like those sweat pants and sloppy t-shirt you love so much) than it is the keep in the new unfamiliar ones, until they’re practiced and become your new habits.

We need to change the stress levels in the mind and body. We can’t change how we first feel, that’s our human-ness 🙂 but we can change if we react or respond to the situation.
When we’re running too fast in our mind, stop, breathe, look around for 5 things I’m grateful for, then close your eyes, breathe, count to six as breathing in, notice the breathe coming in, hold for three, breathe out for three, change the counting to suit yourself. Say I’m in control or my thoughts, my thoughts don’t control me.
Are my thoughts true, are my thoughts kind, are my thoughts useful to me. I can let the negative go and bring forward my happy and safe place and feel good. Go to a very happy memory where you feel relaxed and everyone around you is smiling. Really feel it. Well done.

I control my thoughts, my thoughts don’t control me

Much love
Karen Aitken
Kasona – be happy, stress less
www.kasona.com.au
0414 973394

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