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Coconut oil is one of my favourites. I have coarse curly hair which just loves natural nourishment. It is good for skin, hair and insides.

I use it as a hair conditioner. It’s very rich so you can melt it and let it down by adding an almond oil – so it goes on more easily. That said, on curly hair the fact it is hard at room temperature gives you better curls.

As a body butter you can let it sink in or you can put just a touch on after a shower to keep your skin happy.

It’s quite alkaline which can be good to complement your diet if it’s very acidic. Last year I made Christmas cakes with coconut oil rather than butter. This greatly pleased a chef friend who didn’t usually get to eat Christmas cake – coconut oil is one of the only ones he can have due to a health issue.

Along with all it’s benefits it’s also relatively cheap. The photo above is just for inspiration, choose any coconut oil that is 100% coconut oil and nothing added, and favour organic to help the environment as well as yourself.

Triangle pose is a fundamental yoga pose. It’s a classic. It works the legs, gently twists the spine and increases strength. Traditionally taught you draw your front hand forwards and then do a graceful flowing tilt. This very delightful tilt is the cause of classic yoga injuries of the sacroiliac joint. That’s not to outlaw this way of finding triangle pose, but it definitely makes exploring other ways vital. Bending the knees, starting from the floor, extending the arms after coming forwards – all of these variations help us to find ourselves within triangle pose. This variation starts from the floor.

• Face your feet forwards
• Take an easy breath out
• Step forwards and bend both knees
• Fold forwards with your knees very bent so both hands easily find the floor or a chair
• Keep the knees very bent and enjoy the work in your legs
• Keep your front hand on the floor and rotate your back shoulder upwards
• Think of rotating towards vertical
• Now allow your back elbow to lift, then wrist then fingers
• Think of your arm naturally unfurling
• Notice how the movement of the arm expands the movement in the torso
• Consider lengthening your legs if the whole of your back is comfortable
• Consider allowing your front hand to skim the floor as you open into the pose
• Breath and enjoy the pose
• Gently sink back to the floor
• Shoulders face straight forwards
• Press into the feet to come back up
• Stand steady and breath

• Now do the same on the other side

• Stand and notice how it feels right now

Enjoy Triangle pose and find your edges… how many triangles can you make? And how much life can you bring to the pose?

 Living a low toxin life can feel very hard work. It takes time to source products you like and can feel like a big financial challenge. My aim is to let you know about products that I rate, are affordable, and are easily got.

Cetaphil make great face cleaning products – from cleansers to moisturisers. They are designed for highly sensitive skin and can be used after face operations as they are so cleansing and gentle at the same time. A moisturiser is about £12, and cleanser £11. And it can be ordered from your local chemist or bought on Amazon.

The down sides of Cetaphil for me are the rather cheesy packaging and ideally Id like super healthy products without paying quite so much. So I’ll keep searching for more lovely things to enjoy and share.

Warrior 1 is also known as Virabhadrasana 1.

It’s a lovely pose that will help you steady and focus – so perfect for starting the New Year well!

I did this Warrior 1 on a rock in Elie with the low sun streaming over the water – how lucky are we to live in beautiful Scotland!

Back to yoga…This pose is ideal if you are outside or can see outside. Feet need to be steady on the ground, even if the earth is uneven make sure that you feel well grounded. This is, of course, important for every yoga pose – but when you want to see the bigger picture and make plans you need to be set up well. First ease your way into the pose, allowing hands to come up. This may be overhead or slightly in front of you. Breath your way into the pose, feel your breathing, feel the effect on how this moment feels. Raise and lower your hands to get settled in a good way for you. Maybe you will want to reposition your feet. Once you feel ready allow your hands to come up and use your out-breath to see far into the distance. As you breath in feel energy gently peculating up from the ground. As you breath out look steadily at the distance. You may find thoughts arising, try to let them come and go. Feel a connection to the back of your body and that which you have come from, your past. Feel a connection to the fornt of your body and the beyond, your future. The rest solidly back into now. The centre of your being. This pose works on an energetic level rather than a logical problem solving one. Allow your experience to be whatever it is. Do this until you no longer want to.

Its that simple, now go on to what you want to do next. Maybe you will recall your steady overview, maybe things will flow more easily for you… maybe you’ll want to do it again. Enjoy!