Written by:
Brendan Murdock
Last week we spoke to London blogger Emma Bevan on Instagram live about London, the best places to explore and walk and the city’s best spots for food and culture. She told us all about her favourite spots in the city and where we should be checking out this winter, take a look at the full interview here.
Below, she shared her top 5 tips for Health + Happiness:
2. Take time for daily mindfulness. Mindfulness is a discipline that has amazing benefits. It's not easy to make time for it every day, but it is definitely worth it.
3. Integrate pilates into your exercise routine. I love going to a Heartcore class, and the other class I love doing are the GS Method online classes with Georgie Spurling. They are incredibly effective classes that give you unbelievable results.
4. Take an evening bath with a few drops of an anatomē sleep essential oil. I can spend up to an hour in the bath, so smell is very important! It helps to relax my body at the end of the day and gets me ready for sleep.
5. Lie back on an acupressure bed of nails mat. Before bed I usually lie on my bed of nails for half an hour. I feel it really calms me down and helps to release a lot of muscle tension.
If you'd like to learn more about how to stay happy + healthy in London this winter, here are a few of our favorite London-centric books:
London Tree Walks by Paul Wood:
A book of walks around the capital ranging from the ancient woodlands of North London, to a tour of rock music landmarks in Fulham and Chelsea, and to a circus elephant buried beneath an oak tree in Ealing. This book reminds you of the magnificence of nature and how we can enjoy it even in London.
London: the biography by Peter Ackroyd:
Here are two thousand years of London's history and folklore, its chroniclers and criminals and plain citizens, its food and drink and countless pleasures. Blackfriar's and Charing Cross, Paddington and Bedlam. Westminster Abbey and St. Martin in the Fields. Cockneys and vagrants. Immigrants, peasants, and punks. The Plague, the Great Fire, the Blitz. London at all times of day and night, and in all kinds of weather. In well-chosen anecdotes, keen observations, and the words of hundreds of its citizens and visitors, Ackroyd reveals the ingenuity and grit and vitality of London. After a year like this one, it's good to be reminded of the resilience of London.
Mindful London: How to Find Calm and Contentment in the Chaos of the City by Tessa Watt:
Mindful London invites you to slow down, wake up and be present to the everyday in a more meaningful way, in one of the world's greatest cities. For Londoners and visitors looking to enhance their experience of the city, and for those curious about mindfulness, this is your essential guide. Features quiet and peaceful places to retreat to in the middle of the chaos, from the silence and sanctuary of libraries, museums and churches to the rejuvenating influence of nature found in London's myriad green spaces and waterways. Truly, a treasure to have in the midst of the long winter.