Author: Nika Talbot

Writer and Creator of the Shift, a newsletter on culture and media | Helping tech + creator brands grow with longform art/content | 👧🏻 Julieta | 🚶🏻‍♀️freedom!

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Bold Types: Abha Malpani Naismith 🇦🇪

I spoke to Abha about her shift from corporate to solopreneur, and launching an online course that helps working mums kickstart their AI journey with joy (scroll down for the video!)

Helping working mums use AI to work better and faster – and make their first $ online

Hi Abha, firstly, I’d love to know where you grew up and your first job.

I was born in Mumbai, India. When I was three years old, we moved to the UK and lived there till I was nine. Then, we moved back to a small town in India (Aurangabad), where I finished high school.

Luckily, I was still young and fascinated by Indian culture, so no culture shock as far as I can remember!

When I was 18, we moved to Dubai. I went to university in Australia and then returned to work in Dubai.

Burnout led me to quit my job and try my hand at being a travel writer in Spain. The plan was for six months; I stayed for three years!

After my stint in Spain, I moved back to the corporate world in Dubai, where I now live with my husband and two children.

My first job was when I was 18. I was a production assistant for a film company.

Interesting. So, what inspired you to start your own business? 

Apart from my adventure in Spain, I’ve been in the corporate world my entire life. After I graduated, I worked in advertising, which was short-lived – and then moved to PR.

After working in PR & comms for over 17 years, a lack of flexibility and limited growth opportunities led me to quit my job six months ago to start my solopreneur journey.

I believe in the transformative power of the internet and emerging technology. It will reshape our work and personal lives by giving us limitless tools to grow and reinvent ourselves without prior skills. We just need to start using them!

As I embark on a mission to redesign my life, I’m constantly experimenting with new tools to improve my productivity and efficiency.

This is where the idea for my business came from. It revolves around building a community of working mums who want to do the same: maximise their productivity and potential by learning to use emerging technology like AI.

The biggest challenge with AI is not knowing what to use it for and not realising its potential until we see it applied to achieve a task in record time.

I decided to launch my business to address these challenges, and it’s in its very early stages.

You launched your first online course recently.

Yes. It helps mums start their AI journey whilst having some fun. It teaches you how to write, illustrate, design, and publish a children’s book in one hour by using ChatGPT, Midjourney and Canva.

I also offer free resources on using AI tools and building a side income for those interested.

The aspiration for my business is my pursuit of time and financial freedom and a mission to inspire others, especially working mums, to believe in the possibility of creating a life that combines career and parenthood.

This is now so much easier to achieve with emerging tech at our fingertips.

Yes! Sounds fabulous. What are you most excited about at work right now?

I’ve been learning and reading about how to be a solopreneur for the last two years. I’m finally putting everything I’ve learned into action and loving it!

It’s a lot of work, and being a one-woman show whilst having two small kids is no easy feat, but I believe in what I am doing and feel grateful that I get to do this!

We are lucky in Dubai that home help is easily accessible and affordable. Because of this and my husband’s consistent encouragement, I have everything in place to build a life where I have time and financial freedom.

How do you stay on top of industry trends?

I subscribe to and read a lot of newsletters and pay for a handful of them! There is so much content out there – relying on people you trust and can relate to, who know what they are writing about and are enjoyable to read, is the best way to filter out the noise and stay on top of what you need to know.

In order to get the land of cool, you have to climb Cringe Mountain

How are getting yourself out there, building a network and finding collaborators?

I started focusing on my marketing efforts at the beginning of this year, and I need to get better at it and be more efficient.

Once I started on my own, I realised how much harder it is to do your own marketing than it is to do it for other people or brands.

I’m keeping my email list engaged with a weekly Substack newsletter and working on some free resources to help grow my list. I’ve been repurposing some of that content on social media.

I’ve been showing up on Instagram almost daily and being more active on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Medium. I’m also planning to launch my YouTube channel in February!

I am part of many communities and have been networking there. This has led to several speaking and podcast opportunities, all of which I have taken!

To sell my online course I had to be super active on social media. I feel like I am at the top of the cringe mountain, but I’m past caring, lol. I also experimented with Facebook and Instagram ads.

Now that I better understand what I am trying to solve, I’m finally building a website that will help me better serve my audience.

I hope all of this will give my business the boost it needs to take off. Consistency is key, as they say, for at least two years!

Good luck with YouTube. You’re very engaging on screen, so I’m sure you’ll smash it!

What does ‘success’ mean to you these days? How do you balance ambition and contentment? 

I think the definition of success changes depending on which phase of life you’re in. Right now, it’s making money by doing what I love and having the freedom to do that in a way that fits with my life and kids.

My ultimate success would be time and financial freedom to spend my days as I please.

Interestingly, I feel lucky that my success and happiness are mutually exclusive. If they come together, my happiness will magnify, but I am happy nonetheless (cheesy, I know!).

I am also of the mindset that I am so blessed that I get to be on this journey, so I have an obligation to succeed! The failing is in giving up; if I don’t give up, I know I will make it. That’s my current mindset.

“Dubai has THE best food in the UAE!” Dishes to devour when you get there…

You mentioned burnout earlier and quitting your job. How do you take care of your health? 

As I’m just starting my business, I am very driven and tend to skimp on sleep; there is so much to do, and I am eager to get on with it. I am so wired, but therefore also tired.

I am very aware of it, though, and I try not to ignore how I feel for too long. Reminding myself of the law of diminishing returns is very helpful in these cases. So, if I feel exhausted, I choose rest – even if I don’t want it!

I am also trying my best to do the basics consistently. Exercise is non-negotiable, and I workout a few times a week. I’m trying hard to take breaks.

I also try to eat clean at least five days a week, but it’s hard when you’re at home and you know where the keys to the snack cupboard are!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

You don’t learn anything by osmosis. You learn by taking action. Get comfortable taking messy action! – Jessica DeRose…also an online business coach.

Yeah. That’s my mantra. It’s easy to get stuck in the ideas phase and think we have to have it all perfectly in place before taking action. But life is too short!

Are you happy? Is there anything you’d change?

I’m the happiest I have been in ages. Not having a stressful and depleting job has shifted my energy enormously. I am using this newfound energy and optimism to build my own business.

I get to see my kids more and manage my own time – I really could not ask for more!

Now I just need to make it work so I never have to go back to a 9-5 😁

Can you recommend one book, podcast, and course for digital entrepreneurs? 

📕The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

This is the last book I read, and it’s been a game-changer for how I think about time.

As a working mum, I struggle with time and have always seen it as being in short supply. The book introduces the concept of ‘Einstein Time’, which makes you realise that WE are the source of our time.

This means time is not finite, and because we are the producers of time, we can create as much of it as we want! This book also introduced me to being in your ‘Zone of Genius’, which was revelatory!

🙇🏻‍♀️Amy Porterfield’s Digital Course Academy 

This opened my eyes to the potential of being a wildly successful online entrepreneur by solving a problem using a skillset I already have.

The way she teaches and her structured programmes enable anyone to do the same. It’s an expensive course (about $2,000) but worth it.

Amy Porterfield did $100 million in her business last year, so you are learning from the best if you want to start your online business.

🎧Steph Taylor’s Imperfect Action

Steph Taylor is a student of Amy’s, and she has a great podcast focused on the magic of taking ‘imperfect action’ and how done is better than good. It’s an important reminder not to get stuck on our quest for perfection that rarely moves us forward.

Who should we interview next and why? 

Anna Burgess Yang would be great for you. She left a 15-year career in fintech during Covid (and her husband did too, I think) as a product manager to pursue work she loves. She creates resources for solopreneurs and small businesses.

I’d be happy to connect you if you’re interested?

Definitely – thank you! Also curious to know more about your Spanish adventure…next time! And I need to get my ass over to delicious Dubai for some sunshine and shopping.

How can readers get in touch with you? 

My website is almost ready! It has all the information here.

Check out Abha’s wild ride so far! You are a part of it, so let her know what you think.

If you enjoyed reading this, join The Shifties for the full experience.

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Newsletter

Brian Clark on AI: ‘Be a leader, not a creator’

AI chatbot concept with typewriter
Visual by Visual by Eoneren | Getty

Your go-to mission plan 🤖

I did a webinar with Brian Clark on ‘How to Become a Market Leader in the Age of AI’.

Why radical change is a leadership opportunity for savvy marketers, and how to navigate these uncertain times.

AI is one of the top 5 big disruptors. Now the hype has died down regarding ChatGPT, it’s time to pay attention. AI is being baked into everything, and we still don’t know what the impact will be on the broader job market.

He shared an important paper in Gen-AI [MIT], which found people preferred the AI content over human content. A bit depressing, but “change brings opportunity – this is opportunity on steroids.”

Beat the ‘push button’ crowd

The basic advice we’ve been given is you’ve got to be human – not very useful. The ‘Be human’ mantra has been chanted since the early days of blogging – fighting against corporate jargon and non-sensical marketing speak.

We need to be ‘more human than human’ – Tyrell’s motto in Bladerunner.

By intimately understanding human psychology and how words influence people rather than getting hung up at the tactical level.

Exploring human values and needs – trust, purpose and belonging. Unity is the most persuasive principle and is included in the new edition of Cialdini’s book Influence.

Building together around a shared identity – the Unemployable community is a great example.

Be a leader, not a creator

Brian talked about redefining how we use content for marketing purposes and prefers ‘empowerment marketing’ to ‘content marketing’. Empowerment is the objective, not content creation.

Thinking in terms of missions, movements and mentors is way more powerful than marketing and niches.

“Because when content can get generated at the push of a button, hey maybe that’s not what I want to be known for, right.” It’s become meaningless and watered down.

I agree. It’s something I’ve been struggling with. Just listened to Chris Cantwell on a pod talking about why he doesn’t like the word ‘content’.

The creator economy is a sea of sameness – lots of creator-named brands, tips and tactics. We create content to make a living. But the creator ethos is backwards – focused on vanity metrics – likes and comments, while not getting to the building a business part because they can’t inspire action.

Connector is a better word.

So, what’s next for Movement Ventures and the community?

Their new focus is the Leading Expert (Copyblogger for grown-ups) – a person fighting against the status quo as part of a movement.

Leading is the key word because “Leadership is what’s needed – and what people are begging for in terms of navigating the change we’re facing.” It doesn’t really matter if you’re working for yourself or for an org.

Outward-focused on the person over the content, and psychological over tactical – the whole human. They are bringing their universe together and unifying things in one community. I love that.

I said the expert hat is tricky sometimes especially if you’re learning in public and on the journey with your readers. I’m seeing more ‘how I did it’ over ‘how to do it’ posts these days.

Brian said but ‘how I did it’ at beginning of the journey is just as viable. When Darren Rowse started blogging in photography back in 2003, he didn’t know a huge amount about it and was very candid about that. “I would research. I would write. I was one week ahead of my audience.”

His Digital Photography School is now hugely successful. He’s pioneered an online movement by sharing his journey with pro blogging.

“So, you’ll be teaching us how to be leading experts?” 💬

“Yes, that’s the idea. This has always been the way, but most people got lost in the content, and more content, and more content. And never understood what they were trying to accomplish with all the content.”

An emphasis on creating the right type of content for your people – which is what content design is all about.

Back to that MIT study he quoted at the start (Title: Human Favoritism not AI Aversion). The most important finding. “When people knew that a human created the content all by themselves they liked it better than if it was AI-generated.”

Human nature is the one thing that’s not going to change. Thank you for giving us some hope!

“Augmented humans will be the leaders going forward, not robots.”

Inspiring stuff – got me all fired up!! An excellent presentation.

Yes to being part of a true alliance of people who want to help each other out.

Want to be part of it? Brian is doing Expert lessons over on the Longevity Gains newsletter for the longevity market, but they are general principles applied to the over-50s. The biggest consumer market the world’s ever seen (think about it, none of us want to get old and die!!).

Leading expert. All rivers flow into this:

• I did a Skill Session with Josh Spector called ‘The Expert Positioner’. He’s changed his messaging to ‘I’m a marketing strategist who helps experts…”

• Ellen Donnelly at The Ask launched the Authority Club this week.

• Thomas Strider shut down his newsletter to start something mission-backed, sparked by a remote work revolution and online entrepreneurship.

• Joe Pulizzi has a new website written in the first person. ‘Father, Husband, Son, Friend, Entrepreneur, Marketer, Author, Podcaster, Speaker.’ Bringing his whole self to it. 

• Jan Murray has rebranded her pod to The Courageous CEO (prev. Courageous Content).

Overall, it’s about relationships – important in the golden days of blogging – and bringing that back. LinkedIn and Substack are filling a gap – the number of folks flocking to these platforms shows it’s much needed.

I’ve been thinking about the ‘whole human’ thing and the direction of this newsletter. Trying to figure out a way to bring all my passions and interests together in one place rather than having work and life in separate buckets, which doesn’t make sense.

It’s never been about content creation, personal branding or building an audience. It’s about growth and impact and helping people to reach their true potential. Being the best person we can be. Leaving a legacy, if that’s what you want.

And helping women gain power, health and wealth. The UK has an unaffordable childcare system, which restricts women’s freedom, fun and happiness. I’ve experienced that first-hand. Digital entrepreneurship and remote work were the game changers that kept me going.

Resources 

📧 AI content is preferred over human content | Awaken Your Superhero by Christopher S Penn

🎧 Questioning content with writer, producer and director Chris Cantwell | Content People 

📚 Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini 

Living well 

The little (and big) things that made me feel better this week

  • I made gluten-free oat bread
  • I did a one-day yoga detox retreat
  • I had a two-hour chat with my sister about her Camino adventure
  • I took the afternoon off to potter around Rye with Julieta
  • I read a few chapters of Marie Forleo’s book Everything is Figureoutable
  • I offered an older man a seat on the bus. He looked at me and said, “No thanks. I’m 79 and fit as a fiddle. I’m very strong. I prefer to stand up.”

It sparked a conversation about healthy ageing. “I’m curious about everything. I’m very nosy. I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I exercise. Do all these things, and you’ll live a long life.”

Sorry this is so long. I got really into it!!

If you have topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, please get in touch: nika@nikatalbot.io. I’d love to hear from you.

Sorry this is so long. I got really into it!!

If you have topic ideas or want to suggest a guest, please get in touch: nika@nikatalbot.io. I’d love to hear from you.

Newsletter Talent Directory! – feel free to add your deets here if you want to connect and collaborate.

It’s editable, so a bit of a social experiment!

To support my work and unlock extra features, subscribe now or leave a one-time tip.

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Blog Culture New York Tech Work

Sticking it to Stigma: Hot Octopuss’ Banned Sex Toy Campaign

Screen Shot 2019-11-07 at 20.16.04I’m proud to be working with Hot Octopuss, a London-based inclusive sex toy company.

This week they launched the Show Stigma The Finger campaign, starring six activists wearing nothing but the middle finger.

Show Stigma The Finger was designed to be displayed across the Big Apple but was banned by numerous media buyers, deemed “too inappropriate.” Despite falling foul of regulations, the company rallied support from local New York street artists to bring the campaign to life at one location in Manhattan and online. It hopes to highlight and break down prejudices and phobias standing in the way of women achieving healthy and happy sex lives – a mission the brand has been working on since 2011.

“‘No’ wasn’t an acceptable answer for this one. When we were told the ads were too inappropriate, we knew we had a duty to make sure the world saw it. The stars of the campaign are giving a fearless F-you to years of stereotypes that society has placed upon them. They’re standing up for anyone who’s ever been told they are too big, too old or not pretty enough to enjoy sex. It’s our responsibility to make sure these voices are not silenced, so we are going ahead with the campaign despite what the authorities say,” says Jules Margo, COO and co-founder.

You can see the campaign in Downtown Manhattan, NY until the end of the year or online. Its launch coincides with the release of their latest toy – the DiGiT – a gender-neutral finger sex toy that demonstrates how powerful a single finger can be. For every toy purchased the company will be donating 10% of profits to charities chosen by the campaign’s six activists.

The faces behind the fingers are rebelling against homophobia, ageism, ableism, colourism, body shaming and transphobia.

The company collaborated with multi-disciplinary artist, Aleksandra Karpowicz to execute the campaign.

Join the movement online via the hashtag #ShowStigmaTheFinger on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. www.showstigmathefinger.com.

Photo by Cowan Whitfield

 

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Blog Culture Spain Wellness

The Art of Tickling – Cosquillearte, Madrid

I watched The Great Beauty last night – Paolo Sorrentino’s ode to Rome, a satire on high society decadence. In one scene the lead character Jep Gambardella, a journalist and ageing playboy has a meal with one of his confidantes who calls herself ‘the Queen of Misfits’.

“How’s the soup, little Jep?” she asks him.

“You’ve not called me that for centuries, why now?”.

“Because a friend, every now and again, needs to make their friend feel like they did as a child.”

“How can I make you feel like a little girl?”

“You don’t need to, I feel like a little girl every day,” she laughs.

To tap into that energy Jep throws lavish parties for his aristocratic friends where they do the “best Conga in Rome”. He dances and has lots of sex.

Touch is a basic need, it connects the body and mind and keeps us in the moment. Not being touched enough can make us feel withdrawn, lonely, anxious and depressed. In Western cultures, massage is an expensive ‘treat’, a luxury rather than part of our daily routine, as it is in Eastern countries. Massage shouldn’t be something we have to pay a lot for, it helps us to feel connected to ourselves, the planet, and that youthful energy Jep is craving. I’m mindful of this when I see friends and like to give them a hug and a kiss hello because I know how important touch is and what a difference it can make to someone’s sense of well-being.

CosquilleArte in Madrid is a spa doing something a bit different. It’s ‘the world’s first tickle spa’ and has built up a steady roster of clients from children and teenagers to 70-year-olds, and is looking to set up franchises around the world. Intrigued? Here’s a comment piece by Andrew Kuzyk.

Tickling Therapy: No Laughing Matter

Laughter is truly the best form of medicine, right? CosquilleArte, which recently opened in Madrid, now offers half-hour and hour tickling sessions for $35 and $45 respectively in its treatment rooms, where clients can lie down on a comfy massage table…and be tickled. The name of this particular spa, CosquilleArte can be translated to “tickle yourself” or “tickle art” Time.com stated.

“My dad used to tickle me to get me to go to sleep, so it’s always relaxed me,” says owner Isabel Aires, who helped develop the tickling treatment with two trained massage therapists. “One day I just thought, why can’t I pay someone to do this, in the same way as I pay for a relaxing massage?”.

“There is no school for tickling”, she said. “We simply had to invent it ourselves.” With an environment much like many other day spas, the treatment takes place in a darkened room, with soothing music playing and a hint of incense in the air, Time’s Lisa Abend reports.

The client lies down lightly draped with a warm, soothing towel and then the sensual tickling, first with fingertips drawn along the relaxed body, then a delicate feather and so the tickle massage begins. “We use a variety of strokes”, says therapist Lourdes Nieto. “If someone is extra ticklish, we may press firmer. The idea is to completely relax them, not to stress them out in any way.” Abend, while extremely ticklish, confirmed that the treatment was in fact very relaxing and reported that everybody seems to leave happy and hooked on tickling.

Writing this article led me to think, as I have a hundred times before, how much physical touch can give comfort: the delicate stroking a mother gives to her child, the gentle rub on the back of someone who is grieving. Touch has great value, it communicates so much; it makes us all feel good when done properly of course. Our bodies respond to it. I don’t know how widely known this is, but if your partner is experiencing physical pain, light stroking or tickling, especially along the midline of the body, can help immensely.

Tickling stimulates the hypothalamus, which is part of the human brain that controls our body temperature, hunger and sensual behaviour. Many people, therefore, find being tickled and touched a sexual turn-on. If both parties are game then tickle away. Using a sleep mask or blindfold can actually enhance the sensations of touching and double the pleasure enjoyed. The soles of the foot contain concentrated bundles of nerve endings, over 200,000, which make the feet very sensitive and receptive to foot rubs or tickle rubs.

I have personally observed this to be true for myself and others I have touched. Most people are ticklish in some way, whether all over or just in a small “tickle spot”. One doesn’t usually have to look far to find a ticklish spot. Tickling and caressing makes us laugh, smile and feel physical pleasure. Some people like tickling for the way it creates bonding and brings you together, while others enjoy it in more intimate settings. Whether you are being intimate or simply relaxing, tickling can certainly lighten your mood.

Non-consensual tickling should never be administered on an individual…

CosquilleArte Vitoria

Photo by Emilio Garcia on Unsplash

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Adventure travel Blog Wellness

What I Learned on a Shh… Workshop – Review

Words: Kavida Rei

Shh… is a new women-only retreat which aims to help you reclaim your sexuality and femininity and find support in sisterhood. Tantric healer and author Kavida Rei went on a taster workshop to find out more…

For over 30 years I’ve been exploring the far reaches of the world of personal development and spiritual growth. During that time I’ve been actively researching how to achieve optimum physical health and well-being and most of all, psychological and emotional happiness. So when it comes to workshops, I’ve been around. I don’t frequent them anymore, after all, there’s not a lot of spare time when juggling giving sessions as a therapist and facilitating my own Tantra groups and spa retreats. However, having recently met the girls who run Shh…, and being impressed by what they’re offering – residential retreats and London classes – I decided to jump in on a women’s workshop to find out more.

The surprise was not that I enjoyed it – of course, intimate time with women, away from my regular schedule is always delicious and deeply appreciated – but that I learned so much about my body (and mind) in four hours.

I did a fair bit of rebirthing in the 80s when it was all the rage, and since jumping onto the Tantric path in 2000, I’ve consistently practised Tantric methods of breathing with beautiful results, so I figured that when it came to breathwork there wasn’t much more I needed to learn. How wrong I was!

The workshop space itself was exquisite. The Shh… girls do things with panache and there wasn’t a detail overlooked: beautiful blankets, Back Jack chairs for those with dodgy backs, a top-notch sound-system and excellent music throughout the breathing and yoga sessions (anyone who knows me knows that I’m very fussy about my music).

All of the therapists and teachers possess the precious skill of being able to put anyone at ease. Every one of the healing modalities they present is manageable for all levels of fitness. The group consisted of women of all ages and backgrounds, which I find makes a workshop far more interesting an experience. I wasn’t bored for a minute.

The first facilitator Aimee guided us into the breathing practice with grace, humour and compassion. Initially, as we began to breathe, there was tiredness to deal with. I wasn’t the only one struggling with this issue, which is understandable considering we are hardworking women, juggling lots of balls, and living in London. Just laying down with a blanket made us all want to go to sleep…

After a surge of yawning, I made a decision to dive right into the waves of breathing without resistance at which point two trouble spots in my body, chronic problems that I thought I was stuck with forever, suddenly reached peak-pain intensity. Aimee and her two assistants were giving full attention to every participant in the group and someone appeared every time I needed loving hands on my body. They were always encouraging us to go deeper which gave me great confidence to let go even more into the process.

At one point it felt as if my entire system went ‘pop’. I had the physical sensation of diving off a cliff, alongside the realisation that I’d held on to this physiological and emotional pattern since I was in the womb. It was my mother’s fear and grief that I’d absorbed at the time. I was born carrying it in my cellular consciousness, and it has stayed with me through my whole life until now, hidden in the darkest corners of my body and psyche.

Of course! It’s totally understandable – during womb-time, you are One with your mother. This symbiosis between my mother and myself, her experience transmitted directly through the umbilical cord to me, had contributed to my own difficult experience of giving birth to my sons many years later, leading to two brutal caesarian sections. Clarity came, the pattern was cleared and I was free of the tension at last.

In the Transformational Breathing sessions, they have created an additional strategy, which differentiates this modality from say, re-birthing. Between the breathing cycles, you are taken into a particular vocal and physical release technique. This movement counter-balances the intensity of bodily reactions to the breathing, helping to move the energy through, cleansing the body of stored negative emotions.

A cathartic release came next then tears of relief and understanding. Long-held stiffness in my back, directly in line with my heart chakra let go as if by magic, and finally the two blockages in my chest and pelvis were gone! It felt as if I had a new set of arms and legs – the oxygen was flowing up and down them in a way it probably never has. I could sense the chi moving up and down my entire body in surges…I was suddenly, and unexpectedly blissfully orgasmic.

There was such peace in the group when we came to rest. You could have heard a pin drop, not a muscle was moving.

After a short break we were back on our mats, ready for Yin Yoga. The teacher Emma was such a delight, full of enthusiasm and charisma. Her voice was reassuring and calming throughout the whole practice.

Yin Yoga, as its name suggests, is perfect for women. It’s non-competitive and nurturing, feminine and flowing. Enough with the power yoga already. Let the men carry on with Ashtanga if they feel so inclined. It’s not good for us girls! We indulge in enough self-deprecation, constantly comparing ourselves to others. I have noticed a desperate lack of support between women in our society. How wonderful that Shh… brings women together in nurturing environments like this so that we can reclaim our sisterhood. The bottom line is – yin yoga feels right. It feels nourishing in a way that working out in a gym simply doesn’t.

We were encouraged to stretch to our own point of tension and not into pain. It was reiterated through the process that we were not to ‘push’ ourselves. Yin Yoga is an internal experience, in which we maintain full awareness in each and every moment, discovering what feels comfortable and right for us, individually. Another enjoyable aspect of the class was that we laughed a lot. Some of us were steadier on our mats than others, but there was no judgement, no one-upmanship, and that is a rare phenomenon these days, in our crazy world of stressing and striving.

I want to thank the whole Shh… team for the delicious space they created in which we all journeyed together. There was safety and love in the room at all times and it seemed to me that by the end of the afternoon, every woman had had a profound personal shift. Everyone I spoke to said they’d be back for the second workshop in a month.

It’s incredible what can be achieved in a 4.5-hour class when you have safety, trust and expert teaching. On the Shh…retreats, which are three or six nights long, the small group of participants journey even deeper together, supported by ten fully-qualified therapists. The residential retreats are luxurious to say the least. They are held in opulent surroundings with no comfort overlooked. It can be challenging to look so rigorously inside oneself, unveiling destructive patterns we may have carried, unconsciously all through our lives, but the challenge is made so much more palatable with the large doses of pampering, spa time, gourmet food, and divine massages.

Personally speaking I shall be adding Transformational Breathing to my daily practice and during my stretching routine I shall certainly be more loving towards myself!

As we left the team handed each of us the sweetest ‘goody bag’ full of treats and after-care information so we could look after ourselves properly, post-workshop. In true SHH… style, they’d thought of everything.

More info and bookings at www.sensualhealingharmony.com. 

Kavida Rei’s best-selling book: Ultimate Erotic Massage is out now.

www.kavidarei.com

Photo: Thanks to Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash