Flaming Nora

Since moving jobs in London, I haven't been able to get to the yoga class I've been attending religiously (in a non-religious way, you understand) for over four years. I want my yoga class and I want it now, or at least before stress starts building up and I start chewing my toes. Again. Someone help me find a new yoga class soon in central London that's not in a gym which costs a flexible arm and a bendy leg to join.

Every Tuesday lunchtime for the last five years I’ve had a slot in my diary that can not be moved. Under no circumstances am I available for lunch with colleagues, a trip to the shops or a sandwich in the park. It’s more than a weekly treat to myself, as the Tuesday slot that can’t be moved is the rock on which the balance of my life depends. It’s my weekly yoga class. Those of you reading this who do yoga may be nodding your head in agreement. Those who don’t may be wondering why I’m waffling on about an exercise class. Well, read on and find out why doing yoga is more than just exercise. It might just change your life. No matter how long you’ve been doing yoga, it’s still called practising, the belief being that you can only progress and get better. I love doing yoga because it’s non-competitive, relaxing, gentle and fun. Uh-oh hang on, I think I’ve just described myself! I know it sounds like a cliché but when I first moved to London in 2001 life did become more stressful because of...

Becoming vegetarian in the mid 1980s meant a heavy reliance on Sosmix and Knit Your Own Risottos from Holland & Barrett. I’ve liked the shop ever since and often pop in there for vitamins and bags of dried fruit every now and then. I was in there this week and along with the vitamins, bought my first ever copy of their Healthy magazine (the UK’s Best-Selling Health Magazine, only £1.50!) Well, it was on the counter and an impulse purchase, but what a right load of twaddle it was. It didn’t bode well when I saw a two page article by the (now legally) fake Dr Gillian McKeith and a one page ad for the Dr Gillian McKeith’s Love Bar (an organic, healthy snack!) but it got worse, much worse. Now, I know nothing about science but I know psycho-science-babble when I spot it. On the supposed benefits of eating walnuts (p.70) This humble nut is great for helping us stay true to ourselves and how about this If you’re getting peer pressure, two drops of walnut on your tongue can help you a...