It’s only the third week of 2024, so if you’re already feeling stressed, it might be time to practise some mindfulness. Here to help is Judith Quin, a south-east London-based public speaking coach, vocal confidence expert and sound healing specialist, who shares her tips for approaching the new year with a calm and confident mindset…
Holly O’Mahony (HOM): We hear the word ‘mindfulness’ bandied a lot, but what does it really mean?
Judith Quin (JQ): Mindfulness in its simplest form is taking the time to be aware of yourself and how you feel, or how you are responding mentally, physically, energetically and emotionally, to any given thing, or in any given moment.
To adopt it, make a practice of taking a breath before making a choice or before any action that might impact others to check how it makes you feel.
HOM: New Year’s resolutions can be tricky to keep. Any advice for those looking to adopt more mindfulness into their routine in 2024?
JQ: Be mindful about the resolutions you’re making. Think of the resolution you’re about to make – does it make your body feel tight and constricted, or open and light?
Does it make your brain feel achy and confused or clear and certain?
Make each resolution something you’d love to create in your life, rather than something you feel is a ‘should’, a ‘duty’, or an ‘obligation’.
If you’re working towards something you’d love, enjoy, and reap personal or professional rewards from, you’re more likely to keep taking the steps to maintain or create those choices.
HOM: Beyond the big changes – like taking up yoga or meditation – what are some little changes people can make to find gratitude and peace in their everyday life?
JQ: There are several simple practices you can implement that take very little time.
Firstly, gratitude: take a moment to count the simple things you are grateful for in your life. This works especially well when things are tough; you may wish to write them down.
Secondly, record your ‘daily delights’. It can be as simple as a child’s laugh, the smell of a flower, or a cloud formation. It’s whatever made your heart sing, or brought some light to your life. This should put a smile on your face before you go to sleep.
Thirdly, get barefoot on the earth: taking a moment to put your bare feet on a piece of grass makes you breathe and take a moment to acknowledge what is good, bright, or inspirational.
Fourth, turn your phone off or stop looking at it for at least 30 minutes before you go to sleep.
Finally, breathe and hum: if you’re stressed, take a long, slow breath out through your mouth and in through your nose. Do this three times, then place your hand on your heart and gently hum in a low tone while imagining sending the sound into your hand. Repeat as required. This brings you out of your head and back into your body – it’s a fantastic stress reducer.
HOM: What’s new for your business Your Whole Voice in 2024? What sorts of classes are you running?
JQ: I’m going to start running my sonic meditation sessions regularly again. I’m hoping to confirm days and times soon, but West Greenwich Community Centre and The Bakehouse Theatre at the back of Age Exchange in Blackheath are the two venues I’m looking at.
Voice-Vibration Sonic Meditation is like a sound bath but using voice as the instrument. At the end of the session you bathe in the stillness and silence. I also support the sessions with my crystal bowls sometimes.
This week, on January 20, I’m also running a half-day intention-setting sounding session in Waterloo, and for those willing to travel, in May I’ll be hosting my award-winning three-day sound healing retreat in Sussex.
HOM: Have any local businesses in Blackheath been an inspiration to you and your vision for Your Whole Voice?
JQ: My vision for Your Whole Voice is to positively impact people by liberating voices to liberate lives. So anyone who positively impacts others is an inspiration to me.
I recognise these qualities in Kerry Tait who runs Kerry On Dancing at Mycenae House and the Old Colfeians rugby club. She is an inspiration in how she brings people together.
One member of Kerry’s class, Jean, is 87 and dances for the full hour with all of us – jiving until the end of the session. She’s an inspiration.
When we liberate ourselves from what we think others might think of us, we allow light in.
HOM: Similarly, are there any local addresses that you enjoy visiting in Greenwich and Blackheath that you’d like to share with our readers?
JQ: I’ve lived in the area 20 years now and some places I’ve loved forever, while there are always new ones popping up.
I love The Village Greengrocers in Charlton: it’s a business that values community and puts this at the heart of all it does.
I’m a Greenwich Market girl for many things, but I especially love its clothing and lifestyle shops Corkville and Dragonfly.
The cafés that in my opinion have the best vibes are S.O.S Coffee in Blackheath, the Old Cottage Coffee Shop by Charlton Park and ArtFix in Greenwich.
I’m still mourning the loss of Red Door in Greenwich, which got priced out of the market.
For outdoor spaces, Greenwich Park and strolling along the river are givens, but I also love the wooded space in Maryon Wilson Park and the old graves in the Greenwich Pleasaunce.
HOM: Lastly, to set us all an example, are you happy to share any of your own goals or resolutions for 2024?
JQ: Professionally, I’m hoping to take my voice-vibration sound healing practices into the military, so that’s a huge goal.
I’m also co-running a seven-day sound healing retreat in Barbados in November 2024, for which the goal is to have eight wonderful women join me.
I don’t do resolutions, but I do have choices: I choose to change up how I exercise and to cycle more frequently.
I am also choosing to expand my business in ways that stretch me and scare me a little!
I also usually choose a word for the year, which this year will be ‘allow’.
Judith Quin is a public speaking coach, vocal confidence expert and sound healing specialist based in south-east London.
For more information about her business Your Whole Voice, and to book one of her classes, courses or retreats, visit: www.yourwholevoice.com/
