Self-isolation can be hard.

When you find yourself in a situation that feels beyond your control, with a loss of your usual routines, it can be easy to lose track of what’s important in life.

Action for Happiness have created an ‘Action Calendar, designed to help us all look after ourselves and each other as we face this global crisis together.

To have a ’Meaningful May,’ simply click on this link.

A classic in its own right, in our minds, lemon drizzle cake is the king of the cakes!

Make your very own lemon drizzle cake at home, with this delicious recipe.

Ingredients:

• 225g unsalted butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 lemons
• 150g granulated sugar for the drizzle
• 4 eggs

Please note that the allergens for this recipe are flour, eggs and milk.

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 160c
2. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until it is smooth and creamy
3. Slowly mixing, start to add one egg at a time
4. Finely grate the lemons and add to the mix
5. Sift the flour and baking powder in and slowly fold all the mixture together
6. Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper
7. Carefully spoon the mixture in, trying not to get it around the edges
8. Bake for 45 minutes or until you can push a skewer into the middle and it comes out clean
9. Juice the two lemons and mix with the granulated sugar, stirring until it dissolves
10. Prick holes in the warm cake with a skewer
11. Pour the lemon and sugar drizzle mix all over
12. Leave to cool
13. Devour!

If you enjoyed last week’s guided meditation from My Life’s yoga teacher Tiffany, you’ll be glad to hear that we have part two right here for you!

The meditation only lasts around twenty minutes and like the last one, is a breathing meditation, designed to allow the mind to settle and the body to soften.

Tiffany advises: “Before you start the meditation, it’s useful to find a quiet space, feel warm and comfortable, lower the lights, switch off your phone and be guided towards a deeper peace.”

Remember, if you find thoughts keep coming into your head, don’t worry, the goal of meditation isn’t to control your thoughts, it’s to stop them controlling you.

You can listen to the meditation here.

If you’ve enjoyed Tiffany’s meditation, you can find her on Facebook by searching for TheDenYogaStudio or online at http://www.yoga-by-t.net

If you shop via Amazon, you can buy exactly the same things, with exactly the same service, through their Amazon Smile website.

The only difference is, if you nominate us as your chosen charity, My Life will receive a percentage of what you spend* at no cost to you.

So how do you support My Life in this way? Simply click on the following link and choose My Life as your nominated charity:

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1167858-0

From then on, when you buy anything, use the website smile.amazon.co.uk and you’ll be supporting us. If you share the link with people you know, they’ll be able to do the same thing too. With so many people buying online at the moment, this will really make such a difference to the people we support.

Thank you.

*Amazon will donate 0.5% of the net purchase price (excluding VAT, returns and shipping fees) of eligible purchases to the charitable organisations selected by customers.

We’ve all, understandably, had so many questions surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.

To help us understand the critical advice and guidelines, the government has launched a Coronavirus Information Service that we can all access via WhatsApp.

An automated ‘chatbot’ service for the British public to get answers from the government to the most common questions about coronavirus, the service will provide information on a range of topics including coronavirus prevention, common symptoms, the latest number of cases in the UK, advice on staying at home, when to travel and myth busting. The service will also allow the government to send urgent messages to all users who opt in.

This will provide another route to information for the British public and take some of the burden away from care services, unpaid carers and NHS services.

To use the free GOV.UK Coronavirus Information Service on WhatsApp, simply add 07860 064422 to your phone contacts and message the word ‘hi’ in a WhatsApp text to get started.

After so long in lockdown, we all know that everyone reacts differently to being in isolation, but being in such close proximity with others for such a long time, often without a break or time to yourself, can cause stress and difficult moods to rise to the surface.

By maintaining your mental wellbeing whilst staying at home, inflammatory situations can be reduced.

Every Mind Matters has put together ’10 tips to help you if you are worried about Coronavirus’ which can help you if you’re feeling anxious, stressed, worried, sad, bored, lonely, or frustrated.

They make it clear that “there are some simple things you can do to help you take care of your mental health and wellbeing during times of uncertainty. Doing so will help you think clearly, and make sure you are able to look after yourself and those you care about.”

If you do know of someone who is living in a domestic situation where things are getting out of control, it’s important they know that there is still help available, despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Citizens Advice have really useful advice for anyone experiencing domestic violence here, with additional information about how to get help and support during the pandemic.

Remember, you are not alone, we are here for you too. Call us on 01257 472 900 or email info@my-life.org.uk.