January is almost through! I often feel it can be on of the tougher months of the year and feel optimistic to wave goodbye and get on with the rest of 2019! Funny how our minds work at times.

This month, personally, but also as a team, we are really excited to have started a course on mindfulness and meditation. Looking after our mental health has certainly been high on the agenda recently. As a business we have been making a point of being better communicators since we embarked on this journey with local business, Mindfit, run by Debbie Leafe over 2 years ago. The work Debbie has been doing with us helped us to achieve our nomination for Health and Wellbeing Practice of the year in 2018 at the AOP awards.

• 

• 

In our sessions with Debbie, we are learning to focus our minds, gain emotional awareness and be fully engaged in each of our daily challenges and obstacles. If we look after ourselves, we are better equipped to be able to look after our patients as well as our families.

I saw a study published recently suggesting links between meditation and the lowering of eye pressure. The study showed that out of two groups of patients with Primary Open Angle Glaucoma, the group that took part in breathing and meditation each day showed a 25% decrease in eye pressure. There are so many links in science, with greater evidence linking the stress we endure daily being managed poorly and having physical and mental impact on us.

Science, health and wellbeing are something I find extremely interesting and enjoy taking part in, particularly this newer conscious, more mindful approach in so many parts of our daily lives.

Here’s to a healthy 2019, let’s see what it brings!