gene x

Yoga quickly reminded me of this; try holding ‘holy fig tree’ with your teeth gritted and your breathing tight, then try again with casual, easy breathing, the tip of your tongue resting gently on the roof of your mouth – you will immediately feel the difference to your strength and balance! Try a second time, this time breath in as you take your hands up and through the ‘chakra’ points (from waist to above your head), hold onto your breath for a few seconds with your fingers pointed to the sky, before slowly releasing your breath as your arms, palms down, drop slowly towards your sides. Poses for strength, balance, cleansing and relaxation work to realign mind and body and there is a lot of focus on the spine, because a healthy, well oiled spine is considered paramount to the working of your body as a whole. This forgiving posture encourages your spine to rest in its four natural curves, and it is these complementary poses that offer both comfort and realignment, a careful consideration of sequence allowing the vertebra time to properly re-stack. This focus on flow has encouraged me to become far better attuned to how my spine works.

Each day you are met with a bundle of positive energy, tail wagging and ears pricked (or in Bumble’s case a cheery bark that says rise and shine it’s breakfast time! ), and each evening they eagerly await your return from school or work, a built-in best buddy ready to distract you from the troubles of the day. They offer us emotional support in their innate ability to empathise and recognise our mood, and are certainly all too happy to listen and accept any strokes and scratches on offer. As numerous studies have shown dogs really can help to improve the lifestyles of young and old, by getting us out in the fresh air and exercising on a daily basis. A call from Dad to suggest an after dinner walk with the dogs was always bolstered by Bumble’s persuasive puppy dog eyes.

I’ll be the first to acknowledge that I am no technology buff. I certainly don’t keep up with the latest innovation, in fact I barely keep up with the latest updates on my phone! I’m also reluctant to change, to ‘upgrade’, tending to prefer what I’m used to, what I know works

The late afternoon was spent browsing the luxury shops that surround the Place Massena with the first of many ice creams in hand, before we returned for dinner at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, which despite a slightly ‘uncoordinated’ menu (club sandwich alongside octopus risotto! ) provided a wonderful birds-eye view of the illuminated city below. Words do little to describe this quaint, heritage hub, but where Nice is playful in its creative colourfulness, St Paul de Vence offers a tranquility fomented by the all natural shades and textures, with the well worn cobbled streets underfoot and the stillness of the medieval stone ramparts above. Tracing back to the days when Nice was the carnation growing capital of the world, the scene brings to life the opening montage of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast; bustling and brilliantly colourful, with the exotic scents of stunningly beautiful bouquets contrasted with the homely aroma of freshly baked bread, you will leave with your senses filled. Our party then split off, a group headed for the beach (where we would later meet for lunch at Beau Rivage, a sea-front restaurant I would highly recommend) whilst a couple of us walked toward the harbour before retreating to the cool, shaded streets of the old town for an ice cream at Fenocchio’s (with almost 100 flavours ranging from olive to rhubarb you are spoiled for choice here).