With all the flurry of the lead-up to Christmas, psychologist Jain Wells suggests taking up meditation as a sure way of clearing your mind and finding calm – for free. As well as the many proven health benefits, Jain, who did her PhD on the subject, found it significantly enhanced her confidence and creativity, supporting her parallel career as a singer-songwriter. Her debut album, To Be Real, is just launching (more on www.jainwells.com). Here are Jain’s tips for mindfulness meditation

● Find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed, and listen to soothing music if you like. ● Sit upright on a chair with your spine straight, lower back supported and feet flat on the floor. Supple people may like to sit cross-legged on the floor. ● Close your eyes and rest your hands loosely in your lap, palms facing up. Bring your attention to the slow gentle inflow and outflow of your breath. It may help to see your breathing as a low wave rippling up a beach, pausing briefly, then ebbing slowly away. ● Thoughts, feelings and sensations will naturally float into your mind. Acknowledge them without any sort of judgment or analysis and gently go back to the flow of your breathing. ● Regular practice, just 15 minutes daily, gives you sustained benefits. Research shows meditation reduces stress and anxiety, lowers blood pressure, relieves physical pain, and may help fight disease.

THE FAST DETOX

The health benefits of what is medically called ‘intermittent fasting’ are increasingly proven in research. A frequent one-day juice fast (every four to six weeks at first) is an easy way to tap into those benefits, and manage your weight. ‘Your body can easily cope for 24 hours,’ says Clare Neill, co-founder of Radiance Cleanse, which offers a one-day regime of six organic, cold-pressed raw juices formulated to provide you with all the nutrients you need.

My colleague Helen was apprehensive, never having gone without solid food for 24 hours before. ‘But I’d been feeling tired and lethargic so it seemed worth a try,’ she says. Helen found the juices – delivered in a cool pack the night before, with recipes and tips for healthy eating after the programme – were delicious, including Lean and Green (apple, courgette, fennel, broccoli, spinach, lemon), and Protein Power (water, ground cashew nuts, agave nectar, Himalayan salt). ‘The first Lemon Aid [lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne] was tart and took me two hours to drink. I felt hungry but after another juice mid-morning and a Protein Power at lunchtime I was really full,’ says Helen.

By 4pm, she felt headachey and nauseous, which continued all evening, but she felt better after an early night. Clare says that this is a normal short-term sign of caffeine withdrawal. ‘Caffeine is very addictive and many people suffer if they usually have two coffees or teas a day and then stop while cleansing.’

Helen found ‘the thought of not eating is much worse than the reality. It was entirely manageable, and I couldn’t even finish my day’s rations. I’m consuming daily fresh juices now, and swimming regularly. People say how well I’m looking, so the fast really did kick-start a new, healthier regime.’

For more info about Radiance Cleanse, e-mail info@radiancecleanse.com

A GOOD TIME TO LOSE THE THREAD

If you need leg veins of any kind attending to, schedule treatment over winter when you can wear wonderfully camouflaging opaque tights. Vascular surgeon Mr John Scurr (www.jscurr.com) recommends that anyone with thread veins on their legs has them checked and possibly scanned as they may indicate underlying varicose veins. There are several options for clearing thread veins, the most common being microsclerotherapy (saline injections that close off damaged vessels). Anyone with dilated blue varicose veins should consult their GP as the condition will need treatment; associated symptoms include aching or tingling legs, pain while standing and cramps.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

100 Ways for Every Girl To Look & Feel Fantastic

Written by beauty journalist Alice Hart-Davis with her teenage daughter Beth Hindhaugh, this was a really successful present for my 17-year-old goddaughter, who voted it a ‘wonderful book, which has some great tips in it’. As well as the outer stuff (make-up, hair, nails, teeth, clothes, etc), there are lots of ideas to help girls enhance beauty on the inside too, from breathing deeply to ‘keep talking to your parents’, ‘beat your inner critic’, ‘cut out sugar’, ‘always eat breakfast’ and the last – maybe the most important – ‘have fun’. (Walker Books, £9.99, at www.amazon.co.uk - buy here)