Sonny Southon has a past as colourful and engaging as her music. With an eclectic music career spanning decades, the celebrated international musician is passionate about diversity and an extensive knowledge of her indented musical craft.
Sonny’s extensive internationally renowned music career has seen her sing with luminaries as varied as Duran Duran, Bryan Ferry, Sir Bob Geldof, and Joni Mitchell amongst others.
As a successful musician, singer-songwriter, engineer and producer, as well as a qualified E-RYT 500 Yoga Teacher with years of study in Trauma, Health & Well-being, Mindfulness and Meditation, Sonny’s toolkit is extensive with studies in both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP).
Sonny has most recently launched her new endeavour, The Music Seeds – Mindset Coaching for Creatives with its own Podcast series.
This innovative coaching service aims to help artists establish a sustainable business within the Music Industry, while creating new conversations surrounding mindset and the habits needed to take advantage of opportunities that come when starting careers within the arts.
Sonny SouthonSonny talks about her top 10 tips to living a mindful life in the current climate.
1. FINDING BALANCE
Our bodies are constantly adjusting to our centre of gravity. It’s the laws of nature, the yin and the yang. It is so important to create a balance that works for yourself and your family. Finding a good lifestyle balance between working and playing.
2. STAYING CONNECTED
We are not designed to be alone. We crave and need to feel connection with others. Spending time with our loved ones, family and our community is so important to our sense of belonging and well-being. If we can’t physically see each other, phone and video calls are still good. We are so lucky to be in New Zealand during this pandemic. We have pulled together as a team of 5 million and created a feeling of connection.
3. BEING GRATEFUL
‘It’s not how big the home is, it’s how happy the home is’…being grateful for all that you have will stop feelings of inadequacy or the need for competition.
4. TAKING CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
We spend a lot of time planning our physical well-being and it’s important to not forget our mental health needs just as much time and attention. Find something you love to do. Give yourself permission to ‘switch off’, especially from the social media rabbit hole. Be aware of the sites/influencers that don’t make you feel good about yourself and decide to follow only ‘the feel goods’.
5. MEDITATION
Meditation brings you ‘into the present’. It doesn’t have to be sitting cross legged for hours in a cave. It can be as simple as taking a peaceful walk in the bush, cooking, painting or playing music. If you want to master ‘being present’ further, there are other forms of meditation which will involve creating a point of focus – a candle, breath, a mantra, a sound – to help you be fully present to the moment. Meditation is a great tool to help reduce feelings of depression and anxiety as well as self discovery.
6. LOVE
Love can be found everywhere. It’s not only found in a romantic relationship, but in so many wonderful experiences. The world is in a state of change during this pandemic which leaves us uncertain and brings up fear of the unknown. But at the same time, it also offers us its beauty. Wonderful stories of the triumph of spirit, the beauty of our planet and its varied colours. Finding something that you love to do creates a love response in your body. Take time to stop and smell the roses or the coffee – whichever is your vibe.
7. VISUALISATION
‘Thoughts create your reality’. It’s estimated we have approximately 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts each day. These thoughts are running your show, making it important to take some time to intercept any negative thoughts with positive ones. Creating a positive mindset with the help of journaling, dreaming your best life and action planning for a life trajectory that will bring you happiness. If you are having trouble visualizing a positive reality, find someone who can help you focus on the path towards your dream life.
8. TAKING CARE OF YOUR PHYSICAL BODY
‘Move the body, move your energy. The body craves movement. Its happy place is movement. Find a physical exercise that you love to do – dancing, bike riding, running, walking, yoga, tai chi or hiking. Physical movement impacts positively on your mental well-being. Feed your body high energy foods with a good healthy diet rather than food that will deplete your energy.
9. AFFIRMATIONS
There is power in the words ‘I AM and ‘I HAVE’. Be very careful how you use these words as they are unwittingly creating your reality. Create affirmations for what you want in life using these powerful words and repeating as often as possible. Intercepting your thought patterns with these affirmations and creating what you want in your life. It is documented it takes approximately 30 days to see the manifestation of an affirmation that has been repeated often daily.
10. BELIEFS
What you believe in has an impact on your happiness. Your beliefs can create a mindset of either positive emotions – abundance, joy, love – or negative emotions – mistrust, hatred, jealousy. Sometimes we need to redefine what we believe in/understand and learn a new way of thinking and being in the world to live a happier life. These positive and negative emotions will have very different physiological effects within the body. Is what you believe making you happy?
Follow Sonny on Instagram here, and listen to her music via all streaming platforms.
