Strictly’s Camilla to the rescue!
How the former ballroom champ helped these MoS readers conquer their demons... with meditation
EARLIER this year former Strictly Come Dancing champion Camilla Sacre-Dallerup revealed in The Mail on Sunday that she had hung up her dancing shoes for good – and launched a new career as a life coach, specialising in helping stressed-out types achieve inner calm through meditation and hypnotherapy.
After all, these were the methods that had helped her not only achieve stratospheric success in the notoriously cut-throat world of competitive ballroom dancing, but also overcome crushing heartbreak during her very public split with fiance and fellow Strictly professional Brendan Cole.
Camilla announced that she would be running regular retreats at Champneys spas in the UK and offered three readers a place, all expenses paid, at the first of these last September.
We received hundreds of letters which were whittled down to three. Here, the readers chosen reveal the turmoil they were in, and how Camilla’s advice has transformed their lives...
He left me for another woman
CHRISTINE HOBBS, 55, works for the NHS and lives near Bristol. She is divorced and has three daughters – Nicola, 28, Jennifer, 25, and Charlotte, 20.
THE PROBLEM
Christine wrote: ‘ Five years ago, my husband of 30 years left me for another woman and my world imploded. I still feel stuck in that heart-wrenching moment when I discovered that he l oved someone else. I feel like a flower that’s chosen to wilt. How do I bloom again?’
CAMILLA SAYS
I told Christine she should create a dream board, using pictures from magazines, newspapers and brochures of places she’d like to visit or, if she wants to bring romance into her life, pictures that make her think of love.
The dream board should be hung somewhere where she’ll see it every day. I also showed her how to start meditating for a few minutes daily to work out how to achieve those dreams. There’s a great app called Chillax with some relaxing sounds to listen to and a timer you can set.
Christine should ask herself: ‘What is my burning desire? What is stopping me from pursuing it? What do I need to do NOW to start making things happen?’ When we sit still, the answers we can’t hear when we’re dashing around come to us.
WHAT CHRISTINE DID NEXT
‘Camilla made me realise that instead of mourning the past and panicking about the future, I should focus on the things I’d love to do and believe that they can happen. When I meditate, I imagine myself boarding a plane to Peru and having an exciting adventure. I’m trying to be more conscious of living in the moment, and whenever I feel negative, I ask myself, “What would Camilla do?” So, when my daughter and I arrived in London recently only to find that our Eurostar train to Brussels was cancelled, my initial disappointment gave way to embracing an unexpected night in the capital with dinner and theatre tickets.’
I cared for my parents... but not for myself
CHRISTIAN HOWGILL, 54, lives in West London, is single and doesn’t have children. He resigned from his job as a facilities manager to a wealthy family a year ago after his mother died and his father became ill. His father has since died.
THE PROBLEM
Christian wrote: ‘I gave up my job to care for my father and to grieve for my mother. I desperately need some space so that I can restore mental harmony and begin to think more clearly about what I want out of life in the future.’
CAMILLA SAYS
There are times when family circumstances dictate that we have to put our lives on hold. But I don’t believe we should put everything on a back burner. Christian is creative and sporty – taking up sport again would enhance his physical and mental wellbeing and he shouldn’t feel guilty about doing so.
I also think the ‘I am’ meditation technique is perfect for him because it can be done in just three stolen minutes. You find somewhere quiet, and in your head start saying: ‘I am...’ As you say it over and over your mind will naturally start to add words, giving you clues about ways to improve your life and your health.
clu
WHAT CHRISTIAN DID NEXT
‘Until I met Camilla, I had no clue about meditation and mindfulness. Now, when I go for a walk I really take in my surroundings. It’s a simple technique that rests my mind. I’ve started playing tennis once a week for the first time in two years. Camilla was right – when I’m focused on knocking a ball around, my mind is distracted from everything else. My head doesn’t feel so muddled and I am starting to think about working again.’
Camilla helped me beat insomnia after cancer
SYLVIA SCOTT, 53, lives in Brampton, near Carlisle, with her partner Michael, a dairy farmer.
THE PROBLEM
Sylvia wrote: ‘I haven’t worked since being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and suffering heart failure a year later. I am plagued by a crushing sense of my own mortality and struggle to sleep well.’
CAMILLA SAYS
I did a workshop at the retreat called Words That Heal And Words That Harm. Sylvia will find it freeing to start thinking of all the things she CAN do, using phrases such as ‘I’d like to do that’ or ‘I’m going to find a way to do that.’
When she is lying awake in the dead of night, she should focus on the sound of her breath, notice where it’s going in her body and try to breathe deeply, right from her belly. She will notice that as her breathing calms down so do her disturbing thoughts.
WHAT SYLVIA DID NEXT
Since adopting Camilla’s simple breathing technique I have been getting eight or nine hours’ sleep a night rather than five or six. The simplicity of the technique belies its effectiveness. I’m going to improve my basic computer skills and write as a hobby. I feel more accepting of my circumstances now. I’m very fortunate in so many ways – I have a lovely home in a beautiful area and a very supportive partner.