6 | December 2011 | woman this month Letters Female Fun STAR LETTER Write Here Write Now 21 woman this month | November 2011 | split into 100 chapters, each one no longer than 100 words. So, essentially, it is a collection of little nuggets of information, which makes it really easy to dip into and pick up and put down whenever you have a spare five minutes. It’s certainly not War and Peace, but then it isn’t trying to be. In one of our favourite chapters, titled “Candyfloss”, she laments the use of a particular shade of pink, claiming that it is the “colour of newborn baby girls, bubble gum machines and accessories for Chihuahuas” and might leave you looking a bit like you are “competing with Barbie for Ken’s affection”. In another, she likens some people’s posture in high heels to a cavewoman who has “just clubbed a small goat and is dragging it back to [her] cave”. It isn’t all about laughs though, as Natasha tells us. Some of the chapters contain genuinely insightful bits of information, aimed to improve the way women think of themselves. She lambasts the idea that women need to become more conservative, as soon as society tells them they are “old”. In the “Dress Your Age Myth” chapter, she says, “If you are happy and healthy, self-assured and confident, then don’t let out-dated rules govern your wardrobe”. When asked about these more self-help chapters, Natasha says, “Well it’s just so silly to let worries about our appearance stand in our way. Women still have a long way to go to achieve equality, so if we are too busy apologising for ourselves and the way we look; we’ll never concentrate on the things that really matter. So I put together a few quick rules to help make sure that women not only make the best of themselves, but also to help make sure they feel good about themselves in whatever they are wearing”. Natasha’s book 100 Lessons on Style in 100 Words or Less is available to buy for kindle, ipad and your computer at Amazon.co.uk, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Smashwords and Kobo. Check out the facebook page www.facebook.com/100lessons, and the website www.100lessons.com for more details. 20 | November 2011 | woman this month Interview in Style A Lesson She might be the editor of Woman This Month, but Natasha Bird has more than one string to her bow. She’s recently seen her first eBook published, so we grabbed five minutes of her time to talk about it. Natasha Bird has a few tricks up her sleeve. The latest rabbit she has pulled out of her surprisingly deep hat takes the shape of an eBook on style. Part self-help, part fashion, this book is an easy but delightful read. We sat Natasha down to have a chat about her latest project. Approached by a design and publishing company to be part of a series of digital books called100 Lessons in 100 Words or Less, Natasha jumped at the chance to realise one of her longstanding ambitions. “I just saw it as this great opportunity to combine three of the things I love most in the world — fashion, women and writing. I am a fashion addict. I am up early every morning, trawling all the best blogs, watching the trends like a hawk”, she told us. Many of the results of her obsession with fashion can be seen between the pages of this very magazine. She is adamant, though, that this book is not simply about fads and trends, whether brown is the new black or how high your heels should be. “My interest in fashion and style has never been restricted to what the designers dictate. I have always been passionate about women. I am a strident feminist, who believes that women are simply great and are way too often made to feel insecure or less significant than they should be. The female psyche is an amazingly intricate thing, but it is riddled with problems”, she told us. “I think low self-esteem is one of our biggest and most unfortunate failings. There is so much pressure out there — from men, from gossip magazines, but also from ourselves and our peers — to be thinner, taller, better endowed, smaller footed and so on. Everyone has their insecurities, but among women, you often find that these fears are so consuming that they actually stand in the way of our achieving something important for ourselves”, Natasha elaborates. So, enthused by her love of women and her passion for fashion, Natasha decided to use the 100 Lessons series as a platform for helping women to feel better about themselves. “This sort of thing has had a surge in popularity, what with the likes of Trinny and Susannah and Gok Wan, so I had to make sure that I had something different to offer”, Natasha explains. “ I have always admired Gok — he’s done brilliant things for the women of Britain — but I thought that there was probably space for someone a little bit younger, but also an experienced writer who might be able to inject a bit of humour into the topic because, let’s face it, if we can laugh at ourselves and poke fun at our own insecurities, then we have as good as conquered them”. “It is a book with three main ingredients. It’s one part self-help, one part style advice and one part comedy”, says Natasha, “or at least I hope it’s funny! My friends have said it makes them laugh, but I hope it’s not lost on other people”. We were lucky enough to have a preview of the book, before it hit the shops and we are inclined to agree with Natasha’s friends. The book is It is a book with three main ingredients. It’s one part self-help, one part style advice and one part comedy. 24 | November 2011 | woman this month Feature 25 woman this month | November 2011 | Women may not always have power and public recognition handed to them on a plate, but it certainly hasn’t prevented them from demanding it. Here is a look at some of the most influential women to grace the earth in the last hundred years… Influential Women A Century of Rosa Parks 1913-2005 Rosa stunned the world when she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, at a time when black people were still supposed to occupy a different section of the bus to their white counterparts. It was this which sparked the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, led by Martin Luther King Jr. Her actions became a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. Sonia Gandhi 1946-Present The Indian national and politician landed in the top 25 of the Forbes 100 Influential Women list in 2010. After being elected for the fourth time in a row as the president of the Indian National Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi became the longest serving president in the party’s 125 year history. She was elected as president of India, but deferred to Sikh economist Manmohan Singh. She is, unequivocally, one of India’s most influential women. Sheikha Lubna 1968-Present Sheikha Lubna is the Minister for Foreign Trade in the UAE. This makes her the first woman to ever hold a ministerial post in the UAE. She has a globally recognised voice and, according to CEO Middle East magazine, she persistently “challeng[es] traditional opinions about women in business”. She also sits on the board of directors for the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She’s also pretty high on the Forbes 100 list. Marie Curie 1867-1934 Marie Curie is the Emmeline Pankhurst of the scientific world. She blazed a trail for thousands of other brilliant female scientists, proving that women can be just as daring and just as excellent in traditionally male disciplines. She co-discovered the elements radium and polonium, coined the term “radioactivity” and was one of the first to suggest radiation as a cancer fighting tool. What’s more, she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in two areas. Princess Diana 1961-1997 Although some might think it rather twee to include the people’s princess, or feel that her tabloidfodder social life somewhat eclipsed her good deeds in people’s minds, there is no doubt that her influence runs as far as it runs deep. She has become emblematic of the charities and causes that she dedicated life to — such as campaigns for the acceptance and care of AIDs victims, the homeless and the elderly. Germaine Greer 1939-Present Greer is one of the biggest feminist icons to have graced the earth in the last hundred years. Her book [ITALS] The Female Eunuch became somewhat of a feminist manifesto in the 1970s. To this day, she is still very much in the public eye and although many of her views are contentious, the work she has done on behalf of women is undeniable. Virginia Woolf 1882-1941 The famous novelist and essayist changed the face of literature and discourse. She popularised the continuous train of thought process for writing prose and allowed us to enter her protagonist’s minds in ways that other authors hadn’t managed to achieve before. She also reminded us, in A Room of One’s Own, the burdens of the female condition and what women ought to be able to achieve, should society’s restrictions not stand in our way. Hillary Clinton 1947-Present The Secretary of State and former First Lady has won more primaries and gathered more delegates than anyone in U.S. history. She is the first former First Lady to ever have been elected to national office. As head of the Task Force on National Health Care reform she proposed the first national healthcare system in the U.S. As Secretary of State she has a key say in Barack Obama’s foreign policies. Natasha Bird A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform. — Diane Mariechild 64 | November 2011 | woman this month 65 woman this month | November 2011 | Wellbeing Alison Coldridge Scientists and doctors have been debating for years over how much of our brains we use and how much remains untouched and dormant, yet still there seems to be no definitive answer. However, one thing is clear — we certainly do not use all of our brain’s potential or even fortify the parts we do access on a daily basis. By simply adopting specific routines and exercises, you will be overwhelmed by how improved your memory will become, how much information you can store, how alert you remain and how fast your reactions are. Boosting your brainpower really is the fastest and, ironically, the least taxing way to achieve a better and happier you. The brain plays such a crucial role in every aspect of our lives. Obviously, it keeps us alive by acting as the central nervous system and through communicating with the rest of the body. Essentially, it is the boss of the body; it keeps all the other parts in check and knows everything that is going on. The flipside is that once the brain starts to disintegrate, it all goes wrong from there. Often, brain-related illnesses can not be foreseen or stopped at all. However, by boosting your brain’s power constantly during your life, you will undoubtedly prevent these issues and improve your quality of living as a whole. Exercise As well as ensuring a toned and fit body, regular exercise also has the additional bonus of exercising the brain. When you work out, the heart rate is increased, meaning that more oxygen is pumped throughout the body and to the brain. Oxygen is a crucial element in the whole body, but the brain alone uses 20 per cent of the entire amount. You will know when the oxygen levels in your brain decrease, as you will start feeling tired and sluggish and thoroughly uninvolved in whatever you are doing. Exercise has the double benefit of triggering the production of endorphins to the brain, which act as natural pain killers and lift your mood considerably. Sleep Without a doubt, the best way to rejuvenate and refresh yourself is by getting a really good The brain is our most impressive tool, but how much of its power do we actually harness? There are many simple ways to improve its functioning, to ensure you remain sharp, alert anad on top of things. Boosters The Brain night’s sleep. This gives the brain a great chance to recharge its batteries, so to speak, as it gets a little nurturing. It has been said that sleep also improves memory, as often memoryenhancing activity occurs during the deepest stages of sleep. Socialise All human beings love to be surrounded by others. We are all social beings at heart and thrive in an environment where there are many people to provide conversation, debate and new knowledge. We absorb huge amounts of new information from the people we are around and each different person’s personality acts as a different stimulant for the brain. Laugh Funnily enough, laughter is an action that involves the use of multiple regions of the brain. It also helps bring about a healthy balance in the brain and melts away stress and anxiety whilst heightening energy levels. Jokes are the perfect way to both laugh and test your brain, as the creation of jokes inside your head requires a certain level of thinking and consideration with regards to your audience and surroundings. For this reason, it is good work for your brain if you spend time with children as they are constant bundles of laughter and you often need to think on your feet. Relax When stressed, concentration levels are poorer, as are reasoning, learning and creativity skills. You will find it extremely hard to retain or even digest any new information as your mind will be entirely fixated on whatever it is you are anxious about. Meditation is a very simple and productive way to help manage stress and there are plenty of different styles so you are sure to find one that suits you. The act of meditation increases the thickness of the cerebral cortex and encourages more connections between brain cells — ultimately boosting both mental and memory skills. Eat There is a whole wealth of brain boosting foods out there for you to get stuck into. Omega Three, found in fish, is probably the most commonly known food for increased intelligence levels and it is also thought to reduce risks of senile dimension illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Fruit and vegetables are another food group which, in addition to being a great source of nutrients and minerals for the body, assists the brain in its productivity. They are busting with antioxidants, which act as a cleanser for the brain, ridding the organ of any free radicals and acting as a protector for the delicate tissue. You can even indulge in a nightly glass of wine (preferably red and small!) to boost the blood flow in the brain. Workout If you really want to stretch your brain and see what it can do you should try to mix up your routine. Just like our body, our brain can get lazy if trapped in a monotonous routine, unchallenged by anything fresh or new. A new hobby promotes new learning skills, increases thinking speed and builds up short-term memories by repeatedly training and testing the mind. Your creativity will also be confronted and ultimately built upon. If you don’t have time to do this, then grab the newspaper on your coffee break and bash out some good old-fashioned crossword puzzles or try a Sudoku grid. Women Rule It is always nice to be reminded of the great women that exist among us and have gone before us. I liked the “Century of Influential Women” article that appeared in the WTM November issue. It was good to see such a spread of great thinkers, artists, inventors, politicians and charity workers among the females in the world. It made me think about all the things I have been meaning to go out and do. I am going to use the November issue of WTM as inspiration. Seeing as Christmas is coming up, I am going to see what I can do to make somebody else’s life better. There are many initiatives to get food, aid and gifts to children in less well off countries. Shreya, by email. WRITE IN AND WIN Send your letter to editor@womanthismonth. com, by fax to 17 813-700 or by post to PO Box 20461, Manama. The star letter will receive a voucher to the tune of 25BD for the Celebrity hair and beauty salon, located on Old Palace Road. Choose from a variety of treats for hair and nails and get pampered for the holiday season! I found Alison’s article about different and unusual ways to boost your mental wellbeing really fun and interesting to read. It’s great to be told that we have a good excuse to joke, laugh and have fun — as if we needed one anyway! I have never really considered meditating before, but having read Alison’s account of how good it can be for encouraging more connections between brain cells and increasing the thickness of the cerebral cortex, I plan on giving it a go. I just think it is good to be reminded every now and then that our bodies aren’t the only thing that need work-outs, rest or relaxation — our minds need some attention too! Dalia, by email. Getting that Boost! I want to congratulate Natasha Bird on the publication of her first book. I think it is great to see someone young and motivated and with more than one trick up her sleeve. It was a great interview with her as it highlighted her passion for making sure women achieve all the success that they deserve in life. It is about time that someone stuck up for the girls like that! It is always good to see a young and popular feminist at work. I have downloaded the book for my iPad and I can tell the WTM audience that it is a great read — it is really fun and accessible. Many of the chapters have some really good hints and tips about smart dressing and the rest of them are either funny or feel good. She certainly has a sense of humour. Go on ladies, get buying! Lisa, by email.
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