Is puppy yoga for you?
Entering a plant based era
Finding a new way to look at art
Tegan
Marlowe talks women in comedy
Heya, welcome to the first issue of re-rooted magazine. Have you been taking care of yourself? You better had! Is your skin glowy, hair glossy, house gleaming? Better be! Just joking. We know how much pressure there is at the moment to perform perfect self-care. We know that self-care trends can feel overwhelming, all-encompassing and leave you feeling inadequate, especially when you’re smacked in the faced with them day after day on social media.
It’s strange that something which was originally created to better our personal health is in many ways contributing to poor mental health. When Audre Lorde described self care as “an act of political warfare”, I don’t think she had gold under-eye masks in mind. Although self-care doesn’t have to be as extreme as warfare it should be serving us and making us feel good
at least. That’s why I decided to create re-rooted magazine, a community of likeminded gals who are feeling the pressure and want to dig a little deeper into self-care trends. Hopefully, the title re-rooted sparks something in you. It isn’t just a magazine, it’s a desire to reconnect, rebalance and reimagine. We hope this edition will help you do so. From features about puppy yoga to Tegan Marlowe’s dive into the reality of being a woman in comedy, we’ve turned to the experts to bring you the best insights on the reality of self-care for many women across the UK.
As re-rooted begins to grow, I want to say a huge thank you to our readers, this is all for you after all. Together, we can navigate the confusing selfcare landscape and blossom as individuals.
-Elena John Editor-in chief
“Self-care is how you take your power back”
- Lalah Delia
6 | Let’s unpack the trend: puppy yoga
9 | Tips for dealing with loneliness (even if you don’t live alone)
Cover artist: Elena John
This edition our cover’s been brought to us by our Editor-in-chief Elena John. She combines the natural and unnatural, using striking complementary colours to alter mood.
We’re now accepting artist submissions for our Autumn edition!
Fancy featuring in re-rooted’s next edition? Send your art submissions over to wearererooted@gmail.com
Yoga with dogs isn’t new. Back in the early noughties, a mixture of pet dogs and yoga, creatively named Doga, was founded in the US (of course) by a woman called Suzi Teitelman, who celebrated the incredible bonding benefits of doing yoga poses with your pet dog. And so, rumblings of ‘puppy yoga’ had begun.
By around 2018, designated puppy yoga practices had launched, gaining popularity over the coming years. In 2023, puppy yoga is one of the most hyped wellness trends around.
But, yoga experts do not recognise puppy yoga as Doga. Doga encourages you to perform yoga poses with your own pet pooch. While puppy yoga allows puppies, often sourced from independent breeders, to roam freely as you take part in a yoga session. The sessions normally last an hour and involve gentle yoga poses and playing with puppies of various breeds.
Despite new puppy yoga practices popping up all over the country, if you want to try it you’ll have to be on the ball as the highly Instagrammable classes are often fully booked weeks in advance, with potential waitlists of thousands. They’ve certainly been very popular,
boasting the mental health benefits of puppy interaction.
And the experts seem to back it up. The Mental Health Foundation says animal companionship can help with a number of mental health conditions, including reducing anxiety.
However, we’re in a cost-of-living crisis and owning a pet may not be possible for many animal lovers due to financial worries. A 2023 YouGov survey found that a massive 45% of dog owners admitted they have occasionally struggled with the costs of owning a dog. But in 2023, you no longer have to be a pet owner to practice yoga with pups thanks to puppy yoga. In fact, bringing your own pet dog to classes is completely out of the question due to worries they will cause distress to pups or expose them to harmful germs. So, puppy yoga allows the participant to reap the mental health benefits of animal interaction without the longterm commitment and constant responsibility of pet ownership.
But animal rights activists and yoga enthusiasts alike have raised concerns about puppy yoga. Particularly, their use of dogs for entertainment and loose focus on the original purpose of mindful yoga.
Puppy Yoga London (PYL) is based in London’s Zone 1 and offers weekly puppy yoga and puppy therapy classes. They also offer private events like birthdays, hen parties and corporate functions. They advocate that classes have fantastic benefits for both human and puppy participants. Puppy Yoga London says, “For puppies, it allows them to learn how to socialise and be around new people outside of their own environment before they go to their new homes. You really see the difference in confidence from the first day where the puppies can be quite nervous to the second day where they are sprinting about the room and just loving
animal companionship can help with a number of mental health conditions
“the difference in confidence from the first day where the puppies can be quite nervous to the second where they are sprinting about”
the extra space and playtime”.
But animal rights activists are concerned about the potential animal welfare cost. Freedom for Animals is one of the UK’s longest-running animal rights
By some, puppy yoga has been criticised as a novelty activity which doesn’t provide attendees with much long-term benefit. During classes, it seems the puppies are the stars of the show with puppy interaction coming first and yoga second.
The British Wheel of Yoga (BWY) is the National Governing Body of Yoga, offering courses and accreditations.
without using them for yoga practice so using them in this way is unnecessary and open to exploitation. There is a risk that unethical people could utilise puppies from dodgy breeders to ensure a ready supply”.
But Puppy Yoga London assures “the puppies always have homes to go to a couple of weeks after they have been to our sessions”.
In response to scrutiny, other puppy yoga practices have posted very similar assurances on their websites. Likewise, Paw Yoga Manchester promise they “source the puppies from reputable, licensed breeders and
provide a great sensory experience and a good route in for people wanting to experience the mindfulness and compassionate aspects of yoga in a more natural
But BWY advocates for continuous yoga practice, recommending participating in sessions two to four times a week. And with potentially lengthy waitlists and a hefty average price of £30- £35 per session, it is unlikely that
attended a puppy yoga session earlier this year and said she felt long-term benefits from the session and would return despite the hefty
Mel says, “The puppies were gentle and that element of companionship helped reduce my anxiety from uni.
I think puppy yoga has a mutual benefit, as you can see the puppies gain confidence by interacting with everyone. It was a great experience. I left feeling calm and happy”.
Mel has not attended another session yet.
“unethical people could utilise puppies from dodgy breeders to ensure a ready supply”
“puppy yoga has a mutual benefit”
“Puppies can detract from the focus of yoga which is to develop inner awareness”Image by Tufz Purp courtesy of The Puppy Yoga London Team ^ Image by Mor Shani on Unsplash
We don’t necessarily have to be alone to feel lonely. Sometimes we can feel our loneliest when we’re surrounded by other people. Statistics show young women are actually the least likely demographic to live alone. Despite this, according to a recent YouGov survey, 64% of 16 to 24-yearolds admitted they have been lonely. We want to share our three top tips for dealing with loneliness even if we aren’t alone.
We know it sounds counterproductive but trust us. Whether you live with family, friends, flatmates or a partner sometimes being constantly surrounded by others can make you feel more alone as you begin to neglect the most important relationship in your life- the one with yourself. This is especially true if you’re an introvert as being surrounded by others for long periods can leave you feeling drained, anxious, and lonely as you wonder why you feel this way. It’s important to take time to recharge and focus on activities that you enjoy doing by yourself. Take control of your solitude and transform the meaning of being alone so you consider complete alone time liberating rather than lonely.
Through social media, we are constantly bombarded with images of perfect friendship groups, someone getting engaged and someone else going on a life-changing trip. We may sometimes wonder why our lives and relationships don’t look the same. Even though loneliness is often considered something which hits hardest in winter, sometimes summer plan jealousy can make feelings of loneliness even worse as we wonder why we’re sitting indoors whilst others are enjoying the lovely weather. Unplugging from social media to focus on the real-life connections we do have or even spending time alone in nature can be much more beneficial than endless doomscrolling when we’re feeling alone.
It can be hard to fight the stigma around feeling lonely and a recent survey found 50% of young people who have felt lonely did not speak to anyone about how they felt. This may be even harder when we’re feeling lonely but aren’t necessarily alone. Both Mind and the Mental Health Foundation advocate that talking to someone about how you’re feeling could help you feel less lonely. Talking to a friend may help strengthen that relationship and you can work together to make space for some quality time together. You could consider joining an in-person group, such as an exercise group or reading club. If you’re not comfortable with in-person interaction there are a number of online groups that can help particularly, young women who are struggling with isolation. For example, the Facebook group ‘gals who graduate’ has risen in popularity over recent years with over 78,000 members and is a safe space for young women to advertise local groups and meet-ups, spare rooms and generally chat about the perils of life in your early 20s.
Image by Josephine Bredehoft on Unsplash
At a pay-what-you-like stand-up comedy gig in the unassuming Seven Oaks pub, a regular attendee mentions he often works from home and comes along to enjoy a few laughs and a social atmosphere.
“Laughter is one of the fastest ways to feel better”, Natalie Christine Dattilo, clinical psychologist and instructor at Harvard Medical School told Everyday Health. “Just a moment of laughter can allow us to
Laughter is the best medicine”
“I know it sounds like a B&M bargains quote but it’s true...
think more clearly and creatively and strengthen a sense of connection with others.”
Despite the proven well-being benefits of comedy communities, one glaring question leers.
In short, obviously not. Information from Chortle demonstrates that men still make up a strapping 72.6% of UK comedy circuit comedians.
We women have a right to reap the wellbeing benefits of comedy and take up space in the circuit. The remaining 27.4% of female comedians (and the hordes of others who are likely nowt included in these statistics) are working hard to make that possible.
At Jokes at the Oaks, two female comedians are on the six-person bill. Quite an impressive feat. Tegan Marlow is second on the lineup and her performance doesn’t shy away from the true challenges of the female experience, admirably comparing the Zara changing rooms to Dante’s Inferno.
After the show, Tegan says “I know it sounds like a B&M bargains quote but it’s true. Laughter is the best medicine” but being a woman on the comedy circuit is “a help and a hindrance”.
She says, “It’s a double-edged sword. It makes you different but it’s harder for us as acts because it’s a male-dominated industry. Once you’re up on that stage you’ve already had to prove your worth.”
Tegan explains that creating a sense of camaraderie with other women is an important part of what she does, “Other women are like ‘yay there’s someone like me.’ It is still quite rare. Normally you only get one, maybe two, women in a line-up. So if you’re that one gem that the women in the audience can be like ‘oh that’s the person I relate to’, I think that can really help.”
She says despite attempts to bring in female comedians they often feel out of place at maledominated gigs.
“People want to book more women but it’s just so horrible when it’s just you and you’re doing a pro-gig with like three men and they all know each other and they’re all having banter. If you go up on stage and you don’t necessarily do very well…I don’t know, you
just feel like a silly little kid. It’s just sh*t. But things are changing which is good- there’s such an appetite for it.”
Working towards the goal of inclusivity and creating less male-centric comedy communities Tegan has cofounded the sellowut show “Femmes and Thems” at the Frog and Bucket in Manchester. The night creates a safe space for female and non-binary comedians to feel valued in a way that mixed-gender comedy shows sometimes don’t allow.
Tegan says at certain gigs she feels the need to change her content depending on the gender and age range of the crowd.
She says, “When male comedians walk on stage people are like ‘oh it’s a man’ and they trust you but if a woman walks on, especially a young woman there’s a bit of tension.”
Being a free gig with a younger audience, Jokes at the Oaks is a great gig for Tegan because she feels relaxed about her material. Having begun the show proclaiming “I’m a feminist” she says, “I wouldn’t open like that at a pro gig in the middle of a pub full of middle-aged couples in Yorkshire, for example.”
She continues, “I had to stop doing certain gigs because I was like I don’t like what this is making me become. I’m such a people pleaser. I was changing myself to what would get the most laughs. I was like no this isn’t what I want to do. I’d rather play fewer gigs but do the ones with my audience.”
Tegan Marlowe will be performing at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe with her brand new show Jeans and a Nice Top x.
“Laughter is one of the fastest ways to feel better”
“You’re that one gem that the women in the audience can be like ‘oh that’s the person I relate to’”Image by Andy Hollingworth Image by Andy Hollingworth
Vegetarians cut out all meat and fish while vegans take it one step further giving up all animal products including dairy, eggs and even honey. But, being plant-based allows you to cut down on animal product consumption without the pressure of full commitment to a vegan or veggie lifestyle.
In 2019, the Economist proclaimed it the “Year of the Vegan”. Meanwhile, the Guardian found nearly one in four food products launched in the UK during the year were marketed as “vegan”.
Secure in their success, shares in the meat-free brand Beyond Meat went public on the stock exchange
In 2023, a new attitude towards vegan eating has prospered. A softer approach to veganism has been nurtured across the early 2020s and the phrase “plant-based” has sprouted everywhere.Image by Nahil Naseer on Unsplash Cutlery image by David Billings on Unsplash Image by Nathan Nugent on Unsplash
in May 2019. But these have since plummeted from over $230 then to around $11 now.
Recently, other vegan and veggie brands have felt a sting.
Oatly has pulled products from shelves while the brand Meatless Farm has permanently closed its doors.
A report by Straits Research suggests the vegan industry should continue to grow. Plant-based milk, for example, has been a big hit across the UK. A huge 48% of the population is now incorporating alternative non-dairy milk such as almond, soy, oat and even potato into their diet.
Despite this, only around 2% of the UK population is estimated to be strictly vegetarian or vegan, suggesting that many are opting for a more relaxed approach to a vegan diet.
First used to describe vegetablebased diets in the 1980s the term plant-based is not new but has risen in popularity over recent years.
The likes of Kim Kardashian, Meghan Markle and Ariana Grande have expressed their support of plant-based diets. Not to mention the wealth of Instagram girlies like Emma Chamberlain and Olivia Neill posting their gorgeous oat and almond milk lattes.
Ella, a 25-year-old food blogger has recently embraced a more plant-based lifestyle having found veganism too restrictive. She began her vegan journey just as it entered its heyday in
2017, starting off as veggie and then taking the plunge into complete veganism.
Ella said, “I struggled with balance my whole life, which contributed to my eating disorder. So, once I went vegan, I really started to get worse and worse, to the point I lost my period, and was severely underweight. I saw a doctor and he recommended that I stop being vegan due to my eating disorder. Restricting food groups as a vegan just made my
eating disorder so much worse.”
Ella continued: “I created my blog because I wanted to learn to be more balanced and help people live a more balanced life through food. It contains recipes for extremely healthy smoothies, but also cookies which are not ‘healthy.’”
Even if it means shifting from vegan to plant-based Ella hopes her new food blog, Smoothies-NCookies helps others achieve a balanced lifestyle.
48% of the population is now incorporating alternative non-dairy milk into their dietImage by Nathan Nugent on Unsplash ^ Image by Alex Ghizilia on Unsplash Image by Ella
This simple summer recipe is easy to make but looks so gorgeous it’s sure to impress.
It’s the perfect light, plant-based dish for the summer. To keep this recipe entirely vegan it’s just as delicious without the feta cheese!
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
1 large sweet potato
1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees (fan). Chop the sweet potato into roughly 4cm by 4cm chunks and place in an ovenproof dish. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and a teaspoon of dried coriander and toss to coat. Pop in the oven for 25 to 35 minutes or until browned and a fork can slide easily through.
2. Meanwhile, make the salsa and guacamole. Halve the avocado and remove the stone. Dice the tomatoes and place one with your avocado then mash together. Add the other two diced tomatoes to another bowl for your salsa. Finely chop the red onion and place one-third of it in the salsa bowl and two-thirds in the guac bowl.
3. To your salsa bowl, add a sprinkle of coriander and squeeze in half a lime then season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. In your guac bowl, mash your avocado with the onion and tomato until you reach your desired texture, add a teaspoon of coriander, a squeeze of lime and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
5. Once your sweet potatoes are almost done, place your tortillas on a tray and put them in the oven for 2 to 3 mins until just warmed.
6 small flour or corn tortillas
6. Then it’s time to assemble your tacos. Add a dollop of guac to each tortilla, add some crunchy iceberg lettuce, some roasted sweet potato and top with your salsa.
Feta cheese (if you fancy)
Pomegranate seeds (if you’re
7. Optional- Add a sprinkle of feta cheese and pomegranate seeds if you like or leave them as they are to keep completely plant-based! Serve and enjoy.
Let sweet potatoes taco-ver your life!
By now, you may have heard of the ‘slow living’ movement, encouraging you to relax your pace and take a slower approach to each aspect of life.
From this movement, across the art world, galleries are encouraging a new approach and the idea of ‘slow looking’ at artwork has developed.
One such gallery taking part in slow looking is Manchester’s Whitworth Art Gallery, with their longrunning exhibition ‘Slow Down, You’re Doing Fine’. We spoke to exhibition curator Dr Leanne Green about slow looking.
What does slow looking mean to you? Slow looking means spending more time with one work of art. Getting to know it from a personal perspective, seeing in it what only you can see.
What got you interested in the idea of slow looking?
Looking at art can be like looking out of the window, having a moment of contemplation, and so it felt like an idea that could work well for this gallery. The space in which we present this display has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the park. Walking through I often noticed that this was one of the spaces where visitors sit for longer – working, socialising or just sitting, looking out of the window. I hope that it gives our visitors a moment of calm.
How did you decide which pieces to include?
It was partly practical. The beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows present the challenge of light exposure for the works of art on display - because they will fade if exposed to too much light, for too long. Oil paintings are more robust and can be displayed in lighter spaces. We don’t have many oil paintings in the collection, as we specialise in works on paper and textiles, so the pool of art that can actually be displayed in this space is quite small. From this, I tried to select works that haven’t been on display for a long time, and I tried to select a mix of work that would give different experiences of slow looking – abstract, figurative, still life.
“Allowing yourself time to dwell on one thing – anything really, a plant, an insect, a car… whatever…”Image by Leanne Green
Can slow looking extend beyond art gallery walls?
Yes, I think so. Allowing yourself time to dwell on one thing – anything really, a plant, an insect, a car… whatever… giving yourself time to find something new within it, or letting your mind wander and seeing where it goes – that can and should extend beyond galleries.
Do you think slow looking is easy to achieve?
It depends on the individual. It might be easier for some, harder for others. The important point is that it should be relaxing, done without judgement – it can be 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes… whatever works for you- if it is something you want to do.
