I am lucky enough to have recently escaped the rat race, and moved from hectic, unrewarding city life to a lovely sleepy coastal village. Now, initially I thought it would be too much for me to go from full on madness to nothing, but I was so wrong. I had about 8 weeks of adjusting time, during which I would find myself trying to find things to do, as I had so much spare time and didn't know what to do with it. Then I realised that my time was my own, and therefore my life was my own and I could do what the hell I wanted when I wanted.

Nearly every single day I have walked or run on just lay on the beach, soaking up the amazing energy that I find down there. I enjoy running, but had fallen out of love with it a bit, pounding the busy pavements, dodging pedestrians and cars. Then I ran on the beach, with nothing but the roar of the sea in my ears - there are never enough people for me to have to dodge round them, I can just run, lost in thoughts of nothing, just putting one foot in front of the other marvelling at my amazing surroundings.

On days I don't feel like running I just walk, it's a mile long sandy stretch, so without even thinking I can have a brisk 2 mile walk in the evening. I love shells and other bits of beach treasure, so I always come back with stones or shells in my pockets to add to my collection. Sometimes I just stop and sit, and stare out at the sea, loosing myself in it's awesome power. We live on the Atlantic coast, so you feel like you are on the edge of the world when it's stormy and the waves are smashing on the beach.

I have also found I can use the beach as my very own venting area. On occaision, things go wrong, friends or family can wind you up to the max with their selfish behaviour, and whereas before I used to bottle up my frustration and let it fester, I now hot foot it to the beach, where I can scream at the top of my lungs, or throw myself on the sand and pound it with my fists like a kid throwing a tantrum. I may look a little strange, I admit, but I do check to make sure there is no-one in my immediate vicinity that might call the men in white coats. I feel like I have no problems when I am on the beach. The roar of the sea and sometimes the sheer force of the wind in my face makes me feel like they are carrying away all my woes.

The energy I get from the sea is endless - just to sit and watch the waves, and consciously breathe in the energy that is being generated makes me feel so alive. It might sound crazy to some, but others will understand. There is science behind it in some ways as the negative ions present are very cleansing, but there is more to it than that, there is raw energy being offered up by the ocean, and I for one will alawys be happy to accept it!