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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Hattie Garlick

‘Standing still is an art’: how to focus, by those who know – from heart surgeons to living statues

Izabella Radcliffe, a living statue, in Edinburgh.
Izabella Radcliffe, a living statue, in Edinburgh. Photograph: Robert Ormerod/The Guardian

The living statue

Izabela Radcliffe, 40
What you see is stillness, but I’m incredibly busy. I’m no longer Izabela. I can’t be thinking about what my kids are having for dinner. My awareness of the environment and audience, and how I interact with them, is everything. If my mind wanders, the spell is broken.

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