I’ve set up a fund-raising page and booked a campsite for my first night on the trail so I guess it’s actually happening!!
This summer I am fulfilling a dream to hike the Pennine Way from Edale to Kirk Yetholm. It covers 268 miles along the spine of Britain, from Derbyshire to just across the Scottish border, with around 12000m of ascent. Along the way I’ll pass through 9 counties, carrying my ‘home’ in my backpack.
I previously walked the first 100 miles of the route in 2022 so I do have some idea of what I’m letting myself in for, but of course three weeks walking is very different to six days! I could have started where I left off last time, but that’s not my style, so I’m in for the whole distance this time around.
I’ll be camping every night along the way (mostly at campsites but with a few wild camps too) so I will be carrying everything I need with me, apart from some dehydrated meals and maps (and maybe a clean pair of socks or pants!) which I will send ahead and collect as I go.
It will (I hope!) be a great adventure but more importantly I hope it will also help to raise lots of money for Cancer Research UK, in memory of Mike Lycett, who some of you will remember from classes in Iden Green or Kilndown.
Most of us will have some contact with cancer in our lifetimes, either through personal experience of the disease or through family, friends or colleagues going through their own experience.
Some of us will be fortunate enough (& very grateful) to still be able to take on challenges like walking the Pennine Way after our treatment. But sadly, some are less fortunate, which is why we need to keep supporting research into cancer and its treatment.
Whilst I get to live out my dream, I am keenly aware that Mike, who is so very deeply missed by his family and friends, didn’t get the chance to live out all of his dreams. So this one is for him. I hope I will do him proud – I’ll certainly try.
If you are able to support me by making a donation and/or by sharing my JustGiving page so others can see it, I would be very, very grateful. It would mean the world to me to hit my target* in Mike’s name. I set off in late July and it would be a really great motivation to know I’ve hit my initial target before I go…
[*I’ve started with a hopefully achievable target but actually have another number in my head so please donate what you can and share with everyone you know – thank you!]
I’ll be adding updates to my fund-raising page in the coming weeks (and while I’m on the trail) so check back every so often to see how things are going.
Finally, I’ve already had some entertaining questions about trail logistics – no I won’t be wearing paper pants and burning them 😉 Please let me know if you have a Pennine Way related question that you’d like me to answer and I’ll maybe write a whole Q&A post…
Monday is my new favourite day of the week! I’m loving the energy in the room for our Women-Only-Workout – it keeps me smiling for days afterwards. I love how everyone is so kind and supportive towards each other, with smiles & laughter for the whole 40 minutes. It makes my heart very happy to see women looking after their health and holding space for each other – thank you so much if you are one of those women!
Please note:
If you are new to one of my classes, please remember to complete a health questionnaire -you will be sent a copy in your booking confirmation, so please make sure you book prior to the class – I cannot accept walk-ins.
In case you do not have access to a printer, I will have some hard copies with me but please arrive a few minutes early to make sure we can get started on time.
I look forward to seeing you in class soon!
Sports Massage
Tuesday 7th October – from 3.30pm
Thursday 9th October – 4pm & from 7pm
Tuesday 14th October – from 3.30pm
Thursday 16th October – 3pm & from 7pm
Further details & appointment bookings can be found here
There will be no massage appointments the following week (20th-26th October).
Guided walks
Saturday 4th October – Penshurst Place & Chiddingstone (details here) – rescheduled for Saturday 15th November
Sunday 5th October – ‘Orchards & Elephants’ walk (details here) – assisting Walk Wild Wellbeing
Saturday 26th October – Ivinghoe Beacon & the Ridgeway (details here) – currently fully booked but there’s an option to join a waiting list
Hill & Moorland Leader training:
Being a bit of a sucker for another training course(!), I am signed up to do the first stage of my Hill & Moorland Leader qualification on 22nd-24th October so I will be out of the office for those days.
I’ll be working as normal on Monday 20th & Tuesday 21st October so there will be PT sessions as usual on both days and our online class on the Tuesday morning.
Normal work schedule will resume on Monday 27th October.
If you’re joining me for the Women-Only-Workout at 7pm, please don’t forget to bring a small towel with you because you might get sweaty! If you’re joining me for Functional Pilates at 8pm , please bring a pilates/yoga mat with you and wear layers for comfort.
Please note:
Anyone who is new to one of my classes will need to have completed a health questionnaire before the class can start. You will be sent a copy in your booking confirmation, so please make sure you book prior to the class – I cannot accept walk-ins.
In case you do not have access to a printer, I will have some hard copies with me but please arrive a few minutes early to make sure we can start on time.
I look forward to seeing you in class soon!
Sports Massage
Tuesday 23rd September – fully booked
Thursday 25th September – fully booked
Tuesday 30th September – from 3.30-6.30pm
Further details & appointment bookings can be found here
Guided walks
Saturday 20th September – Eridge Rocks & Harrison Rocks (details here)
Sunday 21st September – Gomshall, Peaslake & Holmbury Hill (Surrey Hills) (details here)
Friday 26th September – London Charity Night Hike (details here)
This week I came across a really great TED talk by designer Ingrid Fetell Lee where she discusses things that bring universal joy – like bubbles, fireworks, rainbows, cherry blossom, tree-houses – and how finding moments of joy keeps us in the present moment.
But more important, is the impact of these universal moments of joy: “The sharply divided, politically polarized world we live in sometimes has the effect of making our differences feel so vast as to be insurmountable. And yet underneath it all, there’s a part of each of us that finds joy in the same things. And though we’re often told that these are just passing pleasures, in fact, they’re really important, because they remind us of the shared humanity we find in our common experience of the physical world.”
I love this message so much. And it seems so relevant right now.
I recently decided not to watch, read or listen to the news because I find it really heavy to hold. I know that I am in a privileged position to be able to do that, when so many people are directly affected by what we see in the news. I worry that I’m making an ignorant choice, but I also worry about how much we can really trust the version of news that we are presented with. So I’m going to abstain for a while and make it my mission to find joy at every turn…
This week joy came in the form of:
watching a young lad putting fuel in his car and tapping the nozzle a dozen times to make sure he didn’t miss a drop at the end!
a sudden downpour when I was driving on Wednesday afternoon
seeing joy on the faces of people in the crowd at they watch the most amazing flash mob unfold before their eyes
noticing a starry sky as I pulled the blind one night
seeing a friend’s dog on zoom
hearing the Red Arrows fly overhead
seeing a video of elephants rushing to greet a baby when she comes out of her stockade after a night apart
I want to feel joyful about this life we are living.
I’ve made you a movement plan for December and beyond – not so that you feel you need to do more & chastise yourself if you don’t, but hopefully to inspire you to carve out a little time each day for movement that makes you feel good and helps you carry all of the others things you have to carry at this time of the year.
You can use it like an advent calendar by doing one move each day, or you can build it into a whole workout to do once or twice a week when you feel like having 40 minutes to yourself.
Recently I’ve been feeling that 2022 hasn’t been a good year, but a look through my photos has shown me that there have been so many highs, so here is a little review to remind me that not everything is always how it feels in one given moment…!
On top of the world – Old Man of Coniston – May 2022
There have definitely been some heavy loads in the last few months – my Dad died unexpectedly on 2nd November, my house sale fell through around the same time and I’ve been struggling to mend two sore feet since I damaged them at the end of August! [Probably the feet don’t seem very important when compared to the death of a parent and the sadness of not moving house, but I feel them every day and they are getting in the way of me enjoying the one thing I really love to do #walking ]
So anyway, that’s the bad stuff…but here’s what I remembered when I looked through the photos on my phone:
I have two beautiful grand-daughters who fill my whole heart with joy and love and allow me to make up for all the moments I missed when I was parenting; grand-parenting is definitely an easier job and a huge privilege
this year I have completed #walk1000miles for the fourth year in a row (aiming to end 2022 on 1400 miles); I also walked around Bewl Water once per month and completed at least 100 miles each month for 8 months of the year (I missed that target in February, April, October & November but I’m learning to be ok with that). Walking, especially in huge, wide open spaces brings so much joy and energy to my life (see below)
2022 saw me set foot on the Pennine Way for the first time, and I went back and walked the first 100 miles in August – teenage dream realised!
I learned to grow and nurture a whole house full of house plants!!
I re-found my confidence and got back to working at my massage table; it still brings me unexpected delight when clients have a positive reaction to their treatment (I don’t know why it surprises me but it still does, every time!); I completed an Oncology Massage course in November so it’s full steam ahead for 2023
I’ve dared to dream of a new future for the first time in a very long time; although I’m very sad that my planned move to the seaside has not happened yet, I’m so happy that I was brave enough to imagine it and start the process of achieving it too. And I can wait a little longer to see it realised…
I’ve taken a photo every day for the 7th year in a row!! In all that time I’ve never missed a day or posted a photo taken on another day. I did cheat a little bit on the night that I was sat in a hospital relatives room, waiting to see my Dad for the last time – I asked my daughter to take the photo for me but I still edited and posted it so it almost counts as mine!
I’ve climbed the Yorkshire three peaks twice! The first time I did one each day over a three-day camping trip; the second time I did them all in one go straight after my hundred miles on the PW (hence the damaged feet!) – it was wayyyyyy harder than I expected and I couldn’t have done it without an incredibly supportive buddy #forevergrateful #youknowwhoyouare
I joined The Queue – such an honour and privilege #thankyoumaam
And last but not least, the snow last week brought much happiness to my child-like heart
Thank you 2022 – I haven’t always loved you but I’m glad we made it through together!
And 2023 I’m hoping for good things from you… #nopressure
For the next few weeks I’ll be sharing with you some suggestions for how to integrate what we do in a Pilates class into your everyday life. Maybe you already do this? But if not here are some ideas to get you started:
Think about your alignment when standing:
In particular, try to attach this habit to something you do at intervals during the day (eg. when washing your hands):
be aware of your foot placement – aim to stand with your feet hip width apart and your weight evenly balanced
position your shoulders directly above your hips
widen your collarbones with softness in the ribcage and length in your spine
gently tilt your pelvis forwards and back a few times in order to find the neutral point right in the centre – think of your pelvis as a bowl or a bucket, when we’re in neutral the water won’t spill out at the front or the back
once you’ve found your neutral position, add a gentle contraction of the deep abdominal muscles – thinking of drawing in your belt one notch whilst gently lifting your pelvic floor muscles
finally, all you need to do is breathe naturally and notice how the body feels when it is aligned
Think about your alignment when you’re sitting down:
Try to attach this practice to something you do at intervals too (eg. when sitting down to eat)
sit towards the front of your chair and feel your sit-bones sink into the chair, evenly weighted
be aware of your foot placement – hip width apart and under the knees
position your shoulders directly above your hips
lengthen your spine
gently tilt your pelvis forwards and back (without moving the rest of the body) and then find the neutral point right in the centre – think of your pelvis as a bowl or a bucket, when we’re in neutral the water won’t spill out at the front or the back
once you’ve found your neutral position add a gentle contraction of the deep abdominal muscles – thinking of drawing in your belt one notch whilst gently lifting your pelvic floor muscles
breathe naturally and notice how the body feels when it is aligned
As we bring awareness to our posture we can make subtle changes which will have a positive impact over time. None of the movements need to be big and the contraction of the tummy muscles will be gentle, but regular practice will help you to feel better in your body as you go about your day.
A few weeks ago I wrote about trying to up-spec my eating game to include at least 30 different varieties of fruit and vegetables a week, and I’m still doing it!
Obviously there are plenty of items that repeat weekly, but I’m trying to add in a few newbies each week too. Across the last four weeks I have eaten 50 different fruit and vegetables in total, which is probably four or five times more varied than in the four weeks before that! As an example, the salad above included mixed lettuce leaves, pea shoots & spinach as a base, topped off with olives, garlic, lentil sprouts, avocado, pickled red cabbage, tomatoes, hummus and sesame seeds – 9 veggies added to the list in one meal!
I’ve bought myself two sprouting jars and I’m really enjoying growing my own vegetables in miniature. Favourites so far are sprouted sunflower seeds and lentil sprouts (below), both of which work well in cold or hot dishes. Sprouted pulses and seeds taste amazing, add texture and colour and a whole heap of nutritional value and they are super-simple to grow.
Two jars allows me to stagger them and keep a continuous supply, or sprout two different things at once. I currently have lentils and broccoli sprouts ready to eat and I have sunflower seeds soaking in a separate pot ready to add to one of the jars when the sprouts have been moved to the fridge/eaten. Of course you don’t need to buy a special jar to sprout seeds and pulses but it makes the process very easy. And also I felt that having invested in the jars I might be more likely to keep using them long term…?!
Since the first week of doing this, I have found a few things which help me to stay on track:
keep a pencil and paper in the kitchen to write everything down on a meal-by-meal basis
start the week well – by bedtime on Monday this week I had already eaten 17 different fruit and vegetables, so I felt like I was winning right from the start
make up batches of meals which contain a lot of different vegetables so I have them in the fridge or freezer when I need them
use different fruits to make up fruit compote to go with porridge/chia pudding/granola/etc (frozen fruit is great for this)
make use of what you have around – I cut down the last of my tomatoes at the weekend and made a jar of quick pickled green tomatoes
collect windfall apples, pick damsons or forage for sweet chestnuts if you see them while you’re out and about (I’m not sure whether sloes for sloe gin counts but I guess you can decide for yourself!)
don’t forget to include frozen, tinned or bottled fruit and vegetable options to your list – sauerkraut is one of my favourite fall-backs when I don’t want to cook but I need to up the veggie-quota
Now that I’ve started, I’m going to keep the momentum going on my #30fruitandvegetables mission. It makes sense on so many levels – upping nutrition for heart, hormonal, bowel & cognitive health; promoting a feeling of self-care; managing energy levels; and creating a better connection with & enjoyment of eating.
You may already be far more evolved than me on this issue, but if not, and even if you don’t want to go for the full 30 in one go, why not start by adding one extra portion of vegetables to each meal or try buying one new vegetable ingredient each week. Small changes really do add up over time…
Did you know that eating a broad range and number of fruits and vegetables each week can support your hormonal health?
Last week as part of a course I’m studying, and with my own health in mind, I felt inspired to see if I could follow the advice to eat 30 different varieties of fruit and veg in one week.
home grown!!
The aim is to use dietary measures to naturally support the body in processing & managing oestrogen levels, which in turns supports us through times of hormonal change, such as peri-menopause. In addition to eating a range of plant-based foods (including legumes, nuts, seeds and green leafy vegetables) and brightly-coloured foods, the goal is to broaden the range of fruits and vegetables we consume.
I am vegetarian so in theory it maybe shouldn’t be that hard. But I’m also lazy about cooking for one and a bit of a fussy-eater after a childhood of strict ‘eat what you’re given’ parenting, so I was really intrigued to see how I would get on.
I started last Tuesday and tracked back over the previous day to start my count. I had also recently done a good food shop so I already had a few different options available to get me started.
I arrived at 17 different items quite easily and really enjoyed challenging myself to fit extra vegetables into my meals:
cavolo nero
mushrooms
green beans
sweetcorn
tomatoes
spinach
sugarsnap peas
apples
blueberries
red grapes
leeks
red lentils (not sure if legumes count but I counted them anyway just in case I fell short!!)
kiwi
nectarines
carrots
avocado
broccoli
At this point I realised that back-up supplies would be needed so I trawled the supermarket for as many different things as I could find, including some things I had forgotten about & some that I don’t really like.
I added a few ‘deli’ items:
olives
artichoke hearts (I’d forgotten how much I love these)
sauerkraut (love this and eat it often but had run out)
Some vegetables I normally avoid:
brussels sprouts (which were better shredded and pan-fried than any other way I have ever eaten them)
parsnips (I don’t mind them but wouldn’t usually choose them)
mustard cress (tasted way better than I remembered)
celery (I hide it in ragout-type recipes)
cauliflower (I had some in the freezer so I used it to make cauliflower, parsnip and garlic mash)
Some basic extras:
potatoes
butternut squash
garlic
onions
white cabbage (I made coleslaw with added apple and sunflower seeds)
And, last but not least, some lovely additions:
pea shoots (such a great flavourful addition to a salad)
mango (post 10-mile hike purchase)
blackberries (picked en-route)
So I finished my week on 32 different kinds of fruit and veg (33 if I include the red lentils, but in that case I can also include butter beans and cannellini beans so 35!) I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t really more on fruit (as I am a bit of a fruit-bat) and actually I really enjoyed finding new ways to include more vegetables into my meals.
brussels sprouts made better
One of the things I learned from this (which came as no surprise but all the same it was a good reminder) is that I basically eat the same ingredients nearly every week. Probably many of us do. Food shopping can become a bit of a chore and I think I have been following the same path through the shop each time, so that I buy food without ever needing to veer off-course. I really enjoyed thinking about what I could eat to increase my veggie uptake and it was good to look along shelves that I normally by-pass.
The best thing I gained from doing this, was a stirring in my soul – a little bit of excitement about my meals, a joy in new found flavour (& texture) combinations, and a better connection with what I was eating. My meals are usually ‘bistro bowl & single utensil’ options so that I can eat without thinking, mostly sat on the sofa, distracted by a bit of catch-up TV. Last week I think I used two utensils together more than once, I sat at a table to eat more often and I actually took notice of what I was eating.
I felt like I was bathing my body in nutrients, colour, flavour and a big dose of self-care.
I ate (& craved) less chocolate & consumed significantly less cheese-as-a-meal-substitute last week. Interestingly I don’t think I spent any more than usual on food because I didn’t buy snacks or lots of cheese like I might usually do. I guess time will tell how much it costs but I plan to do lots of batch-cooking of dishes which include as many vegetables as possible. Yesterday I made a green lentil ragout with eight different veggies in it – knowing that I have portions of this in the freezer will be a real bonus when I’m short on time and need a veggie-boost.
There was a downside…I used the dishwasher more than usual, but I guess that’s just part of being a grown-up & cooking actual meals?!
fresh supplies
One week on and I’m still going with the goal of 30 but I’m trying to make some changes from last week so that I don’t stick with the same 30 each week. So far I’ve added in beetroot, spring greens, pomegranate & raspberries; I’ve grown broccoli sprouts and I’m sprouting some sunflower seeds; and I have pak choi and sweet potatoes lurking in the fridge. I think the key is to layer in a couple of extra veggies at every meal – so instead of a meal consisting 3-4 ingredients, I will bump it up to 7-8 different ones, so that every meal makes a contribution to my total count (and more importantly my health!)
broccoli and friends!
So how about you? Do you (or could you) eat 30 different varieties of fruit and veg in one week? If not, might you give it a try?
If you are a way off to start with, you might not want to make such a sweeping change all in one week so perhaps start by gradually adding in a few new items each week until you get there.
Please let me know if you give it a try – would love to know how you get on and what differences you notice, particularly if you are also trying to balance your hormone levels.
