5 Simple Tips For A Healthy Start To Your Day

Now I realise that not everybody is naturally a morning person, so it might be enough to just drag yourself out of bed rather than adding items to your list of things to do in the morning, but these measures are very simple and each one can help enhance your day.

1)    Hot / warm water and ginger first thing
Ginger is great for our digestive system, it also has anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties . I keep a jar of peeled, chopped ginger in the fridge, I have a big beer tankard that I pop it into first thing in the morning, I then try and drink the whole thing before my first class / client appointment, which doesn’t always happen, but when it does I feel smugly hydrated. I keep it topped up with hot water throughout the day.  Most of the nutrients are just inside the skin, so try to lightly peel rather than chop too much of it away.  

2)   Consider including protein in your breakfast
It’s important we get enough protein in our diet. Protein is involved in building and repair in the body and is vital for healthy muscles and bones. From mid / late 30s onwards we start to lose muscle and bone, women in particular during perimenopause / menopause are effected by the depletion of oestrogen and need to be mindful of their bone mineral density.  Eggs are the gold standard of protein and a perfect breakfast option (if you like eggs!).  Protein, as well as providing material for muscles and bones, will keep you satiated for longer and you won’t get that energy peak and drop that you can get from many processed cereals and juices*.  Can’t do the eggs? Porridge also fairs well on the protein front and you can add some seeds and a dollop of live natural yogurt which contains protein and healthy bacteria to benefit your gut.

*With cereals and juices check out the ‘sugar’ from carbs on the ingredients label.  A breakfast high in sugar may provide a satisfying energy surge straight after eating but can leave us feeling hungry or sluggish mid-morning once that surge subsides.  E.g. Flahavans porridge contains .9g sugars from carbs per 100g whereas Special K contains 15g sugar from carbohydrates per 100g.

3)    Cold water showers
If you’re not into early morning sea swims, 30 sec to 2 minutes of cold water add the end of your shower can actually have similar health-enhancing benefits – helping to boost the immune system, as well as energy and mood.  Research is starting to show that cold habituation decreases inflammatory responses over time.  So try a quick cold blast at the end of your nice steamy shower, perhaps not quite as sociable as the sea swims, but certainly easier and convenient.  And just for the record, I’m totally into early morning sea swims…mid-summer…in Greece.

4)    A brisk morning walk
Getting out for a brisk walk in morning light can actually help improve your sleep, boost your mood (helping to offset the effects of SAD in the winter) and cut your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Any form of walking outside during the day is good, but going in the morning is like a gentle alarm to let our body and brain know that the day has started.  Light helps reset our body clock, which in turn tells our body when to go to sleep and when to wake up.  The earlier you have exposure to daylight the better for your sleep, possibly even making it deeper with less chance of waking up.  Light exposure also triggers the release of serotonin which is a feel good hormone, helping to boost our mood.  Brisk walk = moderate-intensity exercise where our heart is beating a little faster, we’re breathing a little heavier but we can still hold a conversation.

5)    Some Gentle Stretches
Simple stretches, the likes of child’s pose, lying on your back and hugging your knees to your chest and figure 4 stretch are all lovely and simple stretches to do in the morning to help stretch the muscles around hips and lower back.

Vegetarian Nut Roast - it's not just for Christmas...

Every year for Christmas, the chef, aka the Ma makes a nut roast for me ‘the awkward vegetarian’. Now I’d just like to point out I do volunteer to cook, but while my brother is often stand-in or sous chef, I’m usually relegated to clean-up duties and alternate shifts with my Dad. My lack of success in being allowed to cook a full meal for my family reminds me of my attempts to get a solo singing part in my primary school plays - they always found something else for me to do. Ok, I just had to get that off my chest - back to the best ever vegetarian nut roast. The champion nut roast of Christmas 2021 - recipe from none other than Delia Smith.

Whoomp here it is;

Curried Nut Roast
serves 4

225g mixed hazel, brazil and/or walnuts, finely chopped
8 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 medium green peppers, de-seeded and finely chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
75g wholewheat breadcrumbs
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 teasp dried or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh mixed herbs.
1 tbsp mild curry powder or 1 teaspoon hot madras curry powder
1 egg beaten
Olive oil
Salt and freshly–milled black pepper

Preheat oven to gas mark 7 / 425°F / 220°C
Grease a 7 inch/18cm square cake tin
Begin by gently frying the onions and chopped pepper in a little oil until they are softened (about 10 minutes).
Meanwhile, mix the nuts and breadcrumbs together in a large bowl, adding the garlic, herbs and curry powder. Then stir in the onions, pepper and tomatoes, mix very thoroughly and season. Now add the beaten egg to bind the mixture together.
6. Finally, pack the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden.

A homemade tomato sauce is a perfect accompaniment for this. It’s also yummy served cold with a salad.

I almost forgot…Happy New Year Peeps!

Where’s My Focus Gone?

I thought I was suffering from hormone-related brain fogginess (hormones are pretty much always my first stop when I’m looking for something to blame), but I have spoken to some friends, both female and male and they agreed that their focus had also taken a swan dive, before we got distracted and started talking about something else.

At the beginning of January, I felt like I was going gangbusters, powering through and getting things done. Cut to the last couple of weeks and it’s like somebody turned the ‘focus’ tap off and there’s just an occasional lonely drip. The only time I’m really focused is when I’m teaching a class (had to get that in there) and of course that’s not counting when I say ‘knee’ instead of ‘elbow’ or lose count of repetitions – that’s all normal.

Now clearly I’m not a psychologist and to be honest I haven’t even googled this, but my take on it is as we are constantly in more or less the same routine and at this stage words like ‘boring’ and ‘mundane’ are completely applicable, there’s no chance to get away, properly re-boot and come back feeling refreshed and ready to pounce. It's like when your computer starts to slow down / hum and it just needs maybe to be shut down for the night or even just a case of 'have you tried turning it on and off again?' and bingo it's back up and running again.

Anyone else out there been feeling that lack of focus?

I'm testing out a few ways to re-boot under lockdown, I'll report back to you with my findings!

5 Ways To Support Healthy Bones With Diet

From our mid-thirties onwards we are at risk of bone density loss. Women, because of menopause and the depletion of bone protecting oestrogen are at greater risk.  Diet and exercise play an important role in supporting our bone health.  We looked at exercise last week, let’s take a look at how our diet can help us.

1. Calcium is usually the first nutrient that springs to mind when we mention healthy bones, so let’s start there.   We usually associate calcium with dairy.  Whole milk probiotic yogurt is one of the best dairy calcium sources and beneficial for our gut health, with regards to cheese – the harder the cheese, the better the calcium content. Non-dairy sources of calcium include brown rice, kale (also a great source of magnesium), bok choy, chard, cabbage, broccoli, white beans, chickpeas, almonds, sesame seeds, anchovies, sardines, figs.  Phew.

2. Vitamin D – we need this to absorb calcium.  Vitamin D comes from sunshine, oily fish (e.g. salmon, mackerel, trout herrings), eggs, red meat and fortified foods and drinks.  In countries where we don’t get enough sunshine e.g Ireland, it is widely recommended to supplement with Vitamin D from September to May.  (Check with medical/nutrition professional about dosage.)

3. Protein! Usually associated with muscle growth and maintenance, this macronutient is a major structural component of all cells including bone cells, and gives bones its strength and flexibility.  You will find protein in meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, tofu, tempeh, soya/edemame beans, spirulina and quinoa.

4. More micronutrients for bone health include;
   Vitamin K – leafy greens, liver, some fermented cheeses and soya bean products.
   Magnesium – green veggies, nuts, seeds, unrefined grains (e.g. quinoa)`
   Zinc – lean red meat, poultry, whole grain cereals and zinc.

5. Lastly, caffeine, alcohol, fizzy drinks and sodium can all inhibit the absorption of calcium and are therefore in excess, they are not good for our bone health.

 Stay healthy peeps! 

How To Support Your Bone Health With Exercise

From 35 onwards, we start to lose more bone than we make. Yikes

Throw menopause into the mix, and the depletion of the bone protecting hormone oestrogen means women are more at risk of osteoporosis. Therefore it is vital that we support our bone health with exercise and diet and the earlier we get going, the better.

Bone is a living, growing tissue and responds to stimulus. The muscles contracting create a stress on the bones which stimulates new bone formation.

So what exercises work best?

Weight-bearing Exercise
These are exercises where we are working against gravity. They can be divided into high impact e.g. plyometric moves (jumping), running , playing tennis , skipping.
Low impact, e.g. hiking (add poles for upper body workout), dancing , stair walking. Or no impact – yoga , Pilates, tai chi – where we are using body strength – think standing poses, arm balances, planks, push up variations.

Resistance / Strength Training
This is where we are pushing or pulling against a force.

Weights - Everyone can work out with weights and you don’t even have to go to a gym. If you don’t have dumbbells / kettlebells at home, you can improvise - tins of beans, bottles of water, a bag of spuds can be used.

Dynabands – I love these rubberbandits. They are really versatile, and can provide a full body workout including flexibility and mobility as well as strength..

Suspension Training e.g. TRX You can hang it off a tree or out of a door and it is fantastic for an all over body workout.

Reformer Pilates – what’s not to love? Again another excellent system for creating an all over body workout working against resistance with a focus on core strength.

Tune in next week for ‘Nutrition to Support our Bone Health’.

An Afternoon of Aerial Acrobatics

Swinging From The Ceiling
The last weekend in July found me literally swinging from the ceiling – I know the word ‘literally’ tends to be overused these days but trust me, I’m using it in context thanks to my Aerial Cirque ‘Introduction To Silks’ workshop.

I managed to persuade two of my pals to come along with me – Debbie, who was a willing victim and Aoife, less willing but suffers from severe FOMO which makes her an easy target. 

What? Who? Where?
 In case you’re not familiar with it, Aerial silks is the performance of aerial acrobatics while hanging from long lengths of fabric.   Perhaps you saw Pink’s unforgettable performance at the 2010 Grammy’s…as if singing in front of a massive audience of your peers wasn’t challenging enough, she threw in some aerial silks work aswell ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htaKHoihSSA

 Aerial Cirque is run by aerialist extraordinaire Ria Murphy and is situated in an old Victorian building at no. 10 Exchequer street. The studio itself is full of space and character, with beautiful stained glass windows providing colour and light to the shabby chic interior.   

An Historical Site
Bear with me while I go off on a bit of a tangent, but the building itself is so interesting I had to do a little bit of snooping.  As it turns out Exchequer Street has a fascinating and at times sordid history.  The site of at least three political assassinations, home to the 12th century exchequer, that’s probably not a revelation, and later on brothels and at one stage a temperance hotel - that was never going to catch on.  Particularly interesting it seems No. 10 played home or at least ‘office’ to the Irish National Aid and Volunteers’ Dependants’ Fund and in turn was workplace to Michael Collins who became secretary to the fund in February 1917.    

Warm Up
Back to the business of aerial acrobatics.  After we all signed the very thorough waiver, we met our teacher Nicola. As bendy as she was patient, she got us off to an energetic start with our warm-up which served as a good ice breaker. 

Tying Ourselves Up In Knots
As soon as the warm-up was done, the crash mats come out – yikes.  We were split up into groups of twos and threes to each silk.  The vibrantly coloured silks all hang from the ceiling looking like props from a Bollywood movie.  Our first lesson was how to tie a knot.  I failed miserably at this, thankfully one of my team was more than competent and happy to be the chief knot tyer.  

Once our silks were safely knotted (thanks Hayley), we were ready to start some simple ‘bum hoists’, I’m not sure what the official term is.  Nicola demonstrated each move a couple of times and then it was our turn.  We quickly graduated from sitting to standing and onwards to a standing lunge out of the silks, on to the flying splits or at least that’s what it looked like when Nicola was doing it.  My version of it looked a bit more like Penelope Pitstop with a hamstring strain.  

Taking Things Upside Down
After quite a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, again I’m talking literally here, we graduated to the inversions. Although hanging upside down looked quite complicated in the demo and yes, I had to be talked through it very slowly, we all managed it.  The two hours flew by and I would certainly recommend it as a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  The workshop kicks off at 15.30 and costs €30.

That’s a (Silk) Wrap!
It is quite strenuous, if you have any issues at all I would make sure to discuss with Aerial Cirque before booking in.  I would suggest bringing a long sleeved top as there are one or two moves which are a little bit chafey on the old underarms.  Remove your jewellery, bring your friends, or go it alone, the vibe is welcoming and fun for all.  If you fall in love with aerial performance on your first date, there’s a six week beginners course take you to the next level.

 www.aerialcirque.org
(01) 444 8959
info@aerialcirque.org