Category: health and wellbeing

health and wellbeing

Footfall

Judith2 Comments

This track and I know one another well. We’ve seen each other without make-up and in all weathers. At times it has ice or dog doo on it and occasionally I am icy or feel like dog doo when I’m on it. Our relationship is quite symbiotic actually; it forges me a path of possibility and my regular visits ensures its upkeep is maintained. We make a good team.

I haven’t always been a runner, in fact I only seriously laced up my trainers a couple of years ago. Somehow deriving fitness in a gym environment seemed like baking a cake in a microwave oven – achievable, but odd. Once I regularly began to launch into the fresh air, traverse uneven surfaces, and brush past foliage, fitness became authentic.

The challenge to becoming a runner is comprehending the notion that the transformation from utter exhaustion to comfortable motion takes only a relatively short time. Initially the gulf seems vast, but after a few weeks, land appears on the horizon. The map to navigate this gulf is right here. I followed this plan and was amazed to discover that a collection of  printed numbers and sentences presented in a spreadsheet/table form could have such an impact on my health and wellbeing. Begin with this training program as I did and you will also create a special alliance with a trail of your own.

Postscript: I might add that there is also another powerful ally in this relationship and that is my running partner. She knows the track as I do. As we tread its boards, we have also managed to cover other great distances: parenting, politics, stir-fry tips, to name but a few. Our motto is simple: what is said on the track, stays on the track.

Fortunately, the track is discreet.

health and wellbeing

Bicycle

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A day spent on a bicycle is a day well spent.

Cycling is the true cross-generational activity – something you’ll notice as you glide past parents, teens and tweens all securing their part of an outdoor experience on bikes of varied incarnations.

Other than balance, little skill is required to pedal along and see up-close versions of the gardens and bush tracks that may only be glimpses throughout your motorised daily commute.

On a sunny afternoon, we take great pleasure in heading off in a new direction to discover local ‘unchartered’ territory. The constraints of time, schedule and expectation evaporate in the sunshine,  to leave a residual of contentment. Often on these journeys I ponder possibility or simply enjoy what is.

When you are next presented with the opportunity of a clear day, pack a flask and a bun in your pack, mount your treadley and discover where the day leads you.

Postscript: Of course, one of the finer points of a day out cycling is ensuring you factor in an ice-cream stop-off on the homeward journey.

craft · health and wellbeing

Crane

Judith2 Comments

A  work colleague of ours is dealing with a difficult illness and in response, her family and friends have decided to fold 1000 paper cranes to peacefully assist her.

If you are not aware of the story behind the origami cranes,  it originates from a Japanese legend. In Japan, the crane is a considered a sacred bird and the belief is that if 1000 paper cranes are folded the recipient will be granted a wish or eternal good luck by a crane.

Keen to support this, a large group of us set about folding cranes for our colleague. Whilst we didn’t quite reach 1000 in the time we spent, there are now a large bundle of cranes that will join many others folded by a network of people who care.

What I saw, were many pairs of hands employed by compassionate hearts.

Folding an origami crane for someone special, is a simple yet powerful gesture to make.

Postscript: To brighten someone’s day, you can find the crane folding directions here. If you need greater visual guidance, YouTube offers many clear demonstrations.

family · health and wellbeing

Contemplation

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Have you seen the inside of a dead spider?  Ever tasted sausages with chocolate topping? Do you know what color the neighbour’s letterbox is?  Thought not, but there are masses of children who have and do.

The reason for this is they have the time and the inclination to find out. Lying on the grass gazing skyward for an hour or squatting over the heating vent fishing out long deceased insects are things they have space in their day for or simply bother to do. Maybe the contents of your ducting or an arachnid’s innards are not objects of fascination for you, but there are a range of lovely things around us that, as adults consumed by ‘task-driven’ existences, fail to notice or enjoy.

Life presents us with an abundance of complications that can consume our headspace, but it’s difficult not to smile when presented with a be-candled cake or discovering that the new shoots of the bean seeds have finally come through. And therein lies the fundamental motivation behind the creation of this blog – to highlight those everyday, plain and simple things that surround our lives, as a reminder of what we have, can do or can be.

Post script: There has been a lot of talk about ‘mindfulness’ these days and countless books and articles written about living in the moment. While this is certainly a healthy approach to living our days, it is really not a new phenomenon – just ask any child.

health and wellbeing · recipes

Oats

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While families tend to sit down to dinner and share a common meal, breakfast is usually quite an individual affair. Yours may be a slice of toast between your teeth as you reach behind you to close the front door, whilst for others it has to be the full shebang of eggs, bacon and so forth.

For me, nothing other than oats will do and I have my reasons.

Oats are hearty and hot and once downed with a cup of tea chaser, I really don’t need anything other than a piece of fruit until lunchtime.  In terms of nutrition they are a natural, complex carbohydrate that provides the perfect foundation for building your day (as well as a fruit/seed monument) upon. Honey and sugar however, can quickly unravel all the good work that oat-eating does, so I find by adding a handful of raspberries to the mix, their sweetness keep things in check. Fresh raspberries are prohibitively expensive and have such short seasonal windows, so I resort to the frozen variety and keep my freezer stocked all year.
Topping your oats with a sprinkling of pumpkin kernels and sunflower seeds, ensures you’re placed well on the fibre moral highground. I buy these seeds in bulk and store them in lovely recycled jars, within easy reach.
To your bowl of steaming oats add:
a handful of frozen raspberries
pumpkin kernels and sunflower seeds to your liking
top with skim milk
If you have a lovely oats breakfast combo, I would love to hear about it – I’m very happy to extend my repertoire.
Post script: If cooking a saucepan of oats is overly time consuming for working mornings, 90 second instant oat sachets are a reasonable standby.