FIT Magazine

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Bootcamp For Buddhas

5 Weeks of Summer Fitness

For Further details:

Patricia 086 6482651
nutrishon@gmail.com

Shamanic Journey via GPS

€40 is a lot of money these days. Spending it wisely is becoming an art form particularly when it comes to entertainment and non essential items. A day and night of music, art, culture and spirituality seemed a bargain buy to kick off the summer festival season.


The hill of Uisneach sits at 53 29’25”N, 7 33’45”W at an elevation of 182m/597ft and was once considered the naval of Ireland. A place for gatherings and rituals by our distant ancestors. The perfect location to assemble a mega mix of modern celtic hippies for a full moon party.


In true media savvy, the event organizers used every portal available to reach out to the masses. Radio, print, webpages, Facebook, Youtube. A constant stream of live updates accessible in real time across remote global locations, unlike our ancestors who relied on the first sign of fire on the hill to get their party started.


With a vague notion of where the site is, I set out solo from Dublin to rendez vous with my festival companion at the hill. A split second dilemma where the M4 and M6 divide made me realize at 120km per hour that I really hadn’t done my research. I had no idea where I was going. Inadequately equipped with no map and no internet access on my smartphone, I rang my buddy on route to hear she too was none the wiser. Aimless wanderers in search of a party in a field, relying on instincts that have been blunted by urban dwelling and an over reliance on skimformation. Ignoring the specifics of accurate directions which were so readily provided by our event host.


Some miles later I breathe a sigh of relief having emerged from a network deadzone. Now I can employ my go to plan: imap app. The ‘you are here’ blue dot pulses into life through the otterbox window, armour for my precious iphone. Mentor, oracle, navigator and custodian of details of my entire social network.


Only fifteen minutes or so away now and enjoying the bustle of Mullingar main street as I pass through. I pride myself on arriving ahead of my companion and ring her with details of land marks and signage to look out for. The colourful daytime scene of Uisneach is a delight to behold. Giant tepees and fluttering flags create a mystical backdrop to the painted faces and flowing costumes of the Uisneach warriors as they gallop across the hill on their trusty steeds.


A quick recce of the village layout and we are drawn to the tepee hosting ‘Shamanic Journeys’. Next trip departs at 18:00hrs, returning just in time to savour the rest of the festival delights. Magic. I settle myself into said tepee, shoes off and bonding with my fellow travellers. Ready to give to the communal vibe we make small talk: ‘Do you come here often? Any other good value festivals going on over the summer? Yeah, google it. How did you get here, did you get lost on the way?’

Pause, reflection. ‘Actually I just plugged the details into imaps and here I am!’ I admit to a ripple of laughter erupting through the virtual voyage tent with Glen as our guide. 30 minutes later I emerge inspired and enlightened. Somewhere on my journey I did meet my power animal, even if only briefly. Surely to be persued at a future place in time.


Within hours I manage to encapsulate the audio visual delighht of my experience. Patsylu and Nutrishon by accident hit in excess of 1,400 youtube views in less than 48 hours across all corners of the globe. Perhaps not viral but at least part of the microcosmic germ that is all essential in creating critical mass. Peace Love and Rock & Roll x x x






Festival Of Fires 2012, Hill of Uisneach, Bealtaine

Festival Of Fires 2012

Walk In My Shoes

Yesterday’s inaugural mile for 'Walk In My Shoes' turned into a DTC choral flash mob much to the delight of the un-expecting shoppers. The unpredictable weather meant that the procession lead by Nora Casey and Mary Lowe of Corus stayed indoors and wound it’s way from the main fountain up the escalators to the top floor. The glass dome of the Dundrum Town Centre provided an ideal acoustic accompaniment to a hearty version of Lady Gaga’s ‘I’m On The Edge’ with Gavin Duffy clearly enjoying the occasion for such a good cause. St Patrick’s Hospital CEO Paul Gilligan, delighted by the countrywide event which raised valuable funds for youth mental health,joined in the spirit of event with his dapper pinstripe suit and funky footwear. The theme ‘Walk In My Shoes’ encouraged participants to wear some fun and unusual shoes, walk a mile and donate €2. It was inspiring to see Nora Casey looking every bit the pillar of strength that she is reputed to be lending a heart and a shoulder to former Dragon Sarah Newman who also came along to enjoy the occasion.

Run Fat Bitch Run

Run Fat Bitch Run
by Ruth Field
Book Review 11/3/12

If you are looking for some ego stroking and hand holding to get you off the couch you ain’t going to find it here girlie. Run Fat Bitch Run is hard on reality and soft on specific running techniques and training plans. The no nonsense approach that Ruth Field has chosen doesn’t try to be a book about performance running or weight loss, just a get up off your ass and do it motivator as the title suggests.

The target audience is certainly female with a profile like: non runners, casual runners, newbie mums and older age groups. Through a series of letters to the Grit Doctor from her husband Olly, mother, sister and other contributors the text is broken up in to easily digestible chunks. Ruth aka The Grit Doctor also includes her own journal type entries throughout to push the message of running, eating, motivation and other considerations. She includes tips for health and safety, motivation meltdown and what to do if you fall off the wagon. The language is direct and honest which she does deliver with a mental health warning. Not for the easily offended. That’s comforting coming from a woman who is a Barrister by profession.

I was slightly embarrassed when I went to purchase it as the girl serving me behind the desk was seriously overweight and I have a BMI within the 20-25 range. I felt I needed to explain that I was doing a review and encouraged her comments and feedback. She seemed happy to discuss it with me and added that it was selling well in that particular store. I was obviously more sensitive to the subject matter than her.

Ruth’s ‘whatever it takes to get you out the front door’ approach encourages you to look at yourself in the mirror naked as you challenge yourself to ‘run fat bitch run’. The journey then takes you on an eight week gentle training programme with the hope that by the end of the period you have developed an addiction for running and that you look and feel amazing. The six step programme includes a sense of humour but also the reality that running is hard work. ‘Hard is the new black’ she adds so that you are under no illusions of the physical, mental and emotional demands of the task at hand. ‘Fun is what you have after you have been running and it is what you are because you run’.

The Grit Doctor started to get under my shell after a while to the point that I found myself thinking ‘Screw you, beatch. If you can do it Ruth so can I!’
Certain elements of style and repetition grated a little on my own delicate nervous system and I found myself wanting to achieve the results for a number of bizarre reasons. The first one being pride; I sure as hell ain’t going to let all the x-fat bitches pass me out on my next 10k. Secondly, she stirred a little bit of female envy in me. I am seriously jealous of Ruth’s fabulous years in France and her doting hubby Olly who is now a keen runner and contributor. Also her success in writing a widely read fab and fitness book without much technical details or sciency bits.

So as I pound the streets motivated by my own running and writing interests I have Ruth sitting on my shoulder, taunting me, challenging me and helping me to be the best that I can be in all aspects of my life. ‘And thus like the wounded oyster, I mend my shell with pearl’. I raise my glass and my game to a book which has the potential to inspire runners of all shapes and sizes because of its simplicity and accessibility. The message in a nutshell is run, drink more water and eat less crap.

Bring it on Ruth, let the games begin.


Thanks

The Points Race

The Points Race
It All Adds Up

The national debate on obesity and fitness gained a little more momentum over the past few weeks with all parties tossing the doubled sided coin of exercise and nutrition.

The nutritional awareness campaign supported by Minister For Health Dr James Reilly continues in the consultation process until 29th February. Discussions include the proposal that fast food restaurants should display calorie content alongside their menus. Dr Reilly wrote to 24 outlets last year to invite their comments and suggestions for an Irish model. This approach is already being rolled out by McDonalds in the UK although there is no evidence to suggest that this method will make any difference to eating habits or lifestyle choice. In fact it may be viewed as a display of ‘caveat emptor’ on behalf of the Government and the suppliers to demonstrate their duty of care in the freedom of information. Whatever the outcome, it appears that the cost of this initiative will be carried by the food outlets just as EU regulation on food packaging labels requires manufactures to be more informative and consumer friendly.

The other side of the coin is the fitness and activity levels of the masses. The popular RTE programme Operation Transformation was an appropriate and wide reaching platform for Professor Niall Moyna to highlight some interesting points for discussion. His findings in a 5th year group showed alarmingly that only 6/16 boys and 0/9 girls had adequate baseline fitness for healthy living. A carrot of €1000 for the Athlone teenagers is being offered if they can reach acceptable levels within eight weeks of training.

Moyna’s radical approach to getting our schools more active includes a suggestion that fitness become a modular subject like maths or English with credits attached. Idealistically these points can then be accumulated towards the race system for third level places. Of course this raises the questions about resources. It could be argued that some schools would have an advantage over others but that could be argued for any subject already on the curriculum.
And how about standing for an entire 40 minute class once a day? Another suggestion which merits serious consideration. The healthy body healthy mind focus for our learning environments is a potential seed bed of inspired living for our leaders of the future.

Apart from the fitness and fatness debate, let’s not forget that this is also about health, wellbeing and potentially a smarter economy. Research conducted in both schools and workplaces to measure cognitive function demonstrates that exercise and nutrition have an important role to play in an individual’s fitness for purpose; physically and mentally.

While it appears that no blanket approach is going to have as much impact as smaller bite sized initiatives, we welcome any workable initiatives into our homes, schools, communities and workplaces with great gusto. And with the message ringing loud and clear from all angles of society it is our personal duty of care as individuals and parents to make informed and healthy choices. So whether we are calories counting or adding up our academic points, together we can eat this elephant chunk by chunk.

Patricia Murphy
nutrishon@gmail.com
6/2/12