Wandering Into Wellness

Pop Quiz Hotshot ROUND 1

Lydia and Finn love games.  Lydia and Finn like to ask each other tricky questions which make them think outside the box and consider possibilities beyond their horizons.  Lydia and Finn both thought they would publicise one of their regular Q&A sessions and let you guys in on their weird likes and dislikes.  

Try your own 20 questions at home and get to know each other better!

 

Enjoy!! x

Returning Home - With Homebirth Expert and Midwife Ali

In this particularly pertinent podcast we chat to @midwifeali one of Lydia’s homebirth midwives all about the beauty of giving birth in the comfort of your own home.

At the moment more and more women are choosing to birth from home rather than going into the hospitals and we thought it was important to separate the facts from the fiction.

We ask Ali ( a fully certified home birth midwife who worked in the Irish hospital system for years and birthed 4 babies herself ) what are the benefits of having your baby at home? Are the risks higher than in a hospital setting? Who is it suitable for? Why would someone choose this sometimes frowned upon option ? And much more besides...

Ali more than anything wants to get her message out there: that this a safe and viable option for so many mums and that it isn’t simply, as it is often touted in the media, the renegade choice of a bunch of wayward hippies, but in fact an age old tradition that is currently supported by the HSE. 

Tune in to hear our chat and make your own mind up.
If you have any questions for Ali please send them on and we will be doing an entire series on pregnancy, birth and beyond just as soon as we are able.

The Sound Journey In Your Soul - Ras Kjaerbo Audio Artist @ Meadows In The Mountains

No kidding, as a self confessed nerd but also musician, DJ and producer, Rasmus has taken his laptop as a musical tool to new sonic places.

We met him at Meadows In The Mountains in 2018 - so this is one from the archives that we almost forgot!! Ras' fascination with flow state and the connection between music and mood and how resonant frequencies influence and alter parts of our physiology has influenced his own path towards the synthesis of complete soundscapes - "musical journeys" as he calls them.

We chatted a lot about how the the exposure to unexpected musical experiences, progressions and patterns to shock us out of our daily habits and routines and expand our horizons internally and externally and bring a greater potential for connection and community.

You can find more out about him at rassta.dk - and go experience one of his immersive soundscape journeys. Take it from us - he's a special talent - even worth the trip to Denmark!!

Also - shout out to Nicolas "Sharpshooter" Dalby! 

Extinction Rebellion - Breaking Windows to Save the Burning Building with Manuel Salazar

Keeping our actions relevant and making sure not to alienate the public through climate protests is a tricky business. Any protest can lose the mass support without careful planning, and maximising exposure without seeking to disrupt the lives of the those that will ultimately be the first to bear the cost of the climate change that threatens our planet is a high priority for the organisers at Extinction Rebellion. Manuel Salazar took us through the intricate planning of these actions and gave us a real insight into the dedication of the XR movement - to achieving change, and building public energy in order to make this into a mass movement, which it ultimately has to be, in order to achieve governmental and legislative change on a broad scale and within a critical time scale.

Suzy Kell - An Uncluttered Christmas

Suzy Kell

A minimalist Christmas 

As all over the world folk sit pondering the aftermath of the Christmas chaos : we got to chatting with Susie kell the gentle declutterer about how we could wave a marie Kondo style magic wand over next years Christmas.

We discuss the idea of decluttering Christmas traditions and obligations, zero waste Christmas wrapping, how to put up decorations without all the plastic and foil wrecking your head ( and the planet) and how to approach gift giving without buying more ‘stuff’ .

Suzy will be doing some decluttering workshops in the Hopsack in the new year so keep your eyes peeled.  You can book in here
If you want to see more of what Susie says follow her  @gentledecluttering

Have a Slow Christmas - Crafts and Creators

In what is fast becoming a wandering Christmas tradition this years guide to ethical gift giving took place at gifted in the RDS.

This year more than ever there is a growing consensus that we need to simplify, slow down and be selective in our consumerism. The choices we make when purchasing allow us to vote with our wallet as it were and we are all about buying local, sustainable and organic where possible.

We have chosen our top three festive favourites from the craft fair all handmade with love by Irish artisan craft makers. So if you are still looking for that perfect purchase have a listen to our mini podcasts for some inspiration.

First up NATURE CYCLES 🪐

Emily is just a bright ray of light leading the way to making real and sustainable change. She is a perfect example of how to rage against the machine of consumerism by going more softly, by doing less, by returning to old wisdom.

Here we met Emily @giftedrds where she was selling her beautiful handmade
Native Circles. These are a set of simple illustrations that create space for nature connection and self reflection in our living space. Native Circles are now available as Limited Edition prints on paper and as prints mounted onto birchwood with a specialy designed stand that can be placed on a table or hung on the wall.
They are all consciously crafted in dublin and a native tree is planted for each set purchased .
Emily has kindly offered a discount code for all the wandering community add the word “ Wander” when purchasing! 
You can find Emily’s works at www.emilyrobynarcher.com or @nativecirclesart

Next up ELEMENTS OF ACTION 

Ed and Esther Bring out the best in each other. Together they form @elementsofaction , an art and design studio that takes all sorts of interesting commissions, breathing life into dead metal, And designing site specific pieces that enhance living and working environments in surprising and infectiously captivating ways. These guys are SO on it. We had a quick chat with them about their most recent project- designing and forming minimalist Christmas Wreaths.
If your listening as this goes live your in luck as Elements of action are having a pop up Christmas curation this weekend in their home at ... so head on down to pick up some treasures.

Last but not least WATERS AND WILD

This is a one woman skincare and lifestyle brand: 100% certified organic, made using natures pallet as inspiration.
Made in the wilds of west cork this Irish perfume company
waters was born from a passion for all things natural
and from the earth. Using only the finest natural ingredients they create an unusual range of scents and serums that are inspired by the pristine nature and beauty of their location on the
Irish Atlantic coast.

To buy go to www.watersandwild.com

When Your Kids Call You Out For Driving a Car n Calling Yourself An Activist - Eoin Campbell of XR

Extinction Rebellion's Eoin Campbell is a thinking man's...um...thinking man. He's the role model for what we all actually need to be doing right now. He's pretty quiet about it, not evangelical at all, which makes his position even more persuasive.

 

From buying chickens to see if his family has the guts to kill their own food, to stopping flights point blank and instigating a family feud about how much this would limit their summer holiday destinations. These maybe seem like first world concerns, but are any of the rest of us even concerning ourselves with them???

Biohacking Brain Trauma - Dasha Maximov

From Heliotherapy and sun gazing, to vipasana and forest bathing, Dasha has dived deep into the world of health. 

Just one year on from the start of her journey into serious health exploration, prompted by suffering her 6th concussion, Dasha has become a serious biohacker.  And it's no surprise either, as her history studying neurology and and managment science shows this lady's ability to hack into and apply the science.    

The really powerful part of Dasha's story is in her capacity and willingness to change, and in her commitment to find joy in her new lifestyle approach.  There's no doubting that she had challenge, but what Dasha's transformation shows is that when life throws us hurdles, and insists we live within new limitations, those limitations don't have to behave as restrictive boundaries, rather we can find new routes to raise our vibrations, increase our vitality and find access to our personal evolution.

 

Thanks as always to our wonderful sponsor folk - Nuzest Nutrition - providing the finest in plant based proteins and broad spectrum, high potency, cutting edge nutritional aids. Clean Lean Protein and Good Green Stuff are two of our favourite things on this planet, that are foundational aspects to supporting our hectic lives. www.nuzest.co.uk - use our code WELLNESS15 for 15% off store wide!

 

Clearlight Saunas - if you haven't tuned into the benefits of infra red sauna therapy, get on it! From immune support to ATP synthesis - not to mention the sheer joys of a good old sweat! Use https:/./bit.ly/2DezWMu to access our special discount

 

Swivl - it's the little robot that will SAVE YOUR LIFE if you're an educator or looking to record and share dynamic video. Ours comes everywhere with us, performs at a moment's notice and keeps our tech lives streamlined and simple. Hop on to techinvasion.co.uk and talk to Satnam - tell him we sent you for a 10% discount!!

Lorraine D'Arcy - Making Healthy Human Habitats

It's amazing how living close to people doesn't make for closer communities.
Counter intuitively, it seems that urban living is more isolating than ever.
So why does this happen and how do we fix it? We found an expert who's working to do just that!!

Lorraine D'Arcy has a PhD in the Built Environment, Social Cohesion, Urban Form...basically she's an expert in how best to plan our city spaces to maximise human-ness, to enhance integration and make healthy urban communities.

We chat through how the design for cities, parks and playgrounds is evolving to allow communities to explore their boundaries, to understand risk, make their own decisions around the use of public spaces. With a less restrictive approach to planning, humans large and small have the opportunity to assess their environment and approach it with more creativity.

We chat through the controversial Bus Connects program, the design of which Lorraine has been heavily involved in, which is rolling out throughout Dublin City over the coming years, which is designed to enhance community connectivity, facilitating access for the many thousands of commuters in their daily routine as work lives and travel habits shift from our traditional suburb to city centre, into more granular and individualised patterns.

Jonathan Cairns The Plant Based Runner

In his own words Jonathan Cairns ‘ was 46, fat, fed up and frustrated.’ when the moment came that he decided to change his life around.

In his new book “ The Plant Based Runner “ Jonathan documents his journey from an ‘unfit slug, to an ultra-marathon runner’, he wrote the book that he was searching for when he began his journey , but couldn’t find. 

In our live podcast with Jonathan we discuss his motivations for getting up off the couch and how he managed to reach his goals by simply putting one foot in front of another.

Jonathans story is inspiring not just because of the magnitude of change he has brought into his life but also because it is so relatable. This was not a man who had always loved running, it was a man who was deeply unhappy and needed to find a way to drag himself out of the mud by finding a type of exercise that brooked no excuses like fancy gym memberships, equipment or even having to drive to a class; all he needed are was his own two feet and some will power.

What we love about Jonathan is that he is completely honest about the moments of hardship when he wanted to give up, about the challenges he faced, and about the work it takes to look at yourself in the mirror and boldly step forward into those changes.

His book and his message are clear; anyone no matter their age, fitness level or lifestyle can change their life.

 

If you enjoy this podcast do support Jonathan by buying his book from local book stores, amazon or kindle.