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Exercise as empowerment

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(I am crawling out of the void to come at you with a piece that dawned on me today while I was working out - cue me pausing mid-glute-bridge to type furiously in my Notes app. The main idea I want to put across here is how empowering exercising feels, and why meaningful movement of any and every kind needs to be a priority for all of us.) ‘Meaningful movement’ is how I’ve recently begun rebranding ‘exercise’. While all of us come to fitness with different experiences, feelings, and self-perceptions, as long as you schedule different types of meaningful movement throughout the week, job’s a good’un. Think of it like making an appointment for future you. Movement for me varies between traditional weight-bearing gym workouts, 20-minute HIIT sessions in the comfort of my apartment, yoga, a stroll outdoors, an incline walk or run on a treadmill, or a cycle. Living in the desert means that outdoor exercise, for me anyway, occurs between October and May, as anything outside of that is just u...
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It's giving main character

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Straight out of the gates, I will hold my hands up and acknowledge that the phrase ‘main character energy’ sounds kind of ridiculous and feels very Gen Z, trendy, and abstract - saying something but nothing at the same time. But the wider concept of feeling like the ‘main character’ in your life - in other words, valuing yourself and honouring your power and worth - is something that really resonates with me, and has helped me gain perspective on issues that have cropped up and caused me pain. My learnings on this particular topic stem from a situation that happened in the last year which had me feeling really down, anxious, and insecure in myself. It dogged my thoughts for months - sometimes it was all I could do not to ruminate on it all day. It was the first thing I thought of every morning, like a thick, grey cloud that settled over my head for the day and never left; the sun might peep through here and there in flashes but that was it. Overall, life was gloomy and I didn’t allow ...
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Affirmative

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If you’ve dipped your toe into the ever-expanding world of wellness, self-love, self-help, positive psychology - whatever you wish to call it - then you may have come across the concept of affirmations . Affirmations, simply defined, are statements or mantras you repeat, usually on a daily basis, that align with your goals or a mindset you wish to adopt. I remember thinking, as I read about affirmations in many self-help books, that they sounded way too good to be true. How is it possible, for example, to feel more self-confident by merely looking in the mirror each morning and saying “I am confident” aloud five times? It sounded to me suspiciously like witchcraft, horoscopes, tarot cards - too vague and too simple to have any true impact or incite any real change. Oh but how wrong I was. I first began to play with the idea of affirmations back in early 2021 after reading the amazing book ‘The Miracle Morning’ by Hal Elrod. He asserts that we should start our mornings early and use th...
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Location: قرية جميرا الدائرية - Jumeirah Village - Dubai - United Arab Emirates
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3 Lessons Solo Travel Has Taught Me About Myself

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The idea for this post occurred to me during a week where I’ve actually been really occupied with solo travel plans, so it seemed apt to put pen to paper (read: fingers to keyboard) to speak to the concept of travelling as a party of one, and why it is something you should never rule out. First things first, solo travel does not need to be an entire holiday where you are on your own 24/7 (but if you like the sound of that, by all means shoot for the stars, doll). It can take the form of booking a spot on a tour group who run a set itinerary, or getting in touch with independent guides in the area beforehand who can suggest and arrange activities for you (all to be covered in future posts). So just bear that in mind as you read this. We are not talking seclusion-in-a-cave-for-a-week here (but go for it if that sounds like heaven). When I sat and contemplated the life lessons I have learned from experiencing solo travel, I came up with 3 main lessons that I’m willing to share here. But t...
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Zoom in progress

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Please, please - don’t X out of this after reading the title, I swear this has absolutely nothing to do with Covid, lockdowns and all those other sweat-inducing trigger words. But the hack I want to speak to today is a really valuable one I’ve been practicing in the last few months, and it involves liberal use of the word ‘zoom’, so consider yourselves warned. Don’t worry - there isn’t a quiz at the end. Tapestries are huge works of art that stretch across walls, and when you put all the pieces together, they tell a story. An overall narrative. Consider the tapestry as a metaphor for life. Oftentimes we are so guilty of fixating on one tiny chunk of that tapestry, like maybe a 10x10 inch piece out of the top corner, and magnifying it and wrapping ourselves up in it so much until it’s all we can see. Nothing else has come before this vignette and nothing else shall come after. This A3-sized nugget IS my whole life. This cognitive glitch is what I have begun to refer to as zooming in . ...
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Location: Dubai - United Arab Emirates
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Pushing through pain with positivity

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I am taking inspiration for this week’s blog from the 140km of cycling I somehow managed to put up this week (yes, yes, I know, hold the applause, please). This included the Limerick Greenway, from Barna to Rathkeale, and the entirety of the Waterford Greenway - both of which I would highly recommend for your summer staycations as they are flat for the most part and have many scenic stops along the way as well as an abundance of amenities. The weather was dry for all 3 of my days out, bordering on hot at times, but overall the cycling was enjoyable and manageable. There were moments, however, where the going got tough - mainly, dealing with that chronic ache that slowly develops in your behind from sitting on an uncomfortable piece of rubber for 6 hours on end, as well as battling the heat of the last few days, something to which we Irish are sadly not acclimatised.  Coping with these physical discomforts was made a lot easier, mind you, by employing some of the mindfulness and gra...
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Sunny spellbound

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Right now in Ireland we are going through a national heatwave (highs of 28-29°C , y'all!!) and there is room in people’s minds for little else. All we can think about is nabbing the perfect spot at the beach, devouring our ice-creams before they melt, and being sure to lather on enough factor 50 to protect our delicate skin. We’re stressed out from it all, but at the same time, we love it. Therefore, it felt right to dedicate this week’s blog post to the sunshine and the impact it can have on our mood. Let me be the first to say that I low-key can’t cope with the fact that I am writing about the weather. This is literally the stuff of small-talk parody, and no-one is more aware of that than me. Having said that, I for one have always felt a deep emotional connection to balmy weather as it brings back the best memories: family days out at the beach as a child making sandcastle villages (yes, villages - the Trenchs were extra), holidays in France biking around the countryside and can...
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