A Life Less Ordinary with Sophie Elwes - Karen Darke MBE - Training her brain to become a Paralympic champion, climbing El Capitan as a paraplegic and learning to enjoy the process

Karen Darke MBE - Training her brain to become a Paralympic champion, climbing El Capitan as a paraplegic and learning to enjoy the process

03/01/21 • 48 min

Karen Darke tells me about being injured aged 21 in a mountain climbing accident and how she overcame her fear of heights following this accident to eventually climb El Capitan, as a paraplegic using just her arms. She shares with me her story from first riding a handcycle to becoming a Paralympic champion in Rio in 2016, helped, along with a lot of training, motivation and hard work, by an understanding of how to train her brain and reframe negative thoughts in order to manifest a positive outcome.
She tells me about her trip when she cross-country skied across the Greenland ice cap where the challenge lay not only in the physical exertion for a month, but in managing her disability under such extreme conditions. She credits being part of a team with a common objective as a huge part of what makes each adventure particularly special.
Karen has done a lot of work in personal development and brain training and shared some fascinating insights about how to combat negative self-talk and achieve goals. She works as a transformational coach and, alongside training for the next paralympic games, is passionate about helping others remove blocks to success and reaching their potential through helping them train their brains.
Recorded live at the Back Up In the Cloud festival.
karendarke.com
backuptrust.org.uk
accessadventures.co.uk
@sophieelwes

Previous Episode

Siena Castellon - Being ruthlessly bullied, not fitting in with neurotypical norms and being awesome and autistic

Siena Castellon is an 18-year-old advocate, author, mentor and Young Leader for the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She is autistic, has dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD. After being eventually diagnosed with autism she wrote The Spectrum Girl's Survival Guide: How to Grow Up Awesome and Autistic, which is a fantastic guide for neurodiverse girls navigating a neurotypical world.

We discuss the stigma around autism in girls; how, because she was undiagnosed and consequently misunderstood by teachers and pupils alike, she was ruthlessly bullied throughout her school life and was failed by a mainstream education system that did not appreciate her learning differences. Getting a diagnosis of autism meant she wanted to support other neurodiverse girls which led her to setting up a mentoring website and writing her book.

She talks about autism as a superpower, about challenging stereotypes and we speak about how we need to support and enable those with autism to thrive in a world that is set up for people who are neurotypical. She talks about Neurodiversity Celebration Week, her conception, which has been adopted by an increasing number of schools in the UK.

Siena is an absolute trailblazer, who is having a huge impact through her work. Her views about how we view neurodiversity are important and her advice will be useful for many people.

Next Episode

Megan Hine - How routine saved her life, recovering from Lyme disease and how to find your inner resilience in these challenging times

Megan Hine is a survival consultant, producer, adventurer and television presenter. She is also the author of Mind of a Survivor.
During her career she has survived a snakebite, Lyme disease, being shot at and hunted by a lion, amongst many other things.

An Ambassador for Scouting UK, Megan is passionate about enabling children and young people to experience the wealth of benefits that being in the outdoors and in the wilderness can bring.

We talk about how we are not equipped with the skills to cope with the stresses of modern day life, she shares some valuable thoughts about finding our inner resilience as well as some great advice about having a healthy relationship with social media.

Often being the only woman in a role that is typically held by men, Megan is on a mission to diversify representation in the industry.

We discuss the power of routine, and how its actually saved her life in the past and how creativity can be the key to survival.

Working with a wide range of people from A-list celebrities, to local tribespeople, she is extremely versatile. It was fascinating about hearing her experience meeting uncontacted tribes and how these experiences have taught her a great deal about communication and working with others.
@megan_hine
@sophieelwes
For more information about Lyme disease see globallymealliance.org.