Being On The Inside

Lockdown has brought an endless amount of emotional and physical reactions and our mental health is being put under enormous strain. I was curious in how mindfulness practices could be part of our coping strategies.

Dr Bill Paterson has many roles but one of these is mindfulness coach. He kindly took the time to chat to me about how mindfulness practices can help in coping with lockdown.

We chatted remotely but managed to cover some varied topics, such as how structure in our days may help our mental health. Concepts of nothingness, impermanence, spaciousness and how awareness may arise. How to deal with heightened feelings and anxiety. How self compassion maybe a better route to peace then self esteem.

This episode was recorded in week four of UK lockdown where I wasn't coping as well as maybe now and I open up about my frustrations

Bill inspired me to record my own compassion break heart mediation and this is included later on in episode for us to practice together.

Covid-19 has brought group and organised swimming to a standstill, with a lot of people using outdoor swimming to maintain physical and mental health I wondered how this was impacting on the swimming community

In this episode I chat remotely to Jenny Waring who is a ex competitive outdoor swimmer, her love for the sea and lochs in Scotland means she is regularly out swimming with Fife Wild Swimmers. We chat about how lockdown has effected our swimming and Jenny's return to the NHS during the pandemic.

You will hear about her and I sharing feelings of guilt, overwhelm, loneliness, lac of indepedance and fears of consequences , confusion around guidelines. Trauma and grief and the anxiety that had arisen for us during this time.

This episode was recorded when the temperature rose and the RNLI issued a statement advising people not to swim for the safety of themselves and others. Swimming outside has not been banned but guidance from the government not to travel to swim or to put yourself at risk swimming alone, the polarity of opinion has caused some online heated debates leaving a lot of confusion and sadly sometimes social distancing shaming. Jenny and I talk through this and more.

The second half of this podcast you hear a choir wonderful voices from the group Jenny and I swim with, Fife Wild swimmers. How they are individually finding their own ways to cope or not to, without group outdoor swimming.

In this episode I meet, swim, chat and share cake with Itamar Nitzan the founder of Dip your Toes in Wild Swimming Facebook page.

Itamar ́s page educates, inspires and welcomes new swimmers and old to his experiences and insights in outdoor swimming. One of the things he offers free of charge is to buddy an individual or small group who want to swim. With that in mine I invited along my wonderful friend Eilidh, who doubled up as co host and Guinea Pig.

We took a dip at Portebello, the for coming storm and 5 degree water temp didn't deter us. Eilidh hadn't been cold water swimming for a number of years so we have share some of our anxieties before on the journey.

This episode covers body issues, depression, bereavement, staying safe in the water, cold water acclimatisation, keeping warm afterwards, mindfulness, friendship, taking a break from life, rewiring, connection, aqua-meditation, lots of screaming and shared passion for the ocean and its deeply healing qualities.

So, if its tricky to get out in the water just now sit back and listen and enjoy.

Do you Love dogs? Does your dog help you through difficult times and is by your side when you need them?

In this episode I am joined by Janet Jones from CanineConcern Scotland, which recruits and manages the Therapet service in Edinburgh. Dogs of all breeds and their handlers visit places such as nursing homes, resisdental homes, hospitals, universities, airports, prisons, schools. They run schemes such as Reading with Dogs, Paws against Stress and Pets not pests.

Janet and I share some carrot cake and coffee and she takes me through what it takes to be a Therapet and her personal experience as a volunteer with her dog Fitch and what it means to her and her own well being.

My co-host and English setter Toby is assessed during this episode to see if he is suitable to become a member of the Therapet Service in Edinburgh.

Listen and find out if Toby passes the test or gets his paws on the cake!

This is part two of of wild swimming, health and healing. In this episode you are taken to Loch Lomond where half of the podcast was recorded in the water whilst Louise and I had a refreshing dip.

Louise was diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis three years ago at the age of 25. She opens up about the impact of this relapse and remittent disease has had on her life. How it has effected her physical and mental health. She takes us through what first lead her to being diagnosed. We discuss symptom management, swimming for survival, shame and anxiety, stigma and guilt around having an invisible illness. Her account is frank and honest, poignant and moving.

Swimming has been a constant source of physical and emotional support for Louise and as a swimming teacher she gives me some tips in how to swim safely in a loch. She tells me how loch swimming has aided her through some of the most challenging times of her life and how it has inevitably changed her forever.