Wandering Into Wellness

***warning this episode contains mild sexual references as part of an educational resource*** We are living in a secular state. Or are we...? Sarah Sproule is an occupational therapist with a difference. Her online presence focuses on how to have conversation with our kids about sex as they start to become curious. Without feeling uncomfortable. Without running away.   Her work has been profoundly helpful in giving parents practical tools to help their kids grow up with a safe working knowledge of their biology, of how to manage consent (which starts much earlier than you might imagine, and really protects your children from potential harm), and helps our households to unpack generations' worth of the unspoken issues around sexuality, sexual health and living as respectful, compassionate and sexual beings under one roof as a family.   But our country's national primary schools are still connected to the Catholic church, and their messaging around sex education is QUITE different to what we and Sarah would consider to be healthy, inclusive and progressive in the 21st Century. Listen in and learn how Sarah's approach can help us to prevent an outdated model of sex education from inhibiting the next generation and helping bring conversations about sex out from the dark corners and into the light for all our benefit.

Homeopathy provides a valuable toolkit and Julia Edgely is an expert administrator of all its powerful repertoire of remedies. Tune in to learn some really simple fundamental tricks to manage health in your own home.   Building resilience as a parent is a lot about getting to know your own child's health. What is a normal temperature for THEM? What are the early warning signs to tell you when they're coming down with something. How do you treat simple symptoms and self limiting ailments at HOME, and preserve the doctor's surgery for those that really need it?  Learn all this and more in this great primer on the ABC's of homeopathy for kids.

Where Has Yoga Gone Wrong And Are We Dead From The Neck Down?   Kind of a prickly set of questions but we found the BEST lady to try to paddle our way towards an answer.   Somatic movement is a lost language in most of our endeavours. Whether mindlessly bingeing another Nextflix series, or deadlifting our PB, the usual result of human experience is ill health. Tanya Fitzpatrick as a yoga teacher and practitioner stands like a firebrand in opposition to this slide into malaise.  We discuss and consider what got us to this point in unembodied movement and living, and start to ask the question...Can a better body mind relationship be the secret to a better, longer, less sick life?

Nobody can tell Denis Healy he doesn't do enough for our planet. From planting literally thousands of trees and flowers every season around his organic farm in west Wicklow to preserving and introducing new wetlands and watercourses, Denis' farm is a flourishing empire in celebration of the bounty of nature.   To many of those out there in our capitalist society, Denis may just seem plain crazy, recklessly planting and ploughing what profits come from a small market garden business back into the land.   His instincts are so strong for his craft of growing and tending plants, both edible and not, that his actions are like a man possessed, possessed by the spirit of abundant nature, and committed tooth and nail to leaving this earth, at least the part of it he can influence, in a better state than when he started on it.   He's a beautiful man, and his affection for his family and his burning passion for life in all forms is infectious. We want a bit of what he's having....

Essential oils are harmless.  FALSE. Essential oils are powerful plant extracts.  TRUTH   In this brief but comprehensive walkthrough, Eliane, our resident aromatherapy expert, takes you through what oils are safe for use with kids, and how to use them.   From soothing our stressed out young folk, to preventing winter ailments, you'll want to have a pen at the ready as Eliane brings you through the critical recipes to build into your routine, and the list of essential oils to use safely when dealing with children.  

Our new slot pitches our guests to consider and confront some unusual aspects of their or their partner's birth process. First up - Ed Stafford - Adventurer, survival expert and all round wilderness guy. Catch our full length deep dive with Ed Stafford on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts🚀💯 @yogawithlydia @thehopsack @edstafford

You can imagine Ed might have been talking about himself at one time when he says, "I find tough guys quite comical". From a conventional rugby playing, beer drinking, macho-man-adventurer kind of background, Ed Stafford has come a long way. Through his treks up the Amazon and most crucially his solitary time whilst making the TV show "Naked & Marooned", he got to spend a lot of time disassembling and reconstructing his identity. A year or so after filming, Ed suffered a complete mental breakdown, something he discusses quite candidly in his writing. We chatted through the struggles of isolation with Ed, and his tools to bring mental fortitude even in the toughest of times. He makes it seem so simple. So, um, perhaps it is...? Thanks to Nuzest Nutrition (Ed is an Ambassador for the lovely nutrition brand, as are we) for hooking us up for this delicious chat. Grab a cuppa and cosy up for this one, and thank Ed who's gone there so you don't have to....even though you probably should!

Laura Kehoe believes in innate human soundness. But she also see the systems we've created that allow psychopaths to reign, and that reward behaviours of domination and control.   In this revealing conversation you'll start to see how simple the switch is. How much we have to have faith in human kindness. But how having that faith isn't enough now. That it's decisive action that needs to be taken. And yes that means personal change. But now more than ever it means shouting from the rooftops to our political representatives. That THEY need to enact change. That it must be RADICAL. And that we will support them throughout.   Go and find more out about Laura and follow her @laurajkehoe on Twitter and get chatting to her - also log onto 400trees.org - where you can be a REAL changemaker - Laura set this program up when she realised that if each person alive today planted 400 trees, the world would be back to where it was before "we invented the axe". Time to get active people.

Eliane is the ACTUAL aromatherapy expert we've been waiting for.  Practicing for over 30 years now - she was talking essential oils before the berlin wall came down.  So when you hear her recommendations - this is not a half assed influencer with a 2 day weekend course in the topic.  This lady has written more than 10 books on essential oils and their various applications - from immunity to female hormonal health.   She now devotes her time to teaching the teachers - lecturing in the chemistry of aromas. We wanted to bend her ear on the very hip and happening topic of immune system wellbeing - how to assist it, how to top it up, and what to do when the world and this lockdown winter gives you the full ocean of the blues.

When you see an image of a mother breastfeeding her toddler, what does it make you feel? In this podcast we are discussing the realities of extended ( or more accurately 'Natural Term' ) breastfeeding in the western world. Given UNICEF's statistics that 77-91% of women in countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Rwanda and Malawi are breastfeeding over 20 months, you could be forgiven for thinking that we didn't have a job to do to encourage mums to take up breastfeeding. But it seems that countries with higher incomes and education such as our own ( Ireland ) - where only 13% of mothers continue breastfeeding to 6 months and beyond - have a crisis on their hands. Maria O'Sullivan is just one of a growing population of mums who have taken breastfeeding through to its natural term; allowing their children to wean when they are ready and therefore giving their babies a wealth of emotional and nutritional advantages, as well as incurring many health benefits themselves such as lower risks of breast cancer. According to the WHO, even a modest increase in breastfeeding could prevent up to 10% of deaths in children under 5, given this statistic, it seems imperative that we band together to try to improve not only education but more importantly support for breastfeeding mums across the globe.  Tune in to hear Marias story; as a single mum who has practiced extended breastfeeding with all three of her kids and gone on to train as a lactation consultant, providing valuable help to countless mums over the years she is uniquely placed to discuss this challenging topic.   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

Are you a mother already? Or a mama to be? We know the struggle is real. Mums all too often get stuck in that "keep calm and carry on" mindset, burying their own needs in the daily struggle to keep everyone else happy and catered for around them. This isn't the sign of a connected, healthy and compassionate society. We don't think anyone in their right mind wants this to persist. So how can we seek to change it? And when it gets right down to the wire - how to be a warrior mother and be the author of your experience when you're alone and vulnerable in the maternity ward? When transitioning through birth, how can mums find a voice and address these things - and how can we foster our nation of mums and show them that we believe in their needs and want to support them. Because as we all know - a society full of happy and healthy mums is most definitely going to make the world a better place.

***This podcast contains conversations around infant loss. Please be careful of who's listening*** Let us tell you a story about bravery. A story of grief. Of loss. And one of true courage. This is also a story of finding joy in what can seem like dark and heavy times A story of a life that although cut short in the cruelest of ways, still inhabits the world and plays a role the family they were just getting ready to join. Rachael Fionda is truly a brave mother. Having suffered the loss of her baby boy, Wolfhart, just months earlier, she felt compelled to share her story with us on Wandering Into Wellness - which we recognise as a very special gift. Her story is powerful, and traumatic, but also uplifting, and we hope, empowering for the many mothers who may have walked a similar path. But for all of us, opening ourselves up to the worlds of grief, death, and loss is useful to develop our language around these topics and to come closer to understanding the emotions involved. To be able to connect with greater vulnerability in a moment that we will face many times throughout the journey of our lives. Our deepest thanks go to Rachael for talking to us about her experience. Rachael has since welcomed another baby to the world. Her little girl, Cordelia was born on the 23rd of March, and we are thrilled for her and her family. Rachael mentions the charity below who provide memory boxes to parents going through baby loss. https://feileacain.ie/remembering/feileacain-memory-box   Another resource for parents who resonate with Rachael's story is the Other Side of The Door Journal - a journal which aims to support women & men who have experienced miscarriage and baby loss. Find out more about it here https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-other-side-of-the-door-journal      

No time in life requires more support than early motherhood - for child and parent alike, the journey starts out with huge pressures on both nervous systems as life throws more and more on a pair that just need to take rest and seek connection. Through her own trauma, losing a child soon after birth, Sara came to EFT and with the help of this powerful tool she processed and released the grief and cured herself from the PTSD that engulfed her. She went on to train professionally and now educates mums and others online to free themselves from their own trauma. Her new journal, "The Other Side Of The Door", is an effort to put a powerful tool into the hands of parents who suffer the loss of an infant, to help them navigate and come to terms with the devastating loss of a child. The Other Side Of The Door Journal is set for release within a few weeks, so we felt now was a good time to release this powerful conversation.

Did you know: At the 1 minute mark post partum, midwives make a judgement of a newborn's state of health with a scoring mechanism known as the APGAR test? Well. This is not that test. We scrambled around looking for a birthing expert to consult on our podcast. But silly us - one was there staring us in the face - Lydia's own midwife Ali Murphy came on our podcast to talk all things birth in the way birthing is today, what's good about it, and what needs to change early last year. This time she's back - with a set of rapid fire quiz questions sent in from you listeners and viewers - the burning questions you have about birth - from recommendations for VBAC preparation, to iron deficiency during pregnancy. Whether you're a new or expecting mum, an experienced momma, or just a curious head like Finn, you'll learn lots from this birthing quick fire quiz.

From her own journey in birth, Layla experienced the support given by a post partum doula, almost without even knowing it was happening. After leaving the German maternity system where this care is offered to mothers as a standard practice, and coming home to Ireland to have her third baby, she felt the other side of neonatal care with a degree of shock, recognising the trauma that can be experienced in the birth process and the profound change that was occurring to her as a mother, even at her third birth, and how this aspect of maternity care simply wasn't on offer here. And so with her grounding as a TCM practitioner, Layla has embraced the void and now offers the care that she noticed in its absence during her birth experience. Join us as we talk all things birth, and open up the conversation to this vital, yet unrecognised phase of maternal care - the Fourth Trimester.

In our first podcast back post lockdown from Covid 19 we got to speak ( whilst socially distancing so allow us any sound issues please) to the women’s health whizz that is Elaine Barry. Elaine is one of the physio day the Milltown Health Clinic here in Ireland and specialises in an up and coming area of women’s health: internal pelvic floor work. When lydia was pregnant she went to try out this type of physio and found it an invaluable tool in understanding how to teach her body to relax and open in preparation for the birthing process and has been singing its praises to her pregnant clients ever since. Elaine explains to us the myriad functions of the pelvic floor and why it is so vital to have not only an understanding of but also a connection to this vital area of our bodies. We look at the fears many of us hold around working with this area and the worries women have about the trauma it can receive during birth and the subsequent lack of function in the postpartum period. Elaine is so warm and relatable and clearly really cares about the women she works with and we are just so happy to be able to demystify what goes on during a pelvic floor physio session so that more and more people will avail of this amazing service. Grab a cup of tea , Listen in and spread the word please: let’s start a pelvic floor empowerment revolution 🙏 If you want to know more please contact Elaine @elainebarryphysio Or call the team at Milltown Physiotherapy Clinic who we are very grateful to for loaning us their lovely space to record in .

On a short trip across to us from her new homeland in New Zealand, Aisling Jackson (Browne - heehee!) stopped in to chat with us regarding all things birth.     Aisling's transition to hosting women's circles seems as natural to her as breathing is to most of us.  With what seems like a ready made ability to play this role of creating space and hosting women in this time of vulnerability, growth and transformation.  Helping women to face up to the shift in their identity, to owning and honouring their new reality, and inhabiting motherhood in a truly powerful and graceful way.   We really enjoyed this casual chat where we dove into the birth experience from so many angles.  Aisling's attitudes highlight a really progressive approach to the practice of mindful motherhood, and it was really exciting to engage with a woman like her who is so open to sharing her own experience and really walks the walk in her own mothering experience.

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.

Maya Duncan is an old soul in a new way. By the tender age of 19, she has already been down a long path with health. Having come through some serious struggles with eating disorders in her early teens, through a supportive family environment and many hours spent in self analysis during therapy she has developed a toolkit and a mature attitude to her food habits that hasn't involved leaving her love of food behind.   Growing up in Hong Kong, and with a food writer for a mum, her early life saw her in a good relationship to food, but when uprooted to come to live back in Ireland, Maya suffered the all too common schoolyard bullying that was intensified due to her 'alien' origin and her strict routine as a dancer, and this allowed her diet to spiral and take an unhealthy turn. We discuss the environment for teenagers now and the landscape of challenges that they face, along with Maya's fiercely determined path to recovery. Her story is truly uplifting and her words will hopefully provide some support to those going through their own struggles to stay in right relationship with food.

How much do we really look after our eyes? No not the cosmetic alterations, not the billion dollar industries that put our eyes front and centre in the world of aesthetic beauty. We mean the ACTUAL eyes. The fine muscles in and around the eyes rarely get the attention they need. Taking in billions of images every second and coping with light and shade, a constellation of colour imagery AND trying to read the expressions of the humans we come into contact with - our eyes are put to the test daily, and with little reward. They're even working when we sleep! So take this 25 minutes to put the focus back on your eye health, toning the structures with simple eye yoga movements and a nutritional and herbal protocols that will preserve your vision AND help you get a little eye lift for those too tired peepers. Enjoy!