I could get used to 4 day working weeks and 3 day weekends!
You might know that I love a bit of forest bathing and nature walks and for me they have been in short supply this year but I really did manage lots of outdoor mind, mood and muscle healing activity this weekend including a bit of gardening inspired by my secret crush, Monty Don!
My edible patio garden of fruits, veggies and herbs in pots is ‘on the go’ plus supporting acts in the form of plants and flowers that attract pollinators. Now it’s only small and I’m certainly not a pro in the garden but it gives me so much pleasure.
Here are a few reasons why I love my little herb garden and edible patio plants and why I know that it does me good.
- Growing your own is great for mental health and mood boosting. Being outside nurturing plants, breathing their scent and enjoying their foliage, flowers, blossoms and eventually eating them is bliss, tasty and rewarding!
- Talking to your plants boosts the happiness hormones in us humans but also benefits our plants too! The Royal Horticultural Society researchers discovered that talking to your plants really can help them grow faster. They also found that plants grow faster to the sound of a female voice than to the sound of a male voice. Also “some research shows that speaking nicely to plants will support their growth, whereas yelling at them won’t. Rather than the meaning of words, however, this may have more to do with vibrations and volume. Plants react favourably to low levels of vibrations, around 115-250hz being ideal.”
- Practising gratitude is really good for Mental Health, I know you think that I’m bonkers but I go out to my edible patio and tell my plants how beautiful they are, how lovely they smell and thank them for the flowers and fruit/veg/leaves! Hearing myself be thankful reinforces my PMA!
- Of course I choose to ‘farm’ organically and pesticide free which means I know exactly what is in the food I’m growing to eat, ensuring I get maximum nutrition and no toxic nastys.
- It tastes better than the food that has been transported, stored and sold in our supermarkets, and it has retained more nutrients.
Here are some health benefits of ‘easy to grow at home’ herbs
I am fully aware that my little efforts are probably not cost effective but the benefits to me are priceless.
Go steady
Remember to build up to any heavy gardening such as hedge trimming, digging and so on. I often get messages from clients who have gone from no time spent gardening to a full day and are suffering with aches, pains and strains and they are desperate to book in for a massage with me. I know my Chiropractor, Osteopath and Physio colleagues are the same!
Start with small, light jobs and build up the duration and intensity over time just like you would at the gym or when starting running or cycling!
I promise you if I can do it so can you – even a small herb garden by the back door or the window sill is beneficial, try it!
So what shall we do with this 4 day week?
Well let’s get together for some fitness, dance, fun and friendship of course!
INDEPENDANCE!
Bookings are open for our last Independance event of 2023 with the adorable and super talented teaching ace, Jo Ali.
Book today for a £10 Early Bird offer! You can follow the link or email me and pay via Bacs to the UK Fitness Academy account.
DYBO Membership
Is the most cost effective and convenient way to join the DYBO fun. If you take class more than once a week it’s cheaper than pay as you go, plus you get free access to DYBO TV so you can take a class at any time of day or night, when you want to, at your convenience – and you get a discount on all one to one DYBO services (Personal Training, Sports Therapy, Health & Fitness, Gut Health and Wellbeing consultations, NLP/Life coaching).
Please Note DYBO T’s and C’s
Membership fees are to be paid and cleared by the 1st day of every month, BACS only.
Book all classes in advance via email or direct message helen@dybo.co.uk.
One months notice must be given if you wish to cancel Membership or take a Membership break.
Only one Membership re-start per Calendar year.
Memberships are for one person, the Membership holder only and are not transferable or refundable.
Barley & Broccoli Risotto with Lemon & Basil (found on BBC Good Food)
This meal is packed with great fibre (which is good for our Microbiome and keeps us full for longer) and vitamins plus the basil is not only tasty but anti-inflammatory! PS it’s vegan too.
Ingredients
- 100g whole grain barley
- 2 tsp reduced-salt vegetable bouillon powder
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 chopped large leek
- 2 cloves garlic
- Pack of basil ( approx. 2.5 oz/70grms)
- Generous squeeze of lemon juice
- 125g tenderstem broccoli
Method
- STEP 1
Pour a litre of cold water over the barley, cover and leave to soak overnight.
- STEP 2
The next day, drain the barley, reserve the liquid and use it to make 500ml vegetable bouillon. Heat half the oil in a non-stick pan, add the leek and cook briefly to soften. Tip half into a bowl, then add the barley and bouillon to the pan, cover and simmer for 20 mins.
- STEP 3
Meanwhile, add the garlic, basil, remaining oil, the lemon juice and 3 tbsp water to the leeks in the bowl, and blitz to a paste with a stick blender
- STEP 4
When the barley has cooked for 20 mins, add the broccoli to the pan and cook for 5-10 mins more until both are tender. Stir in the basil purée, heat very briefly (to retain the fragrance), and then spoon into bowls to serve.
Have a fab week – I can’t wait to get working on our Summer fitness and figure regime!
Love ya,
Helen x
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DYBO Live & Online – This week’s Classes are as follows:.
At All Hallows, Farnham & DYBO Studio, Church Crookham (Book in Advance only): Zoom class details further down the page.
Tuesday (AH)
6.30-7.15pm: 5 in 1 Fitness – with bands, handweights and mat.
7.30-8.15pm: Dance Fit
Wednesday (DYBO Studio)
6.30pm Old Skool, Step & Strength – Step, hand weights and band.
7.30pm Barre Fit – Something to assist balance like a barre, eg. chair, worktop, mantlepiece etc.
Thursday (AH)
6.15-7.20pm: Contemporary Stretch – various equipment used at each class, contact me for info.
7.30-8.30pm: Dancespiration
Friday (DYBO Studio)
6.30pm Freestyle Fitness Yoga Express – Release, Restore, Recover and Deep Stretch.
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Joining us at All Hallows? – Protocols and information
I’m so happy to be able to run Face to Face classes at All Hallows and at the DYBO Studio in Church Crookham. My primary objective is to ensure that we all have a wonderful time with effective and fun classes that are engaging, relaxed and of course, safe.
To ensure that is the case I just want to share with you our class protocols to inform and reassure everyone. Not everyone has been out and about much over the past, almost 3 years, and some of us are more anxious than others about getting back to ‘normal’ life and activities since restrictions have been lifted. Please be patient with each other and me – I have the responsibility of keeping you all happy and safe whilst complying with governing body guidelines and providing the best experience possible.
*Denotes for you to do, the rest is just info…
Preparation
1) *Firstly ensure that you have booked by sending us an email info@dybo.co.uk confirming all the classes you wish to attend plus your payment method, be it as a member, using your voucher, or pay as you go.
No on the door bookings or payments can be taken. Bookings are not refundable or transferable. I will keep records of all attending.
2) *Preparing your kit bag/box. This depends upon the class you are attending.
Boogie Fit, Dance Fit and Dancespiration crew will only require your indoor trainers/dance shoes to change in to, sweat towel, and drink.
Total Tone and 5 in 1 crew – currently I am not sharing equipment in a group exercise setting so you will need your mat, a resistance band and light hand weights/equivalent in addition to your trainers, sweat towel and drink.
Contemporary Stretch crew need a mat, band, chi ball and at times 2 x tennis balls and a sock!
3) Re borrowing equipment – if you would like to try a class or have forgotten equipment then you may borrow equipment on that occasion and please ensure that you sanitise it before and afterwards (sanitising products supplied). I can assist you with sourcing your own equipment
On the night
*Please park in the playing courts and walk between the old school building and new sports hall, up a few steps on to the outside seating area, the studio door is to your right.
*Participants are required to arrive, enter and be in their personal exercise space between 5 and 10 mins before the class,
*Please change into your clean trainers for indoor activity as you enter, e.g. slip off your outdoor shoes, place in your bag, walk to activity area then put indoor shoes on, the same in reverse to leave. This is to maintain the hygiene and cleanliness of the space, avoiding stones and glass being walked in and potentially causing injury and to protect the lovely new wood floor.
*The toilets are open to use but please arrive changed, ready for activity so as to keep use time minimal and avoiding cues.
I will be sticking to class times for sanitising and ventilation purposes. Doors and windows will be open for ventilation, unless the weather is very cold, and if it’s hot, fans will be used to blow air forwards out of the windows and open door for maximum and safe ventilation. Our exercise space is much larger than the governing body requirements (more than double in fact) indeed the government have lifted all guidelines, so it will be easy to maintain 2m social distance but please do keep your distance as some of our clients are more vulnerable to infection and wary .
I will maintain social distance, however I will have a visor/mask if I have to come close to provide first aid etc.
After an entire teaching career facing my class participants with my back to the mirrors I have made the change (for now) to face the mirrors, this is for my safety in this strange Covid world, but I assure you that I will still be able to see everything you get up to and will coach, encourage and nag as effectively as usual!!!
*After a wonderful class and virtual hugs, change from your indoor trainers to outdoor shoes and sanitise your hands again if you wish.
*Please tell friends and family about our wonderful classes, I now have to rebuild my group exercise business after months away from face to face teaching due to the pandemic and more recently these flu and cold bugs.
When joining me at the DYBO Studio (No.42, GU52 0YA) I will send information directly including entrance code for the Studio and please note, advanced booking is required.
Fees, you have THREE options!
Please note that all Classes must be booked and paid for in advance and are non transferable or refundable.
Online payments only.
£7.50 per class.
10 Class Voucher: £65 (to be used within 12 weeks of purchase).
Membership: £50, unlimited classes, plus a bonus of free access to all class recordings on our DYBO TV channel, and another bonus of a £5 discount for one to one services for current membership holders.
To be paid by the 1st day of the month and is valid from the first to last day of calendar month,
One full month’s notice of membership suspension/cancellation is required with one membership restart permitted within a 12 month period.
Bank details are UK Fitness Academy Ltd.
Sort Code 09-01-28, Acc No. 04284324
Please email me when you have made a payment and use your name and what it’s for as a reference. eg. Jane Smith Class Voucher
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Joining us on Zoom? – Links and Information
Tuesday
6.30pm 5 in 1 Fitness Class
7.30pm Dance Fit
Wednesday
6.30pm Old Skool, Step & Strength – Step, hand weights and band.
7.15pm Barre Fit – Something to assist balance like a barre, eg. chair, worktop, mantlepiece etc.
Thursday
6.15pm Contemporary Stretch
7.30pm Dancespiration
Friday
6.30pm Freestyle Fitness Yoga – Release, Restore, Recover and Deep Stretch.
****** All the above classes change and vary weekly! *****
How to prepare your Zoom environment
- You need space to move 2 side steps, 4 walks forward, 4 backward. Move trip hazards and furniture as much as you can (get help, be careful!) to give you maximum space for upper and lower body movement. Roll up rugs or secure them so they don’t slip or cause you to trip.
- Plugging your device in to your TV with an HDMI cable is brilliant as it gives you a good picture of you (like a mirror) and me – as well as boosting the sound if you go through the TV/Hi-Fi sound system. If you can place your device under the TV, then even better.
- I know some of you are using your phones – try to plug in to a speaker system (even those little speakers we have when we go on holiday would help) so that you can hear better as you move back from the phone. Angie has tried Bluetooth earphones and it worked well.
- Ensure you have maximum access to your Wi-Fi in the house and as close to the router as is feasible. Take phones off the Wi-Fi system and pop them on to your 4/5G network or place on airplane mode, unless that’s what you are using to join us, obviously. Ask family to do the same for the duration of your class – keep them off the internet whilst you need the bandwidth. The more bandwidth you have, the better the picture and sound and the less likely you are to lose the feed. Your health is a priority at this time and I’m sure they can do something else for that short time!
- Ventilate your exercise space, have plenty of water and towels to hand, keep your exercise equipment close – if you need anything, let me know.
- Wear correct footwear for your activity – putting an old pair of socks over the toes and ball of your trainers will help reduce friction when exercising on carpet (if they are a really old pair, cutting the toes open and then just having them over the ball of the foot is even better). It’s up to you if you want to dance or train in bare feet but be careful if you don’t usually do this as it takes time for the muscles and connective tissue of the feet and rest of the body to adapt to barefoot training.
- Make your own gym equipment. Save laundry liquid or milk bottles – you can fill them with water or wet sand/rice etc. to add weight and make a dumbell/kettlebell. I recommend you make a few in differing weights and you have written on them so you know what they weigh and seal the caps with tape to prevent leakage. Get a heavy duty shopping bag and put weighty items in it, check they can’t fall out and you have a kettlebell alternative. Make your own hurdles, put cushions, pillows, boxes, books on the floor to jump over. Use household items as floor markers for circuit activities. The stairs and outdoor steps are great temporary steps/benches for cardio and upper body work. The garden is a great open space to make an assault course or if you can get a signal, take your class or PT session outside, but do make it safe.
Disclaimer
I declare that all of the information I have given (both written and verbal) is accurate and truthful. I know of no reason why I cannot participate fully in any exercise programme and I do not deem it necessary to consult my medical Practitioner/GP/specialist. I undertake to inform my instructor should any information change.
I understand that I participate at my own risk and that any information given is not intended to replace or represent medical advice. I agree to comply with all terms conditions and class protocols and instructions as outlined above and whilst attending DYBO classes/training.
Do not attend classes if experiencing symptoms of Covid 19, Flu or airborne transmissible infection or have tested positive.
Attending any DYBO class will assume agreement with above terms and disclaimer.
