At last there are signs of Spring and we are guaranteed daylight up to 6pm until October so that is exciting and uplifting! (oh my gosh, desperately needed)
I’m not an early bird so I must remember to deploy my blackout curtains or I will be grumpy from early starts and I know you don’t want a grumpy teacher do you? Ha ha ha!
I’m continuing with our Mindfulness March theme and this week the focus is mindful movement.
Essentially mindfulness is being fully present and focused on whatever it is you are doing; it might be breath work, it might be whilst out walking. Being mindful is possible whilst you are doing anything.
To be fully engaged with and connected to what we are doing at any given moment is really good for our brain health, mood and for reducing stress levels whilst increasing productivity and creativity.
Mindfulness is great for communication and relationships too.
Have you spent time with someone who regularly checks their watch or mobile phone? We are left wondering if they are listening to us, paying any attention or even enjoying our company. It’s not nice is it!
Many of us do this to ourselves too – you know checking your phone or emails when watching a movie, reading a book, doing some work and so on.
This distraction is really bad for brain health and function.
So let’s try to do one thing at a time without distraction – it might feel challenging to begin with, but this is how we all did things before mobile phones and personal devices and I’m certain it’s no coincidence that mental health has declined over recent years, particularly since we can get on line, use social media and apps!
I recommend that we are mindful when we take our exercise too (or as I like to call it out ‘movement medicine’).
Learning to be present and noticing the many elements of the movements we are doing will not only improve our form, technique, enjoyment and the effectiveness of our work but it also creates some mental head space and time away from thinking about our tasks, troubles and stresses.
When developing mastery in movement, performers and athletes will notice the many details of their activity (be it dancing, playing an instrument, sport , painting etc), fine tuning, balancing and adjusting the big and small details that make a difference. We used to call that focus concentration, of which there seems to be a lack of today!
I know that when I’m focused and fully present in my training or dancing, time flies and when I’m mindful I always feel lighter and happier during and afterwards .
As your teacher/instructor/coach I aim to support your full engagement with the activity you are doing, giving you things to focus on, i.e. the breath (how, in which direction, it’s impact etc.), where you feel the work, what is moving, what should be still, offering the opportunity for you to look inwardly at your body connecting with how it is working and performing with each action. Often, especially in our mind-body and dance classes, I invite you to consider how we are thinking, feeling and what we are noticing!
It is often easiest to be mindful with slower and repetitive activities initially e.g. directed breathing, stretching and mobilising. Activities like Tai Chi, Yoga, Barre and Pilates often promote the opportunity for mindfulness (although it isn’t if you’re not!)
I’ve created this simple cat- cow routine for you to practice being mindful (it’s also really good for your respiratory efficiency and spine/scapulae mobility) .
The week ahead…
A fabulous week of creative and effective, inspiring fitness and dance including new choreography for Thursday’s Dancespiration class (it has a commercial Jazz style and Steve requested the track and is looking forward to our creation!)
Please remember no Yoga on Friday 22nd Feb (I’m dragging Declan to the Ballet, trying to instil some culture in him ha ha).
Due to client Holidays I have some, rare, one to one appointments available this week so if you would like an extra session or a ‘one off’, let me know asap.
BOOK NOW- and spread the word!
Join us for INDEPENDANCE on Saturday 27 April ‘24
With Helen Carpenter-Waters & guest presenter Nikkie Riozzie
Enjoy four creative and unique masterclasses;
- House is a Feeling – Nikkie
• Soul Motion – Helen
• Fluid Art – Nikkie
• Release – Helen
Location – All Hallows School, Farnham, GU9 9HF
Special Offer
Buy now save £5 – tickets only £34*
Normal price £39
*Offer ends Fri 19 Apr 2024
Please note, tickets are non-transferable or refundable.
Payment Options
Bank Transfer – reference ‘INDEPENDANCE Nikkie’
Name: UK Fitness Academy
Acc No 04284324
Sort 09-01-28
If you are doing a transfer, please send a confirmation email to helen@dybo.co.uk to confirm the name of the attendee and your contact number plus email address .
If you prefer PayPal get in touch for details.
Spring Veggie Carbonara
I found this recipe on an American site ‘Feasting at Home’.
And I’ve tweaked it a little. With my adaptations its really great for gut health
Let me know what you think!
- 6 oz pasta (I opt for Zen B yellow pea for lower carbs and no gluten)
- 8 pints water
- 1 tablespoons salt ( try to use less)
- 2 cups peas (fresh or frozen)
- 2 cups snow peas or sugar snap peas
- 1 cup asparagus tips
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil (my preference is nut oil, but you might prefer butter or Ghee)
- 1 diced onion
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 8–12 oz mushrooms sliced or quartered
- 2 cups wilting greens – arugula, chard, spinach (chopped)
- pinch salt
- cracked pepper
- 2 eggs, whisked.
- 1/2 cup parmesan (I go for vegan, it tastes the same)
- 1 ball burrata cheese- optional (but not for me, I love it ha ha)
- lemon zest from one small lemon
- 1/4–1/2 cup fresh chopped herbs – mint, basil, dill, or Italian parsley or a blend.
Cook the pasta: bring a large pot with 8pts water and salt to a boil. When water comes to a boil, add pasta and cook to al dente, (see directions on package). During the last minute of cooking the pasta, add the fresh peas, sugar peas and asparagus tips to the boiling pasta, turn the heat up to high and quickly blanch for one minute. Drain the pasta and veggies (reserving 1-2 cups hot pasta water). Do not rinse. Return to the pot, remove from heat .
While the pasta is cooking:
- Sauté the mushrooms in a pan – heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion until tender and fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic, and sauté until golden and tender 7-8 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add greens and sauté, stirring often until just wilted. Set pan aside.
- Whisk two eggs in a small bowl, set aside.
- Temper the eggs. Once the pasta is drained and back in the pot, gradually whisk in 3 tablespoons of the reserved hot pasta water, one tablespoon at a time into the eggs, to temper the eggs (to warm them up gently – so they don’t curdle). Stir well.
- COMBINE: Pour tempered eggs over the pasta and with a big wood spoon, gently stir to coat the pasta. Stir in the mushrooms, half of the lemon zest and half of the fresh the herbs, cracked pepper and parmesan, adding more hot pasta water as needed to loosen the pasta, and make it a sauce.
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
- Place on a platter or bowl and sprinkle with remaining herbs, lemon zest. Dot with dollops of burrata cheese.
- Serve immediately!
Have a fabaroo week.
I cant wait to mindfully workout/dance with you!
Love ya,
Helen x
———————————————————————————————————————-
DYBO Live & Online – Next weeks Classes are as follows:.
At All Hallows, Farnham & DYBO Studio, Church Crookham (Book in Advance only): Zoom class details further down the page.
Monday (AH)
6.30-7.15pm: Boogie Fit
7.30-8.15pm: Total Tone – with bands, handweights and mat.
Tuesday (AH)
6.30-7.15pm: 5 in 1 Fitness – with bands, handweights and mat.
7.30-8.15pm: Dance Fit & Fab
Wednesday (DYBO Studio)
6.30pm Old Skool Step – 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
—————————————————————————————————-
Joining us at All Hallows or The DYBO Church Crookham Studio? – 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.
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, please also keep a record of your own attendance too.
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 – in order to prevent cross contamination 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 on the last Thursday of the Month you will need 2 x tennis balls and a sock for our Trigger Point and Myofascial release class !
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 inexpensively, moving forward.
On the night
*When you arrive at All Hallows, enter the school via the gates to the left as you face the school and follow the road around the school buildings.
*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 5-10 mins before the class.
*Please change into your clean trainers for indoor activity as you enter, e.g. slip off your outdoor shoes, place 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 queues.
*After a wonderful class 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!
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.
45 min Class – £8.00, 60/65 min Class – £8.50.
10 Class Voucher: £75 (to be used within 12 weeks of purchase).
Membership: £55, 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 (at the latest) 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
————————————————————————————-
Joining us on Zoom? – Links and Information
Monday
6.30pm: Boogie Fit
7.30pm: Total Tone
Tuesday
6.30pm 5 in 1 Fitness Class
7.30pm Dance Fit & Fab
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
****** 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.
