A Balancing Act

A key to keeping active throughout your life is doing things that you enjoy. Balancing on the slackline is something I enjoy very much, for a number of reasons:
It promotes mindfulness, as you can't worry about the bills or anything else while you're slacking over water; if you do, you go splash!
It's a great leg and ab workout, and because the line will stretch, it's like a really skinny trampoline, so maintaining balance while walking is a challenge in itself!
It's a great way to develop the mind-body connection, as breathing and self-awareness are central to staying on the slackline, but over-thinking will also cause you to fall off!
Its great fun, and allows you to explore movement in a new way.

Mal Kelly Slacklines for Tralee Circus Festival with Blennerville Windmill in the background

As part of keeping balance in my own life I have been volunteering for several years with the Tralee Circus Festival, where I get to combine my clownish hobbies with my love of learning and teaching. It's something I always come away from feeling invigorated and inspired, if utterly exhausted due to burning the candle at both ends for the few days!

A few weeks ago, we did a promotional photoshoot for the festival, which incorporated the slackline. and made it to page 8 of one of todays national newspapers. This year, as usual, I will be giving slackline workshops as part of the festivals free workshop programme. Why not drop by and say hello?

Take a moment

A beautiful sunset at the beach

I've recently been making a point of  taking a moment to find something to be grateful about every day. I  suggest you give it a try. It has allowed me to remember how breathtakingly beautiful the world we live on truly is, despite all the problems and troubles it has.  It only takes a few seconds a day &  I'm definitely calmer and more centered as a result of doing this for only a week.

Stress

Stress is unavoidable. There will always be stress. Stress in itself is neither good nor bad, it simply is. How we perceive it and react to it is important. Stress is commonly described in terms of being positive or negative. Eustress is a stress that is perceived to be positive, or useful. Distress is the term given to negative stress, and this can be very debilitating.

The silent killer...

Getting stressed out occasionally is normal, and even healthy, so long as we have a way to deal with it. It is when that stress is not released that it begins to silently wreak havoc with our health. People have different ways of 'blowing off steam', and what works for one won't always work for others.


Many activities have been shown to help reduce negative stress, and these include:

• Breathing exercises
• Progressive relaxation exercises
• Meditation
• Yoga
• Tai Chi
• Running
• Juggling
• Surfing
• Hitting a punchbag
• Swimming

These are only a few of the many things people do to combat negative stress, the most important thing being that the activity removes the person (either physically or mentally) from the source of the stress, and occupies their full attention.