Elaine Macey | From dreaming to doing

In this episode India speaks to dreamer, do-er  and endurance junkie Elaine Macey. Elaine shares her unique relationship with moving on land and sea, from co-founding  dance company 4 Motion, to training as a yoga teacher,  completing ultramarathons on the Cornish coast where she now lives and finding courage after completing a coast to coast challenge in memory of her late father.  As a trained Blue Mind Coach Elaine shares knowledge of flow state and how nature can be used to heal and nurture the mind and body. This episode is not to be missed, you will come away feeling recharged, inspired and motivated after listening to Elaine speak so passionately about life!

Find Elaine on Instagram - @elaine_dancingyogi / @4motioncic

4Motion website - https://www.4motioncic.com/4motion-team

If you have any questions or would like to suggest a guest please get in touch! You can email India via indiapearsonclarke@gmail.com or send a message via Instagram  @india_outdoors / @finandflow / www.indiapearson.co.uk
~Music - Caleb Howard Almond ~

You can find this episode on iTunes, Spotify and many other podcast platform 

If you have any questions or would like to suggest a guest please get in touch! You can email India via indiapearsonclarke@gmail.com or send a message via Instagram  @india_outdoors / @finandflow / www.indiapearson.co.uk

~Music - Caleb Howard Almond / @oakandalmondcarpentry 

Transcript

India 0:01 
Hello, and welcome to the starter rebel podcast. I'm your host India Pearson. And I believe ripples are made when we connect movement with nature, not only for our mind and body, but also the environment t. This podcast is a platform for me to chat with inspiring folk who feel the same and have some fascinating stories to tell from their experiences. I hope the conversations that come from this podcast will encourage you to get outside, move dream big, and see what happens from the ripples you create. Time to introduce my guest.

India 0:40 
Elaine Macy is a dreamer and a doula. After training as a dancer, she co founded for motion, a community led company that celebrates inclusive dance, yoga, fitness and being outside in nature. As a self described adrenaline junkie, Elaine has run ultra marathons around the coast of Cornwall, paddleboard the length of the River Thames and swam around the Isle of Scilly. you'll most likely find Elaine dreaming up her next challenge was on the beach near her hometown of new key, either surfing sapping running or practising yoga or looking at the Atlantic Ocean. Her passion for nurturing the mind and body and nature has more recently led her to qualify as an NLP practitioner and blue mind coach helping others to discover their dreams and spark for life. And Layne embodies everything that starts with a podcast is about and I'm thrilled to have her on the show.

India 1:40 
Hey, Elaine, and welcome to the start original podcast How you doing?

Elaine
Really good. Thank you very excited to be here today.

India
Oh, it's so good to have you. And a little disclaimer, I've known Elaine for over 10 years now and have been privileged enough to follow her journey through life. But Elaine, if you could share with the listeners a little bit about your background. And you know where your ripples again?

Elaine   2:07 
Okay, well, I think if you were to ask my mom, you would save. From the moment I entered the world, I was quite a wriggly energetic child and couldn't stop moving. And I think that hasn't changed in my adult life now. So yeah, growing up, I quickly learned that I was a kinesthetic learner. And so I learned from doing and that kind of led me to my dance training and more enjoyment of doing dance as a child, which then led me to kind of go on to study dance and yoga and sup yoga. And I guess through movement has connected me with people and how I enjoy kind of living my life, just getting out there moving and sharing that with people. And you've even got a business for motion, which is all about movement. It is indeed Yes, a full motion. We're 15 years old. This year, we are a creative arts well being and cultural CIC, which means we're a community interest company. And we reinvest our kind of time and energy and profits back into our social mission. And our mission is to help as many people as possible, stay moving, stay connected, and just feel great and enjoy life. And we do that through dance yoga, fitness running retreats, youth training,

India 3:26 
online, online community. We also have a community studio and a social enterprise cafe as well called the loading bay. So it's everything you could ever ask for it. So there and I bet that keeps you busy. Yes, yes.

Elaine   3:42 
 so I run it with my good friend, Dean. And I guess it started in the first five years of formation when we were exploring what we wanted for motion to be and what it meant to us. So we did a lot of volunteering, international working with the wonderful epic Arts in Cambodia. We were commissioned by the British Council to work in Beirut on a youth engagement project in Bosnia and barley and just kind of engaging with these charities and organisations and kind of learning from them. And coming back really informed how we wanted to share what we were passionate about back in back in England, and the things that you guys do that are incredible. So I definitely would recommend everyone to go follow for motion. Now I know you've got a motto in your life. If you can dream it, you can do it. So can you share some of the crazy things that you have dreamt and then made happen? Yeah, I mean, one of them would be for motion. I remember vividly Dean and I sat around my mom's dining table going art, you know, I really want to teach I really want to perform and I really want to help young people and share creativity and engage people and we want to all what can we do so there was a lot of dreaming up some crazy ideas then that's for sure. And I guess another one

Elaine  5:00 
one that comes to mind is watching George Clark's amazing spaces series on camper vans. And I was closely inspired by that. And I just had this vision. I mean, I have a passion for travel and adventure and I really want to go and just experience my own country in my own camper van. So I went and bought an old royalmail ldv called bow and dreamt up adventures with her. And yes, six years later, we have explored many of the wonderful coastlines in Wales. Yeah, yeah. And I guess on a fundraiser, fundraising one, I was volunteering in barley in 2015. and wanting to do a voluntary and a fundraising project the following year, and so I created the giving it back project. So in 2016, I started in Ramsgate in Kenton I cycled ran, swam and sucked around the coast of England in in five weeks, and with move for six days, and wherever I arrived on the seventh day, I would volunteer, so I went and volunteered in a care home in Whitby, up in Yorkshire and I worked with a charity in nailsworth, a donkey sanctuary helping their social media. And yeah, raising money for Parkinson's UK and a taxi at the same time. So that was that definitely came out some crazy dreams. Yeah, I mean, to go around the whole coast of the UK. And what was the wildest car of that trip? It was just it made me fall in love with our country with the UK. I just was just blown away by the coastline. And particularly like up in Yorkshire Actually, I've never been up to that path before like Robin Hood Bay. And I think there was it's very similar to what I see from Cornwall. So you know, it's very beautiful. And the people on the journey were incredible. I remember arriving in Essex on my first I'd had to psych 120 miles. And I was waiting for my dear friend to come pick me up who was my kind of crew, and I ended up just hanging out outside of this pub actually exhausted and this, this older gentleman came up as Oh, you know, you Okay, would you like a drink and he ended up buying me a cookie and a drink. And then he found out he had, he was what 87 and he cycled in when he was 75. From john o'Groats to Land's End. And I'm like how, in this moment in time, in the middle of nowhere, I've connected with this other guy, he's had this amazing, amazing cycling adventure. And so it was the stories, the stories on the venture, were just incredible. It's amazing. When you meet somebody that you never knew existed, you have this connection, and they have similar experiences to you. It's just, I think it proves just, you know, getting out in nature and doing what you enjoy doing connects you with other like minded people, even though I forget the guy's name, but it just felt like it was we were meant to bump into each other that day. And but I think how lovely that you didn't have to have known his name, to have made a connection that has clearly, you know, lasted a lifetime that memory is still with you. Now, I know another one of your crazy challenges was going coast to coast. Is that rice, right from one end of the UK to the other? Yeah. And I know that you describe this time is quite a turning point. So what happened during this challenge, sort of to make it so poignant? Hmm, yeah, so that the coast to coast fundraiser you mentioned happened or started in January 2019. And I guess if I backtrack slightly to how I got to that point, it was really interesting thinking about this question because in 2018, quite a lot of things happened in quite a short period of time. And in my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. So I went home and supported her through that and she came through it and fighting fit now. And I also had a relationship breakup. So there was some heart ache involved. And I also acknowledge I hadn't really dealt with the grief of my dad who passed two years prior to that. And also at the time, I was living in Windsor. But I acknowledged in my heart I really wanted to be by the coast in Cornwall, so I had this kind of guilt thing going on about I really want to be with forumotion my mum and my community Windsor by also free lane, we'd like to be in Cornwall, so lots of stuff was going on. And that kind of led me to see the wonderful Cherry Hill turn a coach

Elaine   9:22 
to kind of work through that who she then introduced me to NLP. And I then went on to study my NLP practitioner programme in 2018. And that just that training course with a wonderful Lizzy from going coastal, opened up my mindset and reminded me of my life motto motto, if you dream it, you can do it. That actually anything is possible. If we kind of are in the right mindset and you set your intentions and any clear of how you want to show up in the world. You can do anything. So I was like, right next year 2019 I'm coming atcha So yeah, as I say it starts in January 2019

Elaine   10:00 
I started by doing the arc of actuation 50 mile coastal run from the Munich theatre up to porthtowan. I swam around the cities. I ran up the coast of Cornwall and Devon to then arriving Gloucester and then jump to my surfboard at the source of the River Thames, and paddled sources see the River Thames in six days, 155 miles and over 20 hand blisters later, to arrive in Teddington in London, where my wonderful cousin Lyle met me and we jumped on our bikes and then cycled 114 miles from Teddington to Ramsgate in in Kate where my dad was from so kind of this starting from the sillies Cornwall up across through the country and out the other side. Yeah, and I'm sure making that connection between, you know, where you've ended up in Carmel.

India  10:52 
And where your dad grew up in Ramsgate must have been really special for you.

Elaine
 It really was, it was special on so many levels because I am I learned,

Elaine   11:02 
ironically, at my dad's funeral, by some story shared by family members at the age of 14, they moved from Watford to Ramsgate. And my dad was the eldest of four and he didn't want to leave, he would kind of refuse so he refused to get in the in the family car to drive to their new life in Kent. So we just got on his bicycle, and he cycled from Watford, which is all football town, and cycled 114 miles to Ramsgate on his own age 14 at a time when I'm sure there's no GPS or bikes with gears and you know, that fancy stuff. And I just thought, how did I never know this about my dad's and everyone's like, that's where you get your insurance from? That's where you get your, you know, just get on with it. And it just totally inspired me. And yeah, it was really special to end that adventure, cycling the same journey that my dad did for charity as well for cancer research. So yeah, and and to do that, and then be able to think I can do anything now. Oh, totally. And, and I think that's, yeah, I think the power of the mind, once you were very clear, and what your values and what you enjoy doing and what you're passionate about, then just going out there and doing it and living and breathing. It is just such a sense of achievement and enjoyment. And, yeah, I mean, I remember when I was in India, doing my yoga teacher training, we were doing a sunset meditation, a particular technique, and I just came out of his meditation An hour later, and I was like, I'm going to do an Ironman. So I got back to my room and then logged on and paid for an Ironman looked into an iMac. And then I went to go, I haven't got a clue how I'm going to do an Ironman. And then I spent about a month panicking, and then spent the next five months learning how to do that. And again, that kind of dream it do it just get out there and give it a go. And actually from doing that, that has reinforced the mindset of anything's possible. Yeah. Now that, you know, once you've done a nine, man, anything is gonna seem easy, or easier, I'll say easier. And now only when you touched on the fact that he went out to India to train as a yoga teacher. And being a yoga teacher myself, I'm always really interested in people's journeys to discovering yoga, and then wanting to train as a teacher. So yeah, how did you discover yoga, I find yoga I, as I mentioned, I've was introduced to dance at a very young age and enjoyed that as a hobby, but then went on to study dance at Coventry University. And at the time, it was kind of offered to us as an additional class primarily to develop flexibility and strength. But I had an amazing teacher and a really lovely group of friends that we enjoyed our Wednesday morning, Ashtanga class and was really taken by Annie at the time, it was quite a physical way of training, I wasn't really kind of deep dive into the philosophy of it, I just saw it as like, This is making me feel really good. And yeah, can't get inflexible. But when I came away from that training, and had some other life events occur, like a relationship breakup, that kind of, I found, I got a bit lost in what I wanted to do. And I kind of had a dip in energy. I was like, you know, I really feel like I want to immerse myself into learning and experiencing and embodying yoga. So that kind of led me to India, where I studied down in varkala in Kerala, for six weeks and went with the intention of I'm doing this to immerse myself in it not with I'm going to become a teacher.

Elaine 14:35 
But when I came out of that I was I'm really excited to share this with people I think because I was a dance teacher, I am a dance teacher. Before that I kind of really then became fascinated by how the movement of dance and now inclusive way of working through full motion can like fuse yoga as well. And I just think it's a beautiful way that I've just kind of experiencing ourselves, our breath our energy, and you know, it's not

Elaine  15:00 
Dance is not for everyone but I you know, yoga Yoga is so that kind of took me to my yoga training and then I mean I love the water I always have done no open water swimmer and on my attempt to surf and kind of remember seeing a supper, paddle pass while I was swimming in Bray lake where I used to swim in Windsor and I was like, Oh, that looks interesting all I want to find out a bit about that. And then kind of went on to study my sup yoga teacher training and then became a trainer to help other yoga teachers become some yoga teacher trainers through the wonderful suffit like me, you taught me my sup yoga teacher training down in como started to Great. So, so good. You know what, what I love about sup yoga, and what kind of pulled me to it is that when I was on my paddleboard practising, it would take me to this really meditative state,

India  15:58 
which I later discovered has a name flow state. And I know that's something that you have connected with, too. So if you could tell us a little bit more about what flow state is, and how you feel in that flow state bit on your paddleboard doing yoga or even dancing that day.

Elaine
I mean, I guess from a textbook point of view, it's a psychological state of positive mindset. So we say that when we're in a flow state that we're feeling energised, and we're feeling alive.

Elaine   16:34 
And I guess how I interpret that through my own personal enjoyment of moving and also what I enjoy sharing with people is that it's when the body and the mind and the energy align, and we are living and breathing our values. And we are just out there being present. And I, I read recently, a wonderful quote from Eckhart Tolly, who says he describes it as an feeling intensively alive. And I just think that captures it so beautifully that how lucky that we are here now. And that we can be swimming or, or cooking or dancing in our kitchen, and we are just being ourselves.

Elaine   17:11 
Yeah, I again, like referencing a wonderful author, Sir Ken Robinson, who sadly passed away last year, but he wrote a book called the element and finding your passion. And he kind of described is it This isn't what I do. This is who I am. And I think that to me, is what I feel like I am when I'm in my flow state, that is me. That's true, authentic strip back there, Elaine, dancing, swimming, yoga, ng running, whatever that is. Yeah. And now I know that I've had a lot of sports people talking about it, but a surface talking about it even had basketball players, but you don't have to experience it, you know, doing a proper sport, so to speak, I know that I've experienced it just just jumping in the waves, and having fun.

Elaine   18:00 
But yeah, it's about sort of being totally in the moment. Yes, definitely, totally being present, which, you know, if we go back to our yoga experience, like the breath, how important pranayama and breathing is to us, and often we use that as a way into our physical practice. And that, you know, we are all living beings with without breath, we wouldn't be alive and that prana that energy is that then brings manifests into our physical form, and we can enjoy that by any means that we wish, but it's the essence of our energy just being.

India  18:37 
Yeah, and I think it's important to realise those times when you've been in that flow state.

India 18:45 
And to do that more, you know, I've got I've got memories of being in that flow state as a child, you know, jumping in the waves and having the best time and then, you know, totally, totally disconnecting from that through my teens, and early 20s. And then, now, it's only now that I've realised that I need need that more in my life, and I've reconnected with it.

Elaine   19:10 
And it's something that I think we should all realise that we do what fuels our soul. Totally. And it's so lovely to hear you reminisce on that song, because that's exactly why I experienced this morning kind of thinking about this talk. And, you know, I'm a big believer in getting myself in the right state and frame of mind. Before I want to show up. And, you know, for me, I started by going to run along the coastline and wanted to see the sea, I wanted to get muddy and feel my breath. But then I just got an urge to jump in the sea. And it was I was just jumping the waves and I was laughing and giggling out loud going I just feel like a child and as adults. When do we get to do that? I mean, we should do this more right way. It's um, yeah, so it's just lovely to be in that flow state and doing whatever makes you happy but embracing it and

India 19:59 
yeah,

India  20:00 
recommend to anybody listening right now, take yourself back to a time when you believe you could have been in flow state, you know, that might have been things like last month, dog walker or something or might have been, you know, way back in your childhood, and whatever that was, see if you can recreate that and do that again, because it is such a liberating feeling and do more of it to

India  20:25 
now, it's clear that nature plays such a big part in the way that you move, and even more so. Now since you've moved down to Cornwall, but has that influence of nature in the way that you keep yourself fit and healthy? sort of changed the way that you see the world?

Elaine
Yeah, it's a good question. I think I've since moving to call more I have have a more affinity to nature for sure. I think I'm very lucky that I've got the ocean on my doorstep and that I make a conscious effort. You know, I love my cold water swims and I'll do that a good couple of times a week and for my own well being and to just check in and go oh, I'm alive. Yeah. Okay, let's now go about my day. And we've just got such beautiful coastlines on I love my running and my walking and in the warmer months, doing practising yoga meditation on a clifftop overlooking a beautiful sunset. It's just, I know that makes me happy. And I know that when I'm in a state of stress or worry, or I've got deadlines happening and that, you know, we could get bogged down in I do, but I think it's knowing that you've got those self care little toolkits of like, Okay, I need to shift that now. What do you need to do? I can, I'm going to go for a walk, I'm gonna go for a swim. I'm gonna go do some yoga, whatever it is, and for me doing that out in nature,

Elaine   21:46 
kind of re energises me. So yeah, I think I've done that more that connection between my practice and moving and exercising outside since I've been in Cornwall. Yeah. And it's great to hear how it's affected you from a physical point of view.

India 22:02 
But how has it also affected you your mental health? You know, do you need to get out in nature to support your mental well being? And do you notice a difference if you haven't been able to get out and, you know, go for Coldwater swim that day, for example? Definitely, yeah, I definitely had one of those dips a few weeks ago, I think, you know, after that third lockdown announcement is like, Oh, here we go. Again, the weather is rubbish is cold, the snow was coming. And there was a bit of wallowing there, which you know, I am an advocate of acknowledging that and actually not moving because actually the hot, I find it harder to not move than to move. So

Elaine 22:42 
I noticed that I sit when I sit there, and I just allow myself to feel that that's fine. But if I let it continue, I know that that mindset and energy is not conducive to how I want to show up and have the energy I want to bring to my work and my life. So I then, you know, wrap up and feel battered by the elements and reinvigorated and then Okay, it raises the serotonin, the vitamin D works. It's magic. And, you know, I feel like I come back with more clarity, more energy. And yeah, I'm grateful for the 40 mile an hour winds and side.

India  23:17 
Yeah, and I think it's really interesting to hear you talking about recognising when you need to slow down. You know, I'm very similar. I like to be outside moving and doing stuff. But sometimes it's important to know when you need stillness, and also recognise and not feel guilty, that it's okay to sit on your sofa for a couple of days, and just eat cake. Five to that, yes.

India  23:48 
But yeah, it is super important to recognise these times. And obviously, you don't want to be sadness over eating cake for the foreseeable future. But it's okay to do that for a couple of days. If your body really needs it if your mind really needs it. I know that before we started recording, we were chatting about a book that I've recently been reading, called wintering by Katherine Mae. And it's all about you know, embracing the quieter times in your life. And obviously, lockdown beside lockdown really embraces that. And interestingly,

India  24:23 
we have experienced it during winter, when, you know, you look outside at nature and make sure he's taking a break. There's no colours, you know, the trees. It's a little grayer data shorter. And maybe we need to make note of what nature is doing and do the same for ourselves and take that break so that when spring summer comes around with Philip energy, and we can you know, embrace the world. It's about finding balance. It really is. I mean, life is all about balance, isn't it and that kind of thing.

Elaine   25:00 
musing versus stillness. And, you know, there is something I love about I mean Autumn is one of my favourite seasons, you know, you get that beautiful kind of warmer, the ocean still warm at the start and it kind of winds down. But I think there's something quite nurturing and you know diving into hibernation if you look at nature, as you mentioned that they kind of the, the animals and the creatures are going to sleep for a while, and the seeds are under the earth kind of hatching and they're ready to kind of harvest. And I just think, you know, we can relate to a lot of those kind of systems and movements that nature does and has done for all the time and how we can kind of mirror that. And I think he's honouring the time and listening to the body when you just need to stop. And I'm still learning that one. Yeah, we're all on a journey. We're all always learning all the time. Now. I know that earlier on, you mentioned that you were our NLP practitioner and a blue health coach. And for anybody who doesn't know what an NLP practitioner is, can explain a little bit more about this and why you decided to do it. Yeah, for sure. So NLP is neuro linguistic programming. And as my wonderful coach Lizzy describes it as having a meaningful a meaningful existence. So this idea that we kind of start reflecting and learning about our language patterns like that internal chatter, I don't know if anyone else out there relate to that kind of like, you know, oh, I'm not good enough or or I'm, I can't get that job or I'm not worthy of feeling loved or whatever it is that internal chatter happens but sometimes that can then manifests into our, into our belief systems and our language and our our body language and how we communicate with other people. So kind of the NLP modality really is to kind of really understand that and then to you know, understand our belief systems and they could be limiting or liberating You know, when I think about a limiting belief it's you know, that I'm not good enough versus you know, what, I am good enough and the language that I tell myself is that I'm I am awesome and I'm going to go out there into the world and live it and therefore maybe more possibilities open more connections have made and so I came to my NLP training as I mentioned in 2018 through a series of kind of personal life experiences that made me really want to understand the Did you duality of the mind and the body I've got a real fascination about the power of the mind and how for me I'm still trying to work this out how I can share and navigate that through my dance and my yoga and my SAP and and the things that I offer through for emotion. But then that led me on to training my blue health coaching course last year, which

Elaine   27:49 
was just the perfect union of the NLP and what I enjoy in nature because it's a coaching call So ultimately, we're here to listen and to help other people navigate their own belief systems and states and help them find their happy but ultimately we do that outside in nature. And you know, we can we look at we will compete cheers, we can go in the sea, part of my training was, it was in October, it was red flagged on the beach and Morgan pull off, you know, no surfacer louder. No one was in and living we were in the group, we're like, we're going to do this. So kind of just running into the ocean very sensitively only up to our you know, thighs, but just feeling that cold water and acknowledging the shifts that happen that all of a sudden, the stress that you brought to the day or the month is irrelevant, because right now nature water is is forcing you to be present. It's It's It's igniting your breathing system, your respiratory system, which in turn shifts your mindset. And then all of a sudden, you dive into these kind of conversations of coaching and then new conversations and new patterns and new metaphors are evolving for the landscape that we're immersed in. So it was just a wonderful experience to kind of go from NLP into blue health coaching. And, you know, fortunately, because of the lockdown, I haven't got to actively work with people face to face, but the plan is to primarily work with young people, I'm really passionate about helping people's mental health and well being, but you know, getting out on the beach, having conversations getting in the sea for a swim or a chat and helping people find their financing. Yeah, and I often think, you know, this sort of materialistic world that we find ourself in

Elaine   29:32 
can sort of mask the fact that nature has all the answers and if we just take time to observe what's going on in nature, it can help us guide and guide ourselves in this life that we're on. And if we if we just we just look hard enough. And even if you haven't got a landscape of a beach or you know, of the ocean, you know, looking out your window and looking at the movement of the clouds and tapping into where

Elaine   30:00 
The weather systems are that day and you know if it's battering like hail or snow or side wind and you know in your in the city or the town just go out and fill that because

Elaine   30:11 
the idea with the NLP, you're really tapping into your senses. You've kind of what can you see what can you smell? What can you feel on your body and that sense of a lot intensively alive is Eckhart Tolle. He says, like, nature is there, it's a free resource, and it's in abundance wherever we are in the world. And I think sometimes we lose sight of, of tapping into that and allowing nature to guide us and essentially, as us as humans, fundamentally getting back into our natural beings, you know, we weren't born to be attached to our laptops, or zoom, or our smartphones and Facebook and, you know, all these emails that young people and as adults we experience, we, you know, we were born to kind of be connected to the earth and, and I believe that, you know, the more connected we are with the earth, the Kinder, we're going to, we're going to want to beat to it. And I know that you're now vegan, and you know, you do a lot of things like litter picks. And so have you noticed this, this this ripple? Definitely, yeah, I think about my journey, you know, I'm from West London originally to then go and live in in Windsor for 14 years very lucky to have the lakes and the River Thames and the forests there. But then to find myself coming to Cornwall, where the space is more vast and expansive and rugged, I, it's, I feel an affinity now, particularly with the water, I just, you know, a bit of a water baby and

Elaine 31:35 
when I'm swimming, and I'm with my goggles looking down, and I can see passing that really saddens me and I just, you know, another quote that is, is really I'm really passionate about is, you know, Gandhi is very famous, you know, Be the change you want to see in the world. And that I'm is really stuck with my heart now, like that is my promise to myself and the planet that I want to show up, be the best version of myself, treat people how I want to be treated and treat wildlife and nature and the ocean, we you know, it's so precious we, we all know the effects of what's happening to the planet right now. And I just think if we can all litter pick wherever we are.

Elaine   32:12 
The food choices, and you know, how I shop now is different. And yeah, it's just having an awareness of the bigger picture. And then we all play a really important part to that. I think it's very easy to think, Oh, it's a huge problem. What am I going to be able to do but but we can, you know, these little little changes can make big differences, indeed, is you know, down to, you know, from designing go to a vegan, the fascination about

Elaine   32:41 
you know, really researching about where the food's grown and how I shop local and even, you know, to the bottles in the not wanting to buy plastic bottles and how can I recycle. So I've got this cupboard full of all old containers now, which I'm so excited to put my new herbs and spices in. So yeah. And then making that enjoyable. It's not a chore. It's not like, yeah, I'm vegan. Oh, you're missing out? Oh, no, I am feeling alive. I've got more energy or It's so lovely to walk on a beach without rubbish. Like, how amazing is that? So we all play our part and we all get to enjoy it right? Yeah, there's such a positive answer to all of this in it sort of doesn't make sense. You know why we're not doing it.

India  33:23  
Now, obviously, you're a bit big advocate for nature. But nature can sometimes be a little scary. It can be a little overwhelming. I think it's really important that we remember this. And remember to respect it. And has there ever been any times when you've been a little little overwhelmed by the elements? I love this question.

Elaine 33:45  
Let me back to a time which is one of the best days of my life when it came to doing an endurance event because I do I do like giving them a go but it was back to the arc in 2019 to the start of the coast to coast where I attempted my first 50 mile ultra marathon

Elaine   34:04  
from

Elaine   34:06  
yeah south coast of Cornwall to porthtowan and it was 15 hours of running the coastline at the end of January during most of them in darkness up until midnight. And you know I'm not fine in the dark and I love the coast but it's very different in winter in the dark when it's like side when battering you rain sippy Cliff sheer drops down and I do remember at one point going What are you doing? Like why are you doing this? But in that moment it was again Mother Nature just saying you are alive you're alive. Okay, you're you're safe to the point where you need to keep your your your wits about you. You can only see a metre ahead with your head torch but I just think it was a it was initially I was like oh my god, this is really hard and I'm cold and I'm but then I was like actually Elaine, how lucky are you to be able to do this mother

Elaine   35:00  
Nature is reminding you that you're alive and kicking, and you're not giving in and get your ass up that hill because you are crossing the finishing line.

India 35:08  
Especially as you pay to do

Elaine   35:13  
Yeah, yeah, it wakes you up, doesn't it? And like you say, you know, it makes you very grateful to have a healthy working buddy that that can power through what was going on? Exactly. And I just think we're, you know, we're alive right now. Why? Let's make the most of it. How can we just get out there? Live? Do what we want to do. And I am Yeah, I was grateful for that.

Elaine   35:34  
I think that's one of the great things about the UK, actually, you know, we have the seasons, we have the sun, the snow, the rain, the wind.

Elaine  35:43  
So, you know, it keeps us on our toes. It really does.

India  35:48  
So do you have any other challenges coming up? You know, any more ideas bubbling? Yeah, there's some things bubbling, it hasn't been fully formed yet. But it kinda is going to be linked to a Guinness Book of Records attempt,

Elaine 36:03  
culminating a building on the giving it back that I did around the coast of England and the coast to coast, you know, there's going to be an element of moving. And there might be some swimming, there might be some running. And I'm hoping some dance as well. And kind of combining for motion. We're really passionate about connecting communities. And I think more so than ever, this last year has been such a challenge for so many people. But we're going to try and work out a way of kind of reaching those people connecting people through dance, but at the same time, I'm going to be running or swimming and raising money for charity. So that's kind of it very vaguely, but that's kind of where I'm going, huh?
 
India
So watch this space. And okay, so looking back at the ripples you've made in your life, what are the biggest lessons you've learned keeping your mind and body healthy?

Elaine 36:51  
Good question.

Elaine   36:53  
I think with age getting a little bit I'm not going to say wiser at all because the kid at heart but I think just knowing when to press pause, which I said I'm learning is learning to press pause and really listen, like really listen and feel what your body mind and energy is telling you. I think I'm I'm learning the ripple effect of kind of diving in enthusiastically as a child and active active Dance, dance, and then actually experiencing burnout in my life, and breakups that have kind of affected my mental state or other things going on that actually if we just press pause, and embody how we're feeling, we can make informed choices of how we then want to move in a different direction. And I think once we kind of breathe and acknowledge the energy on how the body is feeding, we can then show up and

Elaine   37:42  
yeah, enjoy life. So that would be my, my takeaway, I guess.

India  37:48  
So beautiful. And if anybody wanted to, you know, follow your journey and you know, continue to follow your ripples. Where can they find you and and for motion to AWS?
 
Elaine
Thank you so you can find us at formation cic.com all our socials are formation CIC as well on Instagram and Facebook. And if you want to come and hang out on my Instagram, it's Elaine. underscore dancing Yogi. Elaine underscore dancing Yogi. Yeah, definitely do get to see Elaine dancing in our kitchen over on the beach. It makes sense. It really does. Yeah, thank you so much, Elaine, I carried on talking to you all day long. Thank you so much for having me. And I'm just really inspired by what you're you're sharing with people. So thank you.

India  38:42  
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the start every podcast. If you'd like to be heard, then please do subscribe and write a review. It helps other like minded souls find this podcast and means you'll never miss an episode. If you want to get in touch then the best place to find me is by Instagram. I'm at with underscore India or you can find my wellbeing hub at Ben and flow. Thanks again and speak to you soon.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai