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Sure is teaming up with London studio, House Of Voga to bring Voga to Ireland for the very first time, next Saturday the 25th of July at Merrion Square Park from 11:30am to 13:00pm.
Voga is an energetic fusion of Yoga and Voguing and the class will be lead by House Of Voga founder Juliet Murrell.
Last week, I received an e-mail from a Dublin startup called Meetingsbooker who are currently running a project called ‘My Favourite Meeting Place’ to discover the best meeting places in Dublin. One of my favourite places has to be the Chester Beatty Library.
It is in the centre of Dublin located in the grounds of Dublin Castle and listed in the Lonely Planet as “not just the best museum in Ireland, but one of the best in Europe”. In order to gain access you walk through the beautiful Dubh Linn gardens which is usually packed on a summers day. This is a lovely place to take a book and relax on a bench or have coffee on the grass with a friend. The museum is completely free and runs great events throughout the year. One of my favourite things to do lately is their monthly Qigong on the Roof Top Garden. The museum houses the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty with a strong focus on the Orient showing his interest in Islamic, East Asian and Western Collections. They are always showing interesting exhibitions. Their beautiful Silk Road café with its middle-eastern dishes is also worth checking out.
It’s definitely worth checking out – don’t just leave it for the tourists.
There is nothing better than taking a mid-week day off and a lunchtime trip to the theatre. Bewleys Café Theatre are currently showing ‘Weighing In’, a fast-paced comedy about life, love and dieting – and how we just need to adjust the scales to find the right balance. It was laugh-out-loud funny and the perfect lunchtime treat.
Starring the perfect team of Isabel Mahon as the uptight, diet-obsessed posh newcomer Pam McGowan and Rose Henderson as the fun-loving, easy-going family woman Breda. After one Easi-Slim meeting the two women strike up an unlikely friendship with Pam encouraging Breda on her quest to shed those stubborn pounds. It is Pam’s enthusiastic energy and obsession with calories that creates the most laughs. The only thing I found a little distracting was the annoying chatter when Rosaleen Linehan voiced the Diet Leader. As their friendship grows and Breda starts to lose the weight, it becomes clear that beneath Pam’s slim exterior lies an insecure woman whose life isn’t as perfect as she makes it out to be. The play doesn’t take itself too seriously and the script is well-written. It is on till January 24th and definitely worth a look.
The sad news of Bewleys refurbishment hit the papers lately but be glad in the knowledge that Powerscourt are hosting Bewleys Café Theatre in the interim so lunchtime theatre lives on.
Things to make you smile…
An Ode to Dublin – Dublin in Words
In this beautiful video, Dublin slam poet Stephen James Smith recites, Louis MacNeice’s poem, ‘Dublin’ the poem over a series of stunning, thought-provoking images of the city.
Say it with Photos
Wasn’t our summer just fab? “Summer days drifting away”, a beautiful video of Dublin City, Ireland at summer time from Hedgehogs vs Foxes and Dublin Town, captures it perfectly. Enjoy!
After having gotten hooked on TED Talks on the Internet, I was thrilled to hear TEDx Dublin 2014 was being held in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre on the 13th September. For those not familiar with TED Talks, TED is a nonprofit devoted to ‘ideas worth spreading’, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less). TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.
TEDx are independently organised local events that happen all around the world. TEDx Dublin is organised by the Science Gallery at Trinity College and 2014 was their eighth such event. It was sold-out weeks before and the theatre was packed with around 2,000 people.
The event included 13 speakers over six hours. During the day, we heard about life on Mars, the power of solar disinfection, the social impact of language, the encouragement of women in politics, designers helping fix everyday problems to make a difference, the Irish prison service, homophobia, the effect people are having on our environment, the change in libraries as well as the invasion of jellyfish!
My favourite speakers were David Puttman, Kevin Gildea and John Lonergan. Lord David Puttman, film producer and public policymaker, challenged us to get angry about climate change and realise we all have a duty of care to the next generation. Kevin Gildea, award winning writer, comedian, and actor, made us laugh about the language of nothing. John Lonergan, the retired Governor of Mountjoy Prison, got the biggest standing ovation of the day as he spoke about the Irish Prison Service and the poverty trap. The day was truly inspirational and enjoyable as well as being educational. It made us question the landscape of the future.
Image taken from Language Lens.
What a lovely way to start the day….Rave your way into the day!
Morning Gloryville Dublin is coming to The CHQ Building on the 6th of August.
Morning Gloryville is an immersive morning dance experience for those who dare to start their day in style. Nothing wakes you up more than a soul-shaking dance, electrifying music and for those who need it, a mind blowing double espresso!
Another beautiful video capturing the essence of our wonderful city. Enjoy!
Last Wednesday Emily From China Village organised the third lifestyle bloggers meetup this time in one of her personal favourite spaces Coppa Café at the Royal Hiberian Academy on Ely Place. I can see why she loves it – located at the entrance to the gallery, it is bright and welcoming. The staff are very passionate about what they do and they put service and food at the forefront. There are lovely little touches like the table napkins being made by Frederico’s Italian momma!
This was my third lifestyle bloggers meetup and I always come away with more inspiration and contacts in the growing blogging world. Everyone is very friendly and helpful and it’s lovely to put faces to blogs. We were welcomed with a refreshing cocktail before being treated to a range of speciality sandwiches, frittata and salad with a glass of wine. Unfortunately I had eaten before I came but the food was delicious. I will definitely be back when I’m hungrier so I can enjoy it. I was lucky to share my table with Priscilla from Woke Up in Dublin and I also met the lovely Ajda, a food stylist as well as catching up with Alex of Hydrangea Girl and Rincy of A Little Bird.
After we had been fed and watered – Emily organised a helpful swap-shop of resources and ideas where we all shared either an idea or asked for help with something. This was a really good exercise. I was looking to connect with more bloggers and luckily both Lauren from The Dare Project and Holly from Sweet Like Cinnamon were also looking for similar so hopefully this will lead to interesting guest blog posts by both soon – watch this space!
I really enjoyed the night and sharing blog stories and tips with fellow bloggers. We got lovely goodie bags from Etsy and Tiger to take home. Thanks to Emily and Coppa Café for organising and hosting a lovely evening.
So are you one of these people who have to trick their bodies into exercising like I do or are you one of the lucky ones who love it? My sister and friends all laugh at how I try the newest fad in exercise but I say whatever works for you, bring it on! I thought I’d share a few types of exercise I like.
Yoga
I was lucky enough to discover yoga early on and I loved it. I tried many different types and classes and teachers until I found the one that suited me. I still remember getting the leaflet with red butterflies on it through my letterbox and thinking that this would be perfect and it was. It happened to be Hatha, the more gentle yoga [typical, huh?] focusing on strength building exercises and poses. I have been practising for ten years or so – still not as flexible as I’d like to be but I dread to think what I’d be like if I hadn’t found it.
If you’re looking to practice, I’d recommend Open Mind Yoga in Pearse Street if you’re near Dublin City Centre. In recent times, I have branched out to try some new trends in yoga such as Anti-Gravity or Aerial Yoga and Bikram Yoga. Unfortunately neither are for me – the anti-gravity yoga was far too energetic and acrobatic for me but if you like hanging around like a bat and doing backflips then it might be for you. Bikram yoga was far too hot and disciplined but if you like to sweat it all out while trying to contort your body into various shapes then it may be the one for you. Yoga really is for everyone – you just have to keep trying until you find the perfect fit for you.
Pilates
Another exercise I swear by to keep my body operating is pilates. I discovered pilates purely through necessity after having both neck and back problems, my physio recommended it to try and tone or at least locate my core! I still haven’t found it completely but thankfully my neck/back problems have lessened through regular practise. I’d recommend the Pilates Centre in Clontarf. As well as offering mat classes, they offer Reformer [using the machines] and Barre Blitz [a combination of pilates and ballet using the Barre]. I’ve also tried Arc Pilates using a step barrel to ensure proper posing. My favourite has got to be the mat classes but I would recommend trying the Arc or Reformer classes if you haven’t done pilates before to get you into the correct postures and Barre Blitz if you want something at a faster pace that is more of a challenge.
Dance
Another exercise that I love is any form of dance and I’ve tried them all from Salsa to Zumba to Bokwa! It’s like the fun way to exercise. I started off with salsa dancing classes and progressed to trying Salsa Slims with Stepping Out. I then progressed on to Zumba when the Zumba craze started. Having the attention span of a flea, I have now moved on to Bokwa, which is movements based on sign language using numbers and letters. I even dragged a friend to a workshop with the creator of Bokwa, Paul Mavi – she was convinced we were joining a cult! It is definitely lots of fun. My newest fad is Piloxing [not the nicest name, I grant you] – a combination of pilates, dance and boxing. All a great way to work out and highly recommended for the fun way to exercise – get your body moving.
Aqua Aerobics
I’m not a huge fan of the water not being a strong swimmer but aqua aerobics is another low impact exercise routine and good fun. I tried Aqua Zumba over the summer and found it great fun and great exercise.
Trampolining
Lastly, I fell in love with trampolining through Boogie Bounce. It involved bouncing around on a mini trampoline. Unfortunately our instructor, Emma, went to Canada for further fitness training so my Boogie Bouncing days were cut short. I did try Jumpzone, Ireland’s largest trampoline park located in Sandyford Industrial Estate, Rebounding classes. This was more like trampoline bootcamp and is not for the faint-hearted. I almost passed out with shock – it was definitely more cardio than I was used to!
I think once you put exercise to music and do it in a group situation, it is much more enjoyable and the hour flies by. I wonder what exercise fads 2014 will bring but whatever it is you’re sure to find me there! 🙂
Girl from the Hills Blog 