STRONG BODY, STRONG MIND

After years of trying to be everything to everyone else, Galway PR dynamo Lisa Regan discovered a new way to live, with a focus on what makes her body feel good. Here, she shares what she’s learned about living well.

Lisa Regan’s journey to finding mental and physical wellbeing

Hi I’m Lisa, 35 years old and a reformed multitasker. Since the age of about three, I have tried to be all things to all people. Only in 2020 did I realise that doing many things at once was not good for me. As a high energy person, I like being on the go and challenged mentally and physically. I have read and lived through being told to Lean In, then pull back, to be a powerhouse but to show vulnerability – of course, all whilst achieving every single thing possible in every area of my life through a curated social media window of success. So naturally enough, I felt wrecked. Who wouldn’t?

Since March 2020, I have changed. I have been in an introspective state of mind and have turned myself inside and out going through so many states of who I am, what I want and what I need. Asking probing, difficult questions and really sitting still to try and find out what it is that makes me, Lisa, tick, what brings me peace and joy and how to sustain this.

Happiness is the unattainable. It moves. It is not a static state and this, for me, was one of the biggest learning curves in my life to date.

I am a woman living in Galway and am someone who is outdoors more than I’m in. I whizz around the town on my bike, I hate driving, and I would rather walk than sit. I wear shorts all year round, much to the dismay of the people who encounter me daily. “Well, I’m cold just looking at you!” is said to me before a hello is even muttered. I love swimming in the sea and am now in my third winter of doing this religiously, and it has been one of the most joyous commitments I’ve made in my adult life.

My life motto is “keep it simple”. A simple life to me is a healthy one. This past year, my biggest challenge initially was the unlearning of old habits. Being productive and “getting shit done” was the model I built my business on. But this was now not serving me in my personal life. I truly needed to slow down. The badge of honour that has been created in our generation for doing 850 million things at once, the hustle culture of not only achieving things but then we all have to narrate and document all of this through social media, so we are again almost double jobbing… It is relentless and beyond tiring.

Last year, I looked long and hard at myself. I knew I needed to rest. I need to sit still. I need to take my energy down and just go with a softer, gentler flow. This has been a challenge for me. Not owning a TV means that draw to sit doesn’t really come, and so I didn’t fully realise how much on the go I am. But it was in the sitting, the daily morning meditations (which I started in November 2019), the journalling where I expressed my deepest, innermost heart and belly felt feelings that I have fully come to appreciate my own greatness of self. Journalling 2020 was a way to really understand my own feelings, and know that the dull ache of sadness for my own perceived failings in life are a huge component that make up me as an entire person. The deep rooted pains from our family of origin and the reflective looking back on decisions, relationships that simply didn’t work and how you fit into the world in which you have created is all a lifetime of work… but with time somewhat standing still, I had to really go there.

Why I swim

My morning routine is set in stone. I love the morning. Every morning, I wake up and feel genuinely excited about what the day might bring. (Now, these days it mostly brings the same thing, but it makes me laugh that I still get this slight twinge of “What will happen today?”) I wake and do a guided meditation with a gentle stretch, and each morning I start my day with a press-up routine. Then it’s out the door with Toby my dog for his morning stroll and then we head for Blackrock in Salthill for the swim. Where we choose to spend our time matters to our sense of wellbeing. I love this time, on my bike. The world is quiet and the sea is to my left as I get to cycle the easy 3km. The community of people here, your friends

and the early morning risers coupled with the challenge of getting into that cold, cold water each day… Well, it binds you and makes you feel very connected to nature, your place in it, and your sense of self. A lot of women are self-conscious about the wearing of swimwear because of their perception of how their body appears to the world. Forget that! No one is looking at you. Stop missing out on experiences and being your authentic self because you think there’s something not quite right about your body.

Why I walk

Walking and movement outdoors for me is meditation; it’s therapy. In the first lockdown, the weather was sensational, and I think the country fell in love with the place where we lived. People were actually just discovering little quirks where they lived for the first time. It was like the world was suddenly theirs for the discovering! Naturally, we are all about the step goal, perhaps slightly addicted, but on a human connection level. The importance of getting out, making eye contact, smiling, saying hello to people can fundamentally change your mood and day. We need human interaction. I have met more people in the past 10 months out on the cruise, pounding the pavement because I am all about the “Howya now” and the smile. It has opened up an entire new world to me and in terms of physical health, it is the best and simplest form of exercise to help keep in shape. Also for your mental wellness, a 20-minute outdoor walk can help ease your soul on those weary days and when you’re on top of the world, it only heightens your buzz.

Why I lift

Weight training has been the best decision of my life. Forty-five minutes of training, and my body is strong, my mind is focused, my limbs are lean, and I am helping to increase my bone density. It is all about the mind-body connection. I fully switch into my body and what I’m doing. Technique is everything. You need to start slow, with light weights and get the fundamentals right. As a first step for anyone new to weights, do some research to see if there is a local personal trainer or gym offering online classes. If not, you’ll find some very good coaching resources online. I’ve recently discovered Caroline Girvan on YouTube and really enjoy her weighttraining classes. Slow movements, great form and strategic training is, for me, the biggest draw. I have transformed my own body with moving it with respect, walking, running, cycling, weight training and yoga. This is where my internal battle with hating my body for so long was resolved. I wanted to reclaim my own power and start with at least trying to love my own body for what it can do, not how it looks.

This is lifelong work, but I can say now that at 35, I am definitely one day closer each day to loving this amazing body that allows me to do all the things I love with ease and grace. Find what movement you actually enjoy and do it. Ask yourself today, are you performing at life or living it? Because it’s in the living true to your authentic, beautiful self that the magic exists.