Take a deep breath, hold for 3, 2, 1, and breathe. A practice I’ve been using for and sharing with friends and colleagues for years.
Call it meditation, yoga, getting in the zone or just chilling out. Whatever you call it, do it more often.
The pace of life in any city centre can often pull you along at such a pace that it’s hard to remember what you had for lunch, let alone who you met with for a coffee and breakfast. As we whistle along at high speed, it’s important to stop now and again to take a breather.
I recently took a trip over to North Wales with work colleagues to clear our minds - we spent time getting to know each other a little better and taking steps to increase our levels of self care.
Being sure to minimise our carbon footprint for the journey, we took a train, and what a great decision that was.
Having recently hung out with a US journalist who was working on a piece about Manchester and beyond, whereby I acted as dutiful ambassador for our glorious city, selling him the benefits of our connectivity to the beauty of the Lake District, the Peak District and our neighbouring country of Wales, I received a stark reminder - Manchester actually is a gateway to the North.
The picture postcard views on the outbound journey had us mesmerised. It was from this point that the inner calm began to take hold.
I’m what you might call a towny, I thrive in the buzz of metropolis and yet I found myself wondering what life would be like living in that beautiful glass fronted villa overlooking Menai Strait.
Reality strikes; it would of course be amazing, but a pad like this is a little out of my reach. I’ll settle for a yearly visit to a little cabin in the woods instead.
The dramatic landscapes in North Wales are breathtaking, the walking routes options are seemingly endless and there is a plentitude of new activities to take part in.
I hadn’t reckoned on gliding through the trees at high speed on a forest solo coaster, but I’d highly recommend it.
Of course, no trip to North Wales is complete without the obligatory visit to one of the seaside towns and amusement arcades. We opted for a rainy Llandudno and came away smiling from ear to ear, arms filled with bounty from the pier and nothing at all that can be described as “old tat” from some of the many charity shops that the town has to offer.
In Manchester we really do live on the doorstep of so many wonderful and fascinating places to visit. So the next time you find yourself craving fresh air, a bit of open space and a break from the drills, sirens robots and zombies, head to Piccadilly station and let your adventure begin.
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