Tag Archives: wellness

Get out of your comfort zone this Halloween

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vampire

The very thought of this will make your blood run cold

Get out of your comfort zone in a new way

Every Wednesday, I try to find something interesting that might be happening during the week ahead for you to try. I have come up trumps this week having found something that gets you out of your comfort zone in several ways.

Get out of your comfort zone: Halloween: method one

Firstly, you have to wear fancy dress! A witch, a devil, a dead schoolgirl, a lion, a president, come in whatever costunme you like. Some people love this, yours truly being one, others find it challenging.

Get out of your comfort zone: Halloween: method two

Secondly, you have to pack your swimsuit, hat and goggles. Did you read that right? Yup. The end of October in Ireland and you are being asked to put on your swimsuit in the great outdoors and show up at Sandycove Beach, Co,. Dublin at 10.45am on Bank Holiday Monday, Oct 28th. 2019.

Get out of your comfort zone: Halloween: method three

Yes, you got it – you’re going to jump into the ocean and do the Annual Vampire Swim! Now there’s a proper scare!

What the hell is the Vampire Swim

This annual swim has been happening for the past four years in locations all over Ireland, England, Scotland and Canada. It was dreamed up as a way to highlight the need for blood donations. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is for us to give blood. When people are ill in hospital a blood transfusion is life-changing. I think this Vampire Swim is a genius idea. You can register for this FREE event right here. And hey, even if you are too scared to jump in, you can always go in fancy dress, support the crowd and have the craic!

Keep an eye out for our daily posts. #mindfulmonday, #testimonialtuesday, #whatsonwednesday and #throwbackthursday

Testimonial Tuesday Teambuilding Activities

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Teambuilding Activities with Act The Maggot

“Kill two birds with the one stone”

From heading across the country to join teams at their away days to arriving at 8am on site to kick off their conference or hosting a lunchtime event, Act The Maggot is there. Whether it is our signature beginners acting class our fun beginners creative writing class or our relaxing beginners pencil drawing class – there is one common denominator. Creativity. We can redesign any of our sessions to suit the needs of your group.

We can organise teambuilding events that are fun AND beneficial

magicOur teambuilding activities entertain and enlighten at the same time. In the past, companies have asked us to come in and give talks on Wellness, Public Speaking or Mindfulness. We don’t do talk. We do action. If it just a talk, there is less investment. Ever heard of in “one ear and out the other”? In the same amount of time you can reap huge benefits. Act The Maggot can host an improv session, a drawing session, and introduction to mindfulness or public speaking. By creating participatory situations, the takeaways are more layered and long lasting.
Testimonials

“Amy was able to take a diverse group of relative strangers and quickly strip away barriers and build enthusiasm and energy amongst them. Her energy and passion is infectious and she knows that the first step in building strong teams is to build trust and “acting the maggot” together helps build this trust. I would be delighted to recommend Amy for the fantastic work she did through her company, Act The Maggot.” Dan Hayden, Data Strategist, Facebook

I first met Dan out at the Innovation Academy at UCD. He recognised that what Act The Maggot offers teams can be really effiective. By inviting us to come in from the outside and create the permission to play, setting up the right environment the response was brilliant. I’ll finish our Testimonial Tuesday post with a quote. Keep an eye out for our daily posts. #mindfulmonday, #testimonialtuesday, #whatsonwednesday and #throwbackthursday

“If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.” – Peter F. Drucker

If you think we might be the right fit for your company, get in touch about what teambuilding activities we can bring!

CACI3

Reiki Healing Energy explained

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What is Reiki Healing?

Reiki Healing (pronounced ray key) is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing.  It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive.  If one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are capable of being happy and healthy.reikiman

It’s all about balance

Reiki is a holistic form of healing and works on Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual levels at the same time. The term “healing” refers to the balancing of energy in the body so that it may heal itself.

Reiki healing helps the client to heal and rebalance themselves; it stimulates the healing energies of the body and encourages the particular area of the body to heal itself.

One obtains this power to perform Reiki by being attuned by a Reiki master. This is done in four sessions in which the master activates the chakras, creating an open channel for the energy. The attunement process is not made known for general information, but is held in secrecy for only those being initiated. One of the main reasons Reiki has become so popular is its apparently pleasurable experience. Those who have experienced Reiki report feeling a powerful sense of warmth and security.

Some Hollywood celebrities who use Reiki Healing

Here is a list of Hollywood celebrities who find Reiki useful in their busy lifestyle – for example Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Uma Thurman, Helen Hunt, Naomi Watts, Kate Hudson, Macy Gray, Sandra Bullock, Ellen DeGeneres, Kate Bosworth, Michael Flatley and Nicole Kidman.

Would you like to try Reiki Healing?

If you would like to sample a Reiki healing session, we will be offering complimentary sessions to participants at our Power Of Me Weekend Retreat

This holistic weekend focusing on Mindfulness and Journaling for increased wellness and focus will take place in beautiful Townley Hall, Drogheda, May 17-19, 2019. If you’d like to know more about Anne-Marie Curran, psychotherapist, well-being coach and Reiki Healer click here.

Vision Boards really do work

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vision boardVision Boards
You may have heard of these things called vision boards. You may be interested in learning how to make your own vision board. They are fantastic tools for focus and goal-setting. You can use pictures of places you would like to travel, your favourite car, dream lover, your dream body, your business goals, inspirational quotes, pictures of friends and family. Basically, anything that you love. For more information on how to make vision boards take a look at this article I published on Linkedin

Oprah Winfrey uses vision boards
Did you know that Oprah Winfrey uses vision boards?

“The media mogul, who pulled herself up from poverty to become one of the wealthiest women in the world, might be one of the biggest celebrity supporters of affirmations.

Her commitment started young: As a child watching her grandmother toil away, Winfrey says she’d tell herself over and over again: “My life won’t be like this. My life won’t be like this, it will be better.”

Besides frequently showcasing success stories of positive thinking on The Oprah Winfrey Show — and even discussing creating her own vision boards to realize her dreams — her many words of wisdom to fans include: “Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe“.

Arnold Schwarzenegger also uses the power of visualization.
As a young athlete, Schwarzenegger swore by the power of visualization to reach his bodybuilding goals.

“I had this fixed idea of growing a body like Reg Park’s. The model was there in my mind; I only had to grow enough to fill it,” he explained. “The more I focused in on this image and worked and grew, the more I saw it was real and possible for me to be like him.”

Later, when he transitioned to careers in acting and politics, Schwarzenegger said he employed similar mental tricks: “It’s the same process I used in bodybuilding: What you do is create a vision of who you want to be — and then live that picture as if it were already true.

Read how actor Jim Carrey motivates himself
To stay motivated, actor Jim Carrey wrote himself a check for $10 million for “acting services rendered,” dated it for 1994, and carried it in his wallet for daily inspiration. In 1994, Carrey learned he would reap exactly $10 million for his role in Dumb and Dumber.

Want to make a vision board with us?
Join our Weekend Retreat, May 17-19th, 2019. Form more information click here

vision board

Take a look at our latest Corporate Role-playing testimonials

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screen-shot-2017-07-18-at-15-36-17Role-playing is a fantastic tool to use in company trainings. You can really maximise the experience and the learning by hiring real-life actors to energise challenging team work. We all have to face difficult conversations, tough meetings, unexpected situations. Why not hire a couple of professional actors to re-enact a specific work-related script? Then, in Forum Theatre style the actors can stop and start at the suggestion of the participants to find the best communication solutions. It can be a lot of fun as it is interactive learning. By having real actors as part of a training it immediately breaks the ice and ups the stakes. We can help you with your script too if you like. For more information on this programme, call Amy on 01-496 7021 or 087 374 4926 or email actthemaggot@gmail.com

TESTIMONIALS from Performance Management Workshops with our role-players and European Managers at Elavon Inc.

“Actors were fantastic. They took each scenario to the extreme allowing us to learn what to do or say, and maybe
more importantly, what not to do or say. Very effective.”

“Excellent. Helped drive the role play conversations and brought a different dimension that may not have been possible with Elavon-only participation.”

“While I have attended similar training in my previous work experience, the positive difference made in this one was particularly down to having actors to practise with. This ensured more life-like scenarios, occasional unpredictability of employee-manager interaction. Also, the focus on role play was helpful, rather than spending more time on theory slides. It all comes down to having these live conversations, so more opportunity we have to play them out in a safe environment, the better and more beneficial it is for us.”

“I found them great, I love acting and role playing so it was to my strength! I will also comment, that the fact that they didn’t force anyone to roleplay was fantastic, it means a very relaxed environment.”

screen-shot-2017-07-18-at-15-46-23

DCU Recovery College

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Yesterday, I received this beautiful sunflower from my students and one of them brought in this poem by Mary Oliver which I asked her to read aloud for us.

Come with me
into the field of sunflowers.
Their faces are burnished disks,
their dry spines
creak like ship masts,
their green leaves,
so heavy and many,
fill all day with the sticky
sugars of the sun.
Come with me
to visit the sunflowers,
they are shy
but want to be friends;
they have wonderful stories
of when they were young –
the important weather,
the wandering crows.
Don’t be afraid
to ask them questions!
Their bright faces,
which follow the sun,
will listen, and all
those rows of seeds –
each one a new life!
hope for a deeper acquaintance;
each of them, though it stands
in a crowd of many,
like a separate universe,
is lonely, the long work
of turning their lives
into a celebration
is not easy. Come
and let us talk with those modest faces,
the simple garments of leaves,
the coarse roots in the earth
so uprightly burning.

sunflower

It was so appropriate for our group. I finished facilitating an experimental course with them where they played with drama, movement and creative writing and last week, I finished a drama course in Navan for the same organisation. Recovery College is a new venture and for me, working with them – has been an enriching, enlightening and very rewarding experience. I was given free reign to do what I do – design and facilitate course modules that are useful and empowering for adults working on their own recovery from mental health distress. It is encouraging to see people smile and have fun and feel safe while exploring their creativity despite what life has thrown at them. The power and support in these groups is inspiring. I wish them all the very best. Many thanks to the tireless efforts of Recovery College who are working so hard to provide much needed peer-led courses in this area. If you have an interest in mental health, work in mental health or have had mental health distress in your life, contact them and see if what they are offering this Autumn is up your alley. Most of the courses are on during the day.