In this episode, I speak to Gareth Davies from Staffordshire Nordic Walking.   Gareth has won 10 National Nordic Walking Championships here in the UK, and is the current World Cup Nordic Walking Champion.  He shares with us what it felt like the moment he and his team were crowned World Champions.  In our conversation, Gareth dispels the myth that Nordic Walking is purely a gentle activity and reminds us of its origins as a means of improving fitness for some of the world's top athletes, namely cross country skiers.    As Gareth  mentions in the interview, he is h ..read more

Today, I interview Sonja Johansson, who lives by the motto: ‘The quality of your movement is the quality of your life’.  This is the first time that I have published a conversation in full with no edits; this is testament to the many gems of wisdom that this interview contains and to how well Sonja talks about this subject with such great articulation. I guarantee that you will enjoy this extended episode. As a movement educator specialising in a system to optimise body/mind performance called the Feldenkrais Method, Sonja lives and breathes that motto everyday. With over 20 years of expe ..read more

In this episode, I speak to Ryan Taylor.  Ryan was born in the highlands of Papua New Guinea to New Zealander parents. He moved back to New Zealand and grew up in a small town by the beach, where he developed a love of surfing and anything a bit extreme. This led to broken bones and plenty of travelling adventures. After a failed marriage, he got into skydiving to pursue a new obsession, B.A.S.E jumping. After only 6 weeks & a total of 73 jumps(do the math), he was involved in a jumping accident and given less than a 5% chance of surviving the night.  He is amazingly lucky to be ..read more

In episode 55, I interview Karen Ingram, who was recently appointed to be an international trainer, of which there are only 4 in the world, for the International Nordic Walking Federation or INWA for short.  Karen is a welcome returner to Walking On Air, having shared her expertise on managing back pain in episode #4 and discussing all things poles in episode #19.   She sits on the education committee of INWA and so today, she joins me to share with us her knowledge of INWA and the career progression to becoming an International Trainer.  If you would like to know more about INW ..read more

In episode 44, I am talking to Steve Collis, outdoor enthusiast and Director / Owner of Upper Limits UK, based in Bristol.  Upper Limits UK provides professional training in a style that is normally associated with the British Armed Forces for individuals and business alike. Their activities, events and training programmes are designed to motivate, build team spirit and give all those who attend a sense of achievement and well-being. Steve joins me today, to talk about Outdoor First Aid and why this is such a vital skill for us all to learn. Steve highlighted the importance of being well ..read more

In episode 40, I’m talking to Catrin, who set up Nordicymru, instructing Nordic Walking in South West Wales in January 2022.  Like many people the Covid pandemic made Catrin and her family rethink their values and particularly what they wanted from life.  Catrin has been on an amazing journey in the last two years, which has resulted in her training to become a Nordic Walking Instructor.  In our conversation, we discuss the importance of a healthy work-life balance and the benefits of taking the plunge to shake up the status quo. To Find out more about Nordic Cymru:Website: www ..read more

In episode 31, I am chatting to Melissa Domaille about Osteoporosis.  Melissa is a British Nordic Walking instructor, but more relevantly, she is a physio who worked in the NHS for 25 years as a rheumatology specialist and managed the osteoporosis physio service at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.  More recently she conducted a research project with Liz Carver-Richardson to develop a tailored NW programme for people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases. Melissa believes  passionately that engagement in physical activity is beneficial for good health and well-being.  She  j ..read more

Walking on Air is back!!! To kick off we have an extra long episode that features an in-depth discussion between the importers and distributors of the two leading Nordic Walking Pole Brans. For Exel we have Karen Ingram, who  is the cofounder of Nordic Walk.Store, which sells both Exel and Leki poles.  Putting the case forward for Leki is Lilian Sullivan who,  for the last 19 years has worked for Ardblair Sports Importers Ltd, the UK distributors for LEKI for over 30 years, where she is the sales director.  This is a fascinating conversation, jam packed with useful informat ..read more

Today, I’m talking to Hilary Warrell, who qualified as a Nordic Walking instructor in 2007.  Hilary loves being outdoors in nature, and is passionate about sharing all the wellbeing benefits this can bring, particularly in terms of our mental health. Slowing down, pausing, tuning in to our senses helps us connect to life as it is happening in the moment, not just in the environment around us, but in our bodies too. We can start to notice where we habitually hold tension, if we mainly breath through our mouth or nose, how loud we are in conversation, how our feet make contact with the grou ..read more

In episode #13,  I am talking to  Cristina González Castro from Spain who is a National Nordic Walking Trainer for INWA.   Cristina has spent over a decade working with cancer survivors and  in this episode our conversation is about the powerful physical and mental benefits that Nordic Walking confers on people undergoing cancer treatment. For further information, please do visit Cristina’s website - research4NW.com.  There you will find links to her e-learning course, called Nordic Walking Fundamentals, which is in English and Spanish, as well as to her book - ‘Exerci ..read more