April Exam Destress - FREE SESSIONS

The Exam Destress also has a number of wonderful FREE SESSIONS for Sound Massage, Meditation and Laughter Yoga:

Sound Massage

Kasia Slabon, Sound Massage Practitioner

Sound massage  is a therapy using singing Tibetan bowls , gongs and variety of relaxing instruments placed on your (fully dressed) body or used nearby.  The calming, harmonizing sounds  and gentle vibrations induce a feeling of wellbeing, help to reduce pains and aches, and relaxes muscles.  Booking required. To book an appointment email destressbooking@nuigalway.ie, or call in to the Wellness Centre in the Hub.  Please include your phone number when booking.

Meditation

Moya Roddy, meditation facilitator

Moya’s popular sessions include a variety of simple guided meditation techniques.  There will also be time for silent meditation.  Take a break from the world! Art Gallery, Quad, every Thursday 1:10-2:00pm.

No need to book—all welcome.

Laughter Yoga

Siobhán Kavanagh

Laughter Yoga is an aerobic exercise which involves yogic breathing exercises, games, movement, laughter exercises and guided meditation. It has been found to reduce stress levels, increase mood and is thought to increase productivity. A session of fun and laughter

Booking required. To book an appointment email destressbooking@nuigalway.ie, or call in to the Wellness Centre in the Hub.  Please include your phone number when booking.

For more check out Exam Destress Programme April/May 2013

April Exam Destress - Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy

Michael Mullen, MICHP, D.HP, ADV DHP, Hyp.

Are you worried about exams? Do you suffer with anxiety problems or go weak with the thought of doing a presentation? Then maybe hypnosis can help you to feel more relaxed and in control. Feel more confident and allow the words to flow out as you write an essay or deliver presentations. After your treatment you will get a CD that you can use at home, to enhance the effectiveness of the session.  

Booking required.

To book an appointment email destressbooking@nuigalway.ie, or call in to the Wellness Centre in the Hub.  Please include your phone number when booking.

For details on dates, times and prices see Exam Destress Programme April/May 2013

April Exam Destress - Acupuncture / Ear Acupuncture

Acupuncture / Ear Acupuncture

Karen Egan, Lic. Ac. TCM

The ancient practice of Acupuncture is based on the principle that energy circulates through pathways in our body. When this energy is blocked or depleted, imbalance results in disharmony, which can cause lack of energy, pain, lowered immune system or illness.  The insertion of very fine acupuncture needles in selected points along the meridians can correct the imbalance and promote wellbeing. 

Booking required. 

To book an appointment email destressbooking@nuigalway.ie, or call in to the Wellness Centre in the Hub.  Please include your phone number when booking.

Ear Acupuncture is limited to the external ear area. It has been shown to release endorphins, in our bodies, relieving stress and promoting deep relaxation.  No booking required—drop-in 

For details on dates, times and prices see Exam Destress Programme April/May 2013

Laughter yoga classes - places still available

2-Day Certified Laughter Yoga Leader (CLYL) Training

When: 30th and 31st March, 2013.

Time:10am - 5pm

Laughter Yoga reunites us with our inner child by reminding us that one does not need an external stimulus or even a sense of humour to laugh. Anyone can Laugh for No Reason, without relying on jokes or comedy. Laughter is invoked using games and exercises in a group; and with eye contact and childlike playfulness, it soon turns into deep, hearty and contagious laughter.

It has already been a truly life changing experience for millions around the world; now you have the opportunity, here in Galway, by attending the upcoming,

2-Day Certified Laughter Yoga Leader (CLYL) Training

This internationally recognized qualification enables you to lead Laughter Yoga sessions in social clubs, schools, universities, in the corporate workplace, offer public seminars, one-to-one sessions and much more.

It can be integrated into many occupations, and, among others, is being used extensively by:

- yoga, sports and fitness teachers
- health care and social workers
- tourism professionals and guides
- counsellors and therapists
- performers and entertainers

- HR and management training professionals

Price includes: Lunches, Refreshments, Training manual and DVDs, e-book, Certification, and

6 month leader membership with Laughter Yoga International www.laughteryoga.org

Full rate: 180 Euro; with sliding scale to 120 Euro for unwaged concession (Special reductions negotiable)

To book or for information, contact 085 720 1886 
or email: galwaylaughterclub@gmail.com

Trainer: Donal Gannon, since 2003, has been training in and teaching Cooperative Games, Circus skills, Team building, Music and Dance as well as a variety of Healing disciplines, including Hatha Yoga, Non-Violent Communication, and Co- Counselling, so brings a holistic and far reaching approach to the weekend; with focus on leadership and communication skills. After completing the CLYL training, he attended, led and established Laughter Clubs around the world. Convinced of its merits, he returned to India to complete the 5-Day Certified Laughter Yoga Teacher Training (CLYT), with founder Dr. Kataria, and has led these CLYL trainings since.

The Mediterranean Diet

Curiously enough switching to a Mediterranean Diet does not mean heading off to Ibiza with a bag of ecstasy tabs, ten of your mates and a map of the local night clubs… Which, lets face it, is a bit costly and a bit complicated. The real Mediterranean Diet is in fact simplicity itself...

With its emphasis on health and happiness and not weight or obesity or counting calories, the Mediterranean Diet is about more than good food. It is about enjoying your food with family and friends, and including physical activity in your daily routine.

OK, so it is important that the diet protects us from heart disease, cancer, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s  Disease, but the pleasure of eating good food and feeling well is also important. And it’s simple, low cost and easy to keep up. (Or maybe the best thing about it is that you can have a glass of wine and a handful of nuts and call it health food!).

It simply means using more vegetables and less meat in your diet. The role of plant based diets in cardiovascular health is also explained clearly in an ABC News discussion with Joan Sabaté the Nut(ty) Professor

For more on how to incorporate health and fitness in your daily life have a chat withn Cindy Dring, Health Promotion Officer, NUI Galway Student Services 

091-492048

Remember staying in good physical and mental health can be very simple and a lot of fun. If you’ve found this article useful you may want to check out

Myths about food, weight and body image

How to be happy -Tips for cultivating contentment

Magic Medicine. It's free. And it really works…

Free advice on when and when not to use the word gay...

For those who still haven’t worked out when exactly to use the word gay, here’s a fun video that explains it all. Enjoy!

For more on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people in Ireland check out Belong To and GIGSOC

Horny but Healthy… (video)

In the dismal days of the 1970’s Galway was one of the few places in Ireland were people were allowed to have sex. Even then they could only partake after they had been married and made a public declaration before the local bishop that they would only have sex for the purpose of procreation – not recreation…  

Whilst those days are long behind us, sexual pleasure and sexual health can still be a bit of an embarrassing subject.

Fortunately NUI Galway continues to do much to keep students informed with the minimum of embarrassment. If you are curious about how to stay healthy as well as horny check out this short fun video Demystifying going for a sexual health check-up

If you have found this article useful you may want to have a look at:

Dating - Go For It! Have Fun!

Galway's Latest Porn Movie!

Going through a tough time? Help is now online ....

How to put on a condom

For more on how to look good, feel good and be in charge of your life as a student at NUI Galway check out Student's Services Health Promotion  Students at NUI Galway can also sign up for the free online health and wellness magazine Student Health 101 

Keep up to date by following this blog on twitter and Facebook

Saint Patrick - extracts from my new book

The Saint Patrick of my new book GalwayBay Folk Tales is very different from the green robed shake yir snake Patrick that is commonly presented to the world every 17th March...

Three extracts dealing with Saint Patrick are now online in blogs in Galway and Cape Town.

Extract One Saint Patrick and the Serpent can be read in ‘This Is My World’, the blog of Nerine Dorman, editor, freelance writer, author of Inkarna and editor of my previous book Transformation. 

Extract Two Saint Patrick on the Island of Strangers can be read in my own blog 'Marcus Marcus & the Hurting Heart'.

Extract Three How Croagh Patrick got its name can be read in ‘A Beautiful Hue’. This is the blog of Marina Wild who is the illustrator of Galway Bay Folk Tales.

The book will be published in June 2013 by The History Press Ireland

 Enjoy!

Sing, Shag, Sing again... Do a Survey...

It is a stark truth that, try as we may to defy Her, the impulse of Mother Nature is to keep each species reproducing hardy and healthy offspring to carry on their genes and dreams into future generations.

 

Amongst sparrows the fellow most likely to get a mate is he who can sing the longest and loudest. Why? Because his song reflects the strength and endurance of the little fellow, and so, though others may also sing sweetly, only he will be picked for a quick knee trembler in some local bush.

 

Galway’s hominids likewise have their own seemingly unfair mating rules. Any night of the week one needs only go up Mainguard and Shop Street or to the Sodom and Gomorrah that is Eyre Square and there in all his glory is the Galway Übermensch himself.

 

Living only in the moment, free of the censorship and doubts of past, future, social mores and sanity, he is to be found shouting at the stars, with a pint glass in one hand and his dick in the other, trying to piss, sing, and roar, whilst all the while endeavouring to move one foot in front of the other in a vain attempt to go seek a willing bedmate for the evening.

 

And yet sing as he might the poor fellow will fail to fulfill his biological and evolutionary needs. A shag will elude him…

 

The fellow needs be pitied, yet instead he is falsely held up to the world as the personification of the life style of the average student in the west of Ireland… This, as we all know, is a slanderous stereotype though a useful one for pundits constantly seeking to undermine students.

 

However, there are options for students to give a clearer and more honest account of their experiences of third level education and help improve the student educational experience.

The first national student survey is now looking for feedback from first year and final year undergraduates and all taught postgraduates.  

The survey is open from March 4^th to 12 April 2013. To complete: Log on to your student email to access and complete the survey which will come from irishnationalstudentssurvey@evasys.eu It should only take ten minutes. The data collected will help create a better understanding of learning, development and needs of students in Ireland.

 

As for the drunk in Eyre Square, chances are he’s not a student at all; he’s probably just some poor ould politician trying to impress folk with his manly prowess…

For more see: student survey

 

Different kinds of drunk, Dating & HIV, and lots more...

Here’s the latest Q & As from Go Ask Alice. Topics covered below include ‘different kinds of drunk?’’He needs the TV to fall asleep, I need a quiet room – help!’, ‘and lots more…

 

The latest Go Ask Alice book is available in the Wellness Centre at the back of The Hub - drop in any time for a read.

 

Remember, if you have problems or worries you feel you would like to talk about confidentially, contact Cindy Dring, Health Promotion Officer for NUI Galway at 091-492048. Alternatively e-mail her at cindy.dring@nuigalway.ie or just drop in to Aras Ni Eimhigh.

New and updated Q&As for the week of March 8, 2013 Different kinds of drunk? He needs the TV to fall asleep, I need a quiet room — Help! Cholesterol-lowering methods Dating someone who's HIV-positive Testing for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) Theme of the Week A Show of Hands Poll Question for This Week How do you motivate yourself to reach your physical activity goals? Copyright (C) 2013 Columbia University All rights reserved.

Free Advice on how to budget your money

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service has an online Budgeting Tool to help individuals manage their money, reduce spending and ‘develop a realistic budget you can stick to’. Check out: Budgeting Tool

Free slide show on how to overcome distractions

The online journal emedicinehealth.com has a wonderful slide show on how to overcome distractions.

 In the slideshow Psychologist Lucy Jo Palladino, PhD examines those things which distracts us and provides advice on how to get back to concentrating.

 Check out the slideshow at: Top Concentration Killersanage distractions

distractions

Benefits of Energy Drinks?

Whilst there has been a lot of criticism recently about the health risks of Energy Drinks, not least the recent article in The Guardian Doctors call for warnings on energy drinks to prevent caffeine overdose little has been said about the possible benefits, which include:

·         The drinks come in colourful cans and bottles. Pretty colours remind of rainbows and flowers, which is particularly helpful when ‘the panic attacks, nausea and vomiting, tremors, chest pain and a racing pulse’ caused by energy drinks kick in.

·         A quick energy rush will make you momentarily feel like a superhero. So too will wearing your underpants on the outside. Whether either will help you study better or make new friends is open to doubt.

If you really want a proper energy buzz have a look at Food For Exam Studies
For more check out: Fructose: the poison index 

 

Learn To Grow Your Own Food