Episode #8. Lost on land, found at sea: rediscovering purpose beneath the surface with Katie Maggs
Looking at the photos and videos of the underwater world that Katie shares online never fail to put a smile on my face. The sheer beauty of the underwater environment that so few of us visit regularly is breathtaking and often looks like a tropical sea, not just off the coast of Cornwall!
Having lived near the coast when she was growing up, she forged an early connection with the sea, encouraged by her father. As with so many of us, she lost touch with her childhood past-times and little did she know that it would become her saviour when she needed it most in life.
Katie is full of energy and positivity, and her passion for the underwater world is so strong you might think she’s been immersed in it and studying it all her life. Sometimes, purpose can show itself after the toughest of experiences and the story of Katie’s experience and most importantly how she resurfaced are inspiring and moving, so much so that they even made a film about her!
I really enjoyed this motivating and inspiring conversation and hope you do too.
Chapters
02:00 Snorkeling and the Underwater World
06:41 Teaching Snorkelling
08:25 Rediscovering the Sea
10:41 The Impact of Stress and Burnout
16:56 The Breaking Point and Seeking Help
23:02 The Healing Power of the Sea
25:19 The Supportive Community of Sunrise Swimmers
35:03 The Importance of Being Present in Nature
37:04 Finding Joy in Movement
38:29 The Impact of Busy Lives on Health
39:12 Rebuilding Confidence and Resilience
42:15 Nature as a Source of Healing
46:43 Conservation Efforts and Hatching Cuttlefish
49:46 Overcoming Doubt and Taking on New Projects
56:19 Inspiring Others to Explore Their Passions
57:35 The Importance of Sharing Stories and Encouraging Others
About this week’s guest:
Katie Maggs @tonicofthesea is a qualified BSAC Snorkel Instructor and registered snorkel centre in Penzance, Cornwall. Katie delivers snorkel experiences throughout the year for fun, curiosity, conservation, health, and wellbeing. She learnt the basics of sea swimming and snorkelling as a child with her father in local Cornish coves and later developed a passion for the conservation of marine life and subsequent interest in marine wildlife photography.
Katie is also a committee member for the Mounts Bay Marine Conservation Group whose aim is to conserve and protect the local marine environment.
Katie featured in a BAFTA nominated award winning short film titled ‘Tonic of the Sea' available on YOUTUBE. The film highlights recovery from chronic stress, anxiety, and burnout through daily outdoor swimming in the sea. It has been shown around the world and is currently being used in clinical practice to support individuals suffering from physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms linked to stress, anxiety, exhaustion, and depression.
Katie has appeared on BBC Winter watch, Spring watch and Countryfile and has made numerous short films highlighting issues surrounding conservation of her coastline locally.
She has written conservation and health publications for numerous magazine articles, published books and national newspapers.
Katie is also a Deputy at her local FE college lecturing in Health Sciences.
Connect here:
Website: `https://tonicofthesea.co.uk
Instagram: https://instagram.com/@tonicofthesea
Email: katie@tonicofthesea.co.uk
Film Link: Tonic of the Sea - Wild Swimming mini documentary
Snorkel with me: Tonic of the Sea
More about your host, Wendy
Wendy (49) founded Reclaim Movement after a running injury at 40 turned into 4 years of chronic pain. In her search for answers and to reclaim her own movement again she discovered natural movement. The philosophy of training real life practical movements to be able to keep using them as we age, coupled with the benefit of using strengthening and mobilising whole-body movement patterns that are underused in today’s modern world made her realise she had found a way to move for life.
Wendy’s aim is to help people embrace a movement-rich life, at any age, to improve mobility, strength and confidence to keep moving well and doing the things they love for as long as they want.
MovNat Level 1 certified & Functional Range Conditioning certified, she coaches online group classes live & by replay in the Reclaim Movement membership as well as online and in-person private coaching in Oxford.
Find out more about Reclaim Movement:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/reclaim.movement
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@reclaim.movement
Facebook: https://facebook.com/reclaim.movement
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