Ali Fitness Podcast EP049 - REWILDING WITH CLAIRE DUNN

Описание: An interest in health and fitness may begin with a desire to look good on the outside, but most of us stick with sport because of the internal benefits—the sense of aliveness and vitality, the feeling of strength and connection to our bodies and the world around us. Training gives us a few hours away from our busy lives, and if we’re lucky, it allows us to be fully present. Now imagine turning those few hours of escape into a few days, a few weeks, or even a year! What would it be like to leave the modern world and spend time in the wild, developing a deep connection with yourself and the earth?

Claire Dunn was living a typical fast-paced, urban lifestyle. Working as a lobbyist and environmental activist in a high-pressure, highly political environment, she longed for the opportunity to get closer to the wilderness she was fighting for and explore the human-nature connection. Starting in 2010, Claire spent a year in the wild, and that experience became the subject of her subsequent memoir, My Year Without Matches: Escaping the City in Search of the Wild. A trained Vision Quest guide, Claire offers rewilding workshops and retreats as well as personal mentoring for people seeking a greater sense of connection. She is a regular contributor to publications such as The Sydney Morning Herald, Huffington Post, and The Newcastle Herald.

Today Claire shares the inspiration for her year in the wilderness, explaining her preparation and the structure of the experience. She walks us through a typical day in the bush, sharing the skills she practiced, what diet and exercise looked like, and her core practice of wandering. Claire discusses her struggle to readjust to the modern world and her commitment to helping others find connection to themselves, others and the earth. Listen in for Claire’s insight on being versus doing, and learn to pursue rewilding in your own backyard.

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Topics Covered

[1:02] How Claire’s upbringing influenced her interest in rewilding

Grew up on farm by river, three brothers
Comfortable with body, the earth

[2:37] The impetus for Claire’s year in the bush

Working as environmental activist, conservationist
Burned out on high pressure of political game
Transformational course inspired deep nature connection

[5:15] How Claire prepared for her year of living wild

Turned attention to practices of tracking, wilderness survival skills
Created independent wilderness studies program in New South Wales
Spent two summers at Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracker School

[6:44] The structure of Clair’s year in the bush

‘Choose your own adventure’
Build shelter with found materials
Follow sacred order of survival (water, shelter, fire, food)
Perfect hand drill fire technique

[9:28] Claire’s instinct to be alone

Attention to elements, plants, animals and unseen
Unraveling old way of being, learned fluid wandering

[12:49] Claire’s lessons in being vs. doing

‘Trying negates the effort’
Making fire blindfolded taught surrender

[14:14] A typical day in the bush with Claire

Tried not to have routine
Wake up with birds, go to sit spot
Explore, journal and read
Work on project (i.e.: tanning hide)

[16:45] The skills Claire honed in the wild

Hide tanning, basket weaving, rope making
Fires, water, bush food and medicinals
Bird language, naturalist awareness
Expanded sense of vision, fox walking
Dynamic listening meditation

[18:28] Claire’s core practice of wandering

Follow curiosity, no clear goal

[20:20] How Claire pursued fitness during her year in the bush

Bush gym, jogging loop and yoga
Making fire = intense burst of cardio

[22:16] How Claire felt after the experience

Ready to see friends, family
Hit wall of grief with loss of connection to self, others and land

[24:22] Claire’s bush diet

Varied quite a lot, restock in town once a month
Rice, oats, quinoa and lentils
Produce that would keep
Lost weight, needed more fat/protein

[27:04] The medicinals Claire utilized in the wild

Bloodwood tree sap for cuts
Blackened fern for bites, stings

[27:31] How fit and healthy Claire felt during the experience

Lost too much weight, depleted some nutrients
Gained strength, felt incredibly alive

[28:34] Why Claire is back in the modern world

Heart of social activist, contribute to change
Satisfying to tell story, explore skills in urban setting

[30:07] Claire’s insight around rewilding in an urban context

Connect deeply where you are
Find a sit spot, immerse in wildness
Forage for edible weeds
Expand sense of vision, open senses

[34:54] Claire’s definition of health and fitness

Internal sense of aliveness, vitality
Sense of purpose, contentment
Body strong and flexible