Packing for the Isle of Wight normally requires at least one of the following three items: a tent, a full set of fancy dress, some form of easily openeable alcohol. In fact queuing to board the Red Jet ferry from Southampton you can usually make out one of the categories that people carrying these things might fall into. The festival goer or the long weekender – especially when the sun is out. I recently made the trip over however for quite a different sort of weekend. We weren’t camping, there was no music, and my well-organised bag of goodness was definitely lacking in any sort of glitter. Little did I realise that alcohol and caffeine would also be strictly off limits. The remit? An adventurous weekend with Wildfitness. The packing instructions simply said: sports kit ‘with at least seven changes of top.’ This was certainly not going to be one of ‘those’ trips. And I have to admit, I feared for the fun-factor.
Brainchild of third generation Kenyan, Tara Wood, the Wildfitness programmes have been making waves across the pond in East Africa for over ten years now – and have quite a following. But come April this year they are de-camping to our beloved Isle of Wight. Why? Because it provides the perfect home from home location for those who are somewhat tighter on time and perhaps also budget but still want the same experience of their more exotic African counterparts. The Isle of Wight is a natural haven for outdoor pursuits. It boasts stunning scenery and air cleaner (or so it feels) than anywhere else within easy reach of the smoggy city – the sea breeze certainly helps clear the mind at least. But this entwines with the principles of Wildfitness that lie in a philosophy based on nature and evolutionary principles – creating energy through wild eating, wild moving and wild living. That’s how the Kenyan programmes began, and how the Isle of Wight ones will continue.
Arriving at the beautiful Northcote Manor – a stunning example of a Jacobean property (think a well-suited country house to Downtown Abbey – with a mere 82 rooms and an extensive but no less quaint and abundant kitchen garden), we were welcomed by the Isle of Wight team and resident Tarzan, Colin Holding, who would shortly be teaching us the ins and outs of such ‘wild’ techniques. As an overall introduction he speaks of our hunter-gatherer ancestors and their ability to get the best from their bodies through resting and recovering – maintaining just the right balance between arousal and stress or exercise. An emphasis is placed on the human ability to heal and thrive when in one’s natural environment. In some ways it’s like watching a shampoo advert when they say ‘now here’s the science bit’ except this time you know it makes sense. And will inevitably help you look and feel better. Because you’re worth it.
The following morning we were up at the crack of dawn, or close to it for those who are used to a 9am ‘+’ start, and out into the drizzle. We were still in England after all. After various warm up techniques and walking the tightrope (to ascertain balance), our worked out bodies were soon treated to a sumptuous breakfast (echoed further in all the meals – all natural and homemade of course – most sourced daily from the kitchen garden). Fittingly, the sunshine had come out. From then on, over the next few days in between an unfathomable, wholly overwhelming desire to sleep at every available spare moment, the rest of our time was spent quite otherwise. Morning activities of lactic-lift-offs, exploratory runs, boxing and skipping on the manor’s quintessential front of house terrace, and various pole and skill work sessions worked on the elasticity of our bodies, aiding our gracefulness and encouraging a better posture from our routine city dwelling poses. We might have looked a little bizarre to any onlookers, not least to ourselves, even with our eyes closed. But the end result were balletic beautys that even despite tomato red cheeks felt better about their person was and had more final resulting pazazz than you can shake a stick at. And when the boxing gloves were on, this year’s Olympic team would have been quaking in their leather laced up boots.
If this all sounds like a lot of hard work, then you’re too easily fooled. A huge part of the wild fitness philosophy lies in the art of ‘play’. This means that you are free to turn back to the 8 year old inner you, and as a legitimate adult, enjoy the freedom that comes of running about like a child. At the same time as exerting ourselves and breathing in the views over the spectacular downs we also got down on all fours pretending to be crocodiles crawling across the lawn, spent time swinging in trees like monkeys and ran across wide open stretches of beach and sand, splashing around in the waves like excitable and energetic free and innocent people. Shoulders have never been less burdened. Although brains were still switched on, focusing on the tasks in hand. But they were fun. Yes. The fun factor did not lack. And I can also now say that I have comfortably swum in the English Channel at 6:30pm in the early evening. Try it and you might just remember what it feels like to be alive. Desk job eat your heart out.
Wildfitness Isle of Wight long weekend courses will run from April 2012. Prices start from £630pp based on double occupancy in a standard room. For more information, visit the website.
