Siobhán Norton

29th October 2019

What breathwork is really doing for your health

What breathwork is really doing for your health Can controlling your breathing really change your brain - or is it a load of hot air? Yet here I am, sitting in a dimly lit studio with Paulo Pacifici, being guided through some basic breathing...

inews.co.uk • 21st August 2019

Discover a classy retreat in Marbella — without an alcopop in sight

The Costa del Sol has the dubious honour of being the location of my first ever teenage package holiday without the parents. Two weeks of lurid-green alcopops, full Englishes, bad karaoke, kissing unsuitable boys and general naffness. I wore too low...

inews.co.uk • 19th August 2019

Why doing absolutely nothing can be brilliant for your mind

When’s the last time you really got away from it all? I wasn’t exactly offline on a visit to Croatia at the weekend, checking emails, posting to Instagram. But I stumbled upon a helpful reminder to unplug. “We don’t take our coffee standing up like...

inews.co.uk • 26th July 2019

Struggling to sleep? This hotel library is full of books that will help you nod off

A friend once told me that her birthday treat is a night away in a hotel. “Lovely, so you and your partner can have a little getaway?” I asked. “Oh, no. He’s looking after the kids. I just want to chill out, order room service and get a solid eight...

inews.co.uk • 25th June 2019

'Stop telling new mums to get their body back', says Hollywood trainer

The stylish polished-wood studio tucked away on a back street in North London seems an unlikely spot for the workout branded among Hollywood’s toughest. There’s no terrifying Crossfit equipment here, no barbells or rigs or treadmills, just some dinky...

inews.co.uk • 17th June 2019

SoulCycle has landed in the UK but how will brits manage the mantras?

“If there is no challenge, there is no change!” I hear whoops and cheers from the semi-darkness, as 63 pairs of eyes gaze up at the candlelit altar. Everyone who is here is clearly intent on “becoming the change”, and I can’t help but get swept up in...

inews.co.uk • 17th June 2019

The Viking Method: meet the fitness trainer who doesn’t take any prisoners

The world of fitness can be an annoyingly chirpy one, increasingly saturated with 20-year-old former reality TV stars offering vague platitudes about “motivation Mondays” and “fitspo” – fitness inspiration. It’s a world Svava Sigbertsdottir has...

inews.co.uk • 29th May 2019

'But you look so well’: What it's like to live with an invisible illness like MS

Where I come from, the phrase “you’re looking well” has various meanings as you progress through life. In your teens, it’s the highest of compliments from a bashful beau, blushing to his temples as he stares fiercely at the ground. In your university...

inews.co.uk • 8th April 2019

Can this hi-tech headband that reads your brainwaves help you find inner peace?

As I sit cross-legged, eyes closed, I can hear the rain gently falling. I concentrate on my breath – in, out, in, out. It’s not long before my mind wanders – to work, to plans for later, replaying a conversation that’s been bothering me. The rain...

inews.co.uk • 12th March 2019

Meet the tech CEO who lost five stone thanks to his own app

Many of us would never dream of darkening the door of a gym when travelling for work or pleasure. Fritz Lanman isn’t one of those people. “I went to Sweat It yesterday, do you know it? Pretty tough. I landed from Bangkok into Heathrow and I just knew...

inews.co.uk • 1st March 2019

This 88-year-old fitness instructor who qualified in her 70s believes everyone can keep fit

Alacia Elliott doesn’t fit the mould of the stereotypical fitness instructor – no bulging muscles, menacing stance or “push through the pain” mantra. But she’s made of tough stuff. And, at 88, is older than most of her clients. “When I retired at the...

inews.co.uk • 21st February 2019

The man who gave Margot Robbie a Hollywood body – and can reboot yours in just 21 days

On the morning I meet David Higgins, bloated as I am from a weekend of excess and struggling with a frozen shoulder, I don’t exactly feel that I fit the mould of his typical clientele. The personal trainer and physiotherapist has worked with Colin...

inews.co.uk • 29th January 2019

Dr Michael Mosley: the man behind the 5:2 diet on why he now wants you to eat just 800 calories a day

He is the man who got Britons to lose weight, has written a slew of best-selling diet books and fronted dozens of health documentaries. But don’t leave the biscuit tin unattended when Dr Michael Mosley’s around. “I have no willpower. If there’s a bar...

inews.co.uk • 12th January 2019

People with allergies say food chains are ‘running scared’ after manager advises family to eat somewhere else

For most parents, a morning of ice skating followed by lunch is an easy way to keep the children entertained as the Christmas holidays come to a close. But for Alexa Baracaia, it’s an outing that needs to be planned meticulously. Alexa’s son,...

inews.co.uk • 19th September 2018

Can’t sleep? Millions are using the Calm app to hear a soothing bedtime story for grown-ups

It’s enough to make you lose your sheep. The clock ticking mercilessly on, while sleep remains elusive. The frustration of knowing that the morning – and the time to face a new day – is drawing closer. It’s no secret that we’ve become a nation of...

inews.co.uk • 12th September 2018

Turning pensioners into fitness instructors could be just what the doctor ordered – for all of us

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to retirement. Granted, I’ve got about three decades to go (or more if the goalposts keep moving), but by then I’ll be more than ready to put my feet up. Or perhaps not, if the health tsars have...

I • 30th August 2018

The secrets of living to 100? We've known them all along

I always wonder if the centenarians are pulling our legs when we beg them to reveal the secrets behind their longevity. Raw eggs, they tell us solemnly. Daily plunges into icy ocean waters. A can of Stella and a packet of custard creams (props to...

I • 16th August 2018

Cycling through history: new London bike tour celebrates women’s achievements

Think of your average historical city tour: chances are, it will comprise a rambling round-up of dead white blokes. Statues of conquering heroes on horseback, plaques for playwrights, those kinds of things. But a new London bike excursion is taking...

iNews • 14th July 2018

Don’t write off summer just yet: here are some reasons to be cheerful

Remember how summer used to stretch on for ever? Long, hazy days, barbecues and Mr Whippy ice creams, scorched grass and paddling pools? That’s how this summer was beginning to feel, only with a more grown-up flair: we woke up day after day to blue...

iNews • 11th July 2018

What can we learn from a 16th-century wellness bible? That snake oil has been around for quite a while

The world of wellbeing is undoubtedly a strange one. I must admit I have fallen down the rabbit hole on occasion, spending my hard-earned cash on “superfood” concoctions including outlandish ingredients such as baobab, and spirulina (ugh), and...