Richie Norton | From rugby to rituals

 Richie Norton’s journey from the rugby field to peak performance coaching is nothing short of extraordinary. With a decade of experience, he's mastered the art of resilience training, shaping actors and athletes into unstoppable forces.

But Richie's approach extends beyond the physical. With yoga, breathwork, and a deep connection to nature, he guides individuals and teams to unlock their true potential.

From CEOs to sports clubs, Richie's impact is felt globally, fostering productivity, wellbeing, and a profound connection to the world around us.

Chapters

00:00
Introduction 

01:14
Richie's Journey and Rugby

04:15
The Importance of Resilience

06:15
Becoming a Yoga Teacher

07:14
Connecting Men with Wellbeing

13:11
The Gap in Men's Wellbeing

16:05
The Power of Breathwork

22:44
Living a Performance Lifestyle

26:16
Challenging Society's Perception of Aging

27:07
The Importance of Taking Action

28:18
Choosing How to Suffer

29:27
Managing Chronic Stress

30:53
The Impact of Overstimulation

34:55
Creating Daily Rituals

39:18
The Power of Nature

42:54
Starting with Small Changes

46:24
Accessible Wellness Practices

48:08
The Ripple Effect of Positive Change

Instagram - @richienorton_
Website - https://richie-norton.com

You can find this episode on iTunes, Spotify and many other podcast platform

If you have any questions or would like to suggest a guest please get in touch! You can email India via indiapearsonclarke@gmail.com or send a message via Instagram @india_outdoors / @finandflow / www.indiapearson.co.uk

~Music - Caleb Howard Almond / @oakandalmondcarpentry

Transcript

India (00:00.983)
That's all good, just checking everything's going. That says uploading, so that is brilliant. Yeah.

Richie Norton (00:17.313)
and some of the stuff we talk about is probably worth recording and sharing and I'm hoping that's giving my doorway into sharing more of a podcast format so it's good to see it in action.

India (00:18.487)
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, this is what I mean, I haven't because this is I was using zoom before. So this is the first series I've done with Riverside. But I haven't so I haven't explored this avenue. But it does give you the option to kind of use AI to edit and pick out bits and edit video and.

all sorts, so I've not worked that bit out but it could, yeah, so far it's been pretty good and you can like mark bits that you think during the conversation are like little gems and stuff like that so worth having a look into it definitely. But yeah, it was recommended to me by the podcaster so. Cool, well what I'll do is I will record an intro and stuff when I'm editing in post so don't worry.

Richie Norton (00:58.936)
Okay.

Yeah.

Richie Norton (01:10.744)
you

India (01:14.967)
about all that, I'll do all that, which means that we can just dive straight in. So hi, Richie, and welcome to Start A Ripple. How you doing?

Richie Norton (01:23.384)
Well, honoured first of all to be invited onto your podcast. When you got in touch, I thought it'd be a lovely conversation just looking into the stuff that you've been doing. And anyone who knows me loves I like to talk and share stories. So I'm hoping it's going to be of value today.

India (01:39.671)
Absolutely, and I guess I love speaking to people who have been on a real journey. The podcast called Start a Ripple for a Reason. It's about looking at those ripples you've made in your life and how one leads to another leads to another and how the first ripple might be completely different to where ripples are now. So speaking of which, do you mind looking back at your ripples, looking back?

where it all started, giving us a little bit of an insight to who you are and the journey you've been on so far. We're going to dive into stuff but a little short recap.

Richie Norton (02:18.712)
Yeah, well, there's certainly been a few ripples using that terminology. So a bit of background behind me, I started off living in the Middle East, which was quite an eye opener. My dad worked in offshore and I lived in a place called Doha. And I never really had to start that a lot of my friends when I went to school in the UK, which when I was about eight years old,

I never really settled with normal path. And luckily, because I was being quite disruptive and feeling very unsettled and not really feeling like I was fitting in, I was drawn to rugby and rugby gave me this outlet to focus my energy and to focus my passion and gave me a really like grounding sense of purpose if I can identify it, you know, back then.

India (02:52.791)
and look for it, because that's what we've got to split through.

Richie Norton (03:18.04)
And that was me. I went through the school system, rugby, rugby, rugby, anything to do with training, anything to do with sports. I put everything into it. Everything, my whole heart and soul. I managed to get to college because I wasn't intelligent, but it was more, I was just on a journey to be something. And for me, being something meant being a professional athlete.

And it was written on the wall when I was very, very young. I feel like if I look back at the pictures, I was the same size I am now when I was 12. And I just never grew. And I'm not small, but I'm not massive. So I had to really dig deep on a lot of times when I was playing as I got a bit more mature and into my more professional years. But this dream came crashing down when I was 28 years old. Maybe a little bit earlier than that, I played my last, well, saying that.

India (03:52.149)
Right.

India (04:01.207)
Thanks for watching!

Richie Norton (04:15.064)
There was a success story in this and the ripple was sport, training, being part of a team, having an impact. When that was taken away due to injury, that ripple seemed to just fall flat. And like a lot of athletes and people with big dreams, when you put everything in to that one outcome and it doesn't happen, you get real lost and you also.

India (04:42.967)
And you also lose your weight. I think it's like a big thing for someone so I just start with a little bit more. But keep it straight away. That's the biggest thing. You're great for a fall right now.

Richie Norton (04:45.144)
can lose your way and you also have to reinvent yourself. So I had to start another ripple, but it didn't come straight away. And I think that's probably the biggest thing to be grateful for right now, even though I didn't recognize it back then. It taught me resilience. It taught me how to dig deep. It showed me that we're capable of more than we think. And I was fortunate enough to be helped through.

Richie Norton (05:17.528)
Finding the right teachers and in short, I became one of those teachers because I realized how much it helped me at the time. And I felt like no one knew what I was dealing with. And in your 20s, when you're kind of just really still figuring yourself out, I was given a real lesson in life. And luckily it didn't end there, even though it got real messy.

quite some time and I really lost my way. And it took a few people to pull me aside and steer me down a slightly different path, seeing my strengths, seeing my gifts that I hadn't recognized. And then I invested in myself, invested in my training. Sport and training had always been a part of it. So I thought, well, let's be a trainer, let's be a coach. But for me, the biggest lessons were not giving up and finding something that really resonated with me and that was helping others.

India (06:09.943)
. . . .

Richie Norton (06:15.736)
And being a rugby player, I decided to steer my focus on helping rugby players that would maybe also been a similar physical place and mental place. I became a yoga teacher, studied breath work, studied movement and started to figure out a bit more about how the body ticks. It just opened up a whole new door for me. And I just decided to make it my mission to go and share this with the rest of the world.

and hopefully help a few other people through these challenging times of our life. And here I am now still telling the story. So there was a few different ripples and we probably haven't got enough time to go through all of them, but I am a perfect example of someone who could have quite easily given up. And I'm still here now getting better because of the practices and the lessons and the teachings and the continued learning and the same deep,

India (06:49.303)
Yeah, and here you are.

India (06:56.159)
Mm -hmm. Mm

Richie Norton (07:14.112)
focus about becoming better every day and we can do that. We really can do that.

India (07:18.911)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. It's about pivoting, isn't it? And not realizing what you can't do, realizing what you can. So I'm a yoga teacher as well, and I'm always really interested when I speak to other people who have gone into teaching yoga. What was it that, did you have that sudden moment that you went, oh, I need to teach this. It's like a calling, I think. I really felt that. And...

I'm always really intrigued, especially given your rugby background, where I can't imagine there was much yoga in the training initially. And how you found yoga, was it because you felt like you needed the kind of physical side, which was feeling a bit more limber, or was it because you had left rugby and your mind was in a place that someone recommended? I don't know. If you could let us know your journey to becoming a yoga teacher, I'm really interested to hear that.

Richie Norton (08:16.28)
Yeah. So speaking to the guys that were in my position at the time, I had no guidance. I had no, uh, no one to look up to. There was no one there to talk to. We didn't talk about our feelings, our emotions for a start. I retired a long time ago. I'm 44 this year. And, um, even though that in my head sounds old, it doesn't really compute that I'm getting to that age.

And just on that point, I'm actually feeling better than I ever have because of how I live my life now. But back then there was no one to talk to. There was no one to look up to. There was no yoga teachers that were guys that I would relate to. It was still for women. And when I went to a yoga class because someone had said, go and do yoga, it will help with your mobility. It will help with your flexibility.

India (08:48.407)
about that.

Richie Norton (09:09.686)
nothing computed. I tried to get a load of my rugby boys to go along to classes and we got three or four of them to go to one of these classes in London. And it was a Bikram yoga class. So we're all sweating, falling around on ourselves. Literally just some of us were like ready to pass out. It was just not the first, it wasn't the best first experience. And three years on, I was still trying. I was still going to classes.

India (09:21.431)
Oh, intense.

India (09:26.295)
Yeah.

Richie Norton (09:38.328)
I was still trying to get my head around it. I couldn't switch my mind off. I couldn't relate. Most of the people in the class were women and it just never sort of sunk in that it was gonna help. I wasn't really feeling better because I was battling this internal dialogue of like, I can't do it. You're injured. Don't stop trying. This isn't for you. And because I didn't have a...

a circle of male friends that were up for it. They were all still in the gym or they were still, you know, boozing. I just, I let it go. So my journey to yoga was the girl I was going out with at the time was a yoga teacher and she had a style that really resonated with me and that she kind of knew.

what I needed to hear and she knew how I need to understand the body a little bit better, slowed it right down. And it gave me a doorway into exploring something a little bit different. That wasn't maybe the traditional way of doing yoga. So it was more like moving and mobilizing and stretching and flowing. I never really flowed in a practice that made no sense to me because I was like gym junkie, but I couldn't touch my toes, couldn't scratch my back.

I was a big lump, but you know, I didn't really have any control over my body functionally like most men. And it was her insight that gave me access to a couple of the guys that she recommended that were surfers and did jiu -jitsu and they were all ripped. And I thought, right, they're my guys. They look more like my kind of like yoga teacher. See what they're up to.

India (11:20.061)
and see if I can work with people like that, my dad, and all that kind of stuff, like the other teachers, see what they're up to, and that took its value, and it just fell off, and it didn't take it, but I was very concerned.

Richie Norton (11:28.344)
And that took me to Bali as it does for a lot of yoga teachers, but I was going for the surf and I just happened to be able to jump on a yoga teacher training with this guy and my life changed forever. I would say he probably saved my life because I wasn't, yeah, it's big. It's big and I get a little lump in my throat because I think a lot of people give up and they're so close and a lot of people give in.

India (11:40.177)
Wow, that's statement. Yeah.

Richie Norton (11:54.328)
because their body stops them from getting to a certain place that they wish they could get to, but they feel it's not possible for them, but they're so close. And maybe they haven't found the right teacher yet. That was me. I could have given up plenty of times. I gave up, yeah.

India (12:07.383)
I think that's crucial with yoga. I think because people say, oh no, I've tried yoga, I don't like it. And I'm like, oh, but there's so many different styles. There's so many, sitting, just sitting is yoga. Like that's the main aim is to just be able to sit. It's not just one style. And I think that is, I mean, amazing that you actually kept them going for as long as you did, really, given the fact that you hadn't found that.

right teacher and staff for you. But I know that, you know, this has had quite an impact on your work because I know from my understanding, you're quite passionate about connecting men, particularly with this kind of way of life. And do you feel like there's a real gap still in the world that we're living where men and wellbeing are not?

connected enough and it is still a little bit of a women's world.

Richie Norton (13:11.64)
I'm going to say we're, I don't feel like we're winning that battle. And I will also say that it's changed a lot and it has improved a lot. There are, I mean, the events that I run with just men, for example, it doesn't take much to get a few men together and now have conversations to find a way through to improving the way we connect with each other. And the more we open up and it's more accepted and it's okay to be able to, um,

India (13:35.255)
It's more accepted and it's okay to be able to do vulnerable at that point. But that doesn't mean you can do the case.

Richie Norton (13:41.464)
be vulnerable around other men. That never used to be the case. And I also then speak to guys who have given up or they feel like they're at their end because they don't feel like they have a circle, they don't feel like they have a place and they've been living in a world where they couldn't talk about their feelings, they couldn't express themselves, they couldn't open up, but we've got some work to do.

We still need more male ambassadors to take ownership of leading the charge to get their friends together and have different conversations and make it okay to not always be okay. And, you know, we don't need to pretend that male mental health, well, everyone's mental health is under attack and it needs to be worked on. And my communication with my men and my set, my circle of friends.

is coming in from a point of connection. We train together, we move together, we breathe together, we practice together and we talk. So it's not about like therapy necessarily. It's not about sitting there in a circle and sharing stories. It's more just be connected. You know, know you're not on your own. So we use workshops, we use retreats, we do training camps.

Breath work is always a great doorway, which is why it's opened up so many great connections for me because we all breathe, but so many people breathe unconsciously. And when you tap into your breath and you start to break down those layers and start to let your guard down, emotion can come through. And if someone is closed off, maybe, you know, introvert or someone who's never really shared or feel like they can't share or don't feel they can trust anybody, training.

movement, breath work, connection, sweating together in a gym session, rather than just being like a bro sesh. It's a chance for people to connect. It's a chance for people to express themselves. It's chance to like let off some steam. And when you can start to do that in a safe place with people that you trust, you can start to work through things without it being so intimidating and intrusive or hard. And that can be exactly like therapy, if not better.

Richie Norton (16:01.848)
and therapy and these are the tools that we've come to use more often.

India (16:05.431)
Absolutely. I mean, Breath of Anger Summit is an area that I have only just started to kind of dip my toe into. I signed up to a Breath of Work class not that long ago and I went along and then they, I'm pregnant at the moment, so they were like, you actually should be doing this. So I was like, oh. So I just sort of lay in like a meditation and just basically absorbed. It was a bit like a sound bath in a way, but the energy was incredible.

absolutely incredible. And like you say, the emotion that was released. I know I've heard people sort of podcasting talking about breath work and how when you are young, we breathe through our belly. And then as we get older, the breath gets higher and higher and higher in our chest. And we're not utilizing that breath. When I teach, I always talk about breath as our superpower, which is why it calms you down. It can hype you up. It can do so much.

and it really excites me to be able to start learning more about it. So what do you do? How do you kind of introduce people to breath work? Because I can imagine that, you know, it can feel a bit alien breathing loudly and, you know, hearing breath and sort of knowing somebody else is breathing really loudly next to you and everything. How do you introduce someone to it? How would you recommend someone to slowly...

gets into this world.

Richie Norton (17:37.784)
Well, I'll start by saying I was one of those people who thought breath work and meditation was a bit woo woo, you know, and I wasn't someone who introduced themselves to yoga in a spiritual way. I tried meditations before because someone said it'd be good for my head space because I wasn't feeling really anxious and I wasn't sleeping that well. And I was always stuck in my head and think about how many people are doing that right now. And a lot of them,

are thinking, well, I need to do something transformational. I need to make some massive changes. I need to do all these different things to try and fix myself. And the answer is right there. My entry into breath work was just be more conscious about every breath and being able to be okay with whatever my mind was coming up with and creating space for it. And no one ever really shared it in that sort of way before.

And when I first sat in a circle, my yoga teacher training, which again was another doorway into the breath work side of things, is I was someone that went into that session very resistant. I couldn't breathe very well. I was breathing into my chest. I was shrugging my shoulders. I was really tense. My mind was really busy. I couldn't do it. I was always telling myself, I can't do it. I'm stressed. I'm too busy. I've got too much on my mind.

And then all I started to do was deepen the breath and slow down the breathing and just be more aware of what my breath was doing. And that was my main focus. That became the anchor for the practice. So rather than have to sit there like a little Buddha, you know, making shapes and breathing a certain way, I was just simply watching my breathing. And my breathing went up, it went down. I expanded a little bit more, I started to think about my lungs, I started to think about the muscles that make breathing possible.

And all of a sudden I was just being more present, which is one of the main reasons we try to meditate, right? And because someone was guiding me and making me more aware of these muscles and what's happening as I breathe, I started to feel like I had the control back. So I could slow down my heartbeat. I could speed up my heartbeat and I could slow down my breath and I could speed up my breath.

Richie Norton (19:57.912)
because he was guiding me up and down. So when I realized I had this power, I just found myself going deeper and deeper and deeper into this feeling of calm and control and being okay with whatever my mind was doing. So think about how relatable that probably is to a lot of people. Well, do it right now. Do it right now. Take a breath in through your nose, breathe in, hold it there.

India (20:15.361)
It's what we're all searching for the whole time. It's we want to feel... we feel calm and controlled. You feel like you can do anything, you know? Yeah.

Richie Norton (20:28.12)
and breathe out slowly out of the mouth.

Feel the shoulders soften, feel the face relax. Take another breath in for the nose, deepen the breath, fill the lungs up, expand into the belly, the ribs and the chest, hold it there. Slow breath out of the mouth, release the shoulders, release the face.

Close the mouth, just take two breaths in for the nose, nice and slow.

Richie Norton (20:52.504)
Let it go.

Richie Norton (21:00.6)
I'm hoping everyone that's listening to this is also trying this practice. But that can be you taking control back of what might be this feeling of anxiety, might feel a bit overwhelmed, might be feeling a little bit busy. How about bringing attention to your breathing in that moment, creating a little bit of space and then starting again. That is the foundation of a breath practice. So this obviously opened up a massive doorway for me. I was like, oh my God, I've got more control than I think. I've just turned off the noise of my mind.

and I've been okay and I felt like I'm completely at peace. I'd never found that before. It was just chaos and noise and overstimulation. And then I learned about performance breathing. I learned about how the body works. I think about how it calms you down, how I can perform better, train better, and then it affected my sleep. And this door is still wide open. We're learning more and more all the time.

India (21:53.975)
It's so exciting. I think that's what is amazing. I'm just literally thinking about it right now is breath, to do breath work is totally free. You can be anywhere in the world. You can be outdoors, indoors, you know, at work, walking your dog, whatever. You can access it at any point for free. And you know, that is something amazing and makes you think.

Why are we not all doing this more often? Yeah, it's an incredible tool and something I'm really excited to dive into. You mentioned about sort of heightening, you know, living out sort of like your performance. Is it XPT, a performance lifestyle system? Is this what you call it? Because you were talking about performance. Right, and this is where a performance lifestyle system focused on breath movement.

Richie Norton (22:44.833)
XPT Extreme Performance Training.

India (22:51.703)
and recovery. And I know that I've heard you talk about on a podcast before about your goal to live to a certain age, is that right? I looked into it, I couldn't find it anywhere, so I must have heard it. Is this all related? So, you know, obviously to live the highest performance lifestyle you can that benefits your body is going to get you hopefully to a certain age.

Richie Norton (23:02.455)
Well...

Yes, so...

It's...

Richie Norton (23:17.272)
So let me set this up so it inspires a few other people. Everybody that's listening to this right now and obviously you as well. When you've been in the business long enough as I have and seen lots of different people of all different levels of ability, age, size, weight, injuries, and you've seen the difference it makes when people invest in their health.

and you see transformations that were maybe thought to be an impossible transformation. You believe in things that previously maybe weren't possible because we didn't have the tools. We now have the tools. We now have the practices. And I went on a mission for 10 years trying to find all the best practitioners in breath work, movement.

India (24:11.779)
you

Richie Norton (24:13.355)
movement, mobility, martial arts, anything I could absorb, special forces and surround myself and listened and got mentored by people that have done crazy things. And the more they did the research into how important breathing is and how important strength training is and how important it is to expose yourself to little bits of stress so you can adapt and you can grow and you...

can become something different. You never had to stay in this lane. You never had to stay the way you are. It was within your power for anybody to make improvements, no matter where they are. And I will say that right now it is possible for anybody listening to this right now to become better, to get stronger, and not to have to accept that when you get old, whatever that means, that you have to slow down.

that you have to give up, you have to accept you're going to have aches and pains, you have to accept you're going to get all wrinkly and old and not be able to walk properly and not be able to do all these things. I have seen 60, 70, 80 year old people who might be classed as old doing things the same way a 22 year old could do in a gym, keeping up because they've stopped, so they've not stopped putting in the work. So XPT,

India (25:37.455)
Mm -hmm.

Richie Norton (25:39.957)
was probably the biggest eye -opener for me because it incorporated how important the breathing is for energy, longevity, connection, performance, sleep. And then we added in movement. We added in pool training. We added in hot water, sorry, hot and cold therapy, all these things that are quite trendy right now. And you start to see the life come back into these people that I was working with.

India (26:07.351)
Do you think it's often like an assumption, it's society's sort of perception that you're going to get older and that's that and we almost adhere to that, we accept it and we just go well I'm now you know in my 60s so that's that.

Richie Norton (26:10.453)
So.

Richie Norton (26:16.902)
you

Richie Norton (26:25.46)
Well, this is why I have the marker of, I'm going to get way past 100 years old and I'll still be doing stuff that people thought would not be possible when you get past 100 years old. The data's there now. We're going to live longer. We're all going to live longer if we start putting in the work and stop accepting we have to get old and be in pain and suffer. The issue is, and I see this as well, people give up. They think it's becoming too hard to do these things.

India (26:39.441)
Mm -hmm.

India (26:50.295)
Mm -hmm.

Richie Norton (26:54.707)
but it's the doing the hard things that's creating this internal resilience and this mental resilience to not ever stop. So it keeps your brain healthy and your body healthy, but we have to put in the work. But we still have this mindset that, oh, I've got these aches and pains, it's because I'm old. It's because you're not doing enough to match what it is your body's going through. And I've done this for long enough that no one has ever proved me wrong. So.

India (27:07.103)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.

India (27:18.263)
Mm -hmm.

Richie Norton (27:23.506)
I hope everybody listens to this and starts to think about actually what should I be doing more of? What have I been putting off? Sometimes we just need that reminder. Sometimes we just need to be encouraged that you're capable of more than you think. And if you want to live past 100, it's going to take some work, but how much, what much more conviction do you need to live longer just by doing a little bit of work? Isn't it worth it? Of course it's worth it.

India (27:29.749)
Mm -hmm.

India (27:44.777)
Mm -hmm.

India (27:50.167)
Because surely growing older with aches and pains and all of that is also equally hard work. It's just hard work in a different way, isn't it? You know, and it's exactly, you know, interestingly, actually I did, I wrote down a little quote that you put on your Instagram recently, and it was, it's sort of similar to this, but are you adding stress or simply getting better at suffering? And it's like, oh,

Richie Norton (28:00.05)
Yeah, how do you want to suffer?

India (28:18.903)
just all accepting the suffering, you know, and working ways of living life through suffering. Do we have to do that? I don't think we do. But we're all just accepting the fact that, oh, I'm this age, or I'm a tired mom, or whatever it is. That's just what life is about.

Richie Norton (28:43.249)
So there's so much that's coming up for me right now and I'm trying to package it all up as my brain is exploding. And I'm always trying to think about the people listening to this and where they might be to speak to everybody.

India (28:47.223)
Hahaha

Richie Norton (28:57.936)
We are in a very different time where our brains and our bodies are under so much stress on a daily basis that we are getting better at suffering with the chronic state of that stress and unaware a lot of us of how much damage that is doing because we're not balancing out finding outlets and ways to release that chronic stress state which is like...

currently sitting high all day, unless you find ways to lower it and to be more at peace and to offload all of that stress that sits in the body that then busies our mind. And a lot of people will be able to relate, oh, that's me, right? What we do have to help these situations is this toolbox of breathing, nature.

the barefoot in the grass. A lot of these things might sound like spiritual things, you know, way too woo woo for me. There's no science behind it. I will tell you right now, these are little things that are available to everybody that people are missing. It's the lowest hanging fruit. Going for a walk once or twice a day for just a few minutes makes a massive difference. It's proven to lower stress levels. It's proven to lower blood pressure. And unless we stop...

to be more conscious of our breathing and to be more conscious and mindful about where our time goes, we are gonna start to feel like robots more and more. And this is having a massive impact on our mental health. This is having a massive impact on our physical wellbeing. And this is the war that we're fighting right now because the world is speeding up. Our attention is getting stretched. People are so overstimulated.

And unless you take control of that, you are going to be manipulated and you are going to get run down and you are going to suffer. But the good news, there are tools available to all of you to do something about this. So rather than that be your gloom and doom, I just hope that wakes a few people to go, I can do it. There is hope because there is. I work with people every single day and we have transformations every single day when people take ownership.

India (31:02.283)
Woohoo!

Richie Norton (31:24.205)
and start to do the things that they're very capable of doing to take control of their health and to live longer and to feel proud that they're on a mission that is gonna pay off. I really believe that and I see it every day.

India (31:30.793)
Absolutely. And I think it's very interesting you sort of talking about nature to them because I think the more our culture and society lives this high -paced lifestyle, the less in tune with nature we are. And actually when we sync up with nature,

Richie Norton (31:52.044)
. . . .

India (31:55.709)
is when we feel more aligned, it's when we can start to live the best, most high quality life we can. I mean, even only last night, I've been struggling loads with my sleep recently since being pregnant. And last night I was like, right, do you know what? I'm gonna do what everyone keeps telling me, you know, what I keep reading online. Stop, no screen time after seven. I dimmed all my lights, I had candles, I ate.

Richie Norton (32:21.836)
. .

India (32:23.063)
made sure I ate two to three hours before. You know, I tried to create an environment where the sun had gone down and the same was happening in my home. And I had the best and most fullest quality sleep I've had in a really long time last night. And I was like, wow, this is, whereas before, you know, I was going, right, because I've got two, I was going, okay, she's in bed, right, all these things I can do in the next few hours.

eat food, I want to watch that TV program, going to bed, so stimulated. I mean, I'm not surprised that I'm having rubbish leave. And I think that's the thing, isn't it? We need to look to nature. You know, over winter, we need to start to hibernate, leaves fall off the trees. We need to do the same. And then we have more energy in the summer to bloom and burst. And I feel like this is kind of similar to what you're saying. You know, it's, we don't have to.

go with this hustle bustle that this world is putting pressure on us to do so.

Richie Norton (33:28.586)
Yeah, and I will reinforce that with not making it hard. It doesn't need to be over complicated. I'm a big believer of working through winter periods when it can be dark and gloomy in the weather and cold, all these things that can make people feel down because we don't get in lots of sunshine and blue skies and how much better that makes us feel being outside a little bit more in nature where you're hiding doors.

India (33:35.351)
Is it?

Richie Norton (33:57.993)
I believe these are the moments when we used to start working for ourselves a little bit harder and being more conscious of protecting our energy and also simplifying the daily habits. And I call them rituals that are the foundations for your health and your wellbeing. And being a guy that isn't or wasn't very connected or aligned with rituals or being spiritual, the way I reframe it is...

I know there are things, if I do them every day, I feel like I've ended that day with lots of wins. I feel like I've got for that day and I've done something that is supporting my mission to be a little bit better every day. And well, that's the thing. And not everybody will maybe be able to relate to all these things, but being a blokey bloke and someone who is very busy and could have lots of excuses to not do.

India (34:38.807)
So what are your rituals? Are you gonna go into them? Yeah.

Richie Norton (34:55.848)
stuff for myself, so hopefully be relatable. My morning routine and my evening routine is really, really important. The rituals in the morning is when I wake up, I'll make sure I have a moment before I look at my phone, before I start my day to make sure I've got time to check in with me, my headspace, my energy. The starting of your day sets the frequency, the tone, the energy, the vibration for the rest of your day. So if you're not...

waking up mindfully, if you're just jumping out of bed, I mean, I know a lot of people to be relatable have kids, right? And sometimes wake up when they could have stayed in bed a little bit longer, they've got someone to take care of. There is always a moment when you are in your head and you're acting for somebody else. Maybe you do have to wake up and then choose kids, for example, like yourself. Can you take a moment to take a few breaths, coming back to breath work, you're breathing anyway.

How is your breathing? Have you even checked in with your breath while you're juggling the kids and making sure you're speaking to yourself in a kind way? What's the internal narrative? Are you being constructive? Do you have a plan? Making a plan for when that gap's gonna come, when the kids go to sleep and when you find a little gap of time. And when we say a gap, it can be five or 10 minutes. What are you doing that five or 10 minutes? I know you might have other things.

but that might be a chance for you just to go and get some sun on your skin. It might be a chance just to sit, read a book, write down what's on your mind. So all of these things allow me to extract all the busyness and all the congestion that might be sitting in my head to allow me to find a way to process those things. So it becomes less scatty and it becomes more clear. Movement, I believe people should be able to move every single day. There's no excuse, even if you've got three kids.

get them all out and about, get them outside playing. It's good for all of you. It's a great way to share at the outdoors, rain or shine, get outside, get moving, get the heart rate going. For me, it's training. I don't have kids at the moment, but I look forward. I've got two dogs which feel like kids sometimes, but they get me outside, right, in the morning first thing. And...

India (37:12.311)
Yeah, absolutely. I've got a dog that I'm so, she winds me up so much, but I'm so grateful for that dog because even if I don't want to get outside with my daughter because she's in pain or whatever and she's just, the dog is screaming at me and gets you outside. Yeah.

Richie Norton (37:20.407)
Yeah. Yeah, well, that's a big part. My dog walking is a ritual. It's getting outside, it's going for a walk, even though it's to get them to go to the loo and things like that, it's still getting outside rain or shine. But it's also hydration in the morning, make sure you drink enough water. Don't just smash loads of caffeine if that's kind of your addiction. Be mindful of what you're doing with your time.

India (37:42.473)
Mm -hmm.

Richie Norton (37:50.34)
You know, that precious bit of time in the morning before you fire up on all cylinders is really, really important. Move, stretch, flow, roll out your mat, something that allows you to sort of check in with your body and check in with your mind. Really important in the morning. And my evening routine, fast tracking through the day, is winding down what's happened that day to improve the chance of me having a deeper sleep. We all know sleep is important.

So many people are on their phones watching TV, super overstimulated, then try and go to bed and expect to have a really nice deep sleep. When you open up all these apps, your brain is still ticking over the blue light, thinking about all the emails, thinking about all the social media. So many people just live in this overstimulated state and wonder why they're not getting really deep restorative sleep and why they're a bit anxious and why they've got lots of things on their mind. You have to down -regulate your system. You have to calm down the mind. So for me,

India (38:26.069)
Well.

India (38:42.647)
you

Richie Norton (38:49.474)
hot bath, hot shower, read a book, do a little breath work, have a little stretch, allow for all of that physical and mental tension that might have built through the day to disperse. Really key rituals. And in the day, I dedicate time, at least twice a day, to be offline. Meditation, walk in nature, a dog walk without my phone, to allow all the things that I've been learning, all the things that I've been absorbing,

India (39:00.471)
Mm -hmm.

India (39:18.615)
Mm -hmm.

Richie Norton (39:19.042)
settle. This lowers the blood pressure, it lowers the stress levels, it lowers anxiety. So many people push through that by being busy, having more coffee, I haven't got time, gotta keep going. You have time. Everybody has time. It might be a small pocket of time, but that's better than doing nothing at all and staying that red line of stress, the chronic point that I was just sharing earlier. And we can see this on data.

So nobody listen to this right now is invincible. You're a human being that has a heart, that has a lungs, that has a brain, and it is overstimulated unless you use these tools to take the power back, slow down the pace, take a breath, recalibrate, then you can reengage fresh and your brain is not getting too much overstimulation. This is heart, lungs, mind.

India (39:47.965)
Thank you.

India (40:13.143)
Yeah, it's...

Richie Norton (40:17.216)
All of these things that we know need to be kept in check. And I promise you, it doesn't have to be hard work. It doesn't have to be complicated. It just has to be something you're conscious of requiring every day that allows you to be the strongest, most grounded version of yourself to deal with all the chaos that the world will throw at you. If you haven't got that little force field, you're going to get smashed. You're going to get beaten up. It's going to be hard. So take that power back.

India (40:20.567)
you

India (40:47.873)
It's, it's, yeah, exactly. And I can see just from last night how important that is. And yeah, and it takes a while, doesn't it, to kind of embed those rituals into your, into your world. But I guess it's a case of sticking with it and seeing the benefits. And I, and it only gets, I guess you must get to a point where it's almost second nature. You don't think twice about doing those.

Richie Norton (40:47.968)
That is why you have rituals.

Richie Norton (41:04.255)
Can I just share something on that point? You just mentioned something there that maybe helps reinforce someone listening to this right now.

India (41:16.917)
those rituals in the morning and the evening, it just comes to you. Yeah, yeah.

Richie Norton (41:28.223)
So I might have lots of tools, I might have lots of knowledge to be able to share all the things that I'm talking about, but all of these things started with one thing. So rather than think about, oh my God, that's so much to do, how am I gonna fit all that in my day? Why not start with the one thing that takes the littlest pocket of time out of your day that you feel always has a profound impact? So you pick one thing and that becomes like the anchor for the rest of your wellbeing rituals.

One thing for one week and notice the difference that you can also celebrate that you're starting to do doing more for yourself. Otherwise you're just an out of control human being like a robot going through like this autopilot all week which causes so much unnecessary stress. So that one ritual could be getting up going outside going for a walk without your phone. It could be reading a book rather than opening your phone. It could be leaving your phone alone in the morning for an hour.

and doing something mindful. At bedtime, it could be you deciding for a week, you're not gonna watch Netflix, you're not gonna be on your phone, you're gonna choose two hours where you just have some mindful time and you breathe and you stretch. One little thing and that compounds over time because it's one thing that you're doing consistently that you can celebrate and then add more. But which is that one thing for you?

So it's usually the easiest one, the lowest hanging fruit, the easiest thing that you can do. And most people think that could be something impossible. I promise you it's not. We just have to prioritize it.

India (43:05.463)
But yeah, like you say, just getting out for a 15 minute walk in nature can be game changing. And I know, yeah, I will be doing this after this podcast, I'm gonna take the dog out. But I know for me, that is sort of my anchor actually. I have to get out for a walk every single day. And if I don't, I just, yeah, it doesn't feel right. I don't feel like I'm...

Richie Norton (43:11.526)
Mm -hmm.

India (43:31.735)
I am the truest person that I can be. Just on that note, because you've spoken about nature quite a bit, do you notice a difference in your practices, bit yoga, breath work, training when you're indoors or outdoors? Because I have a lot of listeners who are very passionate about the great outdoors. And I guess what has inspired this podcast for me was how much I noticed a difference in my well -being when I started to...

move my body outdoors. Yeah, just curious to know your kind of opinion on this and how you use nature within your practices.

Richie Norton (44:13.979)
Well, I'll start by saying nature is definitely the best place to spend more time. Whatever you're doing. If you can, you know, let's be real, we're in the UK, which seems to have been wet for a long time. Being outdoors, you know, you live in the city, you know, a lot of people will live in concrete jungles where they don't really have nature. They don't really have big green rolling hills. So how do you fix that? You have to find little pockets of greenery, a little park.

India (44:26.751)
Yeah.

Richie Norton (44:43.93)
or look at the trees, find a little bit of space or be more proactive about getting outside and finding a little bit of nature, a little bit of open space, you know, take your shoes off, you know, and ground yourself down. If it's muddy and wet like it is where I live right now, you have to have wellies on pretty much all the time. But I'm still out, I'm still breathing and I'm still looking around and I'm still taking it all in. So for me, a practice using nature.

is always going to be the best remedy. The fresh air, the sky, hopefully seeing some sunshine, but just being outside of those four walls that you end up being imprisoned in for a lot of your time. If you can practice outside, and I'll say practice can be breathing, looking around, slowing down.

watching your steps, looking at the floor, looking, just creating more space for the mind is more powerful than doing nothing at all. And it can often be more powerful than rolling out your mat inside and staying in those four walls. The outdoors, fresh air, moving, breathing, when you're in nature is going to win hands down every time.

India (45:59.295)
Hmm. Hmm.

Richie Norton (46:05.348)
and so much more powerful. Don't over complicate it. If you do have more time and you can get to the countryside, go and immerse yourself in it. It will be transformational. It affects everything. But if you can't do that, just a small pocket of time that you choose to take is just as valuable if you're making it a ritual.

India (46:24.507)
Yeah, absolutely. I think the biggest takeaway that I've got from our chat today is all these things you're saying are so accessible. Breathing, stepping outside, taking a moment, don't look at your phone. All these things, it doesn't cost anything to do all this stuff. And I think that's what is so great about what you're doing is that anybody can do it and access it.

Richie Norton (46:44.63)
Mm -hmm.

Richie Norton (46:49.175)
. . .

India (46:53.303)
That's really exciting because it shows just how possible it is for all of us. So I have one final question I ask all my guests and that is looking back at the ripples that you've made in your life, what are the biggest lessons that you've learned keeping your mind and body healthy? So I guess summing up. Yeah.

Richie Norton (47:11.031)
Well, you've just touched on it. Yeah. You've just touched on it there. And I'll lead in with what came up for me when you were sharing that I could tell you lots of things that will help physical training, gym, going for runs, doing certain training programs, doing yoga teacher training, investing in yourself will always be a good thing.

India (47:28.969)
you

Richie Norton (47:37.654)
Whatever you're going to invest in yourself today is a step in the right direction. So that ripple of positive change can happen at any age. You can reinvent yourself. You can start again. You can recalibrate to get back onto a more of a positive flow if you choose to. And in that, it becomes this really empowering moment of taking charge, taking control of your life. So that new ripple of change can start today.

India (48:03.959)
you

Richie Norton (48:08.181)
And if I was gonna over -complicate it, it's unlikely people are gonna start that today because it seems like too big a step. I could say it, but everything I've shared today is for a reason. Because I want everybody to take charge and to take ownership of the daily rituals that are available to them. And they are free, most of them, and they don't take up much time. And I would say by far the biggest ripples in my life that are still...

flowing into bigger waves right now have been on the basis of when life gets really busy and it feels really tough and you're up against it, that is when we find it really hard to keep up with the big changes that we know we should be making. So stick to the little ripples because they will become bigger waves and those little ripples can be slowing down for a moment.

and recognizing that you need to do a little bit of work on yourself because you're feeling something needs to change. Don't ignore the signs. Don't pretend it's not happening. But what's the one thing you can do to help get yourself out of that low energy, to help give yourself a little bit of a boost? What do you need? Pick the tool that will then create a positive ripple into the next day. Breathe.

India (49:29.129)
you

Richie Norton (49:36.948)
Move, stretch, flow, get an early night, write down what's on your mind, talk about it with someone to allow the momentum, the positive flow to come through. You never have to stay stuck. You never have to suffer. It's just there to remind you that something needs to change. So you just don't ignore those signs and pick the easiest.

India (49:37.239)
you

Richie Norton (50:04.22)
lowest hanging fruit, the most accessible thing that works for you. And that will create momentum to take you somewhere you might not have ever been before. Trust that and watch the magic happen.

I really believe it.

India (50:22.807)
Yeah, absolutely. Oh, thanks so much, Richie, honestly. You've shared so many insightful moments in our chat. And yeah, I'm really excited for people to hear this conversation because I think it's super, super important. So yeah, amazing. And if anybody wanted to kind of find out a little bit more about you, how can they do that? It's the best way to reach out.

Richie Norton (50:36.036)
Well, I love talking about these things and I always hope I can be part of everyone's journey, if anything, just to steer them down a path to learn more about themselves. So.

I have an Instagram channel, which is where I'm probably most active, which is richynorton. And the website is a fountain of lots of different stories and insights and education. And that's richynorton. Yeah, you can probably find me at richynorton .com or thestrandtemple .com. These are all resources that we're hoping to provide lots of different avenues to give people all the tools they need.

India (51:26.935)
I'll pop it all in my show notes as well so that people can access that because I really feel like, yeah.

Richie Norton (51:27.9)
Yeah. Yeah, I also have an app. My app is called Lift Your Vibe. I thought that was convenient to call it that. The app is where I teach people live in person and I provide coaching and tools and things like that. And it's very accessible for those people that can't work with me personally one -on -one. Hopefully that's enough for everybody to get access to all the help they need.

India (51:35.863)
Mm -hmm.

India (51:41.719)
Mm -hmm.

India (51:53.175)
Great, amazing. Well, thank you so much. I'll let you be on with the rest of your day. But yeah, I really appreciate your time, Chang, for today. Thank you.

Richie Norton (51:57.408)
Thanks for having me.

India (52:02.711)
Amazing, that was great, thank you, honestly.