While many think it’s expensive creams and pricey treatments that keep you young, one woman begs to differ.
Di Westaway, from Sydney, pushes herself to the limits for a living, and swears that’s the key to staying fit and healthy.
Describing herself as a ‘professional adventurer’, the 57-year-old is the CEO of Wild Women On Top – which means she spends her time planning, promoting and carrying out various challenges including Coastrek.
Here, the mother-of-three reveals how a ‘midwife crisis’ led her to swap her life for something less ordinary – and how we can all benefit from doing a handstand in the wild every once in a while.
Di Westaway (pictured), 57, from Sydney, pushes herself to the limits for a living, and swears that’s the key to staying fit and healthy
The mother-of-three (picutred) revealed how a ‘midwife crisis’ led her to swap her life for something less ordinary – and how we can all benefit from doing a handstand in the wild
While Di (pictured) always had an adventurous streak, she originally worked as a radio producer – it wasn’t until around the age of 40 that her life changed dramatically
According to Di, while she’s always had an adventurous streak, it hasn’t permanently been a fixture in her day-to-day existence:
‘I was working as a radio producer when I had my midwife crisis,’ she told FEMAIL.
‘I was approaching 40, I was well and truly entrenched on the working mum treadmill and I was miserable.’
However, when a friend approached her to ask Di whether she would climb a mountain in South America with her – the highest in the southern hemisphere – something dawned on the mum-of-three.
‘I’ve always been quite impulsive – so I just thought I’d do it,’ Di explained.
After she got divorced, a friend approached her and suggested they did a hike together in South America – the experience was transformative for Di (pictured hiking)
‘An adventure might make you get fit, but it also takes your life to a new place,’ Di (pictured) told FEMAIL
The gruelling trek proved to be transformative, insfoar as when Di got back, she couldn’t wait to do more walking:
Now, she spends her time planning, promoting and carrying out various challenges
‘An adventure might make you get fit, but it also takes your life to a new place,’ she said.
‘After doing that, I realised life would never be the same and that I needed to find out if there were other mums like that.’
Several months later, Wild Women On Top was born.
While it started as a ‘little hiking group of us mums who would go out with head torches into the bush while our kids were asleep’, it soon became a ‘movement’:
‘I think what people like about it is that it gives them an opportunity to connect with nature and other women,’ Di said.
‘When you’re a mum, it’s easy to feel quite isolated. Walking with others provides a great opportunity to re-centre.’
Speaking about her personal highlights, Di said what stands out is when she set the world record for the world’s highest handstand, seven kilometres up on Mount Ama Dablam in Nepal (pictured at Mount Everest)
The handstand has become Di’s symbol of stepping outside her comfort zone – she does it both on cliff edges (right), and when she set the world record in Nepal (left)
Speaking about her personal highlights, Di said what stands out is when she set the world record for the world’s highest handstand, seven kilometres up on Mount Ama Dablam in Nepal:
‘I remember having this moment thinking: “What the f**k am I doing? I’m a mother”,’ Di told FEMAIL.
‘Even the challenge to get there – both physical and emotional – was quite extreme. We were melting snow for fluids, it took four weeks to even get to the high camp and then we had to get to the summit.
‘I sent a message to a friend asking: “Why am I doing this?”. She told me to control my mind and so I did it and did the handstand.
‘Since then, it’s become my symbol I do in all sorts of places on hikes – to depict me stepping outside my comfort zone.’
These days, Di takes whatever opportunity she can to adventure and get out into nature – whether it’s hiking, kayaking, yoga (pictured) or just walking
‘The secret to staying healthy is to do something every single day, no matter how small, Di said – it’s about frequency, not intensity
Di revealed that more and more women should get off the sofa and get moving – revealing it’s easier than you think (pictured in Nepal)
These days, Di takes whatever opportunity she can to adventure and get out into nature.
Whether it’s a hike around the Sydney bushland, a ‘wild weekend’ with friends in which she goes away with friends for night hikes or kayaking in the morning before work, she will always try to be on the move as often as possible.
‘The secret to staying healthy is to do something every single day, no matter how small, Di said.
‘It’s not about intensity, it’s frequency that matters.’
‘Get into a routine whereby you go for a walk every day, even if it’s short and you’re busy,’ she explained (pictured)
Di also recommends swapping the pub for walking as often as possible with other people or by yourself
Lastly, Di shared her tips for time-poor women who want to get off the sofa and get active, but just don’t know how:
‘Get into a routine whereby you go for a walk every day, even if it’s short and you’re busy,’ she explained.
‘Go out before the kids wake up and get your exercise out of the way before the day starts.
‘Then, once a week get your partner or some friends involved and go for a hike instead of to the pub. There is so much research around the importance of green space for our minds.
‘Later this month, I’m going on a girls’ weekend to Tasmania whereby I’m going to aim to do a handstand on a seastack at the Three Capes.
‘My advice is for women to get out there, whenever they can and just do it. You might enjoy it – and hiking is a great hobby that’s ideal for catching up with friends and getting some exercise.’
For more information about Wild Women On Top, please click here. You can also find out more about Coastrek here.