RNIB - Health and Wellbeing

Yoga teacher Dawn Blezard returns to the Happy Hour for another Off The Matt chat.
This month, she reflects on her recent challenge, which saw Dawn and her yoga community walk the Jurassic Coast Walk over the course of three days in support of RNIB.
Dawn shares how years of yoga practice and also having a friendly community and a good cause in mind makes all the difference.

You can find out more about Dawn by searching for "Pathway Yoga with Dawn" on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube. Dawn also has a podcast: Seeing Within Podcast. 
Image shows a birds eye view photo shows Dawn holding a pose on her black yoga matt. Her legs are crossed and she holds onto her toes on either side of her body as she looks up at the camera. She has blonde hair set in two French braids and is wearing a lilac long sleeve top with patterned leggings. The yoga matt is black with high contract purple alignment lines, which are designed to help align your body and improve posture during yoga poses.

On the Happy Hour this week we share another personal story. Musician Neil Billinness chats with Paulina about losing his sight after a stroke and turning to music for comfort in hard times following the death of his partner and his dad’s brain cancer diagnosis. 
We’ll also dig deep into his musical style and inspirations. 
To find Neil's music, simply search "Neil Billinness music."
Image shows: Neil in dark glasses, headphones around his neck and a microphone hanging in front of him. He looks very cool.

Have you heard of Stickler Syndrome? Stickler Syndrome is a genetic condition affecting connective tissue and causing different symptoms. There are at least 11 distinct sub-groups of the condition, but they typically can present in main four areas: Eyes, hearing, musculoskeletal, and oro-facial.  
Frequently unrecognised and undiagnosed, Charity Stickler Syndrome UK is hoping to raise awareness of this genetic condition, but also awareness of a free checklist tool to help catch the condition early.
Happy Hour's Paulina Kuchorew is joined by student Amelia Aves, who was diagnosed early and able to retain hair sight due to early intervention.
To find the free checklist screening tool visit: Screening for Stickler Syndrome Type 1
Image shows the RNIB Connect Radio logo. On a white and black background ‘RNIB’ written in bold black capital letters and underline with a bold pink line. Underneath the line: ‘Connect Radio’ is written in black in a smaller font.

With a raise in meningitis cases amongst students, last month, the UK Health Security Agency has announced a free time-limited MenB vaccination programme for a million eligible young people in the 2026-27 academic year. 
Today, we’re joined by Patricia, who contracted meningitis in her late 30s back in 2006 and was left with long-term effects on her sight, hearing, taste and mobility.
 She spoke with Happy Hour's Paulina about the long-term impact, finding support as she recovered and keeping a positive mindset.
If you have a question about living with sight loss, no matter how big or small, RNIB are here to offer support. You can call the Helpline on 0303 123 9999 anytime from 9am–5pm, Monday to Friday.
Image shows the RNIB Connect Radio logo. On a white and black background ‘RNIB’ written in bold black capital letters and underline with a bold pink line. Underneath the line: ‘Connect Radio’ is written in black in a smaller font.

On the Happy Hour this week, we're chatting health and wellbeing, with a particular focus on blind baseball.
But, how do you play it and what wellbeing benefits does it offer?
We’re joined by Sheraz Chohan founder and competition and development officer at UK Blind Baseball Association (UKBBA) as well as Amjad Khan, Chairman and co-founder or the organisation.
To get in touch with the UK Blind Baseball Association visit: UK Blind Baseball Association
Image shows the RNIB Connect Radio logo. On a white and black background ‘RNIB’ written in bold black capital letters and underline with a bold pink line. Underneath the line: ‘Connect Radio’ is written in black in a smaller font.