“Mindfulness has saved her,” Mum told a friend who was wondering how I was possibly coping with another health crisis and emergency hospital admission. I often say myself, “my mindfulness practice got me through.” The last few weeks have been no exception.
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‘Lightly child, lightly.’ It was week seven of my practice Mindfulness for Health course. I had just shared a passage by Aldous Huxley whilst guiding a Body Scan with an Open Heart emphasis. One participant described a feeling of lightness in her body and a sense of relief that in allowing experiences to come and go, they lost their intensity. Another, commented on how we can gently hold an experience, or we can grasp it, crushing it and creating tension and suffering for ourselves. The words supported me throughout the course, my mind and body softening each time I read them as I took a step back to see more clearly. Watching us enjoy that lightness was a delight. It hadn’t always been that way, for myself or for the group.
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This is the final post in a series inspired by a week on retreat. You can read the first post, ‘The Gift of Kindness’ here, the second post, ‘Simplicity in Practice’ here and the third post, ‘What is Silence?’ here.
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Clear sky full of stars. Soft footsteps echoing through the cold night air. Wind howling around the courtyard. Wrapped up in coat, hat, scarf and gloves, protected and held by the walls of Vajrasana. Buddha sitting on his pool of rippling black water. Soft spot lights picking up textured seed heads. I walk a little with my walker, exhilarated, hopeful. I sit back in my wheelchair pulling my blanket around me as I allow my senses to awaken and my imagination to come alive.
The theme of imagination ran throughout much of the retreat. We were invited to let it into our practice and to play with it, from a place of embodiment so that we didn’t slip into fantasy. I often draw upon imagination in my meditations and I was delighted that it became a topic of the retreat; something that can feel at odds to mindfulness, but that can add such vibrancy and richness to our practice.
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This is the third in a series of posts inspired by a week on retreat. You can read the first post, ‘The Gift of Kindness’ here and the second post, ‘Simplicity in Practice’ here.
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What is silence? Is it the absence of sound, or maybe the absence of unnecessary sound? Stillness. Space. In music, silence is often more powerful than the notes – it takes courage, confidence, an assured performer. Perhaps the same is true in conversation? What about internal noise? Thoughts can be incredibly loud, even though others can’t hear them. Who needs to hear it for it to be a sound? Can you be silent within whilst the external world is noisy? Is silence even possible? Is it more a case of turning down the volume and tuning in to what is most necessary, valuable and important?
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This is the second in a series of posts inspired by a week on retreat. You can read the first post, ‘The Gift of Kindness’ here.
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“Soft hands, soft mind, soft heart.” – Vidyamala Burch
We arrived on retreat with our baggage to unpack. We had our suitcases and holdalls of physical belongings. We also had the psychological and emotional unpacking that would likely arise during the spacious time we were giving our meditation practice.
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In December, I left the pre-Christmas chaos and travelled back to Vajrasana, Suffolk to spend a week on retreat. Led by Breathworks Co-Founders, Vidyamala and Sona, and senior trainers, MJ and Andrea, ‘A Journey into the Heart of Mindfulness and Compassion’ was an opportunity to immerse myself in my practice after focusing on teacher training, and a chance to look inward and reflect before the year came to an end. It was an inspiring and uplifting week, and has led to a series of blog posts, this being the first.
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“I’m stressed.” “It’s stressful.” We say and hear it all the time, but what exactly is stress? What if it’s not the challenging experience or how we’re feeling, but the gap between the two where we can either habitually react or consciously respond?
On my recent training retreat we focused on delivering Mindfulness for Stress, an eight week course by Breathworks that is tailored towards helping people manage the challenges of daily life. There was an irony that almost immediately after immersing myself in the course I felt pretty stressed myself and yes, I’m sure I said “I’m stressed” and “it’s stressful” countless times. But I could also recognise that my response, or rather my reaction, was fuelling a lot of how I was feeling and that it was within my control to shift back to a more balanced state. Not that it was easy, but knowing that it was even possible was hugely empowering.
I’m sitting in the courtyard. The sky clear blue above, hot rays of sun warming my skin. Grasses whisper in the breeze, a bee buzzes around a yellow lily. There’s a burst of laughter, a passing conversation. Cutlery rattles as the dining trolley is wheeled through to the kitchen.
I was partway through my teacher training week, feeling held in the space and held in the community as the gentle hustle and bustle of retreat activity went on around me. I was back at Vajrasana, a beautiful retreat centre in the heart of rural Suffolk. I felt part of the Breathworks family, experiencing a deep connection with the people, the practice, the training and the environment I was in. I was aware of my breath deep within my body, of gentle flutterings of excitement in my chest, a smile on my face.Read More
It’s been a little while since I last posted. I have been enjoying a period of greater stability in my health after what was a particularly challenging Autumn and Winter, and I’ve been focusing on, and thoroughly enjoying, my mindfulness teacher training.
I’ve started running a ‘practice practice’ Mindfulness for Health course (a trial run of the official practice course I will deliver as the final part of my training ahead of applying for accreditation). It’s an absolute pleasure to be sharing what I’ve learnt with others and an honour to be able to help facilitate people in making meaningful changes in their lives. I hope it’s just a taste of what is to come. I’ve been working on the Mindful Movement component of training and Looking ahead to the advanced training retreat I’ll be going on this summer. It really is all beginning to come together.
I’d like to share this little video I made for Breathworks with you, where I talk about my experience of the Mindfulness for Health course, how it complements my FND management and how it has ultimately given me a better way to live my life.
What is mindfulness? The next time I’m asked, I may well recommend ‘The Little Mindfulness Workbook,’ by Gary Hennessey, co-founder of Breathworks. The small, compact size of this new mini book is appealing, yet Gary, with his extensive experience practising and teaching mindfulness, introduces many key principles and practices. He captures the essence of mindfulness, which can be so hard to articulate, in a down to earth and friendly manner.Read More