Tag: Loving kindness meditation

The Gift of Kindness

With Vidyamala Burch, Co-Founder of Breathworks

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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Reconnecting

Reconnecting with words. It feels good to be writing. My absence from the blog was unplanned; my recovery from labyrinthitis, supported so well by my week of self-care, was quickly followed by a glandular fever type infection, then a cold, which re-triggered the labyrinthitis. There was no respite, no opportunity to reconnect, as the ‘viral flare’, as my doctors are calling it, became increasingly multilayered and complex, making it even more challenging than usual to manage my FND. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. I returned to basics again and again, emptying my toolbox of symptom-management techniques, as my body tried to heal and I worked to regain and maintain lost strength and functioning. Read More

Christmas Connections

There’s a picture that has been hung up with the decorations in my parents’ home for as long as I can remember. It exudes feelings of love, warmth, light and joy. There’s a closeness and intimacy of the family holding hands together; everyone is connected as they share such a special day. Looking at it conjures up warm, cosy memories of my childhood Christmases, but I know for many, Christmas can be a very different experience. Some people are alone, others feel lonely even though they are surrounded by people. The same is often true living with a chronic illness. You can find yourself spending lengthy stretches of time alone through being housebound, unable to socialise or work. You can also be surrounded by people but still feel lonely, perhaps because you feel nobody understands or can truly share what you are experiencing.Read More