On Sunday 16th July 2023, we celebrated ur 10th birthday by hosting a couple on Mindfulness Workshops via Zoom, led by previous Theatre Full Stop team member Megan Mattravers. Inspiration struck for these workshops post my (Lucy Basaba) Reiki Healer training – I’m now Reiki Level 2 trained, and my journey when addressing my own mental wellbeing. The lockdowns a catalyst for exploring ways in which to support wellness at such an unpredictable historical time period. Our initial Mindfulness sessions were received well, a new idea, participants were unsure as to what to expect, but once it was explained what these sessions would entail, Megan cultivated a calm and safe environment to reflect and relax – questions helping root us in the present, and a body scan to conclude an indicator of Workshops to follow.
Sunday 10th December 2023 and Sunday 7th January 2024 continued on from the previous year’s structure, the intentions set were to see out the year and reflect on what was, and welcome in the new year with good intentions. This particular round of workshops witnessing the move from Zoom to Instagram, seeing as social media Instagram Live easily allows for users to join in as and when and at their own pace. This was a great adaptation, with Megan still able to lead the workshops, with participants responding to the sessions via chat.
Sunday 14th April again saw a continuation of the work achieved so far by Megan, Instagram Live as mentioned before great for accessibility. We welcomed in Sprintime, with questions asked to help root us into the present moment and a body scan again to conclude. This has been an effective structure, due to the 30 minute time scale being just enough to introduce those maybe new to this idea of ‘mindfulness’ get a better idea of what this entails, and for those more experienced, to deepen their own mindfulness practice.
Sunday 14th July marks our 11th birthday, Megan returns, with the addition of Pilates to the routine. I started this about 2 years ago now, but have been on a break due to injury -but found this form of low impact exercise great for calming me down. Led by Sibylla Meienberg, who brings years worth of expertise practising and delivering Pilates workshops, participants can now take part in a Pilates routine suitable for beginners and at their own pace. Thank you to Francesca Mepham for her continued PR support, she’s helped to spread the word about these newly added workshops – so we’ll continue on with these and see where they lead to – we just hope those that take part benefit from them.
We return with a mindfulness weekend to end the year on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th December with the programme yet to be confirmed.
Written by Lucy Basaba.
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