If you have been exploring yoga or mindfulness or other wellbeing activities for a while you will have noticed that there are “retreats” on offer but you may be wondering what it’s all about and if it is for you.
Does a day or a week to yourself without the pressures of everyday life, in peace and quiet, with good food and beautiful surroundings sound like just what you are yearning for? then a retreat might be just what you need. This is one of the many reasons to go on retreat. You may be thinking “how is that any different from a holiday?”. Holidays are great but they are not necessarily focused on self-care, in fact they may be a wonderful opportunity to indulge in food, wine, culture, sun or sea but often we pack so much in to our holiday we come back feeling like we need a rest.
On a mindfulness retreat the invitation is there to slow down everyday life. To become aware of our own natural pace and processes. Think of it as a spa day for the mind. How wonderful it is to just focus on one thing at a time like making yourself a cup of tea and then enjoying it fully, not in a hurry to do the next thing or working at the same time. The view you spend the afternoon enjoying is of the internal experience of living in this one amazing body, this one amazing life. A retreat can be a great place to experience mindfulness practices for the first time away from distractions and with the support of an experienced teacher. Or it might be an opportunity to renew your mindfulness practice, to reconnect with why you meditate or deepen your practice. On my mindfulness retreat days I welcome beginners and the more experienced. We practice different meditations and mindful movement with plenty of time for discussing and understanding and we have a good lunch and nice treats through the day. The next retreat I will be running is at the lovely Arkwright meadows community gardens, a haven of growth in the heart of Nottingham, a short walk from the tram and the train station.
I always include a period of silence on my retreat days. When faced with the idea of silence in a group for the first time people can often feel very apprehensive: will it be awkward? what if I need to speak? what if I make a noise by mistake? However once they have tried it most people find silence can be a welcome relief from small talk, trying to perform well for others or just having to speak in a group. In silence we have the chance to get inside our own experience, to allow feelings to arise without silencing them with chatter. It can also help us notice the world around us more clearly and rediscover the wonder we used to feel as children at small details in our world. We move from silence into speaking again gently with the understanding that silent contemplation can be a powerful experience. Some people don’t want to give it up!
To book on the next one day mindfulness retreat:
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Mindful Eating: coping with the food court at the motorway services on a bank holiday
I spent the August bank holiday weekend at the glorious “Into the Wild Festival” in Sussex enjoying music and meditation, yoga, alternative therapies, drumming and crafts and a very chilled atmosphere. Festival food is always a great delight for me and this was no exception with a fantastic range of delicious food for vegetarians, vegans and meat eaters. Bee Wilson in her book “First Bite, How We Learn to Eat” points out the enormous influence the food environment has on our eating and food choices. Her argument is that the single most influential step a government could take to improve the population’s diet would be to legislate to create a healthy food environment on our supermarket shelves. The festival provided a really healthy set of food choices: super-tasty and fresh vegan and veggie curries, salads, soups and snacks and some sweet treats in the form of raw chocolates, homemade cakes, great ice-creams and sorbets. Sunday night I queued for handmade sourdough, wood-fired pizzas and chai tea so popular they had a vat constantly bubbling while they grated and ground fresh spices for it at the back of the stall. It also helped that the festival is a drug and alcohol free zone. I felt really well fed all weekend without being overfull or uncomfortable and my digestive system was very happy. It was easy to make good food choices all weekend.
Leaving a festival bubble for the “real world” is often a bit of a shock and on the way back we had to stop to get some lunch at a motorway services. I had already touched base with my tummy and planned in my head the tasty salad I would buy at M&S (I really like it that they have their outlets at motorway services now). Walking in through the automatic doors of the service station my senses were met with an avalanche of temptation as I stepped into one of the most difficult to manage food environments: a food court. There were doughnuts in many shapes and colours, fried chicken and burger bars, pasties and chips, Mexican food, Indian food, fish and chips, pizza and sandwiches, ice-creams and sweets in giant sized bags, coffee with syrups to add, crisps on special offer, Chinese noodles and spare ribs and everywhere advertising, aromas and other people eating. How to resist the temptations and stick to the plan to have the salad my body really wanted?
There is a very powerful mindfulness meditation called “Who is hungry in there?” I learned this from Dr Jan Chozen Bays’ book “Mindful Eating – A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food”. The meditation takes you through an investigation into each of the seven hungers we commonly experience: eye hunger, nose hunger, mouth hunger, mind hunger, heart hunger, stomach hunger and cellular hunger. This is easy to do as a practice and I recommend it to really understand the nature of hunger and cravings and be in closer contact with eating for genuine stomach or cellular hunger; that is because your body needs fuel of a particular kind. If you only ever learn one mindful eating practice make it this one and do it at every eating event until it becomes an automatic habit. You can listen to me guiding this meditation here:
So how did I manage the food court? By tuning in to what my stomach felt comfortable eating, the clean food the cells of my body craved and at the same time understanding that the food environment was specially designed to activate my eye hunger, nose hunger, mind hunger and mouth hunger by using advertising, images, aromas, messages to appeal to me on every level. Then I put my head down and like an SAS commando I got into M&S and out again as fast as possible!
I run mindful eating courses lasting 4 weeks and 6 weeks: why not come and learn to tune in to your real hunger to enjoy the food your body needs without guilt?
This one day retreat will give you an opportunity to experience the major practices of mindfulness in a supportive group atmosphere. With periods of silence this day can help you connect with yourself and a meditation practice in a way that feels profoundly nourishing and supportive.
It is suitable for most including beginners who have done a little reading or begun to investigate mindfulness in some way, up to experienced mindfulness practitioners. If in doubt please contact me for a friendly chat.
Held at the lovely Arkwright Meadows Community Garden in their straw bale room with time spent enjoying the outdoors mindfully.
The day will include:
Sitting meditations
lying down meditations
mindful eating
mindful walking/drawing
mindful movement
learning two mindful superpowers!
Delicious lunch and refreshments from Stripey Beetroot catering.
Try mindful eating for yourself. Mindful Eating course starts 15th June at WIRED cafe bar in Nottingham. 6 weeks to get the hang of it: £120 www.stillpointmindfulness.co.uk/courses
I am really excited to announce two Mindful Retreat Days in Nottingham:
Sunday May 22nd
Saturday July 9th
The May day will be held at the beautiful Lakeside Arts Centre at Nottingham University Park and will include a Mindful Yoga session with Veronica Layunta Maurel from Akasha Yoga, Beeston.
The July day will be held at the delightful Arkwright Meadows Community Garden in their straw bale community space with a delicious lunch by Stripey Beetroot catering.
Both days will include the chance to develop two mindful superpowers!
The meditation takes you through an investigation into each of the seven hungers we commonly experience: eye hunger, nose hunger, mouth hunger, mind hunger, heart hunger, stomach hunger and cellular hunger. This is easy to do as a practice and I recommend it to really understand the nature of hunger and cravings and be in closer contact with eating for genuine stomach or cellular hunger; that is because your body needs fuel of a particular kind. If you only ever learn one mindful eating practice make it this one and do it at every eating event until it becomes an automatic habit. You can listen to me guiding this meditation here:
