Pop-up workshop in Sydney Gardens Community Pavilion, Bath BA2
Our breath is our life force. Without it we cannot survive. In this pop-up workshop in Bath this October, let’s expand our perspective around what we need not only to survive, but to thrive. What nourishment do we need to give to all areas of our lives in order for us to thrive in all ways.
Join me in this active breath meditation with Reiki on Saturday 21 October 2023
WHen : 6:30 to 8:30pm
investment : £45 GBP
If you would like to attend but you feel you cannot afford this energy exchange at this time, please email me
Some reflections on Nourishment…
A year ago, I was part of a panel of speakers for Six Senses, on Hunting Discomfort: The Power of Good Stress for Longevity and Greater Resilience.
Speaking on the panel with me was a friend of mine, Sterling Hawkins (CEO and founder of the Sterling Hawkins Group, a research, training, and development company focused on human and organizational growth, and author of Hunting Discomfort), and Dr Brian Kopell (Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Neuroscience, and Director at Mount Sinai in New York City).
It was a stimulating discussion in part revolving around the idea that there is good stress and bad stress. Good stress helps us to expand and grow (and access a more expansive life experience), while bad stress can lead to burnout, overwhelm, disease and disorder.
One of the things I took away from the discussion was this : If we do not nourish ourselves so that our bodies and our minds are supported, we do not have the capacity to hunt discomfort. That is…we cannot face the discomfort we feel in our lives and move through it to the other side in order to access our greater potential, unless we are nourished and supported in body, mind, and spirit.
We just can’t.
It’s like asking your body and your mind to powerlift an 800lb weight (like a seasoned and top tier professional could) without first training and strengthening your body and your mind for months or even years.
So if nourishment is key to our body, mind, and spirit health…how else can we think about it and experience it?
nourish / verb
to provide people or living things with food in order to make them grow and keep them healthy
Fall (or autumn if you're British!) is a time of transition. A time when things are changing externally, the rythms of life change as the weather changes and becomes cooler. We start to prepare ourselves for winter. It is a time of transformation. Quite literally, trees lose their leaves and the landscapes around us transform. Emotions tend to surface. We can use this energy of fall to notice what comes up for us and release the things that are no longer serving us. To do this with greater ease, it is so important to make sure that we nourish ourselves. Fall is also a time of harvest. Of gathering the fruit of the land and nourishing ourselves with it, so it turns out our planet is actually supporting us in exactly the way we need to be supported at this time of year!
When I think of nourishment, I think of feeding my body well. Nutritious, healthy, fresh food. Water. Sleep. I also think of my skin, what I am letting it drink, how I am taking care of it and protecting it - my first defense and boundary to the world. Beyond this, I am energetically fed by so much more than the literal meaning of ‘food’. I think of being in nature, and how I am nourished by drinking in fresh air, trees, and sunlight. I think of watching sunsets over oceans. I think of kissing my lover. I think of meditation and yoga. I think of laughter. I think of good quality time shared with family and friends.
I also know that I need to make a conscious effort to create space in my life and my body to be able to receive the nourishment I need. Some also call this self-care. If I am stressed and worried, I do not have the space to receive nourishment, even if it is there for me. I push it away…it can't come in. If I do not schedule time for myself to spend doing things that nourish me, I start to lose energy and focus. I start to lose motivation. My world becomes smaller. Then stress and worry result. So I schedule time for me. Write it in my calendar. Then I can expand to welcome all of the things that both nourish me, and the things that require my attention. Work. Family. Relationship. Life!
What nourishes you? Are you making time for those things to nourish your life?
I am your moon and your moonlight too
I am your flower garden and your water too
I have come all this way, eager for you
Without shoes or shawl
I want you to laugh
To **** all your worries
To love you
To nourish you.” ― Rumi
To read more about Breathwork Healing, have a look here.