Preparing for your retreat day!
So it’s almost here! For those of you that know about my “bike tumble” I’m happy to report that I’m confident the retreat will go ahead now. I wrote a little blog post on it here.
Meanwhile here are a few thoughts on how I recommend you prepare for 11th May so that you can get the most out of it!
The beautiful Hollybank House :)
A DAILY MINDFULNESS PRACTICE…
If you’re booked on the retreat you probably already know a little bit about mindfulness, perhaps you have attended one of my courses. Regardless of your experience it would be really helpful for you to engage in a regular mindfulness practice before you attend the retreat.
The silence
A day of silence can be quite an intense experience! Whilst I will be there to support you through it is good if you can get comfortable with sitting in silence before we meet. The following mediations should help!
The meditations
Below are a few mindfulness meditations which you may wish to try out before we meet. If you lead a busy life just doing the 3 minute breathing space daily will be a great help.
The 30 minute sitting meditation is a good place to start if you have more time.
The body scan always brings up mixed reviews! It is however an important practice and we will be doing it on the retreat!
If you already have an established mindfulness practice and you are used to “bringing your mind back” without voice prompts you may find the simple “timed silence” exercise below useful.
Other resources!
There are some great apps out there. At the moment my favourites are:
You tube
(Yes I know :D)
I have also just started a YouTube channel. The idea is to share mindfulness meditations from various locations. They’re live, unedited and just raw video but I hope you find them helpful :)
Yoga
There will be some optional yoga during the retreat day. Ursula teaches a gentle “yin” yoga practice which is incredible relaxing and non-strenuous. If you haven’t any experience of yoga you may wish to try a class before the day to see whether it is something that you enjoy. LANO yoga in Chichester do a couple of great slow “yin” classes on a Tuesday Evening (7:45-9 with Karl) and a Sunday Evening (6-7:15 with Ursula).
Mobile phones
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for some of us will be to be “offline” for the day. I invite you to enjoy a “digital detox” whilst on the retreat and to alert anyone important that you will be out of contact for the day. From my own personal experience I have found this to be a great relief!!
That said I appreciate that there may be some things which can’t be ignored, in which case, out of respect for your fellow participants please only use your mobile phone outdoors and away from others where you can’t be heard.
Don’t forget to bring
I very much look forward to welcoming you on the 11th. Here’s a reminder of what to bring!
Yoga mat
Dietary needs (please let me know if you have any ASAP kate@lifeisnow.co.uk)
Comfortable clothes
Cushion/blanket
Outdoor shoes
Raincoat
An open curious mind (essential!)
Please also make sure you fill out the health declaration online before arriving :)
Keeping in touch
I am so fortunate to have met the most wonderful community of people through this work and I know that many of you are forming connections of your own. I’ve created a facebook group for those of you that would like to keep in touch after the retreat here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/384141812178911/
See you soon!
Kate x