Thank you to the 20 women who came together in circle for the launch of Mindful Mamas at Body Yoga, Berwick. It was a deep celebration of what is possible when we create space to normalise our fear and vulnerabilities and reinvigorate our deep wisdom and uncover our passionate longing for connection.
It was such a blessing to be gifted with the presence of an intergenerational mix of women and to bear witness to the courage and effort taken to step across the threshold into an unknown experience. The attendance of seasoned Mindful Mamas really fortified our experience of connection and unearthing the magic to find ease and peace in showing up just as we are. Therein lies the liberation and deep gratitude which was expressed and rejoiced.
This included the revelation or reminder that we can nurture ourselves and each other to soften the demands of modern life, find the joy in the mundane and let go of the self directed politics and bullying that holds us back.
We set the intention in the spirit of winter solstice and aligned with a calming and introverted energy of this season. The themes were inspired by a winter solstice poem and each of our voices being heard at check in. The poem inspired us to think of ‘repose’ – exploring how we can direct our attention to find repose in all that we do. I like to think about it as finding the space between our activities and thoughts. We can also relate this to the art of holding a yoga posture – moving and feeling into the form, adjusting and exploring and then the letting go of all instruction and enquiry and just ‘being’.
We recovered and celebrated newfound connection with directing attention to the rhythm of our breath to find space in our day. We explored how to visualise and move the diaphragm as a fast track out of stress and towards ease, to reset the nervous system to rest and digest.
The themes directed by the group included letting go of fear, guilt, high expectations, disappointment and time pressure. The power of deep listening and alternating to find voice in paired discussions bolstered a sense of empowerment, reawakening the strength and wisdom to take the next step to align action with our personal desires.
Our senses were truly delighted with gifts from food intuitive and Ayurvedic counsellor Christine who brought along a sweet and salty chai slice which paired perfectly with her dandelion chai. The winter warming Ayurvedic tea and chocolate bark with cinnamon, orange rind and dried cranberries were also a crowd pleaser! (You can make your own using the recipe below!)
The barometer of our soul was well and truly filled with nourishment by the end of our break but we weren’t done nourishing our senses just yet. We infused the room with a delicious aroma with essential oils intuitively selected by each Mama and then mindfully infused into our take home collection of bath salt. The evening was rounded out nicely as each Mama was gifted with a worry jar and 3 paper strips to write down their worries. The worry jars are now in the fridge and the paper slips will come out in spring to be set alight. We committed to transform our worries into space for creative good.
These beautiful words were written with love by one of our very own Mindful Mamas Leaders – Anna Berkelmans.
Anna is a Registered Nurse, Yoga Teacher and Certified Yoga Health Coach. Anna is committed to sharing the path of mindfulness and guiding people to sync up their daily habits to align with their personal hopes and dreams. Anna has a passion for making yoga accessible to everybody and impacting her own personal growth in order to empower her family and wider community. To read more from Anna visit her website – Body Yoga
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