I believe that holistic practices can support us to take good care of ourselves as we attend to others people’s needs in our professional role. They can give us a deeper awareness of our own needs, remind us to take any opportunity to recuperate and to balance out what we put out into the world with routine practices of self-care, keeping our energy levels in check and potentially preventing emotional fatigue.
In 2012 I qualified as a Dance Movement Psychotherapist with an experiential research project (my thesis) which used movement and holistic modalities to prevent burn out from emotional fatigue. As part of the research, I facilitated movement based sessions for a group made of counsellors and psychotherapists and used their feedback and reflections to draw conclusions. The outcomes were highly encouraging and I started offering 1:1 mentoring, groupwork and workshops to all practitioners of the helping professions who wished to explore and build resources/practices around their own wellbeing.
Fast-forward more than 10 years later, I have enriched my own journey toward optimal health and wellbeing, exploring many creative and holistic practices often with movement at their core and have become interested in the wisdom of ancient traditions, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Ayurveda. The following offerings have emerged along this path:
The Art of Listening Within
This is a programme made of a stand-alone workshop, leading to monthly on-going group work, if participants wish to continue with these; movement exploration and creative media are used to support awareness around participants’ wellbeing and to build a range of personalised resources which can be integrated into day to day life. The initial workshop is a requirement for follow up groupwork sessions which will be offered to a closed group for up to 6 sessions. At the end the work is reviewed and the group opens us to new members.
No previous experience in the Arts or a specific level of fitness is required, just an openness to explore.
If you’re interested please get in touch with your availability as a group is still forming.
Seasonal Gatherings – a meeting with our own nature
This is a series of six workshops spread out throughout the year, which can be attended as the whole cycle or individually. They aim at supporting a more balanced connection between ourselves and the natural world, mending the gap which separate us from the natural world. Over the last few year, my growing interest in holistic practices has brought me closer and closer to the ancient traditions of Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, particularly the five elements, which have inspired the following themes of exploration.
Autumn – focusing within, letting go of what no longer serves
Winter – nourishing ourselves and our dreams
Spring – stretching into the world
Early Summer – the art of discernment
Summer – living from the heart
Late Summer – finding balance and gratitude to the Earth
One-to-one wellbeing mentoring
These ad-hoc sessions are aimed at identifying and exploring your wellbeing needs, as well as building resources and encouraging commitment to your own wellbeing plan. You will be asked to prepare for sessions by finding a question you would like to explore as a starting point of our work together. My role in proving the support you may need in monitoring your own progress is discussed at the end of each session.
Practitioners’ Wellbeing Scotland – Facebook closed group (more info coming up soon)