As always, we often arrive at important things and changes through our own experience.
Since the end of last year I had been struggling with my physical health – a slight fever, exhaustion and strange pains – whose only identifiable cause seemed to be the working time spent behind a screen. The longer the meetings, the worse I felt. The strangest thing, though, was that emotionally the end of the year and the beginning of the new one were among the nicest times. I spent the whole of January on my own in the countryside: I took time for myself and spent a lot of time in nature. But despite this, my health didn’t recover, and it forced me to work even more on the balance of my body and mind, my mental and physical health.
I have been a practitioner of meditation and mindfulness, with varying success, for over 10 years. As with many people, probably, so with me: when there is an urgent need in the form of health, I do more for myself, and when life is easier, self-care tends to fall by the wayside.
This time, though, I was in such trouble that it forced me to find a supportive daily routine. I tried out different mental and physical practices, read and studied fresh research, and talked with experts in my field. Being away from the city, I had the luxury of doing all this, because I had more time for myself.
Back in the whirl of city life, I found myself starting to fall out of the pleasant rhythm I had built up. I could no longer take several hours for myself every morning, let alone the evenings.
As my body needed a pause, and at the same time things needed doing, and I felt I couldn’t give up either, I started looking for a paradoxical solution: how to achieve both at the same time.
So, through trial and error, I arrived at original, brilliantly simple practices that fit into everyday life. You could say that after years of wandering I came back to simple basic truths and roots. I found for myself the simple recommendations and practices of Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Zen master, poet, peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Everything seemed to fall into place, and mental training became a natural part of my life. I was like a small, excited child who wanted to share this simplicity and touch with others too.
First I dared to share it with those closest to me – my family. This grew into our family’s weekly shared half hour on Saturday mornings. As the children are already grown up (they all live separately and all have their own busy lives), it seemed realistic to take half an hour once a week, which sometimes stretched to an hour together, when we did a supportive exercise together and shared how we were doing in supporting our mental health. There was no obligation to take part. Rather, there was joy and gratitude when someone found time in their busy life to slow down together for a moment. It was so valuable and supportive! This is how the shared practice and sharing sessions I guide began.
The next logical step has been seminars and workshops on stress management and mental health within organisations. It is great to see how many organisations consider this topic important and try to support their people in every way.
Thanks to these workshops, I have found something like a second wind. Alongside moderating strategies and supporting the development of leaders and teams, I can make my small contribution to people being more attentive, accepting and caring towards themselves. More than ever before, I can also use my background as a psychologist and psychotherapist and my long experience as a practitioner and student of mindfulness. And supporting others through regular workshops is supportive for me too. The fever no longer rises, even though the workshops also take place online. 
In May we are opening two new stress management workshop groups that anyone can join. More information on the stress management workshops page.
