Excited (and a little nervous) to announce my online course "Calm in the chaos"- the first one, will start on on 6th April 2020. The first course is a prototype and I'm offering it for free!!! with a maximum number of 15 spaces. I’m looking for people to jump in with me and help me create something amazing.. if you think this is you, then read on! Registration opens on March 20th. I'll send out information on how to register by email etc, so if you're not already signed up to my mailing list, you can sign up here, or follow me on Instagram or Facebook)
What can I expect to learn?
A chance to reflect on your experience of motherhood and your identity now in this new phase of life.
An opportunity to learn about and practice mindfulness in a way that doesn’t require you to go off on retreat away from your family (although this can be amazing!)
A deeper awareness of your stress reactions and some tools for dealing with difficult emotions and bad days.
Through a digital detox week, a greater awareness of the impact of your smartphone and other technologies on your sense of calm and stress and the chance to appraise your engagement with that technology to make it work best for you!
You will have some tools which help you to set boundaries, including saying no without the guilt.
An opportunity to draw up your own clear and realistic (based on your circumstances) blueprint for self-care.
Community and accountability through an online forum and the weekly zoom calls with other participants.
What are the tools/practice we will use?
Mindfulness exercises, drawn from the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) field and from yoga, modified to be done in the middle of a busy family life.
Simple breathing exercises.
Some short yoga sequences and tips on maintaining a yoga practice at this stage of life.
Journaling and writing exercises. These do not have to be beautiful, or skillfully crafted. If you love the idea of writing as a form of meditation or a creative outlet, wonderful. But if you hate it, that’s ok too. These can still work for you. Many of the writing exercises take the form of lists, which most of us are familiar with! And crucially, you do not have to show your writing to anyone, ever, if you don’t want to 😊
What’s the time commitment involved? The course is run over 6 weeks. Each ‘lesson’ or exercise is between 10-20 minutes long- with approximately 6 lessons spread out over a week. Some of these exercises though are practices to integrate into your daily routine- so basically not taking time away from the things you would normally be doing. We’ll do a once- weekly group check-in call over Zoom – which should be 30-45 mins tops.
Who is it suitable for? It’s designed specifically with mums of little kids and babies in mind. If you have some experience of mindfulness, yoga or meditation, that’s great, but not necessary.
What technology/software do I need?
I’ll send exercises by email (these will be a combination of video, audio and text), and upload to the members section of my website- so you can access either way. You’ll need a member login for the website, which you should set up a few days before the course begins (I'll send instructions).
We will use Zoom for the group video calls. If you’ve never used Zoom before, it’s easy- but there is a handy tutorial here. You can use it on your phone or your computer or tablet. There is an app for your phone, or software for your desktop, but it works from the browser also, and you don’t have to sign up for an account to join the call.
For the digital detox, it’s ideal if you install a usage tracking app so you have an idea of your usage before heading into that week.
Other tools
A pen and notebook
A stopwatch (not your phone if you can avoid it).
An alarm clock for the digital detox week (so you can keep the phone out of the bedroom)
A yoga mat or rug
An open mind!
Structure
At beginning of the week, I'll send you the week’s lessons and exercises for you to work through at your own pace.
Middle of the week,I will send a reminder on the exercises.
Sometime middle of the week, we’ll have our group Zoom call to see how everyone is getting on. You’ll also be able to listen back to this if you can’t make the call in person.
You can ask questions in the forum at any stage during the week- either for me, or to chat with other participants.
I am so looking forward to sharing this with you! If you have any questions, get in touch, and look out for the registration announcement on March 20th!
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