We gathered on June 16th at The Alchemy Studio in Revelstoke. 4 men showed up for themselves and for each other. This is something that is outside of the normal scope of activities for these men, so I want to honour their courage for stepping outside of their comfort zones and engaging.
We started the event with a 45-minute Yoga session. In becoming present through breathing and movement, we can begin to tune into our body and notice any feelings and sensations. As we move our body, the physical aspect of our self, we are giving permission for things to move in the other aspects of our self; emotional, mental, and spiritual. This seems to help lower the shields when we come to the Sharing Circle.
After winding down the movement, we rest in “corpse pose”, the final posture, the integration phase of the Yoga series. At this stage, I led a guided meditation for 15 minutes to further deepen their connection to their self and explore any feelings that may have been surfacing. These could be clues to areas that require attention.
We finished the evening with an hour Sharing Circle. We each had an uninterrupted opportunity to share some of the things we were experiencing in our lives as we passed the “talking stick” from one man to the next. We went around several times until we all felt like we were able to get something off our chest, or shoulders, or heart; feeling seen, heard, and accepted.
Everyone had positive feedback 💖
I want to thank Neighbourhood Small Grants for sponsoring this event to support men’s mental health and wellness.
