On Wednesday I went to check out the Take A Pause: Wellbeing Festival in Dalston. The event, which was run by Mind and City and Hackney Wellbeing Network during Mental Health Awareness Week, meant that locals could come and learn about self-care techniques, mindfulness and discover what support the City and Hackney Wellbeing Network can offer. The focus of this weeks Mental Health Awareness Week is stress, and there were plenty of activities and practices to encourage us to “Take A Pause”. When I saw the information for the event I knew I had to go, they had all kinds of free activities like yoga, massages, meditation, talks, plant potting, tea bag making and last but not least free pizza. Naturally, I signed up to try everything and find out more information about all of the amazing services available.
Hackney Herbal
Hackney Herbal are a social enterprise that promote wellbeing through herbal activities, workshops and their Hackney grown herbal tea bags. I made my own tea bag blend of Rose, Lavender and Lemon Verbena, which is a blend I was helped to create to promote relaxation and calm.
What I really liked about Hackney Herbal is the variety of activities that they offer, they do everything from herbal tea classes , growing masterclasses, classes to make your own skincare and lipbalms, but also they run 6 week courses at Centre For Better Health . They grow all the herbs for their workshops and teas in a couple of community gardens around Hackney and also in their own gardens and window boxes at home. They gave me some Marigold seeds to take home so I can start my own garden too.
If you don’t live in London you can still visit their shop and enjoy some of their herbal goodness wherever you are.
Lavender Bags & Affirmations with Shoreditch Trust
Lavender is one of the most well studied essential oils in terms of it’s relaxing effects. Research suggests that it may be useful for treating anxiety, insomnia, depression, and restlessness. So just by making and taking home one of these little bags you could feel calmer already! Shoreditch Trust are another incredible charity in Hackney that offer an extensive range of support services including health coaches, “Peace of Mind” workshops and small group sessions and other activities like yoga and cooking which you can self refer to through City and Hackney Wellbeing Network.
Mindfulness with Miia Chambers
Photo Credit – Mind
I felt really privileged to take part in this Mindfulness workshop with Miia who is a Mindful Self-Compassion practitioner, trainer, coach and the Mindfulness Lead at Mind – City, Hackney and Waltham Forest.
The exercise took place in a cozy little conservatory next to a log fire, which was a welcome respite from the chill outside. She led us through a couple of exercises focused around mindfulness and self compassion. The second of which I found particularly interesting and useful. I am and always have been my own worst critic, and I know the same applies for many people. How often in a day are we hard on ourselves? Or put ourselves down about something, or have a negative thought about something we’ve said or done? Half of the time we don’t even realise we’re doing it! Miia advised us to speak to ourselves as we would a friend, because as she pointed out; “If we spoke to our friends with the same harshness and criticism as we do ourselves, we wouldn’t have very many friends.” Too true! I found the whole session really comforting and also reassuring to know that everyone else there was having a similar experience to me. Thanks for sharing everyone!
Miia was also kind enough to share her tips on how to “Take A Pause” this Mental Health Awareness week, which you can find on my Instagram.
You can also catch her speak at The Mindful Living Show in Islington on June 1st.
Hopefully this gives everyone a small idea of the amazing amount of work that these charities do and the services they provide. I’ve provided as many links as possible so that you can access information to each of the services mentioned. But, we all know the reality of dealing with mental health isn’t as simple as making lavender bags, if you need urgent help, please talk to someone you know, contact a GP or read this Crisis Guide provided by Mind which explains what steps you can take and who to contact.
Big thank you to everyone from Mind, City and Hackney Wellbeing Network, Shoreditch Trust, Hackney Herbal and to Miia Chambers who all took the time to talk to me at this incredible event!
Don’t forget to donate to my 1 year sobriety challenge for Mind and support all the wonderful work they do and services they provide HERE
Some more event pictures below.
All pictures are my own unless credited otherwise.
Fits&Starts 