Your Mindful Minute Blog

Your Mindful Minute was LIO’s first event for 2021. 28 August was a special kind of morning in more ways than one.

The cold was noisy as the sun battled through the icy blanket. I stood in the wooden doorway, and I felt it, like North, in my belly. This is the phoenix rising from the ashes. This is the return to LIO I talked about. This was it. LIO in full glory. LIO back in action.

As the women were piling in with bundles of blankets to weather the last bit of icy cold the winter had to give, I smiled.

Isn’t it gorgeous how a bunch of unrelated women can enter a space with a set intention and create a little heaven within that moment?

What was the set intention? To take a few hours and just be. Just to breathe and be.

After some mindful movement and grounding into the moment, led by Beth Mackay – our mindfulness coach, we settled down for some gut talk.

Although the gut is such a vast topic we talked and laughed and tasted yummy cold-pressed juices. LIO was way too excited to share our new knowledge on nutrition.

Then we explored the reality and truth about creating mental space to live a life that is open and aware. A life where we consciously choose love. Love for self. Love for others. Love for healing and letting go.

But to be honest. A new beginning wasn’t the only thing I felt.

What I also felt in my belly was exhaustion. Four weeks before the event my life went into overdrive. Working from 5 am in the mornings till 11 pm. Not eating as well as I should. Not having time to take care of my body and mind as I should.

I felt as though I could fall asleep at any minute if it wasn’t so damn cold. I also still felt the remnants of what depression did to my body. As the women shared their stories, I realised, that the exhaustion my gut picked up on, wasn’t just my own.

When I stood in front of the group of women, looking into their eyes I realised something.

We are all collectively suffering whilst struggling on our own.

What I saw was a group of women. Tired. Exhausted from running and adjusting and coping with life and all the new challenges. What I saw was a group of women, that for only a few hours, created space for each other’s hurt, exhaustion, and self-expression.

Never in my lifetime was it more necessary for women to use their strength and power than now. And you know what? I felt that too. I could feel how each of us just showed up. Whether we were tired, angry, disappointed, sad, excited, uncertain, we just showed up as we were. And I loved it.