Embodied - in touch for wellbeing and mindfulness

Close to the city, you can find inner peace in nature. At Lake Maarsseveen, between the fields and trees, we create a space to relax, where we will go into silence together. We will open our senses, feel the wind between blowing over the lake, hear the movement of the trees branches moving in the wind, looking at the waves on the water and listening inside to our stillness. We would love to share this inner peace with you. Feel free to arrive in the early morning or later on the day.

We will be quiet all day, being aware of our breath, take moments for ourselves, meditate by sitting still, by movement and with breath. These days can be a good way to find out what form of meditation works best for you, so you can create your own rhythm of "mindfulness," in which you learn to accept and appreciate what comes in life.

This is a small scale donation-based mixed event, so everybody is welcome, all genders and orientations. You can arrive at 8:00 h (for the early birds) at 9:30 h for coffee / tea, or at 12:30 h. There will be four meditations during the day. Between them, you can read something, make a walk, cuddle or just relax.

Everybody is welcome. We are open towards all genders (including non-binary or transgenders) and all orientations. Some experience with meditation and yoga is welcome but not necessary. The meeting will be spoken in both Dutch and English.

If you cannot join on the spot, you can also join online. Just send me a message and you will get the Zoom link for the live meditations.

Facilitator
The meditations are guided by Tijs Breuer, who has been practicing mindfulness and different forms of meditations since he was 15 years old.

Program
8:00 h Walking meditation (for early birds).
The practice of mindful walking is developed by Thich Nhat Hanh. It's a profound and pleasurable way to deepen our connection with our body and the earth. The earth is sacred and we touch her with each step.We breathe, take a mindful step, and come back to our true home.

9:30 h Arrival / tea / coffee

10:00 h Silence meditation
The nature of your mind is to produce thought. Like the ocean, it has its own rhythm and flow. It should be respected, not feared or fought against. Once you stop fighting against your thoughts and allow it to flow naturally, you can begin to retreat into the depths of your inner self beyond the chaos and distractions.

12:30 h Lunch (a salad is served, feel free to bring food to share).

13:00 h Breathing meditation
Connecting to your breath can damp down stress and open a door to a more healthy and mindful lifestyle. One of the easiest ways to reduce stress is to simply focus your attention on your breath. You'll notice an immediate sense of relaxation that could help protect your health over time. There are many forms of breathing meditation where you consciously change the rhythm, speed or depth of your breath.

14:00 h Optional cuddle time
Cuddling is healthy. Cuddle hormones such as oxytocin lower your stress level and are good for your body and mind. By cuddling regularly you gain more confidence in yourself and in others. You feel nourished by platonic, non-erotic touch and holding. No obligations but feel free to join.

15:30 h Tea

16:00 h Movement meditation
Sitting still is quite difficult for most people because we are used to being exposed to stimuli all day long, while your body needs exercise. Movement meditation ensures that you quickly find your peace and go back with your attention. You make an inner journey through an alternation of intensive and subtle movement. By focusing attention on your body, you experience what is going on inside you.

17:00 h Sharing and closing circle (you can share how you are feeling).

17:30 h End

Unwind, Relax, and Recharge. Join us for a soothing and rejuvenating self-massage meetup. You will learn simple, effective self-massage techniques in a calm atmosphere. Indulge in a calming, rejuvenating experience and share tips and tricks with fellow wellness enthusiasts. This is your moment of self-care before starting your busy work week.

Self-Massage is one of the best things you can do for yourselves. And you don’t need to have experience. Everybody is welcome, no matter what’s your age, gender, orientation or body shape. It’s fun to experiences self-care with other like-minded people.

Benefits
When we massage our own bodies, we are able to improve circulation, relax the muscles, and reduce stress levels. By doing this, we are able to improve our moods, reduce anxiety and stress, increase energy levels, improve sleep quality, and relieve pain. Self-massage helps to release endorphins, to boost your mood.

What will we do?
Each time we will practice a different style or an area on the body. For example, we can do a neck and shoulder massage by using our hands to make strokes and circles. Then we work deeper with fingertips on the knots and tense spots. Other body parts can be the back area, using different tools such as a tennis ball or from roller. Or a foot Massage, using ancient Chinese reflexology techniques.

After the workshop is finished, you can stay (online or on the spot) for another 30 minutes to have a chat with other participants or to keep practicing.

Online participation
You will receive the Zoom link for participation after you have registered (RSVP) for this meetup. Make sure to have a quiet space, your (yoga) mat, a bottle of drinking water and a blanket. Click on the link below at least five minutes before the start of the meetup. You will enter the waiting room and a bit later you will enter the meeting. Your camera and microphone must be switched on then, to create a safe atmosphere for everyone.

Participation on location
Do you wish you participate on the spot? Usually, this is in the cosy little home of Tijs Breuer. Address: Chalet 69. Westbroekse Binnenweg 56A; 3612 AJ Tienhoven (UT), The Netherlands. Please send a message at least two days in advance to check availability. Make sure to arrive at least 15 minutes before the workshop starts.

**Let's start the day with a short meditation. We will create a moment of mindfulness, to find stillness and inner peace. As we will practice Vipassana, we will focus on the breath, the heartbeat, bodily sensations, or energy flow.

You can join online or on the spot, in Tienhoven (Utrecht). The guidance is donation-based.**

What kind of meditation?
Every time will be different, but the meditations will be simple, they will take about 30 minutes and will be easy to step in. They are based on the Vipassana tradition. Examples of teachers who can be an inspiration are:

• Jon Kabat-Zinn, who introduced mindfulness-based stress reduction, which is based on the Theravada boeddhistische tradition, where Vipassana was founded.
• Saki Santorelli, who was a student of S.N. Goenka from Birma and he introduced Vipassana meditation in the western world.
• Tara Brach: is an American mindfulness teacher, who combines western psycological research with the Zen Buddhist philosophy about compassion and Vipassana meditation techniques.

For whom?
Everybody is welcome, no matter what is your gender, age, body type or background. These 2-weekly morning meditations are visited by participants from our Sangha group but everybody is welcome. There is also space for co-creation, so if you would like to lead a meditation and guide the other participants, feel free to contact Tijs. Before the meditation, we will quickly say hello and check in with each other, to hear how we feel this morning.

Online participation
Join the Zoom event at least five minutes before the start time. Your camera and microphone must be switched on when you enter the online meeting room, to create a safe atmosphere for everyone. The Zoom link, Meeting ID and Passcode will be sent to the participants and will be published in the Event Comments below, about 30 minutes before the start of the meditation.