A little girl and her mum walked past the entrance to
Brighton Yoga Festival this afternoon as I was leaving.
“We can get sweeties in there mummy”
“No darling,” the mum said, “It’s all healthy in there…”
She wasn’t wrong.
I left the festival energised, relaxed and full of vitality and health, ready to take on the world. Luckily, I only had to meet my husband (still love saying that) for a lovely sunny lunch in town so no one else had to put up with my dreamy, zenned-out state.
I have a feeling I wouldn’t have been the only one floating around Brighton today after a whole day of free classes and workshops put on by the city’s finest yogis.
Currently in its second year and held at St Georges Church in Kemptown, the festival offered massages and other treatments, delicious vegetarian and vegan food, lines of stalls advertising art, crafts and the cream of Brighton’s yoga crop, and a host of indoor and outdoor classes of just about every type of yoga you could ever imagine.
I got there early to book onto my two chosen classes – a blissful yoga and pilates fusion class with Holly and Ellie from MyEscape / Studio iO to wake up my senses, and a 40 minute mindfulness meditation workshop from Sam at The Float Spa to drift into the most beautiful space. I sometimes find it so hard to slow down and quiet my mind but today it just worked, and it was ace.
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| Ellie & Holly from MyEscape / Studio iO Brighton |
Whenever I wake from Savasanah or any meditation that I’ve been able to fall right into I come about all giddy and smiley. It’s such a rarity for me to be still, to be quiet. To not think about what needs to be done, what training I’m doing later, that deadline at work, the washing up that’s waiting in the sink.
I’ve always got 101 things whirling around my head and I’m a terrible multi-tasker/half-a-job-finisher. My short attention span flits between whatever’s won the momentary fight for attention in my brain, whether that be the work I’m doing, that programme I’m watching, that conversation I’m having, that notification on my phone. (Need a bit of a phone detox actually but we’ll talk about that later…)
Sometimes I feel the only time I’m ever truly focused on one thing and one thing only is when I’m in the zone with writing. So today, it was really nice to take some time, create some space, and just be. After my two classes I bought some fresh pineapple and a cup of tea (mainly because I didn’t have enough change on me for tea and cake), before wandering around the rest of the festival, taking photos of the other classes.
I would’ve stayed all day if I could but lunch (and a hungry husband) were waiting 🙂
It’s no secret that I love my city, and I’m really falling for yoga. Brighton’s got such a big heart with so much going on, including a huge yoga community, and this festival is exactly what we need – I just can’t believe it wasn’t organised sooner!
Who’s coming next year then?
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Have you fallen in love with yoga like I have?
Do you find it hard to slow down and be mindful in every day life?