Come and be nurtured!

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Bring your baby and enjoy a day away, full of relaxation and mindfulness exercises, while your babies play, feed, nap.

 

Open to mums and dads with babies under one (ish). We're going to relax, enjoy good food and great company.

 

Throughout the day you can totally chill out with your baby. We'll all be looking out for each other's babies. And you may even enjoy a short time on your own to have a hand massage, read a book, wander the grounds, or have a nap.

 

"If anyone is worried about going alone then don’t! I was waiting on a few friends confirming this yr and in the end just booked on as loved it last year even though I knew no one, everyone was very welcoming and relaxed- the venue is amazing and wedding worthy with a lovely labyrinth which gave me some clarity and direction in my life and if your into crystals the energy from the huge ones are amazing too! Cathy provided really lovely food and lunch and I’m sure a vegan option too and a range of drinks including herbal teas and vegan snacks, and you get to drink the purest water I’ve ever had which runs under the labyrinth! It really is a great day!" Jo

 

Here's a run through of the day:

There will be coffee/tea, cakes and snacks on arrival in the room that is our base for the day. These refreshments are available all day. I will make people as many hot cups of tea as they want! We will then go over to the yoga room, with it's heated floor. Here we will do some singing with the babies and some relaxation/mindfulness exercises, ones you can do sitting with your baby on your lap, boosting our oxytocin and endorphins, and helping us to release any tension, and be ready to enjoy the day, leaving the worries of the world behind.

 

Then we will head out through the grounds to the beautiful labyrinth. Have you seen the pictures? A labyrinth is flat, no hedges. There is just one path. So no decisions to be made. The path is very twisty so you can't work out where you are going so you just have to put one foot in front of the other. So it is a great exercise in mindfulness and being in the moment. You follow the path to the centre and then back out again. The saying goes: in a maze you lose yourself, in a labyrinth you find yourself. Some people use the time to contemplate their journey to or through motherhood, others simply enjoy the peace. Babies can be in slings, or pushed round in buggies. Or if they are asleep in their prams I will keep an eye on them.

 

You will then have time to wander and explore the grounds before lunch. Lunch is homemade vegetarian soup, choice of two, with bread from my local bakery. If the children are eating age then I will bring carrot and courgette muffins, humus, cucumber. There will also be lots of fruit, and cakes for pud.

 

In the afternoon we will do a closing the bones ceremony. This is a traditional Mexican postnatal tradition. It recognises the huge transition of becoming a mum. To grow your baby your body has to open, you bones separate, your organs move out of the way; to give birth you open, one way or another you have to open to give birth to your baby; to nurture your baby you open your heart and your whole life. Closing the bones is a physical and emotional bringing you back to yourself. It involves being wrapped in a series of rebozos (Mexican shawls): round your head, your chest, your tummy, your hips, your legs and your feet. You rest there before being carefully unwrapped. The giving and receiving of the closing of the bones by other mums, especially other women who have been with you through your journey is very powerful.

 

We will end the day with some more relaxation, and if babies are awake, some songs and rhymes. And of course, another cup of tea and more cake before everyone heads home.

 

It is a very relaxed day, and hopefully everyone will find it fun and nurturing for them and their baby.

 

With the lunch and refreshments, dietary needs will be met, wherever possible. Let me know what you can/can't have and I will do my best to provide. I can bring the right milk for your tea. The soup and some of the cakes will be vegan/dairy free.