The Oxford Wellbeing Project Winter Schedule
Today on the blog, Laura from The Oxford Wellbeing Project, reveals their new programme of events, to help us all maintain our wellbeing through autumn and into winter. >>
It’s been over a year since our wellbeing pop-up in Florence Park, where over 15 practitioners came together and shared their skills and expertise and held spaces for over 100 members of the local community. It’s been 3 months since we all came back together and offered a virtual weekend summit as The Oxford Wellbeing Project, where we explored what wellbeing meant to us as a community and delved into the many channels and expressions of this – through mindfulness, creativity, embodiment, movement, connection, therapy, coaching, ancestral and pre and perinatal journeys. We had over 200 bookings, and held space for impassioned and vulnerable discussions around connection, healing and community.
With much of this work being voluntary, we needed some downtime and space to regroup, recover and reflect on the incredible wealth of knowledge and experience that came together at this time!
We are now navigating our way through unknown terrain. Setting ourselves up as a cooperative, where we will find our way to discover the balance between accessibility and sustainability. Constantly asking ourselves these ongoing questions – how do we reach more people? And how do we do this in a way that sustains the wellbeing and livelihoods of the practitioners themselves?
There’s no easy or simple answer for this – but, as a collective, we are exploring and trialling, sharing and learning new things as we go… and in this moment, we are so excited to be sharing a full and vibrant schedule for November. We are currently offering a range of prices for each event. 80% of the money raised goes towards the practitioner and 20% towards the running costs of the project. Here are the objectives of the project:
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Improve access to wellbeing for all communities
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Improve quality and diversity of wellbeing services
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Redefine wellbeing
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Support local practitioners
Please do check out all our upcoming events below below:
Weekly
Keep Active With Noe
Every Monday @ 5.30 – 6.30 pm
The sessions follow a 7 stages format being: grounding, warm up, balance practice, main set, free movement, warm down and relaxation. It’s all about movement that will help to support the wellbeing of your body and mind in a fun and effective way. All levels of fitness and ages welcome!
Price Range: £5-10
What people say about me and the sessions:
“He’s a professional, is lovely and does great warm ups and warm downs” “Such fun! We love the classes” “Noé is a brilliant practitioner – he knows bodies and he knows minds”
Suffia Hussain’s Peaceful Parenting – Group Coaching
Every Wednesday @ 10 – 11 am
Suffia Hussain (Mentor and facilitator of well-being circles) is holding a weekly group coaching session for parents to provide support, build connections and share tools and expertise for peaceful parenting. Suffia is passionate about helping women overcome their emotional challenges to enable them to heal and live the most authentic version of themselves. She mentors women on overcoming emotional roadblocks, positive mindsets and also holds safe spaces for mothers to discuss tools of peaceful parenting.
Price Range £7-9
Every Wednesday @ 5.30 – 6 pm
A wonderful opportunity for a weekly mindfulness check-in against the back-drop of so much uncertainty. With the calming guidance of Sally – together we’ll explore a series of short mindfulness practices including mindful movement, body scan meditation, breathing space and compassion meditations. There will also be space for silence, questions, and tips on bringing more mindfulness into your daily life. Beginners welcome – all you’ll need is a chair, bed or cushion to sit on.
Pice Range: £3-5
November Events
Complex PTSD and the journeys of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Vulnerable Migrants with Sushila Dhall, of Refugee Resource
9th November @ 9.30 – 12.30
Sushila Dhall has worked for Refugee Resource Counselling and Psychotherapy Service for 16 years, 12 of those as manager of the service, and is now training and giving support and supervision to partner services. She has been a psychotherapist for 25 years, working in the private, public and third sector, with a particular interest in people who find themselves marginalised, and in human rights.
In this presentation Sushila will talk about how the journeys of refugees and asylum seekers mean they often arrive in the UK with complex PTSD and multiple complex griefs, and how the systems in the UK can worsen these states. Also how acts of compassion and kindness work to support people on such journeys, and how they work at Refugee Resource, particularly in the Psychotherapy and Counselling Service. Sushila’s incredible session as part of the wellbeing summit, was moving and inspirational. This session is a must if you want to learn more about diversity, inclusion and societal wellbeing.
Price Range £20-45
14th November @ 2 – 5 pm
A chance to rest and recharge from the comfort of your own home. Together we’ll explore a range of mindfulness practices, including a body scan meditation and gentle mindful movement, with plenty of space for stillness and silence.
Everyone — including complete beginners — is very welcome to attend this Oxford Wellbeing workshop with guided meditation. To take part you’ll just need a chair, bed or cushion to sit on.
Price Range £18-25
19th November @ 1 – 2 pm
Henna — combining an ancient art with mindfulness, for everyone. This interactive hands-on henna session will be split into two parts:
Part One:
You will be taken on a taken on a mindful visualisation of history and intricacy of henna as an artform, available for everyone.
Part Two:
Tanya will then demonstrate how to apply henna and how to use it alongside the design sheets. You will then have an opportunity to explore and create your own designs.
Price £25 which includes:
You will receive a henna kit in advance of the session. The henna kit will include:
- 2x design sheets
- 1x biodegradable henna cone
- 1x henna cone care card
Booking closes 1 week before the workshop.
Winter Warm-up Singing Workshop with Claire Waite Brown of Open Stage Arts
November 26th @ 7 – 8 pm
Explore fun ways to warm-up your voice, learn different vocal techniques and discover new songs from around the world, all with a theme to get you into the festive spirit. Using Zoom, we will play with ways we can connect, sing together and harmonise, all in a pressure-free environment where you can enjoy the freedom of singing at home.
Donation
28th November @ 10.30 – 12.30 pm
“Shame dies when stories are told in safe places.” [Ann Voscamp] Shame is an isolating emotion, yet it is one that universally we all share. Women & girls are socialised to feel shame from the moment they become aware of their bodies, yet despite shared experiences, it is not something we tend to discuss. Through these small-group facilitated circles, we can build sisterhood, mutual understanding, and connection.
UnShamed Circles is for women who are ready to say ‘enough’ to being held back. From the moment we become aware that we are different to boys, we are taught not to talk about those differences, and we are shamed for everything that makes us women. How can women take back their feminine power if we have internalised the shame of all things feminine?
UnShamed is for all women who were taught that silence is golden and girls don’t talk back. Let’s learn how to talk back.
In these small group coaching events we’ll gently look at how we can overcome our internalised shame and emerge stronger with more self-knowledge and self-compassion – and power.
These are interactive sessions, with the opportunity for self-reflection and guidance on how to continue the work outside the session. No-one however will be obligated to share anything; listening silently is a valid approach to self-development.
Whilst the content is aimed at the experience of living in a biological woman’s body, anyone who self-identifies as female is welcome to attend these sessions.
This Oxford Wellbeing workshop is relevant to women who are interested in learning about the effects of shame and how to overcome them.
Price Range £20-25
One To One Sessions
Life Coach and NLP Practitioner
“I truly enjoy people re-discovering their true power within. Watching somebody transform themselves before my eyes is one of the most rewarding aspects of what I do. I feel I have done a good job when I see that sparkle in people’s eyes and they tell me it was an amazing experience.”
The inspirational and enigmatic Nicole will be offering 1 to 1 coaching and NLP sessions as part of the Oxford Wellbeing Project. She was hugely popular at the summit we hosted back in July:
“Nicole’s energy is so vibrant and uplifting.” “Nicole your energy is so incredibly healing.” “I love this so much! Thinking about wellbeing through these lenses… also feeling very emotional! X”
Nicole offers a client-centred holistic approach which sees the client as a powerful, active participant in their own healing.
Qualified in Youth Mentoring, Life Coaching, MBTI training, Masters Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and National Pharmacy Association healthy living champion courses, Nicole offers a wide range of skills and tools to meet the needs of those she works with.
With a focus on long-term change Nicole is offering a series of sessions and will be working on Mondays. She is passionate about supporting people through these difficult times with a particular focus on Covid-recovery.
https://transitionlighthouse.weebly.com/
Please contact Nicole directly to make an appointment:
Emma Westlake
Craniosacral Therapist, Somatic Pre and Perinatal Sessions
Tuesday Afternoons
The experiences we have during our birth and time in the womb are mostly hidden from us, yet they have a significant effect on how we see and behave in the world.
In these sessions we will explore somatically how the pre and perinatal experience is still present in us, and by bringing this into awareness, offer an opportunity for some resolution.
Emma has been practicing Craniosacral Therapy since 2002 and has a degree in physiology from Oxford University. She has particular interest in pre and perinatal psychology and has completed studies in Integrative Baby Therapy and trainings exploring the experience of birth from the babies’ perspective through Conscious Embodiment Trainings which form a strong part of her work with babies and young children as well as with adults.
Emma’s reputation is outstanding and she will be offering one virtual 60 minute appointment every Tuesday afternoon as part of the Oxford Wellbeing Project.
Price Range:
£50 Standard
£38 Concession
Please contact us directly to make an appointment
Laura of Ayurveda Corner
Ayurvedic Massage Therapy
Wednesdays 10 – 4 pm
Laura is a highly experienced massage therapist and yoga teacher who will be offering three 60 minute massage treatments a week as part of the Oxford Wellbeing Project.
An Ayurvedic Massage begins with a short consultation in which the individual’s doshic imbalance (Vikruti) is determined. Base and therapeutic oils are then selected according to the client’s particular needs. During the massage, pressure is placed on the specific marma (vital) points located throughout the body. This acts to balance the three body humors – Vata, Pitta, Kapha. These unique methods help to cleanse, rejuvenate, strengthen and heal the body.
***Please note that these treatments are reliant on Covid-19 safety regulations and guidelines, and will be reassessed on a regular basis. A strict protocol will be followed and agreed to by both practitioner and client***
Price Range £40-65 for 60 minute treatments
www.ayurvedacorner.co.uk
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