Overview
Many of us experience our world as very busy and stressful, an experience that puts a toll on us. So it is important to create pleasant pockets of peace for ourselves. In these enclaves, we devote time to relaxation, to release the tension accumulated in the body, and to rejuvenate.
In a small group, we create a comfortable and pleasant environment for relaxation and “recharging our battery”, just as we recharge our smartphone’s battery daily. We use activities tailored to the participants. Before the meeting, we talk together and choose which activities we want to do this time.
Activities
We can select one or more ideas from the following list, and suggest more ideas.
Mind and emotion
- Mindfulness meditation of all kinds, such as: focus on breathing, body scan, watching thoughts, MBSR, meditation while sitting or walking slowly in nature
- Guided visualization of a relaxing and pleasant situation
- Focusing
- Yoga Nidra (a form of guided meditation that promotes deep relaxation using body awareness, breathing techniques, and visualization to deepen the state of relaxation)
Working with the senses
- Listening to soothing music or soothing sounds such as wind chimes
- Listening to ASMR
- Coloring mandalas
- “Energy” treatments such as Reiki (it doesn’t matter whether this is “just” a placebo treatment, because it is still a pleasant and gentle experience)
Working with the body
- Body stretching exercises + Tai Chi / Qigong
- Gentle movement meditation with gentle music
- Gentle walk in the park / nature
- Holistic pulsing – a gentle rocking of the body
- Head massage or and back massage in groups of 2 to 4 people
- Sitting in a jacuzzi
- Watsu (in a swimming pool or lake)
Designing a pleasant life
We examine what gentle changes we can make in our lives to add calmness and pleasantness to them, and reduce sources of stress.
Atmosphere
At the meetings, we are very careful about a pleasant atmosphere:
- A quiet environment (at home, or in a quiet location in nature)
- Pleasant temperature, not too cold and not too hot
- Quiet background or pleasant and relaxing music
- Pleasant ambient lighting
- Decoration with flowers, plants, shells, straw baskets, nature pictures, geometric elements, fabrics
- A delicate background smell
- Sitting or lying on soft mattresses and high quality pillows
- Herbal tea, fruits, and delicious snacks
- Speaking softly and slowly
- Mutual respect, empathy, compassion, free from judgment and arguments