• About
    • Portfolio
    • Recommendations
  • Wellbeing
    • Mind
    • Yoga
    • Health
    • Food
  • Lifestyle
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Travel
    • Careers
  • Arts
    • Music
    • Television
    • Comedy
    • Visual Arts

YOGA PANTHER

YOGA PANTHER

Tag Archives: yoga panther

Yoga Panther Tries: A mass meditation

26 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by Yoga Panther in Mind, Wellbeing

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

british museum, community, conversation, eye-gazing, grand gathering, human connection, inspiring, just breathe, just breathe london, life, london, meditation, michael james wong, Music, yoga panther

Yoga Panther tries to 'Just Breathe'

I stared into her eyes for what seemed like eternity. A far-off chuckle caused a ripple effect and soon a cacophony of guffaws filled the British Museum – ourselves included. This proved just how contagious laughter is, and that gazing into a stranger’s eyes in a room of almost 1000 people for 4 minutes is bloody difficult!

Now I’m not great with eye contact – I don’t think I’ve even stared into my boyfriend’s eyes for more than 10 seconds. So when spiritual gangster and leader of the session, Michael James Wong, asked us to ‘do a bit of eye-gazing’, I was filled with dread.

But after composing myself, and going through a few more Mexican waves of nervous laughter, I managed to settle in. I noticed my companion’s perfectly winged eyeliner, her neatly applied mascara and finally her eyes themselves. Afterwards a few people spoke out about their experiences, which ranged from feeling like a rock, to bursting into tears.

Not what I was expecting when I came along to the 8th Grand Gathering from Just Breathe London. I thought we’d just receive some wise words and finish with a meditation.

But no.

As Michael explained, we were going to be human for the night. Something we’ve forgotten how to do in this digital age, especially in the city. We were going to connect with total strangers on a deep level. And that meant putting our phones away and getting quite intimate with people we’d just met.

(Spot my ugly mug at 1.03)

“What lights up your life?”

As we walked into the impressive venue, we were asked to write down our answer to the above question. After finding a cushion to perch on, among the sea of fellow humans, our first task was to turn to a stranger and explain what we wrote. Sounds easy, but it’s amazing how fast we defaulted to discussing our day jobs.

“What do you need to let go of?”

Another exercise involved getting into a group of people we hadn’t spoken to yet and talking about what we could do without. A couple of common themes were ‘worrying’ and ‘self-criticism’. We vowed to go more easy on ourselves and chill out a bit!

Just breathe

Finally, we ended with the meditation (what a relief!). We all sat back to back, so we were physically connected with our neighbours. We used the mantra ‘Just breathe’ – which served as both something to focus on, as well as a reminder to pay attention to our breath.

During the evening we were also treated to beautiful singing, gorgeous piano playing – both emphasised by the British Museums’s excellent acoustics – and immersive dancing. All of which brought us truly into the moment. I left feeling very human and connected with the community.

We need more ‘big talk’

After our group discussion, we agreed that we needed to apply our learnings. Life can sometimes be a tide of small talk, so using exercises that get us to share our hopes and fears, our passions and our weaknesses, would make us more open and better connected.

I dare you to ask your friends, family and colleagues, ‘What are your dreams?’ and ‘What holds you back in life?’ and let the human interaction unfold.

Yoga Panther tries to 'Just Breathe'

You can get tickets for the next Grand Gathering at the British Museum on Monday 18 June – I’d book sooner rather than later as they tend to sell out.

Namaste bitches!

Yoga Panther x

 

Share the love

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

I'm Sam and I'm a copywriter, yoga junkie and health nerd.

  • View @Sami_G’s profile on Twitter
  • View samstagram86’s profile on Instagram
  • View samgraham8’s profile on Pinterest
Follow YOGA PANTHER on WordPress.com

Instagram

'Tis the season 🌸 #cherryblossom #blossom #vans #sliponvans #checkerboardvans #checkerboard #lilac #fur #slipons
Alice-in-Wonderland style hen do for @shrimpstagram24 ☕🍰 We had a mad hatter's tea party, played some hen games and I also led a flamingo origami tutorial 🦩This was a week after I dyed my hair lilac for the first time, and I tried to make it more vibrant by using the same dye on top - it sort of worked! 💜 #latergram #lilachair #handm #floraldress #hendo #flowercrown #floralheadband #floralheadpiece #headdress #orchids #teaparty #madhatter #eatme #drinkme #tea #cake #flamingo #origami
This device got me through 2020 🌸 #switch #switchlite #thumbgrips #pawprint #nintendo #nintendoswitch #blossom #sakura #cherryblossom #pinkblossom #pinkflowers
Socially distanced like a 90s girl band album cover 😎 #latergram #rivermedway #rainham #summer #sunny #sunglasses #friends #reunion #medway
Snow day: Part 2 ☃️ #snow #pawprints #snowmen #snowcat #snowball #snowprint #snowcovered
Snow day: Part 1 ❄️#pufferjacket #bobblehat #snow #uniqlojacket #pinkjacket #uk
Another pre-pandemic outing - Rochester with @klutzyjess, @ms_roxanna_k and Nic 🍭 #latergram #sweetshop #pinkshop #thecandybar #rochestercastle #rochester #flowershop #cats #kent
Love this @mingalondon tee 💜✌🏻💕 #latergram #peacesign #heart #minga #pinkandpurple #hellokitty #roundglasses #pinklipstick #70sstyle #stripey #gamingchair #blondehair #selfie
Lovely lilacs 💜 #latergram #lilacs #flowers #purple #lilacflowers #isitspringyet
Meet the plushies...
Lilac sky 💜 #sky #tree #lilacsky #nature #silhouette #sunset #dusk #twilight
Back at the beginning of lockdown 1.0 when I 'dyed' my hair for the first time ever 💜 Because I was scared of it going wrong, I went for a pastel lilac shade. Turned out to be VERY subtle! Sailor Moom T-shirt by @oh.caroool #manicpanic #hairdye #lockdownhair #lilachair #velvetviolet #pastelperfect #lilac #sailormoon #ohcaroool #roundglasses
This year I'm going to try and post on my feed closer to when it actually happens and not worry about what my grid looks like so much!🌙 cute calendar by @oh.caroool #resolution #moon #neon #calendar #neonmoon #pinkmoon #pinkneon #mangastyle #kawaii #art #illustration #ohcaroool
The second half of the 'Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk' exhibition 👘 starting with this incredible piece by @milliganbeaumont.
A few shots from the 'Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk' exhibition pre-pandemic 🎎 #kimono #kyoto #vandamuseum #japanese #exhibition #japaneseart #japan #geisha #kimonokyototocatwalk
Last outing before lockdown 1.0 🍵 brunch at Feya after the Kimono exhibition with @brockwayl #feyacafe #feya #matchalatte #matchadoughnut #waffles #smashedavo #smokedsalmom #docmartens #santacruz #uniqlo
Spring, I'm ready for you now...🌸 #blossom #cherryblossom #pink #bluesky #pink #spring #hanami #pinkflowers #sakura
Hyper Japan 2019 - can't wait until it's safe for the next one 🇯🇵🎍🎎
Day 2 of Cambridge - pre-pandemic 🍵 #matchalatte #pinklatte #beetrootlatte #latteart #thecuriousgoat #cambridge #saffronwalden #friends #normaltimes
Cambridge last March for Shona's birthday 🏰 one of the last normal meetups before the pandemic struck #latergram #cambridge #cambridgeuniversity #friends #smiles #catchups

Tweets

  • RT @SoVeryBritish: Welcome to March. We’ve had a stern chat with last March who has assured us this March will be much less, how shall we s… 2 days ago
  • Lovely news 🌸 This will be such a beautiful memorial to those who lost their lives to the virus. thehandbook.com/londons-gettin… 2 days ago
  • NEW POST: 9 easy eco-friendly skincare swaps – from the tinned and the bamboo, to the washable and the reusable yogapanther.com/2021/02/08/9-e… 3 weeks ago
  • Join a virtual yoga class for charity this Sunday. Dogs are invited too. Tickets just £5, and all of it goes to… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 months ago
  • RT @NuffieldHealth: Have you tried out Nuffield Health 24/7 yet? Our new digital platform has over 100 different workouts to help you keep… 3 months ago
Follow @Sami_G

Social

  • View @Sami_G’s profile on Twitter
  • View samstagram86’s profile on Instagram
  • View samgraham8’s profile on Pinterest
Follow YOGA PANTHER on WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    %d bloggers like this: