Meditation and Mindfullness

The Owl – Symbolism

~ claire ballardie

The Owl – Symbolism

The owl has been valued as a spirit animal, or totem for a very long time. It symbolises ancient knowledge in Native American Indian beliefs, as a soul protector at the end of life to Egyptians. The ancient Greeks saw the owl as a protector of their armies.

Having an affinity with the owl, dreaming of them, or seeing them around, or coincidentally coming across the owl in daily life may be taken as an indication to embrace what the owl may symbolise to you. There may be traits in the owl that are pertinent to you right now, or qualities the owl has that may be of benefit in your life. To discover more about why the owl is in your thoughts, meditation can be a valuable way to sense what this means to you at the moment.

Qualities of the owl:

Intuition

Intelligence

Clarity

Wisdom

Protection

Watchfulness

Finding truth

Patience

Focus

Observation

Owls can symbolise:

Exploring shadows and fears

Seeing fine details

Needing protection through Change or transition

Time to leave the past behind and move forwards

Seeing things as they really are, being aware of deception

Meditation

~ claire ballardie

Meditation

I offer mediation sessions at my practice in Market Lavington, near Devizes, Wiltshire.

What is meditation?

Meditation  helps you to recognise your own thoughts and anxiety , and enables you to deal with adverse feelings earlier, building self-confidence and self-esteem, and ability to cope with stressful situations. Meditation is about enjoying the moment and to see yourself in a kind and positive way.

Learning techniques that can be used for a short time each day can help to introduce calmness into your life, reducing the body’s signs of stress such as high blood pressure, feelings of panic, shortness of breathe and so on. Meditation promotes a holistic feeling of well-being for both mind and body.

What happens in a session?

We will check your posture and focus on your breath to start with to calm your mind- and to slow down a ‘busy’ brain. We will work through the body releasing tension, aiming for a deep sense of peace and relaxation. We will spend some tome on relaxing each part of the body in turn, focusing on breathing techniques. You will be guided through a meditation, such as walking through a garden to help you to mentally relax and to bring about a sense of calm, like a daydream. We all have a special place to remember where we felt happy and relaxed.

Meditation can help to:
  • Reduce anxiety
  • Balance mind, body and soul
  • Promote self-healing

Stressful situations such as a visit to the dentist, sitting in traffic jams etc can be managed in a calmer way with meditation techniques, enabling you to keep your cool when under pressure! Performance anxiety, such as making a speech or taking part in a competition can be significantly reduced with meditative techniques.

Sessions cost £40 (50 minutes) individual, or share with a friend.

claire@wiltshire-wellbeing.co.uk

What is Anxiety?

~ claire ballardie

Anxiety

What is Anxiety? 

Anxiety can be caused by feeling helpless, having too little information, or feeling overwhelmed with too much too much information to process, to make sense of.

Feeling overwhelmed, daunted by what would normally be simple daily activities? Confused, and unable to make decisions? Anxiety can manifest as thoughts jumbling in your head, worries going around and around in your mind. Sleep may be restless and intermittent. You may feel tense, or ‘on edge’, irritable, or be unable to relax.

 

NHS Definition of Anxiety

Counselling provides a safe place to explore what the cause of your anxiety is, and help you to devise strategies for coping with it. Levels of anxiety dramatically reduce, or disappear altogether, once you understand how and why you become stressed. Planning life changes, or different ways of seeing problems can dramatically alter confidence levels and self-worth.

Meditation and mindfulness are also great ways to calm a busy mind and to give space for rational thought.

 

 

Mindfulness

~ claire ballardie
Mindfulness in Market Lavington
I offer mindfulness in Market Lavington. 
What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is about being able to

stay ‘in the moment’- to still a busy mind. It promotes calmness and concentration either with calming exercise, or being still. It is about being present with what is going right now for you- being aware of your surroundings, how you are feeling, focusing on yourself. It could be as simple as making a cup of tea, and focusing calmly on what you are doing right now rather than thinking about what you will do next, your shopping list, where you have to go in a while, and so on.

Mindfulness session

In a session, we will focus on your self-awareness- noticing your posture, breathing, and what your thoughts are. We will gradually focus on the present, what is happening right now, using mindfulness techniques.

Here is a short video about mindfulness in schools from the BBC London Facebook page.

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