On Wednesday 2 May 2018, B P Collins hosted its first complimentary ‘Wellbeing’ evening, which centred around social, mental and physical health.
Guests were offered complimentary taster massages from The Bodhi Tree Spa to feel the de-stressing benefits of massage. Additionally, they were given the opportunity to speak to experts about how to take better care of themselves and maintain a lifestyle that encourages happiness, health and comfort.
A selection of canapés and refreshments, courtesy of Cashew Catering, were served throughout the evening alongside food demonstrations and free consultations with wellbeing experts.
Guest speakers included Olympic Gold medallist Adrian Moorhouse, who discussed mindfulness and the psychology of wellbeing. Drawing on past experience as an Olympic athlete, and now leading a successful HR consultancy (Lane4) since retiring from competitive swimming, Adrian explored the link between mindfulness and performance, and how leaders can develop mindful practice.
Adrian explains:
“There is a growing mainstream interest in mindfulness. With its roots in Eastern philosophical traditions and application to Western psychology, mindfulness is increasingly being applied in sport and business leadership to enhance wellbeing and performance.
“For athletes, it brings improved and sustained performance and for leaders it enhances their effectiveness in decision making, relationship management, work life balance and sustainable leadership.”
Adrian explained to guests what the concept of mindfulness means by quoting Jon Kabat Zinn: “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally.”
He also challenged any misconceptions around mindfulness by emphasising that it is “activating your senses, sharpening awareness, living in the moment and being effective rather than zoning out or emptying or dulling the mind.”
Adrian concluded his talk by offering helpful advice on how to develop mindful practice:
- To help you be ‘in the moment’, draw your attention to the thing that is always with you – your breath.
- Turn up fully giving all your attention, without distraction or judgement, to the person or task before you.
- Generally our minds flick from the past to the future, we ruminate, speculate, judge and evaluate. Start noticing how your mind flicks and when it ‘runs away with you’ and gently bring yourself to the present.
- Adopt a ‘beginner's mind’ to see a situation freshly, as if for the first time.
Nutrition and lifestyle coach Johanne O’Dowd, who is the founder of Health with Food, also spoke about the healing power of food which helped her to recover from breast cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy. She described her journey from eating meat to becoming a vegan, whilst not compromising on taste.
“Processed food and stress are the scourge of society, which can contribute to the onset of chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, IBS, cancer, arthritis and obesity.”
Johanne concluded her talk with some key advice:
“Eat unprocessed food, eat together, reduce your stress and surround yourself with family, good friends and move.”
Throughout the evening, Johanne created healthy drinks and delicious food using only raw ingredients for guests to taste.
Carla Pasco Jones, owner of The Bodhi Tree Spa, also spoke about the importance of taking time out for self-care. Unlike many other day spas, Carla's philosophy on beauty is that “it's so much more than skin deep. Scheduling regular 'me time' contributes both mentally and aesthetically to your overall wellness.”
The Bodhi Tree Spa offers a range of complementary therapies, such as Kinesiology, Reflexology and Reiki in addition to its spa treatments, as Carla believes it's about taking a holistic approach and taking care of yourself from the inside as well as out.
Carla wrapped up the talks by touching on mindfulness, explaining: “Just five minutes of being in the present moment each day can help to restore balance.”
Gina Connell, B P Collins, adds:
“B P Collins already takes the duty of care of its employees and clients very seriously – we value them highly. This is why we’ve decided to host our first Wellbeing event. We hope our guests found it an informative, inspiring and relaxing evening.”
