It’s been a busy time at The Centre since we officially opened. It was lovely to see so many of you to help us celebrate the new space and great that Cllr Lesley Farrow was able to step in at the last minute as Cllr JC Crissey was ill with Covid. Those of you who came to our 25th birthday celebrations in 2020 may recognise her as she was also with us then, so it was lovely to see her again. Town Crier Faye Thompson did a great job of rounding up the people of Petersfield!
Since then, we haven’t stood still – at last count, we have 7 new practitioners joining The Centre. You can find out more information about most of them on the website so I’ll just briefly introduce them.
But first we already have a range of group talks, demonstrations and experiences happening in The Studio over the next few weeks.
Tuesday 13th February 7.30-8.30pm – guided meditation
First up, is an immersive Light Language guided mediation led by Tosh Brittan. Those of you who came to the open morning will remember Tosh’s vibrant art installation and Tosh is planning to bring that into The Studio. Spaces are filling up so if you want to be involved contact The Centre to book your space. Payment is contributory.
Wednesday 21st February 7.00-8.30 – sound bath
Jhoana Serna will be leading a group Sound Bath in The Studio and is offering a £5 discount on the normal price of £20 for the first session – limited to 8 people. Jhoana recently offered this to a select group of staff and practitioners and it was well received so I suggest you book quickly via The Centre as I suspect many of them will want to attend this.
Thursday 29th February 6.00-7.30pm – Eating to make you happy, strong and healthy
An interactive demonstration by plant-based chef Jo Hooper of Jo’s Kitchen. After being welcomed with a non-alcoholic drink, Jo will lead an interactive demo where she will discuss different and easy ways to introduce more plant-based food into your diet. Jo will be giving you practical tips, demonstration how to prepare various dishes and there will be an opportunity to taste what she’s prepared (including dessert). The cost for the session is £12.50 and you can contact The Centre to boook.
Healing the web of life
Shamanic Healer Rose Autumn is starting a regular Shamanic drumming workshop to run from The Studio. Contact Rose Autumn to register your interest.
Guided Meditation
Contemplative Educator and Mindfulness Teacher, Rosie Holmes is starting a weekly drop-in meditation on a Saturday morning.
Singing songs and Mantras of the Heart
Mog Fry will be leading a regular session on a Sunday morning. This is an invitation to be transported on an inner journey as Mog weaves melodic meditations, mantras of the heart and medicine songs infused with nature and the elements.
Do keep an eye on the website, Facebook or contact The Centre for further information about these and other events that will be happening..
And a brief introduction to our new practitioners
Deborah Lane is a counsellor and psychotherapist who specialises in working with children, adolescents and young people (ages 4 to 25). Deborah started a few weeks ago and is building her practice quickly. She works on a Thursday afternoon and currently has availability at 3pm on a Thursday afternoon.
Andrea Lawson has a wide range of skills from Pilates to Scarwork Therapy via Oncology Massage. Andrea will be starting this Friday morning and is also planning a Pilates Movement Fusion Class for a Friday morning so contact her directly on 07971 445020 or via email andrea@allbodieswellbeing.co.uk if you’re interested
Rose Autumn is a Shamanic Healer who showcased her drumming at our opening. Rose is available on alternate Saturday afternoons and is also hoping to start a regular Shamanic drumming workshop to run from The Studio. Contact Rose Autumn to register your interest.
Marisa Shearer who took the great video of our open day, shown on our Facebook page, is working at The Centre on Tuesday morning. She is an alternative menstrual health therapist. She is all about empowering women and girls to help themselves, by teaching techniques for them to use at home to improve health.
Lucy Clare is a Naturopathic herbalist and Iridologist who is already helping clients at The Centre. She works on a Tuesday afternoon.
Jhoana Serna offers group and one-to-one Sound Baths and recently demonstrated this to a select group of staff and practitioners. Jhoana will be offering one-to-one sessions at The Centre on a Friday morning. Jhoana writes: “I came across Sound Healing straight after lockdown restrictions eased. I’ve been on a personal journey of healing and wanted something holistic and nurturing. I had already tried various modalities that, on their own, were helpful, but this tied it all up for me. Quite quickly, I found a space where I could, within the meditation, let go of so much and learn exactly what I needed for the circumstances surrounding my intention for the meditation. A year later, I began training and a 6-month mentorship. If you are a newcomer to meditation, this is also a perfect introduction, as the sound carries you; you don’t need to know how to meditate or breathe in a particular way. You lay down for the majority of the time as you are bathed by the sound of traditional Native American instruments, as well as Crystal and Tibetan singing bowls.”
A recent testimonial:
“My first sound bath was an interesting experience. It was both stimulating and calming at the same time. It allowed me to feel some form of calm even when anxiety felt quite high around that period of time. I would definitely recommend it, try it at least once” Alex W. one-to-one Sound Bath Meditation
And finally:
Trainee body Psychotherapist Jessica Eve is starting on Wednesday 14th February.
Body psychotherapy (somatic psychotherapy) works with the body and mind together, honouring the fact that emotional and mental relational problems are experienced not only with the mind, but with the body too. Problems in daily life may be what is experienced now, but the underlying cause may have been imprinted on body and mind at a much earlier time. Many problems can be traced back to early childhood traumas, which are “somatised”, or held in the body. These early traumas may not necessarily be overtly traumatic events such as abuse or injury in childhood; trauma is also now understood to be caused by accumulative “everyday” problems, such as those which are so widespread in our society that we have become conditioned to believe that they are normal.
These traumas can be difficult to work with through talk alone, and can be more easily reached when the body perspective is included in the therapeutic process. Body psychotherapists pay a lot of attention to the connections between the way clients think and their bodies feel, between physical sensations and emotions, and to what is experienced in the body in the course of conversation between therapist and client.
Typically, a session could include any of the following along with talking: touch, movement, massage, art, dance, embodiment exercises. It may take place seated in chairs, on cushions, lying on a massage table, or the floor. This will all be discussed with the client in advance and will be informed by what the issues the client comes with and what is arising during the session.
