Taking time out for you, your mental and physical health, and getting out in the fresh air have always been important to health and wellbeing but during well over a year of lock down and restricted interactions it hasn't been easy.
Over the last two months we have been amazingly lucky to work with Stay Well Health, "a holistic wellness centre dedicated to bringing ancient healing knowledge [...] through Acupuncture, Chinese Medicine, Massage and Yoga" to provide some fun and relaxing outdoor yoga sessions.
Yoga classes, in a field overlooking Derbyshire, with alpacas - what could have been more relaxing? Oh, perhaps adding in an afternoon tea from Buttermilk Coffee House, so you didn't even have to worry about lunch.
Alpacas are known for their calming personalities and are often used in animal assisted therapy and care home visits. Whilst they can be 100% hilarious at times, their relaxed and curious nature, twinned with small humming sounds makes them a wonderful companion for a spell outdoors, switching off from the worries and stresses of the everyday.
In the first session, visitors met Amelia, Alyssa, Bella and Mary. Having been shut out of the yoga area for a few weeks they found it quite exciting to be back in the area of field that apparently contained the best dust bath. Amelia's cheeky nature saw her sneaking a look in bags whilst the unsuspecting owners carried out certain poses and even a few cheeky sniffs during savasana. The weather was perfect and I think a few people even caught the sun!
Round two was a little bit breezier but still a wonderful afternoon and once the poses started a few jumpers came off. This time we let the boys have the spotlight. Sam, Pippin, Cangaroo, Curly Wurly and Clooney plus new boy Snap. Not quite as adventurous as the girls, the boys were content to wander round the edge of our visitors, giving us some perplexed looks from time to time. Once we moved into seated poses though their bravery grew and they began creeping closer. Savasana was again a good time to creep up on people and give their hair a sniff.
After the yoga the picnics appeared with a mix of afternoon teas and homemade feasts. The reviews of the afternoon teas has actually made us get our thinking caps on for some future additions to our offering, so keep your eyes peeled on that one.
Whilst we have no additional classes planned in the short term, we have our fingers crossed that this will be something we can offer again in the future. If you want to be first to hear about any updates sign up to our newsletters at the bottom of the page.