MINDFULNESS DAY in AMBER SPRINGS HOTEL GOREY for new FREEDOM FIT FESTIVAL

FREEDOM FIT MINDFULNESS & CREATIVITY

FULL DAY WORKSHOP

AMBER SPRINGS HOTEL GOREY

MINDFUL DAY WORKSHOP

One Day Weekend Mindfulness workshop in Collaboration with Gorey Adult Education GCS

Amber Springs Hotel, Gorey

One Day Workshop offering a unique combination of meditation, creative exercises and mindful body work.

Specially designed to offer a full day of mindfulness-practice combined with creativity.

Instructor

MBSR Mindfulness Instructor Una Keeley

Una Keeley is an MBSR Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor. She is an approved Mindfulness Tutor with the HSE. Una is also a professional Irish artist with a Masters in Art Education.

Retreat Theme

PLAYFUL PRESENCE (Learning how to Approach Mindfully & Respond Creatively)

One Day Mindfulness Retreat dedicated to your well-being. This day is specially designed to help you both deepen your mindfulness practice and integrate it into daily life.

What is Playful Presence?

When we practice mindfulness, we practice paying attention on purpose to what is happening moment by moment. Our awareness of all the details of our experience increases as we observe and sense non-judgmentally and with curiosity. ‘Playful Presence’ is a dynamic form of Presence. It is when we begin to creatively engage with what we find, as we are observing and sensing. By letting go of outcomes, staying open and curios and learning to approach with a ‘beginners mind’, we find opportunities to creatively engage, moment by moment by moment.

This one-day workshop offers an opportunity to explore our ability to be ‘Playfully Present’. Through gentle breath, body and creative exercises, you will learn how mindfulness can dissolve blocks to creativity, strengthen insight and intuition and reconnect us with our innate ability to be creative.

What to Expect:

Creative exercises will be used extensively throughout the day, both to illustrate and to deepen our understanding of Mindfulness. Participants will be given the opportunity to use a wide variety of creative techniques and materials. Group discussion, and personal inquiry will take place within a friendly supportive atmosphere.

Guided meditation sittings will be interwoven with facilitated exercises including.

Mindful Listening
Mindful Dialog
Mindful Drawing
Mindful Painting
Mindful Looking
Mindful Movement
Mindful Body Scan.

Previous participants on Mindfulness -Wexford courses include:

Meditators from all backgrounds, Primary / Secondary Teachers, Visual Artists, Musicians, Poets, Yoga Instructors, Business Owners, Architects, Designers, Chefs, Restaurant owners, Web Designers, Photographers, Art Therapists, Sound Therapists, Housewives /Househusbands, Parents, and Closet-Creatives from all walks of life.

Why not treat yourself and book into the Amber Springs Hotel for the Night?

Amber Springs Hotel Website: http://www.ambersprings.ie/

Participant Reviews of Past Retreats

Gorey School of Art One Day Retreat

I recently took part in the one-day Mindfulness & Creativity retreat at the Gorey School of Art, having previously completed the evening course. It was an amazing day with a very open and creative group of people; I even got to meet one of the students of another of Una’s classes whom I had been connecting with ‘creatively’ in the course participants’ Facebook Group! The relaxed environment Una creates really fosters an atmosphere of acceptance and play, which allowed us as a group to ‘let go’ and allow our creativity surface! I thoroughly enjoyed the vast variety of exercises and approaches to exploring both mindfulness and creativity, from meditation and body scanning to mixed media creative exercises and mindful yoga. Una provided us with various tools to anchor our awareness in the present, which we can use in our daily lives to continue the practice following on from the course. Furthermore, I came away with new creative techniques that I’m already exploring and developing further since the course, not to mention lots of new creative buddies! As ever, a massive thank you to Una, whose expertise and experience in this field are second to none. The adventure continues!

Elizabeth Cuddy (Artist / Web Programmer)

Gorey School of Art One Day Retreat

Recently I participated in a one-day Mindful Create retreat. Una creates such a safe space for people to become present in themselves and feel relaxed to explore new territory creatively. Through her gentle guidance and focused intuition, her generous and stimulating materials, her imaginative and spontaneous activities the day’s events moved seamlessly and effortlessly. Una is a skillful facilitator who applies such effective resources to the practice of both disciplines. I came away with an understanding and better knowledge of what mindfulness is and gained clarity on how many blocks I stack in the way of my creativity. There was a real sense of non-judgement and support from Una and within the group and I think we all felt nurtured and minded to continue on our journey of awareness and expressing our unique selves. Thank you, Una and Mindful Create.

Sarah Malin (Artist & Care Worker)

AFTER YOUR RETREAT

And After your Retreat, why not take a 15 minute Drive out to Cahore for a mindful walk around the head and down onto the beautiful sandy beach of Old Bawn. Then stroll back and enjoy a drink in the Strand Bar overlooking the pier … It’s absolutely Gorgeous !!!

Una Keeley is a professional MBSR Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor. She is the founder and owner of Mindfulness Wexford. Training Adults (including Executives, Managers & Staff ) to De-Stress with Mindfulness Stress Reduction Skills. Una is a HSE approved Mindfulness Instructor, training HSE staff in mindfulness. (Irish Health Services Executive). She offers Courses & Workshops to the general public and the corporate sector.

Una has been practicing meditation for 25 years. She is a professional member of The Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland (MTAI) and adheres to The Irish Good Practice Guidelines for Teaching Mindfulness-Based Courses. Una is a trained MBSR Mindfulness Instructor with the Institute for Mindfulness Based Approaches, IMA Germany.

____________________

In 2021 the National Concert Hall of Ireland, specially commissioned Una to create a New Mindfulness & Music Listening Track . This is a Deep Listening collaborative work with Musician/composer Nick Roth.

Una is also a professional Artist with a Masters in Art Education. She has designed educational programmes for arts organisations and institutions for over 25 years. Including 15 years with The Irish Museum of Modern Art. Her background includes a Masters in Art Education, an Honors Degree in ceramics, and a Diploma in illustration for children's books. Una designs and offers courses which combine Mindfulness and Creativity; exploring divergent thinking, ways of attending, poetic perception and creative response.

I was blown away by the quality of the course contents and the support each week from Una. As the time went by, I was taken deeper into practices of mindfulness, we committed to a daily practice and had lots of support and handouts. I was challenged and excited by the processes, yet willing to give them all a go. Una inspired me by her commitment to her own practice of mindfulness. This course has changes the way I live my life. It has allowed me to be fully present in my day, both in my work and in all other areas of my life and I now know what to do when my attention is pulled in all directions. I feel calmer, more grounded and balanced. I am aware that I am kinder to myself, I have more patience and am less judgmental. This course is a wonderful gift; it will help you in all areas of your life. It is one of the best courses I have undertaken, brilliant contents/ delivery and amazing value for money. I am so delighted I gave myself this time.

BredaMc Donald (Employment Facilitator / Poet) Arklow

“Silence is Golden” are the words that comes to my mind when I think back to my day long Silent Mindfulness Retreat with Una Keeley in September at the Amber Springs Hotel. Set at a really gentle pace, the day held no agenda, “doing” was on pause and simply being was celebrated through each mediation, poem read, meal shared, rest taken and movement made. All the ingredients needed to allow the mind and body to rest, giving permission to allow the inner voice to reflect and move through the ebb and flow of one’s emotions in a very dignified and respectful shared space. The learning in the here and now compounded and my own mindfulness practice was refreshed and brought to a deepened level, which I’ve been able to bring more often into my everyday life. I was really grateful that I got the opportunity to spend the day on this Silent Mindfulness Retreat. I would highly recommend the day to anyone who needs some “me time”, along with anyone who wants to deepen their practice at a very personal level. Thank you Una for a really super day.

Zoe Dixon (Social Care Worker & Art Therapist) Arklow

The MBSR Course on Mindfulness with Instructor Una Keeley, which I attended for 8 weeks recently, was completely new to me & I had no real knowledge or concept of what it entailed, but for stress related reasons I made a commitment to take part. I feel very fortunate to have met wonderful people, who seemed to be there for different reasons, All of whom, brought uniquely different helpful views to our meetings. Every meeting was challenging for the right reasons, with plenty to practice at home on a daily basis. Every Monday was so well planned, organised & executed in such a thoughtful, caring, professional & different way each night, that seemed to lend itself to each participant really benefiting. I for one, found this course enlightening, thought provoking & I would say, very important & most helpful for today’s challenges.

Paschal Whitmore (Jeweller) Gorey, Wexford

(Mindfulness Through Art & Meditation Course) I thoroughly enjoyed this course. Una is an inspiring teacher and in each of the classes she created a welcoming, safe and nurturing environment in which I felt motivated and comfortable enough to allow myself to reconnect with my creative side, which had been a bit neglected! I have been practicing mindfulness for a number of years and was very familiar with the concepts and theories behind it but this course helped me to gain a much deeper understanding and appreciation for it as the concepts were taught in a hands on, visual and practical way. The tasks we were set were enlightening, motivational and fun and they have each left a lasting impression on me. The course helped me to find my creativity again, for which I am so very grateful. Everyone in the group was so lovely and a really relaxed atmosphere of encouragement and support developed over the 6 weeks. Each lesson was planned out so carefully and we all took so much from each session. I really looked forward to going each week. Thanks so much Una. I will most definitely be back again soon!

Jan Feeney (Yoga Teacher) Ferns