The Manchester Mindfulness Festival
The Festival
Following the success of previous years, Manchester Mindfulness Festival was back at the Bridgewater Hall on Saturday 21st October for its third edition, with this year’s theme centring around ‘Keeping mindfulness relevant’.
And after working on PR for the festival for the last few months I was lucky enough to be offered a ticket!
Manchester Mindfulness Festival is the second biggest mindfulness event in the UK, with guest speakers and participants travelling from all over the country to strengthen their practice or learn new skills.
It was founded by Christoph Speissens, who wants to draw attention to the practical and applicable uses of mindfulness in everyday life.
The talks
There were five mindfulness sessions on the day, and the festival welcomed all experience levels.
An example of the talks included ones from MBSR mindfulness teacher and guest speaker Louise Haynes, who talked about how mindfulness practices can support you when falling down online rabbit holes and facing the ‘online arena’.
And MS Nurse Sue Tibbles delivered a talk titled ‘Nobody ever said it would be easy’ in which she discussed life living with multiple sclerosis and the dedication it takes to practice mindfulness, but how it has helped her, and many others manage their condition.
Additionally, MSc student and guest speaker Kalyana Bliss, ran a session with a focus on trauma-sensitivity, providing an opportunity to cultivate embodiment (the physical sense of inhabiting the body).
Outcomes
I had an amazing time and gained so much insightful information. As a complete beginner I was never made to feel out of place or confused, and took home lots of useful techniques I can use in my everyday life.
The date for next years festival will be 19th October 2024 so keep an eye out for more information.
And check out our socials for videos I made about the day!
