Soundscape for living
A TOOLKIT FOR WELLNESS
Welcome to A Toolkit for Wellness, made by the team from Journey to Wellness at the Buddhist Centre in Birmingham, UK.
Just click on the audio files to set a soundscape for nurturing health and taking care.
LISTEN, RESPECT Voice Warm Up
Aromatherapy Oils and Pressure Points
Two Senses, Touch and Smell.
Using Aromatherapy oils has many health benefits and a knowledge of Pressure Points combined with Aroma therapy oils can have dynamic health benefits. In our Wellness Toolkit we combined these two powerful ancient therapies to help address some common health issues.
Here are some examples:
If you’re feeling a little depressed or anxious try using Bergamot; alternatively use Ylang Ylang. Perhaps you have an upset stomach select Melisa or Peppermint.
Trouble sleeping? Use Lavender Oil or apply some Geranium. The list of Oils and Pressure points that you can use is endless. It’s important to remember to always mix your aromatherapy oil with a blender oil such as Almond oil or Coconut oil .
As a Rough Guide, two drops of Aromatherapy oil in a tablespoon with a blender oil times 2 is a good guestimate.
During our Well Being Workshops we explored arrange of Common Ailments and their respective Pressure Points on the Hands. For instance, if someone was suffering from a cold we would massage and press the top of the thumb with an oil like Tee Tree [Please see diagrams of some of the pressure points we explored]. Another Point where we could also apply pressure and massage is the area of the lungs which is below the little finger and ring finger just above the Head Line, on both hands using Tea Tree oil or Frankincense. Tapping between the eyes where the eyebrows meet is also helpful. For sinusitis massage and press the top of all the fingers
If you’re suffering with Period pains I would recommend choosing Neroli oil and applying pressure in the middle of the inside of the hand between the base of your thumb and index finger. {See photograph}
Headaches was another problem to be addressed. We did this using Rosemary Oil blended with Chamomile. Open the right hand and place your other thumb at the base of the joint with the index finger. {Check appendices} The Women in the Journey to Wellness Group are using this knowledge to sustain their Wellness.
Trust your senses they won’t let you down.
Colour Work
Using Colour to Heal.
Crystals have healing properties. They are a part of Mother Nature’s bounty and can be used to help balance unsettled emotions.
For example, if you were feeling as though there was insufficient joy and freedom of expression in your life you might benefit from carrying a piece of Carnelian or any crystal in the orange ray.
The women in our group discovered that the 7 main energy centres (Chakras) which keep the body vital, vibrate at different rates and each reflect a particular colour ray.
On ‘Journey to Wellness’ the women played a game with scarves to embed an understanding of the main essence of each of these energy centres.
They were asked to go and stand at the correct colour scarf depending on the questions asked.
For instance:
“You are felling lonely an unloved, move to the colour scarf that will help you counteract these feelings”.
Answer, the correct colour scarf would be green, or pink linked to the heart Chakra.
Each of the women chose a coloured scarf to wear that they felt especially drawn to. One of the women who was experiencing difficulty with managing her frustration and anger chose Yellow /Gold, which is linked to the Solar Plexus; our centre of personal power or lack thereof.
‘A place of Rage or Radiance’.
It was also explained how we can use colour to balance our emotions by the clothes we wear.
Let’s look at a scenario; that we have a challenging meeting or interview scheduled for a particular day. Any garment in the blue or turquoise ray would be a good colour to wear because these colours relate to ‘Communication’ which is connected to the Throat chakra.
Please use the charts provided for a full description of the Chakras and the corresponding colours, Crystals and meaning.
All the Colours of the Rainbow Belong to You
Walk through the Chakras Visualisation
You have plenty of time.
Enough time to nourish yourself.
Today you are taking a leisurely walk.
There’s a wooden gateway before you.
It swings open as you approach.
You’re on a wide pathway and stroll confidently ahead.
This path opens onto an expanse of field on either side.
Your eyes are drawn to a magnificent spread of red poppies.
You pause and admire this ‘sea of bright red’;
You notice that your muscles and bones feel relaxed,
that your heart beat is steady.
And you think how wonderful it is to be alive.
The path is rising slightly but you continue to walk.
You are near the brow of a hill.
There are two benches; you read the inscription,
”a place of rest for the lover of nature”.
Someone has planted luminous orange marigolds in large containers
around the 2 benches.
You remember that this is a flower that can be eaten.
You sit down and gently take a petal from one of the many blossoms and taste it.
You think, I’m going to grow some and use them in a salad.
You sit for a while appreciating the generosity of strangers.
As you continue walking the earth begins to level off.
The sun is coming out now, you look up to the heavens
and notice the sun rays spiralling outwards like the star that it is.
Shinning.
You know that ALL things on earth are various expressions of this One Energy
Even you.
How magnificent.
At this moment YOU are shinning like the sun.
Smile.
You begin walking downwards towards clusters of trees.
Here there is every shade of green around you.
Each step you take feels connected to the scared earth beneath your feet.
You are alone but feel the presence of the Devas of the woodland glen.
You feel surrounded by Love. Held by Love. Safe.
In the clearing you see a lake
A mass of Blue Irises have grown at it’s borders.
It’s very quiet, almost silent.
You move closer to the edge to get a better view look.
The Irises are such a true blue, splendid.
They stand so regally, leaning towards each other as if in some important conversation.
You walk along the side of the lake for a while and notice a small cottage.
You approach this cottage and see a perfectly planted array of purple flowers.
They are the ‘Stars of Persia’.
Standing still you feel calm and a lightness of Spirit.
Someone, who was watching you emerges and gives you one of the sprays.
You thank them.
And turn away to retrace your steps/
Back to the lake.
Through the cluster of trees
Into the sunshine in the open field
Pass the benches with the marigolds
Pass the red poppies.
The wooden gate swings open
And you are home.
Back in the here and now.
Breathe.
Drama
Fun with Drama
“Laughter is the best medicine”
Drama is a useful tool for building confidence and increasing Self-Awareness.
When you engage in drama exercises, you are increasing the level of endorphins in your body. Endorphins are feel-good-chemicals which start in the brain and move through your nervous system.
Always start a drama session by waking up the body and mind.
Some examples are:
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Playing with hoops
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Breath work
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Voice work
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Improvising with hats
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Exploring emotions using emojis as a stimuli
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Developing themed tableaux [frozen pictures which tell a story]
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The women involved with ‘Journey to Wellness’ worked on adapting four scenes from the play ‘7 Found Hats.’
The four scenes are included here. (Sarah please add a link to the attachments)
Scene 2: Is set at a barbeque at the Refuge House which is disrupted by an unwelcomed visitor.
At the heart of improvisation; role play and character building is laughter. We laughed a lot in these sessions.
“Learn more About Yourself by Exploring your own Story”
 Script reading |  Dialogue and play |  IMG_4787 |
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 Fatamata in Hat DRAMA |  IMG_4785 |  Fun with Hats J W wk 5 |
 Fun with Hats DRAMA |
Journaling
Write it Down
Our Journaling sessions were not about English Grammar, neither were they about Form meaning; “a story should have …………….” Or compose a Sonnet of 14 lines.
There were no rules of any kind simply thoughts and feelings onto paper or to be exact into the personal notebook supplied.
The choice of themes or subjects were various such as.
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Recall a happy memory
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Take an object from the tray of objects, flowers, mask, candle, bowl of fruits, bunch of keys, a pair of ear-rings, a folded table cloth, a pair of reading glasses and a book. Write anything that comes to your mind.
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‘Do something for someone!’
Members of the Group were encouraged to carry their Journals everywhere they went and write whenever they felt moved or inspired by anything; or had an idea, or was trying to process an issue.
The women were supported with trying to focus on the positive. Being in the ‘present moment’ and projecting their wishes into the future. To this end a group poem was crafted on the idea of:
“Living in an Attitude of Gratitude” and the women were also given a task of writing a piece “In three years’ time I see myself…………”
Together we drew up a ‘Well Being Alphabet’ and words were selected that resonated with members of the group, like C for Confidence. These words were then used to write a response in their Journals. They were also used to construct a Well Being Crossword which is available online and in the Well Being Tool-Kit Bag .
When we explored the impact of Affirmations it was decided that ‘Words have Power’; so we should always be mindful what words we use when we speak or even in our thinking.
One affirmation advises us to;
Seek to Heal not to Hurt
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Meditation
Creative Visualisation is a form of Meditation
The benefits are that they calm the mind and uplift the spirit with positive energy so that your thinking is clearer.
This practice also relaxes the body so it’s best to do it at night-time, but they can be done at any time as long as you are in a quiet place.
The 3 creative visualisations on the web page have been created by Sheva. The first one is a walk through the countryside and it’s designed to balance each of the bodies’ 7 main Chakras.
The second is for Love and Appreciation. This one aims to encourage you to nurture yourself.
The third one is a stroll along the seashore, to give you an opportunity start healing any turbulence that you may be experiencing in your life.
Love and Light Always.
Movement
Move your Body
Whether it’s a short walk around the park; a dance around your living room; or a short Tai Chi routine to boost your immune system our bodies thrive on any kind of physical activity.
Be kind to your body; don ‘t push yourself beyond your limit, be aware of a how your back feels, how your neck feels; choose something that you enjoy.
During ‘Journey to Wellness’ always started our session with some form of movement. We danced as a group to Salsa, the ‘Candy Dance’ and Macarena [LINK]. You could do any of these on your own at home or invite a friend over and do them together.
We participated in Yoga Asanas, we enjoyed relaxing Tai Chic movement. We played with hoops and developed our own collaborative routine, we even tried Jump Rope with our own hand made rope.[ Photos ]
Is there a leisure centre near you where you could join a free Keep Fit class?
If you have internet access Danni runs a class online on Monday evenings at 7 pm and you‘re welcome to participate. Check this link for Zoom details. Only 10 to 15 minutes of some type of movement every day will have a positive impact on your Well Being.
‘Your Body is a Temple’
