Do you want to learn what mindfulness is all about, and what practical skills you may gain to practice emotional intelligence, do you want to broaden your perspective on resolving conflicts and explore your perception on sounds and human senses, do you want to enjoy yoga, breathing exercises, Thai massage and make great friendships and vivid memories?
Well, just follow our news for the second edition of the memorable Erasmus+ Training course called Individual Wellness for Mindful Youth Work training organized by MOVE to Be You in rural Austria. The first edition of this great training happened from 1-9th of April at Blue Whale Education Center in Mönichkirchen. Our Bulgarian participants mingled with representatives from Italy, Austria, Turkey, Slovakia, Belgium, Greece, Poland and Spain – a totally of 27 participants.
Every day of the program was intense, versatile, practical, and knowledgeable and each morning started with a sound ritual that all of us liked from the very beginning. That favourite ritual gave us the strength, inspiration and motivation to learn, be open, vocal and explore what gifts the day would offer. The first day, of course, was dedicated to knowing each other but also to learning more about us through funny icebreakers, games, reflections, and meditations.
On the next 2 days participants were divided in 5 groups as per their interests, talents and skills to work on an activity called "From formal to non-formal", which represented the core of the "act as multipliers" approach that our great trainers managed to implement. Each group worked on a specific conflict after being familiarized by its theory. For interpersonal conflict the question ‘Who are you?’ was used, so the participants could experience this type of conflict directly on themselves. For the other types of conflicts, group participants created a theatrical performance on the assigned type of conflict. The 3rd day also was dedicated to mindful movement. We enjoyed expressing emotions through movement and letting ourselves be vulnerable. We felt that understanding ourselves meant understanding our bodies so that was a great experience. In the first 2 evenings, all participants shared their cultural diversity through delicious food, drinks, dances, traditions and the spirit of competition during funny games.
On the next day, we focused on creativity in yoga sessions, and meditation and created a circle, sharing all our similarities and differences while passing a wool to create kind of a spider web with it. We analyzed, dug deeper in ourselves and eventually we put the “spider webs” on the floor. Everyone took scissors, cut a piece of the wool, created a bracelet and put it on someone else's hand. Somehow this activity made us more connected.
On the 5th of April the focus was on promoting mindfulness and relaxation. We had a sound meditation and a silent walk. Both activities were very powerful, they were designed to help us become more present in the moment and to develop a greater awareness of our surroundings. They provided us with the opportunity to disconnect from the pressures of daily life and to focus on the present moment.
On the evening of we had some free time – some people took advantage of the beautiful weather and went outside for a walk or bike ride, others stayed indoors to focus on work or studies and a group of lucky guys took a unique approach and went for a horse ride with a pedagogical horse trainer. That evening was a very special one – we held a shamanic circle where we shared deep thoughts and emotions with each other and as the night progressed, the group went outside for a ritual under the full moon. Each person wrote down their personal fears on a piece of paper, which was then burned in a bonfire. This symbolic act of letting go of fear allowed for a meaningful and cathartic experience for everyone involved.
On the next day, we worked in groups in discussing the characters of a famous story, reaching an agreement in making a list of them, from the most to the least guilty. Later we continued with acro yoga, where the key to be successful in completing the exercises was to trust the partner, to be decisive and proceed with conviction. In the afternoon, we dedicated some time for creating a personal mandala using elements of the nature surrounding them. The principle of ‘only footsteps’ is used, meaning that the only visible sign of our presence in the place should be our feet. When everyone finished the presentation of the personal mandala, every element of it was left in the same place where it was found.
We also enjoyed 2 inspirational talent nights where participants were given the stage to present themselves by singing, dancing, storytelling, poetry, martial arts, and playing musical instruments.
At the end of the project, we were given the freedom to choose how to sum up its essence – by writing, video or art. On the final evening, we gathered for a big and delicious supper with connected tables, where with the shared music, big hugs, crazy laughing, jokes and stories from the training we celebrated our last day of this incredible training.
This training was unforgettable, powerful, very well organized and highly inspirational. So big thank you to everyone who had a role in creating and conducting that valuable experience for us!
Sophia, Nayden and Veselin
Sofia, Gabrovo, Vienna, Tauchen
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