In just over a couple of weeks, on Saturday 2nd June I’ll be attending the second edition of The Mindful Living Show in London, and I’m super excited, to say the least! This truly-unique two-day show is back at the Business Design Centre on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd June. Last year, I was blown away by the keynote speech by Olympic gold medalist Etienne Stott and Mental Skills Coach Katie Warriner. After a day of talks and interactive workshops by experts and inspiring practitioners, the event was concluded beautifully with a keynote speech from Sharon Salzberg, author of Loving Kindness and Real Love, on video link.
Unfortunately, due to other commitments, I’ll only be able to attend the show on the second day, missing all the fun of day one. With lots going on, and some amazing workshops and talks happening all at the same time in the various dedicated areas, it’s all about making choices. So here are the sessions I’m looking forward to attending?
Opening keynote – Will Young.
On the Saturday, this year’s opening keynote speech will be delivered by Will Young. Did you know that amongst many other things he’s also a podcast host? I didn’t. He’ll be covering the topic ‘Knowing ourselves and speaking our truth’, which promises to be really deep and meaningful. There’s a really nice atmosphere at the start of the day where everyone attending is in the same room before deciding which of the smaller workshops to attend.
Anxiety, stress, or building a wellbeing business?
At 11:20 and for the following half an hour, I’ll have a bit of a dilemma. I just cannot decide between these three:
- Be calm, Be Happy; Mindfulness practices for Managing Anxiety and Depression with Brother Phap Vu.
- Building a profitable wellbeing business with Malika Laurent.
- Feeling under stress? Get your ya-ya’s out with Sophrology! with Kate Forrester.
The talk from Brother Phap Vu promises to offer practical tips to use in situations of anxiety, low mood, and depression. He’ll talk about stopping, calming, and appreciating life, which are topics that are quite close to my heart. With a promise to share ideas and practical exercises to use in everyday life, this sounds like a great investment of my time!
But… I also feel quite curious about the session on Building a profitable wellbeing business. Malika Laurent created her business from her own passion for wellbeing, but she’s also a business coach, and I’m sure she didn’t get to where she is without a clear vision. I’d love to hear her tips about launching and growing a business that helps clients create success in their business and life. While I’m not necessarily in the wellbeing business, I do help my clients with my mentoring and writing practice, so I’d be really curious to meet Malika.
The third session, in the Demo Zone, is all about stress, and despite the (to me) rather obscure title, it may well be the session that ends up winning my heart. I must admit that I don’t know what sophrology is, but Kate is a fellow writer, a creative, and she runs stress workshops. So she’s got my vote.
But honestly, I can’t decide. Where will I end up going?
The life-changing power of a gratitude practice.
Without a doubt, at 12 o’clock I’ll get myself to the Experience Zone to hear Gabrielle Treanor talk about ‘The life-changing power of a gratitude practice’. Treanor calls herself a writer, teacher, and a ‘worry expert’. So I already know we have lots in common there! But she also helps people worry less and enjoy life more, and as a fellow over thinker and over worrier, I’m really keen to learn what she has to share. Just by reading the description of this workshop, I was reminded of the word ‘ease‘, which has been coming up for me quite a lot over the past few days. Plus, I’m all for learning the practical, applicable, realistic, and doable tips that Gabrielle will be sharing. Really looking forward to this talk!
Happiness – in children and adults.
At 12:40, I’ll be heading to the Demo Zone for the session ‘Revealing the simple, science-backed techniques that lead to happiness in children and adults!’ run by Laura Earnshaw, creator of myHappymind. A mum to children who are of similar age to mine, Earnshaw is also a wellbeing and resilience expert. She teaches children mindfulness and other scientifically-proven habits that help promote happiness. I’m looking forward to this half-an-hour session, and hopefully, I’ll pick up some useful techniques and tips that I can share with my children.
Intentions matter.
After a quick break, I’ll be back at 2 pm in the Demo Zone for the session ‘Why does Intention Matter?‘ with Juliet Adams, a mindfulness and intention author, teacher, coach and mentor. Adams is writing a book, due to be published in late 2018, on the science of intention. I think it sounds super-interesting, don’t you? I know I’ll be putting it on my to-read list. In particular, I’m really curious to find out if this links, at all, with the idea of inspired action, which is something I talked about in my blog post on how to create a vision board that works.
If our conscious or unconscious intentions really underpin everything we do, then isn’t setting intentions for ourselves something we should pay a great deal of attention to? The session promises to be practical and demonstrate how intention can improve someone’s mindfulness practice. That, in turn, can influence your life and career. I’m excited.
Mindfulness and the creative process.
Compassion mindfulness practice.
Self-compassion, coping and resilience.
And for the last part of the day, I’ll be back by the Main Stage, where I’m looking forward to watching Professor Kristin Neff on Live Link for the closing keynote speech of the day on ‘Mindful Self-Compassion: The Key to Well-Being, Coping and Resilience‘. It’ll be amazing! Author of the book ‘Self-Compassion‘, Neff is a pioneer in her field – she conducted the first empirical studies on self-compassion over a decade ago. The talk will provide a brief tool to help us practise self-compassion in daily life. I’m most definitely not missing that!
It’ll be a full-on day – perhaps one of those when it’s hard to stay mindful after all! But I’m looking forward to the great opportunities to meet some fantastic speakers, experts, and practitioners. And I’m definitely looking forward to learning loads. So stay tuned as I’m sure I’ll be sharing some useful nuggets with you all after the show.
Related posts:
Need help deciding? Have a look at the posts I wrote at the back of last year’s event.
How to sleep better – read “Breathe Better, Sleep Better” by Anandi, the sleep guru.
If mindfulness can help an athlete win gold, how could it help you in your life?
And here’s what you missed from last year’s event: 5 reasons to attend the Mindful Living Show.
Will you be booking your ticket to The Mindful Living Show?