The Little Company of Calm

25/07/2025

Mindfulness in Nature

Here’s Jasmine in her ‘Zen Den’ earlier this week at one of our weekly sessions at Elemore Park

Just a reminder that the sessions are open to all ages and may provide you and your children/ grandchildren with some much needed calm during the busy summer holiday period

You can join us every Monday ( excluding the August Bank Holiday) until the 14th September 2025

Book your place here ⬇️

https://www.tlcoc.co.uk/book

24/07/2025

Taken after Streams of Calm meditation at Hendon Beach today. So mild and peaceful.
Also, our Calm at St Michael's is on at 5.15 tonight and every Thursday, if you fancy giving it a try. Many thanks 🙏 to Liz who is covering tonight and to Andrew for next week, (am away to London and Plymouth again!)

22/07/2025

I had a great Sunday afternoon at Durham for its annual Streets of Brass festival. This band were from York and had everyone moving.

If you want to see what joy looks like have a look at the dancers and the musicians. Joy can be found anywhere and everywhere - even in the streets of Durham on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

If you missed it this year they will be back again.

21/07/2025

“What do you plan to do with your one wild precious life?”

We reflected on these words of the poet, Mary Oliver today, surrounded by summer’s abundance in the beautiful Elemore Park

Spending more time to savour nature was one of the answers. Today we noticed butterflies balancing on a stalk of grass, spiders webs glistening in the trees, the rays of sunlight and the feel of tree bark against our skin.

What will you notice and do in your one wild and precious life?

Thanks to funding from Coalfield Area Committee for funding to allow us to make these Monday sessions affordable. Coalfield Sunderland Community


Come and join us next time. We’d love to welcome you.

https://www.tlcoc.co.uk/book

21/07/2025

Mindful Monday

Let’s talk more about self care

The practice of self-care is spending time doing things that help you live well and improve your physical and mental health.

Evidence shows that self-care can reduce anxiety and depression, reduce stress, improve concentration, minimize frustration and anger, increase happiness, and improve energy, among other benefits.

Taking care of yourself is also one of the best ways of ensuring that we can take care of those around us as well.
When we are operating at our best, this puts us in the best position to be there for other people

International Self-Care Day, celebrated each year on July 24, emphasizes the importance of self-care as the cornerstone of wellness.

On this day, and every day we are encouraged to make self-care a part of our everyday routines and turn it into a priority.

Last week we shared some simple exercises you can fit in to even the busiest schedule, opportunities to pause and find some calm.

Developing your own personal self plan further could include

✔️reading a good book
✔️making time to relax
✔️taking a nap
✔️being kind to yourself
✔️eating healthy food
✔️movement and/ or exercise

It could also include signing up with The Little Company of Calm for a yoga class, mindful walk or meditation session

https://www.tlcoc.co.uk/book

So come on let’s all be proactive in building our own well-being and start by taking steps today to prioritize our health and wellness through active self-care.

18/07/2025

It was such a pleasure and privilege to practise mindfulness in nature with such a lovely group of people.
Thanks to Pip Links with Nature for such fabulous organisation that made the sessions so enjoyable and safe.

Looking forward to the autumn sessions.

17/07/2025

At our recent Mindful Walk in Nature we spent time in Barnes Park looking at and listening to the beautiful sights and sounds of summer.

We visited the sensory garden and noticed lots of different plants and flowers.

We enjoyed the different smells colours and textures but didn’t know what they all were

So we thought we would ask our followers for some help.
Do you know the names of these beauties?

Pop any suggestions in the comments below ⬇️

Remember when you are out and about to pause, look up down and around you taking the time to notice natures beauty

And if you want to join us at one of our next mindful nature sessions or walks you can book here https://www.tlcoc.co.uk/book

15/07/2025

Some info about us for our new followers !
Welcome 🙂

14/07/2025

14/07/2025

Mindfulness in Nature 🌳

Well it may have been a rainy start to the day but we found a lovely dry spot in Elemore Park to get close to nature and find our calm

It was good to be back amongst the trees listening to the wind move through their leaves and the birds singing in their branches!

We will be here for the next 7 Mondays (excluding the August bank holiday) if you want to join us

Thanks to Coalfield Area Committee funding , each session is at the discounted price of £4

https://www.tlcoc.co.uk/book

14/07/2025

Mindful Monday

Whilst at the recent Barnes Park Family Fun Day, Joe was asking people “Can I interest you in some peace and calm?

Often the response was “Chance would be a fine thing!"

It seems that although we like the idea of taking time for ourself , it feels like there just aren’t enough hours in the day…..but self-care does not need to be time consuming.

And fitting self-care into your life may actually lead to less stress, more patience and a clearer focus.

Sound Good?

Our advice is to start small with some of these practises which can be done anywhere and only take only seconds

🙂Breathe: Stop what you’re doing and take a deep breath. Do not underestimate the power of a deep breath. These precious seconds may be the difference between loosing your cool and responding calmly; between feeling overwhelmed and staying focused.

🙂Think About What You’re Eating: As you take a bite of your sandwich, take a second to focus on the different flavors and textures

🙂Give Technology a Time-Out: Set a timer for 30 seconds. Turn off all technology and do something else on this list or just sit in silence. This might be difficult at first and that’s ok, add time as you feel comfortable

🙂Take a Look Around: Focus your eyes on something around you – it could be a painting, a cloudy sky, one of your kids, something that brings you a little joy. See how many details you can observe: shading, colors, shapes, lines.

🙂Stretch: Raise your arms straight up above your head, and then bring them out to your sides. Gently roll your head from the left to the right. Shrug your shoulders, and then roll them to the front and back a few times.

🙂Close Your Eyes: You may not be able to actually take a break from your surroundings, but you can mentally escape by closing your eyes for a few seconds. Allow your brain to take a little “mini-vacation” by thinking about a calming scene or destination.

Once you begin to incorporate self-care activities into your life, you begin to realize how good it feels. You may find yourself naturally taking a deep breath or chewing food more mindfully

11/07/2025

Another reminder that we have our first Mindfulness in Nature session on Monday

See you there ???

Note … it is an outdoor session and there no toilets available at Elemore Park however we can use the toilets in the Hetton Centre on the way there or back (if coming by car) also ELAP community centre is close by.