Well-being Events for Women
I am currently working for The Growing Club CIC creating a well-being programme for women during the pandemic. The Growing Club is a not-for-profit organisation that provides a range of skills training and opportunities for women, using a creative and alternative peer support model. They have received funding from The Smallwood Trust to provide free and low cost online courses to support women's well-being during the covid-10 pandemic.
As well as putting together the programme I am offering several sessions /courses that may be of interest.
The Peer Listening Project
from Monday February 8th
Improve your listening skills and have the opportunity to be heard. Form an ongoing peer listening partnership.
We all need a good listening to from time to time. This year, with all the challenges we have faced during 2020, we need it more than ever. At the same time we have been less able to be around friends and spend time together, so although we have the phone, zoom, social media and a variety of other platforms, it’s been a lonely time for many. Sharing what is going on for us, getting seen and heard may feel a bit vulnerable at first, but it’s amazing what a good listening to, can do for us. When someone listens to me without judgement, I feel a sense of being accompanied and less alone. And when I share out loud what is going on for me, somehow I get more clarity about what is important to me. Even when all the listener does is be there.
As a listener it can be hard to see others in pain and we want to help. We might feel helpless, want to offer solutions or share our stories to let the speaker know we understand. My experience is that often the best gift we can give to another is to just be there. Don’t just do something. Be there! Offer your presence as a present and just be a listening companion. It can be a great relief to realise I don’t have to fix anything and to know that I can make a difference by simply listening.
As part of The Listening Project we will explore how to create space for others, how to listen and how to take care of ourselves so we don’t get bogged down by what we hear. We’ll need lots of practice so there will be lots of chances to be heard as part of the course.
At the end of the course we will partner you with someone else who has taken part so that you can become listening partners and continue to provide listening support for each other. So no matter what life throws at you, you will have someone to listen. This might also include sharing when things are going well.
The course will enable you to improve your listening skills and have the opportunity to be heard, and the skills you will learn can be invaluable in daily life in being able to hear more clearly what is important to others, and to fully listen and understand before responding.
February 8th 1300-1400 Intro session – all welcome to come and find out more.
If you decide to join us the date are February 15th, March 1st, 15th, and 29th and April 19th 1300-1430. We ask that you come to all the sessions and take part in a one hour ‘buddy’ practice in between sessions.
With Sarah Ludford and Hannah Ehlert
When, Why and How to ask for what you want
February 24th 10am-12.30pm
Get clear what you want, explore ways of asking, get feedback on your requests and explore what happens if we hear no.
Could you do with some help? Do you find it easy to ask for the help you need?
Many of us struggle with this. We might be scared of being judged or fearful about the impact on our relationship. Scared of hearing no, or even more scared that you might get a yes. Wow, what if people said yes to our requests for help, what then?
We live in a society where there is an expectation that you should be able to cope on your own and asking for help is seen as weakness. But human beings are interdependent creatures we need each other. I’ll let you into a little secret…. human beings love to help each other. It’s part of our nature to want to support and care for each other and it feels so good to know that you can help someone.
The tricky thing is when we do ask it is often not really clear what we are asking for and that can be hard for others to hear.
In this session we will explore when, why and how to ask for help. We will get clear what we want, look at what gets in the way of asking, get some feedback on our requests and explore what happens if we hear no.
Self Compassion and Empowerment Series
from February 26th
This series is for you if you would like to be kinder to yourself, become your own best friend, understand yourself better and stand in you
I have found self-compassion to be one of the keys to well-being. As I grew more compassionate towards myself I found more inner peace, presence and surprisingly, more empowerment. Being compassionate does not mean always being soft and giving. It means having your own back with love and kindness. Being your own best friend. And when we have that kind of support and understanding in our lives it can help us to step forward with courage and to care for ourselves in our daily lives, in our work and in our relationships.
Once the compassion for self starts to flow we can begin to get curious about others and what might be going on for them and that helps to nurture our relationships too.
This series is for you if you would like to be kinder to yourself, become your own best friend, understand yourself better and stand in your own power.
“It’s important to distinguish self-compassion from self-esteem. Self-esteem refers to the degree to which we evaluate ourselves positively. It represents how much we like or value ourselves, and is often based on comparisons with others. In contrast, self-compassion is not based on positive judgments or evaluations, it is a way of relating to ourselves. People feel self-compassion because they are human beings, not because they are special and above average. It emphasizes interconnection rather than separateness. This means that with self-compassion, you don’t have to feel better than others to feel good about yourself. It also offers more emotional stability than self-esteem because it is always there for you – when you’re on top of the world and when you fall flat on your face”. Dr Kristin Neff
6 weeks x 2 hrs
Fridays 10-12 26th February, 5th,12th,19th and 26th March, and 23rd April
£25 commitment fee we request you attend all 6 sessions. Free for unwaged please contact Lisa@thegrowingclub.co.uk
To booking any of these events visit our bookings page
For the full well-being programme visit The Growing Club events page
