Dear friends

last night I spotted the first blossoms on a local cherry tree, and this morning a cluster of daffodils in a sheltered area of the park. Spring is (finally) upon us. How has the winter been for you? Are you welcoming the longer days and milder weather? Or do you feel like you are crawling your way through semester without even a moment to look outside? I’m taking a few days away next week, the privilege of no longer being an academic, and heading to the east coast. I have an ingrained belief that no weather is really bad weather if you are beside the sea. It feels overdue to have some time apart from the normal everydayness of running my practice and supporting clients. I know it is only when I really get quiet to listen and check-in that I can extricate myself from the hamster wheel and make real, sustainable plans. Back in January I wrote some ideals for my working week in my diary, none of which (I think, I need to go back and check) I have maintained through the first seven weeks of the year. This break is the perfect moment to revisit my resolutions and assess whether they were unrealistic, or if the problem is my lack of action. How about you?

Last week the coaching community explored mindfulness in our February workshop. I prefaced the webinar by saying that I was a mindfulness sceptic until I looked at the actual scientific research, but now I am firmly convinced of its efficacy as a tool for brain training and stress management for academics. I am still unsettled by the ways in which mindfulness, not unlike CBT, is co-opted in less than nuanced ways as a catch-all therapy, not to mention by practitioners who give it a quasi-spiritual gloss rather than truly committing to Buddhism. The approaches we explored in BCC were centred firmly in the psychology and neuroscience, and focused on attentional training and practicing non-judgement. It is the dumbing down of these quite complex tools that reduces their efficacy (see, again, CBT). We all left the workshop commenting on how much lighter and more clear headed we felt.

Good preparation for next month then, which is our Imposter Syndrome focus. Members of the community will have a dedicated workshop on Imposter Syndrome in Academia on Wednesday 12th March, and then starting on the 17th we’ll be participating in a seven day Imposter Syndrome Mini Course co-created by myself and Rebekah Ballagh from Journey to Wellness. We’ll be doing the course alongside Journey to Wellness’ +500 active members. Each day Monday-Saturday BCC members will receive a short video from either me or Becks as well as a challenge for the day. On Sunday they will receive access to a yoga class from me, a somatic therapy practice from Becks, and that evening (8.30pm GMT) can attend a group coaching session that we are co-hosting. BCC also get the weekly co-writing session, Slow Writers at the start of the month, and our own coaching call at the end of March to review the course. It’s a big exciting month!

If you are a female identifying academic, or a woman who has left the sector but still writes or is research active, why not join us in the community next month? I’m offering some 30 day free passes to give away for March. Just message me with your email and career stage and I can get you set up with your trial in time to access all the March goodies.

Coming up in Beatha Coaching Community…

Slow Writers Club

Even if you don’t want to commit to the entire community programme, or you just want to invest in your writing, the Slow Writers Club is still here for you. We meet on the first Thursday of the month at 7pm GMT for around an hour (or so, depends on the chat) for writing prompts, discussion, and support. I host the call via zoom, with the zoom link and a bi-weekly follow-on prompt going out via email, and the sessions are recorded incase you can’t make them live. Membership is £8 a month and you can cancel any time. To give you a little taster, I’m gifting you the follow-on prompts from this month’s workshop. Do share any writing you do, I would love to read it!

Your February Writing Prompt:

Read these words from John O’Donohue’s For One Who Is Exhausted, A Blessing or read the whole poem here.

‘…

You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.

Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.

Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.

Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.

Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.

Stay clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.

Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.’

1. What does slowing down your writing mean to you today? Set a timer for 4 minutes and free write. Notice in particular how your body responds to the words, slow down. Can you get detailed and specific about your embodied reactions?
2. Choose 6-10 words or phrases from the poem that speak to you. Write them out by hand and explore your embodied reactions to each one.
3. Choose just one of the words or phrases. Set a timer for ten minutes and use the word as a starting point for a poem or short essay. Explore the mental images and connections that emerge for you.
4. Take a minute to sit with what you have written. Pay attention to feelings of pleasure, mastery, pride, or interest that emerge. Reflect on your process and how the words emerged as you gave them time to breathe. Write yourself a few lines of encouragement, observation, or advice based on this session before you close your practice.

and lastly…

My £3 a month subscription offer for Mind-Body-Movement finishes at the end of next week (going up to £5.99 a month). It’s been a complete joy to start practicing with a lovely group of women and to design movement classes for them. Coming up next week I’m adding a fully seated stretch and a fun little mini flow for the mid-afternoon slump. In February we’ve also had a yin and breathwork class for sleep, a flow for PMT, two functional mobility classes (for hamstrings and for tight shoulders), an energetic class with neuro drills to help with waking up a sluggish brain, and functional mobility against the wall that you can do between meetings. All of the classes plus my YouTube archive are on the platform, and I’m particularly enjoying selecting seven classes each week to send out as a suggested movement plan. I’m ending this newsletter with a little freebie, a link to one of the exclusive classes for you to enjoy this weekend. And if you fancy subscribing to the platform the link is below the video.

Have a good one folks, and do hit reply to let me know how you are going.

Francesca x