Mindfullness in the Highlands
Since it’s World Mental Health Day on October 10th we thought we’d suggest a few mindfulness activities which you can enjoy in the Cairngorms.
If you’re wondering – what is mindfulness? Here’s a definition: it’s a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
Some of our suggestions below are specific events that need to be booked, and others are things you can do anytime without any pre-planning, like going for a peaceful walk. Whatever your timescale or budget, there’s something for everyone in these mindfulness ideas – even the kids.
Wild Club for Kids (suitable for 5–11 year olds)
The Dell of Abernethy, in Nethybridge, brings you this interactive, immersive experience where kids can unplug and reconnect with nature. It’s a place to build, craft, climb, or just relax. Kids will be shown a wide range of skills including animal tracking, den building, weaving, identifying bugs, learning how to safely light a fire or carve an arrow. Make friends, make a mud pizza or just make someone smile. It’s up to them.
photo credit: dell of abernethy
The Dell’s resident Woodland Activity Leader can offer small group adventure sessions, usually on a Tuesday & Saturday, to include all sorts of forest-based activities aimed at five to eleven-year-olds. Min 2 / max 6 in any group. £30/child
Wood Carving in Inshriach Forest
Wooden Tom is a Scandinavian-style wood worker and instructor based in Aviemore. As the name suggests, he’s mostly found in the beautiful forests of the Cairngorms carving various kitchen utensils and cups from the local Birch trees.
photo credit: wooden tom
Learning something new can be an excellent way to focus the mind, so why not try one of Tom’s carving courses for up to 6 people in Inshriach Forest. It’s a great day out whether you’re sitting in the sunshine or sheltering in the woodsman hut. You’ll be immersed in the beauty and sounds of the forest – and you’ll go home with a hand-carved kitchen utensil to remember the day by.
Cairngorm Yoga, Harriet Moll
photo credit: Harriet Moll
Cairngorm Yoga offers you a personalised prescription to enhance your wellbeing through the regular practice of yoga and meditation. Harriet offers a free consultation session followed by a programme of one-to-one live meditation and/or yoga classes, recorded classes and audio meditations to suit your unique mind type and approach. She also provides a meditation check in service for all meditators regardless of style, free of charge.
Soundscape Meditation Walk
This is another mindfulness offering from the Dell of Abernethy, but this time aimed at adults. Over lockdown the owners, Polly and Ross, built a stack of ‘Woodland Wireless’ playlists on Spotify to help people form a connection with the woods even if they weren’t able to visit. This Soundscape Meditation Walk draws from this library, carefully selecting tracks that resonate with the landscape and you go on a meditative musical journey into the deeper, more hidden trails surrounding the Dell.
photo credit: dell of abernethy
Each walk takes around an hour and will be punctuated with birdsong interludes and hot cups. Only requirements are Premium Spotify account, good headphones and some sturdy footwear. Adults only, £25 (until 31 Dec).
Wild Swimming
We’ve included a few of our favourite wild swimming spots in the Discover Cairngorms section of this website, but for this piece on mindfulness we’re talking about wild swimming in general. Anywhere you want to swim, where the water is safe and you feel comfortable is recommended by us.
photo credit: hannah bailey
A few tips to make your experience more mindful: As you get to the water be aware of your thoughts and feelings while you think about getting in. Take your time. As you shed your clothes, imagine the stresses and constraints peeling away. Focus on the sensations of air on the skin and the earth between your toes. You may feel excited or maybe you are anxious, but your sensations are beginning to displace the distractions of everyday life and you haven’t even hit the water yet.
Walking in the Cairngorms
photo credit: zoe bridger
We could spend all day recommending places to go walking in the Cairngorms, but this isn’t about where to go, it’s about how to experience your thoughts and feelings as you walk.
Some tips for being mindful as you walk through the woods or the trails: pay attention to sounds without labelling them or deciding whether you find them pleasant or unpleasant. Notice sounds as nothing more or less than sound. Now look out for colours and objects and whatever else you see. How is the light changing and interacting with the nature around you? Bring your attention to the sense of smell, can you smell the fresh pine trees, or the mud at your feet?
Although walking is an everyday activity that we all do all the time, it can be a great way to focus the mind and the thoughts. Have a look at WalkHighlands for detailed descriptions of walks in the area.