Wellness
Ascott is a place to find peace. A place to connect. With yourself, the landscape and with family and friends. Feel your shoulders relax as you breathe a little deeper. Delight in the birdsong. Drink in the scent.
We’re developing a series of wellness experiences – things like wellness walks, yoga for all ages, mindful meditation, forest bathing and therapeutic art. We’ll add details of events below.
Mindful meditation & wellness
Ascott’s gorgeous gardens and grounds are also ideal for trying out some DIY meditation, mindfulness and wellness. It’s all about helping you pay attention to the moment. These simple techniques might help.
Breath
Sit on a bench in one of the gardens’ many quiet corners and close your eyes. Notice your breathing and breathe deeply – from your diaphragm, not your chest. After a while – still breathing deeply – allow your focus to move from yourself to your immediate surroundings, then later, still breathing deeply, expand it to progressively further and further away.
Sound
Sit somewhere comfortable. Close your eyes, breathe deeply and notice the sounds close to you. Don’t try to identify them. Think instead about the type of sound – does it flow, is it tuneful, is it sharp, does it suggest a feeling. Then let your focus move slightly further way – what other sounds and patterns do you notice? Repeat until you’re noticing distant sounds, breathing deeply the whole time.
Scent & Colour
Notice scents and colours. You might choose to notice a set number of things, or spend a set amount of time or paces doing this. For scent, perhaps notice different types of smells and the feelings or memories they prompt. Flowers, the earth, trees. You might focus on colour until you’ve seen something for each colour of the rainbow.
Touch
Touch is all about texture, temperature, dampness and dryness. What feelings or recollections do each produce? Again don’t try to identify items. This is about noticing things you might not normally spot, to help you be mindful in the moment.