Thriving Communities is a dynamic not-for-profit Community Interest Company based in Caerphilly and the surrounding area. Its mission is to create positive, happy, healthy, and thriving communities throughout South Wales. It was set up in 2021 and now has four executive directors: Mel Jones, Dr Manmeet Kaur, Esther Apoussidis, and Sandra Brown, who are a dedicated team of health and wellbeing professionals. Mindfulness Wales met with Esther and Manmeet in February and March 2024 to discuss how their work relates to nurturing mindful communities.
There are currently four pillars to their work: a Mind and Body Wellness programme; empowerment workshops; happiness and wellbeing groups; and the ‘Spirit of Nature’ initiative (enjoying healthy activities in the outdoors with positive-minded people). Mindfulness is evidently a golden thread that runs throughout the work of Thriving Communities. Within a broad range of their activities, participants are encouraged to be in the present moment, placing their full attention on what they are doing. Their goal is “to help people experience mindfulness in the activities we do… creating more awareness and living life fully”. Mindful meditations form a core component of the Mind and Body Wellness Programme and the empowerment programme. The ‘Spirit of Nature’ includes mindful walks in nature, where participants are encouraged to be in the moment, really notice what is happening, savour their surrounding environment, and understand how this can benefit them. In the empowerment workshops, participants learn to be aware of who they are, in the moment, and how they respond to that, so empowering them to make different choices. They also offer free, weekly, on-line drop-in meditation classes. The team are keen to promote the benefits of mindfulness for mental health:
“So, our mind is in past, future, past, future all the time, whereas mindfulness is living in the present moment. If we start living mindfully then half of the problems are solved, especially mental health problems, they normally occur because of worries about the past or future.”
Thriving Communities are committed to making a difference to individuals’ lives by reducing loneliness, anxiety and depression and empowering them to play to their strengths, grow in confidence, engage with activities and other people, and live to their full potential. Their participants testify to this:
“All activities, programmes and workshops have a focus on methods to help us become more present, to find joy and gratitude within ourselves, to have more self-awareness and self-compassion, which I’ve found in turn helps with finding more compassion towards others. I now have a daily routine of yoga, meditation and breathwork, which has made a huge difference, helping me to navigate life with far more clarity and joy. The team are truly wonderful, going out of their way to make everybody feel welcomed and delivering all programmes in a joyful and inclusive way.”
Working collaboratively and in community is also clearly central to the way in which Thriving Communities approaches their projects. The team foster a continued sense of community, connection and belonging within their participants, through use of WhatsApp support groups and a group of volunteers who take a lead in encouraging others and promoting and supporting the ongoing activities. More widely, Thriving Communities have collaborated with other third sector organisations within the surrounding area. They have a strong sense that, by working together, in community, they can make a difference to society.
The team’s vision for the future is to continue to expand their work across South Wales, to make Thriving Communities a bigger, more dynamic organisation and a centre of excellence for wellbeing in the community and the workplace. They have started offering workshops to NHS hospital staff in South Wales. They have already carried out an initial analysis of the impact of their Mind and Body Wellness programme and are now collaborating with Swansea University who are taking the lead in a larger evaluation research project.
For more information on Thriving Communities, please visit:
Home – Thriving Communities CIC
http://www.facebook.com/thrivingcommunitiescic/
Key words
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