Welcome to The Ocean Mind

Saturday 11th March 2023, 11am to 4pm

The Sanctuary, Queens Cross Church

Albyn Place, Aberdeen AB10 1YN

We can’t wait to welcome you on the day!

Here’s the programme for the retreat. The timings may shift a little depending on the flow of the sessions. Information on other practicalities is below.

MORNING SESSIONS

10.45 Doors to The Sanctuary open

11.00 to 11.15 Welcome and orientation (main floor)

11.15 to 12.45 Yoga, meditation and writing on the lower chakras (main floor, then dispersed – includes breaks)

12.45 to 1.25 Focus on the heart chakra: qi gong and yoga; browsing for writing inspiration and sharing reflections (main floor)

1.25 to 2.00 LUNCH (the timings may shift a little depending on the morning sessions)

AFTERNOON SESSIONS

2.00 to 2.40 Yoga and meditation on the throat and third eye chakras (main floor)

2.40 to 3.30 Writing in response to the throat and third eye chakras: collaborative exercise – ‘handing over the spark’; individual writing in response to sound or using prompts; and sharing reflections on the day (main floor, then dispersed – includes breaks)

3.30 to 3.50 Meditation on the crown chakra (main floor)

3.50 to 4.00 Final address and thank yous (main floor)

GENERAL INFORMATION

Timings

  • We're aiming to begin at 11.00, so it would be wonderful if you're settled on a yoga mat by then. The doors will open at 10.45am. If you arrive a little earlier, there's a lovely cafe, Cognito, onsite.

  • We're planning to break for lunch from 1.30 to 2.00, though this may shift depending on the flow of the morning sessions. During the morning and afternoon writing sessions, there'll be opportunities to move around, get refreshments, and take comfort breaks.

  • We'll finish at 4.00, but there'll be some time available afterwards for questions.

  • Click here for an outline of the day's programme.

What to bring

  • If you have a yoga mat, please bring it. If you don't have one, please let me know as soon as possible and we’ll bring you one.

  • We'll be writing by hand only, so please bring a notebook / paper, pens or pencils. We'll have spare A4 paper and pencils.

  • There will be a little writing while on the yoga mats, so if you don't have a notebook you may want to bring a magazine or clipboard to rest on. There are some tables in the room, but we're planning to use the amazing space as creatively as possible, which may mean you prefer to write upstairs in the balcony, so something to rest on would be useful.

  • We'll have pitchers of water and tea-making facilities in the room, but you may want to bring your own water bottle too. If you have a favourite mug that you'd like to cosy up with while writing, please feel free to bring it!

  • To make sure you're warm enough while writing, please bring warm clothes to keep you comfortable.

  • Please bring your own snacks and lunch, unless you prefer to buy refreshments from Cognito Cafe. It's best to eat outside the room (otherwise we'll have a lot of hoovering to do!), but it's fine to have small snacks in the room, which means it's likely that there will be allergens present.

Parking

  • Please see the note below for info.

Directions to The Sanctuary

  • Queens Cross Church, Albyn Place, Aberdeen AB10 1YN

  • From Albyn Place, enter the building through the side entrance.

  • Continue straight ahead, past reception on your left and Cognito on your right.

  • At the end of the corridor, turn left, following signs to The Sanctuary.

  • Go through the glass double doors directly ahead of you. In this section of the corridor you'll find the toilets on your right. Then go through the second set of wood and glass double doors.

  • Turn right, and you'll be in a very small lobby. The Sanctuary is to the left (there's also a fire exit here).


If you have any questions, please do get in touch.

We can't wait to see what emerges in collaboration with you on the day!

Thank you and all the very best.


PARKING NOTE from Queens Cross Church:

Please don't park in the Queen’s Cross Church forecourt. It's the Fire Assembly Point for the Church. We also need to leave access for emergency service vehicles. On-street parking is available on the streets surrounding the Church. However, Albyn Place and Carden Place are Pay & Display streets and parking is limited to 4 hours on both streets. On other streets around Queen’s Cross Church, parking is free and unlimited during the weekends.

Painting by Pippa Darbyshire

pippadarbyshire.com