Festival organiser Holistic is encouraging people who live and work in the city to join them in #MeditationForPeace on Thursday 1st June on the Piazza at MediaCityUK.
From 6pm the session will be open to anyone who wants to take part and doesn’t require any previous meditation experience. Meditation is proven to help with the effects of trauma and post traumatic stress disorder with studies showing that it reduces stress hormones by calming the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the ‘fight-or-flight’ responses to danger.
On top of this, there will also be a drop-in Laughter Yoga session on Friday 2nd June between 12pm and 2pm. Laughter yoga (Hasyayoga) is a practice involving prolonged voluntary laughter. Laughter yoga is based on the belief that voluntary laughter provides the same physiological and psychological benefits as spontaneous laughter.
It boosts the immune system, reduces stress levels, relaxes the body and helps people to be more cheerful and attractive. Laughter consultant Robin Graham will be holding 15 minute drop in yoga sessions throughout the lunch period.
These events are a pre-cursor to Holistic: International Festival of Yoga which is a 2 day celebration of holistic living that is coming to MediaCityUK on Friday 16th June. It will include two 800 strong outdoor yoga practises lead by internationally renowned yoga gurus from an ex Bollywood star to a Chinese opera singer; alongside a programme of holistic classes with some of the world’s best coaches and gurus and an outdoor market celebrating healthy food and drink.
The festival has been planned in Manchester to coincide with the week of the International Day of Yoga on the 21st June. The day itself is built on a vision shared by the Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi, adopted by the UN and celebrated in more than 192 nations worldwide.
Holistic will take place at MediaCityUK on The Piazza and in The Studios on Friday 16 June and Saturday 17 June.
Tickets for each day are available for £30 from May 2, 2017.
For more information about Holistic visit https://www.holisticmanchester.com/
