Glastonbury Healing Fields: What the masters of yoga, meditation and spirituality tell us

Stay ahead of trends in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter

Stay ahead of trends in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter

a Cowbells ring and hand bindings herald the joyful moment of success. Chimes draw loyal and curious people to group meditation sessions. A gong placed over your thighs or buttocks resonates a sense of peace and contentment in your prone body, like a warm bath nourished by gentle percussion. Glastonbury Healing Fields is just a short walk from the huge club that the Underground crashed into, but atmospherically he’s been stripped down a dimension or two. And here, scorched and blackened overnight in the fiery maw of an Arcadia spider, Glastonbury, mentally, spiritually, and literally with its guts in place by dreadlocks, is back to its original state. It returns to the state of -The feeling of a masseuse.

“Yesterday it seemed like there were more people in the healing field than I have ever seen,” said Buddhist meditation teacher Vimru Raja (Lord of Purity), who was surrounded by cushions, rugs and candles. He spoke while relaxing next to the tent. “And everyone was interested. A few years ago, people would come here with cans and drinks just because it was an empty lot. Now people generally I want to discover things and be involved. The other day, three young people were walking by saying, ‘Let’s go heal.’ And they were genuine.”

One such astral navigator was me. I arrived at Worthy Farm on Friday with a lot of emotional, physical, and psychological baggage.I’ve seen sex scenes in Idol. We tasted the rich Pub Merlot. Regularly browse the For You feed on Twitter. And I needed to erase these things from my body and mind as quickly and unscientifically as possible. I set myself up for homeopaths, spiritual healers, and practitioners to resolve personal issues that had previously been quite happily shunned by heavy drinking and strong antipsychotic medications. After all, maybe there was a more natural, less A&E-bound way.

My healing journey began by listening to Lightning Seeds to purify my soul with its sounds, and then touring Green Futures Field, a maze-like herb garden that celebrates the wonders and possibilities of the plant world. Head to the permaculture area. I drink a glass of elderflower champagne and prepare myself for the healing that lies ahead. It’s a pleasant, lemon cordial-like cocktail that the bartender assures me will have a powerful laxative effect after a few hours. It’s also ‘lightly alcoholic’, which is why I’m just wandering around with my information within minutes, both to save the planet from a fossil fuel apocalypse and for the chance to win a free snooker ticket. -This may explain why it was provided to the Stop Oil unit. .

Stepping into my natural healing field, I slowly calmed my mind with an introductory full awareness meditation session in an air circle led by Raja. Raja runs retreats for all ages in Devon with the Buddhafield Group and has been teaching techniques at Glastonbury since 1992. Teacher Raja is a calm and reliable teacher. A gentle voice, like a brush of the wind, is encouraging our small group to get in touch with the sensation of breathing, recognize the color of the eyelids, and accept that it is good to banish all external distractions. . However, as a meditator myself, I made a complete mistake by not being able to get a comfortable and stable position on the cushion from the beginning. So when the Raja recommends that we focus on our connection with the Earth, I find myself desperately trying to dodge dead-end legs and then pain that staggers me from the path to a state of bliss. followed by needles and needles.

My subsequent “centering,” or concentrating on my sensory input and my place in the world, is interrupted by a series of intrusive thoughts. Am I connected to the inexorable rotation of the Earth, which is one with me, or am I just slowly slipping off this cushion? Will football ever come back home? What jokes can I make about this experience in an article? I’m sure it will be more interesting. independent person I would never run something like this. If I submit this they will lower my word rate and I may never be able to work again. In fact, how can I clear my head if I have to remember everything I plan to write later? Is it because my phone is vibrating?Is it someone? actually Are you calling me now? Will Just Stop Oil come calling to nail Monet this soon?What would you do then? independent person Are you saying something like this shouldn’t be included in the meditation paragraph? What is the etiquette for answering the phone during a group meditation session? Is it okay to slip out for a work call?

After 20 minutes of foot-numbing stillness, the Rajah guides us through the process of focusing on our bodies, allowing us a silent “space” to see what remains in our minds. When I left, I realized there was a good reason I did it. For a long time, I used every means possible to numb my subconscious mind.the That’s horrible Therefore.so much Idol. But somewhere in the heart of my spiritual Gomorrah, I certainly find some kind of calm, stillness, something that transcends voicemail. Returning (I realized I had been pocket-dialed by the Glastonbury press office), I staggered off to find more of what had come from a higher plane.

Over several days, the Healing Field proves to be an oasis of calm and well-being. Most of the fields range from acupressure and Reiki therapies, perfect for those who want to reposition their energy fields into psychic armor to withstand Guns N’ Roses, to hot stone, crystal, gong baths, and even doll therapy. There’s plenty to enjoy throughout the region. During a morning power ballad yoga session at Greenpeace Fields, an instructor wearing a Tina wig plays a windmill to the tune of Prince’s “Purple Rain” and cries of “Namaste, Mutaf**.” -Teaching us movements such as power chords and The Earth Is Your Groupie. “Eh!” Laughter Yoga sessions at the Air Circle Dome have participants flying around like throbbing gibbons and vaudevillian villains, proving the motto “Laughter is the best medicine” painted around the Green Futures Field doing.

When you attend a chanting session in a bhakti temple, where barefoot spiritual guides intertwine drums, guitars, and squeeze boxes to play hypnotic mantras, you discover that Eastern healing philosophies have some evocative melodies. I noticed. Similarly, during the Big Sing session in his Air Circle Dome tent, a group of participants improvise to form a multi-part choir that becomes prom-worthy in less than an hour.

At a homeopathic clinic, I spoke to Marcus Crist, director of the Traveling Homeopathic Collective, which treats 350 to 400 cases of minor ailments such as hay fever and bruises each year with nature-based treatments. He saw my rapidly developing sunburn and suggested treating it with nettle. This may seem as sensible as curing a hangover by hitting it with a hammer at first, but it’s not as serious as you might think. “We use it in cream form,” he explains. “All people have to do in their gardens is get some nettles, cut them with gloves, make a tea by brewing them, let them cool, put a few drops in water, and put in a washed flannel.” Infuse the tea into the pot and wet the tea as it warms up. It cures sunburns and even minor burns. ”

Wandering into a craft store to immerse myself in ancient handicrafts, I used the “bodge” technique of shaving horses and pulling knives to sharpen my daughter’s magic wand, making her feel pleasantly naive and confident. We spent 30 minutes nurturing this. “It’s never quiet,” my instructor Phil told me. Eight years at Kraftfield, ten years previously at Oxfam, and a year as a steward when Bruce Springsteen almost ran him over. “The craft field is vast and covers everything from metalwork, pottery, materials, wood and more. This and the stone circle are my favorite areas of the festival. Once you cross the railroad tracks, you go from chaos to calm. You will feel the energy shift.”

Phil has also noticed an increase in audience interest. “It feels like an important part of the festival now, as opposed to something that felt like an afterthought before. The main stage isn’t open on Wednesday, so it was a big deal here.”

Returning to the healing field, I attend a sound therapy session at the Air Circle Dome. Its floating, undulating gongs certainly remind me of the mountain peaks of Tibet, but the story of opening the third eye to better see the path to higher consciousness is too big a leap for me. Someone is still inching their way to Grade 1 Gurudham. And since I already knew there was supposed to be a court order in place prohibiting him from being alone with me this weekend, I asked for a guide. Jane Egginton, a former travel journalist who currently trains in Celtic Shamanism at Glastonbury Healing Center and runs sessions at the Healing Space in Hackney, is in her first year of training at Glastonbury.

“I’m a little hesitant about the word ‘shamanic,’” she says. “That can be a little alarming, and for me it’s not about ‘overcoming power’ but a sense of co-creation.”

The 30 minutes spent under the branches of her fragrant tree was such a wonderful journey. I walked through the emerald green forest to the branches of a tree rooted in unconditional love, and there I watched the day fade away, feeling my little stress with it. Experimental Soul-Pop Duo I Miss the Jockstraps While I’m momentarily distracted by the knowledge that has flown on the wind, I find myself fully immersed in the dreamscape that connects and sustains this ancient land. I feel it. I leave with mantras and emotional balance that I find truly uplifting and helpful.