In the heart of Kelham Island, proudly stands The Chimney House which was built as an industrial furnace before housing an elephant named Lizzie during World War 1. It’s now a place for all congregations, from meetings and conferences to private dining events, classes and wedding celebrations! The near derelict building was restored and brought back to life with the most beautiful curiosities, quirky furnishings and of course, the iconic 93ft chimney.
They recently joined forces with Sheffield’s experts in wellness, Instinctive Health to organise the UK premiere of a feature length meditation documentary by award-winning director Rebecca Dreyfus.
On Meditation is an evolving series of portrait films that explore the deeply personal practice of meditation: the focused attempt to move beyond conditioned “thinking” into a deeper state of awareness.
We all settled down with a comforting mug of vanilla chai tea or chamomile, vanilla and manuka honey tea for the screening. The film conveys first-hand experiences of those who have developed meaningful practices and are willing to share their experiences. From teachers to everyday people to celebrities, the subjects offer a rare glimpse into the private insights and rituals in their everyday life. It was a thought-provoking adventure and it felt like a real privilege to be able to have an insight of what is a very personal and intimate practice.
Philippa from Instinctive Health then guided us through a short meditation session after the film, supplemented of course with social times over raw carrot cake and raw snickers bars from Zoe Lawrence at Eat Food Cook – yum!
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Head to www.instinctivehealth.co.uk to learn more about meditation and other ways to encourage self belief, freedom and movement.
Another popular method of relaxation is of course yoga! The Chimney House often hosts a lovely yoga and brunch event which brings a bunch of happy yoga-heads together for a 90-minute session with talented yoga instructor Lydia Ainscough.
Lydia discovered the benefits of yoga whilst teaching snowboarding in Canada in 2006, she quickly started to realise how much better she felt physically and emotionally when practicing. Lydia believes yoga has the power to heal and transform each of us in a positive light, and that everyone can benefit from the practice.
The powerful, strengthening class is suitable for all levels, designed to challenge both the body and mind, whilst easing the tensions of everyday away. We somewhat elegantly performed a variety of sequences to build strength, stamina, flexibility, and the graceful flow of movement. Finishing off with a long, lazy, peaceful savasana.
After working up an appetite, a restorative and nourishing brunch awaited us in the living room. We tucked into overnight bircher muesli, made with pear, almond milk, coconut yoghurt, autumn compote & almonds, with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries for sprinkling, and crème fraîche for dolloping on top!
There were slow cooked luxury eggs, swirled with double cream, puff pastry bakes with bacon, crème fraîche, mature cheddar and eggs, topped with freshly snipped chives and cracked black pepper. A mountain of perfectly ripe avocados for smushing with slow-roast vine tomatoes as well as a selection of Seven Hills freshly baked bread; poppy seed pagnotta, pumpkin seed sourdoughs to spread treaty raspberry jam, orange marmalade, and Pip & Nut’s honey cinnamon cashew butter and almond butters with! And of course, the beautiful spread is not complete without their tradition of brunch pudding; Seven Hills’ incredible gluten free lemon and poppy seed cake.
Washed down with some lemongrass, lemon and ginger tea, it’s safe to say we were all fully set for the weekend ahead as we leisurely set about our day.
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The next one is on Saturday 21st January 2017, which is unfortunately already sold out but fear not! They will be hosting a lovely brunch on Saturday 4th February 2017, this won’t be accompanied by yoga this time, it’ll be just pure unadulterated indulgence – buy your tickets here.
Sign up to their newsletter here to get first dibs on all their future shindigs, The Chimney House have got a knack for dreamy events so you’ll be in excellent hands.
