Holistic approach provides vital outlet during pandemic

TWO friends who randomly met at a party have paired up to arrange a safe space for everyone to come together, learn about their bodies and build a sense of community at the same time during these uncertain times through a range of holistic techniques.

Mental health clinician and yoga teacher Georgia Gray and healer and sound bath expert Eleni Noulas came up with the idea to team up to create four individually themed workshops at The Birch Room in Leopold from July through to August.

The range of topics covered in the sessions include education about women’s hormones, breathwork, sound healing, voice activation and more.

These workshops come at an important time according to Ms Noulas, as Victoria’s latest statewide lockdown due to the ongoing pandemic causes many individuals to fall into isolating patterns, with these sessions providing a way to avoid those.

“The pandemic can make many people feel so isolated and lonely,” Ms Noulas said. “We wanted to bring a space together where you feel like you are supported, even in times where someone might be feeling down or going through a personal trauma.”

The duo also emphasised the importance of education within these sessions, as they want that to be the main difference compared to other workshops.

“For those who attend, we aim for them to meet new people, learn things about themselves and then take that home,” Ms Gray said.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also creating a space that encourages good physical, mental and social wellbeing.

“Also, the connection from face-to-face contact we had in the first session received really good feedback.”

Many participants took part in the opening session shortly before the latest lockdown, with the participants noting how happy they were with the diverse number of locations that people were coming from.

“We had as many participants as we were allowed given the restrictions at the time with people coming in from Geelong, Colac and even a woman from Ballarat, which we were surprised at, given how far she had to travel,” Ms Gray said.

For more information and updates about the upcoming sessions you can head to the Holistic Journey Workshop’s Instagram page @holisticjourney_workshops or on Facebook.