FREE/ Pay as You Feel – Everyone is welcome.

Join South Square for Mindful May, to celebrate Mental Health Awareness week. We have planned a whole bunch of relaxing, creative, mindful events for you to join in with throughout the day. There’s something for everyone, including craft workshops, yoga sessions, and music, all aimed to help lift your spirits, brighten your day, and to help make you feel calm and creative! 

During the day, Plenty at the Square will be giving out FREE healthy drink shots, plus, they’ll be offering a Mindful May inspired menu.

Mindfulness is the practice of being present and fully engaged in the current moment without distraction. It involves learning to pay attention to thoughts, emotions, and sensations in a non-reactive way which can help reduce stress and improve focus.

Art and creative events are perfect ways to help you feel more calm, as they take you away from your normal, every-day activities, they are an a fun way to engage in something new, learn a new skill, and take time out for yourself and with your loved ones.

Our highly anticipated annual event will be filled with relaxing workshops, taster sessions, music and more. Read on to find out what we have scheduled, and book your tickets now before they all go!

TASTER SESSIONS / WORKSHOPS

Nidra Meditation // 9:30 – 10.15 // Limited Spaces // Click here to book

Nidra Meditation, also known as Yogic Sleep, is practiced lying down. You will be guided by our resident yoga instructor Nicola, through 45 minutes of pure relaxation to calm a busy mind, soothe the nervous system and reduce stress, leaving you feeling grounded and energised, ready to face the rest of your day.

No experience of Yoga or Meditation required, just bring a mat, an open mind and an open heart.

Chair Yoga // 10:30 – 11.15 // Limited Spaces // Click here to book

Chair yoga is a gentle form of yoga that is practised whilst sitting in a chair. It’s a good way to start exercising if you have limited mobility or have trouble standing for long periods. Chair yoga helps to improves flexibility, posture, and balance, as well as helping tone muscles, relieving stress and helping with sleep.

No experience of Yoga required, just bring yourselves!

EFT (Tapping) Taster Session // 11:30 – 12.15 // Limited Spaces // Click here to book

Come and join this introduction session to EFT session. EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique, a self-help method that involves tapping on specific points of the body to manage emotions. Hosted by Natasha, a professional EFT practitioner, she will teach you to tap, and using this method to focus of helping you take time out for some self care, and helping stabilise your emotions. This is open to anyone new to tapping or interested in tapping, and those who have done it before and want a refresher.

No experience required, no equipment required.

Sound Bath Experience // 12:30 – 1:15pm // Limited Spaces // Click here to book

This session allows for deep relaxation, whilst being guided on a meditation journey, giving you time to focus on the various instruments with their different frequencies. Judy from Rural Relaxation, will use a variety of percussion instruments including Tibetan singing bowls, tongue drum, ocean drum and ting-sha bells to ease you into a feeling of rejuvenation and deepened relaxation.

You will be sat on the floor for this workshop. Feel free to bring a cushion. Chairs can also be provided for those that prefer to sit.

Suitable for beginners.

Death Cafe // 1:30pm – 3pm // Click here to book

At Death Cafe, they believe that death is something that is not talked about enough and that this can make it harder for us as individuals, but also for those of who care for others. Come along to this event to feel free to speak in an open, inclusive space, to share your grief, thoughts on death, and share your experiences. Coffee and cake included.

Death Cafe are a group of staff and students at the University of Bradford, Marie Curie Hospice and other organisations in Bradford with an interest in death, dying and grief.  Many of them are pre-registration nursing students, across adult, children and mental health nursing.

DROP IN WORKSHOPS

Paper art – making crepe paper flowers // 11am – 2pm // Garden

In this drop-in workshop, you will learn the art of making crepe paper flowers. In Eastern Europe, they adorned homes during holidays, decorated altars in churches, and embellished pictures of saints in households. In Ukraine, paper flowers were used in wreaths – traditional girls’ headdresses and ritual attributes.

Everyone is welcome to come and make, all materials included, drop in any time.

Badge Making // 11am – 3pm // Courtyard

Come and make your very own badge to take away there and then. This could be a Mindful May inspired badge, or you can make your own name, draw your favourite character, or any picture you wish! We will have paper, felt tips, pencils, collage elements and more for you to use to design your badge, and staff will be on hand to press and secure this, ready for you to keep.

Everyone is welcome to come and make, all materials included, drop in any time.

MUSIC

Sound Garden / Bring Your Own Vinyl Afternoon // 3 – 7pm /  Open decks 3-5pm // Garden

DJ Dom Sheard from ‘No Hands’ will help you play your vinyl alfresco in the South Square Garden. Dust off your revered LP collection and listen to your playlist outside in the glorious setting under the sun (hopefully). Bring your mellow tempos and laid-back funk for a mindful vibe.

If you want to bring your own vinyls and have a go at DJ-ing, or just bring your own vinyls for the DJ to play – let us know to add you to the list. Email [email protected]

EXHIBITIONS

Touch Points // Main Gallery

Running till Sunday 1st June

‘Touch Points’ is a group exhibition of digital interruptions, centred around the human body and how our experiences are shaped by technology. The artists in this exhibition use technology to offer an alternative perspective of our living experiences. 

Craig Delaney // Plenty at the Square

Running till Sunday 1st June

Craig says: ‘My work explores the intersections of consumerism, capitalism, and the pharmaceutical industry, using the blister pack as a central motif. This everyday object symbolizes both care and control, reflecting how our lives are commodified under late capitalism. Through painting, I examine the rituals of consumption and health, highlighting our reliance on pharmaceuticals while critiquing the profit-driven systems behind them.’