Stormy Seas, Sauna Rituals, and Ghostbusters Skies: A Weekend Escape to Brighton
The Sunday Best Round Up #32
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Last weekend I had a mini break in Brighton.
My wife had booked it as a Christmas present.
The real gift was her looking after the house, kids and dogs whilst I ran off, like a very excited small child with a HUGE bag of sweets.
So I off I went with a hop, a skip, and a… drive!
First up was the local Buddhist Centre for all the meditation gainz.
‘Twas a 3 part mindfulness class.
First a slow breathing meditation with very few instructions.
Just breath now and again.
Tbh it was quite boring.
Of course that's the point; to slooooooooooowwww the brain down.
But it was pretty humbling to see how rubbish I was at it.
My mind went a bimbling and a wandering VERY frequently.
Next up was a walking meditation...
It was a bit tight as there were about 30 of us all walking slowly in a circle around this small, carpeted room.
I felt a bit self-conscious initially.
“Am I walking right?”
After a while I did get into it and saw some bloke alternately walking on the carpet and then the outer layer of hardwood floor.
Of course I copied him, because; safety in numbers.
Turns out he was on to something as…
The feeling of contrast underfoot, between the hard floor and carpet, was indeed rather enjoyable.
On my strolles I also found that one spot of the room was distinctly warmer than the rest.
And guess what?
It had a little radiator tucked away there!
(No s*** Mr. Holmes, here’s your Olympic Gold Medal for Mindfulness!)
I know it’s a pretty obvious connection.
But the fact I noticed the subtle change in air temperature every time I did that bit of a lap, was good.
Tuning into basic sensations and all that…
Then there was the final part of the session.
Some dharma chat from the lady who was facilitating.
She was incredibly warm and lovely.
Kindness flowed through her every pore.
She spoke about the challenges in the world of late.
(Yep even in Brighton the oompah-loompah tanned fascist new US president is big news.)
She shared hope that we can collectively overcome any struggles, and look after the planet we are so lucky to enjoy.
It felt a nice message to combat the nasty stuff going off 24-7 in the doom scroll world of current mee-dee-ah.
Then it was all over and I went for a little sea swim.
When in Brighton and all that…
It was a little choppy so it wasn't long before I got knocked out of there by a wave which I hopelessly mistimed.
After my little swimmy-wimmy I strolled the promenade, where I was greeted with an amazingly pinky orange sky.
It reminded me of the original Ghostbusters movie where the sky went a bit funny coloured and Sigourney Weaver, and the other bloke with glasses, start going a bit demon dog and shouting Zuuuuull rather excitedly!
Luckily there seemed to be no freshly transformed devil dogs kicking around, just a few folks taking pink sky selfies.
Which was nice.
I headed back to the hotel to spend the evening writing and reading.
Next morning I was up and at ‘em for my 0730 am sauna date.
Yep I'd booked into this amazing sauna called Beach Box
It's a collection of 3 different saunas and, even more exciting for me, 5 different cold water options …
Cold shower, cold bucket shower, large cold plunge, cold tin bath and normal bathroom bath (cold).
I was in the sauna with a few others for the early morning sesh.
Lovely people who were happy to chat sauna temperatures, sea swimming and other such thangs.
The sauna is set right on the beach with windows to the sea.
‘Twas proper stormy, and watching the waves was hypnotic in the hazy warm glow of this heated box-icle.
Half way through I jumped out for the cold tin bath option.
I lay staring at several seagulls a floating on high, while my body did hot to cold in 30 seconds and my brain loved every last bit of it.
I lasted 5 minutes in the cold plunge.
Because that's what I do in my garden cold plunge and I'm nothing if not compulsively obsessive consistent!
Then it got interesting.
Back in the heat and the sauna guy came in and started flicking a towel about.
No not some sadistic school boy changing room nonsense.
He was moving the heat around super deftly.
With the skills of some magical sauna prince he wafted hot air around the room.
A dervish of whirling proportions.
The heat moved to all 4 corners of the hut in a calming and most pleasing manner.
For the whole time he held one arm up straight, with his hand touching the roof, like he wanted to ask a question.
“Quirky” thought I.
Then time was up and a last cold plunge was enjoyed.
As I was leaving the place I stuck my head around the office door to say thank you, and asked the guy about the whole ‘arm in the air’ thing.
He said it was quite simple.
By touching the roof, where the heats rises, he can gauge how hot his sauna trickery was making it.
If his hand got too hot the saunees would too, and he'd need to dial it down.
Smart that - and he flattered me by saying it was a good question, so that was nice for my deeply needy shallow ego.
I cycled back to the hotel with my head in a delicious hot-cold fuzzy (wuzzy), quite delicious, state.
Sort of like a brain stuffed with spongy, slightly stimulating, marshmallow.
(back to Ghostbusters again - Stay Puft guys!)
Then a super luxury.
I'm generally all about the cold… plunges, sea swims, showers.
But I had an actual hot shower.
Which was proper lush.
The hot, strong, invigorating sprays hit my neck and back in all the right spots.
A watery massage weakening the knees with a yummy flourish.
(TMI? IDK!)
Getting mindful again I watched fascinated as the spray hit the white plastic shower floor and bounced off; like sparkly tiny stars lit by the overhead light.
A nicer feeling in that moment I would have been hard pressed to find.
Apres shower I headed down a very storm battered sea front back to my car, the trip was nearly over 😟
Time for a little self imposed drama though.
Out in the vicious swirly whirly sea, I saw something large bobbing around helplessly and out of control.
Was it a boat struggling?
A person stranded on a wind surf?
Or just a floating buoy?
My eyesight’s a but crap so I walked down the beach to the water’s edge.
Still couldn't make it out.
(Mr. Magoo much!)
But if it did involve a human then the stormy wind, high waves, and cold temperature meant that they were in trouble.
What to do?
I was reluctant to call the coastguard as I didn't actually know what I was seeing.
Saw someone up the beach.
Turned out he was a guy living in a tent.
I asked him.
“It's just a buoy mate!”.
Ah that was that; crisis averted.
And as he literally lived on the beach I thought he should know what he was seeing.
The moral of the story?
Don't ask me- but Brighton’s a great place to visit if you've a little spare time on the south coast of England.
Happy Sunday,
JFT Beach
(Related) Note I shared on Substack this week:
Article I Wrote on Substack this Week:
Was Plato really an Uber Eats Delivery Guy?
Hint: not really, but you can read the article to make sure though.
(Talk about STRONG Clickbait!!)
5 Health and Wellness Articles I Enjoyed on Substack This Week:
What Eckhart Tolle Said That Changed the Course of My Life - This is very relatable stuff indeed by
on how life's conditions are NOT put there to please me. Seems a bit rude to me of life to be like that tbh. [Exhales loud indignant sigh] - I guess I'll have to start viewing things differently and stop clinging to all that suffering when I don't get the perfectly foamed latte with soya milk and Caramel sauce. Damn this is going to be hard work... ⚒️💪Yoga Clinic 6: Yoga Nidra (Yogic Sleep) - Yoga nidra is a powerful practice that I’ve been enjoying lately.
shares one of her practices and some of the basics of yoga nidra in this piece. Enjoy…troubling tides - Cold sea swimming, poetry and good book recommendations; a pleasant column from
Oh to be a feeler - This is a lovely, short, piece of writing for the sensitive souls of the world from
Your Wisdom Awaits - Blockbuster video late fines (remember them?), aggressive drivers and practical advice for calm from the sage of mindfulness that is
.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter,
If you did, please do me a favour and re-stack it, or add a comment below. OR JUST LIKE… Y’KNOW… DO BOTH 😁. I’d REALLY REALLY appreciate it.
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To Lazy Sunday Afternoons,
JFT Beach
PS Thanks to the following for… well… following!
Yep this week the following lovely people have started following me on Substack thanks to all of you
PPS Big shout out to the following writers who I found on Substack that are from Brighton:
The way you described the sauna experience, especially the feeling of the heat being moved around by the towel, was incredibly vivid. It reminded me of a time when I was in a sweat lodge ceremony, and the leader used a similar technique to circulate the heat. It was such a powerful experience, both physically and mentally. It's amazing how something as simple as hot air can have such a profound effect on our well-being.
I can relate to your mindfulness experience and the whole thinking process of "am I doing this right?" And just like you I always come to the conclusion "of course I'm doing it right, it's about the sensations and being in the moment, there is no right or wrong"