Ahead of the Clowning Out Of Chaos Conference (21-23 May), I offered a wee workshop exploring meditations for chaotic times via Facebook Live.

Ahead of The Online Clown Academy's Clowning Out Of Chaos Conference (21-23 May), I offered a wee workshop exploring chaos through clowning via Facebook Live.

There's a statement that's been doing the rounds on facebook; “We are not all in the same boat, but we are all on the same sea.” This blog is an offer from my boat to yours. It's far from my intention to make self-care into a stick for you to bash yourself over the head with! Take whatever is useful to you and throw the rest in the sea.

It's coming up to the winter Solstice on December 21st, the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In the days around the Solstice, I'll be hunkering down and journeying inwards, contemplating life as it is and dreaming into my desired future. If this sounds like something you might want to do, here's a reflective solstice ceremony you can do at some point over the festive period.

Here's a lightly edited Facebook Live from 27th October.

Bring your curiosity, your body and some paper and a pen and let's play

Here is a mini workshop for you to do at home. It's an excerpt from The Online Clown Academy's 4th Zoom Clown drop-in session, exploring the theme of connection.

Hello! I've edited an excerpt from The Online Clown Academy's first of four drop-in Zoom Clown sessions so you can try it out at home. In this session, we'll be exploring the theme of acceptance through meditation and playful exploration:

This blog is a record of all the Facebook Lives I made for Clown Workouts. I really enjoyed the process of trying to figure out how to integrate theory, practice and audience interaction. I hope they are useful to you too.

How are your joy levels these days? Can you handle a bit more joy? Look no further! In this week's Midweek Musings, I will be pondering on the theme of joy and how we can get more of it, via discussion of three short videos from our extensive Clown Workout archive; Welcoming Joy, Exploring Taste and Laughter Yoga.

It's a choose-your-own adventure; you can read this blog, or you can press play on the videos and participate in three mini workshops on the theme of joy, or you can do a bit of both. Happy happy joy joy!

How are you faring in these strange new times? Perhaps you are easing into your new normal, discovering new skills, talents and facets? Perhaps you're raging against a system that makes questionable choices on your behalf, feeling powerless? Perhaps you're mourning your familiar routines, or the plans and dreams that once shaped your choices, your identity?