Meditating in Richmond Park, London

Last week I posted about a situation in London that was very grim. But this week I wanted to update on a side of London that is much nicer.

Most people are surprised when they hear that 1/3 of London is parkland. I think this it is not appreciated as much as it should be because it is somewhere where you can find a lot of beauty. The parks are very well looked after with amazing landscaped gardens. They are protected from being taken over by the expanding city, and animals such as deer and native squirrels roam freely and undisturbed. Last weekend we visited one of those parklands - Richmond Park, which is the largest of the royal parks in London, made up of over 2500 acres of hills, woodlands, gardens, lakes and grasslands set among ancient trees.

A group of us from the London centre spent the whole day in the park investigating techniques of meditation. We practised mindfulness meditation (awareness) as we walked over 10km through woods, along forest paths and across grasslands full of herds of roaming deer. We made some stops along the way where we sat out in the sun meditating on the breath and then later practising visual meditation under a tree of singing birds. It was a fantastic and uplifting day and we will be continuing these practice days in nature on a regular basis as the beginning of spring is finally on its way!

   One of the lakes in Richmond Park 

Isabella gardens - the most popular spot in Richmond Park

One of the three herds of deer we came across  

Babs gets close to the deer

 Something's hiding in the grass - the horns gave them away!

Eva, Babs and Holly relaxing after a long walk