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autumn 22 natural clinics

forum magazine caught up with Eve Middlemiss, co-owner and brand director of menswear aficionado Master Debonair…

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How many hours do you spend doing nothing a week? It’d be pretty safe to assume you probably answered ‘0’ to that question, not taking into account the time you spend sleeping. It’s a safe assumption because life in the 21st century is most often experienced at 100 miles an hour. In the western world we’re continually told by business gurus and online inspirational speakers that we’ve got to make every second of every minute of every hour count, and if we don’t, our competitors most certainly will. However, as many of you may have already experienced, as much as this all-in Gary Vee attitude can achieve results, it can also achieve a rather fast burnout. Your brain becomes overloaded with emails, invitations to meetings and a phone that seems to never stop buzzing. Even the most ambitious of entrepreneurs needs some time to themselves, doing something they enjoy that lets them forget about their business altogether - even for just an hour. But what could be more relaxing than doing something you enjoy? What about, just doing nothing at all? It may sound like a completely alien concept, but that’s exactly what Master Debonair co-owner and brand director Eve Middlemiss recently did for 10 whole days and it changed her perspective on life forever. Doing ‘nothing’ is a bit of an oversimplification for Eve’s escape to the mountains in Sri Lanka. Her 10-day residential Vipassana meditation retreat in the picturesque city of Kandy required a hefty amount of mental fortitude and a complete willingness to let go of entrepreneurial stresses. “The Vipassana technique was taught to me during a 10-day course, during which you follow a strict code of discipline, learn the basics of the method and practice from 4.30am to 9:30pm to experience its beneficial results,” says Eve. You read that right, a 17-hour shift in the ancient technique of mindfulness. And you thought an eight hour working day was tough? The preconception may be that meditation is easy, emptying your mind and focusing on the present. But, according to Eve, the course required you to work incredibly hard to get real results. “Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is a way of self-transformation through self-observation,” Eve explains. “It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body. It is this observationbased, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that results in a balanced mind full of love and compassion. The course requires hard, serious work. Honestly, the experience was so tough but the benefits outweighed any discomfort.” The practice itself focuses on three core steps, which within them encompass a whole host of challenges of self-control and restraint. From abstaining from coffee to ignoring pain, some challenges are harder than others. “The first step is, for the period of the course, to abstain from killing (in relation to eating meat too), stealing, eye contact, talking and intoxicants. This is put in place to calm the mind, which otherwise would be too agitated to perform the task of self-observation. “The next step is to develop some mastery over the mind by learning to fix your attention on the natural and friends had left me daily voice and text messages for me to pick up at the end of the course, which were so beautiful to hear.” You might be wondering how much this all costs and, surprisingly, it’s free! Flights aside, the course itself is covered by donations from people who have previously completed it and want to give others the opportunity to benefit from it too. For Eve, the experience was completely life changing. Despite how gruelling some of the challenges were, the course has allowed Eve to understand her mind and body like never before. “It was a brutal and beautiful experience. The entire practice really is mental training,” Eve says. “Just as we use physical exercises to improve our body, Vipassana can be used to develop a healthy mind. You basically live the simple life of a nun/monk. To experience this in the mountains of Sri Lanka where all you can hear are elephants, monkeys and other wildlife, was simply incredible."

reality of the ever changing flow of breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils - we did this for three days! “By the fourth day the mind was calmer and more focused, and we were ready to practise Vipassana itself. This means observing sensations throughout the body, understanding their nature, and developing equanimity by learning not to react to them. For example, if you feel a pain in your back, you have associated the word pain to this but in reality it's just a sensation, it can be hot, cold, or just pressure. Regardless, it will pass. "The retreat is also a no-phone zone, so for 10 days the distraction of emails, notifications and even the urge to take pictures, is completely gone. Not having my phone to hand was very strange at first, as I use it for everything. Taking photos is what I missed the most as I was in such a beautiful place. “It was strange the day we could get our phones back and at first it was a little overwhelming. My daughters

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