Ever wondered what it’s like to attend a Mind Over Mountains event? We know that many of you might perhaps know all about us - maybe you follow us on socials, or receive our emails - but have yet to take that first step towards a wellbeing walk with us. We know it can seem daunting, which is why we asked a member of our wellbeing team to write a short post for us, explaining what to expect.

David Fong is a coach and clinical psychologist who has worked with us here at Mind Over Mountains since 2022. Please do share his article with anyone you know who you feel could benefit from our support - and get in touch if you have any questions about our events.

David's Experience with Mind Over Mountains

Working with Mind Over Mountains on the wellbeing team has been one of the most rewarding and nourishing experiences of my three decades long professional life. It's a heady mix of ingredients that goes in the pot, including the experience of being in places of outstanding natural beauty; the deep connections with people that flourish within a few hours, perhaps people that wouldn't normally have come together; the opportunity to experience life at a very different pace, one which is more in tune with the natural world.

And before this all starts to sound a little solemn, it's also the fun, laughter, surprise and sheer joy that can be had! This is particularly true when a participant achieves something that they were 100% convinced was completely impossible for them - such as making it to the top of a steep hill, or simply just being out and walking with a group for the first time.

No expectations

To me, it feels like a very special gift to be able to invite participants to have some time for themselves - time which is completely free of expectations. There are no expectations to fix anything, to behave in a certain way, to listen if you don't want to listen, or talk if you don't want to talk. All you need to do is take time for yourself, and to shape that time however you see fit. It's very rare as a professional to be able to offer such a gift  - and very, very special. 

The community of professionals at Mind over Mountains - whether that be on the walk leading side or the wellbeing side - all share a similar ethos: to help people connect with nature, with themselves and with others. And in my experience of the charity thus far, we all do that without ego, without hierarchy and (even when it's raining heavily on Cadar idris in the Welsh Mountains!) we do it with big, silly smiles on our faces.

Common pre-event concerns

I don't think it's any coincidence that the doubts and worries that we have as professionals are very closely connected to the experiences that participants have.

Classic worries include - will I be able to find where the event is being held? Will I be on time? (I speak as somebody whose car exhaust fell off on the motorway on the way to leading a retreat in the Lakes… )

For myself, I might worry if I'm going to work well with colleagues that I might not have met before, in the same way that participants often worry about getting on with new people. As someone whose knees often feel like they're held together with sticky tape, I share the worries that participants have about being able to handle the physical side of it too. And having spoken to dozens of participants on events, there is also sometimes a shared worry about our ‘social batteries’ running dry. 

But there is something in the Mind Over Mountains stew which is truly nourishing, at a really deep level - for both participants, and for professionals - and it genuinely soothes all those worries.  That’s why it's always so lovely to see many 'return customers' at our wellbeing events, and to see people swapping WhatsApp details at the end of a retreat so they can stay in touch. 

Taking the first step towards a Mind Over Mountains event

Trust me, one thing that participants and professionals have in common is that we have all taken that nervous first step to signing up, and we’ve all carried some of these worries with us to our very first event. I hope there's some reassurance for you here, that we have all been in that position and, speaking from my experience, it has always been 100% worth it.

 So here is our invitation to you: if you're considering taking that brave first step of clicking "'book" on our website or calling our fantastic office and having a chat, please be assured that we would love to meet you out on the hills - to share the experience, and to invite you into our community. We can't wait for you to get in touch!

If you'd like to book on to a wellbeing walk or retreat with us, please head to our wellbeing events page to view all upcoming events and fundraising challenge events. If you have any questions, please get in touch at info@mindovermountains.org.uk.