[BBC] Amidst the gentle rock of the sea, the breeze tickling their skin and the distant caw of seagulls, six people in lifejackets close their eyes for a "mindful check-in". They are aboard the deck of Irene, a 120ft (37m) tall ship with timber frames and majestic sails which is cruising off the coast of Cornwall in the UK.
These kind of mindfulness exercises have become increasingly mainstream in the last decade, but they tend to be practised from the comfort of the home or a therapist's office — not the deck of a ship.
However, UK charity Sea Sanctuary, which operates Irene, believes its combination of marine activities and therapy provides a uniquely beneficial form of mental health support. A practitioner of "blue health" — the concept that being in or near blue spaces such as rivers, lakes and the sea boosts our emotional wellbeing — the charity has been organising trips around the Cornwall coastline since 2006. |