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I felt desensitised - as if I were floating away.' 'I felt compelled to help people who didn't have this tool to deal with chronic stress,' she says, admitting, however, that in the depths of her grief, she took it to extremes. 'Because of meditation, Rebecca continued to live with energy and enthusiasm, while it allowed for me to care for her and protect myself.'ДЄfter Rebecca died in 2017, Laurie trained as a meditation and yoga instructor, before setting up her company, Curativate. You're aware of your feelings, experiencing pain and sadness, without letting them consume you,' says Laurie, 44, a married mother of three. 'Breathing practices help you remain in the moment. It reduced her anxiety, and when Rebecca was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, both siblings used it to deal with the trauma. Over dinner, Laurie explains how her older sister, Rebecca, introduced her to meditation when she was at university. We stay in local accommodation and eat together at Laurie's house.ДЄntonia, seen meditating on the beach, spoke to other attendees of the retreat, who were mainly stressed mothers with busy jobs from all over the UK But regardless, booze is not on offer here on account of its toxins. We're all mid-lifers, mostly stressed mothers with busy jobs, from all over the UK. I remember I forgot to pack my daughter's drama outfit in her school bag before I left. We lie on our backs and, aside from Laurie's soothing mantras and the waves outside, the room is silent. We move to a 'love and kindness meditation', involving deep, focused breathing.

Ironically, I arrive in Crail, Fife, more stressed than ever - my train is delayed, I'm late, and when I walk into a yoga session at a converted barn overlooking the sea, I'm greeted by the sight of seven women on their knees, one arm on the floor, the other threaded through it. Antonia was nervous of the cold water swimming before the retreat The women warmed up with their towels after they did chilly sea swimming. Still, as a socially awkward, teetotal, cold-water phobic who's never swum in the sea in Britain, I'm nervous. Broadcaster Fearne Cotton is a convert and has recently 'upped' her 'cold water therapy' to banish anxiety by getting into the sea and taking ice baths.

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Indeed, the BBC series Freeze The Fear with Wim Hof showed celebrities dunking themselves into barrels of ice to alleviate past traumas. 'Evidence is emerging that cold water in particular has strong anti-inflammatory benefits that are key to reducing illness and, because it causes your body to go into a small state of stress, it can mean we are better able to cope with this in everyday life because our body is primed,' says Dr Kelly. The colder the water, the better, apparently - at least when it comes to actually getting in it. The Blue Mind Meditation Retreat is run by yoga and meditation instructor and open-water swim coach Laurie Bell who, having suffered from panic attacks since her teenage years, noticed her own mental health improve after moving from London to the coast in 2002. Dr Kelly said that cold water has strong anti-inflammatory benefits Antonia spoke to the other women on the beach after cold water therapy.

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