You Never Forget Your First

April 22nd 2023

Everything I had worked so hard for was about to be laid out in front of a paying audience.

Was I nervous? Not even a little. This is what I’d been waiting for, this is what I’d prepared for, so the fact that it was now happening, and that people were actually coming, did not phase me in the least.

Was I excited? Hell yeah. I couldn’t wait to create and feel the energy of the group. To push people outside their comfort zones and watch them succeed. The transformations are just the best thing ever.

Was I stressed? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. The whole ethos around my workshops is that it is held outside in nature. The breathing is done on a purpose-built platform in the walnut trees, where you can feel the music through the floor, you can smell and hear the natural world around you. This is a vital part of my workshops and something I want to be able to provide for all my visitors.

BUT it was forecast to rain… not just drizzle but a full on thunderstorm and torrential downpour.

I needed a plan B and it needed to be inside.

Breathe Jane Breathe!

This was adding to the work that needed to happen to make the location, less of a village house and more of a workshop venue people would want to come back to. Hell, we didn’t even have a decent path from the house down to the platform, firepit and ice bath area…

The week before the event I was digging out flagstones and transferring them from the main path down into the bottom garden. Essentially dismantling one path to create another.

Then laying weed retention material down the main path, edging with large stones from a wall we were planning on removing eventually, then bucketing and bucketing and bucketing lots and lots of small gravel from the road down into the property.

Dan began strimming everything and moving the stack of wood we had in the ice bath area into the barn, and I weeded the flower beds near the house. All this in the small gaps of rain and thunder.

We both got very muddy, very wet and Dan covered in wet grass. It was not a pretty sight.

The main reception room I use to coral everyone on arrival, suddenly had to become my breathwork room. It was laid out as my lounge and dining room, but was big enough, if we removed the 3-piece suite. But where to put it?

There’s a small barn next to this room, but it has been used as storage (for that read a dumping ground) for over a year and needed clearing to make room for the sofa. Here we were yet again 9 years into our time here in Bulgaria, moving things from A to B to make room for C.

This was soon resolved between us, and we hung some colourful rugs over the front of the little barn to hide everything behind… perfect. It actually looked quite nice – ethnic and in keeping.

The floor in the main room is an exposed brick floor that I had lovingly cleaned, sanded and varnished and it looked beautiful but it was just going to be way too cold for people to lie on (even on yoga mats) so off to dig out more rugs. We laid about 9-10 rugs in four layers to ensure everyone was comfortable during the breathwork.

We hung colourful material between us and next door, across the front of the large barn (where we dumped the wood), and around the ice-bath area to provide a little privacy.

This is it – we were ready!

Then I get a message from my ice supplier, they couldn’t deliver on the day. Could they come early?

Well anyone who has followed my journey will know that my chest freezer is almost always full of water and not at this house. Soooooo we empty the huge chest freezer, load it up into the car (hanging out the back) and ran it up to the Breathe & Bee House. The next morning it is plugged in and thankfully still works as a freezer as we promptly filled it with 70kgs of ice that we really needed to still be ice the next day.

No ice no workshop!

Then all of a sudden it was here.

People were arriving, my photographer lost signal on her way in and found us by accident – thankfully because there is just no way I could have documented this milestone the way she did, for both the attendees and myself. So so grateful.

Everyone took up a spot in the main room and settled in. Introductions, Wim and the Method all explained and some interesting two-way discussions about the science.

I’d taken the decision to run 4 rounds of breathwork inside and move to the platform prior to the ice bath just for one additional round to let them have the experience… but it was not raining yet, so I put it to the group – were they willing to take the chance.

It was a resounding yes, so we decamped, yoga mats, cushions, blankets, water bottles, everything out onto the platform.

It wasn’t pretty, we just dumped our stuff and relaxed.

The fact that I got to take them out onto the platform in the trees meant everything to me. I was beaming, the breathing was fantastic, everyone felt amazing…even my photographer was becoming emotional, and she wasn’t even breathing… I’d done it.

Lunch was full of chatter as they shared experiences and as I got things ready for the afternoon session.  Blindfold games, introduction to the cold, an ice bath (which everyone did) and lots and lots of horsestance. I even got my drum out to keep the energy going in the group.

A small gift of homemade soap (lavender & patchouli) and a gift card to say thank you to everyone and they left back to their lives.

I didn’t leave straight away, oh no no no, I took the walk down my new path, pulled the curtains to one side and got straight into the ice bath. No pics, no talking, no timer, just me and the ice.

The feedback from everyone was amazing – here’s just a snippet of it all.

• Your energy, enthusiasm and knowledge is so infectious. No-one can fail to enjoy their day with you. Jane has become a brilliant instructor, full of energy, enthusiasm and knowledge which she is happy to share with everyone to make your own journey very special. Jane is happy to answer all your questions, no matter how trivial they might seem, as she knows we are all curious to learn about this. Anything Jane doesn’t know, she will find out. This workshop gave me the opportunity to do another ice bath and knowing what was in front of me, well it was rather daunting, but I enjoyed it even more this time around, who would have thought! The breathing, the 3rd time I have done this with Jane, was again, amazing. The emotions these breathing sessions have evoked are so powerful and incredibly special, not to mention the health benefits too. Having pain free hands when you are an artist, it makes a huge difference. I would recommend everyone should try this at least once and I am pretty sure you will be doing it again once you have.
  
  
• Just completed the one-day Fundamentals Wim Hof workshop under the wonderful instruction of Jane Darke. It was an amazing experience which included, but was not limited to, the Wim Hof breathing technique and an ice bath. Janes knowledge and guidance made the whole experience uplifting. She was with us every step of the way. Doing it with other people, in a wonderful outdoor setting, enhanced it totally.
  
  
• I arrived at Jane’s location with trepidation, could not get my mind set to contemplate getting into an ice bath. Firstly the setting is beautiful, Jane too is a gorgeous soul and put anyones’ fears to rest immediately. The enthusiasm with which she imparted her knowledge of the Wim Hof story and explanations on how this technique can benefit anybody was very inspiring. Learning the breathing technique for myself was fabulous to help reduce my anxiety and self induced stress…..an amazing tool to have. Lunch was wonderful with lovely people to chat and share with. Preparation of the ice bath was fun however cold. Immersion was fantastic, Jane really excelled herself in her calm demeanour and communication of how to get into the ice bath. Fantastic horse dancing afterwards was great fun but very important. Fabulous day from a super instructor in the Wim Hof method, thank you Jane Darke. Wishing you all success in the future. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and came away with lots of things to reconsider in my own live, setup and general health.

I feel so very pumped to be doing this, so grateful to the team that have supported me on this journey (Gitte, Deki (bestest friend in the whole wide world, but not on Social Media so won’t see this), Daniel & Dom), and so damn proud of myself for getting out of my own way and just fucking making it happen!

Not forgetting of course, those that came and trusted in me and invested in themselves… what a hoot!

27^th May I do it all again AND I’m sold out again!

If you want to find out what all the fuss is about, if you want to try something different, I have spaces on the 24^th June. I’d love to see you there, and you won’t regret it.