Nadia – August-September 2019

INTERVIEW

Fiona

Ralph

.

BRTHE.CO.NZ

JUST BREATHE

Meet the business-savvymindfulnessfacilitatorwhowentfromstressed-out marketing manager

to owner of an all-new meditation space

B

rthe,a ‘mindgym’and

meditationspace,openedthis

yearinAuckland,providinga

placeforstressed-outsoulsto

unwind.Weaskfounder

BrittanyKendall(picturedopposite

centre)whatpromptedhermindfulness

ventureandhowshebringsthe power of

meditationtoherbusiness.

Whatisyourbackground?I havea

backgroundinthecorporatejungle.I

wasina numberofmarketing

managementrolespriortoopening

Brthe– soI knowthechallengesof

navigatinga fast-pacedenvironment,

anda corporateworldthatoftenglorifies

stressandseesexhaustionasa badgeof

honour.I’mnostrangertolatenightsat

theoffice.I alsoknow‘overwhelm’,

burnoutandanxietywell.

Whatinspiredyoutoopena

meditationspace?I leftmyroleafter

fiveyearswithnoideawhereI was

headingnext.I endedupspendingsome

timeinBali,teachingEnglishina

kindergarten.It wasa transformative

experienceforme– livingina villageon

thedoorstepofUbud,it alsoofferedme

theopportunitytodipmytoesintoa

rangeofpracticesandmodalities.Bali

challengedmyperspectiveonsomany

levelsandit wasthestartofa journey of

profoundhealingforme.

I realisedI wantedtosharemy

experienceandmyjourneyina waythat

feltmeaningfulandmightoffer

encouragementforotherswhowere

navigatingsimilarchallenges.

Whattrainingdidyoudo?

I becameanaccreditedOvio

mindfulnessfacilitator– Ovioisa

wonderfulmindfulnessprogramme

developedfora corporateaudience.

AfterthatI didmymeditationteacher

trainingandthendivedintoBuddhist

andneurosciencestudies.It was

importanttomethatI wasableto

sharea balancedperspective.

It wasthroughthedeliveryof

corporateprogrammes,anda coupleof

mindfulnessworkshopsatschools,thatI

realisedthateducationwasonlyone

pillar of creating a more mindful society

• thebenefitsand‘results’liveina
  consistentandregularpractice,onethat
  isextremelydifficulttocultivateinthe
  midstofourbusy21st-centurylives.
  HencetheconceptforBrthewasborn.

Whydoyouthinkthereisa need

fora spacelikeBrthe?Asa society,

weplacea biasedemphasisonour

physicalhealth.Wearewell-educated

abouttheimportanceofhealthyeating

andregularexercise,butwelack

understandingoftheimportanceof

caringforourmindsandemotional

wellbeing,andthetoolsandpracticesto

turntoinordertodothis.

WhatI oftensayis:thefittestphysical

bodyisn’tgoinganywherewithoutits

steeringwheel,andinmanywaysour

mindisarguablythemostimportant

muscletotakecareof.Wethinkof

Brthe’sclassesasmentalfitness– wecall

it a mindgym.I wantedBrthetostartto

challengethespiritual‘woo-woo’stigma

thatweoftenassociate with practices

likemeditation.

Whatwasinvolvedinthelead-up

toyourlaunch?Brthe’sstudio

openeditsdoorsattheendofApril,

althoughit wasa longjourneypriorto

openingday,pullingthevisionforthe

spacetogether.Therewasa lotof

planningintermsofhowtogearthe

practicesina waythatfeltvaluable,

convenientandapproachable.

FindingourBrthefamilyofteachers

wasalsoa taskwedidnottakelightly;it

wasimportanttomethateveryteacher

wasexperiencedandtrulyembodied

whatweteach,andthattheywereall

kind,relatablepeoplewhomade

everyonefeelcomfortableandwelcome.

WhydoyouthinkBrthehasbeen

sosuccessful?Wehavehadsuchan

overwhelmingresponse.I thinkthe

successofourclassesisa reflectionof

twothings.First,ouramazingteachers

whoreallygooutoftheirwaytomake

peoplefeelwelcomeandcomfortable.

Andsecond,wherewe’reatasa society–

anythingwiththewords‘sleep’,‘relax’or

‘calm’init,andwe’rein!I feellikewe are

allcravinga littlepeaceamidour

chaotic, modern lifestyles.

Whywasitimportanttooffera

rangeofmindfulnessoptions,

fromjournallingtomeditationto

soundbaths?Becausemindfulnessis

not‘onesizefitsall’.It wasimportantto

usthatour‘Brthers’hadtheopportunity

todiptheirtoesintoa rangeof

modalitiesandpractices,tofindtheir

favourite‘flavour’.Wewantedtooffera

rangeofteachersandapproachessothat

everyonegotthechancetofindtheir

perfectself-carefit.

Wearealsoalwaysintroducingnew

workshops– includinganxietyhacks,

breathwork,goal-setting,manifestation

andastrology– toprovidefunwaysfor

ourmemberstocontinuetoexplore.

Whatchallengesdoyoufaceasa

smallbusinessowner?I amvery

much onthefrontline– andI feelso

gratefulforeverymomentI gettospend

inthestudio.Owninga smallstart-up

businessalsocomeswithitschallenges;

it’strickytonavigateallofthemoving

partsandjuggleeverythingasa one-

womanband.Mydaysaredynamic,

that’sforsure!

Thosearetherealitiesofowninga

business– andit’strickytobalanceit all

attimes,butteachingandconnecting

withourmembersismygreatest

privilegeandpassion.

Whatmeditationlearningsdo

youuseinyourbusiness?

Meditationhashelpedmetobecome

lessreactiveandtrustandaccept

momentsastheyare,withoutpouringall

myenergyintotryingtocontrol,resist

orpredictwhatmightcomenext.I have

a mantrathatI turntomostdaysandit’s

‘allwehaveisnow’.

Meditationhasgivenmebackmy

awarenesstochoosewhatservesme

andwhatdoesn’t,whichbeliefsand

thoughtsempowermeandwhich

disempowerme– andthepowerto

choosebetweenthem.Meditationhas

offeredmea waytofillmyowncupfirst,

sothatI cancontinuetopourfromit in

a meaningfulwayformywork,my life

and all the people that I love.•