Implementation

"RE-Connect with Nature protecting the Environment for Inner Health" took place in Pissouri,Cyprus from 15 to 26 of June 2022 and was implemented by ACPELIA organization. The project managers were Evangelia and Nikolas Nikolaou and the trainers were Erma Georgiou and Kyriacos Stouppas.

16 of June 2022

DAY 1

-GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER:

Activity to break the ice between the participants and get to know each other. We were walking in the room with a paper with our name and a circle (face). As we were walking with our papers each time and when the trainer said "stop", it was simultaneously suggested to draw each time a specific feature of the face of the participant whose name is on the paper, for example the eyebrows, eyes, lips. We continued until we had drawn the whole face. In this way, we had a portrait of each participant which had been drawn by various other participants. Afterwards, we put them up on the wall with an envelope underneath which was used to place some "presents'' and nice words to each person and nice words by his/her "secret friend". Secret friend is a game where each participant takes the name of another "participant" and is trying to make something beautiful for him/her.

Another activity was to divide in 5 groups the participants and to be with their group in a specific corner that was a question like mountain or sea, pizza or burger,plane or boat etc. and participants were talking and sharing what they prefer and why and is a way to feel more comfortable with others and to break the ice.In each station,they are staying for 3-5 minutes and then they rotate in other spots.

-EXPECTATIONS,FEARS AND CONTRIBUTION:

We asked participants to write in papers their expectations,their fears and their contribution to the training.Afterwards, we divided the participants in three groups and each group had to create a poster either with expectations,fears or contribution and to present to us.

-MISSION IS POSSIBLE:

At the last activity,the participants were divided in groups and they had to do some tasks for example to write a poem with some given words,or to find objects with a specific color etc,in order to break the ice between them and to get to know each other better and how to work better as a team.

17 of June 2022

Day 2

GROUNDING ACTIVITIES:

The aim of the training was to reconnect with Nature, so on the second day we started with grounding activities in order to feel more connected with earth.We begin with the participants walking on the grass barefoot and be aware of this feeling.Barefoot walking has been shown to help increase antioxidants, reduce inflammation and improve sleep.The next activity was to walk in pairs,one was blindfold and the other was the guide, and we also placed on the floor some sensory mads in order to activate their senses.Sensory play encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem solving and creativity.And, we continue with blindfold activities and active listening activities.All,these activities aimed the participants to connect with themselves and others and to develop trust between them.At the end of each activity,we did a reflection and each participant could express their thoughts and emotions.

ERASMUS 8 KEY COMPETENCES:

In order to introduce Youthpass and it's a competences,we did a "learning by doing" activity and it is called Youthpass Islands and Captain's Log. We divide the participants in groups of 4 and we have 8 stations that correspond with 8 key competences and in each station, we place one task card and the necessary materials and equipment. Every group get one empty "passport" divided in 8 sections and 1 die. Once they roll the die,they go to the island with the task card that matches the icon they got on the die. If there is another team on the island,they have to roll the die again,until they find a vacant island they have not visited before. The game ends when everybody has the 8 stamps or when the time is over.At the end, we do a debriefing about the game and its relevance to the competences and the project.

CONNECTING WITH NATURE:

This activity was an invitation to participants to wander around with awareness (not just walking) and to find a place that are drawn to and to journal about their feelings and their connection with themselves( how they take care of themselves,how do they listen and take care of their bodies and their minds,how aware are they and what else automatically they feel the need to write down).Afterwards,they divided in pairs and had to walk around and share their thoughts and their emotions and when they came back we did a debriefing of the activity as a group.

Journaling can help to control our symptoms and improve our mood by helping us to prioritize problems,fears,and concerns.Tracking any symptoms day-to-day helps to recognize triggers and learn ways to better control them.Journaling evokes mindfulness and provides a greater sense of confidence and self identity.

ART/CLAY THERAPY:

In the last activity we started with a guided meditation and then we asked participants to express their feelings authentically without thinking on a piece of paper and we did a small reflection about how important it is to not judge what we are doing and to leave free ourselves to be expressed in any kind of art.We also mentioned that the aim is not to paint perfectly or to dance,sing etc but just to express what we are feeling and there is no wrong and right. It is what it is and we just observe it and accept it.

In the next activity,we used clay in order to connect better with nature and we asked participants to create a tree. A tree with roots,trunk,branches and leaves and to decorate it.When they finished,we divided them in pairs in order to exchange how they were thinking and feeling about their trees and then we said that each part represents something specific like the roots represent things that nourishes them,help you to anchor and ground yourself (people,things,activities..) etc and then we invited them to look for a while their tree and then to write down what they "see".

18 of June 2022

Day 3

SENSES IN NATURE:

We visited Trooditissa Picnic Site,one of the largest and most beautiful picnic sites one may find in the mountainous region of Limassol, as well as in Cyprus overall. The stream that passes through the site, nurturing the enormous plane trees that have been providing the area with shade for centuries, creates images reminiscent of fairy tales.

The picnic site is located on the Platres-Troodos road, just before the monastery of the same name. At an altitude of 1300 meters, with a refreshing breeze that fills the air with the aromas of the plane and pine trees, this space can host approximately 700 visitors. There are areas suitable for lighting a fire, as well as a playground and fountains with fresh water direct from the source.

The majestic tree trunks and the impressive stones covered in moss, the wooden footbridges, the kiosks and the stone-built water fountains, as well as the sound of the babbling stream, create an alluring atmosphere. This idyllic scene attracts thousands of visitors all year round.

With such a majestic view around us, we connected with the element of air through yoga and meditation.The art of practicing yoga helps in controlling an individual's mind, body and soul. It brings together physical and mental disciplines to achieve a peaceful body and mind; it helps manage stress and anxiety and keeps you relaxing. It also helps in increasing flexibility, muscle strength and body tone. It improves respiration, energy and vitality. Practicing yoga might seem like just stretching, but it can do much more for your body from the way you feel, look and move.Meditation can give a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health. And these benefits don't end when the meditation session ends. Meditation can help to carry more calmly through the day and may help us manage symptoms of certain medical conditions

BE AN INSECT:

Participants had to choose an insect individually and follow it for 20 minutes without disturbing it.In case during that time,they would lose it,they needed to continue the activity by choosing another insect.Patritipants would not allowed to talk during the activity.When they finished, we asked them how was that experience?If they manage to finish the activity by following just one bug etc. It was very interesting to hear how the participants felt about their insect and how somehow they connected it with themselves.

HIKING AT CALEDONIA WATERFALLS:

Caledonia (Kalidonia) Waterfall is surrounded by forest in a very beautiful area with breathtaking views.The Kalidonia waterfall at Platres,like Millomeri,is formed by the flow of Kryos River.The Kryos River originates from the mountainside of the Cyprus Olympus, the Chionistra as it is called.The waters of the Caledonia waterfall falls from a height of 12 meters offering a spectacular sight. The waterfall can be reached by car or on foot through the nature trail leading to the waterfall, enjoying the magic of scenery and nature at a distance of two kilometers. Participants during hiking,they had to find a pair and take 10 photos (5 each),in which they had to camouflage and look like a part of nature.When we returned to our venue,we saw all the photos together and funded the best camouflage photos.

19 of June 2022

Day 4

CONNECTING WITH YOURSELF AND OTHERS:

We started the day with yoga and some energizers and then we divided the participants in pairs and one of them was dancing freely and authentically and the other person had to express his/her emotions as an observer with a drawing and then they switched roles. In the second phase,the first participant was dancing and the other had to write a poem.At the last phase,the second participant had to observe the moves and later we had one minute in order to express what he felt,but without coping with the movements,just the sensation that he had during the dancing of the first participant.After,each phase of this activity,participants have time to reflect about what happened and at the end in a big circle we reflected all together.It's an activity that can help to realize better ourselves but others too without talking but through arts.Also,is very important the fact that the other person can "see" and understand so many things about a person that don't know well,just with some minutes of dancing.

DEBATE: Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, academic institutions, debate halls, coffeehouses, competitions, and legislative assemblies. Debate has also been conducted for educational and recreational purposes, usually associated with educational establishments and debating societies.The debate we did was focused more on different environmental practices and different ways of living (cars,food etc). Each person,for each team had only 30 seconds to express his opinion.Also,it wasn't possible to speak all the time the same person from each team for the same topic.It was interesting to see especially in some topics how enthusiastic were the participants to express themselves and how difficult was to manage the time.

EXPRESS YOUR FEELINGS:

The activity was to walk through the area and at some point to have eye contact with another person and stay like that for some minutes and then one of them had to say a compliment and the other one had to receive that and say thank you.This was continued for some minutes and then we discussed about how easy or difficult is to say a compliment but also how easily we can receive it and why not.

20 of June 2022

Day 5

WATER GAMES:

This day was about "water element" and we visited Dasoudi Beach.Dasoudi beach (a Greek name - Παραλία "Δασούδι") is located in the heart of tourist area of Limassol, Germasogeia municipality - Eastern suburbs of Limassol.Dasoudi beach has obtained "Blue flag" - the signs of the purity and quality of beaches and seawater.The Dasoudi beach consists of two beaches - Dasoudi 2 (Dasoudi 2 Municipal Beach) and Dasoudi (Dasoudi Beach), together representing a single coastline.The length of Dasoudi beach is just over 1 kilometer.

The water element is associated with playfulness,a need for joy and entertainment like the kids,so the first part of the day we prepared some games in the sea in teams.They were team building but also it was a way just to be present and really enjoy the moment.

The second phase of the day was meditation about the inner child.A powerful meditation that can release deep emotional blockages and pain. As you let go of the emotions and heaviness that are associated with negative childhood experiences, you will be able to recapture the innocence and joy of your childhood.Then, we invited them to wander alone,having some questions that we gave them and also to journal about their feelings.When,they came back we did a reflection for the day,we talked about childhood trauma and different ways that can work with them.

VISIT TO THE CENTER OF LIMASSOL:

In the afternoon, we visited the center of Limassol,Molos.The Molos of Limassol is one of the city's most characteristic spots, as well as one of the largest and most beautiful parks in Cyprus. Beyond being a destination for relaxing strolls, it also serves as an atypical beach, as it is suitable for many water activities.

The large piers of the coastal park are to this day used as 'diving boards' into the clear blue waters of Limassol. This is a custom that has been particularly popular since the middle of the 20th century, and gained in popularity after the creation of the complex, with the formation of various piers along the entire length of the park.The combination of swimming in the sea with exercising on the walkway is, of course, ideal. And while the park is suitable for exercising on land, the coastline is also popular for kayaking, SUP, and other watersports. Others choose to relax with a view of the sea, fishing with rods from the docks.

Together with the promenade along the beach Akti Olympion and port Limassol promenade of Molos is the most popular place for walks and relaxation within the city centre.Molos waterfront multifunctional seaside Park, considered one of the most beautiful in the Mediterranean basin.Currently Molos Limassol is a wide promenade framed on both sides with delicate palm trees, where part of the boardwalk is made in the form of small pools.Sea side are several wooden piers, which is also a place for walking.

21 of June 2022

DAY 6

OSHO KUNDALINI MEDITATION-ECSTATIC DANCE:

The Kundalini Meditation is a dynamic form of meditation created by the famous Indian spiritual master Osho. He developed a series of meditations that involve music and movement, especially for the modern world in which we live where many people have difficulties to sit still and reach the depths of meditation. The Kundalini meditation is a 60 minutes practice with four different stages of 15 minutes each, accompanied by music which was originally composed for this meditation. The stages are shaking, dancing, standing or sitting in stillness and relaxing.

The benefits of active meditations:

Usually we thing that meditation is sitting down in stillness only, but you can also come to a meditative state with movement practices. Osho emphasized that it is not enough to work with our minds only, but we need to include the body in our practices, to come back to our hearts and feel the energy at our very core. In our modern world we are so used to think, plan, structure, rationalize and accumulate knowledge, so most people find it difficult to meditate in the traditional manner, which is to experience inner silence by sitting in stillness on a meditation cushion. When you start a traditional meditation practice, you probably feel that your mind is getting noisier and the chatter in the head gets even louder when you try to find inner calmness and peace. The body might feel restless and you might experience some sort of discomfort when you sit for an extended time.

The Osho active meditations start with at least one phase of activity. This allows you to loosen up your body and free the mind. Afterwards, it will be much easier to move naturally from tension or stress into a deep state of stillness and relaxation. The Kundalini meditation allows you to reconnect to yourself and to come back to the here and now.

Any activity can become a meditation when we allow ourselves to be fully present in the moment. When you ask dedicated surfers or runners, they will tell you that their sport feels like meditation and they find a deep sense of fulfillment from it.

FINDING MY VOICE-POLYPHONIC ACTIVITIES:

We had a quest that showed us some activities using not only the voice but the body,too.Participants had to synchronize the body movements with sounds and they were in groups and our quest was directing each group how low or how high they had to sing,or if they needed to stop.Also,he learned us some songs of a tribe of Native Americans.Afterwards, a participant wanted to continue this kind of activity and we gave her the space to do it.

MEDITATION-TRATAKA:

Trataka is a meditation technique which involves focusing the eyes (and, in turn, the mind) through intent but relaxed gazing. Initially, this practice is done with open eyes on an external object. It then progresses to internal practice (with eyes closed), and to gazing the void. Sometimes it's spelled tratak or tratika.

There are many ways of doing trataka, and candle gazing is just one of them (the most popular).In all forms of trataka, you can integrate breath awareness or the repetition of a mantra if you find it helpful, although it's not commonly taught this way.

22 of June 2022

DAY 7

ABIGAIL'S TALE:

Abigail's Tale is a story that shows how people view the world from different perspectives, have different values and reach different conclusions out of the same information.Abigail's Tale is a story that shows how people view the world from different perspectives, have different values and reach different conclusions out of the same information. We gave them the story printed and we split them into groups of 5 and gave them 15'-20' minutes to establish the guilty parties,from the guiltiest to the less quilty. After that,we did a group discussion and a debriefing. With this activity, you can show how similar people they think differently,how they have different moral values and reach different conclusions out of the same information.

STRAVA:

Half participants had to download Strava app on their phone. We explained to them how the Strava map application works. At the beginning, we asked them individually to walk around the area for 5 minutes and create a shape of any object by walking with Strava app. When they finished, they presented and we went to the next step, where they needed to create another shape by walking for 10 minutes as pairs (with one app as pair). Before they start, they need to draw the shape they were planning to create on a sticky note and give it to us. When they returned, they presented, and we went to the last step where in 30 minutes they needed to create a shape of an object as groups of 4 people by using 2 apps. (Each team had to connect 2 Strava maps to create one object of their choice. The scale of the object this time was to be biggest and based on the limitations of the area. Then we finished with the final presentation and debriefing.It's a nice activity for orienting in nature and a good team building activity.

PLAY WITH THE AIR:

The next activity was to play with balloons outside in the air and each time they had to touch balloons with specific parts of their bodies like arms,head,left leg,shoulder etc and each time a balloon was touching the grass was pop out so they had to be very careful.It was a fun,creative and a way to "play with air" by feeling it.

Another activity was to hold a piece of paper with watercolor on it and try to dance with it and paint with the air or with the help of a straw.This activity was also sensory and a way to be mindful in the present moment.It was also challenging to let the things happen than to decide how it could be the drawing.

23 of June 2022

DAY 8

IMAGE THEATRE:

In Image Theatre, still images are used to explore abstract concepts such as relationships and emotions, as well as realistic situations.In a circle, students create physical images in response to a given theme, for example,happiness,sadness,sorrow etc. They should do this quickly, without pre-thought. They are then invited to step into the centre of the circle and remake their image. Other participants can now add in their own still images. This could lead to an abstract group image or a tableau that is "dynamised" or brought alive through thought tracking or by adding sound or movement.

Pairs or small groups can also create their own images, where they take it in turns to "sculpt" each other into a shape and then find a way to put these shapes together. This is most effective if done without talking.

WHAT IS YOUR ELEMENT?

Each day, we were working with some activities based on nature elements like air,fire,water,metal etc.This classification is given by traditional Chinese philosophy. These five elements are tangible and appear in nature in their pure state.They symbolize the changing and complementary character that is present in everything that surrounds living beings.Thousands of years ago, it developed a system of psychology and personality typing that is remarkably accurate and applicable to our modern lives.

This side of Chinese medicine focuses on how your patterns of personality deeply influence the ways you tend to think, feel, and behave; provide unique talents as well as challenges; and reveal what you need to live a balanced life. Your personality type is like a map to guide you to success and happiness by finding the kinds of lifestyle, careers, and relationships that are a match for you, and how to align any life choice with your authentic nature.In this concept was based the book "The Five Elements-Understand yourself and enhance your relationships with the wisdom of the world's oldest personality type system" by Dondi Dahlin.The participants had the chance to answer the questionnaires of each element and to find out according to this system what is their element personality or what elements they are combining and also to read about the traits of that personality,some characteristics,what will help to do,to eat etc. in order to understand better themselves but also others.

24 of June 2022

DAY 9

Create your own activity:

Most of the participants are working as youth workers or are planning to work and we wanted to experience how it feels to prepare an activity and to work with others and at the end to implement it.They work with their national team and we gave them 2 hours to prepare two activities that were related to our topic,write them down and to decide which activity they prefered to do.Each team had 25-30 minutes to implement their activity including the debriefing and we also given them their target group,so they had to make the activity suitable for their target group needs.The teams started to present their activities and when all the groups presented we discussed with them our observations,how it could be more clear etc.It was an interesting and creative process and we were very delighted that we saw very creative activities that they created by themselves and also they told us that they understand better how difficult is to implement an activity from the beginning to the end.

25 of June 2022

DAY 10

ERASMUS+ ( Discussion-Dissemination-Evaluation):

We had a discussion with participants about the importance and the opportunities that can have through Erasmus plus in their professional but also in their personal life.Also,we explained to them what they need to do for the dissemination of the project and how important is to spread our knowledge and expand it through the world and creating at the end more inclusive societies

GIVING YOUTHPASS:

Reflection, evaluation of the program through a questionnaire, summing up and giving of youthpasses.