A Cuppa for the Soul by ‘two wise ladies’

A podcast quietly launched earlier this month charted second on the list of Irish Mental Health podcasts. A Cuppa for the Soul is the brainchild of two mindfulness teachers, adopted Claregalway woman Sue Redmond and West Cork-based Trish McNamara.

The recording “offers gentle meandering conversations around how we bring mindfulness and compassion alive in our lives”, explains Sue, who runs mindfulness, education and coaching courses from a unit at Claregalway Shopping Centre in normal times.

“We set up the podcast in response to a need we saw emerging during the pandemic. The stress and anxiety surrounding people was palpable. People were disconnected from the present and find themselves living in fear of the future and regret of things they hadn't done before the lockdown occurred,” she reveals.

“Anxiety was – and is - reaching pandemic levels. People's mental health has been taking a toll long before the pandemic with a sense of urgency to be all things to all people, rushing around. In teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), we encounter people who are stressed and looking for ways to cope with that stress.

“We also find people wanting to live life differently, more in-tune with themselves, their essence and nature. This has not changed and the pandemic is now offering people a different way to live their lives.”

Sue and Trish met during their teacher training for MBSR and became friends. Sue had often thought in the past they should record their conversations in order to share them with others.

“Our conversations are real, honest and grounding. We are not perfect, nor do we pitch ourselves to be. We are real women, dealing with real-life challenges of work, parenting, insecurities and continually bringing ourselves back to the present moment with kindness.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app

The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.