Mindfulness & Beekeeping
Like most people my mental health has it’s ups and downs and when it was at its worst it also affected my physical health. I like to think of myself as a strong person but sometimes life can become overwhelming, I also have an overactive brain which requires intervention to quiet it; conversations, ideas, criticism, to do lists….. they all compete for attention in my head and the noise gets louder and louder until I do something about it.
I’ve found a few ways to find peace. The biggest difference always comes from being outside with nature and my brain is most quiet when I’m with the bees, and I’m not alone with finding nature an aid. Mental health charity Mind claim that spending time in nature can help with anxiety and depression, apparently it’s called ecotherapy.
Being outside in nature can help ground you; my old neighbour used to laugh and comment whenever I’d pop round to see her as I’d most usually be barefoot which is a very immediate way of connecting with the earth. Being in the daylight can increase levels of vitamin D which is linked with serotonin- our happy hormone. It can also move us away from the house where usually our list of jobs is biggest and give us a break for a while.
Before I kept bees I’d take myself for a walk in the woods, it would certainly help. When I got bees I noticed how mindful it was and how peaceful and distracting it could be. Let me take you through an example of why.
There’s an almost ritualistic process as you prepare to visit a hive. The putting on of your beekeeping suit, lighting the smoker and walking to your hive. I find that as I run through the process the task at hand becomes more dominant in my mind, slowly shutting other thoughts out. On arrival at the hive you stand for a while watching the bees coming and going from the entrance, a steady stream of bees landing and taking off. Another process as you remove the hive roof, crack open the crown board and enter the hive. Now I’m going to admit that this stage isn’t always as relaxing as it could be, sometimes the bees just aren’t welcoming visitors that day and so there’s a little adrenalin rush as you take off the crown board (their ceiling) to see them all inside.
After spending a little time watching them from above we can enter their home and watch in more detail as they move around the frames. This is the moment I find the rest of the world disappears and it becomes me and the bees…. I watch as they go about their business filling comb with nectar, looking after the brood nest and new bees hatching into the hive. Their movement isn’t frenetic, it’s calm and focused and as I am pulled into their world I stand and watch, immersed.
Sometimes of course the mindful element doesn’t just happen. There are times when it isn’t as easy to find that calm space and this is when I add some mindful breathing into the mix, using the rhythms of my hive inspection and matching them with my breath - a breath in as I remove the lid and out as I place it on the ground, same again as I remove the crown board, breathing in as I crack the frames and out as I pull one up out of the hive.
In winter spending time with the bees isn’t possible other than a quick check of the entrance on a warmer day or a peep in the top when adding food, but I think back to the sun beating down, the warmth rising from the hive along with the scent of wax and honey, the birdsong and gentle rustle of leaves and hum of bees going about their daily tasks…. it won’t be long before those days are here again and peace reigns in the apiary.
