‘If you mean Ronald Reagan,’ started Regan, and the woman nodded, ‘then no, that was pronounced Ray-gun. Mine’s Ree—’
‘I had an Uncle Reg.’ A man with Harry Potter-style glasses cut her off. ‘Jolly nice chap. Nice to meet you.’ This set off a series of welcomes from around the circle and ended with Charlie.
‘Lovely to see you again, Reg,’ said Charlie, failing to control a smirk.
Great, thought Regan. She’d have her free coffee and biscuit, if the packet ever made its way around to her, and then she’d escape.
‘Would someone like to share what mindfulness means to them?’ Cressy looked hopefully around the group.
‘I will,’ said the lady in the kaftan. ‘I’m Wendy and I had a stroke six months ago. So for me, mindfulness is about teaching my brain to keep focused. It’s about staying calm, not getting frustrated about all the things I can’t do, and focusing on the many things I can do.’
‘Thanks, Wendy. Anyone else?’
The man in Harry Potter specs put his hand up. ‘This is only my fourth session. I’m getting over a breakdown. I’ll probably always suffer from depression and low mood, but mindfulness helps me to spot the simple pleasures in life rather than giving all the attention to the bad stuff.’
‘Thanks, Joel.’
A bearded face leaned forward. ‘I’m Mandeep and coming to Mantra makes me sleep better.’
A young woman gave a little wave and Cressy nodded at her. ‘I’m Ellie and I’m in remission from cancer and I live in fear of it coming back. Mindfulness helps me take time to order my thoughts and feel calmer.’
Regan knew she was staring. She didn’t know what she had been expecting, but these revelations from these poor people about everything they were going through was definitely not it. On first superficial look they had all seemed perfectly healthy.
She felt like a complete fraud. What did she have to worry about? A few things swamped her mind. Okay, there was stuff to worry about, there always was, but her problems weren’t life-threatening. What these people were dealing with was serious stuff.
‘Thanks, everyone. Right, let’s start with a full body scan,’ said Cressy. ‘Please can you move your chairs to the side and get out the yoga mats.’
Regan was unsettled; she hadn’t been expecting to do yoga, and apart from a couple of people in trackies, nobody else looked like they’d dressed for it. ‘Here you go, Reg,’ said Charlie, putting down a yoga mat for her next to his own.
‘Actually, I’m not sure I …’ she began, but Cressy was talking so she copied Charlie and sat down on the mat with her legs crossed.
‘Now, Chris and Reg,’ said Cressy, and Charlie stifled a laugh. Regan glared at him and he turned his laugh into a cough. ‘Don’t be alarmed, this is really easy. All you need to do is lie down and listen to my voice. Okay?’
Regan and Chris both nodded. Lying down she was good at and, after a few nights scrunched up like a hamster in Cleo’s chair, the opportunity to lie out flat was a welcome one. She stretched out and was pleased with how comfortable the mat was. She wondered if they’d miss one if she borrowed it for a bit.
A few people produced pillows and took off their shoes. Cressy waited until everyone was settled. ‘Close your eyes. Empty your mind. I want you to focus all of your attention on your feet … Specifically your left foot … and your big toe …’
Regan grinned. This was all a bit bonkers. ‘Keep your focus on your big toe … Think about how it feels.’ Cressy had a melodic voice, which thankfully was pleasant to listen to, and whilst Regan found herself tuning in and out she did try, as Cressy suggested, to keep pulling her attention back.
Cressy moved their focus from the big toe to other parts of the foot, and eventually over the whole body, until they were focused on their breathing. When someone on the other side of the room snored, Regan couldn’t stop a snort of a giggle. Cressy continued unperturbed. Despite the giggles, Regan did feel calmer; she probably wasn’t far from nodding off herself. She was interested by how difficult it was to keep her mind focused on Cressy’s voice, and how easily it was distracted by the minutiae of life that littered her brain like plastic in the ocean.
They finished the body scan and Cressy went on to tell them about practical ways of using the techniques. She suggested losing your temper was a good opportunity to deploy mindfulness. Regan had a sly look in Charlie’s direction and he was staring straight at her. Rude. She didn’t make a habit of pummelling people’s heads on revolving doors, but, in his defence, he didn’t know that. She smiled and he smiled back. Cressy went on to teach them some other practices, but then all too soon the session was over and people were packing away their mats.
‘So, Reg,’ Charlie appeared at her shoulder, ‘what did you think?’
‘Hmm.’ She wanted a moment to consider her thoughts.
‘Actually, let’s get a drink and you can update me. Okay?’ He was already walking for the door.
She had nothing else planned. ‘Why not?’ she said, with a lazy shrug. She didn’t want to look too keen.
She suggested her usual coffee shop and they walked through the bustle of the Saturday market. The market always had a vibrancy that buoyed Regan. Whether it was the sights, smells or banter of the stallholders she wasn’t sure, but there was something about it that brought her to life. When they neared the coffee shop, she spotted Kevin hunched in a doorway. He was hugging his knees and rocking. Elvis was leaning against him as if trying to comfort him.
‘I’ll get the coffees,’ said Regan, when they went inside and joined the short queue.
‘Sorry. The rule is that whoever suggests it pays. So I have to pay.’ Charlie nodded sagely.
‘Thanks, but I want to get a couple of extra drinks for my friends.’ She nodded towards the doorway.
‘That’s cool, I’ll get theirs too. It’s near payday so I’m flush. Order away.’
Regan thought about standing her ground, but with only a few quid in her pocket she wasn’t in a position to be stubborn. ‘Cheers, that’s kind of you.’ And generous, she thought.
Penny wasn’t about so another woman took her order. When the drinks arrived on the end of the counter, Charlie took his and Regan’s. ‘Shall I get us some seats? I’m assuming you’re not going to run out on me.’ He gave a pout, which made him look rather sexy.
‘I’ll come back, I promise,’ said Regan, giving him an equally flirty look. This was fun.
She almost bounced over to Kevin and crouched down next to him. Elvis towered over her and was very excited that she was within licking distance. She scratched his head to try to keep him occupied, although his focus was on the paper cups. Kevin’s eyes were tight shut and he was muttering something inaudible. ‘Kevin, you okay?’
His eyes popped wide open in an alarming fashion, making Regan almost topple backwards. ‘Birds,’ he said, in a whisper.
‘Birds?’ She looked about her. There was a pair of wood pigeons pecking about nearby.
‘They get in my head.’
His hunted expression was bothering her. ‘Here, have a coffee. I got milk for Elvis.’
Kevin blinked a few times and seemed to almost come to. ‘Thanks … I bet you think I’m mad, don’t you?’
‘No, but you had me a bit worried there.’
He smiled at her. And then he froze. ‘Listen.’ There was a buzz of background noise from the hubbub of the nearby market.
‘Yeah, always noisy on a Saturday.’
‘No.