Yoga, meditation and lessons on life choices, confidence self-reliance and mindfulness, along with the chance to have a dunk in an ice bath, were all on offer last weekend with a unique festival dedicated to personal well-being.

The 2020 Mindful Mann festival took place at the Children’s Centre farm in Port Soderick on Saturday and the attendees were able to sit through a wide variety of workshops and talks, held by locally-based recognised experts in their field.

One of the most popular and talked about workshops was the ice bath, which was part of the sessions held by certified Wim Hof method instructor Ian Kirk.

Two or three people at a time spent two minutes immersed in ice water, followed by a series of exercises, all under the supervision of Ian, who explained the benefits of cold immersion therapy.

These include speeding up metabolism and reducing inflammation, swelling and sore muscles, as well as the potential of exercising self control.

Elsewhere, there were classes on dynamic breathing, which can help fight stress, and yoga workshops with instructor Samantha Walker. There was also talks on control, mindfulness, personal self reliance and motivation from guest speakers Dr Rodney King, Carol Glover, Rosemary Donahgue and Aoife Bell.

The day-long event was smaller than in previous years, purely because of the travel restrictions. However, organiser Mike Kewley said he felt it was worth running the day and he thinks the people there got a lot out of it.

’Mindful Mann 2020 was a huge success and although it was smaller this time, it allowed everyone to fully immerse themselves in the talks and workshops which were all heavily themed around mindfulness, breathwork and embodiment,’ said Mike.

’The feedback I’ve had so far has been inspiring and positive and it was wonderful to see so many people going beyond their limits, opening to new ideas and experiencing "aha" moments.’