The health benefits of spending time in nature are well proven. Add a series of exciting wellbeing sessions and you have a winning combination! Wimbledon’s stunning Cannizaro Park will host a health and wellbeing festival this summer, with Pilates, laughter yoga, tai chi and mindful sketching all taking centre stage.
ICANN festival takes place this weekend – Friday 10 to Sunday 12 June – in the Grade II* listed park. Tickets are available for the event at £15 per class here.
ICANN has been organised by a dedicated team of volunteers from The Friends of Cannizaro Park in collaboration with a host of local specialists to design an expanded programme for this year with 12 different classes to choose from.
ICANN highlights include:
- A series of Pilates and yoga sessions focusing on the core, relieving tension and more promises attendees they’ll ‘enter the weekend feeling the weight of the working week lifted’
- Power up your Saturday morning with an hour of blissful mediation surrounded by nature and birdsong
- Stimulate the immune system and improve circulation – all with a giggle thanks to Laughter Yoga with Tish Dodson from Wimbledon’s Jiva Health
- In Osteobreath Breathwork Therapy you’ll use elements of breath, movements, touch and sound – a popular and effective way to gain mental clarity and release stress
- New for 2022: Local artist Emz Finch has developed a mindful sketching technique. She’ll share some of the breathing and sketching tools she’s developed and help you tap into your artistic side by creating a postcard piece of tree art
- New for 2022: stress relief, improved sleep and balance are some of the benefits delivered by Sound Healing – a class of meditation using sound bowls and gongs.
There are 13 classes over the weekend, all taking place in the picturesque and peaceful grounds of Cannizaro Park, in a safe and socially distanced environment. Thanks to the sponsor, WSM Partners, all classes will be held in a marquee so are guaranteed to take place whatever the weather brings! Refreshments will be available onsite and from the Park’s neighbour Hotel du Vin.
ICANN festival launched in 2020 as the first of a series of volunteer-run events designed to enhance visitors’ experience and appreciation of the historic Grade II* listed park.
Cannizaro Park is a Grade II* listed park next to Wimbledon Common in the London Borough of Merton. The park has a long history dating back to its years as part of the Duke of Cannizaro’s Estate and its transition to a public Park when Merton Borough Council adopted it in 1949. Its Grade II status is due to some of the rare and exquisite plants which are all around the park. It has some superb trees and shrubs, which are attractive to both the horticulturalists and gardeners as well as those who come for a walk a picnic or simply to enjoy some peace and quiet in the many secluded areas of the park.
