PRESS RELEASE: Meditation Tackling Mental Health Epidemic Head On.
The BIG Sit.
A national fundraising event towards mental fitness & resilience during Mental Health Month – October 2022
The statistics on mental health and suicide are enough to stop any conversation and make you reflect upon your own life.
Beyond Blue latest statistics reveal that one quarter of Australians will experience an anxiety condition in their lifetime and 1 in 6 Australians are currently experiencing depression or anxiety or both. Suicide is a major public health issue, and more than 3000 people take their life each year, and suicide is the largest cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 49.
The Sit community, a registered Not for Profit in Australia believe that practicing daily meditation and mindfulness can go a long way to supporting people to feel more connected.
Co-founder of The Sit community, Jason Partington says: “I’m concerned that a significant allocation of our Government’s funding and resources are being focussed on reacting to the current challenges, rather than focussing on the front end, and supporting people to manage their lives proactively”.
In October, Mental Health Month 2022, The Sit Community will be organising a fundraising event called ‘The BIG Sit.’ 28, ten-minute daily themed and guided meditations will be available for participants to attend live, on-line or to download from the website. The aim of this initiative is to enhance mental fitness in stages towards the final event, ‘The BIG Sit’. On Saturday, October 29th a thirty-minute live meditation will be led by Jason Partington and Big Sit Ambassador, James Mathison (Australia Idol and The Project). This event will also be available across Australia online.
Every Saturday morning at 6.30am, in 16 different locations across Australia, individuals are gathering to enjoy the peace and tranquillity of ‘The Sit’ at sunrise. This regular, free community event brings people together from all walks of life, fostering mental fitness and a sense of connectedness to each other outdoors in nature.
The Sit is an NFP organisation that was founded in 2018 by Jason Partington in Avalon, NSW, in response to a year of increased suicide rates in that area. Jason realised the importance of creating an opportunity for individuals to feel not only a sense of belonging to the community and the environment but to feel supported and energised to meet daily challenges with confidence.
The beneficial effects of mindfulness and meditation on mental health and wellbeing are widely accepted. Many have found that meditation can also increase awareness, sense of focus, composure and compassion.
This nationwide program seeks to make meditation as easy and accessible as possible to everybody to encourage a daily habit of meditation for life.
The Big Sit creates an opportunity for people to participate in the development of their mental health and wellbeing while contributing to wider efforts to support those at risk of attempting suicide.
Sign-up for this daily practice during the month of October and help to raise funds for the charity organisation, The Sit community.
Event details
Start: October 1 2022
Concludes: October 30 2022
Website for Registration:
https://thebigsit.com.au/
