Master Freediver, yoga teacher and art psychotherapist Daithí Ó hÉighnigh was a delight to work with in our Spring 2020 issue. We loved hearing about how his formative life experiences shaped him, the services he now offers, and what listening means to him. Read the full piece below!
Heart Delving
The deeply listening diver
Daithí Ó hÉighnigh is a Master Freediver, yoga teacher and recently qualified art psychotherapist. However, his journey to where he now stands was not straightforward. He took a career break around ten years ago, from his job as a management consultant, and sat his first Vipassana 10-day silent Buddhist meditation retreat.
This was followed by a year dedicated to writing, recording and producing videos for an musical album, through which he tried to ‘work out’ several traumatic events from his childhood which had prevented him from incarnating effectively into the person he sensed he could be.
The golden thread tying all of his practices together is listening: to his body, his intuition and the world around him. Daithí is currently on a certification path to facilitate Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening® workshops.
He explained: ‘Listening deeply, for me, involves letting my consciousness disperse to the physical boundaries of my body and beyond. Once my awareness coalesces and reassembles, each part of it returns with information for me to process and integrate. Teachings from my own lived experience and from the natural world. If I listen intently and honestly, I cannot help but heal. It’s how the universe is knitted together. We’re all composed of vibrating energy. We are music. We just have to listen.’
He has also trained in the facilitation of Social Dreaming, and is deeply passionate about the healing potential of restorative yoga practices including Yoga Nidra, Restorative Yoga and Yin Yoga. His Art Psychotherapy Masters thesis, entitled ‘Understanding the effects of facilitating Yoga Nidra with Art Therapy’, was a labour of love borne from his experiences of working with traumatised adolescents during several clinical placements and volunteering experiences.
Daithí now curates retreats and workshops which endeavour to knit together the various practices he loves. Find out more about his teaching schedule and events at:
Website: iLoveYoga.ie
Instagram: @iLoveYoga.ie
Facebook: @daithiyogi
