Hong Kong

On 22 February 2022, the Hong Kong Government announced an extension of certain social-distancing restrictions including a ban on group gatherings of more than two households on private premises. This means that for time being our members can no longer gather in groups at our studios.

To support our community, we’re excited to introduce Quarantine Hour. This informal weekly virtual group, led by mindish founder Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, offers mindish members a safe space to get together and support one another during this difficult time. Members can expect to hear from mindish therapists and coaches on how to make the most of this time and learn a thing or two about themselves (and each other).

On 22 February 2022, the Hong Kong Government announced an extension of certain social-distancing restrictions including a ban on group gatherings of more than two households on private premises. This means that for time being our members can no longer gather in groups at our studios.

To support our community, we’re excited to introduce Quarantine Hour. This informal weekly virtual group, led by mindish founder Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, offers mindish members a safe space to get together and support one another during this difficult time. Members can expect to hear from mindish therapists and coaches on how to make the most of this time and learn a thing or two about themselves (and each other).

Society teaches us that the ideal body must look a certain way, but we disagree.

Join us to explore body image, body positivity, self-worth and sustainable eating as we celebrate all different body shapes and sizes in this feminist session hosted by mindish Nutritionist, Denise Tam.

On 22 February 2022, the Hong Kong Government announced an extension of certain social-distancing restrictions including a ban on group gatherings of more than two households on private premises. This means that for time being our members can no longer gather in groups at our studios.

To support our community, we’re excited to introduce Quarantine Hour. This informal weekly virtual group, led by mindish founder Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, offers mindish members a safe space to get together and support one another during this difficult time. Members can expect to hear from mindish therapists and coaches on how to make the most of this time and learn a thing or two about themselves (and each other).

Many of us get stuck in behavior patterns. While we might think we are just anxious people, we might overlook the fact that anxiety can be a habit, like any other.  

In this interactive event, host Katie Leung, Psychotherapist at mindish, discusses how anxious habits are formed and how they ultimately exist to protect you while exploring everyday techniques to help break free of the cycle of anxious suffering.

On 22 February 2022, the Hong Kong Government announced an extension of certain social-distancing restrictions including a ban on group gatherings of more than two households on private premises. This means that for time being our members can no longer gather in groups at our studios.

To support our community, we’re excited to introduce Quarantine Hour. This informal weekly virtual group, led by mindish founder Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, offers mindish members a safe space to get together and support one another during this difficult time. Members can expect to hear from mindish therapists and coaches on how to make the most of this time and learn a thing or two about themselves (and each other).

mindish Founder, Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, explores a range of his own favorites and thought-provoking titles in our bi-monthly book club. Join this inaugural session as we embark on a curious journey of self-discovery and personal growth with “The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves” by Stephen Grosz.

With restrictions in place and most of us spending much our time at home with family and all the emotions —love, joy, rage, frustration, delight, and occasional embarrassment—that come with it, we explore the complex dynamics of what it means to belong to a family in an attempt to answer the question: are families ever “normal”?

On 22 February 2022, the Hong Kong Government announced an extension of certain social-distancing restrictions including a ban on group gatherings of more than two households on private premises. This means that for time being our members can no longer gather in groups at our studios.

To support our community, we’re excited to introduce Quarantine Hour. This informal weekly virtual group, led by mindish founder Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, offers mindish members a safe space to get together and support one another during this difficult time. Members can expect to hear from mindish therapists and coaches on how to make the most of this time and learn a thing or two about themselves (and each other).

In this fireside chat, mindish Personal Growth Manager Medora Choi together with mindish member, fintech leader and equality advocate Maaike Steinebach explore the reality of how we move forward from our experience with Hong Kong’s recent fifth wave. We’re angry, tired and over it. Is this truly the end of the restrictions? Why don’t things feel optimistic? 

In a time where everyone is feeling more depleted and defeated than ever before, mindish Founder Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah hosts this critical conversation about how we can refill our cups and transition back to normal life.

mindish Founder, Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, continues to explore a range of his own personal favourites and thought-provoking titles in our bi-monthly book club.

Join us as we continue on a curious journey of self-discovery and personal growth with “The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves” by Stephen Grosz. Be sure to pick up a complimentary copy of the book at the studio. Members are encouraged read as much of the book in advance for this session.

“Please reach out” is a phrase we’ve all heard time and time again, often accompanied by the tragic news of someone who likely did not reach out in time. The expectation here is that those who are experiencing a difficult time must vocalise their circumstances—on top of dealing with everything else they are going through. While encouraging—or rather normalising—the idea of more people openly and expressly asking for help in a telling time of need, many people often show early and late warning signs that if identified correctly and responded to compassionately can make all the difference. In this workshop, mindish Psychotherapist Priyana Mirchandrani explores the range of tell-tale signs that can often signify a cry for help and empowers you with strategies to take care of those around you while also protecting yourself.

Strangely, and rather awkwardly, it seems no human being can ever really grow up sane unless it has been loved very deeply by someone for a number of years in its early life. But we’re still learning what parental love might actually involve. Put simply: love is the considerate, tender, hugely patient behaviour displayed by an adult over many years towards a child who cannot help but be largely out of control, confused, frustrating and bewildered—in order that it might over time grow into an adult who can take its place in society without too much of a loss of spontaneity, without too much terror and with a basic trust in its own capacities and chances of fulfilment. The word ‘love’ trips lightly off the tongue and few parents–even the most disagreeable ones–would ever resist a claim that they felt the emotion deeply, but that doesn’t mean that loving behaviour is any easier to understand in theory or practice in reality. In this confidential group session—where vulnerability is encouraged and imperfections are celebrated—mindish Counsellor Shelly Chutke discusses the fundamentals of parental love and the challenges that surround our ability to show up as loving parents with mindish (parent) members.

Grain of Salt Founder & mindish Dietitian Tiffany Shek explores the relationship between what we eat and how we feel through an interactive culinary experience and why eating sustainably is easier and yummier than you think—and no, it’s not all just soups and salads (promise).

If you have dietary restrictions, allergies, and aversions, please let us know at least 48 hours before the event is scheduled to start, preferably at the time of registering for the event.

mindish Founder, Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, continues to explore a range of his own personal favourites and thought-provoking titles in our bi-monthly book club. Join us as we continue on a curious journey of self-discovery and personal growth with “The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves” by Stephen Grosz. Be sure to pick up a complimentary copy of the book at the studio. Members are encouraged read as much of the book in advance for this session.

Relationships in the modern world are complicated, but it is safe to say some are more complicated than others. One of these relationships is with our children. The other is with our partners. Parenting a child is often the intersection at which both these relationships meet and when our resolve is put to the test.

Developing an effective partnership with our co-parent may not be easy, especially if your parenting styles vary greatly. Perhaps you each were raised by sets of parents with fundamentally different styles. Perhaps one of you believes in corporal punishment. Perhaps the other lacks the ability to draw boundaries. No matter how committed we are as parents, our attempts at parenting will never perfectly align. Not because of fault or flaw, but because we are, as individual parents, our own people. Each with our own lived experiences, values and beliefs. Our children stand to benefit the most when we are united as parents and when we embrace our differences to come together as a harmonious parental unit. In the absence of this unity and understanding, comes conflict — for you, your co-parent, and most certainly your child.

Inspiring and heartfelt, this confidential monthly group session continues with mindish Counselor Shelly Chutke, who guides us through the many hardships of co-parenting and how we can move past the challenges that prevent us from winning as a team.

Many of us are still trapped within the career-cage unwittingly created for us by some hasty ignorant choices made by our unknowing 18-year-old selves. Shaken by the pandemic, we have begun to question the choices we’ve made as we look to honor our values and the things that matter most to us in the limited time we have in this world.  

In this fireside chat, Olympian and Asian Games Medalist Robyn Lamsam and mindish Personal Growth Manager Irene Wong speak to mindish Founder Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah on how to find meaning in the mundane that is often a job. 

Heart-warming and deeply inspiring, this event will remind us of our values and mobilize us to take steps towards achieving meaning in our lives — while giving us insights to access a more authentic and meaningful way of living.

Simply put, grief is our very human response to the difficult experience of losing someone with whom we once shared a deep bond. Understandably, it can feel all-encompassing, perhaps, overwhelming if not even conflicting. The emotions that accompany grief are often complex and confusing. But perhaps most of all, grief is a deeply personal experience. Then comes the subtle expectation to get over what has happened. It will be suggested that we move on, that we put things in perspective, that we understand what had to be. There is no need for this. We will never ‘get over’ our loss in any simple way. We won’t ever forget or naively ‘recover’ — and we don’t have to. More specifically, there is no timetable for feelings after a loss. Our ongoing grief is simply the price we pay for having loved. One day, very far from now, the memory of what has happened will still be capable of striking us with its full devastating force, as if we had only just received the news. We won’t ever be able to put it behind us conclusively — and shouldn’t expect to. Death is not something we should ever rightly want to overcome. Love is in this sense eternal. Mourning does not have to have an endpoint. We can bear that this loss will never leave us. Conversely, attempts to suppress or deny grief are likely to prolong the process, adding to our burden and exacerbating our pain. 

There is no right way to grieve. But you must grieve — in a way that is true for you. Learn how to honor those you’ve lost and yourself in the process, in this deeply moving workshop led by mindish Psychotherapist Priyana Mirchandani.

mindish Founder, Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, continues to explore a range of his own personal favorites and thought-provoking titles in our bi-monthly book club. Join us as we conclude our curious journey of self-discovery and personal growth with “The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves” by Stephen Grosz. Be sure to pick up a complimentary copy of the book at the studio. 

Members are encouraged to read as much of the book in advance for this final session on this title.

Helpless, depleted, and all-round numb, we hear the term “burnout” often. Perhaps we’ve even come to normalize the sight or sound of the term, which is hardly surprising given the state of our minds. For far too long, we’ve taken too much pride in working long hours and placed too little emphasis on finding the balance. Often used interchangeably for (very) tired, to be burnt out means to quite literally be used up. Like a battery so depleted it can’t be recharged. We have come to applaud the need for self-care while failing to realize that burnout is, if not always, a communal issue. To solve this crisis, we must be united in compassion: responding more gently, acting more patiently and listening more kindly. Perhaps only then can we lift each other up. 

Sobering and uniting, this confidential group session led by mindish Counselor & Organizational Strategist Nimishaa Mohinani explores what it means to be burnt out and why the understated role of community is key to solving our not so individual experiences of burnout. 

Absolute Focus embraces wellness inside and out — your physical, mental, and emotional health. Inspired by pilates, this workout targets our core muscles, through sculpting, enhancing strength and building endurance. Designed for all levels, this low-impact, core-focused class, is finished with a relaxing meditative flow, allowing our body to rest and recalibrate. 

Empowering yet deeply grounding, Janice Ng takes us through this core-focused movement class that ends with a relaxing meditation as we learn to be in our bodies and calm the mind.

Parenting is hard work. Caring and at times compulsive, we as parents are constantly thinking about the needs of our children — while often being guilty of overlooking those of our own.  Perhaps the idea of self-care feels selfish. Or perhaps there is simply no time. The irony here however is that in order to be the best version of ourselves as parents we have to take care of ourselves.

In this monthly group session with fellow mindish parents, mindish Counselor Shelly Chutke gets real with members in helping them reflect on how to take care of themselves and why self-care is a win for everyone — perhaps, most of all for our children. 

Anxious and awake, we have come to normalize the absence of sleep with far too many of us not getting good enough sleep. We struggle to fall asleep while some of us lie awake in bed wishing for deeper sleep. We have taken to dosing and drinking ourselves to sleep while accepting the damage that might follow. Yet we are grumpier, more easily annoyed, and less motivated than we have ever been before. 

Join mindish Holistic Nutritionist Denise Tam and mindish Psychotherapist Katie Leung as they come together to discuss the sleepless epidemic in this timely fireside chat moderated by mindish Founder Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah. Inspiring intersectional and deeply informative, this event will teach us how our relationship with sleep impacts the mind and the everyday changes we can make to our lives in our quest to find easier, deeper, and more restful sleep.

Hong Kong has long been a place of transience, where friends come almost as easily as they go. These days, however, many of us are having to say goodbye to what feels like a wave of departing friends, sometimes with little to no notice. What once may have been an incremental change that took place over years has been catalyzed by factors out of our control, deepening an already-complex situation. Though these farewells are not forever (and often punctuated with joy and pride for friends as they embark on a new chapter of their lives) those departures of close or age-old “found family” members can also inspire feelings of loss, jealousy, or anxiety — and consequently, guilt.

In a way, friendships are some of the greatest love stories we’ll ever experience — and without realizing that, we can sometimes take them for granted until it’s “too late.” While you may feel bereft, this experience is in fact one that almost all of us have gone through. Only through connecting with others will we be able to fully realize that and extend empathy towards others and ourselves. In this confidential group session led by mindish Psychotherapist Priyana Mirchandani, members are encouraged to share their experiences of departing friends and the bittersweet emotions that arise as a result, and explore how to navigate the void left behind.

As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. While we may not live in villages anymore, that sentiment still rings true to this day. From extended family members to domestic workers and nannies, many of us parents are only able to balance the demands of modern life with the help of a strong support network. Often, these caregivers become parental figures to our children and play crucial, nuanced roles during the formative periods of their lives. Understandably, that closeness can stir up a host of emotions in parents — love, gratitude, vulnerability, envy — all of which are wholly human.

In this monthly group session with fellow mindish parents, mindish Counselor Shelly Chutke will discuss the important role these caregivers play, how our own relationships with them will shape our children, and why working on strengthening those relationships can benefit everyone. Members are encouraged to share their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

mindish Founder, Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, explores a range of his own personal favorites and thought-provoking titles in our monthly book club. This month we explore a new title, ‘Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?’ by Dr. Julie Smith. Empowering and deeply helpful, Dr. Julie’s practical guide offers us a deeper understanding of how our minds work and gives us the insights and help we all need to navigate the complexities of life.

Members are encouraged to read chapters one through to three in preparation for this introductory session. Complimentary copies of the book are available to mindish members and can be picked up at the clinic.

Too often, we normalize the practice of burning out — working longer, taking on more tasks, trying to be everything to everyone — and accommodating all this compromising in the less “necessary” (read: financially driven) areas of our lives. But too much of the discourse about burning out focuses on the negatives — those energy zippers that drain us — rather than the things that make us feel full and alive. If burning out is the act of depleting our batteries, then it stands to reason that those batteries can be recharged by doing things that fill us with energy, positivity, and joy. mindish Life Coach Franziska von Kleist returns from her travels to host this month’s affirming and uplifting group session on burnout, where she will lead members in recalibrating their approach to burnout together to help us all feel our best.

mindish Founder, Hasanal Lythgoe-Zafrullah, explores a range of his own personal favorites and thought-provoking titles in our monthly book club. We continue our exploration of our current title, ‘Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?’ by Dr. Julie Smith. Empowering and deeply helpful, Dr. Julie’s practical guide offers us a deeper understanding of how our minds work and gives us the insights and help we all need to navigate the complexities of life.

Members are encouraged to read chapters four through to six in preparation for the second session on this title. Complimentary copies of the book are available to mindish members and can be picked up at the clinic.