Download Festival to debut ‘Mind The Dog’ mindfulness programme
Download Festival has announced that its 2019 event will feature a programme of mindfulness events.
Attendees will be able to practise yoga and meditation in between seeing acts like Slipknot and Def Leppard.
Event organisers said they created the programme, dubbed the Mind The Dog initiative, as a response to a recent spate of celebrity deaths.
Prodigy frontman Keith Flint (pictured) died by hanging in March while former Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, a major figure in the grunge-rock scene of the 1990s, took his own life in Detroit in 2017 aged 52.
The programme will debut at the three-day rock extravaganza, which will be held in Leicestershire in June with headliners Slipknot, Tool and Def Leppard.
The frontman of rock band Enter Shikari, Rou Reynolds, voiced support for the scheme, saying mindfulness had helped him deal with the stress of touring.
He said: “We often go through life on autopilot, getting caught up in the stresses, the anxieties, the intensity of it all. We’re rarely consciously in control of our turbulent mind.
“Mindfulness allows us to regain control as we learn to observe our thoughts instead of getting caught up in them. It has been an incredible help to me and I couldn’t recommend it more.
“Not only does it help with anxiety and depression, but it also improves focus, emotional intelligence, compassion, tolerance and objectivity and has even been proven to help boost your immune system.
“Big up Download for introducing this programme to the festival.”
Melvin Benn, managing director of Festival Republic which runs Download, said: “By introducing Mind The Dog this year, we are hoping to provide a mindfulness haven in The Doghouse across the weekend, with meditation, sound baths, and more.
“I couldn’t be prouder of how much Download Festival has accomplished already.”
Download takes place from June 14 to 16 at Donington Park, Leicestershire.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2019, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Anthony Devlin / PA Wire.
