HOLY COW!

Forget yoga or pilates, watching a bovine herd can be just as meditative, says an English farmer and his family pioneering 'cowfulness' sessions in the Pyrenees. Jane Warren learns more

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IN A hillside wildflower meadow in south-western France, a group of tourists are sitting quietly in the fragrant grass and observing a small herd of cows. They haven't just stopped for a break, though. They are in fact relishing an afternoon of "cowfulness" the relaxing art of being quietly present with these powerful 600kg gentle giants as they graze on a natural diet.

This is the fourth summer English farmer Dave Mountjoy, 52, and his Spanish wife Diana, 40, have been offering the trendy meditative breaks from their 250-acre organic farm in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.

"This is an experience where guests are simply invited 'to be'," explains Dave, of the five-day retreats. The term "cowfulness" arrived in his head one day as a way of expressing "the power and beauty of being mindful in the presence of cows".

Cowfulness is a derivation of "mindfulness" - the fashionable practice of being fully aware of experiencing the present moment rather than worrying about things that haven't happened yet.

Some may suggest that cows are rather more mindless than mindful, being a species who have not built a reputation for high intelligence. Dave is not among their number.

Instead, he believes that their bovine imperviousness can offer the ultimate calm and solace, and that his "being with cows sessions" which include "walking meditations in silence" - has the power to change lives.

Unfortunately, he speaks from the most shattering personal experience. It was on a warm autumnal afternoon in October 2015 that he received a devastating phone call from his father in Worcestershire: his younger brother Corky had committed suicide. The 40-year-old fatherof-two had shot himself in a patch of woodland, after struggling with depression.