Mindfulness involves paying close attention to whatever our experience is in the present moment. Often we are preoccupied, thinking of something else such as making plans or worrying about the future or past, whilst doing things on automatic pilot. In this way, we miss out on the richness of our everyday experience and the many small pleasures that ordinary life can bring.
Mindfulness increases awareness. Awareness brings choice. Choice allows you to take control of your life rather than being driven by habits you don't even notice.
Learning mindfulness activities and skills involves learning meditation techniques, and this is best done in a group setting through the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Programme, which has achieved world-wide recognition for its effectiveness, as supported by many scientific research studies.
Over time, regular practice of mindfulness brings mental fitness, just as exercise brings physical fitness. Just being able to concentrate and focus better brings rewards. Many people report feel calmer and happier with regular practice.
Research has shown that practising mindfulness reduces the symptoms of depression, stress, anxiety and chronic pain. There are now several hundred published research papers investigating mindfulness, and many new studies are in progress. Its impact is such that official guidance for NHS treatment has been recommending that mindfulness be available for patients with recurrent depression since 2004 (NICE guidelines for the treatment of depression 2004, 2009).
Stress not only causes people to be distressed, it also contributes to the development of serious illnesses like cardiovascular disease (high blood pressure, heart attacks and stroke). Reducing stress through mindfulness therefore contributes to physical health as well as mental well-being. Stress management is essential in modern life.
Anyone can benefit from learning mindfulness; it is not only for people seeking anxiety treatment. You can live life in a more fulfilling way when you are engaged with the reality of your present experience, setting aside habits such as being judgmental or critical of yourself or others and letting life be just as it is. Releasing yourself from the constant conflict inherent in wanting things to be other than how they actually are frees you up to make the most of what life offers.
Cutting-edge discoveries in neuroscience are confirming the benefits of mindfulness in retraining the brain out of unhelpful and inefficient loops, helping it to function optimally.
The BBC has recently produced an interesting report on how Mindfulness changes the brain's response to stress and chronic pain. To see the short video, please click here.
Where can I find out about Mindfulness?
www.bemindful.co.uk gives lots of useful information about mindfulness and determines professional standards for mindfulness teachers. To find us listed there click here.
A good introductory book is: Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation for Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn
As a unique Doctor and Nurse team, we teach Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) courses, based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn who developed the MBSR programme as a means to help people suffering with chronic illness or chronic pain. He set up the Stress Reduction Clinic in the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in 1979, and his work has been reproduced all over the world since then. He describes his work with the MBSR programme in his book Full Catastrophe Living. MBSR is a structured 8 week course, with weekly sessions lasting 2 hours.
We also offer workshops, lecture at conferences, organisations, healthcare establishments and schools and publish articles on Mindfulness.
We teach Mindfulness to anyone who would like to learn - from complete beginners in meditation to professionals who would like to integrate mindfulness into their way of working. A readiness to commit to home practice is essential.
All that is required is an ability to stay focused and sit still, so our courses are not suitable for people with brain damage or psychosis.
Mindfulness is a simple thing that anyone can learn, but it is not easy to put it into practice without personal instruction and inevitably questions arise for people as to whether they are doing it right. There are more and more books being published on mindfulness, many very clear and useful, but they cannot give you feedback on your experience. People often find too that participating in a group brings a rich extra dimension to learning that they had not anticipated.
Learning mindfulness is best done with a thorough introduction through the 8 week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Course. The MBSR course introduces a variety of techniques, and gives you time to practise them and decide which ones feel right to adopt as your own.
The One-Day Introductory Course (module 1) is intended for people who want to explore what mindfulness is through their own experience and investigate whether it is of interest to them. It will enable a person to set up a mindfulness practice, but without the support of a group or teacher this is likely to be difficult to sustain.
The One-Day Workshop for Professionals (module 2) is specifically for people who want to have a more in-depth introduction to mindfulness and its background, and to understand how to bring it into their working life as healthcare practitioners, complementary practitioners, yoga teachers, school teachers or other professionals working with people. It is not intended that this course would enable people to teach mindfulness to others, as that requires an established personal practice and training.
The Skype Mindfulness course is for people who cannot attend the MBSR class due to geography, health, mobility or other personal reason. It involves weekly one-to-one sessions and as with the MBSR class, a commitment to personal practice between sessions is expected.
One-day retreats are aimed at people who have attended a course and are looking to deepen and support their practice by creating an oasis in the rush of everyday life. The opportunity to come together with others who are also practising enriches one's experience.
The Monday class is a fortnightly mindfulness meditation group open to people who have attended one of our courses, or something similar elsewhere, and who are looking for support for their long-term practice.
Please be aware that:
MindfulnessUK
27 Canon Street, Taunton, Somerset. TA1 1SW
Tel: 01823 323206
Copyright MindfulnessUK 2011
