What is mindfulness?
“All that mindfulness involves is paying attention to our experience from moment to moment….because the present moment is the only time that any of us ever has – it’s the only time we have to perceive, to learn, to act, to change, to heal.”Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness can help us with both our emotional suffering and physical pain. When life is difficult, many of us get into a struggle with ourselves and with what is happening – we often want to push everything away, sometimes withdrawing and believing that we can’t live life fully when we’re in this kind of distress. Mindfulness offers us a way through our difficulties, helping us with learning how to focus attention on the present moment, allowing us to let go of fretting about the past and fearing the future. Being in the present moment supports us with acknowledging and opening to all that is happening in the here and now and being kinder to ourselves in the process.
Growing a more mindful way of being in life requires commitment, some training and lots of practice! Being mindfully present to our experiences – without forcing, hiding, blocking or holding on to anything we are experiencing – creates the potential for seeing our habitual reactions to life, especially when it is challenging, whilst opening the possibility of responding in new ways to whatever life brings us. If you’d like to start really living your life, instead of just surviving it, you could be ready to begin learning mindfulness….
How do I start learning mindfulness?
Eight week mindfulness courses are offered as a first step into beginning to learn how to live a more mindful life – you’ll be asked to commit to attending each of the sessions and to practicing mindfulness daily at home, using a CD of guided practices.
What happens on the course?
Each week of the course covers a specific theme and contains both formal and informal mindfulness practices. We’ll be getting to know how our mind works, recognising familiar habits and patterns in how we react to life when it is challenging and learning new ways of responding to difficulty.
What if I’d prefer to learn one-to-one, instead of in a group?
If learning in a group setting doesn’t suit you, please contact me to request information about one-to-one mindfulness courses.
How do I know if the course is right for me?
If you are interested in learning mindfulness, I’ll send you some more information about the course and we’ll arrange a time to speak, so that we can decide together whether the course will suit you and if this a good time for you to begin.
Please contact me to request further information about the course, including costs and how to book a place.
