What is mindfulness?
“The awareness that arises when we pay attention in a particular way to the present moment on purpose and without judgement.”
Jon Kabat-Zinn
What is the Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) course?
History of the course:
In 1979 Jon Kabat-Zinn founded the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre, and nearly twenty years later the Centre for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Both these institutions supported the growth and implementation of MBSR into hospitals worldwide.
The programme was developed to support people who were falling through the cracks of the healthcare system suffering from chronic pain and stress. Since 1979 over 25,000 have completed the MBSR course.
The course is scientifically backed and been shown to help with the following conditions:
Anxiety, Asthma, Cancer, Chronic pain, depression, Fibromyalgia, stress disorders and more.
Course Curriculum
The MBSR course is a secular course (for all religions and none). The curriculum I teach is based on Jon Kabat Zinn’s work and the teachings from the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice (CMRP)at Bangor University.
It introduces participants to different forms of mindfulness meditation practice, including sitting meditation, body awareness and gentle mindful movement. We learn to slow down and pay attention, to avoid missing the precious moments in our lives. We also learn to deal more effectively with times that may be stressful.
During the class time we practise mindful meditations. We discuss our experience of the meditations. We complete specific exercises to develop awareness of our own thoughts, emotions and the behaviours resulting from these. We also spend a day together, towards the end of the course, following guided mindfulness meditations, walking, and eating mindfully, to pause with the space and time to deepen our own practice.
The course is highly experiential. To get the most benefit from completing the MBSR course, daily home practice meditation exercises are provided each week (approx. 40 minutes per day is recommended).
The 8 weeks offers the opportunity to try out all the different meditation practices and begin to personally experience the benefits. Each participant gains the tools to continue with a mindfulness practice which fits in and supports their own life on course completion.
Neuroplasticity and Mindfulness Meditation
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to restructure the brain for less stress and more empathy. Watch this short programme that explains how neuroplasticity works and why meditating is good for us.
Mindfulness for cancer:
An 8 week course plus full day retreat for anyone affected by a cancer diagnosis.
Who is this course is for?
This course is for anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, and anyone who is supporting them including family members, friends, carers.
From personal experience I know that life following a cancer diagnosis can be very different. Initially dealing with our own reaction, communicating with our friends and family, and dealing with their reactions, the rush for treatment, the constant appointments, coping with the treatment itself, and coming to terms with the uncertainty of life in a very specific and personal way. It can also have a huge impact on the people who are supporting us during this turbulent time.
Once this time of busyness is over and the doctors have sent us back into our “normal” lives, the removal of this activity and access to regular medical professionals can lead to a challenging time. This was certainly my experience after my own cancer diagnosis and treatment. I discovered that the words from Dr Peter Harvey, a consultant clinical psychologist, in his article “After the Treatment Finishes- Then What? summarised the different obstacles we may face during this time very well. These obstacles included, regaining trust in our bodies, regaining trust in ourselves, living with uncertainty, dealing with the world, and regaining mastery and control.
What is involved in the 8-week mindfulness course plus 1 day retreat?
The programme involves 8 weekly group sessions covering various subjects such as our intention, creating a community, kindness, responding, gently being with difficulty, thoughts, looking after ourselves, the future. We spend 1 day on a mindfulness retreat together, in a beautiful countryside location, to deepen our mindfulness practice.
A large part of the programme is learning formal meditation practices to support our own life experiences and to give us the opportunity to pay attention to our own thoughts and emotions as they arise. This in turn helps us to notice how we can best take care of ourselves when things are difficult, including when things are uncertain, and we are re discovering how to trust ourselves. These practices include: the body scan, mindful stretching, breathing space, and many others. We will practice these together in our weekly session and we will also carry out the practices at home to get maximum benefit from the course. You will be given meditation recordings to listen to at home.