Be Mindful

Mindfulness is about paying attention on purpose to what’s going on in the present moment, with curiosity and without judgement. Fundamentally, it is about assuming an attitude of approach towards experience, rather than of avoidance.

Mindfulness meditation helps reduce stress by enabling us to distinguish between our actual moment-to-moment experience and whatever our habits, assumptions and fears tell us about what is happening. Research has shown that people who practise mindfulness meditation regularly are less likely to get caught up in the kinds of worrying thoughts and ruminations that can add to normal daily stress levels. For some people, mindfulness practices are a great help in stepping away from unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour that might otherwise leave them vulnerable to anxiety or depression. People with long-term physical health problems can also benefit from what mindfulness has to offer, especially when managing pain or when confronting the uncertainties around their condition. Most importantly, perhaps, mindfulness practices help people to take action that is meaningful to them, in the face of life’s difficulties, whatever these may be.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a kind of  awareness training over 8 weeks and is for anyone who is interested to learn more about meditation and how it can help to reduce levels of stress. It is not a therapy; nor does it offer a ‘cure’. Instead, mindfulness meditation provides an opportunity for us all to learn about living life as it is whilst treating ourselves and others with a greater degree of kindness and compassion. Anyone can do it. Anyone, whatever their experience, can benefit from it.

I began practising mindfulness meditation in 2010. Since then, I have trained to teach mindfulness-based approaches with the Oxford Mindfulness Centre, with the Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice in Bangor and with Breathworks. In the past two years, I have taught Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction courses in the Saffron Walden area, in Basildon and in Wivenhoe.

Please remember that all mindfulness courses require a commitment to regular home practice.

For payment details, please see payment page.

For further information about mindfulness, go to http://www.bemindful.co.uk