Mindfulness Leighton Buzzard
Have you heard about Mindfulness and wondered what it is all about?
Perhaps you struggle with a busy mind and non-stop thoughts and would like a way to switch them off now and again.
Or maybe you've noticed that your days, weeks, months fly by on autopilot and you feel that you've missed out on what actually happened?
If any of those resonate with you then you may like to see if mindfulness might be helpful for you. Mindfulness is simply practising the habit or skill of paying attention to the present moment - it is a skill you already have but like anything practice improves and strengthens your ability. You don't have to meditate if you don't want to, that bit is optional! There are lots of ways of being mindful in your everyday life so we start there, pick out ways that mindfulness can be most useful to you in your current life, we try to keep it easy, simple and most of all useful! I offer a mindfulness practice group and when there is enough interest I can run workshops or courses with further details about dates, locations, costs plus a bit about me and my experience below. Subscribe to my mailing list to receive a monthly reminder email with latest dates & news.
Mindfulness Practice Group - £10 per session
The aim of the practice group is to give you the opportunity to practice different styles of short guided mindfulness practices in a group setting for the first 50 minutes with no practice being longer than 10 minutes. This will be followed by an optional 30-minute meditation practice which may be a body scan, a guided practice or a silent practice. All experience levels are welcome so feel free to bring a friend! Groups are run on a drop-in basis so no need to book. More details can be found on the Facebook events page TB
Intro to Mindfulness - £25
Are you interested in learning more about Mindfulness in a group setting? This 2-hour workshop will explore what Mindfulness is and how we can be more mindful in our everyday lives. The emphasis is on becoming more mindful in the things we already do rather than traditional meditating.
6 Week Mindfulness Course - £125
Starting with the Introduction to Mindfulness workshop and following on with a further 5 workshops with a different theme each week to explore Mindfulness in more detail.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is something you have already experienced numerous times in everyday life. It is those moments when you are really noticing what is happening right now. Most people have experienced the sensation of 'waking up' from being on autopilot, perhaps while cleaning your teeth, having a shower, driving or walking somewhere familiar and then suddenly realising you've completed the action without really remembering it - that moment of coming back and noticing you've been on autopilot is a moment of mindfulness. Many of us spend time with a narrow focus, paying attention to what is going on in our mind, our thoughts, feelings, worries, memories, daydreams, things that have already happened, things that might happen in the future. An inner dialogue of thoughts and emotions, like a hamster wheel going round and round. Being mindful encourages us to broaden our focus, to accept and be aware of what is going on in our minds but also to pay attention to our present environment using some or all of our senses, sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, awareness of how we feel.
Mindful Resilience Coaching
One to one mindful resilience coaching will introduce you to a set of simple, flexible and accessible mindfulness techniques and exercises to help you become more mindful in the routines of your daily life, aiming to establish mindful daily habits. For some people this may be the foundation block of later going on to develop a formal mindful meditation practice or attend an 8-week mindfulness course but only if they choose to do so. The overarching aim of Mindful Resilience is that it seeks to enable people to approach their daily experience of life more mindfully and with more kindness. Each coaching session will last approx 30-60 minutes introducing easy techniques and exercises and discussion around each. We will explore each individual's personal preferences with the aim of gradually building a sustainable way of developing your own mindful habits. Remember each person is already inherently capable of being mindful so it isn't a new skill to be learnt, it is a skill you already have that you want to improve and develop further! If you are part of a group and would like to find out more about mindfulness and experience some of the Mindful Resilience techniques please feel free to get in touch and I will be happy to discuss how I can help you.
My Training
I am a relative newcomer to Mindfulness and started my own personal practice in the New Year of 2012 after seeing a report on the news that caught my interest, immediately bought the book, started the programme and like most New Year resolutions gave up after week 2 when it became a bit demanding! However even after such a short time, I noticed that my general mood had changed and I missed it when I stopped. I persevered with different styles, books, apps and CDs over the course of the year developing a hit and miss approach to formal mindful practice, never quite managing to cultivate the longed for daily sit down meditation habit. However I still felt that I was benefiting from regular mindfulness, that my general mood was good, I didn't feel always stressed, (just sometimes), and I felt generally calmer and more appreciative. In 2013 I heard about a new training programme at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, where I had previously completed some reflexology training, in Mindful Resilience Enhancement (MRE) the aim of which was to provide mindfulness-based approaches that I could use both in my personal practice and offer in my professional work. The MRE approach felt more accessible and relevant to both me and my clients, a flexible and personal approach. www.mre.re During 2013 and 2014 I completed the training for level 1 and increased my own personal practice and started a supervised practice. I still don't always manage a formal sit down meditation practice for the same amount of time every single day, but most days I manage to meditate for between 10-30 minutes alongside all my daily mindful habits which are just part of my everyday routine now. Having completed level 1 training and gained my Level 1 Competency Certificate I have now finished training for Level 2 and am working towards gaining my Level 2 Competency Certificate. I have regular mindfulness supervision and follow the good practice guidelines for teaching mindfulness-based courses.