Mindfulness Apply for Mindfulness Stress & Mindfulness Stress in our daily lives can lead to overwhelm & have us living inside our heads, spending time ruminating & endlessly worrying about the future. It can leave us without the ability to notice what is going on within ourselves or to see things clearly. Mindfulness is a way of bringing our focus to ourselves & to the present. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) This 8-week course was developed in 1979, 40 years ago, by Jon Kabat-Zinn, designed originally to help people in chronic pain. The course is now taught all over the world aiming to help with stress, anxiety, depression and pain. How can Mindfulness help? The programme offers an experience and guidance in meditation and mindfulness. Sometimes we get caught up living in our head, spending too much time in the past or worrying about the future. ‘Mindfulness is the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgementally’ (Jon Kabat Zinn) The programme offers tutor led exploration and guidance on stress, how we perceive stress, bringing awareness to thoughts, emotions and sensations. The MBSR course is clinically approved by NICE (for the NHS) particularly for working with depression. Mindfulness is reported to help with reducing perceived stress, improving sleep quality, relaxation, mental focus, resilience, coping, reigning in thoughts and emotions, anxiety and mood. It can improve immune functioning and chronic pain. Mindfulness can be practiced by anyone at anytime in many different ways. The course will introduce a variety of ways to practise mindfulness but it is also true to say that mindfulness is not for everyone. Filling out an application form and talking to the course tutor can help establish whether the MBSR course is right for you right now. What does the course look like? 8, weekly, up to 2½ hr, online sessions, plus a half day silent retreat. You will be guided in mindfulness practice and there are group discussions on the subject of stress. There is also 45mins/day of home practice available via worksheets and guided meditations. There are online introductory sessions available through NCS for free, to see if you think you would like to try mindfulness and commit to the longer 8-week programme. A one-to-one meeting with the tutor, where you can ask any questions before committing, and the tutor can help you decide if the course is right for you at this time. The tutor Lesley Kidd MSc, a psychotherapist and Qualified Mindfulness teacher. I began studying mindfulness and then MBSR formally in 2016. In the beginning I wanted to handle stress better, work on my own balance and being more at peace. Once I felt the change in myself, I started training as a Mindfulness tutor. I continue to practice meditation, mindfulness, yoga and living mindfully in wider ways. De-bunking myths 1) It’s all about relaxation, chilling out. Sometimes mindfulness and meditation is relaxing sometimes not. Sometimes, it feels relaxing but that’s not necessarily the goal. In fact, sometimes it can be challenging to see things with clarity, just as they are. 2) You have to sit crossed legged on a floor. Not at all. Each of us needs to find a way that will work for us and that might change each time. There is lots of ways to practice mindfulness. There is a sitting practice and the course invites you to explore which ways that might be right for you. 3) Is religious. You can be mindful without being religious and be mindful alongside your own spiritual and religious beliefs. Mindfulness is a tool for waking up to the present moment and the 8 week MBSR Programme is secular (non-religious). 4) I can’t empty my mind, so I can’t do it. I can’t empty my mind either!! We have thousands of thoughts a day, arriving all the time. Mindfulness doesn’t mean blocking or stopping thoughts and emotions, trying to empty the mind but rather recognising that the process of thoughts arising is natural. The practice is to not be caught up in the thoughts and impulses, to recognise them but not be controlled by them. 5) I haven’t got the time. It will be up to you how much time to set aside. There is a suggestion whilst on the course for home practice, but going onwards you may continue just putting a couple of minutes to one side for formal mindfulness or perhaps decide to integrate mindfulness a bit more into everyday life, more informally; perhaps whilst taking a cup of tea or walking. Manage Cookie Preferences