Aims

This website aims to inspire others to choose a more mindful life with less stress, improved well-being and resilience, through sharing the benefits of mindfulness and facilitating mindfulness courses.

What is Mindfulness

You may be wondering what mindfulness is. Thich Nhat Hanh defines mindfulness as “the practice of being fully present and alive, body and mind united. Mindfulness is the energy that helps us to know what is going on in the present moment.”

Mindfulness helps us bring awareness to the present moment, without judgement through ‘just being’ in the moment. Research has found that practicing mindfulness can enhance psychological, emotional, and physical well-being as well as lead to better relationships.

Here is a brief YouTube clip of Jon Kabat-Zinn discussing what mindfulness is:

Benefits of Mindfulness

Key findings in the research are that mindfulness can:

• Improve cognition- especially in areas of attention, concentration, visuo-spatial processing, working memory and executive functioning
• Reduce anxiety, depression, anger
• Reduce stress levels and build resiliency to future stress
• Increase self-awareness and self-compassion
• Increase empathy
• Increase emotional regulation
• Improve body satisfaction
• Improve the quality of relationships
• Increase general well-being
• Improve sleep
• Strengthen the immune system
• Increase productivity in the work place
• Increase energy
• Improve quality of life

These findings are due to the influence of mindfulness on the brain.

Watch this Ted Talk by Neuroscientist Sara Lazar on how mindfulness can reshape the brain. Her studies have shown that meditation can actually change the size of key regions of our brain, improving our memory and making us more empathetic, compassionate, and resilient under stress.

Is Mindfulness Religious?

Mindfulness does have its roots in Buddhism, however, the mindfulness taught in this course and in Western medical and psychological settings is completely free of spiritual or religious dogma and focuses simply on becoming more aware of the present moment and how the mind works in order to reduce stress. Stress causes damage on many levels and undermines our emotional, mental and physical well-being. Mindfulness is an accessible, powerful and effective self-help tool to enhance well-being.

What about the Brain?

This course provides participants with an understanding of brain anatomy and how our brain influences our thoughts, emotions, actions and results. You will learn that your brain is not always your friend and that our biology often drives our behaviour and that this is not always helpful. This knowledge puts us in charge of our brains instead of the other way round.

What are the limitations and contraindications of this programme

• This programme does not take the place of any medical or psychological treatment you are receiving. If you are on medication for any health issues, please continue taking your medication as directed by your doctor.
• If you are currently suffering from a serious mental health problem, have active symptoms and are struggling to cope, then this programme may not be right for you at this time. Please discuss this with me first.