Mindfulness Based Living Course - Free Introductory Session

From 22nd March we will be welcoming a new cohort onto our Mindfulness Based Living Course. The course will run over 8 weeks and offers a wide variety of tools and exploration into how mindful practices could benefit your health and wellbeing. Spaces are still available!

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a life skill which can deepen our sense of well-being and fulfilment. It involves paying attention to what is occurring in our present moment experience, with an attitude of openness and non-judgmental acceptance.

Scientific research over the last few decades has shown numerous benefits of mindfulness including:

• Reduction in stress, anxiety & depression

• Greater sense of well-being

• Increased ability to relax

• Increased self-awareness and confidence

• Increase ability to cope with difficult situations

• More resilient to life’s challenges

• Enhanced communication skills

• Improved concentration & sleep

• Chronic pain management

• Improved immunity, blood pressure & heart rate

What is the Mindfulness Based Living Course (MBLC)?

The MBLC is an eight-week course aimed at helping you to develop an in-depth personal experience of mindfulness and to build the foundations of a sustained personal practice, with a view to applying this in everyday life. The course was developed by the Mindfulness Association in conjunction with the University of Aberdeen and is affiliated to the British Association of Mindfulness-Based Approaches BAMBA. The teaching in this course adheres to the Mindfulness UK Good Practice Guidelines. The course starts with an introductory session, followed by 8 weekly 2hr sessions and an optional retreat day and includes explanation, guided practice, group reflection and inquiry. The sessions are interactive with a strong emphasis on experiential learning.

We will be offering a free introductory session on 8th March. Everyone is welcome - Whether you have signed up already, or whether you would like to use the session to explore whether you feel this course would be beneficial to you.

In this free introductory session in which we will explore:

What is Mindfulness and Why Practice it?

This session will introduce you to the Mindfulness Based Living Course. We will explore the structure and content of the course and begin to look at what mindfulness is and the benefits of practice. We will cover definitions of mindfulness, the technique and attitude to adopt during practice, a short history of Mindfulness Based Approaches and what is meant by terms such as ‘autopilot’, ‘beginner’s mind’ and being vs. doing. We also will do an introductory practice so you can experience the benefits of mindfulness directly.

The full course will begin March 22nd. Please book via our website or enquire on 07949248892

The MBLC is an eight-week course aimed at helping you to develop an in-depth personal experience of mindfulness and to build the foundations of a sustained personal practice, with a view to applying this in everyday life.

During the full 8 week course we will cover a variety of techniques and practices through explanation, guided practice, group reflection and inquiry. The sessions are interactive with a strong emphasis on experiential learning.

Week 1 March 22nd – Start Where We Are

This session is the first week of the course and we will be looking at our personal motivation and intention for why we want to start a mindfulness journey. We will explore our current situation, our unsettled mind and how we can begin to settle it. We will look at meditation posture and how to work with the breath as the basis for our practice.

Week 2 March 29th – The Body as a Place to be Present

In this session we start discovering the body and the importance of staying grounded. We look at how the body can hold emotions and begin to explore key concepts such as preference, habit and impermanence. We will begin looking at how to practice mindfulness in our daily lives and discuss different mindful activities that we can engage in. We also begin to examine the self-critic and how we can start to cultivate an attitude of kindness.

Week 3 April 5th– Introducing Mindfulness Support

In this session we draw on the previous two sessions to build our main mindfulness practice, ‘Settling, Grounding, Resting with Support (SGRS). This week we explore how we can use sound as our mindfulness support and how this leads to a more open and spacious awareness. We also learn the ‘Three Minute Breathing Space’ technique, designed to bring us back to the present moment whenever we get caught in our habitual thinking.

Week 4 April 12th – Working with Distraction

In this session we start to explore the reasons why we are distracted and how our mindfulness practice can help us to stay present with rumination, worry and anxiety. This week we use breath as our mindfulness support and we also explore mindful movement.

Week 5 April 19th – Exploring the Undercurrent

In this session we begin to explore the observer / undercurrent model as presented by Rob Nairn. This allows us to see how our attempts for self-improvement or change often fail. We also continue looking at cultivating kindness and how we can begin to make friends with ourselves through the transformative practice of Loving Kindness Meditation.

Week 6 April 26th– Attitude

Having looked at the undercurrent model last week, this session begins to delve deeper by exploring our attitude towards our undercurrent and how we can learn to observe without preference. We also expand our practice of Loving Kindness Meditation to include ourselves and others.

Week 7 May 3rd – Self-Acceptance

In this session be start to explore self-compassion using Paul Gilbert’s 3 emotional system and how compassion practices activate the soothing system. We look at how we can practice self-compassion in everyday life using Kristen Neff’s Self-C0mpasion Break and how to work with difficult emotions when they arise using the R.A.I.N. practice.

Week 8 May 10th – A Mindful Based Life

In this final session, we reflect on our journey so far and how we may continue to develop our mindfulness practice going forward. We revisit the Settling, Grounding and Resting with Support practice and look at how this supports us to open our awareness further, shifting from doing into being, maintaining connection to the present moment and learning how to let go with full awareness.

Retreat Day May 1st

This optional retreat day is an opportunity to experience practicing mindfulness for a whole day and go a little deeper into the practices that we have learned during the Mindfulness Based Living Course. The day will be held in functional silence allowing us to rest deeply into ourselves. We will share a simple vegetarian contemplative lunch and there will be opportunities to share our experience in inquiry and dialogue sessions.