THERE ARE THREE MINDFULNESS PROGRAMMES AVAILABLE :
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (suitable for beginners and as a refresher)
Mindful Self- Compassion (suitable for those with mindfulness experience or none)
Interpersonal Mindfulness Programme (it is necessary to have completed a basic mindfulness course before this)
General outline of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy: The 8 week programme teaches a mindfulness based approach to dealing with some of life's challenges such as stress, anxiety, fear, depression and pain. When we experience discomfort - whether mental or physical - we normally add to it by wanting to push it away or to make it better. Frequently this compounds the struggle and simply adds another layer of suffering to it. By learning to respond to situations with greater kindness and compassionrather that automatically reacting with habitual behaviours, we can find a different way of seeing, relating to and managing difficulties.
The Mindfulness programme encourages us to live in the present, awake, and aware of what is happening right now, rather than dwelling in the past or anticipating the future. Many people are frantically trying to find stability in their busy, ever-changing lives and this (often unconscious) way of living causes an inner tension that frequently remains unattended.
Developing a kinder attitude towards ourselves helps us to move away from self criticism and judgement to having more compassion for ourselves - even when we are struggling or have made some mistake. Specific self compassion skills are introduced during the course.
Mindfulness can help us to see that we are all on a path that unfolds day be day, and that what happens now in this moment has an influence on the next. The only way we have of influencing the future is to own the present, so it makes sense to pay more attention to the present .
Topics covered:
Automatic pilot - how we spend much of our time in auto pilot not living consciously and thus missing out on a lot of experiences.
How to face, with greater ease, the challenges and difficult situations that arise in daily life.
Identifying and remedying habitual thoughts and behavioural patterns that keep us stuck in discomfort.
The important connection between thoughts, sensations in the body and emotions.
Learning to respond to situations rather than automatically reacting to them
Meditation and mindful movement and techniques to help us to stay in the present moment
Ways to work with negative moods, emotions and thoughts
Taking care of ourselves so that we can live more healthy and satisfying lives.
Allowing things to be as they are and learning to approach situations without judgement - be they pleasant or unpleasant.
Turning towards the difficulties with care and kindness rather than ignoring them or avoiding them.
Self compasion. Cultivating the skill of greater self kindness and compassion so that whatever arises in experience can be held with care rather than judgement.
Moving from the busyness of the doing mode to the stillness of the “doing” mode.
Commitment to the programme
It is necessary to give yourself the space to commit to the whole programme and to make sure that you will be able to attend each class. Home practice is very important and it is helpful to allocate time to this before you start. It is suggested that you put aside30 minutes a day for the “formal” home practice for the duration of the course. The other practices will be integrated into your daily activities. A course book and guided meditation CDs are provided to support your home practice. Any extra reading is optional.
Who can benefit?
Anyone with stress or stress related disorders, for example, physical tension, irritable bowel syndrome, tension headaches, PMT, difficulty in coping, irritability, palpitations, restlessness, sleeplessness, raised blood pressure, poor concentration and panic attacks.
Those with a strong habit of self criticism, self judgement and negativity towards self.
Those with interest in slowing down and living more consciously - spending less time in automatic pilot.
Anyone wishing to manage conditions such as anxiety, worry, anger, depression, guilt and fear with more ease.
People wanting to develop more understanding and compassion for themselves and others.
Those feeling stuck and wanting to move on.
People wanting to start or enhance a meditation / mindfulness practice.
Anyone wishing to embrace life more fully.
Outcomes / benefits
The majority of people that have completed an 8 week programme report a change in unhelpful negative habits such as self criticism, anxiety and negativity and rumination that fuels depressionand. Many report improvement in physical, emotional and psychological well-being. Most participants feel that it is the most significant course they have ever done, reporting it to be extremely practical and experiential.
On completion of the course you should notice changes such as:
An increased ability to switch off and relax and to experience calm in your life.
Greater energy, appreciation and enthusiasm for life
Heightened self- confidence and more acceptance for life as it is
An increased ability to cope more efficiently with both long term and short term stressful situations
An increased ability to be present in all situations
A greater ability to cope with fear, anxiety, worry and depression.
A better understanding of how thoughts contribute to so much of our negativity.
More clarity about the relationship between thoughts, sensations and emotions.
An understanding of the importance of cultivating self kindness and compassion to offset the habitual self-criticism/ judgements
A greater appreciation of how unique we all are.
TO APPLY FOR A PLACE ON THE NEXT COURSE PLEASE FILL IN THE APPLICATION FORM AND SEND IT WITH A DEPOSIT TO THE ADDRESS GIVEN.
Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) is an 8 week training porgramme designed to cultivate the skill of self-compassion. This allows participants to respond to difficult moments and challenges in life with kindness, care and compassion.
Self-compassion has three core components: Kindness, Common Humanity and Mindfulness.
Kindness versus self criticism. Learning to cultivate skills of kindness for ourselves helps to encourage a caring, understanding and supportive attitude which off-sets that rather harsh and judgemental commentary that is so often present. With greater kindness we can learn to comfort ourselves when in difficulty.
Common Humanity verus isolation . Appreciating that our own sturggles and imperfections are similar to those of many others on the planet, we start to see that suffering is a noral part of being human
Mindfulness versus over identification with challenges. Cultivating the skill of paying attention to our eperience allows us to see more clearly what is present- the hurt, the envy, the anxiety, stress or depression. we can then choose to turn towards what is present with compassion and kindness rather than avoiding or supressing what is uncomfortable.
The emphasis in the programme is on building emotional supports and resources rather than focusing on old wounds. Much of the healing can occur through developong the capacity to be with the difficulties in a loving, compassionate and caring way.
The Mindful Self-Compassion programme is provided in a safe, supportive environment so the learning is enjoyable and interesting as well as healing.
Rapidly expanding research demonstrates that self -compassion is strongly associated with emotional well-being, less anxiety, depression, stress and te maintenance of healthy habits such as good diet, exercise and satisfying personal relationships.
Having completed the programme you will be able to:
* Practice self-compassion in daily life at times that you might normally condemn yourself
*Motivate yourself with kindness rather than criticism
*Manage difficult emotions with greater ease
*Understand the empirically supported benefits of self-compassion
*Experience greater levels of self acceptance and care
*Appreciate the positive parts of your life with greater ease
*Interact with others in a less judgemental way, responding with greater compassion and kindness
*Be less reactive to difficult situations and to respond more skilfully to challenges