Mindfulness
Mindfulness is about paying more attention to the present moment – being aware of your own thoughts and feelings, and the world around you. So often we can either drift into automatic pilot or become overwhelmed with the incessant stream of thoughts flowing through our minds.
In the words of Jon Kabat-Zinn (founder of MBSR -mindfulness based stress
reduction) “Mindfulness provides a simple but powerful route for getting
unstuck, back in touch with our own wisdom and vitality. It is a way to take
charge of the direction and quality of our own lives, including our
relationships within the family, our relationship to work and to the
larger world and planet, and most fundamentally, our relationship with
ourself as a person.”
Mindfulness can improve our wellbeing, help us enjoy life more and understand ourselves better.
Developing Mindfulness is a life skill that has helped me in so many areas of my life and is something I am passionate about and eager to share. If you are unsure whether a course is right for you, please do get in touch for a chat. An introduction to Mindfulness can also be a wonderful add on to other therapies and treatments.
More About Mindfulness
Over time, mindfulness brings about long-term changes in mood and levels of happiness and wellbeing. Mindfulness can not only help prevent depression, but also positively affect the brain patterns underlying day-to-day anxiety, stress, and irritability, so that when they arise, they dissolve away again more easily.
"I have recently completed a course on Mindfulness which I did with Christy via Skype as I am in South Africa.
I have found it so easy to process and as I am not experienced in meditation it was so helpful, as with each week there are various options to suit the individual. Chatting to Christy after each completed week was an opportunity for her to assist with any difficulties experienced. She gives a wonderful guided meditation and will also refer you to other helpful techniques.
As I progressed through the weeks I found myself automatically being more mindful during my daily activities and it subsequently had a much more calming effect on me. I am a firm believer that we are what we think, and our thoughts direct the course of our lives. I had, prior to starting this course, been experiencing some anxiety in my personal life and I was in an emotional rollercoaster. The meditations helped to calm me down - I know it will take perseverance but even a few minutes of quiet contemplation is so helpful.
The notes accompanying each weekly program are simple and concise and make complete sense for integrating into our daily lives.
Since completing the course I have printed all the notes and find that at any time I can just refer to them for a refresher."
Lyn
Dispelling Some Myths About Mindfulness/Meditation
• Meditation is not a religion. Mindfulness is simply a method of mental training.
• You don’t have to sit cross-legged on the floor, but can sit on a chair or lie down to meditate. You can also practise bringing mindful awareness to whatever you are doing, on buses, trains or while walking to work. You can meditate more or less anywhere.
• Mindfulness practice does not take a lot of time, although some patience and persistence are required. Many people soon find that meditation liberates them from the pressures of time, so they have more of it to spend on other things.
• Meditation is not complicated. Nor is it about ‘success’ or ‘failure’. Even when meditation feels difficult, you’ll have learned something valuable about the workings of the mind and thus have benefited psychologically.
• It will not deaden your mind or prevent you from striving towards an important career - It is about seeing the world with greater clarity so that you can take wiser and more considered action to change those things which need to be changed. Meditation helps cultivate a deep and compassionate awareness that allows you to assess your goals and find the optimum path towards realising your deepest values.
