Mindfulness

We all have the capacity to be mindful and mindfulness courses help us develop these skills through practice.

Mindfulness is defined as

paying attention on purpose, moment by moment, without judgement – (Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn)

Research has shown that through regular mindfulness practice we can improve our wellbeing and deepen our appreciation of our lives. Mindfulness can also help us notice negative and unhelpful thoughts or patterns and to deal with difficulties when they arise in our lives.

Mindfulness training helps us see things as they really are, to notice our automatic reactions whilst being kind to ourselves. It also enables us to make wise and skilful choices.

Although some of the practices are drawn from Buddhism, mindfulness courses are secular and applicable to everyone.

Background

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

The stress reduction clinic was founded in 1979 by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School for patients with chronic health conditions. Since then, many thousands of people have completed the MBSR course. It has been extended to include staff and medical students and other programmes have been developed for use in schools, prisons and for specific problems such as cancer.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)

Subsequently Professor Mark Williams,  Dr. John Teasdale and Professor Zindel Segal further developed the programme specifically for the treatment of depression. MBCT is now recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) as a treatment for people who have experienced three of more episodes of depression and research shows that it is just as effective as anti-depressants for this population group.

The Being Mindful courses teach essential mindfulness skills for everyday life and include some home practice. Courses are taught over four or eight weekly sessions. Workplace courses are delivered over four weeks and are designed to improve workplace wellbeing and promote inclusion.  The eight week courses are accessible to everyone and are delivered in person or online.

The Staying Mindful programme enables those who have completed a Being Mindful course to maintain and further develop their practice over a further four weeks.

Research

There is a growing body of research that demonstrates that mindfulness is highly effective for a wide range of physical and psychological issues as well as building resilience and improving wellbeing.

Links

Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness
Oxford Mindfulness Centre
http://www.oxfordmindfulness.org
Centre for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health and Society
http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm