Learning to be Mindful
As winter closes in and we lose the relaxed feeling of warmer months, many of us feel a momentum of speed beginning to build. But can we train ourselves to appreciate our life instead of rushing through it? ‘Mindfulness’ training has been gaining wide approval from the medical community for reducing stress and anxiety and learning how to be present.
Mindfulness describes a way of paying attention. It’s about being aware of whatever is happening in the present moment, and noticing rather than judging or reacting to that experience. Mindfulness programmes teach simple techniques like meditation and gentle movement to help us become more focused, relaxed and aware. Participants learn to bring mindfulness into daily life, whether walking to work, eating lunch or taking a shower.
The Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course was first developed by Dr.Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in the USA.,and has been used over thirty years to help with anxiety, chronic health problems, and general well-being. More recently in the UK, the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) course was developed specifically for people with a history of depression. MBCT is recommended by NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) for those who have had several episodes of clinical depression in order to reduce significantly the likelihood of future relapse. The two approaches are very closely related and share all the same core techniques and practices.
Slow Down London director Tessa Watt has practiced daily meditation for many years, but still found the Mindfulness approach brought something fresh and powerful. ‘There’s a big emphasis on getting into the body –learning to notice and feel how the body reacts to difficult situations, and to relax with those sensations instead of responding in knee-jerk ways. There’s also a wonderfully practical approach to bringing mindfulness into daily life by training ourselves to be more aware of the little things that bring us joy, and cultivating those moments of openness.’
Tessa has trained as a Mindfulness-based teacher and is co-teaching a course starting January in Clapham, South London – visit www.beingmindful.co.uk For more information about Mindfulness based programmes, and for other courses offered around the UK, visit www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness/.
dates: Tuesdays 5 January to 23 February 2010time: 19:30 to 21:45
cost: £250 (concessions available)
location: London Shambhala Meditation Centre
27 Belmont Close
London
SW4 6AY
tel: 07890361531
Image by aussiegal (Flickr)
January 16th, 2010 at 5:04 am
Yoga is a way of life, a conscious act, not a set or series of learning principles. The dexterity, grace, and poise you cultivate, as a matter of course, is the natural outcome of regular practice. You require no major effort. In fact trying hard will turn your practices into a humdrum, painful, even injurious routine and will eventually slow down your progress. Subsequently, and interestingly, the therapeutic effect of Yoga is the direct result of involving the mind totally in inspiring (breathing) the body to awaken. Yoga is probably the only form of physical activity that massages each and every one of the body’s glands and organs. This includes the prostate, a gland that seldom, if ever, gets externally stimulated in one’s whole life.
Meditation Techniques Yoga
January 16th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Yes I agree that ‘trying hard’ is not a helpful approach. The mindfulness approach is not about trying hard, but the opposite — about being present with what is already there, without judgement. In this context ‘learning’ is really about tuning in to what the body already knows — to the wisdom that is naturally there.