'The Mindfulness for Life course has been life-changing for me. It has taught me to view problems differently, how to live from moment to moment, to recognise that thoughts are just thoughts. It has taught me to step back within a stressful situation rather than being ‘caught up’ in the problem. Practising regularly helps me to feel grounded and eases my anxiety. My ability to cope with stressful situations has greatly improved and mindfulness practice has been so beneficial during ‘lockdown’ as it has taught me to learn to live from moment to moment and not to look too far ahead.
For me, mindfulness has become part of my daily routine, a space I look forward to, in which I can just let go. Thank you mindfulness and thank you Claire and Emma – you have truly opened up a new world for me.' SG, June 2020 (a lovely testimonial from a recent course participant)
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Our brains have evolved with a natural negativity bias which helps us survive but it can be a drain on our mental wellbeing. As a wise response to this negativity bias, we can choose to regularly incline our minds towards the good stuff, something we practised in our guided mindfulness session last week. A group member found that when they did so, many good memories and things to appreciate came flooding in, shifting the sticky thoughts about work that had previously felt all-consuming.
In this spirit, having been caught up in difficult thoughts and feelings this weekend, I turned my mind to appreciating the good – our health, precious connections with others, beautiful nature, growing and creating things, riding bikes on quiet roads… Keep gently practising. And even if you don't feel a great deal when you practice, each time we incline the mind this way, it helps. "I attended Claire and Emma’s 8-week 'Mindfulness for Life' course last year. I’d tried mindfulness with various apps and youtube videos in the past without much success - never sure whether I was ‘doing it right’ or really experiencing the benefit, managing to stick to it for a few days or weeks at a time before losing the motivation. After trying out a taster session I realised what had been missing for me - actually being taught face to face and having the chance to ask questions - and so I signed up to Claire and Emma’s course.
It has honestly been one of the best things I’ve ever done! Claire and Emma’s approach builds up your understanding of what mindfulness is, gradually over time, with classes comprising a mix of teaching, discussion and practice, followed by activities to try out at home and discuss the following week. They are excellent teachers and week by week build on explaining the theory. And the practices are wonderful! My daily practice has gone from something ‘on the to do list’, to something I absolutely enjoy and look forward to. I feel so much calmer as a result. I’m more patient and can honestly say my relationship with both of my teenage kids has improved vastly as a direct result of this course. If you’ve ever considered mindfulness, I would thoroughly recommend attending this course. Emma and Claire are wonderful teachers. They are highly professional, very approachable and lovely people and I can recommend this course wholeheartedly." EN, June 2020 (a lovely testimonial from a recent course participant) The last few months have turned known routines upside down. Living in lockdown has brought uncertainty and difficulty for many people. There may also be things you have appreciated about this time – things that you would like to continue.
As mindfulness teachers during this time we have experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, a joy in slowing down, boredom and stress, and the huge amounts of patience and kindness sometimes needed to make it through the day. Keeping our own mindfulness practice going has felt incredibly important and helped us along a bumpy road. If you are interested in being part of a small group, learning more about mindfulness and how it can support your wellbeing as we move into an easing of lockdown, we will be running our 4-week ‘Introduction to Mindfulness’ online in July and August. Inspired by what we’ve been finding most helpful, we will also be offering a series of sessions for those with previous meditation experience. Please get in touch via Facebook Messenger or [email protected] to hear more about our offerings for beginners and experienced meditators. We would love to hear from you. Claire and Emma
A fellow teacher shared this piece of writing at a recent guided session - I wonder does it make an impact on you like it did me?
Enoughness - Sheila Bayliss I’ve always felt a little bit of resistance to the word ‘happiness’. It can feel like a concept that is defined by someone else’s idea of what I should achieve, and then sold to me via magazines and social media… True happiness, for me, comes from a feeling of ‘enoughness’. Admittedly, this isn’t actually a proper word, but I feel like it conveys a quality of appreciation which isn’t quite there when I hear the word ‘enough’. This quality, a kind of quiet and steady wellbeing, is actually not all that elusive if I stay open to it. I’ve been reflecting on how it shows up in everyday life, and this is what I noticed… Enoughness means I don’t always have to get what I want to be happy. Enoughness means I can let go of trying to prove myself or get somewhere, and actually just be content right now. Enoughness means that nothing I do has to be perfect. Enoughness means I don’t have to fill my diary to feel fulfilled. Enoughness means I can appreciate what I already do have that I’m grateful for, instead of chasing something more, or something else. Enoughness means I can open to the wonder of just being alive (as trite as that may sound), every day, without waiting for something ‘big’ or impressive to happen… Enoughness means that even when life feels uncomfortable, I know I’ll cope because I’m ok at a very basic level: my needs for oxygen, nutrients, physical support and shelter are rarely not met. As Rick Hanson puts it, I’m ‘alright, right now’. A feeling of enoughness can also be the most reliable clue that I’m engaged in mindful living. So when I feel like I’m losing my way, if I look for a sense of enoughness, however ‘small’, it can make a big impact. 'People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite'
~Nelson Mandela Practising mindfulness - clear compassionate seeing - helps us...
Photo: love in the mist |
AuthorI'm Claire - and I (re)learn something every day from practising and teaching mindfulness... Archives
March 2022
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