The 8-week Mindfulness for Life course is a well-established and scientifically-proven way of training your ‘meditation muscles’ by offering a programme which helps you understand and develop the wellbeing benefits of mindfulness and bring them into your everyday life. It provides a structured process with a group of people supported by regular practice. Just like training your physical muscles, your meditation muscles need to be trained at home too to get the most from the course.
Session 1 - Waking up from automatic pilot – stepping out of ‘doing’ mode into ‘being’ mode
Session 2 - Another way of being: keeping the body in mind – paying attention in each moment without judgement
Session 3 - Gathering the scattered mind – reconnecting with mindful presence through the breath and body
Session 4 - Recognising reactivity – staying present and becoming aware of how we might respond mindfully
Session 5 - Allowing and letting be – working towards developing acceptance and kindness towards our experiences
Session 6 - Responding skilfully: thoughts are not facts – ways to see thoughts differently
Session 7 - How can I best take care of myself? Using skilful action to take care of ourselves, even when our mood lowers
Session 8 - Mindfulness for life – planning for a new way of living!
The programme also includes a day of practice on a Saturday, usually around sessions 6 and 7.
Prior to joining, your mindfulness practitioner Nicola Smith will arrange a 1-2-1, so that she can establish your individual aims and requirements of the course and assess your suitability for taking part.
“More energy and enthusiasm. A greater capacity for relaxation and calmness. Enhanced self-confidence. Increased ability to handle stressful situations. More focus. More self-awareness. Greater sensitivity to others.”
Dates and times
Each session will take place on a Tuesday evening starting at 7.15pm and finishing at 9pm, commencing 28 September and ending on 30 November (excluding 26 October and 16 November). It is important that you commit to attending all eight sessions.
Cost
£275 for eight weeks (includes initial 1-2-1), payable in advance. £225 Early Bird rate if booked by 21 September. The fee includes:
all handouts and resources, and a link to the guided practices for home practice or, if preferred, a USB memory stick or CD of guided practices for use during and after the course
a pre-course individual meeting (30 mins) with each potential participant to discuss the course, any questions you may have and any other relevant information. The course is a commitment, so it's important to consider whether it’s right for you, and whether you would have time to practice the mindfulness skills in between sessions, as this is an important part of the course
an optional post-group individual meeting (included in the price)
How to book
Simply complete the form below and we will call you back to arrange your initial consultation and answer any questions you may have. Once you’re happy to proceed, we’ll send you bank details for the full payment to be made. Until then, you are under no obligation whatsoever.
“This was truly one of the most life changing and important decisions I have made in my life to date. Not only were the sessions enjoyable and filled with supportive peers, the tools and techniques shared by Nicola have served to protect my mental health immeasurably. ”
How the ‘Mindfulness for Life’ programme can work for you
Mindfulness for Life is designed to help if you want to enhance your general physical and mental wellbeing. There are many reasons why people come to our MBCT group courses. Some want to manage their stress and anxiety better. Others wish to manage their low moods and bouts of depression or feelings of ‘dissatisfaction’ with life. Other people take part to improve their concentration and ability to stay in the present.
This course is suitable for people who are new to mindfulness, anyone who has tried mindfulness before, either a course or an app, or perhaps read a book and wants the structure of a course led by an experienced teacher.
Whatever your reason, with our mindfulness courses or 1-2-1 sessions, you will learn to increase your awareness so that you can see things as they are, not how you would like them to be. Instead of reflecting on the past or worrying about the future, we’ll teach you how to stay focused on what’s happening right now.
The science behind mindfulness for life and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is based on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 8-week programme, developed by Jon Kabat Zinn. MBCT was adapted by Mark Williams, Zindel Segal and John Teasdale to incorporate our knowledge of a widely-respected treatment, namely Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
MBCT employs the same structure as MBSR but has been refined to include elements of CBT. This makes it clinically effective not only for personal development and stress management, but also for the treatment of ongoing factors that lead to mental health problems, such as worry.
Our Mindfulness for Life courses (MBCT-L) are a relatively new adaptation of MBCT based on research carried out at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre (OMC). The intention is to teach mindfulness in everyday life to the general population, helping people manage their difficulties but also to enable them to fulfil their potential and flourish. Our current courses are based on this more recent adaptation of MBCT.