8 Week Living Mindfully (2.5hrs per session)

This 8 week programme has been designed to help you to cope with the pressures and challenges of modern living. The programme uses mindfulness and compassion to help you to understand how your mind works and to train the mind.

It will provide participants with fresh insights into how our minds have evolved, the impact on problems we experience and how to resolve them. Living mindfully requires strength, determination and courage within the context of kindness and connection with others.

Experiential programme that takes participants through a range of mindfulness practices. Through group discussions and teacher input developing a greater understanding of how we can work towards Mindful Living.

Learning Intentions

The aim of the course is to provide participants with the awareness, understanding and skills needed to integrate mindfulness practices (formal and informal) into their lives.

By the end of the course participants will be able to:

· Explain what is meant by mindfulness and describe the benefits of mindfulness by drawing on their direct experience

· Outline the Stress Reaction Cycle and explain how mindfulness impacts upon it

· List stress indicators and helpful and unhelpful responses

· Develop the ability to respond rather than react in stressful situations

· Identify and describe the experience of paying attention to pleasant events, unpleasant events and stressful communication

· Demonstrate Mindful Communication

· Demonstrate Body Posture, Mindful Breathing, Body Scan, Mindful Movement, 3 Step Breathing Space (also with difficulty and the action step) and describe the experience

· Be able to identify a range of informal mindfulness practices and outline strategies for integrating them into their day to day lives

· Develop a strategy for self-care to sustain mindful living.