Finding Peace in a Frantic World – a book by Mark Williams and Danny Penman, which is a newly developed 8-week course.

“Finding Peace in a Frantic World” is one of the most popular books on mindfulness today.  The mindfulness programme outlined in this book can now be taught as an 8-session course of 75 minute long sessions.  The aim is to teach how to use mindfulness practices to create moments of tranquillity in the midst of the complexities of life.

Today, I attended a workshop by Chris Cullen at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre for mindfulness teachers wanting to deliver this programme.  I look forward to teaching this course which is ideal for teachers and other professionals working in frantic contexts, such as educational settings and wanting to learn about mindfulness.

Srivati – Breathing Space in Schools Teacher Trainer

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of supporting on the team for a two-day Teacher Training course at Breathing Space.  It was designed for primary and secondary school teachers and staff who have completed a mindfulness course and want to teach mindfulness to pupils in their schools.  Srivati, the course facilitator, introduced the skills required to teach the 8-session Breathing Space in Schools mindfulness programme in a way that was practical, informative and enjoyable to the participants.  Overall, the course was highly-recommended.

A colleague at work sent me this link to an article in the Guardian on mindfulness, which gives a good account of the benefits, including a quote from a mindfulness teaching saying “People often say they notice how much of life passes them by. Suddenly they are noticing things in nature..  They are more present in what they do and they get a sense of appreciating more fully the life they are living.” Yes, how beautiful, I thought.

On 4th December 2013, another workshop, Introduction to Mindfulness for Educational Psychologists, was delivered.  This time, in Lewisham to a group of about 20 participants. Feedback was greatly positive and there was a keen interest in doing further training, such as the 8-week MBSR course.  For further information on training workshops, contact Holistic Education #mindfulness

This is an update on the training that I have been doing in different boroughs to introduce staff to mindfulness.  So far, and unsurprisingly as this is an emerging field, the majority have little or no prior experience of mindfulness or other contemplative practices.  Last Tuesday, I ran a 2 hour introductory workshop to a team in Southwark, London.  The participants were engaged well in the practices.  Even though they were unfamiliar to them, they gave it a go and were open and willing to share their experiences in the enquiry part of the activities.  Overall, the feedback was positive and included comments such as “techniques that can be used were well explained” and the “benefits I felt from just ten minutes of this were immense”.   I was especially delighted to read that the “tutor was very engaging”.   It was a pleasure doing the workshop and I look forward to running the next one, a day’s workshop in Lewisham, London in December.   Warm wishes, Bernadette