NEW MINDFULNESS COURSES

   MINDFULNESS TASTER SESSIONS:-

   FRIDAY           19th June                                            6 - 7.30 pm

   FRIDAY           26th June                                            6 - 7.30 pm

    (£10 per session) 

  EIGHT WEEK MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION:-

  FRIDAY            10th July                                             6 - 8.30 pm

  THURSDAY     24th September                                   6 - 8.30 pm

 (£200 per course - some concessions available to those on low income)

PLEASE CONTACT THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING CENTRE TO BOOK

COURSES - 01297 32331.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness has ancient roots in the Buddhist tradition, but this approach, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in the late 1970s, is entirely secular.

Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and surrounding environment, without judging them.

In mindfulness meditation we pay attention to very ordinary experiences - the sensations of breathing, for example - that we don't usually notice.

Research studies have shown that regular meditation produces a wide range of positive effects on a person's mind, body and behaviour. Mindfulness is now taught widely in many areas, including schools, hospitals, mental heath services, prisons and corporate settings.

How does mindfulness help?

• There is a lot of evidence of benefit for people with stress, anxiety and depression, and reducing the impact of chronic pain.
• It can train the mind to serve us more effectively, sharpening concentration and focus.
• It strengthens the immune system and lowers blood pressure.

Meditation calms the areas of the brain that produce stress hormones and activates those that lift mood and help with learning.  People who practise mindfulness often feel more serene about life in general.