Podcasts to support your mindfulness practice.

6/10/2020

Do you find it hard to maintain your meditation practice even though you know it is good for you? Many MBSR grads tell me that they have this experience with a meditation. They say, "I loved MBSR, I kept going for a while and then my practice dropped off'. I'd say that this response is almost a norm and it is not surprising. A course offers great support but once it is over, sitting on a regular basis without a community or input can be hard to maintain. Some things can help.

Last September I wrote about some of the podcasts that I use to evoke the sense of support I get in a class. These podcasts can provide inspiration and focus. They included Tara Brach, Buddhist Geeks, and Dharma Punx. Today, I update this list.

Counselling or a Mindfulness Course?

28/9/2020

It has been a full on year. I work as a counsellor in Sydney and every day I am turning clients away because my books are full. Many of my colleagues say the same. If you are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress or simply struggling to adjust to changes in life, you might be looking for something to make a difference. One option might be to book an 8-week mindfulness-based-stress reduction course.

The first randomised study to compare the options of individual cognitive behavioural therapy or

an eight-week mindfulness group for people with moderate symptoms of depression and anxiety found that there were no statistical differences between the two treatments. It was results like this that led me to train as a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teacher.

Individual therapy is expensive and it can be hard to get appointments at present. MBSR provides a comparatively inexpensive alternative and in these COVID times where social contact has been more sparse than usual a group may be just the thing.

While individual therapy can be more useful for some than groups, it can also work the other way round. Sometimes the combination can be helpful.

7 good things about an MBSR course

Learning mindfulness meditation is an introduction to a useful lifelong skill
Once mastered you can continue practicing mindfulness by yourself.

Greater mindfulness is associated with less physical illness, improved well-being, improved self-control, less negative emotions, better capacity to tolerate difficult feelings and improve concentration, focus attention and working memory.
Engaging in an MBSR course often leads to decreases in symptoms of anxiety, depression and psychological distress.
MBSR groups are enjoyable. Most participants say they love the support of the group and benefit from hearing stories from other group members.
MBSR is non-pathologising. In the course, we explore the workings of the human mind and how this can feed stress etc. You'll find you have more in common than not with other group members regardless of what has brought you to the course.
It is a course about self-care and building resilience. We can all do with more of that.

Book our October course
Our next HeadRest MBSR course begins on Zoom Tuesday, October 27, 2020 You can book through the www.headrest.com.au or ring me to discuss whether a group is a preferred option for you 0431 842950. It's our 4th Zoom course and we've worked out how to make it engaging! Very different from work.

Mindfulness in COVID times: The what's and how's.

9/9/2020

Lindy has been working in her bedroom since COVID began. She lives in a share house, and her bedroom is the one private place that she can review her case files. It is difficult to separate work from home, and there are no colleagues to have an easy laugh with, to bounce ideas around with, or to consult with-just on the spur of the moment. She was finding it hard to transition from a work headspace to a home headspace at the end of the day.

Lindy now takes a 10-minute mindful walk at the end of each work-day. She pays close attention as the light changes, inhales the fresh air, feels the temperature of the air on her skin, and notices each time her feet hit the pavement

Mindfulness in the time of the COVID 19 emergency.

11/4/2020

This morning I did the shopping for my elderly mother. I took it to her back door. We did not touch or come close to each other. She sat at the back door, and I sat outside on the deck, keeping a reasonable distance from her and wanting to hug her. I reflected that COVID19 is redefining the nature of care: suddenly, it seems the best way we can care for others beyond our immediate households is to keep our distance. Social distancing is redefining what it means to be connected

Use the Buddha Patch for instant mindfulness

7/2/2020

I highly recommend the Buddha patch. It is fast, quick and effective! It costs next t o nothing and takes no effort. If you don't believe it, well, you might be better off booking into an MBSR course.

Mindfulness courses like anything else that is marketed are often sold on their positives. They promote a self-improvement slant. You'll be more productive, more appealing, calmer, a better person! You can read a few of my blog posts to get rap on some of the substantiated benefits of mindfulness Post1, Post 2 and these benefits can be real and have an strong evidence base.

But the state of the world right now is difficult and perhaps the capacity of mindfulness training as a way of "being with the difficult" is more important than it's shinier surfaces.

Mindfulness: What it is is, what it isn't and how it is good for your brain and body.

1/2/2020

A lot of people say to me, "I have tried mindfulness and I can't do it". I teach the acclaimed 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course and have never met someone who can't learn to be more mindful. There are many ways that your practice of mindfulness can go astray when you are learning. I've found that it helps to clarify what mindfulness is, how it is is good for you and what it isn't. Read on for some answers to these questions.

Some things are very difficult and mindfulness can help.

21/1/2020

Nothing terrible has happened to me, and it has been a difficult month. What does difficult mean? Well, life throws forward many challenges. All of us will face loss, all of us will have our hearts broken, we will all suffer ill health, and many of us will experience unwanted pain in our lives.

It is inevitable that life will throw both personal and external changes and difficulties in our path and that we will need to navigate these challenges because they are unavoidable. How skillfully we navigate these moment or events often flavours of our lives. Approaching difficult experiences, mindfully can help.

In the last month, I have faced 2 challenges, one personal and one shared with many of you.

Namaste from Nepal

5/1/2020

As you read this newsletter, I am trekking in Nepal. I walked in the Himalaya in my 20's and 30's and am visiting the mountains once more in my 50's before time takes me to an age and body where this is no longer possible.

One of the things I love in Nepal is the greeting “Namaste”. When I first heard the word, I loved the sound itself thinking it meant hello, how are you. Later, I learned that the meaning is, “From the divine in me, I acknowledge and bow to the divine in you”. I have never been very comfortable with

Reflections from an MBSR Course: Week 7.

11/12/2019

We have just had week 7 of our current MBSR course and there is one week to go. Something magical happens by Week 7 where a disparate group of people who were strangers just a short time ago develop a shared intimacy in the class. It is not as if we know each other well...we don't, but we have gone through a process of self-exploration together and thus appreciate the effort it takes to participate wholeheartedly in a course like MBSR.

Learning mindfulness meditation; a marathon, a jog or a stroll

11/10/2019

The varying styles of mindfulness

I’ve been practising mindfulness meditation for about 30 years. In that time, I’ve come across so many different, flavours, styles and nuances.

Read on to discover 3 different approaches; the mindfulness marathon, the mindfulness jog and the mindfulness stroll.