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

11/10/2019

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The varying styles of mindfulness
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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.


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What psychology says about mindfulness?

11/10/2019

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Edition on Mindfulness
The August issue of Current Opinion in Psychology is dedicated to mindfulness and is a resource worth having. The downloads are free till 30th October.  There is a zip file of the entire issue at the top of the page so you can avoid downloading each file separately 



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Mindful people tend to be more satisfied.

23/9/2019

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Fun Fact
There is an ongoing experiment where people are phoned at random times and asked 3 questions. What are you doing? How immersed are you in what you are doing? How satisfied are you? Consistent results show that those people who are fully engaged in present moment experience in an accepting way (mindful), are generally more satisfied than those who are distracted, regardless of what they are doing. 
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This means that someone who is mindfully washing the dishes is more likely to say they are happy than someone on a cruise in the Caribbean who is distracted. Or someone dealing with a difficult situation may be more satisfied than someone having a day off work but thinking about the past or the future. 

Mindfulness practice not only offers the possibility of greater satisfaction but  a way to engage with the present moment, without becoming overwhelmed - think the current fires, difficult relationships and just the daily stress that life throws at you. 


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Great mindfulness podcasts

16/9/2019

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I've just had what feels like a mindfulness sabbatical. After 6 years of teaching MBSR I've had  2 terms off.  While taking a break, I've been immersing myself in the wonderful world of mindfulness podcasts.

I have listened to some wonderful talks and have been refining my thoughts on teaching MBSR in Sydney, Australia in 2019.  Most of the presenters talk about the overlap between contemplative buddhist informed ideas, western psychology and neuroscience.

​Many of these podcasts have been thought provoking and I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you.


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Even mindfulness teachers get stressed out and need to slow down.

27/8/2019

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You may have noticed that there has not been a HeadRest newsletter for almost 6 months. My mum had a small stroke just a couple of weeks before the April course was scheduled to start. Another meditation teacher offered to take my enrolments, and I gratefully stepped back, creating space to spend more time with my mother. After 5 years of non-stop teaching, I took 2 terms off  MBSR. No facilitating courses, no blogging, no newsletters. After 3 months, my mum was doing well, but I  was struggling not wanting to return to teaching.


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Mindfulness can liberate you from your smart phone …and so much more.

8/4/2019

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"Even before smartphones and the Internet, we had many ways to distract our selves. Now that's compounded by a factor of trillions."  Jon Kabbat-Zinn

Thich Nhat Thahn says,
"We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive".

I’m always struck by how our devices have somehow crept in and often taken the place that should be held by an intimate other in our lives. Our phones live right next to our beds at night,get checked in with many, many times a day, and we miss them, sometimes desperately when they are not there.


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2 takeaways from "The Mindfulness Experiment" on ABC Catalyst.

22/2/2019

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Written by Michelle Carpenter
ABC Catalyst filmed an MBSR class in Sydney in late 2018 and this screened in early Feb.   I was impressed to see how many personal stories and how much of the research they were able to cpature and present in just 1 hour. The courage and determination of the participants was humbling, and I found myself cheering them on throughout the program.

 It's still on Iview and worth watching if you've done an MBSR course before or if you are contemplating one. I won’t give away too many spoilers but will share  2 things that stood out for me.


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Mindfulness for teachers: How and why this course came to be.

18/2/2019

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I teach Mindfulness based Stress Reduction an intense 8-week mindfulness course for stress reduction. I'm often asked, "how did you end up writing a much shorter introductory teachers course and why do teachers need a course- when they can use apps for themselves and their student?" Here's what happened?

In 2014, I found myself teaching the gold standard Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course in the library of Wilkins Public School, my son's new school.


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Mindfulness for Teachers : What motivates Michelle Carpenter to teach this course?

18/2/2019

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Michelle Carpenter has been a school teacher & a leader for over 25 years. She is now teaching the HeadRest Mindfulness for Teachers course. She's written a few words on what draws her to mindfulness in her personal and working life.

I was drawn to meditation many years ago through an interest in Tibetan Buddhism, long before mindfulness hit the mainstream. I loved the teachings about how we could train our mind to become kinder, wiser and more emotionally balanced. Over the years I have continued to study, meditate and try to apply what I have learned from numerous wonderful teachers; sometimes successfully and sometimes not. If nothing else I am more accepting of my own humanity.


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Watch "The Mindfulness Experiment"  on ABC Catalyst & book into the Feb 27 MBSR course.

16/2/2019

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I'm getting very excited about the screening  of "The Mindfulness Experiment" on ABC Catalyst this coming Tuesday 19th Feb, 8.30pm.  

I'll be sitting nervously with those who attended the class watching to see what Catalyst has to report. I'm hoping that the richness of this 25-30 hour course is captured in just 1 hour.

I'm wondering what the participants will say and whether the scientific results the Catalyst team gather, will match up with my anecdotal experience and past research into the course.


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    Author

    Tienne Simons is a therapist and the founder of HeadRest Mindfulness training. She did her training in MBSR when she became convinced that the program was not only a useful add on to therapy for many but sometimes a more appropriate way to support people than counselling. She has had a mindfulness practice for about 30 years- well nearly!

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