Quote me on mindfulness!

10/10/2018

“The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.”

Quotes! A good quote can capture a key idea in just a few words. It can stay with you and nurture you. Read on for a compilation of quotes by Jon Kabat-Zinn the founder of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction that I've put together to reflect on how mindfulness adds to daily life.

The importance of paying attention to small moments
Mindfulness is a way of learning to pay attention. When we pay attention and we are not on automatic pilot we get to notice the texture of life- whatever that may be. JKZ says, “The little things? The little moments? They aren't little.” The more mindful we are the more we catch the small moments that make up life.

Stress, depression or anxiety? An 8-week MBSR course can be as effective as counselling.

22/9/2018

If you are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety or 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 consider seeing a counsellor, another might be to go to 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.

I work as a counsellor in practice in Marrickville and have been teaching mindfulness-based stress reduction for ...

How mindfulness meditation helps me feel less busy and less stressed?

31/8/2018

"Stress is inevitable in life in life and how we approach it will flavour our experience."
Jill Bolte- Taylor

In the MBSR course, I teach we begin by using a 16th-century definition of the word stress.

"The sore pressure or strain of adversity, trouble, hunger, sickness, pain, or sorrow; anguish or affliction affecting the body, spirit, or community."

I like this definition for many reasons. It honours this phenomenon of stress, elevating it to distress. We often fob off the experience of

What's the best way to breathe in mindfulness meditation?

31/8/2018

I've just spent 4 days on a mindfulness retreat, recharging my internal batteries. A new participant asked the teacher a great question. She said, "sometimes you tell us we should slow down our breath to bring about a state of relaxation and at other times you tell us just to notice it and not change it. So which is right, changing the breath or letting it be?"

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

21/7/2018

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.

How much meditation gives the best outcome Part 2 in the science series

29/6/2018

How much time should I spend meditating?

Jane, a student in one of my MBSR courses was keen to test out whether a mindfulness practice could enhance her wellbeing. In the first few weeks of the course, she practised diligently. She was delighted as she noticed herself becoming more mindful in many areas of her daily life. As her levels of mindfulness increased, so did her enhanced sense of psychological wellbeing.

As the eight-week course drew to end Jane said, " I feel very different now. I feel more alive, am kinder to myself and worry so much ...

How doing a mindfulness course can enrich your parenting.

22/6/2018

A mother's question?

Ping! Last week I received this message from a mum,

“I’d love to come and do your (adults MBSR) course one day, it would be so good for me, but do you have a course for my 9-year-old?

What is mindfulness?

12/6/2018

The challenge in defining mindfulness?
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to locate a light-hearted mindfulness questionnaire so that you can pop on my website and quickly assess how mindful you are. Most questionnaires have been designed for research purposes and they are all a bit different. The differences depend on their answer to the question, “what is mindfulness?”.

Why Roseanne Barr should do a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course

1/6/2018

Sometimes, I am flabbergasted when people in the public eye who should know better, cannot emotionally regulate and spit the dummy. Roseanne tweeted a racist rant and caused offence. The ABC cancelled her show and as a result many people lost at least part of their livelihood. Yes, she apologised, but the damage had been done. Sometimes, mindfulness goes out the window and mindlessness walks in the door.

How meditation (even just a little bit) can improve your mind, brain and body: Part 1 in the science series.

24/5/2018

Mindfulness Pill

Is mindfulness a cure all?

Are you a ‘cure all’ sceptic?
Do you feel scepticism or even a sense of outrage, when something is presented as a cure for everything? If so you are a bit like me. I’m not so good at taking things at face value. I like them to make sense.

I first dabbled with a mindfulness practice 30 years ago. I attended long meditation retreats and loved them but often switched off when it came to the “dharma talk”, the talk that engaged with the psychology

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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