What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness means awareness - it is a way of paying attention to, staying present with, and responding skilfully to what’s happening in our lives. It helps us manage our circumstances with skill and compassion, leading to greater well-being and appreciation, as well as more choice in how to meet difficulties.
What does mindfulness training consist of? The mindfulness approach consists of bringing awareness to patterns of thought and feeling that may be limiting our behaviour, and learning to unhook from these so that we can make more flexible, helpful choices. Awareness and presence is learned by practising a range of simple meditation practices and by bringing curiosity to our experience on a moment-by-moment basis, enabling us to experiment with new ways of responding that can lead to a flourishing life.
Why choose mindfulness training? You might choose mindfulness training if you would like to learn how to unhook from unhelpful automatic thoughts, feelings and behaviour patterns; how to savour delights and manage difficulties with skill and kindness; how to make intuitive choices that align with your needs and values, and how to sustain flourishing through flexible, embodied choices as we move through life.
Where does this approach come from? Mindfulness has been practised by people for thousands of years, most notably in contemplative traditions such as Buddhism. Ed's approach to mindfulness is based on more than 20 years of personal mindfulness training and practice, and 15 years of full-time teaching. His approach draws from the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, which is a non-religious, mainstream approach to mindfulness developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts medical school, and which has been used for 50 years to help with stress, anxiety, and chronic health problems. Ed also draws from elements of the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy For Life (also known as Mindfulness For Life or MBCT- L) programme, which is a further development of the MBSR approach that can help promote resilience and flourishing.. Content from other related programmes and disciplines such as Mindfulness Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) and Acceptance And Commitment Training (ACT) is also integrated into Ed's teaching as appropriate.
How do we know that mindfulness is helpful? An extensive body of clinical research has consistently shown that mindfulness is helpful for working with a wide range of conditions, as well as for optimising well-being, and it is now taught widely in healthcare, education, workplaces and other settings.