You might just be a worrier or find life a bit stressful. You might have more severe anxiety or chronic pain. Maybe you suffer from addiction. Whatever your mental anguish mindfulness is a technique many people find helpful. It teaches us to focus our awareness on the present moment. Without judgement, we acknowledge what is there and let it go. A little bit of daily practice can result in you improving your wellbeing and mental health as well as strengthening your relationships.
Mindfulness is about the non-judgemental observation of the present experience. Many forms of creative activities lend themselves to exploring the here and now. Creativity itself is also intimately linked with mindfulness.
I offer a range of workshops from the traditional sitting and movement practice, to the more exploratory focused on creativity and awareness. They range from beginner level to deeper study. Irrespective of your creative inclinations, time availability and budget, you should find a workshop suited to you.
Mindfulness and meditation are definitely in vogue. However, mindfulness is based on thousands of years old teachings. Buddhism is, of course, the most famous source, but we can find the same or similar thinking coming down from all the main religious traditions and several ancient philosophies.
In the modern era, we have an increasing body of research supporting what our forefathers discovered. That with a little bit of practice we can alter our brain's habitual patterns and start seeing and experiencing our life in a new and better way. The UK Government’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence now recommends Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MCBT) for the treatment of recurrent depression. On the NHS website you can find more about mindfulness and it uses in the UK health services.
“Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world” is a good book by Mark Williams and Danny Penman covering MCBT. “Mindfulness for Health: A practical guide to relieving pain, reducing stress and restoring wellbeing” by Vidyamala Burch and Danny Penman is another book worth reading. Breathworks teach the program described in this book. They are an organisation I study with. I encourage you to look at my resource page to find more interesting websites, podcasts, books and other materials on mindfulness and wellbeing.
