I was recently at Aberdeen University to spend a weekend with the third year students from the MSc in Studies in Mindfulness. This is a collaboration between the University and the Mindfulness Association. The students were just beginning their dissertations or work based projects. Each year we have a fabulous presentation by Dr. Jane Kellock…
One of the areas of interest to the Mindfulness Association and the wider mindfulness fields is Engaged Mindfulness. By this we mean applying our mindfulness meditation practice to how we may feel about the state of the world on a social and environmental level and exploring ways of contributing positively through compassionate action. So, what does…
Mindful movement is one component of a typical mindfulness course. It generally involves making gentle movements, often based on Yoga, qi gong or tai chi. The instruction is to notice how the body feels as it moves and the changing sensations that are experienced through movement. The instruction is to do this with curiosity, non-judgement…
Benefits of Self-Compassion The Mindfulness Association approach to mindfulness training is unusual in that it incorporates training in self-compassion. In addition, we offer a training in compassion meditation, starting with self-compassion, for those who have completed mindfulness training. Self-compassion as formulated by Kristin Neff (2011) has three components. The first is to turn towards what…
In the wake of the pandemic overall there are lower levels of mental and physical wellbeing. Levels of stress and anxiety are being exacerbated by worries about the cost of living crisis, the war in Ukraine and ongoing environmental degradation. In an aging population with less access to the NHS many are living with chronic…
Secular mindfulness began in the clinical realm with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which was developed in the early 1980s by John Kabat-Zinn in the US for people experiencing chronic health conditions. This inspired the development of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) in the mid-1990s by Mark Williams and others within the UK as an…
I did the members teaching this week on this topic of living without regret. To prepare for it I looked at some research on this topic. Research by Gilovich et al (1995) looks into what people regret most in their lives and why, and indicates that mistaken actions generate more regret in the short term,…
We are in the process of developing a new course called ‘Living Well to Die Well’ and as part of this process I have been looking at the evidence base for compassion meditation in relation to the process of dying. This is in relation to the person who is dying, the bereaved and also those…
We are in the process of developing a new course called ‘Living Well to Die Well’ and as part of this process I have been looking at the evidence base for mindfulness meditation in relation to the process of dying. This is in relation to the person who is dying, the bereaved and also those…